Here are some of the top stories from the past week from NBC 6 News:
Federal Judge Throws Out Florida's Gambling Agreement With Seminole Tribe
A federal judge has thrown out a gambling agreement Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed with the Seminole Tribe.
In her Monday ruling, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich said the compact violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by illegally expanding gambling in the state.
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At a news conference Tuesday morning, DeSantis said he hadn't seen the judge's ruling yet but said it will likely be appealed.
"We'll support whatever we can to validate the compact," DeSantis said. "We anticipated that this could happen."
The Seminole Tribe released a brief statement Tuesday on the judge's ruling.
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"The Seminole Tribe is reviewing the Judge’s opinion and carefully considering its next steps," the statement read.
The Department of the Interior approved the compact in August. It would have allowed the Seminole Tribe to operate sports betting and add roulette and craps to its seven Florida casinos, with the state potentially receiving $20 billion over the next 30 years.
Politifact: Fact-Checking Claims on “Build Back Better” Bill
During his marathon floor speech before House passage of the Build Back Better bill, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., criticized the Democratic-backed measure as profligate and harmful to the economy.
Starting on Nov. 18, McCarthy spoke for more than eight hours prior to the final vote on the bill. The version that passed the House, which may be changed in the Senate, would spend $1.75 trillion over 10 years on clean energy initiatives, child care subsidies, extended child tax credits, paid family leave and hearing aids for Medicare beneficiaries. It would be partially paid for through additional taxes primarily aimed at wealthy taxpayers and by letting the government negotiate certain drug prices.
At one point in his speech, McCarthy said, "Never in American history has so much been spent at one time. Never in American history will so many taxes be raised and so much borrowing be needed to pay for this reckless spending."
It seemed unlikely that a bill that raises historic levels of taxes to pay for its spending would also require historic levels of borrowing. So we decided to take a closer look at McCarthy’s assessment.
Crypto Cons: Investment Scams Skyrocket as Trading Explodes
Crypto trading has exploded in the last year and a half, and crooks have taken notice. They’re finding new ways to pounce and pilfer, and these crimes have recently skyrocketed.
Hatim Mursi says he had an entire life’s savings stolen in a cryptocurrency investment scam, more than a half-million dollars.
“I felt very vulnerable and I felt violated,” said Mursi. He says the funds are ”completely, completely, completely gone."
The Fort Lauderdale resident says it all started when he received what he thought at the time was a wrong message on WhatsApp. It was a message he thought was meant for a friend.
“It’s from somebody’s who’s confused, supposedly,” Mursi said. “The person apologized and then followed back by saying, ‘oh you seem nice.’”
That’s when he says the online relationship began. Click here for the full story.
Coast Guard Offloads Over $500M in Cocaine, Marijuana at Port Everglades
Nearly 30,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana were offloaded Monday morning at Port Everglades by crew members from the United States Coast Guard.
The cutter Hamilton offloaded the drugs, with a street value of over $500 million, during an event at the port in Fort Lauderdale.
"It is a victory for safety, security of the United States and our like-minded neighbors,” said Commanding Officer Matt Brown.
The drugs - 26,250 pounds of cocaine and 3,700 pounds of marijuana - were seized during eight interdictions in the Pacific Ocean spanning 70 days.
“In one instance we had three cases within 36 hours," said Sean McVey, who serves onboard the ship. "With very low rest in between cases, we had to go through processing, get to one location to the next and have multiple methods of transportation to each case. So it’s just a lot of work in a small amount of time.”
‘The Lines Are Crazy': Hectic Season of Holiday Travel Begins At South Florida Airports
When you combine a holiday travel week with pandemic precautions, the trip can often be anything but smooth for some.
“It is very stressful,” said Dee Davis who is connecting in Miami from Dallas.
Dee Davis and Stephanie Home were looking forward to spending a week in the Dominican Republic, but instead they’re spending the night in Miami after multiple mix-ups.
First, they didn’t have the QR code necessary to board the flight to Punta Cana, then the flight they were rebooked on was delayed five hours.
“We’ve lost two days at our resort and we just wanna get there and be on the beach,” said Stephanie Home.
A record 158,000 travelers came through Miami International Airport on Monday, officials said. Friday and Saturday saw 150,000 travelers each day. The airport saw an increase in passengers of 15% compared to 2019.
Man Charged With Video Voyeurism After Installing Camera in Hallandale Beach Home
Police arrested a South Florida handyman on charges that he allegedly installed several hidden cameras inside a home in Hallandale Beach without the residents' knowledge.
50-year-old Pedro Avila was arrested Tuesday in Miami-Dade County and charged with two counts of video voyeurism and two counts of battery.
According to an arrest report, Hallandale Beach Police obtained an arrest warrant for Avila on November 3rd after they discovered he installed the cameras in areas where privacy was expected.
“Cameras were located in the bathroom, bedroom, closets, smoke detector, alarm type of devices and other locations within the residence to record persons in their most intimate situations,” Hallandale Beach Police Captain Pedro Abut said.
Avila allegedly recorded the residents for his own gratification and used both transmitted images and downloads to get the footage, according to HBPD.
When the residents confronted him, Avila allegedly hit them with his hands and left. He was taken into custody nearly three weeks later by Miami-Dade Police.
