It’s Monday, March 29th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Adult residents across the state of Florida will be one step closer to being fully eligible to get the sought after COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday.
Residents ages 40 and older will be eligible to get the vaccine at all locations in the Sunshine State before all residents 18 and older will be eligible starting April 5th, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last Thursday. Floridians ages 16 and older will be eligible starting April 5th as well, but anyone ages 16 and 17 will need signed permission from their parents or guardians. DeSantis said more than 400 Walgreens locations would begin providing the vaccines, adding to the over 700 Publix locations, 150 CVS locations and 125 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations across the state.
No. 2 - Officials located a suspect they said shot at park rangers in Everglades National Park Sunday night.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
A 33-year-old male suspect reportedly fired at park rangers unprovoked around 6:45 p.m., though no injuries were reported. According to a news release, the rangers responded to a domestic violence investigation involving the suspect when they found a vehicle believed to have belonged to him. State, federal and local authorities all collaborated to locate the suspect just before 9 p.m. Officials have not released the man's identity at this time or any additional information on the case.
No. 3 - The Miami-Dade Police Department, Sexual Crimes Unit is investigating the armed sexual battery of a minor early Saturday.
According to investigators, the 12-year-old boy was walking in the area of NW 43rd Terrace and 30th Avenue in Miami, when he was approached by a man in a black 4-door sedan. The suspect forced the boy inside the vehicle and drove him to the area of NW 45th Street and 31st Avenue, where he sexually assaulted and shot the minor. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene and transported him to Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at (305)471-TIPS.
Local
No. 4 - Miami Beach officials are enforcing an 8 p.m. curfew and causeway shutdowns through Monday in a continued effort to control crowds during the spring break period.
The MacArthur and Venetian causeways will have their eastbound lanes closed to everyone but residents, hotel guests and employees every night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Police will not be doing residency checks on the Julia Tuttle, but the causeway will close down one eastbound lane from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to slow traffic. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez held a press conference Friday to send a warning that rowdy crowds and “lawlessness” would not be tolerated in the city this weekend. Papier also reminded that Miami-Date County still has a midnight curfew in place, so restaurants and bars in the City of Miami should be shut down by then.
No. 5 - A former Minneapolis police officer goes on trial Monday in George Floyd’s death, and jurors may not wait long to see parts of the bystander video that caught Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, sparking waves of outrage and activism across the U.S. and beyond.
Prosecutors have not said when they will play the video, but legal experts expect it to be early — maybe even in the prosecution's opening statement — as they seek to remind jurors of what is at the heart of their case. Floyd was declared dead after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes on May 25, 2020. He held his position even as Floyd's “I can't breathe” cries faded and he went limp as he was handcuffed and lying on his stomach. Chauvin is charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
No. 6 – The Sunshine State is now officially out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament with Sunday’s loss by Florida State.
Hunter Dickinson scored 14 points and the top-seeded Wolverines took the inside route to the Elite Eight, pounding away in the paint Sunday for a 76-58 takedown of surprisingly helpless FSU. Franz Wagner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, who scored their first 30 points of the second half from close range to lead coach Juwan Howard and Co. to a victory in the only “chalk” meeting between a 1 and 4 seed of the second weekend. The Seminoles were one of two teams from Florida to make the tournament this year, with the Florida Gators losing in the second round last weekend.
