It’s Monday, April 19th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Miami Beach Police arrested a man early Sunday morning after receiving multiple complaints of reckless driving.
According to the arrest affidavit, three officers responded to the scene in an unmarked police vehicle at the intersection of South Pointe and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach after dispatch advised multiple high end vehicles were being a nuisance, blocking the streets, blowing stop signs, burning tires, and doing donuts in the intersection. When they arrived, the officers observed a 2017 white Dodge charger, bearing a Florida tag, stopped in the middle of the intersection. One officer activated the police vehicle emergency lights, while the other officers attempted to stop the driver. Officers approached the vehicle and ordered 18-year-old Rollin Cherry exit the vehicle where he was then placed under arrest without incident.
No. 2 - Vaccine sites in the cities of Homestead and Hialeah will open as a coordinated effort between the cities and the Florida Department of Emergency Management at the FOP Lodge located at Harris Field (675 North Homestead Blvd.) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and at Milander Center in Hialeah (4800 Palm Avenue) starting at 9 a.m.
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400 Pfizer vaccines will be administered at the Homestead site with no appointment needed and everyone over the age of 18 years old being eligible. All individuals will have their second dose scheduled.
No. 3 - Half of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 shot, the government announced Sunday, marking another milestone in the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign but leaving more work to do to convince skeptical Americans to roll up their sleeves.
Almost 130 million people 18 or older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, or 50.4% of the total adult population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Almost 84 million adults, or about 32.5% of the population, have been fully vaccinated. The U.S. cleared the 50% mark just a day after the reported global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million, according to totals compiled by Johns Hopkins University, though the actual number is believed to be significantly higher.
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No. 4 - Attorneys in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd are set to make their closing arguments Monday, each side seeking to distill three weeks of testimony to persuade jurors to deliver their view of the right verdict.
For prosecutors, Derek Chauvin recklessly squeezed the life from Floyd as he and two other officers pinned him to the street for 9 minutes, 29 seconds outside a corner market, despite Floyd's repeated cries that he couldn't breathe — actions they say warrant conviction not just for manslaughter but also on two murder counts. For the defense, Floyd, who was Black, put himself at risk by swallowing fentanyl and methamphetamine, then resisted officers trying to arrest him — factors that compounded his vulnerability to a diseased heart and raise sufficient doubt that Chauvin, who is white, should be acquitted.
No. 5 - Romain Zago is the owner of Mynt Lounge and Myn-Tu Restaurant on Collins Avenue in South Beach and says he’s breathing a sigh of relief now that Miami-Dade County’s midnight curfew has been lifted.
Last Monday, Miami-Dade County lifted its emergency order mandating a midnight curfew. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says the decision to relax restrictions was based on data. She said hospitalizations, positivity rates, and deaths have gone down in the county. To hear why some business owners say this is the best news they’ve heard in a year, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Kim Wynne.
No. 6 - Formula 1 announced Sunday that it is heading back to Florida, as the brand-new Miami Grand Prix joins the racing calendar in 2022.
The race – the first in Florida since 1959 – will be held on a new layout at the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens. Although the exact date of the race has yet to be confirmed, Formula 1 President Stefano Domenicali said he expects the first race in a 10-year deal to take place in the second quarter of next year. Hard Rock Stadium will sit at the heart of the track, which has been designed to encourage close racing while meeting the highest safety standards.
