It’s Friday, November 26th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Major retailers closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Now Americans are gearing up for Black Friday.
Dolphin Mall will open at 9 a.m. and stay open until midnight. Sawgrass Mills will open as early as 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m. Dadeland also opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Aventura will open at 8 a.m. and stay open until 9 p.m. As retailers try to capture your spending coming off a tough pandemic, projected sales on Black Friday are expected to go up. According to RetailMeNot, 83 percent of shoppers say they’ve already started shopping before Thanksgiving and consumers plan to spend almost $900 more this season compared to this time last year.
No. 2 - It took less than a week, but the popular social media account Only in Dade is back in action.
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The Instagram account for the site posted their return Thursday, six days after saying it had been disabled for an unknown reason. The account, known across the community for posting viral videos, images, memes and news, was disabled at 8:30 p.m. last Friday, a spokesperson said in an e-mail. The page, which is also an active brand on Facebook and Twitter, has amassed 709,000 followers on the social media platform since its launch in 2013. The creators of 'Only In Dade' (Instagram handle: @onlyindade) say they weren't given a reason as to why the account was disabled.
No. 3 - After a nearly two year hiatus, scooters will be coming back to Fort Lauderdale, likely by spring, Mayor Dean Trantalis told the Sun-Sentinel.
While advocates say the scooters make it easier to get around, there have been safety concerns. Back in 2019, 27-year-old Ashanti Jordan suffered a traumatic brain injury after colliding with a car while riding a scooter in Fort Lauderdale. The program was put on pause in 2020 due to concerns over potential spread of COVID-19. Mayor Trantlis told the Sun-Sentinel that when scooters come back, they’ll be required to use the bike lane or sidewalk, speed will be capped at 12 mph, and there will be designated parking areas. Busy areas like Las Olas, the beach and Riverwalk will be off limits. Fort Lauderdale’s announcement comes as the Miami City Commission just voted to eliminate a pilot program for electric scooters.
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No. 4 - Miami Police are investigating an incident early Thursday morning where a suspect made their way into a car and forced the owner to drive to another scene.
Officers arrived at the scene near North Miami Avenue and 62nd Street around 4:30 a.m. after receiving a call of a possible carjacking. Once on scene, officers spoke with the driver who said he was at the 400 block of Northeast 32nd Street when an unknown person got into his vehicle with a weapon and demanded he drive to the second scene at 62nd Street. The suspect later fled once they arrived at the second location. The driver was not hurt and spoke with police.
No. 5 - A man was struck Thursday morning by a northbound Tri-Rail train in Fort Lauderdale.
The incident took place just after 11 a.m. near Northwest 62nd Street and Andrews Avenue. The victim, an adult male, reportedly suffered traumatic injuries and was taken to North Broward Hospital by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue in critical condition. No vehicles were involved in the crash. and police say that at this time, there is no indication that a crime occurred.
No. 6 - Just in time for Thanksgiving, Zoo Miami has something else to be thankful for after a mama bald eagle who was on display through a live cam laid her first egg.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava tweeted the good news late Wednesday night, calling it an "early Thanksgiving gift." The mama eagle laid the egg around 9 p.m. Images taken showed the moment and the eagle sleeping afterward. Zoo Miami launched its live Bald Eagle Cam in collaboration with the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment and Wildlife Rescue of Dade County. The camera allows the world can now go online for free and connect to the livestream for an intimate look at the lives of a bonded pair of bald eagles as they continue to build their nest and raise young to become the next generation of these majestic creatures.
