NBC 6 has the top stories for May 18th, 2022.
It’s Wednesday, May 18th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A woman has been charged after confessing to killing an elderly man and burying him in a shallow grave at her Miami Gardens home, authorities said.
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Clio Maria Trice, 50, admitted to a neighbor that she struck the 81-year-old man in the head, strangled him until he died and buried him in her backyard, according to a police report. The neighbor called police and officers responded to the home in the 200 block of Northwest 194th Terrace just after 5 p.m. on Monday to execute a search warrant. Miami Gardens Police confirmed Tuesday morning that the man's body was found buried beneath a wooden plank in what appeared to be a freshly filled grave.
No. 2 - Nearly a year after the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, authorities believe they've solved the mystery of the woman's voice that was heard in the rubble.
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Rescue workers who were part of the initial search and rescue efforts at the site after the June 24, 2021 collapse heard the woman's voice coming from the building's ruins but her identity has remained a mystery. But according to newly-released Miami-Dade Fire Rescue memo, officials believe it belonged to 36-year-old Theresa Velasquez. Velasquez was a Los Angeles-based executive for the Live Nation event promotion company. She had flown into Miami to visit her parents at the Surfside condo, both of whom also died in the collapse.
No. 3 - Jackson Health System has updated its hospital visitation policy amid the rise of COVID-19 cases in the community.
The new policy went into effect Tuesday. It includes:
- No visitors are allowed for adult patients.
- Adult inpatients are allowed to have one healthy visitor from 9 a.m. to noon and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Overnight visitors are not allowed.
- Labor and delivery patients are allowed one healthy visitor at all times, including overnight.
This comes as Miami-Dade County experiences a rise in COVID-19 cases. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava tweeted that the county's positivity rate has reached 17%.The Jackson Health System social media accounts will be updated to reflect any developments or changes to the policy.
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No. 4 - The deaths of two cyclists on the Rickenbacker Causeway Sunday took center stage at the Miami-Dade County Commission meeting Tuesday morning.
The commissioners discussed a variety of ideas, but all agreed that immediate action needs to be taken to improve safety for cyclists, especially on the Rickenbacker. The commissioners agreed to direct the mayor’s administration to come up with a plan and specific ideas to bring to the transportation committee meeting for discussion in the upcoming weeks. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that the county is moving forward with some kind of barriers in certain areas of the causeway.
No. 5 - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will be investing a record $100 million in funding for cancer research and care in the next budget.
DeSantis made the announcement at a news conference Tuesday at the University of Miami Health System. The funding will go to H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, UM's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the University of Florida's Shands Cancer Hospital in Gainesville, DeSantis said. DeSantis said it represents a nearly 60% increase in funding to the cancer centers. the funding was in DeSantis' 2022-2023 budget that was approved by the Florida legislature.
No. 6 - The Miami Heat faced arguably their toughest opponent in the 2022 NBA playoffs - and once again, they made the opener look easy.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with 41 points as the Heat used a second half comeback to get the 118-107 victory over a depleted Boston Celtics team in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics were without two of their starters for Game 1 with Marcus Smart (right mid-foot sprain) and Al Horford (health and safety protocols) both ruled out. Game 2 in the series is Thursday night in Miami. Meanwhile, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Lightning topped the Panthers 4-1 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night. Anthony Duclair had the goal for Presidents' Trophy-winning Florida, which got 32 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Game 2 is also Thursday night.
