It’s Thursday, August 12th – and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Tropical Depression Fred is moving through the waters of the Caribbean on Thursday while all eyes remaining focused on where it could impact South Florida and the Keys this weekend.
The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center has the system with winds of 35 miles per hour while it sits about 80 miles east of Guantanamo, Cuba. Fred is moving west-northwest at 16 m.p.h. Fred became the sixth of the Atlantic hurricane season late Tuesday as it moved past the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on a forecast track that would carry it toward Florida over the weekend. Much of South Florida and the Florida Keys remained in the system's cone of concern. South Florida should continue to monitor the forecast for any anticipated impacts Friday night through Sunday.
No. 2 - In recent weeks there have been several anti-mask demonstrations at the Broward County Public Schools building and at the Miami-Dade County school district headquarters.
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Wednesday, something different happened: moms and dads showed up to demonstrate in favor of mask mandates. The parents who gathered at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools building were keenly aware that Florida is leading the nation in children hospitalized with COVID-19, and they are asking the district to defy Florida’s governor and require masks for everyone, as Broward Schools did Tuesday. Click here for their message in a story from NBC 6 reporter Ari Odzer.
No. 3 - Some parents in South Florida who are frustrated over the issue of mandating mask usage in schools say the only way to protect their kids is go to court.
Robyn McCarthy and John McCarthy are just two South Florida parents in court fighting Gov. Ron DeSantis' order prohibiting any mask mandates. Their son, who is six and heading into the first grade in Miami-Dade, has asthma. Disability attorney Matthew Dietz represents the McCarthy’s and other families. Dietz wants a federal judge to issue an injunction to prevent the governor’s order from being enforced. Click here for the story from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard.
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No. 4 - An oxygen mask and tubes help Larry Krupnick breathe as he battles COVID-19 at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
He tested positive for the virus back on July 24 and now has pneumonia. The Hollywood resident is one of the overwhelming majority of hospitalized patients in Florida who are unvaccinated. Krupnick wishes he got the shot months ago. His son Eric tried to convince his dad for months to get the vaccine. Krupnick has a clear message to anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated. Click here for that message in a story from NBC 6 reporter Marissa Bagg.
No. 5 - A school resource deputy with the Broward Sheriff's Office who was arrested on a child abuse charge after he was caught on camera slamming a student to the ground back in 2019 has been fired.
Deputy Willard Miller, who had worked at Cross Creek School in Pompano Beach, was fired Wednesday "for his egregious lack of control, discipline and numerous policy violations," Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement. "His action and behavior are not reflective of the great work and self-discipline frequently displayed by the overwhelming majority of my deputies," Tony's statement read. Miller was arrested on the felony charge of child abuse without great bodily harm back in November 2019.
No. 6 - In 2019, a new law went into effect meant to make it easier for homeowners to file criminal charges against contractors that take deposit money without completing the work they were hired for.
One homeowner told us he wants to see justice in his case after he says a contractor walked away with thousands of dollars in deposits. NBC 6 Responds told you about the contractor, Mark Block, back in 2019. At the time, three homeowners spoke to us after they say they handed thousands in deposits to Block to install custom window treatments. They say he never finished the work he was contracted for. This year, two more homeowners contacted NBC 6 Responds about Block. Click here for what happened next in a report from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
