>> it mit be neat. >> 5:31, waking up to dry conditions. good news on this thursday morning. you can see you don't need the umbrellas as you head out the door this morning. we're dealing with areas of fog especially across the interior areas. if your morning commute takes you out west, you want to give yourself extra time. right now 70 degrees in ft. lauderdale, 72 in the miami area. kendall and homestead area. things looking good across much of our sunshine state. we'll continue to see the clouds rolling in through the next two days. now a look at the thursday roads with joe brennan. >> good morning. looks terric so far. no issues on 95 in broward county. looking at the area around griffin road in dania beach, looks terrific south of 595. no issues wit 595 either.

the palmetto expressway holding up nicely down by the doll fichb as well as here in hialeah south of i-75. that's traffic. back to you. this morning we're hearing the details of a conversation between local cuban americans and president obama ahead of his trip to cuba on sunday. he met with a group of cuban american leaders at the white house. let's head over to nbc 6 reporter julia bagg who is live in miami with details this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you as well. we're hearing from local cuban americans who got to meet with the president ahead of this historic trip. before we get to that, i want to show you something else. this is a little taste of how people on the island are getting ready for the president's visit. you see this picture here. they've got souvenirs already, that showing the president sniffing a cuban cigar. there's aouch of obama mania

souvenir there a big deal. there are even jokes, one picture of michelle obama we saw in a store there that depicts the first lady refusing to let the president go to cuba without her. now, on a more serious note, we caught up with emilio estefan, the musical producer who belongs to miami. he caught up with him at the airport and he shared the main message about the cuba trip he gave to the president. >> my definite goal is one day we have free election and have a new cuba with a new president. >> reporter: the president's trip will include a state dinner with raul castro, the cuban leader. also the president will address the cuban peoe in havana.

coming up in the next half hour, hear the one thing emilio estefan doesn't want the president to forget. julia bagg, nbc 6 news. don't forget our nbc team gearing up for the president's trip. ahors jackie nespral and juwan strader reporting from the island nation ahead of president obama's arrival. we're covering breaking developments out of oakland park on this thursday morning. an suv slamming into a pizza place overnight. these pictures posted earlier to our twitter and facebookpages. nbc 6 the first with live coverage of what happened out there in oakla park. >> michael spears has been posting these images from the sne. good morning to you. do we know how the two meme who were inside, h they're doing? >> reporter: not at this point. we have calls and e-mails to broward sheriff's office and fire rescue to get an update.

two people were hit by the suv inside this pizza joint, downtown pizza grill in oakland park. one witness says he was outside waiting for a pizza and it appeared the driver never even hit the brakes. firefighters say two people were sent to the hospital. as far as whpd, firefighters say around mnight a woman lost control of her suv, this is a pizza shop on northeast 62nd street, oakland park. why she lost control isn't clear. we're working to get more details on that. again, one witness outside, certainly a reminder of how precious life is. >> i really didn't react to it because it happened so quickly. it was like it hit the curb and almost went airborne. >> you'll hear more from him ahead at 6:00 a.m. the woman in t video is apparently the driver. firefighters te us she wasn't hurt. we're working to find out wheer or not she will be cited or face charges for this

for now, live in oakland park, michael spears, nbc 6 news. >> we'll talk to you again at 6:00. a plane making an emergency landing in west broward county. we have brand new pictures into the newsroom overnight. it happened in the everglades on a levee. this map gives you a better idea. it landed near the sawgrgss recreation park east of u.s. 27 north of i-75. here is a look at the pictures i told you. this is an experimental jet, this blue one you're looking at here. you can see the pilot obviously did a very good job landing it because there is no outward damage, no clear damage. from what we know two pop were on board and fortunately neither were injured. the planewas on its way to ft. lauderdale executive airport when the pilot reported an emergency. they said they were having some kind of engine problem. we'll continue to update this. you can always follow the story

a south florida mother hoping for justice more than a year after a driver slammed into her son and left him to die. the family of hurley mccrimmon. he was crossing the street last year when a drer hit him. investigators say they found the blue 2003 ford f-150 involved in the crash but still haven't identified the person behind the wheel. they're hoping someone will come forward with information about his killer. >> hurley and i was very close. this was a shock to me, and it sill is a shock. but all i want out of this is justice. it's got to be justice. it's got to be stopped. >> anyone with information on this unsolved state being asked to call broward county

in miami two teenagers pleaded not guilty to a crime that stunned a co@mmunity the same day they were formally chargewith the shooting death of king carter. he's the 6-year-old squat in the crossfire after a fight stemming from facebook. a third teen involved in the shooting also charged as an adult. a miramar police officer is accused of shooting and killing a would-be thief. 39-year-old tate thomas told authorities he feared for his life, forcing him to fire when that burglar tried to enter his home early yesterday morning. this happened near the 6200 block of gauntlet lal lane where police say the victim had a face-to-face con fonation with the intruder and killed him. this may, though, not have been burglar's first break in of the night. about 16 minutes before this police got a call of another

address. >> he couldn't get it open, so he cuthe screen, put his hand in and unlocked it. sosoat that point i got up because i have a sensor light, a big one. >> so cops are investigating whether or not the two crimes were linked to the now dead burglar whose identity has not been released. police s s it's unclear if thomas will be facing any charges, but t ty say it appears all of it was in self-defense. >> the victim of a brutal attack on the road to recovery. 23-year-old danielle jones is conscious after spending more than a month in a coma. yesterday she was able to gout side for fresh air and sunshine. he was allegedly attacked by her roommate side her downtown miami apartment back on valentine's day. >> i see more and more of danielle coming back. she tal to me, hugs me, tells me she loves me. she's back.

on craigslist, byron mitchell, is currently being held without bond for attempted murder. he says he was acting in self-defense. >> to see her outside in the sunshine like that with her mom, i think that's something, based upon the pictus and the story we've been telling you for the last couple weeks, a lot of peoplehought that would never happen. >> she is making great strides. good for her. >> your time is 5:40 on this thursday morning. a lot more ahead, including this. a story getfing a lot of attention online. a dozen forces killed when a lake worth farm goes up in flames. police on the hunt for dangerous crooks, one ofhom pointed a gun at a baby's head during a robbery. moisture will continue to increase as the weekend is upon us. we're expecting showers saturday and sunday with thunderstorms possible come saturday and especially into sunday.

the question s what can we welcome back. it's 5:44. now to one of the top trending stories on our nbc 6 news and weaeaer app. a tragic end for a dozen horses killed in a barn fire at the south florida trotting center at state road 7. firefighters say 30-foot flames made the rescue more difficult. even though 12 horses were killed, another 11 were saved and are under the close watch of a veterinarian. rescue crews believe the fire was electrical and a complete accident. if the flooding wasn't bad enough, now people in louisiana have something to worry about. their new fears, critters. whether it's snakes, alligators

rried about confronting them, worried about the possibity of snake bite. in iowa stro storms and tornadoes swept through the area. authorities say an ef 2 tornado toppled trees and blew off roofs. more than 70 people were sheltered at a nearby airport d to a gas leak. 5:45 on this thursday, st. patrick's day morning. at least we're rain-free so far. our live first alert radar looking quiet fromoca raton down to the city of miami. good news as we head out the dodo this morning.

right now in miami, 70 in ft. lauderdale. dealing with upper 70s in kendall and down into the homestead area. we're rain-free but we're dealing with fog because the moisture is beginning to creep up slowly but surely. we've been feeling it outside, feeling more humid during the day. not only that, winds again are calm this morning. that calls for fog across the interior areas. if youmorning commute takes you towards the west, you may encounter areas of fog. give yourself extra time as you head out the doorthis morning. first alert forecast calling for a quick warmup. with the light south-southwest wind later today, st. patrick's day evening will be on the wrm side. you may want to dress accordingly if you have any outdoor plans later tonight. high pressure over the atlantic leaving us a south wind this morning as it continues to pick up through the morning hours. other than that, expecting a warm day.

continue to watch it creep into south florida, not only in the next 24 hours but especially this upcoming weekend. further to the southou can see all this moisture over the gulf of mexico. this moistste associated with that small frontal boundary that will slowly but surely push towards the south as this weekend goes o o taking a look at the main threats for today, we keep talking abobo the warm temperatures. yesterday the high in miami was 86 degrees, 87 degrees and in ft. lauderdale 81. we've beenn the 80s the past few days. the heat and uv index will be your main threat for thursday. looking at the weekend, temperatures will remain in the 80s, but we're expecting some showers and some thunderstorms are possible thanks to a front in the area. temperatures will be closer to average. we'll be back into he 70s for this upcoming workweek. let's takeke look at the roads now. here is joe brennan. >> it looks terrific out there so far. loved what we're seeing on the

approaching the dolphin. no issues, no delays which is certainly important. it still looks like no accidents along the way if you're trying to make your way through on the palmetto, not only near the dolphin but further to the north in hialeah south of i-75. that's goioi to build up steadily heading southbound. no ft. lauderdale-hollywood for any alternate routes quite yet. as the nation's ansportation secretary asks for more money to fix the infrastructure, d.c. metro rail front and center, the system back up and running after an emergency 29-hour shutdown. can you imagine that? crews were concerned about frayed wires and a couple recent fires they had. sure enough, they found more problems during that 29-hour shutdown. most are fixed.

later today chief judge merrick garland is expected to begin meeting with senators. you watched the nomination live during our m mday newscast yesterday. tomorrow he's expected to be on capitol hill with senate and judiciary leadership. some say it's setting the stage for a huge constitutional showdown. michigan governor rick schneider expected to be in d.c. to testify about the on going water crisis in flint. governor snyder will testify before the u.s. house committee on oversight and government reform. it's the last hearing on the flint water crisis which saw thousands of residents affected by lead-tainted and undrinkable water. snyder blames the failure of government at all levels. more than a dozen military members are being punished for

hospital inafghanistan. the attack happened last year. it killele 42 people. officials say the punishments are mostly administrative in nature and include no criminal charges. e disciplinary actions are expected to be announced to the public laler this month. the doctors without borders hospital was attacked on october 3rd by u.s. air special force operations. army sergeant bowe bergdahl speaking out about why he left his post ina afghanistan back in 2009. his attorneys released new documents saying bergdahl abandoned his post to draw attention to what he saw as leadership problems. also released, a document showing bergdahl suffered from a disorder thaha makes it difficult for people to interpret social queues or to trust her people. the army sergeant is facing a general court-m-mtial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. call this robber a creature of habit with a few ttists.

guns and machetes. all robberies happened around 3: over the course of two weeks. if you're looking at this crook and he looks familiar, call broward county. cops say a pair of men approached a register with a bag of chips. when one of the suspectsointed a gun at the clerk's infant son and demanded money. your time is nine minutes to the top of the hour on your thursday morning. the miami beach police department increasing their patrols, bracing for another weekend of roy spring breakers. coming up on the nbc 6 news at 6:00, do you have something to sell on ebay, but you're too lazy to ship it to the buyer?

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welcome back everybody. 5:55 on your thursday morning. as thousands of spring breakers ke over south beach, miami beach police are heightening

ocean drive itself will be closed to vehicle traffic all together from 7:00 in teaching until 7:00 a.m. from 7th street to 11th street. checkpoints will be in place in place to prevent glass and styrofoam from getting onto the beach. large clouds are cleared from the beaches before sunsetet to prevent things from happening after dark. a new plan comes after pole responded to two shootings o oer the weekend. one turned out to be fatal and large amounts of trash left behind on the beaches and the streets. >> intensive spring break activity and music festival through march 29th. we'll have extra security and on the weekends particularly we'll go to alpha bravo with police. we'll close ocean drive to vehicular traffic. >> with the combination of spring break and the music festival, if you're going down there, you'lll encounter a lot of people.

efct officially tomorrow, urging everybody to have fun and be responsible and safe at the same time. miami mayor expected to announce details to improve and beautify this infamous location. just shy of the top of the hour. 5:56 right now. working on ahole lot more for our next hour of news. breaking overnight, an oakland park pizza place closed for business this morning after a c makes a crashing entrance. the latest on those people who were inside that were hurt and the delivery driver that saw what was abo to happen moments before it happened. the verdict is in, hear what could be next for the cop caught on cell phone video slapping a homeless man. south florida, as you head ououthe door, we're waking up to rain-free conditions. you won't need the umbrellas as

however, a mild start to the day with temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s, dealing with a few clouds out there. with the moisture in place and the light wind across south florid we're waking up to areas of fog especially across interior areas. be careful if your morning commute takes you out towards the west coast. give yourself some extra time.

we're back at breaking news this morning out of oakland park where a pizza place will be closed for siness. >> two people taken to the hospital after a car comes barreling through the front window. nbc 6's michael spears will have a live report happy thursday. i'm sheli muniz. >> i'm eric harryman. it is thursday, march 17th. far be it for me to tell you what to do. but that said, maybe in your wardrobe choice just a lite green. doesn't have to be a lot, just a little bit. >> happy st. patrick's day. >> things looking pretty good so far. rain-free, our live first alert

that's what we like to see as we're heading out early this morning. dry conditions right now. as far as temperatures are concerned, just a few degrees above average. 7p1 in miami, 69 in ft. lauderdale. that goes for pembroke pines as well and we're dealing withh mid to upper 60s across the kendall and homestead area. zooming out across the sunsnsne state, maybe your commute takes you to the north, temperatures across the board in the 60s and 70s. a mild start to the morning across much of our sunshine state. as far a# the clouds are concerned, we begin to see moisture creeping in from the gulf of mexico. out won't need the umbrellas as you head out the door. first alert forecast calling for temperatures in the upper 70s. now here is a check of the thursday roads are joe brennan. e palmetto expressway, certainly no problems here south of i-75 at 122nd street. north and southbound, you can