Just five weeks after being paralyzed in a shooting outside his home, the 18-year-old proudly rolled across the graduation stage in his wheelchair Tuesday during a ceremony at the Ocean Bank Convention Center on the Florida International University campus.

Milestone in Johnson’s life

The moment marked a milestone Nehemiah Johnson and his family feared might not come. What was almost a tragedy became a moment of triumph and testimony.

Johnson, who had been hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital after being shot outside his Northwest Miami-Dade home on April 21, accepted his diploma from Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School to cheers and support from the crowd.

When asked how he felt about getting his diploma, Johnson said, “That’s my goal. Feeling real good for that.”

Before the shooting, Johnson had been the captain of the varsity basketball team and had enlisted in the U.S. Marines.

Reflecting on the past few months, Johnson shared the emotional toll the experience has taken.

“For these last couple months, it’s been a little up and down, but I’m feeling real blessed and happy to be here,” he said.

When asked about the future, Johnson shared that while the Marines had been the plan, things have shifted.

“Things change. So I’m trying to go to college now. I’m trying to stay offbeat,” he said. “I’m just going with the flow and seeing what things take me.”

Surrounded by friends, family and coaches, Johnson said, “I feel real good. It’s a lot of, it’s a lot of support everywhere, friends, family, my coaches. I’m just happy, man.”

A mother’s gratitude and hope

His mother, Naytalia, expressed her overwhelming gratitude and pride.

“I feel good about it. I’m thankful and grateful that he’s here for graduation, and we’re very thankful that he’s here today,” she said. “Bright future, we hope still, yes, still bright future. He’s planning to go to college. He got some options open, so yeah.”

She added, “We’re just feeling amazed. Uh, we’re thankful for them, thinking about him, the heat, thinking about him, the school thinking about him. I’m thankful for my pastor. He’s been with us every step of the way. Um, we’re just grateful. We’re grateful.”

“We’re not at a funeral. We’re at a graduation.”

Pastor Gaston Smith, who’s been closely supporting the family, said the night was nothing short of a blessing.

“Super proud, super proud, super grateful that we’re not at a funeral, we’re at a graduation, and day by day, he’s getting better. And we know that all his dreams are going to come true, and this is just the start of what God is going to do,” Smith said.

Case remains unsolved

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the shooting occurred at 10:51 p.m. on April 21 near N.W. 28th Avenue and 87th Terrace.

Johnson’s mother believes it was a case of mistaken identity. She said her son was shot while cleaning out her car.

There are still no new leads in the case. When asked about justice, Johnson said, “Yeah, yes, I’m. I’m not too rare about who shot me. I’m just running about hitting that’s it.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).

DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) – Miami-Dade Animal Services is urging the public to help alleviate overcrowding at their shelters with temporary volunteer and foster homes.

The facility is dealing with an emergency: they have too many animals and too little space and hope animal lovers can hear their message.

“This is a challenge and it’s a challenge that requires so many people to cooperate and collaborate,” the director for Miami-Dade Animal Services, Annette Jose, said. “We’ve been over capacity for over two years.”

With 550 dogs and only space for 350, Miami-Dade uses its own facility in Medley as overflow, but most dogs are doubled up in a kennel and separated by an opaque divider.

However, Jose is hoping more members of the public will open their doors, even as a temporary shelter, with volunteers and foster homes.

“Teachers are home for the summer, kids are back from college. Come and take a dog for the summer, let him spend some time in a nice, cool home and maybe get adopted,” said Jose.

She said volunteers and fosters don’t even have to commit to housing them for several months. Committing to a weekend or just taking one of their dogs for a walk can be helpful for the shelter.

“You can take them to the park, to Starbucks, to the beach, but while you’re doing that, they’re wearing an ‘adopt me’ vest,” said Jose. “We are removing every barrier there is to taking a dog out of the shelter.”

Miami-Dade Animal Services already provides low cost spay and neuter operations and vaccines to help reduce the number of potentially homeless animals, but it’s still an uphill battle.

Among the animals staying at the shelter is a dog named Logan, who has been at the shelter for one-and-a-half years. He requires eyedrops daily, but shelter officials said he’s very good with other dogs and is just looking for a family.

Miami-Dade Animal Services joins Broward County Animal Care in searching for solutions to alleviate their overcrowded shelters.

“This is not a place where a pet should be living. They should be living in a home. The shelter isn’t a good place for a pet, it should be the last resort,” said Jose.

For more information on adopting a pet or to become a volunteer, click here.

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The busiest portion of the MLS regular season continued through Matchday 15, and several teams turned their fortunes with some standout performances. 

On Saturday, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF overturned a late 3–1 deficit to grab a 3–3 draw against the Philadelphia Union, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC showed similar fight back as they clawed back from 2–0 to beat Real Salt Lake 3–2. 

Then on Sunday, Atlanta United pushed aside their poor start to the season to upset FC Cincinnati 4–2. 

All of that plays into some notable shifts in this week’s MLS Power Rankings. If you missed last week’s, check that out here too.

30. D.C. United (Previous: 29)
29. LA Galaxy (Previous: 28)
28. CF Montréal (Previous: 30)
27. Real Salt Lake (Previous: 27)
26. St. Louis CITY SC (Previous: 22)
25. FC Dallas (Previous: 23)
24. Sporting Kansas City (Previous: 26)
23. Atlanta United (Previous: 24)
22. New York Red Bulls (Previous: 25)
21. Toronto FC (Previous: 20)
20. Houston Dynamo (Previous: 21)
19. New England Revolution (Previous: 18)
18. Chicago Fire FC (Previous: 15)
17. Portland Timbers (Previous: 17)
16. Austin FC (Previous: 16)

Charlotte FC snapped a five-game losing skid with a 3–2 win over Columbus Crew SC, and they looked good doing it. 

While The Crown didn’t hold much possession, they made the most of their counter-attacking opportunities, highlighted by a two-assist night from Wilfried Zaha. The former Premier League star stood out on several occasions, but none more so than his assist to U.S. men’s national team striker Patrick Agyemang, who scored the 2–1 goal. 

It wasn’t a great few weeks for Charlotte, but beating a strong Columbus team to return to the win column should lift some spirits in North Carolina. 

The Colorado Rapids did what they were supposed to do this weekend, grabbing three points off a dismal St. Louis CITY SC side. 

Darren Yapi did well to turn in the box and fire home the game’s only goal, in what was an otherwise forgettable match that ended the way many expected it would. 

For Colorado, it was their second-straight 1–0 win after also beating Real Salt Lake by the same score in last week’s Rocky Mountain Cup matchup, and they will look to carry that stingy form into their next two winnable games against the Portland Timbers and Austin FC. 

The San Jose Earthquakes are a bit like Inter Miami, just without the world-class generational superstars. They can certainly score, but their defense hasn’t been as prominent in recent play. 

This week, it was a 3–3 draw with the Houston Dynamo, with neither team seeming to have much of a plan other than attacking. It was also the third time in the last five games that San Jose has conceded three goals, and highlighted the continued struggles of Earl Edwards Jr., who has made just four saves on 14 shots this season, between the sticks.

Is it fun to watch as a neutral? Sure, but head coach Bruce Arena won’t be happy with how things are going in San Jose. 

It was a largely forgettable Saturday afternoon for the Seattle Sounders, but they can thank a late penalty and the recent form of Albert Rusnák for the 1–0 win over FC Dallas. 

Playing as the No. 9, Jesus Ferriera struggled to get into scoring positions, and the game shifted into Seattle’s favor late when MLS Next Pro standout Osaze De Rosario came into the match. 

Seattle have a big next few weeks with the FIFA Club World Cup approaching, and still don’t have a surefire goalscoring option, with Jordan Morris and Danny Musovski sidelined with injuries. 

New York City FC flexed their muscles at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, putting up a 3–1 win and taking advantage of a shorthanded Chicago Fire FC side that picked up two red cards by the end of the match. 

Alonso Martínez scored his eighth goal of the season to start the comeback after Chicago opened the scoring, before Monsef Bakrar and Hannes Wolf added the winning goal and insurance marker. 

With four wins, a loss and a draw in their last six games, could New York City FC be turning the corner from an O.K. team to a good one? They are probably still missing one more attacking piece, but the baseline is certainly there. 

LAFC won’t be happy after a 2–2 draw against a CF Montréal side that lost to Toronto FC 6–1 the week prior, but they will be happy with the offensive injection Cengiz Ünder and Olivier Giroud offered from the bench. 

Giroud scored, much to the delight of the many French supporters in Montréal; however, the breakdowns defensively to allow goals from Giacomo Vrioni and Prince Owusu will be worrying, especially considering the attacking test they will face next Saturday in the FIFA Club World Cup Playoff against Liga MX’s Club América. 

Sam Surridge continued to play well for Nashville SC, bagging a brace in a 2–1 win over Toronto FC to bring his season total to eight goals. 

It was an overall dominant performance from Nashville, who had 17 shots and 2.02 xG, despite only winning by a single goal. Outside of Surridge’s performance, Hany Mukhtar created five chances and continued his resurgence. 

Yet, the most important note from the night came from the bench as U.S. men’s national team center back Walker Zimmerman returned after missing the last six weeks due to a concussion. 

Sometimes a draw can feel like a win, and that’s what Inter Miami CF had in their comeback 3–3 effort against the Philadelphia Union. 

After weeks of disappointing and uninspiring play, the Herons linked 16 passes in the lead-up to Tadeo Allende’s opening goal, with Tómas Áviles making a deft dribble into space to open up the attacking opportunity. 

Lionel Messi’s free-kick and the eventual tying goal from Telasco Segovia certainly made the night more exciting, but the effort and fight from Miami will be something supporters hope for in their upcoming run of games as well. 

“I talked to them that we are in a situation that is s—. It is s—. We are in the s—…The only way to see the sun is to give everything,” Mascherano told reporters post-match about his speech to the players. “We showed character and personality; they showed they want to fight their way out of this situation.”

Charlotte FC’s resurgence on Saturday picked Columbus Crew SC apart, and much of that came down to a performance that played to Charlotte’s strengths. 

While The Crown had recently become more pragmatic in possession, Columbus controlled 62 percent possession on Saturday, allowing Charlotte to return to their low-possession, high-octane counter-attack. 

Without much time on the ball, Charlotte quickly sent through balls to attackers mere moments after regaining possession, which allowed Wilfried Zaha to put up his first two assists in MLS. 

Columbus, under head coach Wilfried Nancy, will always want to be a team that controls possession and pace of play, but they face a tough challenge when taking on quick transitions, like Charlotte on their day. 

Orlando City SC had an off night, but a 39th-minute strike from Duncan McGuire proved enough for them to grab all three points, extending their unbeaten streak to 12 games against a Portland Timbers side that played flat and without much threat.

Eduard Atuesta had a standout performance in his return after missing four games due to an undisclosed injury, providing the assist on McGuire’s goal and creating three chances. 

With McGuire off the mark with his first goal of the season and Atuesta already back thriving, Orlando find themselves as a real threat as the season nears its midmark. 

FC Cincinnati became just the third team this season to lose to Atlanta United on Sunday night. Their 4–2 loss actually flattered them too, considering the number of chances they gave up in the first half. 

Despite holding 63 percent of the ball, Cincinnati wasn’t able to get much involvement from Evander or Pavel Bucha and struggled to find spaces for Kévin Denkey to attack. Once it was clear they were being overwhelmed by Atlanta’s counter-attack, they also struggled to adapt, all while completing just 30 percent of their crosses. 

It was an off-night for Cincinnati. They’ve shown this season how good they can be, and they will hope to return to the win column when they take on their former superstar Luciano Acosta and FC Dallas on Wednesday. 

Minnesota United met their match in Austin FC on the weekend, not in terms of a better team, but a clashing style that held them back.

While head coach Eric Ramsay’s team has thrived on little possession, sometimes less than 30 percent, Austin let them have 53 percent possession in their eventual 1–1 draw. Minnesota was unable to rely as much on quick breaks and counterattacks and instead had to rely on a set-piece goal from center back Michael Boxall to help them to a point.

Minnesota is the best transition team in MLS, but their attacking crew of Joaquin Pereyra, Will Trapp, Tani Oluwaseyi, Robin Lod and Kelvin Yeboah struggles when they’re given more time on the ball. 

Every week on these MLS Power Rankings, we ask if things can get any better for San Diego FC, and each week, they prove that they can. 

Hirving “Chucky” Lozano scored the late winning goal after a cross from Anders Dreyer on Saturday, with his goal and Luca de la Torre’s helping San Diego to a 2–1 win over the struggling LA Galaxy, who had a point ripped from their hands in the final moments.

San Diego has proven every week that they can compete with any team in the Western Conference, and the partnership of Lozano and Dreyer has no limits after 14 matches. 

The Philadelphia Union looked like they had Inter Miami all sealed up. Leading 2–0 and 3–1 with another brace from MLS Golden Boot leader Tai Baribo, the Union were firing on all cylinders until late. 

The collapse and allowing a Lionel Messi free-kick will sting, but head coach Bradley Carnell’s team continued to prove that they are among the best in MLS. Outside of Baribo’s brace,  it was a strong night for midfielders Danley Jean-Jacques and Quinn Sullivan, who continued to showcase their top form in 2025. 

Vancouver Whitecaps FC didn’t plan on going down 2–0 within the first four minutes, but they stormed back against Real Salt Lake with a brace from Brian White and a winner from Pedro Vite to return to the win column after back-to-back draws. 

Head coach Jesper Sørensen played all his first-choice players outside of the suspended Andres Cubas, so getting a win a week out from its first-ever Concacaf Champions Cup Final was critical, and they did so in inspiring fashion.

White’s brace also brought him to 70 goals in MLS play, and kept him in the MLS Golden Boot conversation. 

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