It’s Tuesday, October 20th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Miami-Dade County will once again be able to enforce its original midnight curfew until its appeal against a recent injunction on the emergency orders is decided, county mayor Carlos Gimenez announced.
According to the mayor, an appellate court allowed the county to enforce its curfew until a decision on the matter is made. The county's current court battle stems from a lawsuit from the adult entertainment company Tootsie's. The local strip club sued the county over its 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, arguing it prevented its workers from making a living. Late on Friday night, a county judge sided with Tootsie's and its employees, filing a temporary injunction against Miami-Dade's countywide curfew.
No. 2 - Rain or shine, nothing seemed to stop South Florida voters from participating in the state's first day of early voting Monday.
In Miami-Dade, a record-setting 43,396 votes were casted. At the county's elections department, voters waited in the pouring rain and darkness until the doors opened at 7 a.m. Across town, at the Lemon City Branch Library, voters put up their umbrellas to stay dry as they waited. A few miles north, in Broward, the scene was quite similar. Lines of voters snaked around around polling places from Lauderhill to Hollywood with 28,113 votes casted during day one. Under state law, counties can offer up to two weeks of early voting and many do, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and other population centers.
No. 3 - Now that in-person voting has started, Miami Police say all voters should be able to cast their votes free of intimidation at polling places.
Police Chief Jorge Colina is worried about any attempts to suppress votes by scaring voters away from the polls, and so is Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said on Friday that the supervisor of elections in his county has asked all police agencies to be on alert to break up intimidation attempts at voting locations. To hear why leaders say the fear of militias is not serious for South Florida, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Ari Odzer.
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No. 4 - President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will have their microphones cut off in Thursday’s debate while their rival delivers their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics.
The 90-minute debate is divided into six 15-minute segments, with each candidate granted two minutes to deliver uninterrupted remarks before proceeding to an open debate. The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button, but interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time in the second and final debate Thursday. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced the rule changes Monday, three weeks after a chaotic opening faceoff between the two presidential contenders that featured frequent interruptions — most by Trump.
No. 5 - As people get back to work and hit the roads, Miami traffic is slowly returning to pre-covid speeds. That also means folks are returning to the public transit system too.
Plans to redesign Miami’s bus network was put on hold because of the pandemic, but finally it will be on the county commission agenda for approval this week. In Miami-Dade, 36 percent of transit commuters are essential workers. Some of them experience delays as long as 30 to 60 minutes. Transit Alliance Miami - an advocacy group - says people need the transit system more than ever as they are trying to get back work. However, after a recent survey they conducted, they say people are experiencing different issues. To hear what changes will be coming, click here for the story from NBC 6 anchor Kristin Sanchez.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida will feel soggy Tuesday with shower and storm chances increasing throughout the day and much of the work week. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.