It’s Thursday, January 9th – and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day.
No. 1 – Weatherwise, a much milder morning in South Florida with gusty winds sticking around and the temperatures pick up heading into the weekend. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
No. 2 - Families in Puerto Rico's coastal towns spent the night in cots, cars and other makeshift beds away from their damaged homes as the possibility of another strong earthquake forced some to sleep outdoors.
First responders from South Florida have responded as a task force with the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team was deploying at the request of the Puerto Rican government.
No. 3 - One man is behind bars after a bizarre back and forth inside a popular South Florida restaurant led to a victim becoming a shooting suspect, police said.
According to North Miami Police officials, 21-year-old Tamario Rolle was minding his own business and eating his food inside The Licking when 24-year-old Henry Poumier-Cristo stood up and began striking him Tuesday night. Surveillance video showed that Rolle said nothing to Poumier-Cristo but after being hit and leaving the area, Rolle returned with a firearm and shot Poumier-Cristo outside the restaurant.
No. 4 - The U.S. and Iran stepped back from the brink of possible war Wednesday, as President Donald Trump indicated he would not respond militarily after no one was harmed in Iran's missile strikes on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.
Local
Speaking from the White House, Trump seemed intent on deescalating the crisis, which reached a new height after he authorized the targeted killing last week of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
No. 5 - A middle school teacher in Central Florida found himself behind bars after video showed him grabbing and shoving a student inside a classroom.
47-year-old Jeffrey Paffumi was arrested on Wednesday and charged with one count of battery. Cell phone video showed Paffumi grabbing the teen and lifting him out of his chair before carrying him out of the classroom and shoving him into the hallway.
No. 6 - A stop of a woman for driving with an illegal window tint ended with Florida Highway Patrol troopers discovering $1.2 million worth of cocaine hidden in her car, officials said.
Florida Highway Patrol officials said troopers spotted a red Dodge Journey with illegal window tint. Troopers stopped the car, driven by 27-year-old Elizabeth Espinoza, and noticed she became nervous so they brought in a K-9 to search the car, officials said. The search turned up 12 kilos of cocaine that had been hidden in the dashboard and other areas in the rear of the car, officials said.
