It’s Tuesday, March 1st - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Russian forces shelled Ukraine's second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 40-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an agreement to keep talking.
The country's embattled president said the stepped-up shelling was aimed at forcing him into concessions. Amid ever-growing international condemnation, Russia found itself increasingly isolated five days into its invasion, while also facing unexpectedly fierce resistance on the ground in Ukraine and economic havoc at home. For the second day in a row, the Kremlin raised the specter of nuclear war, announcing that its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines and long-range bombers had all been put on high alert, following President Vladimir Putin's orders over the weekend.
No. 2 - More supplies were leaving South Florida by air and by sea as support for the war-torn nation of Ukraine continued to grow.
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Another round of supplies was being boxed up and sent out from the Global Empowerment Mission in Doral. The organization, which responds to global disasters, is still seeking supplies to send. Last week, GEM founder Michael Capponi traveled to Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west, to help distribute supplies on the ground. Included in the supplies were generators to help keep emergency shelters running which will provide basic food and personal supplies as millions are expected to flee the violence.
No. 3 - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected the Biden Administration's request to send the state National Guard to the State of the Union address in Washington D.C.
DeSantis tweeted the announcement Monday morning. The Florida National Guard will not be a part of the hundreds of members who were activated as part of a request from the D.C. Emergency Management Agency to provide traffic control and enhanced security in anticipation of the protests surrounding President Joe Biden's speech. You can watch the State of the Union Tuesday night at 9 p.m. right here on NBC 6.
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No. 4 - Two controversial items are steaming through the Florida Legislature, and both bills are expected to become law.
Later this week, Florida state senators are expected to vote on restricting abortions to 15 weeks. Pro-choice advocates have lobbied against the bill in Tallahassee, with some already resigned to the notion that the ban will likely become law. The bill does have exceptions to the ban in order to save a mother’s life, prevent serious injury, or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. There are no exceptions for victims of rape, incest or human trafficking. Another bill moving through the legislature is striking a nerve with many in South Florida’s LGBTQ communities. It's called the Parental Rights in Education bill, but opponents mock it, dubbing it the “don’t say gay bill.” One clause in the bill reads “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3, or in a manner that is not age-appropriate…” Many Republican lawmakers insist that curriculum in early grades not include content about sexual orientation and gender identity.
No. 5 - A family is still coming to grips with an unimaginable tragedy that a father and his two kids accidentally drowned in their backyard pool.
Family members say Jean Wesley Fontus, 41, his 5-year-old daughter Emmie, and 2-year-old son Tyler died Thursday after they were found unresponsive at their Hollywood home. "They had so much life, so much energy," said Chanessa Ware, a family friend. Emmie had an infectious smile, Tyler was playful, and Wes loved to see his kids enjoy life, Ware recalled. Police say they received a frantic 911 call from the mother Thursday after she found her husband and two kids unresponsive in the pool. Click here for the emotional words from friends in a report from NBC 6’s Cristian Benavides.
No. 6 - South Florida bears a history of segregation, where Black and white people were not just separated in their daily lives but also in death.
A chain-link fence separates Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery from the surrounding community of Brownsville. Concrete burial vaults bear the names of prominent Black South Florida pioneers, like Miami’s first Black millionaire and the founder of Miami’s first Black-owned newspaper. Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery is one of a handful of surviving Black cemeteries in South Florida. Black cemeteries are now the focus of a statewide preservation effort. NBC 6 explores how this history — once erased — is being rediscovered in our special series, "Hidden History." Click here for the story from NBC 6 investigator Sasha Jones.
