It’s Wednesday, March 2nd - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Ukraine’s leader decried Russia's escalation of attacks on crowded cities as a blatant terror campaign, while U.S. President Joe Biden warned that if the Russian leader didn't “pay a price” for the invasion, the aggression wouldn’t stop with one country.
“Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed after Tuesday's bloodshed on the central square in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, and the deadly bombing of a TV tower in the capital. He called the attack on the square “frank, undisguised terror” and a war crime. The invading forces also pressed their assault on other towns and cities, including the strategic ports of Odesa and Mariupol in the south. As fighting raged, the humanitarian situation worsened. Roughly 660,000 people have fled Ukraine, and countless others have taken shelter underground.
No. 2 - The war in Ukraine doesn’t feel distant for anyone who has a personal connection to Ukraine. Add 16-year-old Ryan Cotzen to that list.
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For nearly a year, he’s been teaching English to Alex, a 15-year-old boy in Bakhmut, a town in the eastern part of the country. Ryan signed up to tutor through a group called ENGin. He and Alex discuss all kinds of things, learning about each other’s culture, but these days, the conversations are dominated by the fact that one of them is experiencing the terror of war firsthand. Alex said life with his family was totally normal until war came to his country, to his city, to his front door. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Ari Odzer.
No. 3 - Addressing a concerned nation and anxious world, President Joe Biden vowed in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night to check Russian aggression in Ukraine, tame soaring U.S. inflation and deal with the fading but still dangerous coronavirus.
Biden declared that he and all members of Congress, whatever their political differences, are joined “with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” He asked lawmakers crowding the House chamber to stand and salute the Ukrainians as he began his speech. They stood and cheered. It was a notable show of unity after a long year of bitter acrimony between Biden’s Democratic coalition and the Republican opposition. Biden’s 62-minute speech, which was split between attention to war abroad and worries at home — reflected the same balancing act he now faces in his presidency.
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No. 4 - Miami Police are investigating an incident that left woman fearing she wouldn’t make it back on dry land after she was harassed by personal watercraft riders near Miami Marine Stadium.
The incident was captured in a video clip obtained by Only in Dade that showed rowing instructor Yamel Ortiz getting drenched by the riders who came up at high speeds, splashing water on her multiple times Monday evening. Ortiz said Tuesday that there were frightening moments as her boat began filling with water. Ortiz said it's been an emotional time for her, her husband, and family. She had been out teaching youngsters at the Miami Rowing Club when the riders were racing by them. Click here to see the video in a report from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard.
No. 5 - The impact of those policies can still be seen decades later where and how people live.
Nadege Green grew up in Little Haiti and graduated from Miami Northwestern Senior High School. NBC 6 met her down the street from the school, outside the first public housing project in Miami: Liberty Square. She showed NBC 6 what’s left of a race wall. Years ago, it was much taller and divided a Black neighborhood from a white neighborhood along NW 12th street in the Liberty City neighborhood. Government policy shaped the Miami of today. Click here to see how in a report from NBC 6 investigator Phil Prazan.
No. 6 - It appears, for the moment, that the party will go on past 2 a.m. for visitors in South Beach businesses during the upcoming spring break weeks.
A ban to move the last call on alcohol sales from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. was struck down by Judge Beatrice Butchko on Tuesday, the Miami Herald first reported. Last month, Miami Beach commissioners had passed a new ordinance that would force businesses south of 16th Street, including West Avenue and Alton Road, to close at 2 a.m. from March 7-21. An Ocean Drive hotel went to court to fight the measure. A city spokesperson said they plan to appeal Butchko's decision. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said he was "obviously disappointed" in the ruling.
