It’s Wednesday, August 3rd - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A teen was hospitalized Tuesday after he was shot in Fort Lauderdale, police said.
Fort Lauderdale Police responded before 8 p.m. to the 200 block of NW 11th Court, where they found the 17-year-old with a gunshot wound. Paramedics took him to Broward Health Medical Center. His condition was unknown but he is expected to survive. What led up to the shooting is under investigation.
No. 2 - There were tears on the witness stand. There were tears in the jury box. There were tears from families in the courtroom. There were even tears from three defense attorneys.
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But notably, there were no tears shed by the defendant in the Parkland school shooting, Tuesday. Broward circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer called for a couple of mid-afternoon recesses so people could compose themselves. For the second day in a row, jurors heard the horrors that family members have endured after losing loved ones. Alyssa Alhadeff’s parents – Broward School Board member Lori Alhadeff and father, Dr. Ilan Alhadeff – fought through tears with trembling voices to recall the good times with their daughter and the hell they have lived with since her death on Feb. 14, 2018. Jurors also heard from Shara Kaplan, the mother of victim Meadow Pollack, and representatives for the families of student victims Martin Duque and Carmen Schentrup, and teacher Aaron Feis.
No. 3 - Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle is facing praise and criticism for dropping a battery charge against the son of U.S. Representative Carlos Gimenez.
Nearly six months after spending a night in jail, the battery charge against Carlos Gimenez Jr. was dropped. Gimenez Jr. was arrested in February after allegedly slapping Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz De La Portilla at Morton’s Steakhouse in Coral Gables. In the closeout memo obtained by NBC 6, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office said it has a “strong interest in protecting the public ... as such the justice system must be utilized appropriately … the contact made was so de minimums that it does not warrant prosecution."
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No. 4 - Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was suspended Tuesday by the NFL following a six-month investigation into tampering allegations stemming from a lawsuit filed by the team's former coach.
Ross will be suspended through October 17th and cannot be at the team's facilities or represent the team at any event. He was also fined $1.5 million and the team lost its first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and its third round pick in the 2024 Draft. The league found the team had communications with quarterback Tom Brady when we was both a member of the New England Patriots in 2019 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. Miami also communicated with the agent of Sean Payton while he was coach of the New Orleans Saints and did not ask the team for permission. Investigators also looked into allegations from former head coach Brian Flores that Ross offered him financial incentives to lose games during the 2019 season, which would have improved Miami's draft spot. The league did not find Ross to have been serious in making comments regarding any incentives.
No. 5 - Within a three-day period, there were three shootings in southwest Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez says they have stepped up police presence in the area.
On Friday, four teens were shot in broad daylight at the Cutler Manor apartments. This is the same place where Romania Dukes' son was killed by a stray bullet in 2014. Eight years later, De'Michael Dukes' murder remains unsolved. Romania Dukes believes community involvement with law enforcement is key to putting an end to gun violence. It's why she participated in National Night Out on Tuesday in Miami-Dade. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Laura Rodriguez.
No. 6 - Over 150 cats traveled across the United States on Tuesday for the chance of a lifetime: the chance to find a forever home.
The furry felines made the trip from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to shelters in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire in an attempt to move them from overpopulated shelters in South Florida. The trips, part of a combined effort between NBCUniversal's Clear the Shelters campaign and organizations like the Greater Good Charities, will airlift around 200 at-risk animals. A similar event will be conducted at the end of the campaign when 50 dogs are transported from New Orleans to New Jersey on August 30th.
