It’s Tuesday, August 9th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - The recent rash of violence in southwest Miami-Dade led community leaders and elected officials to gather Monday night for a community town hall.
There have been five shooting investigations in just the last two weeks in southwest Miami-Dade. The most recent shooting happened early Monday morning, sending a 16-year-old to the hospital in critical condition. Local activist Tangela Sears was already planning on participating in the town hall before she found out that the teen injured in the most recent shooting was her cousin. Elected officials from across southwest Dade and the county showed up to participate or show support, including Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
No. 2 - Former President Donald Trump said in a lengthy statement Monday that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
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The circumstances were not immediately clear. Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson said the agency had no comment when asked whether Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized the search, but a Secret Service official told NBC News they were notified of the FBI's intent to search the property earlier Monday. The search, two people familiar with the investigation told The New York Times, appeared to be focused on material Trump brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, after leaving the White House. Supporters of Trump gathered near Mar-a-Lago Monday in the wake of the news.
No. 3 - A controversial plan to house the homeless on Virginia Key is on hold for at least six months, according to its proponents in the City of Miami government. This comes after pushback from communities in South Florida.
According to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city Commissioner Joe Carollo, the largest pushback came from the county government. The two said Monday the plan was on hold while they negotiate with the county, search for other options, and overall, study the plan further. The plan for 50 to 100 tiny homes to house homeless people on the small key in Biscayne Bay between the city of Miami and Key Biscayne would use federal dollars for most of the heavy lifting. They lay the blame on the county government.
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No. 4 - Money from the sale of a South Florida beachfront property where a collapsed condominium tower once stood will be used to pay property taxes of the destroyed units, a judge ordered Monday.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said in a brief ruling that the 2022 tax payments should not be deducted from the $96 million previously earmarked to compensate owners of the 136 units of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. The building collapsed June 24, 2021, killing 98 people. Hanzman said the taxes should not be paid by the owners. Instead, the taxes — a little under $800,000 combined, county officials say — should be paid from excess funds available from the $120 million sale of the land formerly occupied by the 12-story building.
No. 5 - When Russia invaded Ukraine and started its campaign of bombing civilian areas, Valleria Olkhovska and her husband had to make a decision: keep the family together or send their two boys, ages seven and 10, to Florida to live with their grandparents.
“Yes, it was very hard decision to leave Ukraine, because it’s our home,” Olkhovska said with difficulty in English. “It was hard but it’s my responsibility like mother, because now in Ukraine, it’s dangerous, not only dangerous, it’s very stressful for all of us, for parents, for kids.” Olkhovska came to South Florida a month ago. Her sons have been in Sunny Isles Beach since the war started, going to public school in Miami-Dade County, and she is thrilled that they will be starting the new school year where they don’t have air raid sirens going off every day. Olkhovska told NBC 6 that the Russians have deliberately destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian schools, and she thinks when the new school year starts there, the Russians will threaten schools again. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Ari Odzer.
No. 6 - Beachgoers have been reporting mounds of seaweed washing up on the shores of South Florida and scientists say record amounts are choking the coasts of the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
“I’ve never seen it like this. Never,” said Gigi Rodriguez, a beachgoer trying to avoid the soggy situation on Dania Beach. Besides being a stinky and itchy nuisance, experts say we’re seeing more Sargassum seaweed than usual across the entire Atlantic. According to a recent report from the lab, over 24 million tons of Sargassum were found across the Atlantic in June, compared to 18.8 million tons in May. The numbers for July are starting to level off for now. Seasonal seaweed is nothing new as it’s been creeping up since 2011, but experts have been looking into the cause. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Amanda Plasencia.
