It’s Monday, February 21st - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is taking over the investigation at the scene of a home where one man was shot by a police officer after a domestic violence call turned into a barricade situation Sunday.
The incident occurred in the 6900 block of Northwest 1st Street around 7 a.m. Police said when they arrived at the scene they could hear screaming inside the home and a baby crying. Police attempted to make contact with the people inside but could not, according to a statement by the FDLE. Family members arrived at the scene and phone contact was made with a female who said she was being held captive by her husband and hiding inside a closet. The first officer to enter the room discharged his weapon several times, hitting the suspect, after seeing the woman in danger, the statement said.
No. 2 - A helicopter crashed into the ocean just off Miami Beach Saturday near one of the city's most popular tourist destinations.
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Video shows the helicopter crashing into the water near swimmers and numerous people on the beach. The Robinson R44 helicopter came down in the water near 10th Street and Ocean Drive at about 1 p.m. Two passengers sustained trauma injuries and were taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital with broken backs. The pilot was not seriously injured. According to Miami Beach Fire Rescue Chief Linares, all three survivors are in stable condition and they called the incident a "control crash."
No. 3 - Deputies responded to a 911 call on Thursday advising that a man and woman were unresponsive inside their residence after an apparent murder-suicide.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on Sunday identified the couple as 87-year-old Sondra Wiener of Boynton Beach and her 90-year-old husband, Marvin. Weiner is the sister of Bernie Madoff, who died in prison last year at age 82 and is known for having run the largest investment fraud in U.S. history — a Ponzi scheme that robbed people of as much as $65 billion. He was sentenced to 150 years after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud and other charges. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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No. 4 - Russia on Sunday rescinded earlier pledges to pull tens of thousands of its troops back from Ukraine's northern border, a move that U.S. leaders said put Russia another step closer to what they said was the planned invasion of Ukraine. Residents of Ukraine's capital filled a gold-domed cathedral to pray for peace.
The U.S. has also informed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about credible intelligence it gathered suggesting Russia has plans to kill and arrest Ukrainians after an invasion, including specific lists of targets, according to NBC News. This was first reported by the Washington Post. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration has been clear that “we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are set to meet on Thursday in Europe — as long as Russia does not send its troops into Ukraine beforehand.
No. 5 - Florida's weekly COVID-19 case count has fallen by more than half, according to the state department of health's latest data.
The Florida Department of Health reported 42,473 cases for the week of Feb. 11-17. That's down from 102,990 cases for the week beginning on Feb. 4. The state added 5,325 cases for Thursday, according to new figures released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Florida has had 5,775,171 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. The state's new case positivity fell from 14.3% to 8.2% in a week, according to the DOH. The positivity rate was over 29% at the beginning of 2022.
No. 6 - As the Olympic Flame extinguished at the 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, it marked the conclusion of another Olympic competition.
Athletes said goodbye to the Beijing Games Sunday morning as the closing ceremony ended with a grand finale of song and spectacle. First was a nod to the two-time host city Beijing. The Olympic rings from the 2008 Summer Olympics were emblazed on the National Stadium. As the rings rose up, the "snowflake" cauldron of the 2022 Winter Olympics lowered, giving praise to the past Olympics held in the city while the children's choir performed "You and Me." With the firework display subsiding, the crowd exploded with cheers, putting a final exclamation point on the 2022 Winter Olympics.
