Evening Briefing: March 2, 2022
Good evening, Tampa Bay. We’re wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.
Your Weather Planner
Our warming trend continues into Thursday as our temperatures inch higher. Overall, it will be a gorgeous day for any outdoor plans.
You may need a sweatshirt early in the morning though. Temperatures could dip into the 40s north of Tampa. Despite the cool start, temperatures will climb into the low 80s during the afternoon.
If you’re heading to the beach, a sea breeze will keep temperatures down a bit compared to inland spots.
Be sure to bring your sunglasses! There will be plenty of sun, but clouds will give you some shade from time to time.
Highs: Low 80s Lows: 50s Rain Coverage: 0% |
Check your hour-by-hour forecast here | Share your weather photos
Today’s Big Stories
1. Live Updates: Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues; U.K. PM says Putin’s actions qualify as ‘war crimes’
Overall death tolls in the conflict are unclear, but a senior Western intelligence official estimated on Tuesday that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or captured so far.
2. PHOTOS: Project DYNAMO helps people escape Ukraine
Tampa-based nonprofit Project DYNAMO says it’s helped evacuate three more buses of people out of Ukraine and into Romania. So far, Project DYNAMO has rescued more than 60 people—and now—one dog and one cat.
3. Health officials lay out new ‘roadmap’ for U.S. to combat COVID-19 pandemic, including ‘test to treat’ initiative
Known as the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, the new plan aims to “help America move forward safely” and lay out a roadmap to combat the virus in a way that “does not disrupt our daily lives and is something we prevent, protect against and treat.”
4. Hillsborough County to open two new schools, plus technical college
Hillsborough County Schools announced they will open two new high schools and a technical college to train students who want to enter the medical and construction fields.
5. Search for USF president down to two candidates
Interim President Rhea Law and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley are the finalists after the search started with 18 applicants.
6. Voting rights, student loans and more: Some are upset Biden didn’t focus on these topics during State of the Union
There were some topics President Joe Biden glossed over or didn’t address at all during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, drawing criticism from members of both parties.
7. Tampa Bay Times: Can Tampa Bay keep growing without losing its soul?
Tampa saw a 29.4% jump in home prices, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index. It was the second-highest yearly gains out of the 20 largest cities in the country last year. Phoenix was the only city to see a sharper spike.
8. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson meets lawmakers on Capitol Hill
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is meeting with congressional leaders, taking her first steps toward confirmation as senators and the White House push for a swift timeline.
Your Notes for Tonight and Tomorrow
- ‘TO THE POINT ALREADY’ PODCAST: Romance Scams: The risk of finding love
- LOCAL ELECTIONS: Elections are coming up quickly. Here is your voter guide
- THEME PARKS: ’Star Wars’ actor Oscar Isaac tours Galactic Starcruiser and Epcot Flower and Garden Festival begins at Disney World
- FEEL THE THUNDER: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow at 7 p.m.
- SKYWAY 10K: What you need to know
- NATIONAL NOTES:
- Report: companies in the US added a better-than-expected 475K jobs in February
- Neil Diamond just sold his entire song catalog to Universal
- Rocker Dee Snider allows Ukrainians to use his smash hit, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” as a battle cry
- Electronic Arts will remove Russia from FIFA and NHL games
- Epic Games is buying Bandcamp
- TikTok is increasing video time limits to 10 minutes
- Fitbit recalls nearly one million Ionic smartwatches due to burn hazard
In Case You Missed It
Local Ukrainians pray for peaceThey may not be able to fight for their home country, but these Ukrainians at the Epiphany of Our lord Ukrainian Catholic Church can certainly pray for them. Some feel they need to do so much more
