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By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News

Good Friday afternoon. Half of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated against Covid with boosters shots on the way, California’s Dixie fire is now the third-largest in state history, and meltdown for Spirit Airlines has stretched into Day 6.

Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown.

50 percent of U.S. fully vaccinated, White House says

The U.S. has reached a significant milestone in the fight against Covid, with 50 percent of the U.S. population now fully vaccinated, the White House said.

More than 821,000 doses were administered in the last 24 hours, including 565,000 newly vaccinated, the White House said.

The seven-day average of newly vaccinated is up 11 percent from last week, and up 44 percent over past 2 weeks, amid the rising threat of the Delta variant.

The Biden administration is examining new ways to encourage vaccinations, and among the ideas is potentially withholding federal funds to pressure institutions, from colleges to nursing homes, to require employees get the shot, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.

The federal government could also authorize booster shots for Americans with weakened immune systems within days or weeks, to protect them from the Delta variant, The Washington Post reported.

On Thursday, the president of Moderna told our Miguel Almaguer that a third dose of its vaccine could be needed before winter.

More Covid headlines:

United Airlines is now the first major U.S. carrier to mandate vaccinations for all its 67,000 U.S. employees.
The U.S. economy beat expectations by adding 943,000 jobs in July, the biggest monthly gain since August 2020.
Florida’s Board of Education approved vouchers for parents who want to move their kids out of public schools that may require masks. Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued an executive order banning schools from making masks mandatory, but a few districts have chosen to defy it.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally returned today in South Dakota. Last year, the event was linked to at least 649 cases.
Italians must now show a “green pass" to eat indoors, and enter gyms, movie theaters, entertainment venues, museums and more.
An Arkansas judge has temporarily blocked a law preventing schools and other government agencies from requiring masks.
Dollar General stores in Michigan will begin hosting vaccination clinics.

The Dixie fire burning in Northern California has exploded to more than 432,000 acres, making it the third-largest fire in the state’s history.

The monster inferno has grown by 100,000 acres, or roughly 156 square miles, since Thursday morning. It’s 35 percent contained.

The Dixie fire has burned through the small town of Canyondam, after destroying the small mountain community of Greenville on Wednesday.

Four people remain unaccounted for after the fire surged this week, authorities said.

The troubles keep growing for embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

A former executive assistant has filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo, after previously alleging he reached under her blouse and groped her at the governor’s mansion in November 2020.

The woman filed the complaint Thursday with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, a spokesperson told NBC News.

She’s identified as “Executive Assistant #1” — one of 11 women who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in the scathing report released this week by state Attorney General Letitia James.

Cuomo has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing. When asked for comment on the new criminal complaint, his spokesman referred to a document the governor’s office released in his defense, which called the assistant’s account “inconceivable.”

Team USA’s Allyson Felix won bronze in the 400-meter final, putting her in the record books as the most decorated female Olympian in track and field.

Felix has now won 10 medals in her appearances at five Olympic Games. She first competed in Athens in 2004.

The 35-year-old superstar made the podium in Tokyo more than two years after surviving a life-threatening pregnancy and childbirth.

If she competes in Saturday’s 4x400-meter relay as expected, Felix could earn her 11th medal, surpassing Carl Lewis as the most decorated American Olympian in track and field.

More Olympic highlights:

Team USA is going for gold in men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, women’s volleyball, and women’s water polo.
American wrestler Gable Steveson won gold in the men's freestyle super heavyweight final.
U.S. beach volleyball’s “A-Team” — April Ross and Alix Klineman — beat Australia to win gold.
The Canadian women’s soccer team won its first gold medal, defeating Sweden 3-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.
Simone Biles received a hero’s welcome upon returning home to Houston.

What else we’re watching:

Spirit Airlines canceled more than 300 flights, or around 40 percent of its schedule, on the sixth day of disruptions. Thousands have fled out-of-control wildfires in Greece and Turkey, amid a scorching heat wave.

The Taliban killed the head of the Afghanistan government’s media department in Kabul, and have now overrun the capital of Nimroz province. Apple plans to scan some users’ iPhones for images of child sexual abuse.

Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app.

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