Good Wednesday afternoon. Joe Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to debate each other, Slovakia’s prime minister is in life-threatening condition after he was shot multiple times, and a barge slammed into a bridge in Galveston, Texas, causing a partial collapse. Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Biden and Trump agree to debate in June and September |
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will meet for two presidential debates in June and September, the candidates confirmed today. The first debate will happen June 27 at 9 p.m. ET in the battleground state of Georgia, at a TV studio without a live audience present, according to organizers. The two candidates will meet again for another prime time debate on September 10. After months of uncertainty, the plans came together today when Biden challenged Trump to the two debates, and the former president said he was “ready and willing” to accept. The structure breaks away from the tradition of three fall events organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. |
Slovakia’s prime minister in life-threatening condition after shooting |
Slovakia’s pro-Russia prime minister Robert Fico is in “life-threatening” condition after he was shot multiples times in an assassination attempt, according to his government. The shooting happened as Fico was greeting members of the public after a government meeting in the town of Handlova, about 110 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava, according to Slovak news agency TASR. Video captured the chaotic moments that followed, as aides pushed the wounded prime minister into a car, and another individual was being restrained on the ground. Fico was transported to the hospital by helicopter, and the “next few hours” will be decisive, according to a statement on social media. |
Barge hits bridge in Galveston, causing partial collapse |
A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, today, causing an oil spill and a partial collapse that has shut down the only road to a small island, city officials said. Pelican Island is inaccessible to car traffic, after the barge rammed into the bridge this morning and appeared to cause significant damage. Images show a collapsed rail line that runs along the bridge, and a large piece of the bridge resting on top of the barge. The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to the oil spill, and will initiate the containment and cleanup processes, according to officials. |
Opening statements in Senator Bob Menendez corruption trial |
Opening statements are underway this afternoon in the corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez, after a jury of 12 members and six alternates was seated earlier in the day. The New Jersey Democrat has pleaded not guilty to charges that he sold his influence to three businessmen and providing favors to the governments of Egypt and Qatar, in exchange for gifts, wads of cash, and gold bars. The senator’s wife, Nadine Menendez, has also been charged in the case, but will be tried separately after her lawyers said she had a “serious medical condition.” |
Netanyahu on Rafah: “We have to do what we have to do” |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged tensions with the U.S. today over the looming ground offensive into Rafah, but maintained the operation is necessary to ensure the nation’s survival. “Yes, we do have a disagreement on Gaza. Rather, on Rafah. But we have to do what we have to do,” Netanyahu said in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen. Netanyahu said that while he hopes “we can see eye to eye” with the U.S., “ultimately we do what we have to do, to protect the life of our nation." The prime minister indicated the operation in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken shelter, would last “a matter of weeks, not months, not years.” |
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What else we're watching: |
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A massive manhunt is underway in France for Mohamed Amra, the inmate known as “The Fly,” who escaped Tuesday in a brazen ambush on a police van that left two officers dead. |
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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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