Good Thursday afternoon. The jury in the Alex Murdaugh trial has begun deliberations, we’re tracking severe weather threats across the South, and Michigan’s attorney general says she was among those targeted in a plot to kill Jewish officials. Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Jury deliberations begin in Alex Murdaugh trial |
Jury deliberations have begun in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial, after both sides completed their closing arguments. In a dramatic turn, before the defense began its closing argument, a juror was removed after the judge said she had engaged in improper conversations outside the courtroom. She was replaced by an alternate. Murdaugh is charged with fatally shooting his wife Maggie and son Paul at their South Carolina estate in June 2021. His defense team told the jury today that law enforcement “failed miserably in investigating this case,” and said that if “they done a competent job,” Murdaugh would have long ago been ruled out as a suspect. “They had decided, ‘Unless we find somebody else, it’s going to be Alex.’” The prosecution, in its closing argument on Wednesday, described Murdaugh as a “family annihilator” who killed his wife and son to distract from his own financial crimes. Murdaugh maintains that he did not kill his wife and son, but admitted on the stand last week that he lied to police about his alibi the night of the murders. |
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Severe weather threat across the South, state of emergency in California |
About 27 million people are on alert across the South today for severe weather, including heavy rains, flash flooding, damaging winds, large hail and thunderstorms. A few “long-lived, intense” tornadoes are possible across the Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas region, the National Weather Service said. Cities in the path of these storms include Dallas, Austin, Shreveport, Little Rock, Memphis and Jackson. On the northern side of the system, 22 million people are under winter alerts from the Great Lakes through New England. By Friday, the New York City area could get up to 2 inches of rain, while areas further upstate could get up to six inches of snow. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in 13 counties impacted by record-breaking winter weather in recent days. Yosemite National Park is closed indefinitely after parts of it received 15 feet of snow, park officials have said. |
Michigan attorney general says she was targeted in plot to kill Jewish officials |
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel was targeted last month by a "heavily armed" man who threatened to kill Jewish state officials, she said today. “It is my sincere hope that the federal authorities take this offense just as seriously as my Hate Crimes & Domestic Terrorism Unit takes plots to murder elected officials,” Nessel tweeted. Federal authorities have charged the suspect, Texas resident Jack Eugene Carpenter III, with making threats through interstate communications. Carpenter tweeted on Feb. 17, “I’m heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is Jewish in the Michigan govt if they don’t leave, or confess,” according to an FBI affidavit. He was ordered held without bail at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Michigan on Wednesday, and is due back in court tomorrow for a detention hearing. |
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Midair scares: Passengers hospitalized after severe turbulence, battery fire on flights |
We’re learning more today about a pair of scary incidents in the sky that left several passengers hospitalized. A Lufthansa flight from Texas to Germany was diverted to a Washington, D.C. area airport after encountering “brief but severe turbulence” about 90 minutes after takeoff on Wednesday, the airline said. Seven passengers were taken to the hospital, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said. And at least 10 passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Dallas to Orlando were taken to the hospital after a battery fire forced the plane to make an emergency landing Wednesday, officials said. Smoke could be seen filling the cabin in photos posted to social media. The battery had ignited in an overhead compartment, but crew members and passengers were able to extinguish it before firefighters arrived, one fire official said. Spirit Airlines said a guest’s personal item had started the fire. The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. |
Blinken and Lavrov hold surprise meeting at G-20 summit |
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, briefly met on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in India today. It was the first meeting between the two top diplomats since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. The two spoke for less than 10 minutes, a senior State Department official said in a background call with reporters. Blinken said to reporters afterward that he told Lavrov Russia must “end this war of aggression” against Ukraine, and also raised the case of Paul Whelan, the American who has been detained in Russia since 2018. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told state-run media that Blinken had asked to make contact with Lavrov, and that they spoke “on the go,” during the G-20, but that there were no negotiations. |
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What else we're watching: |
A Pennsylvania man arrested after explosives were allegedly found in his checked bag at an airport was remanded in custody, after appearing in court today. |
Former President Donald Trump can be sued by police officers over the violence at the Capitol on January 6th, the Justice Department said in a court filing today. The brief doesn’t take a position on whether Trump is liable for causing the riot, but contends he does not have absolute immunity from civil lawsuits seeking to hold him liable for damages stemming from it. |
The House Ethics committee has launched an investigation into Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican who has admitted to lying about his background. |
Police seized a knife, a .40-caliber Glock 22 pistol, and face masks from the family home of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger, court documents have revealed. |
Jalen Carter, the Georgia Bulldogs player, returned to the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine today, hours after he was arrested for reckless driving and racing in connection with a crash that killed a teammate and a Bulldogs team staffer. |
Greece’s transportation minister has resigned, and rail workers have gone on strike, after the head-on train collision that killed at least 46 people on Wednesday. |
Firefighters are battling a massive inferno at a skyscraper under construction in Hong Kong’s busy shopping district. |
A 16-year-old student was fatally stabbed by a 15-year-old classmate in a room full of students at a Northern California high school on Wednesday, authorities said. |
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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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