NBC News:: The Nightly News - with Lester Holt

To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts | View in browser

By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News

Good Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Anthony Fauci will join us for a one-on-one interview tonight, and a still-infected President Trump says he will attend next week’s debate after his maskless White House photo-op on Monday.

Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown.

Trump “looking forward” to debate even as he battles Covid-19

President Trump announced he plans to attend the second debate next week against Joe Biden, as he continues to downplay the threat of the virus he is currently battling.

“I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great!” Trump tweeted today.

But after days of contradictions from the White House and the president’s own doctors about the severity of Trump’s illness, it’s unclear whether he’ll be in any condition to face off against Biden nine days from now — and what safety precautions will be taken if the event moves forward.

Per CDC guidance, Trump could still be considered contagious 10-20 days from the onset of symptoms, well past the date of the next debate.

And given the White House’s murky timeline, it’s possible Trump was contagious a week ago at the first debate as well.

Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician, said in a memo today that Trump reports “no symptoms” and his vital signs “remain stable.”

Biden, during last night’s NBC News Town Hall discussion moderated by Lester Holt, suggested the president became infected through his own carelessness.

“Look, anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying, ‘masks don’t matter, social distancing doesn’t matter’ — I think is responsible for what happens to them,” Biden said

You can see the full town hall here.

Biden criticizes Trump for removing mask when he arrived at the White House

Facebook removes, Twitter flags Trump’s false claims

Trump is continuing to undergo treatment at the White House, but with four weeks until the election, he is portraying himself as having already beaten Covid-19, and suggesting the American people just learn to live with it.

He also misleadingly compared Covid-19 to season flu, in a post on social media.

“Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” he wrote.

Facebook removed the post for violating its policies on promoting “incorrect information about the severity of COVID-19.” Twitter also flagged the tweet, and hid it behind a warning notice.

Covid-19 has killed more than 211,000 people in the U.S. this year. That’s higher than CDC estimates of flu deaths for the last five years combined.

Trump’s maskless photo-op

Trump is back at the White House today after spending about 72 hours at Walter Reed Medical Center.

The still-infectious president was flown back on Monday to the White House, where he staged a photo-op, climbing the steps of the South Portico, and removing his mask.

A maskless Trump entered the White House, where aides were seen inside. He then taped a message with a crew on the balcony, in which he encouraged Americans not to be afraid of the disease that has killed more than a million people worldwide.

“One thing that’s for certain, don’t let it dominate you, don’t be afraid of it. You’re going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, all developed recently,” he said.

Trump has received a level of care unavailable to practically every other American.

In addition to the top-notch resources at Walter Reed, Trump was given two experimental drugs yet to be approved by the FDA — remdesivir, and Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, which few people outside of clinical trials have received.

Despite the president all but claiming victory over the coronavirus, he has not yet passed the dangerous seven to 10 day period of the infection when many patients have taken a turn for the worse.

Trump removes mask after returning to White House from Walter Reed

Unanswered questions:

When did Trump last test negative? The White House and Dr. Conley have repeatedly refused to say. It’s important to know this information, because it could give some idea of when he was infected, and how many people he may have exposed.
What do his lung scans show? Another critical piece of information that Conley has refused to give to the public, citing HIPPA rules. Is there any evidence of pneumonia that could lead to long-term breathing problems?
How far did his oxygen level drop? Conley has also been evasive on this point. Yesterday, he acknowledged Trump had received supplemental oxygen twice, but he hasn’t give a clear answer on how low his levels were.
How many people are infected in the White House? Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, before testing positive herself on Monday, refused to give a number, citing “privacy concerns.”
Why is there no contact tracing for the Sept. 26 White House event? The New York Times first reported that White House is not tracing the contacts of those who attended Trump’s event for his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, after several attendees tested positive.

Top Pentagon leaders under quarantine

Seven of the eight members of the Pentagon’s top brass are under quarantine, after the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard tested positive for Covid-19, according to three defense officials.

That includes the Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, and the leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force

The only member of the Joint Chiefs who is not in quarantine, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Gary Thomas, was traveling last week and missed a meeting the others attended.

All the chiefs have tested negative, but are quarantining out of precaution, the AP reported, citing two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not yet made public.

White House outbreak grows

White House assistant press secretary Jalen Drummond tested positive for the virus this morning, a source familiar with the matter tells NBC News.

Drummond is the third White House press staffer, in addition to McEnany, to test positive.

A military valet who comes into contact with the president also tested positive over the weekend, a person familiar with the matter tells NBC News.

That brings the number of people connected to the White House or Trump campaign who have now tested positive to at least 16:

President Donald Trump
First Lady Melania Trump
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany
Principal Assistant Press Secretary Chad Gilmartin
Assistant Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
Assistant Press Secretary Jalen Drummond
Adviser Hope Hicks
Kellyanne Conway
Chris Christie
Campaign Manager Bill Stepien
Nick Luna, Trump’s personal attendant
Military valet
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
Sen. Mike Lee
Sen. Thom Tillis
Sen. Ron Johnson

Hurricane Delta strengthens to Category 4

Hurricane Delta has rapidly intensified into a Category 4 storm, on a potential collision course with the U.S. Gulf Coast later this week.

In just 24 hours, Delta strengthened by 85 mph to a top speed of 130 mph, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Delta is forecast to remain an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane when it reaches Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula tonight or early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday as a potentially major hurricane.

The NHC says Delta will likely bring heavy rainfall, and flash and urban flooding to parts of the central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley, and southeastern United States.

What else we’re watching:

In a tweetstorm this afternoon, President Trump said he had instructed his representatives to stop negotiations with House Democrats for another coronavirus relief bill, until after the election.
A white police office in Texas has been charged with murder for fatally shooting Jonathan Price, an unarmed Black man. Price’s family says he was trying to break up a fight between a man and a woman at a gas station.
The British ISIS terrorists known as the “Beatles” will likely be brought to the U.S. in the coming days.
A New York man faces charges after he allegedly shoved an 80-year-old man who later died, in a mask dispute.
Petco has announced it will stop selling electronic shock collars.
Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhones on Oct. 13
An American astrophysicist is among the three winners of the Nobel Prize for physics.

Andrea Ghez wins Nobel prize for Physics for black hole studies

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.

This email was sent to: newsletter@newslettercollector.com. This is an automated email. Do not reply directly.