| By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News |
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| Good Wednesday afternoon. A Supreme Court justice is retiring and setting the stage for a major political battle, Covid deaths are at the highest level in nearly a year, and powerful nor’easter is expected to hammer parts of the East Coast. |
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| Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire |
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| NBC News was the first to report that Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from the Supreme Court after more than 27 years, according to people familiar with his thinking. |
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| The departure of Breyer, one of the court’s three remaining liberal justices, will give President Joe Biden the chance to nominate a successor, though it would likely not change the conservatives’ current 6-3 majority. |
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| Breyer, 83, is the court’s oldest justice, and has faced calls from liberal activists to retire while the Democrats control the White House and the Senate. |
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| Biden reacted to the reports of Breyer’s retirement during an event at the White House, noting the justice has not made an official announcement. |
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| “Let him make whatever statement he’s going to make, and I’ll be happy to talk about it later,” Biden told reporters. |
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| Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire at end of current term |
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U.S. Covid deaths at highest level since last February |
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| Covid deaths in the U.S. have reached their highest level in nearly a year, and have now surpassed the Delta variant surge earlier in the fall. |
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| The nation is now averaging 2,166 Covid deaths a day, a 21-percent increase since last week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at today’s White House Covid task force briefing. |
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| But there are other signs that the Omicron variant, which accounts for nearly all new cases in the U.S., is peaking nationally. |
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| Average daily cases have fallen 6 percent to 692,400, and hospitalizations are down 8 percent to 19,800 a day, Walensky said. |
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| Walensksy cited a CDC report released on Tuesday as further evidence that Omicron is less severe, but the speed of the transmission has led to hospitals becoming overrun with mostly unvaccinated patients. |
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| Dr. Anthony Fauci, when asked whether Omicron would be the last disruptive surge for the U.S., acknowledged that “we don’t know.” |
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| Fauci said that while eradicating Covid is unlikely, the U.S. needs to get to a “level of control that does not disrupt society.” |
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U.S. responds to Russia’s demands over Ukraine crisis |
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| The U.S. has given a written response to Russia’s security demands amid concerns Moscow will soon launch an invasion into Ukraine. |
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| Russia wants a permanent ban on Ukraine joining NATO, and wants the alliance to roll back troops from Eastern Europe. |
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| Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. made no concessions to Russia over those top demands. “There is no change, there will be no change,” Blinken said today. |
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| The Pentagon has placed 8,500 troops on “heightened alert” for a potential Russia invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, President Biden said he could decide whether to deploy those troops in the “near term.” |
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| How Russia's military positions could be deliberately confusing Ukrainian troops |
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Powerful nor’easter takes aim at parts of East Coast |
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| We’re tracking a winter storm system that’s expected to strengthen into a powerful nor’easter and slam the Northeast this weekend. |
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| Significant snowfall is likely across parts of the Northeast and New England, with New York City expected to get anywhere from 2 to 20 inches. |
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| Coastal flooding, potential hurricane force winds and power outages are likely. |
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| Ahead of the storm, much of the country is in a deep freeze. This morning, 226 million people woke up to below freezing temperatures, from the Canadian border down to the Gulf Coast. |
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What else we’re watching: |
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- The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged today, but said a hike is coming “soon," as it seeks to tame inflation.
- A chemical plant explosion sent a mushroom cloud into the sky over southwest Louisiana, injuring at least six people, and prompting a shelter-in-place order.
- 1 person is dead, 38 are missing after a boat capsized off the Florida Coast, in a suspected human smuggling incident.
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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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