By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News |
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Good Thursday afternoon. The Trump Organization and a top executive have been criminally charged, safety concerns have halted the Florida condo collapse search, and Prince William and Prince Harry reunited today in honor of their late mother. |
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Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Trump Organization charged with fraud and tax crimes |
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After a two-year investigation, prosecutors unsealed an indictment against the Trump Organization, and a top company executive, this afternoon in Manhattan Criminal Court. |
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The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office alleges in the indictment that former President Donald Trump’s business ran a 15-year-long tax scheme. |
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Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, is accused of avoiding taxes on $1.7 million in income, and was charged with Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree. |
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Weisselberg, who was led into court in handcuffs after surrendering to the D.A.’s office, pleaded not guilty. The Trump Organization also pleaded not guilty. |
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In the indictment, prosecutors described a years-long scheme to compensate Weisselberg and other executives off the books with fringe benefits, to avoid taxes. |
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Ron Fischetti, an attorney for the Trump Organization, said in a statement, “The District Attorney is supposed to be apolitical, but everyone knows that the only reason they are proceeding with this case is because it is ‘Trump’. As far as we are concerned, this case is over.” |
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A Trump Organization spokesperson said in a statement that Weisselberg is being used as “a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President.” |
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No charges were announced against Trump himself. |
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Search halted at collapse site over safety concerns |
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The search and rescue effort has been paused at the site of the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, over concerns the other half of the building could fall. |
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Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said operations were halted over “concerns about the standing structure.” |
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Families of the missing have been informed, and the “search and rescue operation will continue as soon as it is safe to do so,” Levine Cava said. |
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It’s now been more than a week since the building near Miami partially collapsed in the middle of the night. |
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The death toll rose to 18 when the bodies of two children, ages 4 and 10, were found on Wednesday. The number of people unaccounted for stands at 145, officials said. |
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President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Surfside today to visit with first responders and the families of victims.Officials are concerned Tropical Storm Elsa, which formed today in the Atlantic, could also impact the search effort in the coming days.A TikTok video posted just minutes before the collapse last week appears to show water leaking from the building’s base. |
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CDC: U.S. cases rise 10 percent has Delta variant spreads |
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Covid cases have risen 10 percent nationwide in the last week, and the “hyper transmissible” Delta variant now accounts for one in four of those new cases, the CDC said today. |
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The U.S. reported 14,875 new cases on Wednesday, with a seven-day daily average of more than 12,600 cases, a 10 percent jump from last week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at today’s White House Covid task force briefing. |
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California, the state hardest hit by Covid deaths, has seen a 17 percent increase in new cases over the last 14 days. |
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The Delta variant is predicted to be the second-most prevalent variant in the U.S., and Walensky said she expects it to eclipse the Alpha variant, first discovered in the U.K., in the “coming weeks.” |
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An estimated 25 percent of all new cases nationwide are caused by the Delta variant, and in some regions of the country, it accounts for nearly half of new cases, according to Walensky. |
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Walensky said the CDC is seeing “surges in cases" in some communities, that could be the result of the Delta variant and low vaccination rates. |
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Approximately 1,000 counties across the country have vaccination coverage of less than 30 percent, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest. |
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“As the Delta variant continues to spread across the country, we expect to see increased transmission in these communities unless we can vaccinate more people now,” Walensky said. |
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Preliminary data from a collection of states over the last six months suggests 99.5 percent of deaths from Covid have occurred in unvaccinated people, according to Walensky. |
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“With vaccines available across the country, the suffering and loss we are now seeing is nearly entirely avoidable,” Walensky said. |
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The Biden administration has fallen short of its goal of sending 80 million vaccine doses around the world by the end of June, citing logistical roadblocks.Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has suggested that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine may protect people from the Delta variant.Michigan is the latest state to announce a lottery for vaccinated residents.Jobless claims fell to 364,000 last week, a new pandemic low.Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson will headline a concert in Central Park on Aug. 21 to celebrate New York City’s “comeback” from Covid, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. |
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Supreme Court upholds Arizona’s restrictive voting laws |
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The Supreme Court has upheld two Arizona election laws, in a decision that amounts to another blow for the Voting Rights Act. |
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In a 6-3 vote, with the three liberal justices dissenting, the court said Arizona did not violate the Voting Rights Act with a 2016 law that allows only voters, their family members, or their caregivers to deliver a completed ballot. |
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In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito said the law requires "equal openness" to the voting process. "Mere inconvenience cannot be enough to demonstrate a violation" of the law, he wrote. |
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Justice Elena Kagan, in the dissent, said the ruling undermines the Voting Rights Act, which she referred to as “a statute that stands as a monument to America's greatness and protects against its basest impulses.” |
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The court also upheld a state policy that requires election officials to throw out ballots accidentally cast in the wrong precincts. |
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President Biden said in a statement he was “deeply disappointed” in the decision. |
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What else we’re watching: |
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Bill Cosby was asleep in his prison cell when a guard first told him he would be going free, after his indecent assault conviction was overturned, spokesman Andrew Wyatt said.Speaker Nancy Pelosi named GOP Rep. Liz Cheney to the House select committee that will investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.17 people were injured in a massive explosion that occurred as while the LAPD was seizing thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks.The historic heat wave may be linked to hundreds of deaths in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.Prince William and Prince Harry reunited to unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday.Jeff Bezos has selected female aerospace pioneer Wally Funk to join him on the first crewed Blue Origin launch on July 20. At 82, Funk would be the oldest person ever to reach space.Pinterest has banned weight loss advertisements to prevent content that could encourage eating disorders.A judge has denied a request from Britney Spears to remove her father as the conservator of her estate.Meghan McCain announced she’s leaving “The View” at the end of July. |
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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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