Good Tuesday afternoon. President Biden officially announced his bid for reelection, North Dakota enacts a near-total ban on abortion, and legendary entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte has died at age 96. Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Biden kicks off campaign for reelection |
President Joe Biden officially launched his reelection campaign by warning that Americans’ personal freedoms were at stake. In a three-minute video, Biden said that “around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away. Cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy. Dictating health decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love. All while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote.” The president said the country is still in a “battle for the soul of America,” and that this is not a time to be complacent, which is why he is running for reelection. The Republican National Committee responded to Biden’s announcement by releasing an A.I.-generated video predicting a series of domestic and international crises if Biden is re-elected. RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement that “Biden is so out of touch that after creating crisis after crisis, he thinks he deserves another four years.” On the eve of Biden’s announcement, former President Donald Trump, his likely opponent, issued a statement lambasting Biden. Trump said: “You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our Nation in just a few short years.” Trump cited inflation, bank failures, a “crashing U.S. dollar, high gas prices and falling real wages.” |
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Trial begins in E. Jean Carroll’s rape and defamation lawsuit against Trump |
The civil battery and defamation trial began with jury selection in federal court in Manhattan. E. Jean Carroll says that Trump raped and groped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Carroll, a writer and columnist, alleges that the attack took place at the Bergdorf Goodman store after “playful banter” with Trump, as she described it, took a “dark turn.” She says in the lawsuit that Trump “forced her up against a dressing room wall, pinned her in place with his shoulder, and raped her.” Trump has denied the allegations, calling them “a con job,” a hoax and “a complete scam.” This led Carroll to sue him for defamation. It’s unclear whether Trump will testify in his defense. Carroll’s lawyer said she plans to use a videotaped deposition Trump gave in October in the trial. |
Six-week abortion ban becomes law in North Dakota |
North Dakota adopted one of the country’s strictest anti-abortion laws after Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed a bill banning the procedure at six weeks of pregnancy. Burgum said the law “reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state.” Within those six weeks, abortion would be allowed only in cases of rape, incest or medical emergencies. The new law takes effect one month after North Dakota’s State Supreme Court blocked a similar ban from taking effect. North Dakota’s only abortion provider stopped offering the procedure last August, moving across the border to Moorhead, Minnesota. |
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Three-day truce in Sudan lets more foreigners leave |
Despite sporadic fighting, a three-day truce appeared to be largely holding in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Britain launched a large evacuation of its citizens on military flights from an airfield north of Khartoum. France and Germany said they had each evacuated more than 500 people of various nationalities. In a troubling development, the World Health Organization said one of the warring sides had taken control of a laboratory that stores measles and cholera pathogens for vaccinations. The WHO said there was a “high risk of biological hazard.” It didn’t specify which side had seized the lab. |
Lester Holt’s exclusive interview with South Korea’s president |
In the wide-ranging interview, President Yoon Suk Yeol discussed the impact of intelligence leaks from a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman charged in the case, including reporting that the U.S. spied on South Korean officials. When Holt asked Yoon whether “friends spy on friends,” the president responded through an NBC News interpreter, “Generally speaking, I don't think so. In the real world it is something that is prohibited in state affairs. The most important thing is the trust. When you have that trust you don't get shaken.” He added, “Although the military and security aspect of the South Korea-U.S. alliance is important, I believe that information alliance is much more important. South Korea and the U.S. have been cooperating in analyzing and interpreting the meaning of the wide range of information that each of us possesses.” More of the interview will be seen on tonight’s NBC Nightly News. |
Legendary entertainer and civil rights leader Harry Belafonte dies |
Harry Belafonte, the entertainment and civil rights giant, has died at age 96. Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to sell a million records and gain a wide following on film. Many will remember him most for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-O).” But beyond his work as an entertainer, Belafonte “stands as the model and the epitome of the celebrity activist,” as the AP described him. He took part in protest marches and benefit concerts and helped organize them and worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. |
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What else we're watching: |
The man accused in the deadly stabbing of CashApp founder Bob Lee made a second court appearance in San Francisco but did not enter a plea. Nima Momeni is due back in court on May 2. |
Flood warnings were in effect from St. Paul, Minnesota, to just north of St. Louis as snowmelt across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest caused swelling of waterways in the regions. |
A Japanese lunar exploration company, ispace, attempted to land its first cargo mission on the moon today but lost communication with the spacecraft and has deemed the attempt unsuccessful, according to the company’s CEO. |
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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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