Fwd: Massive winter storm; Mueller report nearly finished?; Fox supports Smollett; Putin threatens U.S.; Cold case cracked; Avalanche rescue

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From: NBC Nightly News <email@mail.nbcnews.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 10:13 PM
Subject: Massive winter storm; Mueller report nearly finished?; Fox supports Smollett; Putin threatens U.S.; Cold case cracked; Avalanche rescue
To: <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

The Nightly News - with Lester Holt - Nightly News: 2.20.19

To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts | View in browser By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News Good Wednesday afternoon from the Nightly newsroom. 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. Massive winter storm impacts 130 million with heavy snow and rain Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer is tracking the massive storm that's impacting every state east of the Mississippi River, and has put 130 million people under winter storm warnings and advisories throughout the day. Northeast: It's going to be a dangerous, messy commute home tonight for millions, as snow moves through the region this afternoon and turns to sleet this evening, before changing over to rain. Between 1-4 inches is likely, with higher totals in the central Appalachians. Some showers could linger through Thursday morning. Midwest: Heavy snow continues throughout the evening, with 2-6 inches likely for much of the region, but Minnesota and Wisconsin could see even more. Most of the alerts in the Midwest will expire by midnight. ——— Trump says release of Mueller report "totally up to" new Attorney General Barr President Trump said today that newly-confirmed Attorney General William Barr will decide whether to publicly release Special Counsel Robert Mueller's findings in the Russia investigation. "That'll be totally up to the new attorney general," the president told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Trump's comments came after a new report claiming Mueller's report could be delivered as early as next week. Our Pete Williams first reported back in December that Mueller's report was expected to be submitted as early as this month. Fox stands by Jussie Smollett as questions grows over possibly staged attack Fox is doubling down on its support for Jussie Smollett, the star of it show "Empire," who faces growing questions over his claim that he was attacked by two men on the streets of Chicago on Jan. 29. In a short statement, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment again pushed back on reports that Smollett's time on the show was coming to an end. "Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show." Two brothers have told investigators that Smollett paid them to stage the attack on him, according to police sources. Both men met with prosecutors late Tuesday, a possible precursor to them testifying before a grand jury in the case. The brothers were questioned and released without charges in the case last week. Smollett has yet to speak to police again after several requests in recent days. The actor's attorneys have denied that he staged the attack, and claim he was the victim of a hate crime. Miguel Almaguer is in Chicago and on the case again for us tonight. Putin threatens to target the U.S. if missiles deployed in Europe The potential new arms race between the United States and Russia heated up today, when Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow will target the U.S. with its new hypersonic missiles if Washington positions its own weapons in Europe. In an address to Russia's parliament, Putin said Russia will only follow through on that threat if the U.S. makes the first move. Earlier this month, the Trump administration suspended the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the two countries after accusing Russia of violating the agreement. A State Department spokesperson responded, "President Putin's remarks are a continuation of Russia's propaganda effort to avoid responsibility for Russia's actions in violation of the INF Treaty." Russia has denied violating the deal. Andrea Mitchell will have the latest on the growing tensions tonight. Putin warns Russia will target U.S. if new nuclear missiles are deployed in Europe Police make arrest in 1973 California cold case murder After 46 years, police believe they've finally solved the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, who disappeared on her way home from summer school in Newport Beach, California on July 6, 1973. The next day, she was found strangled to death. Today, authorities announced the arrest of James Neal, 72, for the crime. Neal now lives in Colorado, but is a former California resident. Tonight, Kristen Dahlgren will explain how DNA evidence led police to the suspect. Police also mounted a Twitter campaign last year in the hopes of generating new leads in the case. ———Linda O'Keefe Newport Beach Police Department Heart-stopping video shows dramatic rescue after skier caught in avalanche Steve Patterson will have the harrowing helmet cam video of a skier caught in an avalanche in Park City, Utah, as a shelf of snow swept him some 200 feet down a mountain at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. On the video, the skier can be heard yelling for help for several agonizing moments, until friends arrived to frantically dig him out. Amazingly, he was not seriously injured. The natural phenomenon at Yosemite National Park For a few short weeks every February, the sun hits a specific angle on the cliffs in Yosemite that it looks like fire or lava is flowing down. The gorgeous phenomenon is called "firefall" and attracts many visitors who try to capture a photo. "I've waited 4 years to get this shot," Felipe Silva wrote on Instagram in a caption for the photo below. "I can't describe how mind-blowing it was to witness this." ——— Felipe Silva / Felipe Silva Follow NBC Nightly News on Instagram. This is the new winter sport you can do at home Many people probably wish they could get rid of their snow shovels. Tonight, Gadi Schwartz will introduce us to a group of people who use them for fun. Yes, snow shovel racing is a sport and yes, we visited the 40th annual World Championship in New Mexico to see what it was all about. John Strader has been racing since 1981: "I'm really just trying to pass the torch to the new generation and keep the sport alive, keep the passion alive, because it's just so fun." ——— Angel Fire Resort / Angel Fire Resort FOLLOW US Download the NBC News Mobile App This email was sent to: pascal.alter@gmail.com. This is an automated email. Do not reply directly. 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 Privacy (....)| Contact