Iran vows revenge over Hezbollah leader’s killing; death toll from Hurricane Helene climbs: Weekend Rundown

Iran vows revenge over Nasrallah’s death

Israeli forces killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant and political group Hezbollah, in a large-scale attack in Beirut on Friday. The powerful Shia cleric’s death is a devastating blow to the Iran-backed group and a major escalation that threatens an all-out regional war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike that killed Nasrallah was a “necessary condition” for achieving Israel’s goals in the region. The attack killed 11 people, including a regional commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Abbas Nilforoushan, and injured 108 more.

Iran called the attack a “blatant war crime,” and an Iranian official announced forces will be deploying to Lebanon in the coming days. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said Sunday that the U.S. was “complicit in this crime” and that “undoubtedly, the blood of the martyrs of this incident will not go unanswered, and we will stand firmly with the resistance.”

On Sunday, Israel also hit Yemen’s Ras Issa and Hodeidah areas, targeting Houthi infrastructure to block the Houthis’ access to Iranian supplies, the Israel Defense Forces said.

You can follow NBC News’ live coverage here.

After Helene, residents sift through the wreckage

The Southeast is dealing with the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene after it destroyed entire communities from Florida to North Carolina with flooding and mudslides that caused widespread damage.

President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for North Carolina, where Gov. Roy Cooper said the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days. At least 30 people have died in Buncombe County alone, Sheriff Quentin Miller said on a Zoom call with reporters Sunday.

In flood-damaged Tennessee, 153 people are unaccounted for amid cellphone and other communications outages, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Sunday afternoon.

More coverage:

• Watch: Residents in Hendersonville, North Carolina, toured their neighborhood in kayaks after Helene flooded the area. 
• The historic Biltmore Village in Asheville was underwater after it was devastated by flood damage.
• A Georgia community fears it could be without power for weeks.

You can follow NBC News’ live coverage here.

Dems’ advantage with Latino voters shrinks

Vice President Kamala Harris’ lead over former President Donald Trump among Latino voters has declined to Democrats’ lowest level in the past four presidential cycles, according to a new national NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC poll.

Support for Harris is at 54% among registered Latino voters, while Trump’s is at 40%. Another 6% say they’re unsure or wouldn’t vote. The margin of error in the poll is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

While Harris’ 14-point advantage is an improvement from President Joe Biden’s standing when he was at the top of the ticket, it’s still lower than the leads Democratic presidential candidates enjoyed in 2012 (by 39 points), 2016 (50 points) and 2020 (36 points), according to NBC News’ merged polling data from those cycles.

Far right wins close Austria election

A far-right party founded by former Nazis appeared to have won Austria’s election Sunday in a result that could reshape Europe’s political landscape and help tilt the balance of power between Russia and the West. Projections from ORF public television based on exit polls suggest that the pro-Russia, anti-immigration Freedom Party, or FPÖ, has finished first, with 29.1% of the vote.

The FPÖ’s victory is the latest sign that a movement characterized by anti-immigrant and anti-Islam sentiment has made a breakthrough in the continent.

Meet the Press

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the Biden administration has not defined “what victory means in Ukraine,” adding that a future Trump administration would end the war “with a negotiated settlement.”

“We hope that when that time comes, there is more leverage on the Ukrainian side than on the Russian side. That really is the goal here, in my mind. And I think that’s what Donald Trump is trying to say,” Rubio told moderator Kristen Welker.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.S. last week for meetings with Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

You can watch the full interview here.

Politics in brief

Mayoral cooperation: New York Mayor Eric Adams claimed that he was “not going to interfere” and that he would “cooperate” with federal investigations. But the 57-page indictment unsealed Thursday tells a different story.

Battleground states: Democrats and Republicans are fiercely battling for state House and Senate majorities across the country, races that will determine the future of hot-button issues in key states.

A historic run: Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender state senator in the country, is on the verge of making history again in her congressional race in November.

The ride-or-die fans of historically bad White Sox

With Friday’s loss, the Chicago White Sox broke the record for the most losses in a Major League Baseball season. Leading up to the historic 121st loss, NBC News spoke with loyal White Sox fans whose support has not wavered despite the team’s bad season.

“It hasn’t been a good season for us, but I’m still going to come,” said Lance Norton, who first started going to games as a kid in 2004. “Everybody has their woes. Eventually, it will be our turn again. And when we do rise up again, I can talk all the smack I want.”

Four-legged friends are traveling more often

Arranging kennels or pet sitters can be a costly hassle for those leaving pets behind at home. That’s why many travelers are opting to take their pets with them on vacation.

“His day care would be $350 for a 10-day trip, so paying hotel fees and $100 each way to take him on a plane is worth it,” said Tom Carpenter. His dog, Mori, flies in the cabin with him and his wife whenever possible. “Plus, Mori hates being left alone.”

Twenty-two percent of both cat and dog owners reported having taken their animals on at least three flights over the past year, according to a report from the American Pet Products Association.

‘Sunday Night Football’

• Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was carted off the field during the team’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
• Tom Brady snaps back after Baker Mayfield says the Bucs were “stressed” under the ex-QB’s leadership: “This wasn’t day care.”
• Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love beat even the most optimistic projections to return from a knee injury as the Packers’ starting quarterback Sunday, but his up-and-down game wasn’t enough to beat the Minnesota Vikings.

You can follow NBC News’ live coverage here.

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