News Information and Media Site: Nightly Rundown: Israel’s ‘targeted strike’ in Beirut; Secret Service admits 'mission failure'; Georgia to require ballots to be hand-counted

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By Dan Donahue

Friday, September 20, 2024

Good Friday afternoon. Israel has carried out a "targeted" strike on Beirut, the Secret Service has admitted to "mission failure" leading up to the July assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and Georgia is changing its election rules to require ballots to be hand-counted.

Here is what's in our Nightly Rundown.

Israeli strike on Beirut kills suspect in 1983 bombings that killed more than 300 Americans

Israel says it killed a top Hezbollah official, who was wanted in connection with a pair of 1983 bombings that killed more than 300 Americans, in a "targeted strike" today in Lebanon's capital of Beirut.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah's operations commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was eliminated in the strike alongside other commanders of the group's special forces unit, as they were planning an attack on Israel similar to the Oct. 7 terror attack carried out by Hamas.

Today's strike also killed 12 people and injured 66 others, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

The U.S. has accused Aqil of having a role in the 1983 bombings at the American embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people, and a U.S. Marine barracks that left 241 dead.

Israel and Hezbollah have been intensifying their strikes over the Lebanon border, after waves of pager and walkie-talkie explosions targeting Hezbollah members left dozens dead and thousands injured earlier in the week.

Secret Service admits "mission failure" in Trump rally shooting

The Secret Service has acknowledged multiple security and communication failures leading up to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, in a report released today.

"It's important that we hold ourselves to account for the failures of July 13th and that we use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another mission failure like this again," Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said at a news conference today.

Rowe spoke after the House voted unanimously to approve a bill that would ensure presidential candidates get the same level of security as sitting presidents.

Georgia election board orders hand-counting as Kamala Harris visits state

Georgia's election board has voted to make a controversial change this November, requiring counties to to hand-count ballots.

Critics have said that requiring hand-counting will lead to more errors and drastically delay the results in that critical battleground state, which found itself at the center of disputes over the 2020 election.

The move comes as Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting Georgia, where she delivered remarks this afternoon on reproductive rights.

There are 46 days left until Election Day, but in-person voting is already underway at early polling sites or elections offices in three states.

Voters began lining up today at sites in Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota to cast their early ballots.

Kentucky sheriff arrested for fatally shooting judge in chambers, officials say

A Kentucky sheriff is behind bars today, accused of killing a district judge at a courthouse yesterday afternoon, authorities said.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, seen here in his mug shot, was arrested and charged with one count of murder for the shooting death of Judge Kevin Mullins, according to Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart.

The judge was found with multiple gunshot wounds in his chambers around 3 p.m. local time, and pronounced dead at the scene, Gayheart said.

The motive remains unclear, but Gayheart said preliminary information indicates that Stines "fatally shot Mullins following an argument inside the courthouse."

Trump will not campaign with North Carolina GOP candidate after bombshell report

Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, will not attend Donald Trump's rally in that key battleground state tomorrow, according to a person familiar with the planning of the event, after a bombshell report alleged Robinson had made lewd and offensive comments several years ago on a pornographic website.

The former president, who has endorsed Robinson and called him "better than Martin Luther King," has not remarked on the CNN report, which claims Robinson made disturbing comments on an adult forum calling himself a "Black Nazi" and voicing support for slavery.

Robinson posted a video before the report was published, calling the allegations "outrageous lies" and vowing to stay in the race.

Democrats are launching a slew of advertisements pushing Trump's ties to Robinson, as they attempt to flip North Carolina blue for the first time since 2008.

What else we're watching:

South Carolina death row inmate Freddie Owens, who was convicted of killing a single mother of three in 1997, is set to become the first prisoner executed in the state in more than a decade, despite a sworn statement by his co-defendant this week that Owens is innocent.

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against the "Big Three" prescription drug middlemen, accusing them of inflating insulin prices.

Eight firefighters were injured in a rollover crash on the freeway Thursday night as they were returning from fighting the Airport Fire.

An international flight had to be diverted when a mouse crawled out of a passenger's in-flight meal, Scandinavian Airlines confirmed.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has become the first player to enter the 50/50 club in MLB history, after hitting his 50th home run and stealing his 50th base of the season Thursday.

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.