News Information and Media Site: Nightly Rundown: Storms battering both U.S. coasts; Matt Gaetz won’t return to Congress; Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs back in court

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By Dan Donahue

Friday, November 22, 2024

Good Friday afternoon. Storms are bringing heavy rain and snow to both coasts, Matt Gaetz has made a decision about his future after withdrawing his bid for attorney general, and Sean "Diddy" Combs was back in court this afternoon to once again request bail.

Here is what's in our Nightly Rundown.

Storms battering both U.S. coasts with heavy rain and snow

Millions in the Midwest and Northeast are experiencing their first major winter storm of the season, while an atmospheric river is bringing potentially life-threatening flooding to the West Coast, just as many Americans are gearing up to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Parts of New York and Pennsylvania have received more than a foot of snow since last night. More than 7 inches of snow has fallen over the site of the Jennings Creek wildfire on the New York/New Jersey border, which has burned thousands of acres amid a historic drought.

In Cleveland last night, the Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers as lake effect snowfall covered the field.

We're also tracking several weather systems that could snarl Thanksgiving travel next week, with a record-breaking 80 million people expected to head 50 miles or more from home this year, according to AAA.

Gaetz says he won't return to Congress after withdrawing attorney general bid

Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said he will not return to Congress after withdrawing as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general amid sexual misconduct allegations, which he has denied.

"I'm still going to be in the fight, but it's going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress," Gaetz said in an interview today.

Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, but that probe effectively ended when he resigned from Congress last week. If he were to retake his seat in the 119th Congress, there's a possibility that the committee could extend its investigation.

After Gaetz took himself out of the running, Trump named former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi as his new attorney general pick.

Judge in Trump hush money case postpones sentencing indefinitely to consider dismissal

The judge overseeing President-elect Trump's New York hush money trial has indefinitely postponed his sentencing that was set for next week, and will hear arguments over dismissing the case now that Trump is headed back to the White House.

Trump's sentencing was set for Nov. 26, after he was convicted in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with an adult film star. Trump denies the allegations.

Judge Juan Merchan did not schedule another sentencing date. Trump is set to be inaugurated Jan. 20.

A Trump spokesman called the ruling "a decisive win" for the president-elect and criticized the case as a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."

Sean "Diddy" Combs back in court seeking bail for third time

Sean "Diddy" Combs was back in court this afternoon, making another bid to be released on $50 million bail while he awaits trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

Combs has been held for 10 weeks in what his attorneys call deplorable conditions inside a Brooklyn jail. His trial date is scheduled for May 5, 2025.

The music mogul has been previously denied bail twice, after judges cited potential witness tampering.

This week, a federal judge ordered prosecutors to get rid of 19 pages of notes taken from Combs' jail cell, after they claimed he had been contacting witnesses.

What else we're watching:

Texas is now the first state to allow Bible-infused lessons in public elementary schools, after a vote today by the state's Republican-controlled education board.

More than 160,000 pounds of ground beef products have been recalled over possible E. coli contamination, according to the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The NBA is joining the NFL in warning players to take extra security precautions following a string of burglaries at the homes of star athletes.

Supermarkets are reporting shortages of eggs after a spike in bird flu cases.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin successfully launched six space tourists to the edge of space and back today.

Will "Glicked" be the new "Barbenheimer," as "Gladiator II" and "Wicked" open in theaters this weekend?

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.