News Information and Media Site: Nightly Rundown: Wind-fueled wildfire destroys California homes; Trump: ‘No price tag’ for mass deportations; Biden vows ‘peaceful transfer’; Manhunt for NYC gunman

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By Dan Donahue

Thursday, November 07, 2024

Good Thursday afternoon. A wildfire fueled by powerful winds is threatening thousands of homes in California, NBC News spoke exclusively today with Donald Trump after his election victory, and a manhunt is underway in New York for a gunman who fled into the subway system.

Here is what's in our Nightly Rundown.

Wind-fueled wildfire destroys dozens of homes, forces 10,000 to evacuate

Firefighters are racing to stop the spread of an explosive wildfire driven by extreme Santa Ana winds in Southern California that has already destroyed dozens of homes.

The Mountain Fire has grown to more than 14,000 acres with zero containment, according to CalFire. Fire crews are attacking the blaze on the ground and in the air with helicopters.

The fire is threatening 3,500 homes, businesses, and other structures, and has forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Several people have been injured and taken to hospitals, a spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department said. Deputies rescued several elderly people in wheelchairs as the flames approached on Wednesday.

Trump says "no price tag" for his mass deportation plan

President-elect Donald Trump told NBC News in an exclusive interview today that one of his top priorities when he re-enters the White House will be to make the border "strong and powerful."

Asked about the concerns over the cost of his proposed mass deportations, Trump said his administration would have "no choice" but to carry them out.

"It's not a question of a price tag. It's not – really, we have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries and now they're going to go back to those countries because they're not staying here. It's not a quite – there is no price tag."

Trump also said he considers his sweeping election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris a mandate "to bring common sense" to the country.

Biden vows "peaceful transfer of power" after Trump election win

President Joe Biden pledged a "peaceful transfer of power" after Donald Trump's election victory, urging Americans to "accept the choice the country made" while encouraging his supporters to "get back up."

"I will do my duty as president: I will fulfill my oath and I will honor the Constitution. On Jan. 20, we'll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America," Biden said in the White House Rose Garden.

Biden said he has invited Trump to the White House, and he plans to attend the inauguration, courtesies that Trump did not extend to him after the 2020 election.

Trump was set to hold his first meeting today with his transition team, as his focus shifts to staffing up his new administration. Here are some of the leading contenders for his Cabinet.

Susie Wiles, Trump's low-key campaign manager, is believed to be the front-runner for White House chief of staff, according to six sources familiar with discussions inside the campaign.

New York City police search for gunman who fled into subway system

An urgent manhunt is underway in New York City, after a gunman opened fire on the street in broad daylight and fled into the transit system, disrupting subway service for hours.

The NYPD responded to a call this morning on the Upper West Side and found a 47-year-old man shot in the leg and shoulder. The victim was taken to a hospital and is expected to be okay.

Surveillance video shows people running for safety and ducking into businesses after the shots rang out.

Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for second time this year

Against the backdrop of a shifting political landscape, the Federal Reserve announced today it is cutting its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year by another a quarter percentage point.

The move comes as inflation continues to cool and the labor market is softening. In September, the Fed announced a supersized cut, the first reduction in interest rates since March 2020.

The Fed is expected to announce another cut in December, but the re-election of Donald Trump adds uncertainty to the central bank's future moves.

Trump favors low interest rates, which could clash with the Fed's slow and steady approach to cutting. His return to the White House could also raise new challenges to the Fed's independence from the executive branch.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said this afternoon that he would not resign if Trump asked him to, and that the president does not have the legal power to fire him.

FDA proposes ban on widely used decongestant found in many cold medicines

The FDA is seeking to end the use of a common decongestant found in many popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medications, on the grounds that it doesn't work.

An agency review has found that oral phenylephrine is not effective for relieving nasal congestion, the FDA said in a news release, more than a year after a panel of FDA advisors reached the same conclusion.

If the proposal is approved, pharmacies would have to pull products containing oral phenylephrine, and drugmakers would have to reformulate their cold medicines.

CVS has already pulled some medicines containing oral phenylephrine from its shelves.

What else we're watching:

Three people have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne, Argentinian authorities said.

Hurricane Rafael is moving westward after slamming Cuba and knocking out the country's electrical grid, leaving its 10 million residents without power.

A tour bus overturned in western New York today, injuring 28 people and leaving one person in critical condition, authorities said.

Police in North Carolina are searching for a shooter after seven vehicles were hit by gunfire, and one woman was shot, along Interstate 40 in Raleigh.

Jurors are hearing closing arguments today in the Delphi murders trial, involving the killing of two teenage girls in Indiana.

A death penalty hearing was held today in the case of Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with murdering four University of Idaho students nearly two years ago.

Police in South Carolina are searching for 43 monkeys that escaped from a research facility on Wednesday night.

You might be surprised at just how little exercise you need to lower your blood pressure, a new study suggests.

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.