News Information and Media Site: Nightly Rundown: Martial law chaos in South Korea; New lake effect snow threat; Subway chokehold trial jury deliberations

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By Dan Donahue

Tuesday, December 03, 2024

Good Tuesday afternoon. Chaos erupted in South Korea after the president declared martial law, more lake effect snow is on the way for the Great Lakes and Northeast, and jury deliberations have begun in the subway chokehold trial in New York City.

Here is what's in our Nightly Rundown.

South Korean parliament votes to lift martial law after president's declaration

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said this afternoon he would lift his martial law declaration that he imposed overnight, after the country's parliament voted to block the order.

The move comes just hours after Yoon declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address, accusing the country's political opposition of controlling parliament and sympathizing with North Korea.

The declaration led to chaos outside parliament, with police and soldiers violently clashing with protesters. Troops were seen entering parliament, and helicopters were spotted flying around the assembly compound.

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said the Biden administration was not notified in advance of Yoon's announcement, and added that it is "seriously concerned by the developments we are seeing on the ground" in South Korea.

New Arctic blast threatens Northern states after massive lake effect snow event

We're tracking a new Arctic blast set to deliver more snow to the Great Lakes and the Northeast, after several days of storms caused pileups on the highway and buried some areas in more than 5 feet of snow.

Lake effect snow is still falling downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario today, with an additional 6-12 inches of localized snow expected. Winter weather alerts are in effect for 5 million people from northern Michigan to Maine.

Tomorrow, a clipper system will move across the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes, bringing additional snow from northern Minnesota to western New York.

Bitter cold is also impacting millions of Americans today, with temperatures 10-20 degrees below average for much of the East Coast.

Jury deliberations begin in New York City subway chokehold trial

The jury has begun deliberating in the trial of a Marine veteran charged in the May 2023 chokehold death of a homeless man who was causing a disturbance on a subway train.

The prosecution has argued that the defendant, Daniel Penny, acted recklessly when he restrained Jordan Neely by the neck for about six minutes. Witnesses said Neely had been yelling and acting erratically before Penny restrained him.

Penny's defense attorneys, in their closing argument, asked the jury to imagine themselves in the shoes of subway riders frighted by Neely's behavior, saying Penny "put his life on the line" for strangers.

Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges. He faces up to 15 years in prison if he's convicted on the manslaughter charge.

Trump attends memorial for deputies as confirmation battles loom

President-elect Donald Trump attended a memorial today for three Palm Beach County motorcycle deputies killed in a crash last month, as his transition team gears up for potential confirmation battles.

Senior adviser Jason Miller told CNN today "there aren't any concerns" about Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for defense secretary, following new reports about his alleged alcohol abuse and a 2018 email from his mother chastising him over his alleged mistreatment of women.

An adviser to Hegseth and the Trump transition team have pushed back on those reports, and Hegseth's mother told The New York Times she had immediately sent him a follow-up email at the time with an apology.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, also paid a woman an undisclosed settlement after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2017, his attorney confirmed. Hegseth was not charged and maintains his innocence, and his attorney called the encounter consensual.

A number of Republican senators brushed aside the allegations and expressed their support for Hegseth after meeting with him on Capitol Hill Monday.

What else we're watching:

A Secret Service agent opened fire overnight on suspects attempting to break into cars near the Washington, D.C., home of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, but there were no injuries, the agency said.

The FBI is investigating after mysterious drones began appearing in the night sky over northern New Jersey, leaving residents feeling "unnerved."

A Chinese national living illegally in the U.S. has been charged with exporting firearms, ammunition, and other military items to North Korea, the Justice Department announced.

The search is on for two Americans and a Canadian who are missing after leaving to climb the tallest mountain in New Zealand, officials said.

The NFL has announced its punishment for Houston Texans safety Azeez Al-Shaair after a violent hit left Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence with a concussion Sunday.

The CDC has issued a major update about the deadly E. Coli outbreak linked to McDonald's.

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.