Wednesday morning news: November 20, 2024

Ukraine » Vladimir Putin has formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. That followed President Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets deep inside Russian territory with American-supplied missiles.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said if American-supplied long-range missiles are fired into Russia from Ukraine …

LAVROV: … it will also mean that they are operated by American experts, military experts. And we will be, uh, taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia. Uh, and well, we'll react accordingly.

The new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.

However, it’s formulated broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons.

And State Dept spokesman Matthew Miller said of the Kremlin

MILLER:  Since the beginning of its war of aggression against Ukraine, it has sought to, to coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior.

Russia says Ukraine fired six U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missiles Tuesday at a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk region.

Iran nuclear push » Miller also responded to reporters asking about new reports that Iran continues to defy the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency.

MILLER:  The Iranian regime continues to amass a growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium for which there is no credible civilian purpose, uh, and they continue to not cooperate fully with the IAEA. So what we're going to do is continue to work with the IAEA Board of Governors, uh, members to ensure their full cooperation.

In a confidential report seen Tuesday by The Associated Press, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of just a few weeks ago Iran has just over 400 pounds of uranium enriched to levels that are just a small technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

Trump nominations » President-elect Donald Trump continues to fill out his Cabinet. He has tapped entrepreneur Linda McMahon for secretary of the Education. She would be tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle as he looks to give more authority back to the states.

He also selected Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former television talk show host and heart surgeon, to oversee Medicare and Medicaid.

OZ: There are a lot of people out there who know exactly what they want to do, and all they want to figure out is why is the government getting in their way.

Oz heard there during an unsuccessful 2022 campaign for a US Senate senate seat in Pennsylvania.

And Trump chose Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department.

The Senate would have to sign off on all three of those picks.

West Coast storm » Heavy rain and winds are pummeling Northern California and the Pacific Northwest today.

A powerful storm intensified so quickly that it’s considered to be a bomb cyclone. Louise Fode with the National Weather Service explains what that means

FODE:  Usually they're going to be associated with a lot of weather, you know, heavy rainfall, heavy snowfall, um, and certainly high gusty winds, um, possibly up to, you know, up to hurricane strength winds.

Forecasters warned of power outages and flash floods.

And officials warn that a swath of the West Coast from just north of San Francisco to little south Portland, Oregon could see the heaviest rainfall.

SpaceX launch » SpaceX has launched another Starship rocket. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

SOUND: [SpaceX launch]

KRISTEN FLAVIN: President-elect Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk looked on, side by side … as the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket blasted off from south Texas on Tuesday.

However, minutes after liftoff, mission managers called off plans to catch the first-stage booster with giant mechanical arms. SpaceX pulled off that remarkable feat for the first time last month. It’s unclear why they scrapped the attempt this time.

The empty spacecraft launched atop the Starship rocket soared across the Gulf of Mexico and skimmed outer space on a test flight before a controlled entry in the Indian Ocean.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Wyoming abortion ruling » Wyoming’s attorney general’s office will appeal a ruling this week that struck down pro-life protections in the state.

Judge Melissa Owens in Teton County deemed a pair of abortion laws to be unconstitutional.

One law banned abortion pills in the state while the other prohibited most abortions by any method.

The laws have been tied up in a court battle since state lawmakers passed them last year.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: FEMA has been on the hotseat today before the US House. WORLD’s Carolina Lumetta was there and has a report. Plus, digging up a little enthusiasm when teaching history.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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