Nikki Haley isn’t deterred despite a likely double-digit loss to Donald Trump in New Hampshire. Alaska Airlines’ CEO reveals more Boeing issues were discovered after a near-disaster. Plus, a far-right influencer is named to Oklahoma’s library board — despite an apparent lack of connection to the state.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump wins in New Hampshire; Haley isn’t giving up
It took just a few minutes for former President Donald Trump to be named the winner in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, prevailing over former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in the first one-on-one fight since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race. Trump’s victory, a week after a decisive win in Iowa, brings him closer to the GOP presidential nomination and a long-anticipated rematch with President Joe Biden in November.
“New Hampshire was the only place that could have been a wildcard and Trump drew an ace,” said Republican strategist and New Hampshire native Matthew Bartlett.
Trump is certain to win the Feb. 8 Nevada caucuses — which Haley will not participate in — before the race turns to her home state of South Carolina, where polls show her trailing by dozens of points.
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Despite Trump’s sound victory yesterday, warning signs are beginning to emerge. Perhaps the most glaring is his performance with “moderates.” NBC News exit polling found that self-identified moderates, 29% of the electorate, backed opponent Nikki Haley by a whopping 51 points over Trump. While many unhappy Republicans could end up voting for Trump, there are still those who say they cannot get themselves to vote for him should he win the nomination. Read more about Trump’s win here.
Meanwhile, Nikki Haley doesn’t seem deterred by a second-place finish, making the case that her path to winning the nomination is incremental. In a speech last night, she declared, “New Hampshire is first in the nation. It’s is not the last.” She expressed optimism at the upcoming primary in South Carolina, and her campaign asserted that she could see success on Super Tuesday. Haley is also taking more jabs at Trump, from his age to “chaos” during his presidency. Read more about Haley’s campaign outlook.
More New Hampshire primary analysis
A Russian military plane crashed near Ukraine. Moscow says it was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs.
A military transport plane that Russia said was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed near the Ukraine border, killing all those on board, Russian authorities said.
NBC News could not independently verify who was on board the flight or what caused it to go down near the southern city of Belgorod. Ukrainian officials cautioned against sharing “unverified information” but did not immediately offer further details.
The Ilyushin Il-76 was “performing a scheduled flight” when it came down in the region adjacent to Ukraine’s northeastern border, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “On board were 65 captured military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces transported to the Belgorod region for exchange, as well as six crew members and three accompanying persons,” the statement said.
Thousands flee Gaza’s second-largest city as Israel intensifies assault
Israel’s military said today it was intensifying operations around Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city. The assault has forced thousands of civilians to flee the area, although many remain trapped in the encircled city. Around 850 patients were still inside the city’s main Nasser Hospital, according to the Doctors Without Borders aid group.
Overnight, the U.S. said it struck Houthi missiles, radar sites and weapons depots in Yemen that had been prepared to attack cargo ships and American assets in the Red Sea. The military said it also carried out strikes yesterday against Iranian-backed militia facilities in Iraq. Follow live updates.
Read more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war
- Abuses against Palestinians held in Israeli jails have risen since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, former detainees and rights organizations have warned, with one group alleging that prison officers are taking “revenge” on inmates for the militant group’s atrocities.
Alaska Airlines CEO said ‘many’ of its Boeing planes had loose bolts
When Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci learned of a near-disaster on one of the company’s flights, in which a panel flew off a plane mid-flight, “there was no question in my mind” that it had something to do with Boeing’s factory, he said. In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Tom Costello, Minicucci said that in-house inspections of the airline’s Boeing 737 Max 9 planes since the Jan. 5 incident revealed that “many” of the aircraft were found to have loose bolts.
“I’m more than frustrated and disappointed,” Minicucci said. “I am angry.” Watch the full interview here.
In more troubling news for Boeing, the nose wheel of a 757 jet fell off and rolled away while the plane was waiting on the runway for take-off clearance, with almost 200 people on board. A Delta Air Lines flight was moments away from taking off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Saturday when the wheel “came off and rolled down the hill,” according to a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Libs of TikTok creator added to Oklahoma’s library board
Far-right influencer Chaya Raichik isn’t an Oklahoma resident, and it’s not clear whether she has any experience in the education field. Still, she was named an adviser to the Oklahoma Education Department’s Library Media Advisory Committee. Raichik runs social media accounts for Libs of TikTok. Posts from the accounts are often laced with bigoted rhetoric and have led to several bomb threats in recent years, including at a school library in Tulsa. State Superintendent Ryan Walters commended Raichik’s work, saying that she’s exposing “what the radical left is all about — lowering standards, porn in schools, and pushing woke indoctrination on our kids.”
FDA says cancer treatment therapy may increase cancer risk
The FDA told several drugmakers this week to add a safety label to the prescribing information of a type of cancer treatment. Why? Because the treatment itself may increase a person’s risk of cancer.
The FDA decided to update the labels based on reports of rare blood cancers in patients who had previously gotten the treatment, called CAR-T therapy. However, an FDA spokesperson said the overall benefits of the products “continue to outweigh their potential risks.”
CAR-T therapy, uses a patient’s own immune cells to treat certain blood cancers. It’s proven to be highly effective in hard-to-treat cases, experts said.
Today’s Talker: ‘Barbie’s’ shocking Oscars snubs earned the ire of…
…Ken himself. Ryan Gosling released a blunt statement in reaction to this year’s Academy Awards nominations, in which director Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who played Barbie, weren’t nominated in their respective categories — even though Gosling earned a nomination for best supporting actor. “To say that I’m disappointed … would be an understatement,” he said. Even “Full House” actor John Stamos had something to say.
Politics in Brief
Abortion rights: The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to maintain broad access to the drug most commonly used for medication abortions, arguing that restrictions on its availability would be “damaging for women.”
Immigration: The Biden administration has demanded that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton give federal border agents full access to a riverfront park in the border town of Eagle Pass, where state law enforcement officers have been arresting migrants who cross into the U.S.
Trump investigations: A federal appeals court declined to rehear Donald Trump’s appeal of the gag order imposed on him in the federal election interference case, leaving the Supreme Court as the former president’s final option if he wants to appeal further.
Hunter Biden: The House Oversight Committee released the transcript of its interview with Kevin Morris, an entertainment lawyer who paid Hunter Biden’s back taxes. In his testimony, Morris explained why he helped out the president’s son.
Staff Pick: Is Kim Jong Un preparing for war?
Kim Jong Un’s saber-rattling is so frequent it hardly raises an eyebrow anymore. But, a few weeks ago he did something that made North Korea-watchers sit up and take note — abandoning a decades-old goal of peaceful reunification with South Korea. We spoke to experts about just how worried the world should beabout his policy change and intensified threats. — Annie Hill, platforms editor
In Case You Missed It
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
