News Wrap: Tropical Depression Debby forecast to bring flooding to mid-Atlantic, Northeast

In our news wrap Thursday, Tropical Storm Debby returned to shore and weakened to a tropical depression as it’s forecast to move up the East Coast, a third person has died from a listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats, Israel ordered more mass evacuations in the Gazan city of Khan Younis and Wall Street stocks surged after a reassuring report on the U.S. jobs market.

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Geoff Bennett: Now to the day’s other headlines, starting with the latest on what is now Tropical Depression Debby.

The slow-moving cyclone returned to shore, hitting the Carolinas today. It’s expected to remain inland as it moves up the East Coast, where it could dump several inches of rain as far north as Vermont by this weekend. Officials in North Carolina said today a seventh person was killed when a tornado hit Wilson County.

That’s east of Raleigh. It tore through this middle school overnight and residents woke up to a scene of destruction.

Frances Smith, North Carolina Resident: You could tell it changed from heavy rain to something else. And when we came out, we found out that it had damaged the school, but it was so dark because all the yard lights were out. You really couldn’t tell how badly it was damaged until the sun came up this morning. And it’s just — I don’t — it’s a — it’s a mess.

Geoff Bennett: Meantime neighborhoods in Florida, like this one in Sarasota, are still submerged in floodwaters three days after Debby drenched the peninsula. Thousands of Floridians are still without power.

Federal food officials say a third person has died from a listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats; 43 others have fallen ill. Late last month, Boar’s Head recalled seven million pounds of deli meats after a liverwurst sample in Maryland tested positive for listeria. It included more than 70 products, including liverwurst, ham, beef, salami and bologna.

Consumers should not eat the recalled meats and should instead discard the leftover and return them to a store. Experts also advise people to thoroughly clean and sanitize their refrigerators to prevent contamination.

Turning now to the Middle East, Israel has ordered more mass evacuations in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis. The IDF says it will carry out military operations there soon in response to recent Palestinian rocket fire. Large clouds of smoke rose from the city today following the sound of explosions.

That’s as thousands of Gazans packed up and left. Many were not sure where to go.

Ahmed Al-Farra, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter): The situation is, is that the army called and warned us and sent leaflets. So we left the area, which was already full of displaced Gazans. There are no homes left to stay at.

Geoff Bennett: To the north, Israeli airstrikes hit two schools near Gaza City today. Palestinian medics say the buildings were sheltering civilians and at least 16 people were killed. Israel says Hamas fighters were using the schools as command centers.

Bystanders rushed to the scene of one attack and combed through the rubble. Amateur video shows medics carrying children to a nearby hospital.

On Wall Street, stocks surged after a reassuring report on the U.S. jobs market. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 700 points on the day. The Nasdaq added 464 points, or nearly 3 percent. The S&P 500 posted its best session since late 2022.

It was a big night on the track at the Paris Olympics. And, spoiler alert, that includes an upset in the men’s 200-meter final. Team USA’s decorated sprinter Noah Lyles finished third and fell to the ground after crossing the finish line. He was carried away by medics. It was revealed later that he has COVID.

Elsewhere, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone defended her gold in the 400-meter hurdle final, beating her own world record in the process. On the men’s side, hurdler Grant Holloway won gold in the 110-meter final. Those showings helped the U.S. maintain its lead atop the medal board, with 103 medals overall.

And Katie Ledecky has been selected as a flag-bearer for Sunday’s closing ceremonies. She became the most decorated U.S. women’s Olympian of all time in Paris with 14 career medals. She will be joined by gold medal-winning rower Nick Mead.

And as we find ourselves in the throes of a heated presidential race, we take a moment now to mark 50 years since Richard Nixon became the first and only American president to step down. Nixon, of course, had been caught up in the Watergate scandal. He initially denied any involvement in the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

But ties between his White House and those responsible eventually emerged. Congressional hearings followed, and Nixon himself was implicated in the cover-up effort. That led to impeachment hearings and finally his address to the nation August 8, 1974.

Richard Nixon, Former President of the United States: Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

Geoff Bennett: His departure closed the chapter on the scandal, but opened up a new era of cynicism and mistrust of government in America. Just a month after leaving office, Richard Nixon was pardoned by his successor, President Gerald Ford.