By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News
Good Wednesday afternoon. It’s 13 days until the election, the CDC is changing Covid-19 guidance on "close contacts," and Pope Francis has made a major shift on same-sex civil unions.
Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown.
Obama returns to campaign trail to hold first in-person event for Biden
Former President Barack Obama is returning to the campaign trial for the first time in the 2020 race today, to make the case for Joe Biden at a drive-in rally in Philadelphia.
Obama is aiming to energize the Democratic base in that critical battleground state, and win back swing voters in the suburbs who voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
“This is really a tipping point, and that momentum only continues if we win this election,” Obama said in a video posted to social media last night.
“In times as polarized as these, your vote doesn’t just matter — it matters more than ever before,” he added.
Obama’s appearance comes less than 24 hours after President Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania, where he held a rally in Erie.
“Before the plague came in, I had it made,” Trump said to the crowd, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. “I wasn’t coming to Erie, I mean I have to be honest, there’s no way I was coming.”
A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll out today shows Biden with a 7-point lead over Trump in Pennsylvania.
Our NBC News national polling average has Biden leading Trump by nearly 9 points.
Trump is holding another rally today in North Carolina, where Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris is also attending events in Ashville and Charlotte.
Election countdown: 13 days to go
- Biden remains off the trail today to prepare for tomorrow night’s debate, moderated by our Kristen Welker. Here are five things to watch for in the final showdown.
- Mike Pence attended a rally in New Hampshire earlier today, and will hold another event in Ohio this evening.
- North Carolina can accept absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day for up to nine days afterward, a federal appeals court ruled.
- Early in-person voting began today in West Virginia.
- A Maryland man has been arrested for threatening to kidnap Biden and Harris.
- Sen. Mitch McConnell is “encouraging’ fellow Republicans to wait until after the election to reach a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Covid-19 relief.
- Visit the NBC News election live blog for new updates.
CDC changes definition of “close contact” to include briefer encounters
The CDC is changing our understanding of how the coronavirus spreads through close contact with an infected person.
For months now, the CDC has defined “close contact” as any individual who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes.
But a new study published by the CDC today has changed that to a total of 15 minutes — which could include shorter encounters that add up to 15 minutes over 24 hours.
The study involved a correctional officer in Vermont who became infected after “multiple brief encounters” with six incarcerated people who had Covid-19.
Available data suggests that at least one of those six people, who were asymptomatic at the time, transmitted the virus to the officer “during these brief encounters,” the CDC wrote.
Covid-19 cases rising in nearly 40 states
The U.S. is now averaging roughly 60,000 new cases of Covid-19 a day, with at least 39 states seeing a rise, and Covid-related deaths climbing in at least 27 states.
The nation has now reported more than 8.3 million cases, with a death toll that has exceeded 222,000, according to the latest NBC News tally.
No region is being spared. In the Midwest, Illinois reported another 4,342 new cases, and 69 more deaths today.
In Chicago, our Gabe Gutierrez visited a drive-through testing site that’s now performing more than 1,000 tests per day.
Also in the Midwest, at least 20 Salvation Army staffers from Minnesota and North Dakota tested positive after attending a recent conference in northern Minnesota.
California is rapidly approaching 900,000 cases, the highest in the nation, followed closely by Texas with over 878,000 cases, and Florida with more than 760,000 cases.
More Covid-19 headlines:
- Boston is shifting all public schools to remote learning as of Thursday, amid an alarming spike in cases around the city.
- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will self-quarantine after learning he was in close contact with someone who tested positive.
- Spain has become the first Western European county to top 1 million cases.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to plead guilty as part of $8 billion settlement
Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three criminal charges as part of a more than $8 billion settlement for its role in fueling the nation’s deadly opioid crisis.
Purdue has admitted to three felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, Justice Department officials said.
The agreement will not result in jail time for company officials or the company’s owners, the wealthy Sackler family, but it also does not shield them from criminal liability in the future.
Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions in shift for church
In a major departure from established Vatican doctrine, Pope Francis has called for the passage of same-sex civil union laws.
“Homosexuals have a right to be part of the family,” the pope said in a new documentary about his life that aired in Rome.
“They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” he continued.
“What we have to create is a civil union law,” he added. “That way, they are legally covered. I stood up for that.”
Francis endorsed civil unions as an alternative to same-sex marriage while he served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, but this is his first endorsement of civil unions as pope.
What else we’re watching:
- 545 migrant children separated from their parents by the Trump administration have yet to be reunited with their parents, according to lawyers appointed by a federal judge.
- A school bus crash in New York this morning left multiple people injured, including children.
- Walmart is previewing some of its best Black Friday deals on Apple Airpods, smart TVs, Instant Pots, toys, and much more.
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.