News Wrap: Hurricane Nicole makes landfall on Florida’s east coast

Judy Woodruff:

In the day's other news: U.S. inflation eased a bit in October, but remained high.

The Labor Department reports that consumer prices were up four-tenths of a percent for the month and 7.7 percent from a year ago. The so-called core rate, not counting food and energy prices, rose 6.3 percent. All of the numbers were better than economists expected.

Wall Street reacted by rocketing higher on hopes that the worst inflation is over. Major indexes had their biggest percentage gains since the spring of 2020. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 1,200 points, 3.7 percent, to close it 33715. The Nasdaq jumped 761 points, more than 7 percent. The S&P 500 shot up 5.5 percent.

A rare November hurricane has weakened tonight after smashing into Florida's Atlantic Coast. Nicole's storm surge drove big waves on shore early today and carried away oceanfront homes north of Vero Beach. From there, it moved inland with flooding rain. The storm's remnants will push through Georgia and the Carolinas and reach New England by Saturday.

President Biden will meet China's President Xi Jinping on Monday, their first in person encounter since Mr. Biden took office. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said today it will take place at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, but he played down expectations.

Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Adviser:

I don't think you should look at this meeting as one in which there's going to be specific deliverables announced, and especially at this moment, as the president comes out of these midterms, as Xi Jinping comes out of the 20th Party Congress.

That bigger picture conversation is probably the most important element of this meeting.

Judy Woodruff:

The meeting comes as Chinese-American tensions are running high over trade, Taiwan and the war in Ukraine.

Government forces in Ukraine kept advancing today around the city of Kherson, as Russia said its troops had begun a retreat. Ukrainian officials said they could not confirm any withdrawal. They also warned that Russian minds are everywhere in Kherson, transforming it into — quote — "a city of death."

We will take a closer look at this later in the program.

A new wave of anti-government protests have flared across Iran. Today's demonstrations in Tehran and other cities came despite new threats from officials. Some of the protests overnight turned violent, as security forces fired tear gas to break up crowds. The protests began in September after a woman died in police custody.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan urged his followers today to resume marching on Islamabad, the capital, to demand early elections. The march had been suspended after Khan was wounded by a would-be assassin a week ago. Supporters said they are eager to get back on the road.

Yasmin Rashid, Khan Party Lawmaker:

Today is a very important day for all of us. Why? Because the work is going to start again. The long march is going to start again. It's a peaceful protest. What is important is that the government, the incumbent government sitting at the moment, should understand that none of us are scared.

Judy Woodruff:

For his part, Khan says that he is still recovering from his injuries and will not rejoin the protests just yet.

Back in this country, the District of Columbia filed a civil suit against the Washington Commanders football team over sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct. The suit accuses the team owner, Dan Snyder, the NFL and its commissioner of lying about the misconduct. Snyder has said that he's looking into selling the franchise.

A judge in Connecticut today ordered Infowars host Alex Jones to pay $473 million in punitive damages for claiming that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. That's on top of nearly $1 billion that a jury awarded to the victims' families and to an FBI agent. Twenty children and six educators died in the 2012 massacre.

And the National Toy Hall of Fame has three new honorees. Today's announcement named Lite-Brite, which first appeared in 1966, Masters of the Universe action figures that debuted in 1981, and the spinning top. It's been around for several thousand years.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": a Republican congressional candidate who ousted a Democratic leader discusses his surprise victory; how the issue of abortion appears to have swayed results in this year's election; Ukrainian forces cautiously advance after Russian withdrawal from Kherson; plus much more.