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Judy Woodruff:
In the day's other news: U.S. public health leaders pushed to shore up further the number of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told a U.S. Senate hearing that maintaining the pace of vaccinations is key to relaxing restrictions.
Dr. Anthony Fauci:
I feel confident that, if we continue to vaccinate people at the rate that we're doing, that we will very soon have a situation where we will have so few infections in this country, we will begin to return to normality that all of us desire so much.
Judy Woodruff:
Meanwhile, the White House announced a deal with Uber and Lyft to give free rides to and from inoculation sites until July 4.
Undocumented college students will now have access to COVID relief and reversing a Trump era ban. Today's announcement includes so-called dreamers brought to the U.S. as children. At the same time, the number of migrant children in federal custody more than doubled in the past two months. The Associated Press reports 21,000 kids are now being held at more than 200 sites.
Federal and state officials moved today to head off East Coast fuel shortages, as the Colonial Pipeline shutdown continues. A cyberattack closed the line last Friday, and more than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast have now run dry.
In Washington, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm blamed panic buying.
Secretary Jennifer Granholm:
Much as there was no cause for, say, hoarding toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic, there should be no cause for hoarding gasoline, especially in light of the fact that the pipeline should be substantially operational by the end of this week.
Judy Woodruff:
We will take a closer look at this story later in the program.
A Russian-speaking ransomware gang is threatening to release confidential data from Washington, D.C.'s police force. The gang says the city has offered them only a small payment. The data includes identities of informants and police disciplinary files.
A federal judge in Dallas has rejected the National Rifle Association's bid for bankruptcy protection. The ruling today blocks the gun rights group from reorganizing itself in Texas. The NRA is now incorporated in New York, where a state lawsuit seeks to dissolve it for financial abuses.
The man accused of fatally shooting eight people, mostly of Asian descent, at massage businesses around Atlanta was indicted today on murder charges. Robert Aaron Long will also face counts of hate crimes and a possible death penalty.
Also in Georgia, three men accused of chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery last year pled not guilty to federal hate crimes charges. They're already accused of murder.
In Russia, a gunman attacked a school today, killing seven students, a teacher and another employee. It happened in the city of Kazan, east of Moscow, in the Tatarstan Republic. At least 21 people were wounded, most of them children.
The regional governor said that the 19-year-old suspect was arrested.
Gov. Rustam Minnikhanov (through translator):
First of all, it's a huge disaster. We lost seven children, eighth grade students. Obviously, any help required will be provided to the school and to the families. This is a huge tragedy today for the whole republic, for our country.
Judy Woodruff:
This was the deadliest school shooting in Russia since a college student killed 20 people in Crimea in 2018.
There's word that President Biden will nominate former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to be ambassador to Japan. The "NewsHour" confirmed it today. An announcement is expected later this month.
The president announced today that one million Americans have signed up for health insurance under Obamacare during a special enrollment period. He reopened the online marketplace in February for six months. New enrollees also receive larger subsidies than before.
In economic news, U.S. employers posted a record 8.1 million job openings in March. That's the most in 20 years. But inflation worries weighed on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 473 points to close at 34269. The Nasdaq fell 12 points. The S&P 500 slipped 36.
And horse trainer Bob Baffert now says a skin ointment may have caused his Kentucky Derby winner to fail a drug test. Medina Spirit could be stripped of the victory over trace amounts of a banned steroid. However, today, he was installed as the early favorite in Saturday's Preakness, subject to additional testing.
from:pbs