News Wrap: Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills 47, wounds dozens

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  An FDA advisory panel has endorsed a booster dose for another COVID-19 vaccine. Today's action involved Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine. The FDA advisers said the extra shot can be administered two months after the initial vaccination.

  We will get details, after the news summary.

  Attorneys for Nikolas Cruz say that he will plead guilty to murdering 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. They announced it as Cruz appeared at a court hearing today. The defense said that he will also plead guilty to 17 counts of attempted murder at a hearing next week. A jury will decide later if Cruz gets the death penalty.

  In Afghanistan, at least 47 people were killed today, and 70 wounded, when suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque in the southern city of Kandahar. The carnage came during Friday prayers. Afterward, locals cleared away debris, as witnesses described a coordinated strike.

• AHMAD JAWID, Kandahar Resident (through translator):

  After the attackers came, they fired on the guards and threw a hand grenade. One blew himself up in the corridor, and the other entered the mosque and detonated his explosives as worshipers were busy with prayers.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Tonight, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. It has carried out several deadly bombings since the Taliban seized power in August.

  A long-serving Conservative Party lawmaker in Britain was stabbed to death today. It happened as Sir David Amess met with constituents in a town east of London. Investigators combed the area for evidence, as people paid respects with flowers and notes. Police arrested a 25-year-old man. There was no word on a motive.

  Across Lebanon today, schools, banks, and government offices closed in mourning for seven people killed in gun battles. Shiite Muslim and Christian militias fought for hours in Beirut on Thursday. One woman told today of how her daughter-in-law died.

  MUNIRA HAMDAR, Mother-in-Law of Victim (through translator): Sniper shots were coming from the buildings on the other side, and they shot her while she was still in the house. She is the mother of five children. She's young. My son's family is ruined. What should he do?

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The violence was some of the worst since Lebanon's civil war ended in 1990.

  Back in this country, the Biden administration says that it's going to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a Texas ban on most abortions. A lower court left the law in place last night. The statute bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

  A U.S. Capitol Police officer is now accused of obstructing justice after the January 6 assault on the complex. Michael Riley was arrested today. Federal prosecutors say he warned one rioter to take down incriminating posts on Facebook and kept him updated on the FBI's investigation.

  A former chief pilot for Boeing's 737 MAX program pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges today. Prosecutors say Mark Forkner hid information about an automated flight control system. It was later implicated in two plane crashes that killed 346 people.

  On Wall Street today, major indexes wound up their best week since early summer. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 382 points today to close at 35294. The Nasdaq rose 74 points. The S&P 500 added 33. For the week, the three indexes were up 1.5 percent to 2 percent.

  And former President Bill Clinton spent a third day hospitalized in Southern California. An aide said the 75-year-old is recovering from a urological infection. President Biden spoke with Mr. Clinton by phone today, and said he's doing fine.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": some 30 countries unite in the global fight against ransomware; David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart analyze President Biden's battle against anti-vaccine mandates; one city's recent efforts to honor a Black man whose land was taken away from him decades ago; and much more.

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