News Wrap: Palestinian gunman kills 7 near Jerusalem synagogue

In our news wrap Friday, new violence erupted in the Middle East when a Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in east Jerusalem, the head of the UN Refugee Agency accused Russia of kidnapping Ukrainian children and the U.S. Justice Department charged three men in an Iran-backed plot to kill an Iranian American journalist and activist on U.S. oil.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    In the day's other headlines: New violence erupted in the Middle East when the Palestinian gunman killed seven people in East Jerusalem before police killed him.

    It was one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years. Ambulance crews and police swarmed the scene near a synagogue. The attack came a day after Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. After those killings, militants in Gaza fire rockets overnight, and Israel's military answered with airstrikes. There were no reported casualties in that exchange.

    Russian artillery fire has claimed more lives in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions. Ukrainian officials say shelling today killed at least 10 people. Meanwhile, the head of the U.N. Refugee Agency accused Russia of kidnapping Ukrainian children.

    In Kyiv, Filippo Grandi said the Russians are taking children from occupied areas, giving them passports and putting them up for adoption.

    Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: In a situation of war, you cannot determine if children have families or guardianship. And, therefore, until that is clarified, you cannot give them another nationality or having them adopted by another family.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    The Russians said they categorically reject the allegations.

    New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, faced torrential rains and heavy flooding today. The deluge triggered widespread damage, with water waist-deep in some areas. Submerged cars were abandoned as drivers struggled to get to safety. Officials warned some residents to be ready to evacuate.

    Back in this country, the Justice Department accused three men of plotting on orders from Iran to kill an Iranian American journalist in New York. Masih Alinejad has spoken out against human rights abuses in Iran. She confirmed she was the target.

    In Washington, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Iran has pursued dissidents without regard for borders.

  • Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General:

    The Department of Justice will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to undermine those protections and the rule of law upon which our democracy is based. We will not tolerate attempts by a foreign power to threaten, silence or harm Americans.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    The three suspects are accused of money laundering and murder for hire.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence says he takes full responsibility for classified documents found at his Indiana home. In Florida today, he said — quote — "Those documents should not have been in my personal residence. Mistakes were made."

    The former vice president said he never knew the material was there, but said that was no excuse.

    Republican leaders have reelected Ronna McDaniel to chair the Republican National Committee for two more years. They voted today at a meeting in Southern California. Former President Trump backed McDaniel, but some of his allies supported a challenger.

    President Biden made it official today. Jeff Zients will be his new White House chief of staff. Zients led the administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he ran the National Economic Council under President Obama. He now succeeds Ron Klain, who's stepping down after two years on the job.

    And on Wall Street, stocks managed modest gains. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 28 points to close at 33978. The Nasdaq rose 109 points and the S&P 500 added 10. For the week, the Dow gained nearly 2 percent, the Nasdaq climbed 4 percent, and the S&P rose 2.5 percent.

    Still to come on the "NewsHour": as the world marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, why Americans know so little about its history; Ruth Marcus and Gary Abernathy weigh in on the week's political headlines; we take a look inside the acclaimed new theater production of "Life of Pi," plus much more.

Listen to this Segment