News Wrap: 54 dead as heavy rain devastates coastal areas in Brazil

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• Geoff Bennett:

  In the day's other headlines: Parts of California were under blizzard and flood warnings today, as a vicious storm intensified across the Western U.S.

  Forecasters warned up to five feet of snow could fall on the mountains near Los Angeles. The weather caused dangerous whiteout conditions for drivers. In Portland, Oregon, people were trapped on icy roads for hours.

• Robert Insley, Truck Driver:

  Twelve, 13, 14 hours, the road opened up, and I got up to here, and it had — and there was a big truck over here, and he couldn't get up the Hill. So, I parked it here, and I got to wait for a tow truck. That's the safest thing. I have been up all night long.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Farther east, about 650,000 people are still without power in Michigan after one of the worst ice storms there in decades. The heavy snow and freezing rain are expected to linger from coast to coast into the weekend.

  In Brazil, the death toll from heavy rain that has devastated coastal areas has risen to 54 people. Cleanup efforts are under way after massive downpours caused landslides and flooding in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo last weekend. Residents are reeling from the loss.

• Valdemir, Flood Victim (through translator):

  All my houses were brought down. The broken tiles and shingles fell on us, leaving us injured. I called out to my mother, hoping she would answer, but all I heard were three cries from her and nothing else. At that moment, I knew she was taken away from us forever.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Rescuers are searching for dozens of people who are still missing before more rain moves in this weekend.

  Back in this country, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation rose more than expected last month, triggering a Wall Street sell-off, as investors weighed the prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 337 points to close at 32817. The Nasdaq fell 195 points. And the S&P 500 shed 42.

  First lady Jill Biden is giving the strongest signal yet that President Joe Biden will run for reelection. The president has long said that it's his intention to run again, but has not yet made it official. During an interview with the Associated Press during a trip to Kenya, the first lady said the president is gearing up for a race.

  Jill Biden, Wife of Joe Biden: He says he's not done. He's not finished what he started. And that's what's important. And I think look at all that Joe has done.

• Question:

  Is all that's left at this point is just to figure out a time and place for the announcement?

• Jill Biden:

  Pretty much.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Meantime, Vice President Kamala Harris met today with reproductive rights advocates and defended access to abortion pills. She spoke out as a Texas lawsuit seeks to ban sales of the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone nationwide over concerns its safety review was flawed.

  The vice president said its the latest effort to limit women's rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.

  Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States: We will continue to fight for the rights of American people to make decisions about their own bodies, free from government interference and free from partisan political obstructionist attacks.

  This is not just an attack on women's fundamental freedoms. It is an attack on the very foundations of our public health system.

• Geoff Bennett:

  The meeting happened as 12 Democrat-led states sued the federal government today to expand access to mifepristone, challenging restrictions on its distribution.

  And still to come on the "NewsHour": why House Speaker McCarthy is drawing criticism for giving FOX exclusive footage of the January 6 attack; David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines; and the Ukrainian Ballet uses dance to help their country's fight against Russia.

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