News Wrap: Bombings in Iran kill at least 95 at ceremony honoring general killed in 2020

Geoff Bennett:

A double bombing in Iran killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 200, the deadliest attack since the Islamic Revolution back in 1979.

Crowds had gathered in the city of Kerman to honor a top military commander who died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq four years ago. Iranian TV captured panic on the cemetery's main road as the blasts erupted 20 minutes apart. The country's supreme leader vowed a harsh response without naming suspects. U.S. officials disavowed any involvement.

Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesman:

And it's too early at least for us to be able to say what might have caused it. But I do want to address some of the irresponsible claims that I have seen circulate and say that, number one, the United States was not involved in any way. And any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous.

And, number two, we have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion.

Geoff Bennett:

By tonight, no group had claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Bomb threats across the U.S. forced evacuations of a number of state capitol buildings this morning. Officials in Connecticut, Maine, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, and Hawaii, among others, confirmed receiving e-mail warnings. Police found no explosives in any of the capitols.

Former President Donald Trump's challenge to being banned from the Colorado primary ballot is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, he formally appealed a state Supreme Court ruling that found he is ineligible to serve as president again for engaging in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Trump is appealing a similar ruling in Maine.

Ukraine and Russia have completed the biggest prisoner exchange since their war started. The United Arab Emirates arranged the swap today. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy shared video of some of the 230 Ukrainian soldiers who were returned. The Russians recovered 248 prisoners. Meantime, Moscow set its forces shot down 12 missiles fired at Belgorod along the Russian southern border. Ukrainian shelling killed 25 people there last weekend.

The death toll in Monday's powerful earthquakes in Western Japan reached 73 today, with at least 15 people still missing. Rescue crews searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings today before heavy rain and freezing temperatures set in. Many survivors spent a third day without water, electricity or cell phone service.

Naomi Gonno, Earthquake Survivor (through interpreter):

No supplies whatsoever have arrived. For food, everyone is cooperating and sharing, but it's just so cold, and there are still aftershocks. I can't believe this is reality. When it gets dark, everyone is so scared. There aren't many people who are able to sleep.

Geoff Bennett:

Some 33,000 people are staying at evacuation centers, hoping they will have homes to return to.

Much of Europe's Nordic region shivered through record-breaking Siberian cold for a second day. Overnight temperatures plunged to minus 46 degrees in Sweden, the lowest January reading there in 25 years. Gale-force winds and heavy snow also closed schools and businesses across Scandinavia and disrupted travel.

Thousands of doctors in Britain are now on strike for the next six days. The planned walkout is set to be the longest in the history of the country's National Health Service. Junior doctors, in the first years of their careers, walked picket lines today. It's the latest in a series of strikes across the British health sector over low pay and the cost of living.

Back in this country, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially filed enough signatures to make the 2024 presidential ballot in Utah. It's the first state where he has qualified so far. Kennedy is now running as an independent, sparking questions about how he might affect the general election outcome in November.

And on Wall Street, tech stocks led the way lower for a second day, and blue chips followed. The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 285 points to close at 37430. The Nasdaq fell 173 points. The S&P 500 dropped 38.