News Wrap: Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro sentenced to prison for contempt of Congress

Nation

In our news wrap Thursday, former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in federal prison for contempt of Congress, the U.S. economy is showing more signs of surprising resilience thanks to robust consumer spending and the Hamas-run health ministry reported an Israeli strike killed 20 people waiting for food in Gaza.

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  • Amna Nawaz:

    In the day's other headlines: Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in federal prison for contempt of Congress. He had refused to cooperate with the congressional January 6 investigation. Navarro appeared in court in Washington, where the judge told him he's not the victim of a political prosecution. Later, Navarro filed an appeal of his conviction and sentence.

    The U.S. economy is showing more signs of surprising resilience thanks to robust consumer spending. The Commerce Department reports overall output expanded at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. That was down from 4.9 percent in the third quarter, but much stronger than expected.

    In Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry reported an Israeli strike killed 20 people waiting for food in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it's investigating. Elsewhere, fighting raged near two hospitals in Khan Yunis. Palestinian medics said the Nasser and al-Amal complexes have been cut off by shelling.

    And at an Israeli border crossing, hostage families demanded that humanitarian assistance be sent to the captives held in Gaza.

    DANNY ELGARAT, Brother of Israeli Hostage: Hundreds of humanitarian trucks come inside to Gaza Strip, and only for one side, only for the Palestinians. There is no humanitarian steps for our hostages over there. There is no Red Cross visiting. There is no food.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    Also today, the Israeli military said a misfired Hamas rocket may have struck a U.N. shelter in Khan Yunis on Wednesday, killing 12 people. It ruled out an Israeli airstrike or artillery as the cause.

    In Yemen, the leader of the Houthi rebels vowed today they will go on targeting commercial shipping until food and medicine gets to Palestinians in Gaza. Abdel-Malek Al-Houthi insisted that the rebels, backed by Iran, will not be stopped by U.S. and British reprisals.

    Ukraine is calling for an international investigation into the downing of a Russian plane that killed all 74 people on board. The Russians claim it was hit by a Ukrainian missile and that 65 Ukrainian prisoners were among the dead. Today, Moscow said the plane's flight recorders have been recovered from the crash site in Western Russia.

    In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it will take outside investigators to get at the truth.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through interpreter):

    The 700th day of this war, a very difficult day. It is obvious that the Russians are messing with the lives of Ukrainian captives. All clear facts must be established to the extent possible, given that the aircraft crashed on Russian territory.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    Ukraine has not confirmed shooting down the plane, but it has questioned whether any POWs were actually on board.

    A Russian court today sentenced Darya Trepova to 27 years in prison for a bombing that killed a pro-war blogger. Trepova said she did not know a bomb was hidden in a gift she delivered to the victim in St. Petersburg. Her lawyers called the sentence cruel. A separate court gave Russian nationalist Igor Girkin four years in jail for criticizing President Putin's war strategy.

    The state of Alabama prepared today to execute convicted killer Kenneth Smith with nitrogen gas, pending his final appeals. That method has never been used in the U.S. Plans called for Smith to be strapped to a gurney tonight and fed pure nitrogen, causing him to suffocate. The state says its painless, but opponents call it cruel.

    A chapter in spaceflight history has closed tonight on Mars. NASA says its Ingenuity helicopter has flown its last flight because one of the rotor blades is bent. Ingenuity made the first powered flights on another planet. It's original 30-day mission ended up lasting more than three years.

    Japan's space agency confirmed today that its first lunar mission made a pinpoint landing last week, but it's upside down. An image from a smaller probe showed the rover toppled over because an engine lost thrust. That left its solar panels unable to generate power. Scientists hope the sun's changing angle will fix the problem.

    And on Wall Street, stocks advanced on the upbeat news about economic growth at the end of last year. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 242 points to close at 38049. The Nasdaq rose 28 points. And the S&P 500 added 25.

    Still to come on the "NewsHour": new abortion restrictions affect an estimated tens of thousands of rape victims; why the demand for lithium batteries could drain water resources; Ohio becomes the latest state to restrict minors' access to gender-affirming care; plus much more.

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News Wrap: Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro sentenced to prison for contempt of Congress first appeared on the PBS News website.

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