News Wrap: Gershkovich will stand trial in Russia on espionage charges

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Evan Gershkovich will stand trial in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested more than a year ago.

  For the first time, Russian prosecutors specified the allegations against The Wall Street Journal reporter, accusing him of spying on a military factory for the CIA with — quote — "painstaking conspiratorial methods." Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government have denied any wrongdoing. It's not clear when the trial will begin.

  The Justice Department has found a pattern of civil rights abuse at the Phoenix Police Department. This includes discrimination against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people and the use of excessive force. In its 126-page report, the department found that officers used — quote — "dangerous tactics that lead to force that is unnecessary and unreasonable."

  The findings come after a nearly three-year investigation into complaints of brutality by city law enforcement.

  The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said today that his agency was — quote — "too hands-off" with Boeing leading up to a mid-flight incident in January. Administrator Michael Whitaker was referring to the door plug blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight.

  Testifying to a Senate committee today, Whitaker admitted that the FAA was too focused on paperwork audits and not on actual inspections.

• Michael Whitaker, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration:

  We have changed that approach over the last several months and those changes are permanent. We have now moved to a more active, comprehensive oversight model, the audit plus inspection approach, which allows the FAA to have much better insight into Boeing's operations.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Also on Capitol Hill today, lawmakers in the House grilled Microsoft president Brad Smith on his company's plan to improve its security. That comes after China-linked hackers stole 60,000 State Department e-mails by breaking into Microsoft systems last summer. Smith took responsibility for the attack and said the company is working on reducing its engineering presence in China.

  U.S. officials granted the Makah Tribe in Washington state a waiver to hunt gray whales today. The decision paves the way for what would be the tribe's first permitted hunt since 1999. The Makah had hunted whales for hundreds of years, but quit in the early 20th century after commercial whaling shrank populations. The tribe has spent more than two decades trying to resume the practice.

  Even with the waiver, the Makah will still need a permit, which could take months, and animal rights groups could challenge the decision in court.

  Tropical downpours pounded Southern Florida for a third day in a row today, adding to the already life-threatening floods in the area. Parts of Miami have seen more than 20 inches of rain since Tuesday. The nonstop precipitation has turned roads into rivers, submerging vehicles and stranding drivers. Aerial footage early today showed entire neighborhoods underwater.

  Longtime residents of Hallandale Beach, north of Miami, say they have never seen anything like it.

• Luis Garcia Infante, Hallandale Beach, Florida, Resident:

  Thirteen years, there's been storms, there's been rain, heavy rain, but never, never like this. This is extreme. This is a little bit too much. We was not expecting this.

• Amna Nawaz:

  The severe weather comes at the start of what's expected to be an extraordinary hurricane season. Weather officials say La Nina conditions are likely to form this summer, which typically lead to more hurricanes forming in the Atlantic.

  The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee said today that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took three undisclosed trips on a private jet provided by a Republican megadonor. The fights took place between 2017 and 2021. The committee notes that these trips were not included in an amendment filed last week to Thomas' 2019 financial disclosure.

  In a statement, Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said this new information — quote — "makes it crystal clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct because its members continue to choose not to meet the moment."

  President Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero as the new head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. Goldsmith Romero is a long time federal financial regulator who currently serves at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. If confirmed by the Senate Banking Committee, she would replace Martin Gruenberg, who agreed to resign last month after reports of workplace harassment and abuse at the agency.

  New data out today shows signs of cooling in the U.S. economy. The Producer Price Index, which monitors prices before they reach consumers, dropped last month by its largest amount since October, and the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits climbed to a 10-month high.

  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on CNBC this morning that this latest data shows this economy is settling into a more natural rhythm.

• Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary:

  The labor market has become a little less hot, a little bit more normal. And so the labor market now is resembling what it looked like pre-pandemic. Wages are increasing, but at a slower rate. And so that doesn't really look like it's a threat to inflation.

• Amna Nawaz:

  The latest readings come a day after the Fed signaled it would only lower interest rates once this year. That's down from an earlier projection of three cuts.

  And on Wall Street today, stocks were largely unchanged. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 65 points to close at 38647. The Nasdaq notched its fourth straight record close, adding 59 points. The S&P 500 also ended at a new high.

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