News Wrap: Terror attack in Tel Aviv kills 1, injures 6 others

Amna Nawaz:

Good evening, and welcome to the "NewsHour."

The Middle East is on edge tonight after an attack in Tel Aviv killed an Italian tourist and wounded five other Italian and British citizens. Israeli authorities said a Palestinian driver rammed a car into a group of people near a popular park. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was calling up more border police and Israeli Defense Forces to confront terror attacks.

That came hours after Israeli airstrikes pounded the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, in retaliation for rocket attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Two British-Israeli sisters were also killed in a Palestinian shooting in the occupied West Bank.

Back in this country, there are more signs the economy is holding strong, in spite of a string of interest rate hikes over the past year. The Labor Department reported employers added 236,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent. Average hourly raises wages rose over 4.2 percent over last year. All that has raised hopes that the Fed could pause its rate hikes soon.

Two Russian news agencies are reporting jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been formally charged with espionage in Russia. TASS and Interfax also said the American journalist entered a formal denial. Russian authorities arrested the 31-year-old last week. He is the first American journalist to be detained in Russia on spying claims since the Cold War.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is defending himself a day after ProPublica reported he's taken lavish trips for decades that were paid for by a Republican megadonor. Thomas issued a statement claiming he'd been advised by colleagues not to disclose — quote — "this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court."

China is retaliating against the Taiwanese president's visit to the U.S. by imposing sanctions on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other U.S. and Asia-based organizations. The California library was the site of talks Wednesday between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai returned home today to a swarm of cameras and struck a defiant tone that Taiwan won't succumb to intimidation.

Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese President (through translator):

We showed the international community that, in the face of pressure and threats, Taiwan will be even more united and will absolutely not yield to suppression, nor, due to obstructions, stop exchanges with the world.

Amna Nawaz:

China also sanctioned Taiwan's U.S. envoy, prohibiting her and her family members from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

And Christians around the world marked this Good Friday with an array of ceremonies and rituals. Pilgrims heaved a wooden cross through Jerusalem's Old City, retracing Jesus' path to crucifixion. The faithful took part in spite of violence there earlier in the week.

And, at the Vatican, Pope Francis, who was recently hospitalized, for bronchitis, presided over mass in a wheelchair. But he skipped the traditional Way of the Cross procession, citing cold weather.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": the Biden administration proposes putting a stop to blanket bans on transgender athletes; Jonathan Capehart and Gary Abernathy analyze a week full of political controversy; a newly renovated CIA museum showcases the agency's triumphs and mistakes; plus much more.