News Wrap: At least 32 killed in Tornado outbreak

Geoff Bennett:

In the day's other headlines: The death toll has reached at least 32 in an onslaught of tornadoes that struck the South, Midwest and the mid-Atlantic over the weekend.

Aerials from Little Rock Arkansas show the wide extent of the damage from a Friday night storm. Tornadoes destroyed homes and businesses in 11 states as far east as Delaware.

Pentagon officials say they're still analyzing whether a Chinese spy balloon sent intelligence back to Beijing in early February. Reports today said the balloon made repeated passes over military sites on the U.S. mainland and transmitted data in real time. A Pentagon official did not directly confirm or deny the accounts.

Sabrina Singh, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary:

I think what we said at the very beginning was — still holds true to today. As soon as we realized that they were collecting intelligence and hovering over our sensitive sites, we took measures and put into place measures that limited the additive value that the balloon could collect on.

Geoff Bennett:

The balloon was eventually shut down off the U.S. Atlantic Coast. The FBI is examining sensors recovered from the wreckage.

Workers at the passport office in Britain launched a five-week strike today, demanding better pay amid surging inflation. About 1,000 people walked off the job as travelers prepare for the busy summer travel season. It's the latest in a string of public sector strikes across the U.K.

In Paris, the wheels have come off a popular transit option. Parisians voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to ban rented e-scooters. Commuters and tourists have been able to pick up the scooters and drop them off anywhere, but city officials say they have become a nuisance and have caused hundreds of accidents.

Back in this country, NASA named the four astronauts slated to fly around the moon sometime next year. The Artemis 2 crew includes the first woman and the first person of color to go on a lunar mission. The three Americans and one Canadian were introduced to the public today in Houston. Their mission will be NASA's first crewed voyage to the moon in more than 50 years.

Victor Glover, Artemis II Pilot, NASA:

We need to celebrate this moment in human history, because Artemis II is more than a mission to the moon and back. It's more than a mission that has to happen before we send people to the surface of the moon. It is the next step on the journey that gets humanity to Mars.

Geoff Bennett:

President Biden called the four crew members on Sunday and thanked them for their service. The Artemis program aims to land them on the lunar surface as early as 2025.

A potentially groundbreaking lawsuit is going forward against a college campus shut down during the pandemic. A federal judge has now ruled that a student's suit against the University of Delaware will be a class action. More than 17,000 undergraduates were enrolled at the school when in person classes were halted three years ago. The students want partial refunds of tuition.

The price of oil spiked 5.5 percent today after Saudi Arabia and other producers announced plans to scale back output. They say the cut of more than a million barrels a day will start in May. White House officials say they oppose the move and made that clear to the Saudis.

On Wall Street, those higher oil prices boosted energy stocks and offset losses in tech shares. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 327 points, or 1 percent, to close it 33601. The Nasdaq fell 32 points. The S&P 500 added 15.

And Louisiana State University celebrated today after winning its first NCAA women's basketball championship. The Tigers and their coach, Kim Mulkey, claimed the title Sunday in Dallas, beating Iowa 102-85. Angel Reese was named the most outstanding player.

And still to come on the "PBS NewsHour": Chicago sees record early voter turnout ahead of a contentious run-off election for mayor; the former president of Iraq reflects on the U.S. invasion some 20 years later; a new exhibit by artist Kehinde Wiley focuses on grief and asks whose lives have value.