News Wrap: Battle for Bakhmut rages on in streets of ruined Ukrainian city

Amna Nawaz:

Good evening, and welcome. I'm Amna Nawaz.

Geoff Bennett:

And I'm Geoff Bennett.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: The U.S. secretary of state meets his Russian counterpart for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, as the conflict deepens divisions between the two countries,

Amna Nawaz:

Memphis residents question the best path forward for their community after the killing of Tyre Nichols by city police.

Lisa Bennett, Memphis Resident:

There needs to be some cultural shifts. The system and the culture of policing allowed them to beat a man to death.

Geoff Bennett:

And librarians in Louisiana find themselves at odds with conservative activists trying to ban books about race, gender and sexual orientation.

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Geoff Bennett:

Good evening, and welcome to the "NewsHour."

The war in Ukraine is playing out tonight both in the streets of a ruined city and at a high-level diplomatic gathering. It dominated discussions today among foreign ministers from the Group of 20 Nations.

Amna Nawaz:

On the fighting front, the block-by-block battle for Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine raged on. Ukrainian forces are hanging on there under round-the-clock Russian shelling.

Meanwhile, Russia says Ukrainian fighters attacked the Bryansk region inside Russia today. Ukraine denied the claim.

Geoff Bennett:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced protesters as anarchists after a crowd last night staged a mass protest outside the building where his wife was getting her hair done.

Chanting, jeering demonstrators gathered in the street as Sara Netanyahu was in a Tel Aviv hair salon. The chaotic scene lasted for hours before police escorted her away.

Matan Gilan, Protester:

Hundreds of people just blocking her from going out. It all ended when the police came in with horses and just, yes, made their way through and got her out.

Geoff Bennett:

Earlier on Wednesday, police used force for the first time to break up protests against Netanyahu's push to overhaul Israeli courts.

The death toll from a train disaster in Greece climbed to 57 today. Crews again used heavy machinery to look for bodies in the mangled metal and debris of a passenger train that collided head on with a freight train on Tuesday. There's no word yet on what caused the crash.

Back in this country, a Pennsylvania congressman is urging the EPA to expand a testing zone around the train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio. Republican Mike Kelly's district is just across the state line from the site. He says the one-mile radius for testing soil, air and water covers only 22 homes in Pennsylvania. Meantime, railroad union leaders report some workers have fallen ill after doing cleanup at the site.

Much of California finally got drier weather today, but 13 counties remained in a state of emergency digging out from extreme snowfall. East of Los Angeles, seven feet of snow blanketed communities in the San Bernardino Mountains in recent days. But federal officials now say all that snow and rain have ended a long-running drought in half of the state.

Tennessee will be the first state in the nation to impose strict limits on drag shows. Republican Governor Bill Lee signed a bill today that bans the performances on public property, so as to shield them from the view of children. Some Republicans say drag shows expose children to inappropriate themes and imagery. Advocates say the measure is discriminatory. It takes effect July 1, but legal challenges are expected.

On Wall Street, stocks managed a small rally after three days of losses. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 341 points, or 1 percent, to close it 33003. The Nasdaq rose 83 points. The S&P 500 added 30

And a passing of note. Jazz saxophone innovator Wayne Shorter has died in Los Angeles. His career spanned more than 50 years, with compositions that became modern jazz standards. Along the way, he won 12 Grammys and became a Kennedy Center honoree.

Here he is with Herbie Hancock and others back in 2018 performing "Smilin' Through."

(MUSIC)

Geoff Bennett:

Wayne Shorter was 89 years old.

And still to come on the "PBS NewsHour": the use of artificial intelligence raises questions about the future of art; new FDA guidelines spark disagreement among farmers over what exactly is milk; and a Ukrainian music conductor reflects on the war and his life as a refugee.