News Wrap: Biden directs US intelligence to redouble efforts probing origin of COVID-19

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• Judy Woodruff:

  In the day's other news: President Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to redouble efforts aimed at pinpointing the origin of COVID-19.

  He asked for findings in 90 days, and pressed China to cooperate, amid fresh reports that the virus might have escaped from a Chinese lab.

  At a White House briefing, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said it's vital to get answers.

• Karine Jean-Pierre:

  We need to get to the bottom of this. As we all know, we have lost almost 600,000 Americans to COVID-19. And we have to get a better sense of the origin of COVID-19 and, also, how do we prevent the next pandemic?

• Judy Woodruff:

  Jean-Pierre also made a bit of history at that session. She is the first openly gay woman and the first Black person in 30 years to deliver the daily White House briefing.

  A tropical cyclone roared ashore today in Eastern India, forcing more than a million people to flee and killing at least six. The storm made landfall in Odisha state with winds gusting near 100 miles an hour. Huge waves battered the coastline as heavy rains flooded streets. Another storm struck India's West Coast less than two weeks ago.

  A court in the Netherlands has issued a landmark climate ruling. It ordered the oil and gas company Royal Dutch/Shell to cut carbon emissions by a net 45 percent by 2030. The court found that Shell's current emissions plans are not enough. Climate change activists cheered the outcome outside the court in The Hague. They said it will have a ripple effect worldwide.

• Roger Cox:

  We're very, very happy that we now have this groundbreaking ruling where the court is crystal clear in the fact that corporations should indeed contribute to solving the climate crisis based on human rights law.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Also today, ExxonMobil shareholders voted to replace at least two board members over climate policy. The dissidents argued the company has failed to commit to greater use of clean energy over fossil fuels. The company had defended its efforts.

  E-commerce giant Amazon made it official today: It's buying the media company MGM for nearly $8.5 billion. The deal adds thousands of MGM's feature films and TV programs to Amazon's streaming service. It's the latest major move in the media industry, as other services try to gain ground on Netflix and Disney+.

  On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 10 points to close at 34323. The Nasdaq rose 80 points, and the S&P 500 added seven.

  People across the Pacific region of the world got a special view overnight, a so-called super blood moon overnight. New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and Western North America had the best views. A time-lapse of stills showed a total lunar eclipse that gave off a reddish-orange color. You can see it here. The full moon was also closer to Earth than usual, making it brighter.

  And retired longtime Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia died of heart failure last night at his home in Alexandria.

  John Yang takes a look at his life.

• Fmr. Sen. John Warner (R-VA):

  Hearing no objection, so ordered.

• John Yang:

  John Warner represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years, respected on both sides of the aisle for his independence and efforts at consensus-building. A former Navy secretary and veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, he was an important voice on military affairs.

• Fmr. Sen. John Warner:

  America has always led in the cause of freedom.

• John Yang:

  As Armed Services Committee chairman, Warner backed President George W. Bush on the Iraq War, but split with the commander in chief over his later troop buildup.

• Fmr. Sen. John Warner:

  Wake up. we're paying a heavy price.

• John Yang:

  His independent streak was also on display when he opposed President Reagan's bid to put Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, defied the NRA on gun issues, and refused to back fellow Virginia Republican Oliver North's 1994 Senate campaign.

  Warner was first elected in 1978, often campaigning with his then-wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor. She would introduce herself as a housewife from a small town in Virginia.

  After retiring from the Senate in 2009, he endorsed Democrats, including Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and Virginia's current senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, no relation, who narrowly lost a 1996 bid to unseat John Warner.

  In the Senate today, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell remembered his former colleague.

• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY):

  My predecessor as chairman of the Rules Committee was a principled patriot across the board. He was also a truly old-school Virginia gentleman.

• John Yang:

  In 2009, the Navy named a submarine for Warner, an uncommon honor for a living person, its homeport, Norfolk, Virginia.

  Warner died with his wife and family at his side.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.

• Judy Woodruff:

  John Warner was 94 years old.