News Wrap: Memphis mass shooting suspect jailed, U.N. renews call for Pakistan aid

Judy Woodruff:

In the day's other news: The suspect in this week's mass shooting in Memphis will remain jailed on a first-degree murder charge. Ezekiel Kelly appeared in court today, accused of killing for people on Wednesday. He was granted a public defender and could face additional charges. Investigators say they're still trying to piece together a motive.

In Ukraine. The military reported new gains in the east, driving back Russian forces in the Kharkiv region. And pro-Russian officials in the area said that they're evacuating several villages. But in the south, the U.N. nuclear agency warned that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant can no longer be supplied with power from the outside.

We will focus on that story after the news summary.

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, is insisting that his regime will never give up its nuclear weapons. State media says that he spoke Thursday on a new law that spells out when to use nuclear arms, including for preemptive strikes. Kim addressed the rubber stamp National Assembly in Pyongyang and declare the North's nuclear status is now irreversible.

Kim Jong-Un, North Korean Leader (through translator):

Let them impose sanctions on us for 100 days, 1,000 days, 10 years or 100 years. We will not give up our right to life and right to defend our country, on which the future and safety of our people depend, regardless of whatever extreme situation we get to face.

Judy Woodruff:

North Korea has ramped up its missile testing to a record pace over the last year, and there have been signs of preparations to resume nuclear tests.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urgently renewed his appeal today to help Pakistan recover from catastrophic flooding. He spoke after viewing the devastation firsthand. Months of heavy monsoon rains have now claimed nearly 1,400 lives in the South Asian country and left half-a-million people homeless.

António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General:

Pakistan needs massive financial support to respond to this crisis that have cost, according to some estimates I have heard today, about $30 billion and counting. And that support is entirely necessary.

Judy Woodruff:

Guterres said that providing help is a matter of justice, because Pakistan is a victim of climate change caused by more developed nations.

Back in this country, former President Trump and the Justice Department were submitting candidates for an independent outside expert to review seized documents. The FBI found the material, some of it classified, at the Trump a state in Florida. A federal judge has ordered a special master to check the documents. The Justice Department wants to delay that order, pending an appeal.

Relief may finally be inside for California and other parts of the American West after days of dangerous heat. A tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean is expected to break the heat wave this weekend. Temperatures in Sacramento could drop 20 degrees by tomorrow, down to the 80s.

Big changes are coming to baseball. A Major League rules committee approved moves today to speed up the game and generate more offense. They include a pitch clock, limiting the time between pitches, plus bigger bases, among other things. Major League Baseball also announced that it will accept a labor union for minor league players.

And, on Wall Street, stocks finished their first winning week in nearly a month. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 377 points to close at 32151. The Nasdaq rose 250 points or 2 percent. The S&P 500 added 61. For the week, the Dow gain 2.7 percent, the Nasdaq surged 4 percent, the S&P 500 rose 3.6 percent.