News Wrap: Moderna seeks FDA approval for a second COVID booster shot for adults

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• Judy Woodruff:

  In the day's other news: Wildfires are burning largely out of control in Central Texas today, fueled by low humidity and gusty winds. In Eastland, about 120 miles west of Dallas, four of those fires merged into one. Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate, and a sheriff's deputy died trying to save people from the flames.

  Some residents lost everything.

  Debbie Copeland, Eastland Fire victim: I did grab my wedding ring. And I couldn't find his. We didn't grab anything, I mean, I got some coats, and I'm still wearing what I had on. And…

• Judy Woodruff:

  The fires have burned more than 70 square miles and are only 4 percent contained.

  The death toll from a string of chain-reaction crashes on a foggy interstate highway in Southeast Missouri rose to six people today. Many more were injured. Scores of vehicles were involved in yesterday's pileup in the Charleston area, with wreckage spanning half-a-mile long. The interstate reopened early this morning.

  Moderna has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults. That comes as cases in Asia and Europe are surging, driven by a more contagious version of the Omicron variant that is known as BA.2.

  Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warned the pandemic is — quote — "far from over."

  The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bill that would prohibit hair-related discrimination. They voted 235 to 189, largely along party lines. The bill's lead sponsor, Democratic Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, insisted people shouldn't be denied employment or housing based on their hair texture or style.

• Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-NJ:

  There are folks in this society who get to make those decisions who think, because your hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots, or it is not straightened, blonde, and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access to those issues. Well, that's discrimination.

• Judy Woodruff:

  The measure now heads to the Senate, where passage is uncertain. President Biden has already pledged to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

  And a doctor's union in Sudan today reported nearly 200 people were wounded in the latest protests against military rule. Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets yesterday, as thousands gathered in Khartoum to protest poor economic conditions. At least 87 people have been killed in the near daily protests since the military coup last October.

  An Australian government agency warned today that the Great Barrier Reef is suffering its worst coral bleaching damage in two years. Warmer ocean temperatures have caused severe and widespread bleaching in the north and central parts of the World Heritage Site. The reef provides essential food and shelter for marine life.

  Volkswagen is recalling more than 246,000 SUVs in the U.S. and Canada over faulty wiring that makes the vehicles brake unexpectedly, sometimes in traffic. Many drivers also reported warning lights and alarms going off and the driver's side windows rolling down. The recall impacts certain Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs.

  And on Wall Street today, stocks notched their biggest weekly gains since November 2020. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 274 points to close at 34755. The Nasdaq rose 279 points. The S&P 500 added 51.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": a Russian court extends American basketball star Brittney Griner's; a new exhibit honors the influential career of often-overlooked video artist Ulysses Jenkins; health writer Max Lugavere gives his Brief But Spectacular take on preventative care; plus much more.