News Wrap: Ohio officials say public water supply safe near derailment, chemical spill

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• Amna Nawaz:

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

• Geoff Bennett:

  And I'm Geoff Bennett.

  On the "NewsHour" tonight: Northwestern Syria struggles to recover from that deadly earthquake, as politics hamper efforts to provide aid.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit against FOX News reveals the network's hosts didn't believe the election fraud lies they pushed in the wake of former President Trump's 2020 defeat.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And a man who was released after spending 28 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit reflects on his wrongful conviction.

  Lamar Johnson, Freed From Prison After Nearly 28 Years: I could not imagine giving up on something that I know was rightfully taken from me.

  (BREAK)

• Geoff Bennett:

  Good evening. and welcome to the "NewsHour."

  The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria topped 43,000 people today. That number is sure to keep climbing now that more search teams have reached the hardest-hit areas.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Against all odds, rescuers are still pulling people out alive from the wreckage 11 days later.

  In the Turkish city of Antakya today, this 40-year-old man was freed after spending 278 hours under the rubble. But the window for finding more signs of life is closing quickly.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Officials in Ohio say new testing has shown that the public drinking water in East Palestine is safe to drink after a train derailment left behind toxic chemicals earlier this month.

  But the state still recommends those who use private wells continue drinking bottled water. Governor Mike DeWine told residents that the air quality is safe as well.

• Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH):

  To date, they have sampled air in over 500 separate homes. They have also sampled continue to sample air out on the streets and throughout the community. So far, they have had no detection of contaminants, no detection of contaminants.

• Geoff Bennett:

  The governor also said that a chemical plume in the Ohio River has now completely dissipated, and that there is no reason, he says, for concern.

  Five former Memphis police officers have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols. The officers made their first court appearance today before a state judge. All five were fired and are now out on bond. Nichols' mother was in the courtroom and later reacted to the arraignment.

  RowVaughn Wells, Mother of Tyre Nichols: I want each and every one of those police officers to be able to look me in the face. They haven't done that yet. They couldn't even do that today. They didn't even have the courage to look at me in my face after what they did to my son.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Nichols died last month in the hospital three days after being brutally beaten during his arrest. The former officers' next hearing is set for May 1.

  The U.S. military has finished recovering all the debris from the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina. U.S. Northern Command officials still maintain it was being used for spying. Now that all of the remnants have been collected from the ocean floor, they will undergo further analysis at the FBI lab in Virginia to determine exactly what the balloon was monitoring.

  The U.S. Department of Labor has fined one of the country's largest cleaning services for meat-packing plants $1.5 million for hiring minors. It says they employed more than a hundred children, some as young as 13 years old, to clean razor-sharp equipment with dangerous chemicals. They worked at 13 meat-packing plants across the country, including JBS and Turkey Valley Farms.

  In Northeast Syria, four U.S. troops were injured during a helicopter raid in Syria that killed a senior ISIS leader Thursday night, according to the U.S. military. The U.S. service members, as well as a working dog, were wounded during the raid when there was an explosion. The raid killed Hamza al-Homsi, a senior ISIS leader. The operation was conducted with the help of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

  In Germany, the war in Ukraine dominated discussions at the annual Munich Security Conference today ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. With about 40 world leaders in attendance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for more support, comparing his country's struggle to a David vs. Goliath battle.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President:

  We need to hurry up. We need the speed, speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery to strengthen our sling, speed of our decisions to limit Russian potential.

  There is no alternative to speed, because it is speed that the life depends on.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Vice President Kamala Harris is among those attending the conference. She's set to make a major speech tomorrow on what's at stake in Ukraine.

  Anti-regime protests have erupted across Iran, the most widespread demonstrations in weeks. Video posted on social media overnight showed protesters marching through the streets of several cities to mark 40 days since two demonstrators were executed. The unrest first erupted in September after the death of a woman in morality police custody. Human Rights Watch estimates Iran's violent crackdown on dissent has killed more than 500 people.

  And stocks were mixed on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 130 points to close at 33827. The Nasdaq fell 68 points. The S&P 500 slipped 11.

  And still to come on the "NewsHour": a man wrongfully convicted of murder speaks out after being released from prison; South Carolina becomes a focal point for the 2024 election, as former Governor Nikki Haley launches her campaign; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the weeks political headlines.