News Wrap: Omarosa airs secret tape of Trump campaign job offer

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• Judy Woodruff:

  The "Queen of Soul," a national treasure. The death of Aretha Franklin today of pancreatic cancer has brought an outpouring of tributes from around the world.

  She shot to stardom in the 1960s with classics like "Think" and "Respect". Later, she renewed her popularity in the 1980 movie "The Blues Brothers." And, in 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

  Aretha Franklin was 76 years old. We'll look at her life and legacy later in the program.

  In the day's other news, President Trump's move to revoke John Brennan's security clearance rippled across Washington. The former CIA director cast it as a disturbing power play. He wrote in "The New York Times" that it was, quote, an attempt to scare others into silence who might dare to challenge him.

  The decision also divided senators, among them, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

• Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.:

  I think there was clearly an attempt here by the president to try to make his critics go away. And if that's his goal, then he will not be successful.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.:

  Mr. Brennan has gone way over the line in my view and I think restricting his clearance, pulling his clearance makes sense to me.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Brennan charged the president is trying to protect himself from potential damage in the Russia investigation. And, in a "Wall Street Journal" interview, Mr. Trump himself linked his decision to the Russia probe. We'll talk to a former top CIA official after the news summary.

  The president's former adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman is out with another secretly-made recording, and says it proves that he has tried to buy her silence. It was aired today on MSNBC. In it, Lara Trump, who was the president's daughter-in-law, offers a campaign job at $15,000 a month. But only provided Manigault Newman keeps any damaging information to herself.

• Lara Trump:

  It sounds a little like, obviously, that there are some things you've got in the back pocket to pull out. Clearly, if you come on board the campaign, like, we can't have — we got to —

• Omarosa Manigault Newman:

  Oh, god, no.

• Lara Trump:

  — everything, everybody, positive, right?

• Judy Woodruff:

  Manigault Newman says she made the recording days after she was fired from the White House last December. In a written response, Lara Trump said she offered the job before she learned of what she called Manigault Newman's "gross violations of ethics and integrity".

  The Vatican says it feels shame and sorrow over sexual abuse documented in the Pennsylvania Catholic church. A grand jury found some 1,000 children were molested by more than 300 priests, over decades, and that the church all the way up to the Vatican helped cover it up.

  In a statement today, the Vatican said, quote, the church must learn hard lessons from its past.

  In Genoa, Italy, officials said today as many as 20 people are still missing in Tuesday's bridge collapse. The death toll is now 38. Rescuers dug through the rubble again for a third day. And, dozens of residents had to evacuate homes near the bridge, fearing even more damage.

• Carlo Mei (through translator):

  I managed to get some essentials. We don't live immediately under the bridge, we are about six buildings away, but they evacuated us any way. We have to get some things but we don't know how long this will last. I hope I can return and get some other things.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Italy is planning a state funeral for the dead on Saturday.

  A bloody week in Afghanistan continued with yet another attack today. Two gunmen opened fire at an Afghan intelligence service compound in Kabul. The shootout lasted for six hours before police killed the attackers. Meanwhile, mourners buried victims of yesterday's suicide bombing that killed 34 Shiite students. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

  Back in this country, new federal figures show 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017. That's up 10 percent from the year before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the increase is largely due to a sharp rise in deaths from synthetic opioids.

  Meanwhile, police in New Haven, Connecticut, are trying to round up a bad batch of synthetic marijuana, after 76 people overdosed within a 24-hour period. Paramedics started responding to overdoses on Wednesday morning, around a park near Yale University. No one has died, but police have made three arrests.

  And on Wall Street, stocks jumped on news that the U.S. and China will hold new trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 400 points, 1-1/2 percent, to close at 25,558. The Nasdaq rose 32, and the S&P 500 added 22.

  Still to come on the NewsHour, fallout from the president's decision to revoke the former CIA director's security clearance. Newspapers speak out about being labeled "fake news". The last rebel strongholds in Syria, and much more.