News Wrap: Other races get attention as 5 states hold primaries

Amna Nawaz:

In the day's other headlines: President Biden kicked off a three-day swing across the West with a focus on winning Latino voters. He stopped first in Reno, Nevada, to meet with volunteers, before heading to Las Vegas, then to Phoenix, Arizona, and finally to Dallas and Houston in Texas.

In the meantime, former President Trump stirred new outrage for saying Jewish voters who support Democrats hate Israel and Judaism. The nation's top Jewish elected official, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called it — quote — "unadulterated antisemitism."

Both candidates have clinched their presidential nominations, but other races are getting attention tonight in the latest primaries. Republicans in Ohio are picking a candidate to try to pick up a U.S. Senate seat. And in heavily Democratic Chicago, voters are choosing a nominee for the nation's second largest prosecutor's office. The winner is all but assured of election in November.

Congressional negotiators worked today to flesh out spending bills needed to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend. They agreed overnight on the overall package, covering the Pentagon, Homeland Security and other departments.

Senate leaders welcomed the deal, but said time is running out.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY):

There's a lot of work to do in the coming days. If both parties proceed in the same manner we did two weeks ago, quickly, constructively, and without unnecessary partisan dithering, then I'm hopeful we can finish the appropriations process without causing a lapse in government services.

Amna Nawaz:

The spending bills are the final ones needed to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.

Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro reported to federal prison today in Miami. He's to serve four months for refusing to cooperate with the congressional January 6 investigation. Navarro condemned the justice system today at a news conference. Then he was driven into the prison complex, and officials confirmed he's now in custody.

In Mississippi, two former sheriff's deputies were sentenced in the racist torture of two Black men. One defendant got 20 years in federal prison. The other got more than 17 years. In all, six former officers admitted to their roles in sexually and physically abusing the victims. Several belong to a group known as the Goon Squad. The sentencings continue tomorrow and Thursday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin insisted today that Washington remained committed to Ukraine's war effort, despite a funding stalemate in Congress. Austin joined counterparts from Europe and other nations at a meeting in Germany. Later, he said — quote — "The United States will not let Ukraine fail."

Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense: I leave here today fully determined to keep U.S. security assistance and ammunition flowing. And that's a matter of survival and sovereignty for Ukraine. And it's a matter of honor and security for America. And make no mistake, Putin is watching, the world is watching, and history is watching.

Amna Nawaz:

Last week, the Pentagon sent its first military aid to Ukraine since December after finding cost savings in other accounts.

In Hong Kong today, lawmakers unanimously approved a national security law that grants the government even more power to crack down on dissent. The legislature, stacked with pro-China loyalists, had fast-tracked the measure. It expands on a similar law that's been used to prosecute pro-democracy activists since 2020.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is facing the first of what may be multiple indictments, this one for falsifying his COVID vaccination status. The far right leader had openly flouted health restrictions during the pandemic. Under Brazil's legal system, today's indictment allows actual charges to be filed.

The United Nations International Labor Organization reports that illegal profits from forced labor have skyrocketed to $236 billion per year. The agency finds there was a 37 percent increase in 2021 from a decade earlier. It also found sexual exploitation accounts for three-quarters of the illicit profits.

Back in this country, the Biden administration is easing its drive for more electric vehicles. The Energy Department granted higher mileage ratings for E.V.s today. That makes it easier for automakers to meet higher fuel economy mandates. And reports said the EPA will relax its timetable for tailpipe emission cuts. The plan relies heavily on E.V. sales, but demand for the vehicles has slowed.

And on Wall Street, stocks advanced again today ahead of tomorrow's Federal Reserve announcement on interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 320 points to close at 39,110. The Nasdaq rose 63 points. The S&P 500 added 29.