News Wrap: Pittsburgh synagogue shooter convicted of killing 11

Read the Full Transcript

• Amna Nawaz:

  In the day's other headlines: The man who opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue was found guilty of all federal charges he faced.

  Robert Bowers killed 11 Jewish worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018. It was the deadliest antisemitic terror attack in U.S. history. Now jurors must decide whether the 50-year-old should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

  Cleanup efforts are under way across several Southern states after powerful storms bore down on the region. The severe weather killed at least five people in Texas, Florida, and Mississippi, and injured more than a hundred others. The worst of the damage was in Northern Texas, where a tornado leveled much of one community northeast of Amarillo.

  John Yang has our report.

• John Yang:

  Devastation and destruction in the Texas Panhandle, as a deadly tornado ripped through the small town of Perryton. Its residents are grappling with unfathomable loss.

  Officials estimate that 200 homes in the area were destroyed. A trailer park in the north part of town suffered a direct hit. The storm began in the late afternoon with heavy hail.

• Woman:

  This is the tornado.

• John Yang:

  Residents caught the twister on camera from afar after it touched down, apparently without warning.

• Woman:

  Total devastation.

• John Yang:

  It continued for more than a mile, at one point barreling through downtown, leaving it unrecognizable.

  Paul Dutcher is the town's fire chief.

• Paul Dutcher, Perryton, Texas, Fire Chief:

  The power lines down, trees shredded, just debris all across the major highways, the major streets. Everything was covered, to a point I couldn't even get to the fire station.

• John Yang:

  Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent state emergency services to help clean up and restore utilities.

  The severe weather was fueled by extreme heat in the region that's making the atmosphere unstable. It's expected to continue this weekend. Forecasters say it could feel as hot as 110 degrees in parts of Texas. Severe weather also caused damage in other areas in the South.

• Man:

  Oh, wow.

• John Yang:

  From strong wind and heavy rain in Louisiana, to massive hail in Arkansas, to storms in the Florida Panhandle that became deadly overnight when a twister knocked a tree onto a house.

  And in the North, another suspected tornado in Ohio toppled trees, and busted power lines, cutting electricity for thousands. More severe weather is expected in Texas and Oklahoma into this evening.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.

• Amna Nawaz:

  At least two people have died after a severe cyclone battered Western India; 23 others were injured. Heavy rains submerged parts of Gujarat State, as fierce winds uprooted trees and electrical poles. The cyclone was expected to weaken as it moved across Southern Pakistan, an area still recovering from last year's devastating floods.

• K.M. Dastur, Fire Official, Gujarat State, India (through translator):

  The number of fallen trees has risen. Yesterday, only a few small structures collapsed, but, judging by the wind speed, the damage might be worse today. Excavators are working now to remove those trees.

• Amna Nawaz:

  More than 180,000 people in both countries were forced to leave their homes to take shelter ahead of the cyclone.

  In Greece, the search for victims of a migrant boat disaster entered its third and final day, but hopes are dwindling fast. Rescuers have not found any bodies since late Wednesday. And they fear up to 500 missing people have drowned. In Kalamata, emotional reunions took place between survivors and their loved ones. About 100 migrants were moved to a camp outside Athens, where officials were overwhelmed with calls.

  Anwar Bakri, Secretary General, Syrian Association of Greece (through translator): I have unending photographs, small kids, 16, 20-years-olds, 25-year-olds whose parents are looking for them. From what I was told, there are no women. All the women died, drowned, with their children in their arms. It is a tragedy. It is unbelievable.

• Amna Nawaz:

  A hundred and four survivors, all men, were rescued. They were from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, and the Palestinian territories; 78 people were confirmed dead.

  Pope Francis was discharged today from the Rome hospital where he underwent hernia surgery nine days ago. His surgeon said the pontiff is doing — quote — "better than before." The 86-year-old waved to well-wishers and prayed to an icon of the Virgin Mary before returning to the Vatican. He plans to make his traditional appearance greeting the public in St. Peter's Square on Sunday.

  The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant for a second time for flashing a handgun in a social media video. This time, he will sit out for the first 25 games of the upcoming season. He already served an eight-game suspension for showing a handgun in a video posted last March.

  In a statement, Morant apologized, saying — quote — "I hope you will give me the chance to prove to you over time I'm a better man than what I have been showing you."

  And stocks gave up some ground on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 109 points to close at 34300. The Nasdaq fell 93 points. And the S&P 500 slipped 16.

  And two passings to note.

  Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst behind the 1971 Pentagon Papers leak, died of pancreatic cancer today at his home in California. The top secret 7,000-page document revealed that the U.S. government knowingly misled the nation about its involvement in the Vietnam War. He spoke about his decision to leak the documents in a 2010 interview with the PBS program "POV."

• Daniel Ellsberg, Former State Department Official:

  As the Pentagon Papers showed — and I have often said that I feel very regretful that I had not put out those documents when I could have in 1964 and '65 — I think that a war really might have been avoided.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Daniel Ellsberg was 92 years old.

  And Donald Triplett, the first person to ever be diagnosed with autism, has died. He passed away at his home in Forest, Mississippi after an extended illness. Triplett was profiled in the book "In a Different Key: The Story of Autism." It was a 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist for general nonfiction and later led to a PBS documentary. Donald Triplett was 89 years old.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the legacy of Daniel Ellsberg; a new poll reveals what voters think of former President Trump's indictment; and musician John Legend embarks on a personal path for his latest creative endeavor.