News Wrap: Protests in Peru demand ouster of president and call for new elections

In our news wrap Friday, Peru braced for more protests of crowds demanding the ouster of the country's new president and new elections, the Church of England has formally apologized for its treatment of LGBTQ people and what it calls a "hostile and homophobic response" and the wave of job cuts sweeping the tech world has now hit Google which announced 12,000 layoffs.

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  • Geoff Bennett:

    Good evening. It's good to be with you.

    Ukraine tonight is still battling through a winter of war and still appealing for tanks to help turn the tide against the Russians. The U.S. and dozens of other countries wrestled with that question for more than five hours today at a meeting in Germany. In the end, there was no agreement on providing tanks.

    They did agree to send hundreds of other armored vehicles, but Ukraine's leaders said they will keep pressing for the tanks.

    In Peru, the capital city, Lima, braced for more protests today after thousands of demonstrators clashed with police overnight. Crowds demanded the ouster of the country's new president and appealed for new elections. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. Dozens of people have died in the unrest since President Pedro Castillo was removed from office and jailed last month.

    The Church of England has formally apologized for its treatment of LGBTQ people and what it calls a hostile and homophobic response. At the same time, Anglican Bishops said a ban on same-sex weddings in churches will stay in force. The announcements followed five years of internal debate and came at a news conference in London.

    Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York: I also know that saying sorry doesn't cut it for some people. It sounds hollow. It's all very well you're saying sorry. The church still isn't giving us what we want. That is what — how some people are responding.

    And I want to say, yes, I do get that. But it doesn't mean the sorry isn't still heartfelt.

  • Geoff Bennett:

    The bishops are proposing that the church allow services for same-sex couples that include blessings after they have had a civil wedding.

    The wave of job cuts sweeping the tech industry have now hit Google. The company said today it's laying off 12,000 workers, 6 percent of its total work force, as the pandemic era boom fades. So far this month, tech firms, to include Microsoft, Amazon and others, have cut nearly 50,000 jobs.

    New numbers also give fresh evidence of a slump in the U.S. housing industry. The National Association of Realtors reports sales of existing homes dropped nearly 18 percent last year from a year earlier. That made 2022 the slowest year for the U.S. housing market in nearly a decade. The slowdown came as mortgage interest rates more than doubled during the year.

    Elon Musk began testifying in San Francisco today in a federal class action suit over tweets about Tesla. The billionaire claimed in 2018 that he had the financing to take his electric auto company private, but the deal never happened. Investors say they suffered losses because Musk deceived them about the funding.

    On the stand, Musk defended his tweets, but acknowledged they cannot provide full information by their very nature.

    And on Wall Street, stocks ended the week with a rally led by tech shares. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 331 points, or 1 percent, to close it 33375. The Nasdaq jumped 288 points, nearly 2.7 percent, and the S&P 500 was up almost 2 percent.

    And still to come on the "NewsHour": COVID casts a shadow over the Chinese new year, as billions of people travel to celebrate with family; cities look to free public busing to counteract inequity; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the latest political headlines.

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