News Wrap: Russia claims Ukraine shot down plane transporting POWs

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• Amna Nawaz:

  In the day's other headlines: Israeli forces and Hamas militants battled outside the main hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza's second largest city.

  That left thousands of Palestinian patients and refugees trapped in the area. Thousands more fled to Rafah along the Egyptian border. They are joining 1.5 million displaced Gazans already crammed into encampments there.

• Faten Al-Hamami, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter):

  I swear there is no safe place. We are scared for our children. We didn't sleep all night with rain and bombing ongoing above us. I set up the tent using nylon. This is the harshest period of winter.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Back in Khan Yunis, the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees reported that an Israeli tank round killed nine people and wounded 75 at a U.N. training center. Israeli officials have said Hamas fighters operate around U.N. sites and other civilian structures.

  Moscow is accusing Ukrainian forces of shooting down a Russian military transport plane today, killing all 74 people on board. The Russians say the plane went down in the Belgorod region as it was flying 65 Ukrainians to a prisoner swap at the border. Amateur video showed the plane bursting into flames as it fell from the sky and plummeted to the ground. Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm or deny the claim.

  A State Trooper in Minnesota was charged with second-degree murder today in the death of a black motorist. Body camera video Ryan Londregan approaching Ricky Cobb's car during a traffic stop in Minneapolis last summer. State officials say Londregan opened fire when the vehicle started to move. The Minneapolis area has had a series of fatal police encounters, including the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

  Ohio will be the 23rd state to ban gender-affirming care for those under the age of 18. Republican lawmakers enacted that today over GOP Governor Mike DeWine's veto. He issued a ban by executive order, but argued that enshrining it into law was overreach. The measure also bars transgender athletes from girls and women's sports teams in public schools and colleges.

  Johnson & Johnson agreed today to pay $150 million to Washington state in an opioid settlement. Opioid deaths in the state had more than doubled to more than 2,000 from 2019 to 2022. Nationwide, drug companies and others have reached $50 billion in opioid settlements in recent years.

  Across Europe, farmers protested from France to Poland over sliding incomes and regulation. Demonstrators say rising costs and cheap imports are putting unfair pressure on the industry. In France, they put up roadblocks and filled streets with tractors. Some took their case against higher costs and cheap imports to the E.U. Parliament in Brussels.

• Philippe Thomas, French Cereal Farmer (through interpreter):

  The message is, stop us from being caught in the middle. They impose more and more draconian standards on us. But, on the other hand, our produce isn't protected. We need to be cleaner and cleaner, which costs us more and more, but we're in a global market, so the cheapest wins.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Among other things, the farmers cited special wartime rules that let Ukraine ship more produce to the rest of Europe.

  In economic news, China's Central Bank announced it's reducing the amount of cash that banks have to hold in reserves. The goal is to free more money for lending and in turn boost the country's struggling post-COVID economy. It's the latest in a series of moves aimed at stabilizing China's markets and shoring up confidence in the economic outlook.

  And on Wall Street, stocks had a mixed day. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 99 points to close at 37806. The Nasdaq rose 56 points, and the S&P 500 added four.

  And next month, comedian Jon Stewart will return to "The Daily Show" as host and executive producer, but only hosting on Monday nights through the election. Stewart led the satirical program for 16 years before leaving in 2015. "The Daily Show" has not had a permanent host in more than a year.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": U.S. attacks on Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen raise fears of a wider regional war; a new book documents the racism of a Jim Crow era mental health facility; the Oscars spark controversy by snubbing "Barbie" for best actress and director; plus much more.