News Wrap: Russian missile and drone strikes knock out more utilities in Ukraine

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• Judy Woodruff:

  In the day's other news: A new barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes knocked out more of Ukraine's electric and water utilities. People in Kyiv stocked up today on bottled water and prepared for rolling blackouts, and many remain defiant despite the hardships.

• Mikhaylo Holovnenko, Kyiv Resident (through translator):

  Russians have invaded our country. There is much anger against Russian leaders and Russian people. But we are ready for outages. We have candles. We have charged power banks. Ukraine is charged to win.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Moscow has denied using Iranian-made drones in the attacks. But, today, the U.S. State Department charged that, in fact, Iranian troops are on the ground in Russian-occupied Crimea supporting the drone attacks.

  There's word tonight of at least 170 people killed in Southern Sudan in the last two days. The Associated Press reports new fighting erupted between rival tribal groups. Sudan has been in turmoil since a military coup last October.

  Dozens of people were killed in the neighboring nation of Chad today. The government says 30 people died in the capital city. A morgue official says at least 32 others were killed elsewhere. Rights groups say unarmed civilians were massacred, as they protested having to wait two years for elections. They said police fired live bullets and tear gas. We will return to this later in the program.

  The head of Iran's National Olympic Committee claimed today that competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi will not be punished for competing without a headscarf. She had been greeted by cheering supporters after returning from South Korea on Wednesday. Today, the Iranian Olympic official said that she is not in jail.

• Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa, President, Iranian National Olympic Committee (through translator):

  Upon her arrival, she was a guest at Iran's Olympic Committee hotel with her family. And, today, they headed to their hometown.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Iran has been rocked by protests since a woman died in police custody last month. She had been arrested for wearing a headscarf too loosely.

  Back in this country, suicides in the active-duty U.S. military dropped over the last 18 months, after rising in recent years. The Pentagon reports 328 suicides in 2021, compared with 384 a year earlier. The Air Force and the Marine Corps had the most significant declines, 30 percent. Suicides in the Army actually rose during the overall period, but they are down so far this year. It is not clear exactly what's driving the change.

  A federal appeals court has ruled that U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham must testify in a 2020 election probe in Georgia. A special grand jury is investigating whether then-President Trump tried to interfere with the results. Graham is a South Carolina Republican. He can still appeal today's ruling.

  A federal jury in New York found today that actor Kevin Spacey did not sexually molest a teenager in the 1980s. The verdict in the civil trial ended a lawsuit seeking $40 million in damages. Anthony Rapp had claimed that Spacey made sexual advances to him when he was 14, and Spacey was 26.

  Federal weather forecasters say that the coming winter will again be drier and warmer than average. That means a higher risk of wildfires and droughts in the Western states. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that the weather pattern La Nina is continuing for a third straight year with colder temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

  And, on Wall Street, stocks struggled to hold their ground. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 90 points to close at 30333. The Nasdaq fell 65 points. The S&P 500 slipped 29.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": we examine how Black voters could affect election outcomes, as the midterms draw closer; the U.S. surgeon general warns about high-stress jobs deteriorating Americans' mental health; California ends a ban on cruising that targeted Chicano low-rider culture; plus much more.