News Wrap: Shanghai loosens COVID lockdown, allowing residents to find supplies

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• Judy Woodruff:

  In Israel, police say an officer shot and killed a Palestinian man who stabbed him at a security check early today. It was the latest in a spate of deadly confrontations. Israeli forces also confirmed that they have arrested 20 suspects across the occupied West Bank. The raids follow attacks in Israel that have killed 14 people.

  More than 6.5 million people in Shanghai, China, began venturing outside today after a two-week COVID lockdown. They were allowed to leave their homes and shop for food and medicine. But they were limited to their own neighborhoods.

  Meanwhile, the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai is sending non-emergency staffers home. Officials today cited concerns about how the lockdown is being administered.

• Ned Price, State Department Spokesman:

  We have moved from authorized departure to ordered departure because of the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that have been placed by PRC authorities on people in Shanghai, including our diplomats and their families.

• Judy Woodruff:

  The Chinese Foreign Ministry charged that Washington is using the pandemic to smear and discredit China.

  Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces fresh calls to resign after being fined today for violating pandemic restrictions. It involves office parties during strict COVID curbs in 2020 and 2021. Johnson's wife and finance minister are also being fined. The prime minister said today he understands public anger, but intends to stay in office.

  Back in this country, New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin has resigned after being arrested in a federal corruption investigation. He pleaded not guilty today to taking bribes from a developer to steer grant money to a nonprofit group.

  Benjamin was a Democratic state senator at the time.

  Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York: We also allege that Benjamin repeatedly lied to cover up the bribery scheme, including by falsifying campaign forms and misleading city regulators. And we allege that Benjamin repeatedly lied on the vetting forms that he filled out before he was appointed lieutenant governor.

• Judy Woodruff:

  New York Governor Kathy Hochul made Benjamin her second-in-command last fall, after she replaced Andrew Cuomo as governor.

  On Wall Street today, the new inflation numbers undercut early momentum on the stock market. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 87 points to close at 34220. The Nasdaq fell 40 points. The S&P 500 slipped 15.

  And actor and comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died of heart trouble caused by a rare muscle disease. His raw voice and crude humor first gained notice in the 1980s on stage, TV, and movies. He also did extensive voice work, notably as the parrot Iago in Disney's "Aladdin."

  Gilbert Gottfried was 67 years old.