News Wrap: Trump faces possible indictment for alleged hush money payments

Geoff Bennett:

In the day's other headlines: California took another hit from the heavens, as a so-called atmospheric river brought torrents of rain and more snow.

Stephanie Sy reports, it's adding to the states weather woes after a series of extreme storms.

Stephanie Sy:

Hours of rain since last night have caused overflowing waterways to wash out roads.

The downpours have filled freeways around the San Francisco Bay Area. And 34 counties across the state are now under a state of emergency. Piles of mud still line the streets of this neighborhood in Felton. It's been battered repeatedly by storms since the start of the year.

Tom Fredericks, California Resident:

I'm past the burnout part. I'm in the acceptance part.

Stephanie Sy:

Tom Fredericks had just gotten through cleaning up from the last series of storms.

Tom Fredericks:

We have been working every week, every week, when we can since then. And it's just starting right now to feel like it was before the storms. So, this is kind of discouraging to be facing it all over again.

Stephanie Sy:

In Southern California, there are concerns new rain could melt tons of snow from previous winter storms and trigger catastrophic flooding.

And evacuation warnings have been issued, including in Merced County in the central part of the state. Just two weeks ago, people had to be rescued there.

Chris Krzanich, California Resident:

I don't want to go through this again. After being rescued at 1:30 in the morning on a flatbed trailer with a backhoe pushing cars out of the way, and, yes, we're not going through that again. So we will be leaving early if it is going to look bad.

Stephanie Sy:

In parts of the state with massive snow accumulations, the risk of roof collapses is rising, as up to eight feet of new snow is predicted in high elevations.

Kim George is the battalion chief for the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

Kim George, South Lake Tahoe, California, Fire Department:

Some of these shaded neighborhoods have probably eight, 10 feet in the city, and the county areas even more so.

With all of the snow load and the amount of weight that's sitting on roofs, we have pretty significant concern coming up with roof snow load with all the rain.

Craig Griesbach, Emergency Services Director, Nevada County, California:

I think this is day 15, essentially been working 24/7 with all hands on deck.

Stephanie Sy:

Craig Griesbach is director of emergency services for Nevada County, California, where new weather alerts are now up.

Craig Griesbach:

We have a very old, older demographic. So there's definitely an area of need here more than more than other places. So that goes to mail. Pretty much anything of daily service has been hampered, including trash service as well.

Stephanie Sy:

Meanwhile, Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains will remain closed through next Thursday. Over the past two weeks, parts of the iconic park were buried 15 feet deep in snow.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

Geoff Bennett:

Forecasters are calling for yet another major storm in California early next week.

Former President Trump now has a decision to make, whether to appear before a grand jury in New York next week. The focus would be his alleged role in hush money payments to an adult film actress during the 2016 presidential campaign. Manhattan's district attorney has offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify in what could be a precursor to criminal charges.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed today to restore diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by China. The Persian Gulf powers broke ties in 2016 and have competed in proxy conflicts in Yemen and elsewhere. Iran's top security official welcomed the news.

Ali Shamkhani, Secretary, Iranian Supreme National Security Council (through translator):

At the end of the talks, we reached a conclusion to start a new chapter after seven years of breaking off relations. We hope this new chapter will compensate for the stagnation of relations and lead to stability and security in the region.

Geoff Bennett:

The agreement marked a major diplomatic moment for China. In Washington, the White House said it welcomes any deal that could end the war in Yemen and reduce regional tensions.

China's President Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term today, putting him on the road to staying in power for life. He won a unanimous endorsement from the ceremonial National People's Congress. He'd already secured five more years as head of the Chinese Communist Party.

Much of Ukraine had electrical power restored today after a major Russian missile barrage on Thursday. And, in Kyiv, President Zelenskyy attended the funeral of a well-known fighter and commander. He died in the battle that's raging around Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine.

Police in Hamburg, Germany, are still searching for a motive after a gunman killed six people and himself at a Jehovah's Witness hall. Eight others were wounded in the attack last night, including a pregnant woman who miscarried after being shot. The killings stunned the neighborhood, and people today left flowers and lit candles, paying their respects to the victims.

Daniel Krallmann, Hamburg Resident (through translator):

It is important to me because this is on my way to work. I always pass by here, and I enjoy it. And so I thought I'd express my sympathy by laying flowers here. I love Hamburg. And then, when something like this happens, you are really quite disturbed.

Geoff Bennett:

The gunman was a former member of the Jehovah's Witness congregation that he attacked. Police said they recently received a tip that he was angry at the group and might be unfit to own a gun.

Back in this country, reports of sexual assaults shot up last year at U.S. military academies. The Pentagon says a survey found an 18 percent increase over the previous year. That includes one in five female students who said they'd been subjected to unwanted sexual contact. The Naval Academy alone had nearly double the number of reports from the year before.

Some of the most conservative House Republicans spelled out their demands today in the impasse over raising the national debt ceiling. The House Freedom Caucus called for cutting spending by $130 billion, reversing student debt relief, and freezing most agency budgets for 10 years. Members dismissed President Biden's new budget, and he rejected their demands in statements.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA):

Members of the House Freedom Caucus, who have never continually voted for debt ceiling increases, will support a solution to responsibly address the impending debt ceiling crisis. Simply put, the plan is to shrink Washington and grow America.

Joe Biden, President of the United States: Members of the House caucus will consider voting to raise the debt ceiling contingent upon the enactment of legislation.

Do you know what the essence of the enactment of the legislation is? Cut all spending other than defense by 25 percent, 25 percent, across the board.

Geoff Bennett:

House Republican leaders have not indicated if they support the Freedom Caucus plan.

The House of Representatives voted unanimously today to declassify U.S. intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. Democrats and Republicans joined in pressing for answers on how the virus started and whether it could have escaped from a Chinese lab. The bill now goes to President Biden, but there's no word on whether he will sign it.

And, on Wall Street, stocks retreated again in the face of interest rate fears. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 345 points, or 1 percent, to close at 31909. The Nasdaq fell nearly 1.8 percent. The S&P 500 slipped 1.5 percent, finishing its worst week since September.

And still to come on the "PBS NewsHour": arms manufacturers struggle to produce enough ammunition for Ukraine's battle against Russia; former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson discusses his potential bid for the White House; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines.