News Wrap: White House bans TikTok from government-issued devices

Geoff Bennett:

In the day's other news: Nonstop winter storms dumped snow and ice from coast to coast. A new blizzard struck parts of Nevada overnight, with snow piling up around Lake Tahoe. The storm also brought more snow to parts of Southern California.

In the Northeast, snowfall quickly melted into slush around New York, but schools closed in parts of New England. Elsewhere, thousands of people in Michigan spent a sixth day with no power after last week's ice storm.

In Ukraine, a top government commander now says the situation around a key eastern town is extremely tense after months of brutal combat. Russian forces are trying to encircle Bakhmut and cut off its supply routes, but at a heavy cost. New footage today showed smoke billowing from buildings inside the battered city. The last of its residents navigated barren streets.

Meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered beefed-up border security after a Ukrainian made drone got within 60 miles of Moscow today. Ukraine has received well over $100 billion in U.S. aid since the war started, and senior Pentagon officials say it's being well-spent.

Colin Kahl, an undersecretary of defense, made that case at a congressional hearing today, as Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and others pushed for stronger oversight.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC):

There have been billions and us weaponry and financial aid flowing to Ukraine and more coming to stop a war criminal, Putin. We're all concerned about accountability, and the American people need to know, because somehow this hadn't been recognized.

Colin Kahl, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy: We don't see any evidence of diversion in our reporting. We think the Ukrainians are using properly what they have been given.

Geoff Bennett:

U.S. officials have pressed Ukraine's government to police corruption in its ranks, and some top officials in Kyiv have been forced out.

China today denounced a U.S. government ban on the popular video-sharing app TikTok. The White House has now given federal agencies 30 days to remove the Chinese-owned app from all government-issued devices, citing security concerns.

But, in Beijing, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry blasted the move away.

Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman (through translator):

As the world's top superpower, how unsure of itself can the U.S. be to fear a young people's favorite app to such a degree? The U.S. has been overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress other countries' companies. We firmly oppose those wrong actions.

Geoff Bennett:

More than two-thirds of American teens use TikTok.

China has also rejected an assessment by the U.S. Energy Department that COVID-19 likely came from a lab leak in Wuhan. Beijing insisted today that it's been — quote — "open and transparent" and believes the virus was spread from animals to humans.

Meantime, California formally ended its COVID emergency today. Just five states still have emergency declarations, Delaware, Illinois, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Texas.

President Biden today announced he will nominate Julie Su for labor secretary. She currently serves as deputy secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, she'd be the administration's first Asian American Cabinet member. Su would replace Marty Walsh, who's leaving to run the National Hockey League's Player Association.

And, on Wall Street, stocks finished out of February marked by concerns that inflation is untamed and interest rates are headed higher. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 232 points today to close at 32656. The Nasdaq fell 11 points. The S&P 500 slipped 12. For the month, the Dow lost 4 percent, the Nasdaq fell 1 percent, and the S&P was down 2.6 percent.

John Yang:

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Ukrainians whose town was occupied by Russian forces reflect on what they lost; a former January 6 investigator discusses how releasing footage to FOX could pose a new threat; and slices of life immortalized in historic Charlottesville portraits.