News Wrap: DOJ drops criminal probe into Jerome Powell

Today's other headlines, the Justice Department, is dropping its criminal probe into federal

reserve chair Jerome Powell over whether he lied to Congress about renovations at the Fed's

headquarters.

Instead, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Puro, said the Fed's

inspector general would be looking into cost overruns at the site.

The announcement opens a pathway for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell's successor.

Earlier this week, Republican Senator Tom Tillis threatened to block his nomination,

unless the DOJ dropped its investigation.

At the White House today, press secretary Caroline Levitt urged Tillis to move forward.

Senator Tillis should do the right thing and move to confirm Kevin Warsh as speedily as

possible.

He is a phenomenal candidate to lead the Fed, and we shouldn't be holding our nation's

economy hostage because of a disagreement with the Department of Justice.

The DOJ investigation of Powell unfolded against the backdrop of President Trump's repeated

criticism of the Fed chair for not lowering interest rates faster.

The Federal Appeals Court ruled today that President Trump's executive order banning asylum

claims that the U.S. Southern border is illegal.

The three-judge panel found that immigration law gives people the right to apply for

asylum, and the president cannot override those procedures.

It marks the latest setback to Mr. Trump's broader immigration crackdown.

The administration can now either ask the full appeals court to reconsider the ruling

or take its case to the Supreme Court.

The FDA said today it will fast-track reviews for three psychedelic drugs aimed at treating

mental health conditions, including depression and PTSD.

Two of the therapies involved the active ingredient in so-called magic mushroom, while a third

is based on MDMA, a substance commonly associated with ecstasy.

The move follows an executive order signed by President Trump to accelerate research and

ease some restrictions on these drugs.

In Northern Oklahoma, residents sifted through what was left of their homes today after suffering

a direct hit from a powerful tornado.

Eyewitnesses captured the massive twister tearing a path across the countryside yesterday.

Others caught footage of debris swirling through the air as the tornado tracked near

Vance Air Force Base.

The storm looked just as menacing from above an airline passenger posted this video of

lightning in the darkness.

By daybreak, the storm's devastation was clear, dozens of homes reduced to rubble.

It was a miracle that there were no fatalities reported, but only minor injuries.

I've lived in this community for 41 years, it's my home.

I grew up here.

I went to school here, and I might not know everybody, but my heart breaks.

Residents in Brantley County, Georgia, sized up the damage as wildfires forced hundreds

of new evacuations there.

As Governor Brian Kemp said, two large wildfires in the state have destroyed more than 120

homes so far, and are threatening nearly 1,000 more.

State officials believe these fires have burned more homes than at any other time in Georgia's

history.

A union for a spirit airlines employee said today that any federal bailout of the Bankrupt

Carrier must protect workers from layoffs.

That follows reports that the Trump administration is in talks to offer half a billion dollars

in financing in exchange for some 90 percent control of the airline.

At the White House yesterday, President Trump even floated the idea of buying the airline

outright.

A lawyer for the carrier says liquidation could cost as many as 17,000 jobs.

Spirit had hoped to emerge from bankruptcy later this year, but a spike in fuel costs tied

to the Iran War has complicated those plans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today he has received treatment for prostate

cancer and is now healthy.

It's the first time he's publicly acknowledged the diagnosis.

The 76-year-old says he had prostate surgery almost two years ago, and that a more recent

tumor was successfully treated with radiation therapy.

He asked that a public announcement be delayed due to the war with Iran.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed amid ongoing uncertainty over the war.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 80 points.

The Nasdaq jumped nearly 400 points.

The S&P 500 also closed out the week in positive territory.

Still to come on the news hour, David Brooks and Jonathan K. Park weigh in on the week's

political headlines.

We travel to Chernobyl 40 years after the worst nuclear disaster in world history.

And a new memoir from the admiral who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

This is the P.V.S. News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein Studio at W.E.T.A. in Washington

at quarters of P.V.S. News.