JUDY WOODRUFF: April's U.S. jobs report for the U.S. fell far short of what many analysts
expected. The Labor Department today reported that employers added just 266,000 jobs last month,
while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.1 percent.
At the White House, President Biden urged patience as the
latest COVID stimulus package is implemented.
JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: It was designed to help us over the course of a year,
not 60 days, a year. We never thought that, after the first 50 or 60 days, everything
would be fine. Today, there's more evidence that our economy is moving in the right direction,
but it's clear we have a long way to go.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We will take a closer look at the jobs report after the news summary.
India broke another grim record today with more than 414,000
new COVID infections in the last 24 hours. School buses are being converted into mobile oxygen
sites, as hospitals scramble to find space for the surge of COVID patients.
A representative with the United Nations' humanitarian agency in Geneva
voiced concern about the escalating crisis.
YASMIN ALI HAQUE, UNICEF: The wave is almost four times the size of the first wave,
and the virus is spreading much faster. On an average, there were more than
four new cases every second and more than two deaths every minute in the last 24 hours.
What is happening in India should raise alarm
bells for all of us. The pandemic is far from over.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, the World Health Organization granted emergency authorization
to China's Sinopharm COVID vaccine. It is 78 percent effective among those younger than 60.
Pfizer has started the application process for a full Food and Drug Administration approval
of its COVID vaccine for people 16 and older. It is the first vaccine manufacturer to do so.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are looking
into whether the official global COVID death toll
needs to be revised higher. Its director weighed in on a University of Washington report
that estimates there were more than 900,000 U.S. deaths. That is far higher than the current toll.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC Director: Just those who passed from COVID-19 specifically,
but excess deaths relating to access to care, not presented to care, and many other things.
So, we will look at this carefully, and then we will work within the CDC to make
decisions as to whether to count them as excess or to count them as COVID-specific.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The current U.S. COVID death toll stands is roughly 581,000.
Vice President Kamala Harris appealed for cooperation with Mexico today
to curb the rise in migrants arriving at the U.S. Southern border. She held a virtual meeting with
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Harris has been leading the diplomatic effort to
address the challenges in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that are driving migration.
KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States: Together, we must fight violence,
we must fight corruption and impunity. It is in our country's mutual interests to provide
immediate relief to the Northern Triangle and to address the root causes of migration.
You and I have discussed before an understanding and a belief most people don't want to leave home.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Harris plans to travel to Mexico and Guatemala next
month for her first foreign trip as vice president.
Meanwhile, in Donna, Texas, Secretary of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
toured a processing facility that housed nearly 4,000 unaccompanied migrant
children at the start of April. Today, he said that number is just above 300.
A federal grand jury has indicted four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the
death of George Floyd with violating his civil rights. The three-count indictment
says that Derek Chauvin and the other officers failed to provide Floyd with medical care,
among other charges. Last month, Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter.
Texas is now the latest Republican-led state to advance a restrictive election overhaul.
The bill would limit mail-in ballots and empower partisan poll watchers,
among other things. It passed the state House after an all-night debate,
but it still needs to be reconciled with the state Senate before it is sent to the governor's desk.
In Jerusalem, clashes erupted tonight between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police at the
Al-Aqsa Mosque. More than 50 people were injured. Violence escalated over the potential eviction of
Palestinians from land claimed by Jewish settlers. Protesters threw rocks at Israeli police,
who fired back with stun grenades and tear gas. Emergency crews rushed the wounded away.
And on Wall Street today, stocks rallied in spite of last month's hiring slowdown.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 229 points to close at a record 34778.
The Nasdaq rose 119 points, and the S&P 500 added 31 to hit another record high.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": attacks against Asian Americans highlight the prejudice faced
by that community; we discuss the president's economic agenda with Senator Elizabeth Warren;
David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart break down the week's political news; and much more.