JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: The former police officer who fatally shot
Daunte Wright outside Minneapolis was charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Kim Potter resigned yesterday and was arrested this morning.
The Wright family's attorney reacted in New York.
BENJAMIN CRUMP, Attorney For Family of Daunte Wright: In less than a week,
the district attorney made the decision that we will charge this officer, and the family
of Daunte Wright will get to have their day in court. So, we say justice for Daunte Wright.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Potter's former boss has said she grabbed her gun by mistake.
And the charge against her involves negligence, not intent. She could get 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the trial of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin continues
in the murder of George Floyd. We will have that story later in the program.
The U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot and killed a woman during the January assault
on the Capitol will not be charged. Federal prosecutors cited insufficient evidence today.
The woman, Ashli Babbitt of San Diego, was part of a pro-Trump mob.
A scathing new report blames the leadership of Capitol Police for a raft of failures
before January 6. In widely reported findings, the force's inspector general cites equipment
shortages and expired weapons, riot shields that shattered upon impact as police battled hundreds
of rioters, and a lack of intelligence tracking and training that left officers unprepared.
An advisory panel to the CDC made no decision today on resuming the
use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine. The group asked for more data on rare blood clots
and will reconvene in a week or 10 days. At the same time,
public health leaders insisted there's plenty of other vaccine to go around.
JEFF ZIENTS, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator: We have more than enough
supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to continue the current pace of vaccinations,
meet the president's goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office,
and continue to reach every adult who wants to be vaccinated by the end of May.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Also today, new federal data showed drug overdose deaths began rising
again before the pandemic, and accelerated once it hit. The CDC said that more than
87,000 Americans died in the year ending in September 2020,
mostly from opioids and methamphetamine. That's up 30 percent from a year earlier.
The Biden administration has proposed ending a Trump era ban
on federally funded clinics referring women for abortions.
Planned Parenthood and others argued that the ban obstructs access to birth control
for low-income women. The Trump rule stays in effect until the new regulation is finalized.
Texas Republican Congressman Kevin Brady announced today he's retiring after next
year. He's served 25 years and once chaired the House Ways and Means Committee. So far,
four House Republicans and two Democrats are not seeking reelection.
The U.S. Senate today confirmed Gary Gensler to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
He's expected to push tougher regulations for Wall Street.
And most Republicans opposed his nomination.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 53 points to close near 33731.
But the Nasdaq fell 138 points, and the S&P 500 lost 17.
The digital currency exchange Coinbase
made its trading debut. It closed with a market valuation of $86 billion.
And Bernie Madoff, who organized the largest fraud in Wall Street's history, died early today.
Stephanie Sy has our report.
STEPHANIE SY: The scope of the scam shocked the world.
WOMAN: This is one of the biggest fraud schemes ever.
STEPHANIE SY: The victims numbered in the tens of thousands. Their losses were recently estimated
at between $17 billion and $20 billion. The man behind the con, financier Bernie Madoff.
He rose through the ranks of Wall Street riding the image of a self-made financial guru,
eventually becoming the chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
The ruse was in full swing in the 1990s, made off fabricated profits, attracting new investors,
while paying bigger returns to old ones, the biggest Ponzi scheme ever.
He swindled major charities,
universities, and celebrities. As of last year, about three-quarters of the cash,
some $14 billion, had been recovered by a court-appointed trustee and returned to victims.
Journalist Diana Henriques, author of "Wizard of Lies," told "NewsHour"'s Jeffrey Brown in 2011
how Madoff pulled off such massive deceit.
DIANA HENRIQUES, Author, "The Wizard of Lies": So you would never doubt your judgment
about trusting Madoff, because Madoff made you feel like you were a genius,
too. He had that magic. It really is amazing.
STEPHANIE SY: But in 2008, his magic was revealed for what it really was,
one big lie. His own sons turned him in.
QUESTION: What do you have to say to the public?
STEPHANIE SY: In March 2009, he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges
and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Bernie Madoff died today in prison in Butner,
North Carolina. He'd been battling the final stages of kidney disease.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Bernie Madoff was 82 years old.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": the Biden administration announces an
unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan; Secretary of Education Miguel
Cardona discusses the nationwide return to in person classes; we talk about Republican
resistance to the jobs and infrastructure bill with Senator Shelley Moore Capito; plus much more.