Judy: President Biden is
extending his pause on federal
student loan payments again
until June 30, 2023.
He announced the move today,
while his plan to cancel
billions of dollars in student
debt is on hold.
The extended pause gives the
U.S. Supreme court time to hear
the case in its current term.
In a separate move, the high
court cleared the way today for
a congressional committee to get
former president trump's tax
returns.
The U.S. House ways and means
committee asked for them 3 years
ago.
Majority Democrats now have a
few weeks to investigate the
returns before Republicans take
control of the house.
That Republican house majority
will now have 219 seats, with
several races still pending.
California GOP congressman David
valadeo finally was declared the
winner in his re-election race
last night.
He's among the 10 house
Republicans who voted to impeach
Mr. Trump.
Only 2 were re-elected.
In Indonesia, the death toll
reached 268 a day after an
earthquake struck south of
Jakarta.
And, officials warned there may
be many more bodies across the
shattered landscape.
John yang has our report.
John: Endless rubble is all that
remains of much of western java
as rescuers search for victims.
Hope for finding survivors fades
with each passing hour.
So far, this man counts 11
relatives among the dead.
Enjot: This is so terrible.
What I went through with this
earthquake, I had to lose
relatives and my house was also
destroyed.
John: Indonesia's most-populous
island is still reeling after
Monday's magnitude 5.6
earthquake.
Among the hardest hit, the
rural, mountainous town of
cianjur -- about 135 miles south
of the capital, Jakarta.
This woman recalls the terror.
Partinem: I was crying and
immediately grabbed my husband
and children.
If I didn't pull them out, we
might have become victims.
The house was shaking as if it
was dancing.
John: Rescue operations are
complicated by damaged roads and
bridges and extensive power
blackouts.
Supplies have been slow to make
it to survivors staying in
makeshift shelters -- many of
them tent villages in the
streets.
Awaludin: Most of the residents'
complaints are about the lack of
drinking water and support,
things like blankets and
medicines.
John: Hospitals are overwhelmed.
One mother describes the horror
of watching a wall collapse on
her daughter.
Fatimah: I could only see her
head.
There was a full thermos that
was hit by the wall as well, and
the hot water hit her buttocks
and her leg, burning them.
John: Today, Indonesian
president joko widodo surveyed
the destruction in cianjur.
He vowed to rebuild
infrastructure, including an
important connecting bridge, and
help those whose homes were
damaged.
For "The pbs newshour," I'm John
yang.
Judy: In Ukraine, a manmade
disaster threatens a long, dark
winter.
Officials warned today that
rolling blackouts could last
until March as Russian missiles
pummel the power grid.
Already snowy, sub-freezing
weather is setting in.
Authorities are urging the
public to stock up on supplies,
including warm clothes and
blankets.
The U.N. Human rights
commissioner reported today that
more than 300 people have died
in the protests in Iran over the
past 2 months.
In Geneva, a U.N. Spokesman
accused Tehran of violent
repression and gross human
rights violations.
Mr. Laurence: The rising number
of deaths from protests in Iran,
including those of two children
at the weekend, and the
hardening of the response by
security forces, underline the
critical situation in the
country.
Judy: The U.N. Also voiced
concern about reports of Iranian
security forces killing more
than 40 people in mainly kurdish
cities in the past week.
Meanwhile, Iran announced it's
enriching uranium to 60 percent
purity at a second site.
That's one step short of nuclear
weapons grade.
State media said it's being done
at an underground complex.
Another site at natanz already
reached that level of
enrichment.
The U.N. Nuclear agency
confirmed Iran's claim.
Back in this country, top
medical advisers are urging
Americans again to ignore social
media skeptics and get covid
boosters and flu shots.
At the white house today, chief
medical adviser Dr. Anthony
Fauci said political divisions
are fueling vaccine doubters and
filling up hospital beds.
Dr. Fauci: I don't want to see
anybody get infected.
I don't want to see anybody
hospitalized, and I don't want
to see anybody die from covid.
Whether you're far right
Republican or a far left
Democrat, it doesn't make any
difference to me.
Judy: The president's covid
coordinator ashish jha said in
the end, "You can trust
America's physicians or you can
trust some random dude on
Twitter."
We'll return to this after the
news summary.
It's going to be even tougher
for investors to recoup funds
from ftx, the bankrupt
cryptocurrency exchange.
Today, attorneys for debt
holders said hundreds of
millions of dollars have been
stolen from ftx accounts since
it collapsed this month.
The company estimates it faces
more than 100,000 claims so far.
On Wall Street, solid earnings
reports gave stocks a boost,
with major indexes gaining 1
percent or more.
The Dow Jones industrial average
was up nearly 400 points to
close at 34,098.
The NASDAQ rose almost 150
points.
The S&P 500 added 53.
And, at soccer's world cup,
Saudi Arabia scored one of the
biggest upsets ever, beating
Argentina 2-to-1, today.
Saudi coaches and players
celebrated the victory, and the
kingdom declared a public
holiday tomorrow.
But for Argentinian star Lionel
Messi, the loss was a huge
setback in what may be his final
world cup.
Still to come on "The
newshour"...
High prices on staple foods have
many Americans rethinking their
Thanksgiving dinners...
We examine why black women
candidates had mixed results in
the midterm elections...
A musical staging of the
acclaimed novel "The hours"
becomes the opera event of the
year...
Plus much more.
>> This is "The pbs newshour"
from weta studios in Washington,
and in the west from the Walter
Cronkite school of journalism at