News Wrap: Israeli strike on school sheltering displaced people in Gaza kills 27

In our news wrap Thursday, Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza killed at least 27 people, Ukraine’s parliament approved its largest wartime tax hike aimed at funding the country’s fight against Russia and an economic report shows the highest number of jobless claims all year and the lowest inflation in more than three years.

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Geoff Bennett: And we start the day’s other headlines in the Middle East.

Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in Central Gaza killed at least 27 people today. Authorities say a child and seven women were among those killed and they warned the death toll could rise.

Nahed Hamad, Airstrike Witness (through interpreter): Children were playing in the schoolyard. They opened a school upstairs to tutor them just two days ago. Then these missiles dropped. The mother who went to get dough from the bakery to feed her children, I found her lying on the floor.

Geoff Bennett: The Israeli military says it targeted a militant command-and-control center located inside the school. Israel launched a large military operation against Hamas in Northern Gaza earlier this week, even as its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon intensifies.

Ukraine’s Parliament has approved its largest wartime tax hike, aimed at funding the country’s fight against Russia. It comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits leaders across Europe to discuss his so-called victory plan, which he has not yet made public.

Zelenskyy began in London, where he met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The two were later joined by NATO’s secretary-general. Afterwards, Zelenskyy traveled to Paris for a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron. He is also due to visit Rome and Berlin.

Meantime, Ukrainian officials said today that journalist Victoria Roshchyna has died in Russian detention. She disappeared in August of last year after traveling to Russian-controlled East Ukraine for a report. The circumstances of her arrest and death have not been made public.

Roshchyna received the Courage in Journalism award from the international women’s media foundation for her reporting from East Ukraine in 2022. She would have turned 28 years old this month.

Here in the U.S., new data out today told a tale of economic highs and lows, the highest number of jobless claims all year and the lowest inflation in more than three years. First, the jobs, and the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumped to 258,000. That’s the most since August of 2023. Meantime, inflation eased last month to 2.4 percent, its lowest rate since early 2021.

Separately, the Social Security Administration announced a cost of living adjustment of 2.5 percent for the next year. That’s lower than in the past few years, as inflation has steadily cooled.

T.D. Bank has agreed to pay $3 billion in a settlement with U.S. authorities over money laundering. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced today that the bank pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. It’s the largest penalty ever imposed on the bank for violating such laws.

Prosecutors say lax practices made it convenient for criminals to move hundreds of millions of dollars over the years through T.D. Bank accounts. The company’s CEO called it a — quote — “difficult chapter” in the company’s history.

In Nobel news, South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang won the literature prize today. The Nobel Committee hailed Han’s writing for its intensity, saying her body of work — quote — “confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

Han has won numerous prizes in South Korea over the years, but the world perhaps knows her best for her mystifying novel “The Vegetarian,” published back in 2007 and translated into English nearly a decade later. “The Vegetarian” earned Han and her interpreter the international Booker Prize.

She spoke about writing novels when she accepted that award back in 2016.

Han Kang, Author: Writing novels is a way of questioning for me, and I just try to complete my questions through the process of my writing.

Geoff Bennett: Han is the first writer from South Korea and the first Asian woman ever to receive the literature prize. Tomorrow, the Nobel Peace Prize is due to be announced.

And it is the end of an era for men’s tennis. One of the game’s all-time greats, Rafael Nadal, is calling it a career, saying today that he will retire after the Davis Cup in November. Nadal announced his decision on social media, saying that injuries had finally caught up with him.

Rafael Nadal, Professional Tennis Player (through interpreter): The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make, but in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.

Geoff Bennett: The 38-year-old Spaniard leaves behind an incredible legacy, 22 Grand Slam singles titles; 14 of those titles came at the French Open and its famous clay courts, earning him the nickname the king of clay.

Tributes have been pouring in, including from his on-the-court rival Roger Federer, who said — quote — “I always hoped this day would never come. Thank you for the unforgettable memories.”

On Wall Street today, stocks stepped back a bit from recent records. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 50 points on the day. The Nasdaq dipped just nine points, so basically flat. The S&P 500 gave back about 12 points.

And, finally, a passing of note. Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy has died. Much like her late husband, Ethel Kennedy made social justice her life’s work. And she remained active in organizations like the Special Olympics. She was the matriarch to a branch of the Kennedy family that included her 11 children, plus dozens of grand and great-grandchildren.

Kennedy also endured deep personal tragedy, losing her parents in a plane crash in 1955 and seeing both her husband and brother-in-law President John F. Kennedy killed by gunmen. Two of her sons died young as well. In a statement, the Kennedy family said — quote — “We are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy.”

Ethel Kennedy was 96 years old.