Amna Nawaz:
In the day’s other headlines: A federal judge says the Kennedy Center must continue its court-ordered removal of President Trump’s name from the institution by today’s deadline.
Scaffolding went up at the arts venue earlier today as crews prepared to remove the president’s name from the exterior. This afternoon, the Justice Department filed an emergency motion aimed at keeping it up. The Kennedy Center has already removed Trump’s name from its official Web site, among other places.
Also today, the Washington National Opera said it is suing the Kennedy Center over $17 million in donations that it says the center withheld after the two sides split earlier this year. A Kennedy Center representative called the lawsuit’s claims meritless.
A federal judge today extended a block on the Justice Department’s proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. The ruling from a court in Virginia is the strongest step yet to hold the administration to its word that it won’t try to resurrect the plan.
Earlier this month, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the government is scrapping the fund. But President Trump has hinted that he still supports its creation, which would give money to those who claim they have been unfairly prosecuted by the government, including people who were charged with crimes for the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Across parts of Illinois and Indiana, residents and cleanup crews are picking up the pieces after tornadoes damaged hundreds of buildings and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Woman:
There goes that house.
Amna Nawaz:
Eyewitnesses saw at least 10 tornadoes touch down yesterday evening. At least three of them leveled homes, trees and power lines south of Chicago. In hard-hit Streator, Illinois, and Merrillville, entire neighborhoods lie in ruins. There have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
In West Texas, police say the suspect in a shooting that left one person dead and at least 10 others injured is now deceased. Eyewitness video caught the sounds of gunfire as 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal barricaded himself inside a building in Midland, Texas.
The shooting itself started hours earlier in another part of the city. At a press conference today, Midland’s mayor said robot and drone footage was used to confirm the suspect was dead and she paid tribute to those affected.
Lori Blong, Mayor of Midland, Texas: Our thoughts and our prayers are with these families, with the community of Midland and with all of those that were involved today.
Amna Nawaz:
Police did not immediately say how the suspect died or reveal any information on a possible motive. An investigation is ongoing.
In Ohio, the FBI has reportedly raided the offices of a progressive voting rights organization. That’s according to multiple outlets and was first reported by MS NOW. A board member of the Ohio organizing collaborative is cited as saying that agents also fanned out across the state, approaching group leaders and even volunteers.
They were told it was part of an investigation into the group’s voter registration efforts. The actions come as President Trump continues to suggest, without evidence, that voter fraud is rampant and the lead-up to the midterm elections.
The Justice Department signed off today on Paramount’s $110 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. A DOJ statement obtained by the “News Hour” says the deal is — quote — “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” and offered no requirements or concessions for the deal to proceed.
It is a major step for Paramount CEO David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison, in his bid to pick up media assets like CNN and HBO Max. But the deal still faces challenges from various state attorneys general, including in California.
Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire today, at least on paper, as his company SpaceX made its highly anticipated debut on Wall Street. The rocket and A.I. company stock closed the day nearly 20 percent above its IPO price of $135 a share. That values SpaceX at more than $2 trillion and helps Musk himself set a new bar for personal wealth.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks ended higher as oil prices cooled once again. The Dow Jones industrial average added around 350 points. The Nasdaq rose nearly 80 points, or about a third of 1 percent. The S&P 500 also ended the week with a gain.
And British artist and painter David Hockney, one of the most celebrated art icons of the 20th and 21st centuries, died yesterday, just one month short of his 89th birthday. Jeffrey Brown has a look at his life and legacy.
Jeffrey Brown:
A moment frozen in time, a bigger splash, an iconic David Hockney painting, vivid, alive, and deceptively simple, yet capturing a whole story.
Born in Bradford, England, in 1937, Hockney was an art star from his 20s, first as part of the London art scene.
David Hockney, Artist:
I’m interested in ways of looking. Of course, people will respond. Everybody does look. It’s just a question of how hard.
Jeffrey Brown:
He was known for bucking art world trends, not just painting at a time when more conceptual art ruled, but painting the human figure. His move to Los Angeles led to works that would come to define 1960s and ’70s Southern California.
David Hockney:
It was really three times better than I thought.
Jeffrey Brown:
And also openly portray gay life and subjects. Coming from an England where homosexuality was still illegal, Hockney found in L.A. both artistic inspiration and personal freedom.
For more than six decades, he helped redefine what painting could be, as his work was exhibited regularly worldwide. He returned throughout his career to portraiture, painting friends, loved ones, and himself.
When we met at his L.A. studio in 2018, he spoke of his fascination with the human face.
David Hockney:
How can you see in them? How can you really see a person? I mean, I’m looking at you now, thinking of it. And I think, well, how would I know if I’d got you really well, when I did not really know you?
Jeffrey Brown:
Hockney also embraced emerging technologies throughout his career, from photography to digital drawings on iPhones and iPads. Yet he remained one of painting’s most passionate defenders.
David Hockney:
I know the arguments about painting is dead, but painting can’t die, because photography is not good enough, actually. It’s not good enough.
Jeffrey Brown:
It’s not good enough.
David Hockney:
No, it’s just a snap. But, I mean, why not look longer? And you will maybe see more.
Jeffrey Brown:
His death comes less than a year after the close of a major retrospective at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.
You clearly like the fact that you’re doing something that has been done for a long, long time.
(Laughter)
David Hockney:
Well, what is new, really new? Is there anything new under the sun? I mean, I love painting, I love it. I have lots more to do.
Jeffrey Brown:
And he did until the very end. David Hockney died Thursday at his home in London. He was 88 years old.
For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Jeffrey Brown.
Amna Nawaz:
Still to come on the “News Hour”: how children in Gaza are trying to continue their education amid the rubble; David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week’s news; and Bruce Springsteen grants a peek inside his new American Music Center.
