News Wrap: Biden and Trump are set to clinch nominations in latest batch of primaries

In our news wrap Tuesday, President Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to clinch their parties’ nominations in the latest batch of primaries, The Labor Department reports prices were up 0.4 percent – slightly more than what analysts expected, and the Biden administration announced it’s found $300 million to pay for new weapons for Ukraine.
Geoff Bennett:
In the day’s other headlines: President Biden and former President Trump are set to clinch their party’s nominations in the latest batch of primaries.
Voters in Georgia cast ballots today, and both parties also held primaries in Mississippi and Washington state. Hawaii held its GOP caucus. President Biden needs 96 delegates to claim the Democratic nomination. Mr. Trump needs 137 on the Republican side.
Inflation isn’t going away just yet. In fact, it inched higher in February. The Labor Department reports prices were up four-tenth of a percent last month, slightly more than analysts expected. That’s a 3.2 percent rise on a year-over-year basis, again, more than expected. The increase was driven by higher gas prices and housing costs.
The Biden administration announced today it’s found 300 million more dollars to pay for new weapons for Ukraine. That’s after House Republicans had blocked President Biden’s request for $60 billion since December. White House officials said the money comes from cost savings at the Pentagon, but it’s a temporary fix, at best.
Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Adviser:
This ammunition will keep Ukraine’s guns firing for a period, but only a short period. It is nowhere near enough to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs, and it will not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition in the weeks to come.
Geoff Bennett:
The arms package will include anti-aircraft munitions, artillery, and small-arms ammunition and anti-armor systems.
Shortly after the announcement, President Biden met with Poland’s president and prime minister at the White House. He said the new aid is not enough, and he called on Congress again to act.
Colorado Congressman Ken Buck made it official today. He’s resigning his office next week. His departure leaves Republicans with 218 seats to 213 for Democrats. That’s a working majority of just two votes. Buck belongs to the hard right Freedom Caucus, but he’s criticized efforts to impeach President Biden.
An aid ship carrying 200 tons of food is on its way to Gaza tonight. It’s meant to open a sea corridor that could feed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The ship set sail from Cyprus and is expected to arrive off Northern Gaza in a few days. The Spanish aid group Open Arms arranged the transport.
Laura Lanuza, Spokesperson, Open Arms:
We don’t know when the next boat will depart, but, hopefully, if this first mission goes OK, there will be others coming. And, hopefully, there will be other boats and there will be other entities or maybe European Union or other states joining this corridor.
Geoff Bennett:
Meantime, Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah had one of their heaviest cross-border exchanges yet. Israeli airstrikes hit military sites in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley overnight, killing one person, and Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into Northern Israel. Later, new Israeli strikes killed two more people.
Back in this country, Boeing says it’s adding extra inspections and audits in the production of its 737 planes to address quality problems. The company’s president announced it today to employees. It comes amid reports that the FAA identified dozens of issues with 737 MAX jets after a door panel flew off one of the planes back in January.
And on Wall Street, big tech stocks led a rally as traders shrugged off the news that inflation in February was worse than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 235 points to close at 39005. The Nasdaq rose 246 points. The S&P 500 added 57.
Still to come on the “NewsHour”: why violent crime rates in most American cities are trending down, but Americans still think it’s on the rise; a former White House lawyer starts over by forging a new musical path; and the U.S. surgeon general discusses teen mental health with our Student Reporting Labs.