WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

President Biden says the United States will impose major new sanctions on Russia after the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Officials gave no details today, but the president said the formal announcement will come on Friday.

Navalny reportedly died in an Arctic prison last week.

His mother appeared in a video today outside the prison still seeking answers and access to his body and pressing Russia's president for action.

LYUDMILA NAVALNAYA, Mother of Alexei Navalny (through translator): Behind me is the IK-3 Polar Wolf penal colony, where my son Alexei Navalny died on 16 February.

I am turning to you, Vladimir Putin.

The solution to the issue depends only on you.

Let me finally see my son.

I require that Alexei's body be immediately given so that I can bury him humanely.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The Kremlin today denied any involvement in Navalny's death or that he was poisoned with a nerve agent.

In turn, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, urged European nations to reject the results of Putin's expected reelection next month.

For his part, Putin insisted today that Russia will not deploy nuclear weapons in space.

He spoke as he met with his defense minister and urged all nations to honor an international ban on deploying nuclear arms in orbit.

U.S. officials say Russia has a new anti-satellite capability, but they have not said if it's nuclear-capable.

Also in Russia, a Moscow court refused to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from jail.

That's pending his trial on espionage charges, which he denies.

Russian authorities also detained a dual Russian-U.S. citizen on treason charges.

She's accused of fund-raising to support Ukraine's army.

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution today that called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The vote was 13-1 on the measure, which was backed by Arab states.

U.S.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said passing it would sabotage negotiations.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S.

Ambassador to the United Nations: Demanding an immediate, unconditional cease-fire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about a durable peace.

Instead, it could extend the fighting between Hamas and Israel.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Northern Gaza, the U.N.'s World Food Program suspended food and aid deliveries, saying drivers faced violence from people swarming the trucks.

Hamas called the decision a death sentence, and it comes amid reports of people reduced to eating animal feed.

A U.N. study found that one in six children under 2 years of age in Gaza, are acutely malnourished.

Back in this country, two men were charged with murder in the Super Bowl parade shootings in Kansas City.

A crowd of fans ran for their lives when an argument turned into gunfire last week.

One person was killed, and 22 were injured.

Two juveniles were charged earlier with gun violations and resisting arrest.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined a case on diversity in education.

Parents and students argued that a special Northern Virginia high school discriminated against Asian Americans in favor of other minorities.

A lower court upheld the admissions policy.

The justices also deciding against hearing a religion case on whether potential jurors may be excluded over their beliefs.

A first-of-its-kind federal trial opened today in South Carolina for a hate crime based on gender identity.

The defendant is accused of killing a Black transgender woman in 2019.

Prosecutors say he'd been ridiculed for having an affair with the victim.

In economic news, there could be a new team in the credit card industry.

Capital One Financial says it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion.

If it wins federal approval, the merger would challenge the dominance of Visa and Mastercard in the credit card industry.

And on Wall Street, tech stocks dropped, pulling the broader market lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 64 points, to close at 38564.

The Nasdaq fell 144 points, or about 1 percent.

And the S&P 500 was down 30.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": low demand for commercial office space fuels economic fears; a domestic violence call in Minnesota that turned deadly sheds light on a growing problem in the U.S.; a new exhibit chronicles the rich history of independent Black cinema; plus much more.