GEOFF BENNETT: We start today's other headlines on Capitol Hill.

House members are heading home a full day early and won't be back until after November's midterm elections.

Their departure leaves a number of matters on the table, including an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a push by Democrats to address the risks posed by artificial intelligence.

But lawmakers did approve a resolution to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he defied subpoenas related to an investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It's now up to the Justice Department whether to seek criminal prosecution.

Also in Washington, D.C., fencing has gone up around the Kennedy Center one day after President Trump's handpicked board voted to close it for repairs.

But President Trump has said renovations will not begin until the courts allow the center to bear his name.

Today, Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty requested an emergency hearing over the closure.

She's been leading efforts to keep the president's name off the building.

Also, today the White House posted this video appearing to show the building in decay, though these images have not been independently verified.

Federal safety officials are investigating the cause of a news helicopter crash in Los Angeles that killed three people.

The helicopter was reporting on a bus collision for NBC4 Los Angeles when it went down around 7:00 p.m.

last night.

Fire officials say both the pilot, George Marciniw, and reporter Eliana Moreno were killed.

Their colleagues paid tribute to them today, calling it a terrible loss; 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia was on the ground, and he also died.

And a motorist has been arrested for causing the crash the news crew was covering.

Authorities say she slammed her SUV into a city bus, killing at least two people.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she wants Canada to be the first associate member of the European Union.

(APPLAUSE) GEOFF BENNETT: Prime Minister Mark Carney was on hand for the announcement in France, where he received a standing ovation from European lawmakers.

The proposal comes as Carney navigates Canada's ongoing trade war with the U.S.

Von der Leyen said Canada and Europe should take their partnership to, as she put it, the highest level possible.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, President, European Commission: But above all, dear Mark, Europe and Canada believe in democracy.

That power does not belong to the strongest, richest, and loudest, but to all of us, that democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.

GEOFF BENNETT: Experts say it's unclear exactly how such a relationship would work since the E.U.

has never had an associate member.

The idea has been floated before for Ukraine and for Britain after Brexit, but never moved forward.

In Gaza City, search-and-rescue efforts are under way after a building collapsed early today, killing at least 21 people, including 11 children.

Aid workers used excavators to sort through the debris, while others dug through the rubble with their bare hands.

The structure had been damaged by Israeli airstrikes earlier in the war and was known to be unstable.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in such buildings, while Israel has refused to allow rebuilding efforts until Hamas disarms.

Neighbors living in tents nearby described what happened.

TALAL AL-HARAZIN, Displaced Palestinian (through translator): The building collapsed in less than 10 seconds.

The residents here were good people.

They did not cause harm.

They were respectful.

All the buildings were full of children and women and the elderly.

They were struggling because there was no shelter for them.

They had nothing.

GEOFF BENNETT: This comes amid reports that the Trump administration is planning a $2.8 billion sale of powerful bombs to Israel.

The Biden administration paused delivery of similar weapons two years ago, citing concerns about the risk of mass casualties in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels both claimed new attacks today, as the fighting between the two sides intensifies.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a drone heading toward the city of Mecca, calling the attempted attack a red line.

The Houthis deny targeting the city.

Hours later, the group released video claiming to be the downing of a Saudi fighter jet over Yemen's territory.

The remains of the jet can be seen burning on the ground with a Saudi flag visible on its tail.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended lower after the Fed raised interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 600 points.

The Nasdaq gave back three points, so basically flat.

The S&P 500 lost nearly half-a-percent.

And we mark the passing of two award-winning authors.

British American writer and commentator Bonnie Greer has died.

She was a prominent voice on both sides of the Atlantic, advocating for greater racial and gender representation through her books, plays, and public appearances.

BONNIE GREER, Author: Therefore, diversity and democracy are, to my mind, the same thing.

They're exactly the same thing.

And diversity creates democracy itself.

GEOFF BENNETT: For her contributions to the arts, she was made an Order of the British Empire in 2010.

Bonnie Greer was 77 years old.

And Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard has died.

Her 1974 work, "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," drew comparisons to Henry David Thoreau, as a nonfiction meditation on nature, religion, and the meaning of life itself.

In 2014, then-President Barack Obama awarded her the National Humanities Medal.

Annie Dillard was 81.

Still to come on the "News Hour": primaries come to an end, a look at the political landscape heading into the November midterms; the fallout grows after Macklemore is dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour over his pro-Palestinian remarks; and a reopened Greek Byzantine palace sets an example for what's possible with restoration.