GEOFF BENNETT: And we start today's other headlines with consumer prices.

The latest inflation report confirms what many Americans have surely been feeling, that prices are rising fast, especially for gas.

The Labor Department said today that prices rose 3.3 percent from a year ago, the biggest such increase since 2024.

That was driven largely by gas prices, which saw their largest monthly rise in six decades.

If you take out energy and food, though, so-called core inflation rose only slightly last month.

It comes as a separate report showed consumer sentiment plunging to a record low amid concerns about the war and higher gas prices.

The four Artemis astronauts are on track for a splashdown tonight off the coast of San Diego, closing out humanity's first lunar voyage in more than half-a-century.

NASA ground control woke up the crew this morning with two songs, including "Free" by the Zac Brown Band.

The singer-songwriter praised what he called their courage and grit.

MAN: This is Mission Control Houston, a pair of wake-up songs.

MAN: What a great way to start the day, Houston, courage and grit.

That will stick with me, and it should stick with all of you all day long.

GEOFF BENNETT: All eyes are on the Orion capsule and its life-protecting heat shield, as it must withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees.

It's one of the most dangerous parts of the mission.

Meantime, back on Earth, U.S.

Navy recovery ships, military planes and helicopters spent the day preparing to pick up the crew after the splashdown.

The Trump administration released its latest plans today for a new Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C.

It's the president's latest effort to leave a lasting mark on the nation's capital and reshape the capital in his image.

The renderings depict a 250-foot structure with a winged figure at the top flanked by two eagles and guarded by four lions.

The monument would have the phrases "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice For All" inscribed on either side.

The White House says it's intended to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary and would be paid for at least in part by taxpayer dollars.

A federal panel stacked with Trump allies will consider the design at a meeting next week.

Starting in December, all men between the ages of 18 and 25 will be automatically registered for the military draft.

They will be added into the Selective Service System.

That's the independent government agency that keeps a list of all eligible Americans.

For decades, the majority of men would register themselves or face a felony.

Congress tucked the rule change into a bipartisan defense bill that President Trump signed into law late last year.

It comes as enrollment has slipped in recent years, even as worries about conflicts with nations like China and Russia have grown.

There has not been a military draft since the Vietnam War.

Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a brief cease-fire this weekend to mark Orthodox Easter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the temporary truce yesterday.

It's set to begin tomorrow afternoon and last for about 32 hours.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed out that he had already proposed such a pause and that his forces would act accordingly.

But across Ukraine today, from its capital, Kyiv, to the Russian-controlled areas of the Donetsk region, people on both sides of the war were skeptical it would hold.

ANDRII, Kyiv Resident (through translator): How can you trust a man who destroyed his own people, attacked Ukraine, and is basically the number one terrorist?

How can you trust Putin?

He lies.

VIKTOR, Donetsk Resident (through translator): We have no other choice but to defeat this plague because it will not leave us alone.

Ukraine will keep doing nasty things to us.

It is their way.

Whenever there is a sacred feast, they always do something bad.

GEOFF BENNETT: Meantime, the fighting continued today in the southern port city of Odesa.

Ukrainian officials say Russian drones struck electrical and energy infrastructure, causing a massive blaze.

No casualties were reported.

Today marks six months since the cease-fire in Gaza took effect, but displaced residents remain in limbo with aid trickling in through a single border post controlled by Israel.

And, in Northern Gaza today, Palestinians once again mourned loved ones killed in an Israeli attack.

Medics say an Israeli airstrike killed at least two people yesterday.

Israel's military has yet to comment on the incident.

Some Palestinians say this is their new normal and that, despite the cease-fire, danger and uncertainty persists.

ANWAR SALEH, Relative of Palestinian Killed in Airstrike (through translator): Every day is the same, every day, martyrs, every day, injuries.

Every day, we lose someone dear to us.

Our place has become sitting at the doors of the morgue.

We sit there daily.

GEOFF BENNETT: Also today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Spain is being expelled from peacekeeping efforts in Gaza, saying the country has, in his words, chosen repeatedly to stand against Israel.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been an outspoken critic of the U.S.

and Israel's war with Iran, calling it - - quote -- "illegal, reckless, and unjust."

On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed ahead of those Iran cease-fire talks this weekend.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped about 270 points on the day.

The Nasdaq managed a gain of about 80 points.

The S&P 500 closed out the week with a minor loss.

And former New York Congressman Eliot Engel has died.

The Democrat was first elected in 1988 and spent 16 terms in Congress, where he rose to be ranking member and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Before that, he was a member of the New York State Assembly for over a decade and is being remembered today as a giant of New York politics.

In a statement, his family says Eliot Engel died peacefully today in the borough that raised him, the Bronx.

He was 79 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": the specter of massive job losses to artificial intelligence increases economic concerns; how people in Israel have been marking Easter in the shadow of war; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's news.