John: Good evening, I’m John Tonight, Israeli forces are again fighting Palestinian militants in northern gaza, an area the military said it had cleared months ago. But Israel’s earlier operations left a security vacuum there, and hamas has taken advantage of it to regroup. In southern gaza, Israel further expanded operations. The military describes what it’s doing now as targeted and precise, not the all-out offensive it’s been promising. And today was memorial day in Israel, the first official commemoration of fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism since the October 7 attacks killed about 1,100 Israelis, mostly civilians. In gaza, the hamas-run health ministry says 35,000 Palestinians have died since the start of the war. They don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters. Russia says part of a 10-story apartment building in the border city of belgorod collapsed under Ukrainian shelling. At least eight people were killed, and 20 others were hurt. In the kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, Russia continues to gain ground, forcing thousands more civilians to flee. Moscow says Russia has taken four more villages surrounding kharkiv, a total of nine this weekend. Ukraine says Russian advances have forced the withdrawal of at least one battalion. The first person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died nearly two months after undergoing the procedure. Rick Slayman’s family said the ground-breaking animal-to-human transplant gave hope to thousands of people on the waiting list for a human organ transplant. Every year, thousands die before an organ becomes available. Doctors said they didn’t have any indication that the 62-year-old Slayman died as a result of the transplant. And filmmaker Roger Corman has died. You may not know the name, but you probably know the careers he helped launch. Corman was known as "King of the B’s," directing roughly 50 low-budget films and producing about 300 more, including the cult classics "Little shop of horrors" and "Attack of the crab monsters." He nurtured the early careers of Jack Nicholson, Ellen burstyn, and Robert de Niro. He gave early opportunities to aspiring directors like martin scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Ron Howard. Some of them gave Corman small roles in their later films, including "Silence of the lambs" and "Apollo 13." Corman received an honorary Oscar in 2009. Roger Corman was 98. Still to come on "Pbs news weekend," what motherhood means to those with and without children. And how Russia’s invasion has affected Ukraine’s animals. >> This is pbs news weekend from weta studios in Washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights
