Friday morning news: August 12, 2022

For World Radio, this is Kent Covington.

Garland presser » Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department will reveal more information about the FBI raid of Donald Trump’s home in due time.

Garland said Thursday that he could not provide details about what agents were looking for or what they found. But he told reporters,

GARLAND: Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor.

He said he personally approved the decision to seek the search warrant and that he didn’t make that decision lightly. It was the first time the FBI has raided the private residence of a former U.S. president.

But Republican lawmakers remain highly skeptical that the raid was truly justified.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said there’s a track record here.

GRAHAM: Is it plausible the FBI would investigate President Trump without merit? Yes.

The Justice Department has asked a court to unseal the warrant the FBI received before searching Trump’s Florida home. It’s unclear if or when a court might grant that request … or when the documents could be released. Trump will also have a chance to object.

Armed man tries to breach FBI office » Meantime, in Cincinnati on Thursday, an armed man in body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Nathan Dennis said the suspect then fled the scene.

DENNIS: He was traveling in a white Ford Crown Victoria. The suspect vehicle fired shots during that pursuit.

The suspect then abandoned his car on a rural road and took off on foot. He was later killed in an exchange of gunfire.

Investigators are looking into the motive. But the incident occurred as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents following the raid of Donald Trump’s home.

Russia struggles to replenish troops » Russia is now trying to get prisoners to trade their jumpsuits for uniforms as it struggles to man the frontlines in Ukraine. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Moscow is hesitant to announce a full-blown mobilization for fear that it could turn public opinion against President Vladimir Putin.

So Russian officials are looking for volunteers anywhere they can find them, offering amnesty to some inmates if they agree to fight for the Russian army.

Moscow has also launched a marketing campaign, advertising the military as “The Job” on billboards, trying to woo recruits with promises of great pay and bonuses.

That comes amid reports that hundreds of Russian soldiers are refusing to fight and are trying to quit the military.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

House likely to vote on Dem “inflation” bill Friday » Lawmakers in the House could vote on a major spending bill just hours from now.

The House today will take up a $740 billion dollar package that passed straight down party lines in the Senate earlier this week.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill will accomplish several important things:

SCHUMER: Including reducing prescription drug costs, fighting climate change, close tax loopholes exploited by big corporations and the wealthy.

Democrats call it the “Inflation Reduction Act.”

Republicans insist it will make inflation worse. And Sen. Chuck Grassley said $80 billion dollars to hire new IRS agents may not be good news for the average American.

GRASSLEY: I think they’re going after middle class and small business people because basically, they think anybody who has pass-through income is a crook and they aren’t paying their fair share.

The bill is expected to pass in the House on another party line vote.

Wholesale inflation » Businesses caught a break last month when wholesale inflation dropped for the first time in two years.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the producer price index, which measures the price of goods before they reach consumers, fell by .5 percent.

It’s still almost ten percent higher than it was last July, but the number is lower than expected.

Most of the decrease was from a nearly 17 percent drop in gas prices.

Gas prices dip below $4 / Airfares down »

And for the first time in five months, pump prices have dipped below $4 a gallon. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has more.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: AAA (triple-A) said the national average for regular unleaded was $3.99 on Thursday.

Prices have dropped 15 cents a gallon in the past week and 68 cents from the same time last month. Texas has the cheapest average per-gallon price: $3.49.

Conversely, drivers in California and Hawaii are still paying almost $5.40 a gallon.

That relief at the pump follows recent declines in oil prices which are also affecting the cost of airline tickets. From June to July, airfare fell by nearly 8 percent.

And data from the travel booking platform Hopper suggests domestic airfares might drop by nearly 40 percent in the coming months from recent peak summer prices.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

Somalia drought » A new UN report reveals that as many as 1 million people have now been displaced in Somalia amid cripling drought. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Somalia just experienced its fourth failed rainy season in a row, with many parts of the country getting less than half of the rain expected. The UN says a severe two-year drought is the worst in 40 years.

And the country is now staring at an expected fifth failed rainy season.

That could displace even more families and drag the nation closer to famine.

The UN high commissioner for refugees says the number of people facing crisis hunger levels in Somalia is expected to rise from 5 million people to 7 million in the coming months.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

And I'm Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.