Friday morning news: August 4, 2023

Trump latest » Donald Trump told a magistrate judge on Thursday that he is not guilty … of trying to overturn the 2020 election.

And former president told reporters outside a Washington D.C. courthouse:

TRUMP: This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America.

His plea came two days after Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith announced the latest indictment against Trump.

It charges him with four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

He’s scheduled to appear in the same court later this month … when a judge will set a tentative trial date.

Hunter latest » Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn reacted Thursday:

BLACKBURN: Attorney General Garland can no longer say there is one standard of Justice. There are clearly two standards of justice.

She said the Justice Department has gone after Trump while protecting President Biden.

Her remarks came after Republicans released a transcript Thursday of their closed-door interview with Hunter Biden’s friend and former business partner, Devon Archer … who served with Hunter on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

He testified that people would be intimidated to mess with Burisma with the Biden name attached to the company … and that the Biden “brand” was critical to Burisma’s survival.

Archer testified that to his knowledge, Joe Biden was never directly involved in Burisma business dealings. But his testimony does seem to refute the president’s prior claims that he was entirely disconnected from his son’s business activities

Blinken Security Council » Secretary of State Tony Blinken addressed leaders on the UN Security Council Thursday … and challenged them to send a clear message to Moscow:

BLINKEN: Enough. Enough using the Black Sea as blackmail.

Russia recently pulled out of a grain deal that allowed Ukraine to safely export grain around the world. Many impoverished nations have relied on those shipments to stave off hunger.

Blinken said the Kremlin is using the world’s most vulnerable people as leverage in its “unconscionable war.”

And after the meeting, the secretary added:

BLINKEN: We are the largest contributor by far to the World Food Program, 50% of its budget every single year. And today, I was able to announce another $360 million dollars in assistance.

Blinken also seemed to take an implicit jab at China for not contributing more.

IRS paperless » Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says by 2025 … the IRS will offer an entirely paperless experience.

She announced the initiative yesterday, saying the change will save about $40 million a year in document storage costs.

Yellen: It will enable taxpayers to see their documents securely access their data and save time and money. And it will allow reports of the IRS to rely on these digital copies to provide faster refunds…and deliver a more seamless and responsive customer service experience.

The shift will also cut office paper correspondence in half and digitize all tax records.

But Yellen said citizens will always have the option of submitting their taxes on paper.

Two sailors » Two U-S sailors have been arrested on espionage charges… after they allegedly provided sensitive military information to China.

U-S attorney Martin Estrada:

ESTRADA - The scheme alleged here is just one more example of the People's Republic of China's ongoing and brazen campaign to target US officials with access to sensitive military secrets.

The suspects allegedly provided China information on military exercises, operations, and technical material … in exchange for cash bribes.

Kherson church shelled » Russian shelling has damaged an 18th-century church in the Ukrainian city of Kherson.

MOS (Ukrainian): [In and under]

One witness said smoke began rising from the historic church in the early morning hours.

Until last year the church held the remains of Prince Grigory Potemkin … an 18th-century Russian military commander who advised Catherine the Great to expand the Russian empire into what is now southern Ukraine.

A Russian missile destroyed a historic cathedral in the city of Odesa last month.

Russian attacks have damaged or destroyed dozens of cultural monuments across the country since the start of the war.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet.

Plus, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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.