Friday morning news: February 17, 2023

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Biden on aerial objects » President Biden says that three aerial objects US fighter jets recently shot down over the U.S. and Canada were likely harmless.

BIDEN: Nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country.

But he said he’s planning sharper rules to track and monitor unknown aerial objects and if any pose a threat, he won’t hesitate to give the order to shoot it down.

GA grand jury » A special grand jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies’ actions surrounding the 2020 election say “one or more witnesses” lied under oath.

And a partially unsealed report reveals that jury has urged local prosecutors to bring charges. But we do not know whom those charges might target.

American University History Professor Allan Lichtman:

LICHTMAN: The big question, of course, about which this excerpt gave no indication, is whether or not the D.A. is intending to indict Donald Trump himself.

If the DA does charge Trump, it won’t be for perjury because the former president never testified before the special grand jury.

Democratic Fulton Country prosecutor Fanni Willis launched an investigation into possible election interference in Georgia two years ago.

Earthquake » In earthquake-ravaged regions of Turkey and Syria, hope is fading for finding any more survivors in the rubble.

With that in mind, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is shifting its relief efforts from search and rescue to recovery.

STOLTENBERG: The focus going forward will be on reconstruction and supporting the displaced. That is why NATO is now setting up temporary housing for thousands of displaced people. In addition, NATO will also use our strategic airlift capabilities to transport tens of thousands of tents to Turkey in the coming days and weeks.

Meanwhile, The UN is asking its member countries for hundreds of millions in earthquake relief funds. It says the money would go to providing food, education, water, and shelter.

SC pro-life bill, KY law ruling » A pro-life Kentucky law will remain in place for now after a court ruling Thursday. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The state’s Supreme Court lifted an injunction on a law protecting babies after six weeks gestation.

Two Kentucky abortion centers had sued, arguing that the law violates the state constitution. But the court ruled the facilities did not have standing to bring the case and sent it back to the lower courts for review.

Meantime, in South Carolina, state House representatives have advanced a bill that would ban abortion from conception except in cases of rape, incest, or potentially fatal complications.

The bill will now go before the state Senate for consideration. A Senate bill passed last week that would ban abortion after six weeks.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Wholesale prices surge again » Wholesale inflation in the United States sped up from December to January.

The Department of Labor’s Producer Price Index jumped 0.7 percent in January as compared to December. That came after a decline of 0.2 percent a month earlier.

A separate measure that leaves out volatile categories like energy and food also climbed last month by 0.6%. That was the sharpest increase in almost a year.

Chat GPT bias » The artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT is all the rage right now online. But its answers may reveal the political biases of its programmers. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: WORLD asked Chat GPT to write an essay praising President Joe Biden. The bot obeyed, describing how Biden’s presidency has been—quote— “marked by a commitment to bringing the country together, tackling systemic racism, the pandemic, and taking steps to rebuild the economy.”

We then asked it to praise former President Donald Trump. The bot responded that it could not generate content that it says is—quote—biased or based on false information.

WORLD also asked the bot to define a woman. It started out saying that a woman is an adult human female, before continuing on to say that one’s gender identity and one’s biological sex need not be the same.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

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

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