Friday morning news - July 15, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Biden, Lapid disagree on deterring Iran » President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid sat side-by-side at a table in Jerusalem on Thursday …

AUDIO: [Applause]

… as the leaders signed a joint declaration vowing to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

But the leaders disagree on how to accomplish that. President Biden pronounced:

BIDEN: I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome.

The Biden administration continues work to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

But the prime minister said words will not stop them.

LAPID: The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force.

Biden said he is not ruling out force as a last resort. And he said his patience is running low as the White House awaits a response from Iran to the latest diplomatic outreach.

Biden in Saudi Arabia » Today, President Biden lands in Saudi Arabia on the final leg of his first Middle East trip as president.

As a presidential candidate, Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a global pariah over its human rights abuses, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But during this visit, the president suggested that he does not need to raise that matter again.

BIDEN: I always bring up human rights, but my position on Khashoggi has been so clear. If anyone doesn’t understand it, in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, then they haven’t been around for a while.

However, the slain journalist’s widow, Hanan Khashoggi, said administration officials told her differently.

KHASHOGGI: Based on our conversation, it did assure me that human rights issue, and on top of it my husband’s tragedy, it will come up.

Some have accused the president of abandoning his pledge to prioritize human rights.

The Saudi kingdom is an important oil producer at a time when high oil prices are further driving inflation.

Wholesale inflation climbed 11.3% from June 2021 » And we have more new evidence of continued, spiraling inflation.

The Labor Department says inflation at the wholesale level climbed 11.3 percent in June compared with a year earlier.

The U.S. producer price index measures inflation before it hits consumers.

Employers are feeling the pinch. Brandon Brown runs a small heating and air business in Virginia.

BROWN: We’ve had to actually raise labor and hourly rates to keep making it worth it to come to work for the employees.

On a month-to-month basis, wholesale inflation rose just over 1 percent from May to June.

Russia strike in Vinnytsia » Russian missiles killed at least 23 people, including children, and wounded more than 100 others in western Ukraine. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: The missiles struck an office building and numerous homes in Vinnytsia, a city of about 400,000. The explosions also ignited a fire in a nearby parking lot, setting about 50 cars ablaze.

While most of Russia’s recent attacks have been focused in the eastern Donbas region, Vinnytsia is roughly 150 miles southwest of Kyiv. Many civilians fled there from besieged eastern regions.

Ukraine accused Moscow of terror tactics, intentionally targeting civilians.

Meantime, the International Criminal Court met in The Hague. The ICC has called on some 40 nations to work together to prosecute alleged Russian war crimes.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

Ivana Trump dies at 73 » Ivana Trump has died at the age of 73.

She was the first wife of former President Donald Trump and the mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump.

Ivana was a Czech-born ski racer and part-time model-turned-businesswoman. In a 2017 interview, she recalled the day she met the former president.

IVANA: I turn around and there is this tall, blonde, blue-eyed guy, and he said my name is Donald Trump. I can see that you are waiting for a table, and the manager of the place is my friend. I’m going to get you a table.

They married in 1977 and divorced in 1992. They remained on good terms, and she backed his White House bid in 2016.

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

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