Friday morning news - July 16, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

911 calls reveal panic, confusion following South Fla. condo collapse » Newly released recordings of 911 calls after a condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida reveal the panic and confusion of survivors.

SOUND: Okay, you’re in your apartment right now? Yes, but half the building’s gone. Okay, are you able to get out through the staircase? No, no, the staircase is closed.

Onlookers in nearby buildings described the scene to dispatchers around 2 a.m. on June 24th.

SOUND: We’re getting a lot of calls over there. What are you seeing? A very large building collapse, like the building next to us is gone. Half of the building is gone.

Part of the building remained standing until demolition crews brought it down to aid in the search and rescue effort.

At least 97 people died in the collapse, and a handful of others are still missing.

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the collapse, but there were several previous warnings of structural damage at the 40-year-old building.

Biden hosts German chancellor at White House » German Chancellor Angela Merkel made what was likely her last official visit to Washington Thursday. President Biden told reporters...

BIDEN: It’s a great pleasure to welcome Chancellor Merkel back into the White House. She’s been in the Oval Office many times. She’s been a great friend.

After nearly 16 years on the job, Merkel is not seeking another term in Germany’s Sept. elections.

Prior to the meeting, the chancellor, heard here through an interpreter, said the two leaders would talk about how to further strengthen the friendship between the two nations.

MERKEL (interpreter): I’m more than aware of the contribution of America to a free and democratic Germany. So I’m very much looking forward to a deepening of relations yet again through our talks.

The leaders were expected to discuss the global pandemic response, China and a Russian gas pipeline that Washington opposes.

The United States has long argued that the Nord Stream 2 project will threaten European energy security by increasing the continent’s reliance on Russian gas.

Some worry that will give Moscow a stronger hand in the region. But Biden recently waived sanctions against German entities involved in the project, a move that angered many in Congress.

WHO chief says it was ‘premature’ to rule out COVID lab leak » The head of the World Health Organization has admitted that it was premature to rule out the possibility that COVID-19 escaped from a Chinese laboratory. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said Thursday that his organization’s asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the virus.

That marked a rare departure from his usual deference to Beijing.

A WHO investigative team traveled to Wuhan, China, the original epicenter, earlier this year to look into its origins. But Ghebreyesus said the team had trouble getting access to certain data.

But even with limited information, the team concluded that a laboratory leak was—quote—“extremely unlikely.”

Ghebreyesus said Thursday that there had been a “premature push” to rule it out. He added—his words—“I was a lab technician myself, I’m an immunologist, and I have worked in the lab, and lab accidents happen. It’s common.”

In May, President Biden ordered a review of U.S. intelligence to assess the possibility that COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Unemployment claims hit new pandemic low » The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits has reached its lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

Thursday’s Labor Department report showed unemployment claims fell by 26,000 last week to 360,000.

As the economy bounces back, many forecasters have predicted that the economy will expand this year by roughly 7%. That would be the most robust calendar-year growth since 1984.

But the rebound has been slowed somewhat by a worker shortage.

To incentivize people to return to work, roughly half the states plan to stop paying so-called enhanced unemployment benefits by the end of this month. That is a $300-a-week federal check, on top of regular state jobless aid.

25,000 troops deployed to quell South Africa riots, 117 dead » In South Africa, the government has deployed 25,000 troops to help quell weeklong riots sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: In a show of strength, a convoy of more than a dozen armored personnel carriers hauled soldiers into Gauteng province, home to the city of Johannesburg.

The government said 10,000 soldiers were on the streets by Thursday morning patrolling alongside police. The South African National Defence Force had also called up all of its reserve force of 12,000 troops.

The unrest erupted last week after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. That after he refused to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry of allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

Protests quickly escalated into violence and looting.

More than a hundred people have died.

And police have arrested more than 2,000 people for theft and vandalism.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

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

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