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Friday morning news: March 10, 2023

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WORLD Radio - Friday morning news: March 10, 2023

President Biden unveiled his budget on Thursday, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared before Senate Committee, UN secretary general asks Russia and Ukraine not to fight near nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia region, fewer young people are going to college, former senior official in Trump administration throws support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a letter purportedly written by Mexican cartel leaders apologizes for the abduction of four Americans.


President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Russian missile barrage »

SOUND: [Ukraine NATS]

Ukrainian troops fire shells at invading Russian troops as Moscow’s forces continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine.

More than 80 Russian missiles and exploding drones rained down on residential buildings in numerous cities across Ukraine On Thursday … killing at least six people.

ZELENSKYY: [Ukrainian]

In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed that Ukraine will not yield and will—quote—“never be in chains.”

Russian missile barrage / Zaporizhzhia concerns » The largest such attack in three weeks also put Europe’s largest nuclear plant at risk by knocking it off the power grid once again.

The Zaporizhzhia plant needs external power to operate cooling systems and avoid a meltdown.

UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi:

GROSSI: This is the largest nuclear power station in Europe operating for the sixth time under emergency diesel generators. What are we doing?

U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres is once again calling for a demilitarized safezone around nuclear power plant.

Biden budget » President Biden unveiled his federal budget on Thursday.

BIDEN: My budget reflects what we can do to lift the burden on hardworking Americans. And there’s more than one way to do that.

His budget blueprint aims to cut the deficit by $3 trillion dollars over 10 years.

He says he’d pay for it by raising taxes on corporations and high-income Americans. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called that a really bad idea.

MCCARTHY: Raising taxes in this economy is wrong. You’ve got more revenue than at any time. You’re spending under the Democrats increased by 30 percent.

The nonpsartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that deficit reduction is a welcomed start, but nothing more.

The deficit is the amount of money the government overspends each year. And the committee says the president’s budget would still have Uncle Sam adding $19 trillion dollars to the national debt over a decade.

Norfolk Southern testimony » The CEO of rail giant Norfolk Southern was in the hotseat on Capitol hill Thursday after three of its trains derailed in just over a month’s time.

SHAW: I want to begin today by expressing how deeply sorry I am for the impact this derailment has had on the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding communities.

The wreck in East Palestine, Ohio caused a spill of toxic chemicals.

Shaw vowed to pay for the cleanup and to take care of those impacted by the chemical spill. But Sen. Bernie Sanders asked the CEO to explain exactly what that means.

SANDERS: Does that include paying for their healthcare needs? All of their healthcare needs?
SHAW: Senator, we’re going to do what’s right.

Officials say a second crash in Ohio and a derailment in Alabama this week did not cause any serious injuries or threats to the environment.

Lawmakers are crafting legislation that would tighten safety standards for hauling toxic cargo and increase fines for violations.

College enrollment dropping » Fewer young people are going to college today than five years ago and not just because of the pandemic.

Between 2020 and 2022, college enrollment dropped by roughly 9 percent. Tens of thousands of fewer students are going to college even after in-person classes have returned.

Vicki Bunch is Chief Workforce Development Officer for Jackson, Tennessee. She says many graduates prefer to make money over going to classes.

VICKI BUNCH: What we’re seeing is that students can’t seem to resist sign-on bonuses and wages that far exceed any they’ve seen before.

But that could threaten the labor market with a shortage of workers in fields such as technology and medicine.

Ken Cuccinelli DeSantis pac » A former senior official in the Trump administration is now throwing his support behind a different Republican.

Former Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli is launching a super PAC calling on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to jump into the race.

CUCCINELLI: Governor DeSantis, today I’m asking you to run for president. You’ve had our back. Now we will have yours. It’s time for fresh conservative leadership.

An average of recent polls gives Trump an early double-digit lead over second-place DeSantis among Republican voters. But for now, those numbers are hypothetical as DeSantis has given no indication as to when he will announce his plans.

Mexican Cartel Letter » A letter purportedly written by Mexican cartel leaders apologizes for the abduction of four Americans last week.

Two of the Americans were killed after their group crossed the border from Texas into Matamoros, Mexico. In the letter, the cartel condemns the crime and says it is handing over the members responsible.

Since then, Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to designate the cartels as terrorists.

Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw, however, says doing that will only exacerbate the immigration crisis at America’s southern border by making many more people eligible for asylum.

CRENSHAW: Are they obviously terrorists? Of course. They act like terrorists, but if you designate them that way you will make our immigration crisis much worse.

The two survivors of last week’s attack have returned to the United States.

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.

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