Friday morning news: October 21, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

British PM » In London, Conservative “Tory” party leaders are looking for a new prime minister after Liz Truss announced Thursday that she’s stepping down. Truss told reporters…

TRUSS: We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week. This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.

She was labeled a lame duck leader after her economic plan rattled the markets and Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt tossed it out.

She announced her resignation after just six weeks on the job, but she’ll remain in office until a new leader is in place.

As her party considers her replacement, the leader of the opposition Labour party, Keir Starmer, is calling for a new general election.

STARMER: We can’t have a revolving door of chaos. We can’t have another experiment at the top of the Tory party. There is an alternative, and that’s a stable Labour government.

Among the rumored possible replacements for Truss is Boris Johnson, who resigned as prime minister in July amid multiple controversies.

Iran » U.S. officials say Iranian troops have been on the ground in Crimea supporting Russia’s drone attacks in Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground and through the provision of weapons that are killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

Kirby said “a relatively small number” of Iranian troops have been on the ground in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters …

PRICE: We’re concerned that Russia may also seek to acquire advanced conventional weapons from Iran. That includes, potentially, surface-to-air missiles.

Thursday’s announcement comes as the Biden administration continues efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

But Kirby said hopes for restoring that deal anytime soon are fading.

Pentagon to reimburse for abortion travel » The Biden administration has announced that the Pentagon will pay the travel costs of service members and their dependents who seek an abortion in another state. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued an order outlining the new policy, using federal taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion travel.

It also sets privacy guidelines, prohibiting commanders from discouraging a subordinate from ending a pregnancy.

It builds on initial reaction by the Pentagon in June after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. The Defense Department said at the time that it would continue to allow medical leave for service members who choose to travel for abortions.

Austin directed the services to implement the new policy by the end of this calendar year.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Biden stumping in Pennsylvania » President Biden has been leaning heavily on abortion as a campaign issue with Election Day less than three weeks away.

But on Thursday he stumped in Pennsylvania, touting bipartisan infrastructure spending.

He spoke in front of a Pittsburgh bridge that partially collapsed just hours before Biden visited the city last January.

BIDEN: This is just one of 2,400 bridges across the country that are being repaired just this year because of this law.

Out of roughly $1 trillion in spending, about $40 billion is dedicated to bridges.

Biden also hopes to boost to Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman. The Democrat is locked in a dead heat with Republican rival Mehmet Oz.

Record deaths at border » A record number of migrants have died at the U.S. southern border over the past year. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Officially, about 750 migrants have perished trying to cross the border since last September. But the actual number may be higher as not all deaths at or near the border are accounted for.

CNN reports that the bodies of migrants who died trying to cross the border are being stored in refrigerated containers in Maverick County, Texas. That’s because a local funeral home has run out of space.

Border officials have reported a record surge of border traffic with more than 2 million migrant encounters over the past year.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

CDC adds COVID vaccine to child immunization schedule » The CDC will likely add COVID-19 vaccines to its child immunization schedule very soon.

A panel of CDC advisers voted unanimously Thursday to add COVID shots to a list recommended vaccines.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to adopt the recommendation. That would add the shots to formal lists of recommended vaccines—alongside shots for polio, measles and hepatitis.

But state and local officials don’t have to accept those recommendations. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately assured residents of his state …

DESANTIS: School districts are not mandating this choice. So we will make sure that your freedom to make those decisions on behalf of your kids remains intact.

The CDC does not have the authority to mandate shots nationally.

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

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