Friday morning news - September 17, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

U.S. unveils security alliance with U.K., Australia » Top U.S. officials spoke Thursday about a new security alliance with Britain and Australia, known as AUKUS.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters…

AUSTIN: An important first step for AUKUS will be our efforts to help Australia acquire nuclear powered submarines.

But Australia emphasized it is not starting a nuclear weapons program. The submarines will be nuclear powered but not nuclear armed.

Australia will work with the United States and the UK to build a fleet of nuclear-powered subs to conduct longer patrols.

The alliance will also share intelligence and increase its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

In announcing the alliance, President Biden explained…

BIDEN: This initiative is about making sure that each of us has a modern capability, the most modern capabilities we need to maneuver and defend against rapidly evolving threats.

He announced the agreement via video link with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Although none of the leaders mentioned China in their announcement, the Chinese government has called the alliance “highly irresponsible.

With a growing focus on the Pacific, Biden is set to host leaders from India, Australia, and Japan next week.

Chauvin pleads not guilty to violating teen's civil rights » Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd has pleaded not guilty to violating the civil rights of a teenager in a separate case. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Chauvin faced a judge by videoconference Thursday from the state’s maximum security prison. Prosecutors say he used a restraint on a then-14-year-old-teenager in 2017, similar to the one he used on George Floyd last year.

He allegedly held the teen by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boy’s neck while he was handcuffed and not resisting. The boy was bleeding from the ear and needed two stitches.

Chauvin and three other former officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — were arraigned on civil rights violations in Floyd's death on Tuesday. All four pleaded not guilty to those charges.

The indictment in the 2017 case was filed the same day as the one for Floyd's death.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Capitol Police prepare for weekend rally » Roughly 700 demonstrators are expected to flock to Washington tomorrow for the “Justice for J6” event.

Attendees will meet at Union Square near the U.S. Capitol to protest criminal charges against people involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Police reinstalled perimeter fencing around the Capitol and asked the National Guard to stand by. The Capitol Police board also issued an emergency declaration that allows them to deputize other law enforcement officers for the day.

Rally organizers say the gathering is a peaceful protest and they’re asking demonstrators to respect law enforcement. Congress will not be in session due to a planned recess for Yom Kippur.

Surprise uptick in spending by Americans as delta spreads » Americans continued to spend at a brisk pace last month despite surging COVID-19 cases. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more on that.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Spending held up surprisingly well to the still-rising wave of infections—though much of that spending was done online. Online sales soared 5.3 percent last month.

Some sectors of the economy are still feeling the impact of the delta variant. Sales at restaurants, for example, remained flat.

But retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in August from the month before. That uptick caught most economists by surprise.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good news: jobless claims rose last week after falling to a pandemic-low the week before.

About 332,000 people filed for unemployment benefits, a rise of about 6 percent.

That could be a sign that the spread of the delta variant is triggering an uptick in layoffs.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Four amateurs circle Earth in first-of-its-kind space flight » Four amateur astronauts are still orbiting Earth today after rocketing into space Wednesday night. A crowd of onlookers counted down the seconds to liftoff.

AUDIO: [SOUND FROM LAUNCH]

On board are two contest winners, a health care worker and wealthy sponsor of the mission. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts. It marks a major leap forward for space tourism.

The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are circling the planet from an unusually high orbit—100 miles higher than the International Space Station.

After three days in space, the crew is scheduled to splash down off the Florida coast tomorrow.

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

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