Friday morning news: September 8, 2023

Ukraine / Russia drones » In eastern Ukraine, the victims of a Russian missile attack on an outdoor market were buried on Thursday as Moscow continues to target Ukrainian infrastructure.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken toured northern Ukraine yesterday, telling reporters:

BLINKEN: Just yesterday, we saw the bombing of a market — a market! For what? This is what Ukrainians are living with every day.

The missile attack in Kostiantynivka killed 16 people though authorities initially put the death toll at 17.

And a day later, Russia attacked the Ukrainian port city of Izmail for the fourth time this week targeting Ukraine’s ability to export grain.

Meantime, the United States has announced it's sending anti-tank rounds made with depleted uranium to Ukraine’s military to help break through Russian lines in its counteroffensive.

Arms and disarmament researcher Elena Sokova explains:

SOKOVA: Depleted uranium metal is very hard and it penetrates the conventional armor better than regular munitions.

Depleted uranium rounds are controversial. Opponents say the rounds can spread toxic dust and poison groundwater and soil.

G20 » Air Force One circled half the globe overnight, touching down in India this morning.

President Biden will shake hands with many of the world’s top leaders at the G20 Summit in New Delhi today, though officially the summit starts tomorrow.

The president will look to persuade other leaders that the United States and its allies are better economic and security partners than China.

And defense researcher Happymon Jacob says the U.S. isn’t the only country competing with Beijing.

JACOB: From a geopolitical perspective, there is a competition between China and India for the leadership of the global south.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is skipping the summit. Premier Li Qiang is there in his place.

AI dangers hearing » Meantime, back in Washington, lawmakers in a Capitol hearing on Thursday warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence in the hands of China’s communist government.

Senator John Barrasso:

BARRASSO: China’s sustained interest in our intellectual property is a stark reminder of the intense global competition surrounding artificial intelligence. We can’t overlook the threat to our economic and national security posed by the Chinese government.

Sen. Joe Manchin said AI can be a force for good. But he also warned of its dangers. He noted that MIT students got AI to show them how to create a potentially pandemic-causing pathogen.

Dr. Rick Stevens with Argonne National Laboratory testified:

STEVENS: We’re going to have to build capabilities using the kind of supercomputers we have and even additional AI systems to assess other AI systems, so we can say, this model is safe. It doesn’t know how to build a pandemic.

Stevens said we have to create AI models that align with human values. But he said right now we don’t know how to do that.

Hunter charges » Federal prosecutors plan to indict Hunter Biden by the end of the month on illegal gun possession charges.

That’s according to court filings this week from the special counsel investigating the president’s son.

The younger Biden pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor tax charges in July when a Delaware judge rejected a plea deal between prosecutors and his legal team.

House Hunter probe » Meanwhile, House Republicans claim the National Archives contain evidence that Hunter and Joe Biden worked together in an alleged bribery scheme when the elder Biden was vice president.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer:

COMER: We believe there are more that the archives are sitting on where the Biden. The Hunter Biden legal team the Hunter Biden PR people that Hunter Biden's shot shady characters who were paying him were communicating through him to his father, back and forth.

Comer this week subpoenaed officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service.

Mexico abortion » The Supreme Court of Mexico has struck down a federal law protecting unborn children. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The ruling threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion … and ordered the procedure removed from the penal code.

Pro-life advocates gathered outside the Supreme Court ahead of the decision to pray and speak out.

PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATOR: [Speaking Spanish]

One pro-life demonstrator said she’ll continue to fight for the right of every child to live.

Mexico’s public health service will now be required to offer abortions.

Twenty Mexican states still have pro-life protections on the books, but judges in those states will have to abide by the high court’s ruling.

Other Latin American countries, including Colombia and Argentina, have also legalized abortion in recent years.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Brazil cyclone update » A cyclone that slammed southern Brazil this week has now killed at least 39 people.

The death toll continues to rise as relentless rain triggered massive flooding, washing away houses, and leaving thousands homeless.

RESIDENT: [Speaking Portugese]

One resident says his home is severely damaged, but he’ll have to repair it as best he can … because he and his wife have nowhere else to go.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, another big fat Greek wedding.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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