Monday morning news: January 2, 2023

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukraine » Ukrainians face a grim start to 2023 after more missile and drone attacks over the weekend. But in Kyiv, residents still celebrated the new year. In between air raid sirens, many sang Ukraine’s national anthem from their apartment windows in unison.

AUDIO: [Kyiv]

Russia launched fresh attacks on Sunday, striking more residential buildings after a blistering New Year's Eve assault that killed at least three civilians.

ZELENSKYY: [Ukrainian]

President Volodymyr Zeleneskyy in a new year’s address told Ukrainians —quote—“You are incredible. See what we have done and what we are doing, how our soldiers have been smashing this 'second army of the world' since the first days.”

Russia claimed it targeted Ukrainian drone production. Officials in Kyiv say the Kremlin once again intentionally took aim at civilian targets.

Idaho suspect extradition » Police said Sunday they’re confident that the search is over for the person who killed four University of Idaho college students in November.

DAHLINGER: We believe we’ve got our man.

Captain Anthony Dahlinger with the Moscow, Idaho, Police Department says the suspect is Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old Ph.D. criminal justice student at Washington State University.

DAHLINGER: It’s bittersweet. We’re very excited [about] the fact that we were able to locate Mr. Kohberger and bring him into custody. But we all still feel the sadness and the sorrow of this event, and we still feel horrible for the families.

Police arrested him at his parents' home in rural Pennsylvania—nearly seven weeks after the slayings.

Kohberger’s attorney says his client plans to waive an extradition hearing so he can quickly be brought to Idaho to face murder charges. He added that Kohberger looks forward to being exonerated as quickly as possible.

NY police attack » Meantime, in New York City, authorities are reportedly investigating whether an attack on three police officers at a New Year’s Eve celebration was related to Islamic terrorism.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell:

SEWELL: A 19-year-old male approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete. The male then struck two additional officers over the head with a machete.

The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. near Times Square. Two of the three officers were hospitalized but are expected to recover. The third was unharmed.

TikTok concerns » On Capitol Hill, lawmakers say they’ll debate legislation in the new year to address security concerns about the social media app TikTok.

Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher told NBC’s Meet the Press:

GALLAGHER: I’m concerned about TikTok’s ability to track your location, track your keystrokes, track what websites you’re visiting, even when you’re not using the app. I’m concerned about the lack of transparency around the algorithm, which is addicting kids.

US intelligence officials say China’s communist government has ultimate control over the app. And FCC Director Brendon Carr described the app as “digital fentanyl” due to its addictive nature and the dangers he believes the app poses.

Pointer Sister obit » Anita Pointer died over the weekend at the age of 74. She was one of four sibling singers who earned pop success as The Pointer Sisters with hits like 1984’s “Jump.”

MUSIC: [Jump]

Her publicist said she passed away while she was with family members. A cause of death was not immediately revealed.

The Pointer Sisters won three Grammy Awards and had more than dozen top 20 hits

Box office » At the weekend box office, Avatar: The Way of Water continues to draw big numbers.

TRAILER: Dad, I know you think I’m crazy, but I feel her. So what does her heartbeat feel like? Mighty.

The sequel to the 2009 blockbuster earned another $63 million domestically. Globally, Avatar 2 has now earned nearly $1.4 billion.

In second place, the animated feature Puss in Boots: The Last Wish took in another $16 million for a total of more than $60 million after 2 weeks in theaters.

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

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