Monday morning news - July 18, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Biden returns from Saudi trip empty-handed » President Biden returned to the White House empty-handed after meetings in Saudi Arabia.

The president said his trip to the Saudi kingdom was part of a foreign policy investment in the Middle East.

BIDEN: We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran. We will seek to build on this moment with active, principled.

But he was unable to secure commitments on two key issues: The first, a Saudi commitment to pump more oil and the second, a regional security alliance that would include Israel.

Biden said he did once again raise the matter of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

BIDEN: He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it. I indicated I thought he was.

The prince reportedly accused Biden of hypocrisy, saying he was more concerned about Khashoggi than the recent death of a Palestinian-American journalist during a conflict in the West Bank.

Biden under fire after Saudi visit » The president is also facing criticism in Washington today from both sides of the aisle after his meetings with the Saudi royal family.

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace criticized Biden for fist-bumping the crown prince upon his arrival in the country.

MACE: Well, it’s not the office of the President of the United States to go fist-bump the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. It was totally inappropriate.

And Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday …

SANDERS: Look, you’ve got a family that questions democracy, which treats women as third-class citizens, which murders and imprisons its opponents.

He said the United States should not maintain “a warm relationship” with that kind of government.

Admin and GOP on curbing inflation » Republicans have also chided the president for asking other countries to increase their oil output without doing all he can to ramp up production at home. Florida Senator Rick Scott …

SCOTT: We’ve got to become energy independent. Don’t go over to Saudi Arabia and beg them for fuel. Go to Texas and ask them to get more fuel. Fix the supply chain.

Energy prices have played a big role in the surging inflation.

Scott touted a GOP plan to curb inflation, which includes more domestic energy and reining in government spending.

The White House, meantime, said it has its own ideas to tackle inflation. Jared Bernstein is a top economic adviser to the president.

BERNSTEIN: Now we pay two to three times for prescription drugs what Europeans pay for precisely the same drugs. So it’s time to stand up to big phrama, come together, and do something about affordability there.

Senate Democrats are working to strike a deal on a bill that may lower prescription drug costs. But moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has expressed concerns about tax hikes in the proposal.

Lawmakers warn of Chinese military advancements » Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, other lawmakers are voicing major concerns about China’s rapid military buildup.

GOP Congressman Michael Waltz sits on multiple House panels on armed services and intelligence. He said the Chinese …

WALTZ: Are creating dependencies on them, and they’re handing the technology over to their military, as they have the most rapid military buildup in modern history.

It’s been almost one year since China surprised the Pentagon by conducting a hypersonic missile test.

And Maine Sen. Angus King sits on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees. He said when it comes to cutting edge hypersonic weapons technology…

KING: We’re probably, I think, five years behind in terms of where the Chinese are.

He warned that hypersonic missiles, which Russia also has, could be a military game changer.

U.S. launches 988 mental health crisis hotline » The United States just launched a new telephone hotline for those with suicidal thoughts and other mental health emergencies.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel announced the launch in a video message.

ROSENWORCEL: Effective immediately, if you call or text 9-8-8, you will be connected to the 9-8-8 suicide and crisis lifeline.

She said the new 9-8-8 number is free, confidential, and available 24/7. The hotline connects callers with mental health counselors.

The federal government has provided nearly $300 million to help states create systems that will do much more. In some places, they may include emergency mental health clinics, as well as mobile mental health crisis teams. But the services tied to the 9-8-8 hotline currently vary from state to state.

Box office: Thor slips, Maverick breaks Paramount record » Thor took a tumble at the weekend box office.

TRAILER: Let me tell you the story of the space viking, Thor Odinson.

Thor: Love and Thunder earned another $46 million over the weekend—a 68 percent drop from last weekend, but still good enough for first place.

Meantime, Top Gun: Maverick just set a Paramount box office record.

TRAILER: I have to admit I wasn’t expecting an invitation back. They’re called orders, Maverick.

The Top Gun sequel has eclipsed $1.2 billion dollars worldwide, making it the studio’s biggest global release ever.

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

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