Monday morning news - June 27, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Abortion facilities shuttered in more than a dozen states » Abortion facilities are shutting down in more than a dozen states following the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Roe v Wade decision.

Arkansas is one of those states. And Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday…

HUTCHINSON: This is a day that those in the pro-life movement [have] worked for for over 40 years. I didn’t think it would come this quickly, and the decision of the Supreme Court is really something that will save lives.

Friday’s high court ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson case reversed the 1973 Roe decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.

Arkansas and 12 other states—from Alabama to Texas to Idaho—already had pro-life laws on the books that were triggered by the ruling.

South Dakota is another one of those states. And GOP Gov. Kristi Noem said the court made the right decision.

NOEM: It gave the authority back to the states to make these decisions. So now that this decision’s been made, it will be up to each of the states and the state legislators and the people there to talk to their elected representatives about what their laws look like closer to home.

At the same time, many Democrat-led states have been working to maintain and even expand abortion access.

G7 leaders kick off three-day summit » President Biden gathered with Western allies in the Bavarian Alps of Germany on Sunday for the start of the three-day G7 summit. The meeting brings together many of the world’s top economic powers.

BIDEN: Today we officially launched the partnership for global infrastructure and investment. We collectively have dozens of projects already underway around the globe.

The partnership aims to leverage $600 billion with fellow G7 countries over the next five years for global infrastructure projects. Biden said United States will invest $200 billion in the effort.

It’s intended to counter China’s influence in the developing world and to help blunt the global economic fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Allied leaders were also set to announce new bans on imports of Russian gold— while looking at possible price caps on energy to squeeze Russian oil and gas profits.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday warned the leaders not to give in to “fatigue” as the war stretches into its fifth month. He said even as the costs of backing Ukraine continue to mount…

JOHNSON: The price of allowing Putin to succeed, to hack off huge parts of Ukraine, to continue with his program of conquest, that price would be far, far higher. And everybody here understands that.

Russia strikes Kyiv as Western leaders meet in Europe » Just hours earlier in Kyiv, an explosion rocked a high rise apartment building as a Russian missile struck Ukraine’s capital city. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The cruise missile strike killed at least one person and injured six others—including a seven-year-old girl and her mother.

Many analysts believe the timing of the strike was no accident that Moscow meant to send a message to the West as G7 leaders arrived in Germany.

A Ukrainian government official said Russian war planes launched as many as 14 missiles at Kyiv from the skies over the Caspian Sea hundreds of miles away. That suggests Ukraine’s defense systems may have intercepted most of the missiles aimed at the capital region.

But many other long-range missiles found their targets across northern and western Ukraine over the weekend.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher

Iran launches rocket into space as nuclear talks to resume » Iran also reportedly launched a rocket in recent days into space.

AUDIO: [Rocket launch]

Iranian state media reported the rocket launch, but didn’t say when or where it happened.

Tehran has repeatedly tried to put satellites into space, with little success.

U.S. intelligence officials say any progress Iran makes with a satellite launch vehicle “shortens the timeline” to an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Iran recently tore down many of the UN surveillance cameras tracking its nuclear program.

Nuclear talks with Iran and other world powers have been stalled for months but are expected to restart in the coming days.

Gas prices tick down for first time in months » Gas prices have ticked down a bit for the first time in nine weeks, according to fuel price analysts Trilby Lundberg.

LUNDBERG: The average price of regular grade is down 4 cents in the past two weeks to $5.05.

AAA’s national survey has average prices a little bit below $5 per gallon.

Lundberg says the slight decline comes as demand for oil has softened.

LUNDBERG: There is concern in the trading circles that recession will cut into oil demand and demand for refined product.

And she said we could see pump prices drop further in the coming days.

Georgia has the lowest per-gallon price right now with an average of $4.41. Conversely, California drivers are paying an average of $6.32 per gallon.

Elvis tops weekend box office » The king of rock-n-roll was the king of the box office over the weekend.

TRAILER: Comic book heroes all find their super powers. Elvis found music. I wish to promote you Mr. Presley.

Elvis very narrowly edged out Top Gun: Maverick in its opening weekend with an estimated $30 million domestically.

But the Top Gun sequel took in roughly the same amount and has now topped $1 billion worldwide.

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

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