Thursday morning news: August 18, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Border crisis » Migrants continue to arrive at the U.S. southern border in staggering numbers.

The Border Patrol now reports nearly 200,000 migrant encounters in July. And through fiscal year 2022, that number is almost 2 million.

The mayor of Rio Grande City, Texas, Joel Villarreal is calling on the federal government to step up.

VILLARREAL: I don’t have the financial resources to be able to sustain the number - or influx of immigrants coming through.

Of the migrants who crossed the border last month, two-thirds were single adults. Most were given court dates and released inside the United States.

Migrant buses » Meantime, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is calling Texas Gov. Greg Abbott morally corrupt for busing migrants from Texas to his city and Washington D.C.

He’s accused the governor of mistreating migrants.

ADAMS: Any adult or child, those are horrific conditions to place human beings under.

But Texas authorities say they load the buses with plenty of food and supplies before they depart and everyone is treated humanely.

Adams has complained that the influx of hundreds of migrants has overwhelmed homeless shelters in his city.

But Gov. Abbott says that’s a small fraction of the challenges his state faces every day.

ABBOTT: It is now time for states like New York and cities like New York City to begin to shoulder some of that burden.

The New York Post reports that the city may soon convert a swanky Times Square hotel into an intake center for migrants.

Judge: Pharmacies owe 2 Ohio counties $650M in opioids suit » A federal judge says several major pharmacy chains played a role in the opioid crisis and must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties.

It’s part of a lawsuit that claimed that the way CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart distributed opioids to customers caused severe harm to communities.

A jury returned a verdict in November in favor of the counties.

It was then left to the judge to decide how much the counties should receive in damages.

The pharmacy chains argued that it was doctors who controlled how many pills were prescribed, not their pharmacies.

And they said they had policies in place to notify authorities about suspicious orders from doctors.

The companies plan to appeal the ruling.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Giuliani grand jury » Former New York City mayor, and Trump attorney,  Rudy Giuliani answered questions before a grand jury in Atlanta Wednesday.

It’s part of an investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The probe centers on whether President Donald Trump and others may have interfered in Georgia’s 2020 election, putting pressure on election officials.

Giuliani told reporters outside the courthouse…

GIULIANI: I’ll talk about this when it’s over. It’s a grand jury, and grand juries, as I recall, are secret.

Giuliani provided legal representation to Trump and his campaign.

Fani Willis said she’s also considering calling Trump himself to testify. The former president maintains he did nothing improper.

Israel-Turkey diplomatic reset » Turkey and Israel are patching things up diplomatically. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has that story.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: The two countries have resumed full diplomatic relations.

Both nations recalled their respective ambassadors in 2010 after an incident involving Israeli forces that resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists.

In 2018, following an attempt to mend ties, Turkey again recalled its ambassador after the U.S. opened an embassy in Jerusalem.

Now, the two sides are hitting the reset button again.

Earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid visited Ankara in June. That came a month after his Turkish counterpart visited Jerusalem, the first high-level visit by a Turkish official in 15 years.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Planned Parenthood to spend record $50m in midterms » Planned Parenthood plans to spend a record $50 million dollars to sway voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. This tops the $45 million the group pumped into 2020 campaigns.

The money will pay for door-knockers, phone calls, and advertising.

Planned Parenthood will spend most of that cash in nine states where pro-life laws or candidates may feature prominently on ballots.

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

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