Thursday morning news: August 24, 2023

Guiliani / Trump surrender » Former President Trump is expected to turn himself in at a jail in Atlanta today.

He’s facing state charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is one of Trump’s 18 co-defendants. He surrendered on Wednesday after telling reporters …

GIULIANI: This will be proven to be, like all the rest, a complete hoax and a lie — one of the worst actually, because of all the people that brings in who really don’t deserve this.

Giuliani is Trump’s former personal lawyer. His bond was set at $150,000.

Like Giuliani, Trump maintains he did nothing wrong and that the prosecution is nothing more than a political persecution.

The defendants in the case were given until Friday to turn themselves in.

Mar-a-Lago witness » Meantime, a new development in a separate federal case surrounding Trump’s handling of classified documents. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: The Department of Justice says a witness has retracted “prior false testimony” and provided new information implicating Trump.

Court papers identify him as the IT director at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

Prosecutors believe he took part in an effort to delete security video footage to obstruct the DOJ’s investigation.

They say he testified in March that he could not recall any conversations about the footage, but after changing lawyers, he has also changed his story.

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Russia plane crash Prigozhin » Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader who staged a short-lived mutiny in Moscow earlier this year, is dead.

A private jet crashed in Russia on Wednesday, killing all 10 people aboard. And Prigozhin was on the passenger list.

President Biden reacted hours later:

BIDEN: I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised.

Republican Congressman James Comer agrees.

COMER: I don’t think anyone should be surprised. We’ve seen a history and a pattern here with respect to Putin’s enemies meeting untimely deaths.

The Kremlin previously said it was exiling the founder of the Wagner mercenary group to Belarus. But he reportedly was seen in Russia just days later.

South Carolina abortion ruling » South Carolina is reinstating a pro-life law after a ruling by the state’s highest court. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher reports:

JOSH SCHUMACHER: In a 4-to-1 vote, the state’s Supreme Court upheld a law that protects the unborn after a heartbeat is detectable, usually around 6 weeks gestation.

Justice John W. Kittredge wrote in his majority opinion that the law, in his view, does violate women's privacy, but he said the unborn child’s right to live is more important.

The decision overturns a lower court ruling that struck down the law.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Heat alerts » Across the United States today, more than 100 million people are under hot weather alerts with a heat dome parked over much of the South and Midwest.

Rich Otto with the National Weather Service:

OTTO: Index values forecast for today are going to extend from the central Gulf coast all the way up in towards the upper Great Lakes region, 100 plus degrees. 110-220.

At least 17 states face excessive heat warnings or advisories.

But forecasters expect some relief over the weekend.

AUDIO: Soft landing on the moon. India is on the moon.

Moon landing » India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has successfully touched down on the moon’s South Pole, becoming the first craft to land in the region.

Astrophysics professor Jack Burns says the area may contain water, ice, and other resources that could be valuable for future exploration.

BURNS: Longer term going to Mars and beyond is something that’s certainly in our ambition.

Several countries are aiming to establish a presence on the moon’s south pole.

A Russian spacecraft crashed and burned over the weekend attempting to land there.

I'm Kristen Flavin.

Straight ahead: winners and losers at the first Republican primary debate. Plus, summer camp for kids from Ukraine.

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