Thursday morning news: February 29, 2024

Texas wildfire » Radio chatter inside a fire truck in the Texas Panhandle as it drove through an orange cloud of smoke.

Firefighters are struggling to get a handle on the so-called Smokehouse Creek Fire.

It has now devoured more than a half-million acres, making it the second-largest fire in state history.

The fast-moving flames have consumed hundreds of homes since the fire broke out Monday.

SOUND: [Warning sirens]

2. Great Lakes tornadoes » In central Ohio …

SOUND: [Warning sirens]

Warning sirens blared on Wednesday as an EF-2 tornado struck near Columbus.

Thunderstorms spawned a rare February tornado outbreak in the Great Lakes region with touchdowns also reported in the Chicago suburbs.

No injuries were reported.

NYC Adams pushing to change sanctuary city status » New York City is now rethinking its sanctuary city policies amid a migrant crisis and a surge in crime. Mayor Eric Adams:

ADAMS: We need to modify the sanctuary city law that if you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported.

Law enforcement leaders have reported a string of robberies and assaults tied to migrant suspects in Times Square and elsewhere including an attack that injured two police officers.

Biden, Trump to visit border today » And President Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump are making dueling appearances today at the Texas border. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Trump and Biden are choosing sharply different backdrops for their visits.

President Biden will be in Brownsville today near the Gulf coast where illegal crossings have dropped.

Donald Trump is visiting Eagle Pass in the Del Rio sector … which tallied more than 70,000 arrests in December alone. That was more than the entire 2019 budget year.

More than 7 million migrants are known to have illegally crossed the border since Biden took office.

Trump will continue to hammer those record-breaking numbers as some polls show border security is now the top concern of voters.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Supreme Court to hear Trump immunity case » The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a landmark case to decide whether former president Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges alleging that he interfered with the 2020 election.

Trump’s lawyers argue that he had presidential immunity, but the DC Circuit court disagreed.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case in April.

McConnell to step down after 2024 election » The longest serving Senate leader in history will step aside after the election in November.

MCCONNELL: I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work. That day arrived today.

McConnell heard there on the Senate floorWednesday, a week after turning 82.

The Kentucky lawmaker joined the Senate in 1984 and Republicans elected him as majority leader in 2007.

He said that while he is passing the torch to the next generation of leaders.

MCCONNELL: I still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics, and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm with which they’ve become accustomed.

While he’ll step down as leader, McConnell said he does plan to serve out the remaining three years of his Senate term.

Hunter Biden testimony » House Republicans will soon call Hunter Biden to testify publicly.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said so shortly after the president’s son testified privately at the Capitol on Wednesday.

GOP Congressman Pat Fallon said Republicans asked tough questions about Hunter’s business dealing and his father’s knowledge of them, but did not get helpful answers.

FALLON: He didn’t say anything new. If we presented him with something that was very troubling, he would just say he was wacked out of his mind and probably high at the time, and he’s not sure if it’s even accurate.

Other GOP members described Hunter as defiant and said his testimony contradicted that of other witnesses.

But the Democrats say Republicans are merely fishing and coming up empty.

Yulia address » The widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny addressed members of the European Union’s parliament on Wednesday, becoming overwhelmed with emotion as she spoke.

NAVALNAYA: Putin is the leader of an organized criminal gang. Uh … Sorry.

Yulia Navalnaya said her husband was thrown into a small cell and cut off from the world, adding that he wasn’t allowed to receive phone calls or even letters.

He died earlier this month in an Arctic penal colony.

She announced a funeral service planned for tomorrow in Moscow.

NAVALNAYA: I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband.

Navalnaya also vowed to carry on her husband’s work.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Uncommitted voters in Michigan. Plus, Finding peace in wartime.

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