Thursday morning news: January 4, 2024

Border GOP » House Republicans are ramping up pressure on the Biden administration to curb the border crisis.

Roughly 60 GOP lawmakers paid a visit to the U.S. Mexico border in Texas, including Congressman Jim Jordan. He said illegal border crossings under President Biden are on pace to reach 12 million by the end of his first term.

JORDAN: That’s the equivalent, that equals the population of the state I’m from, the great state of Ohio.

Speaker Mike Johnson charged that right now … Mexican cartels control the border, deciding who is allowed to enter.

JOHNSON: 312 suspects on the terrorist watch list that have been apprehended. We have no idea how many terrorists have come into the country and set up terrorism cells.

Border authorities recorded more than 300,000 migrant encounters in December, shattering a record for a single month.

Republicans are calling for, among other things, an end to so-called catch and release policies. They also want the Biden administration to bring back the remain in Mexico policy for asylum seekers.

Border: White House response, checkpoints » The White House, meantime, is pushing back. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the Republican trip to the border a political stunt.

PIERRE: You have Speaker Johnson, who continues with House Republicans to make this a political issue.

Today, the United States is expected to reopen four U.S.-Mexico border checkpoints that border officials had to shut down amid a crush of migrant traffic.

Authorities will reopen a crossing in Texas, two in Arizona, and one in California.

Debt tops $34T » Speaker Johnson made clear on Wednesday that House Republicans have two top priorities: One: secure the border, and two: rein in overspending in Washington.

That comes as the U.S. national debt just hit an alarming milestone.

JOHNSON: $34 trillion dollars in debt. $34 trillion dollars today. It’s a landmark that would have been unimaginable to previous generations.

Since 2008, that national debt has grown by nearly 350%, and Washington is projected to add another one-and-a-half trillion dollars to the debt this fiscal year.

Johnson said Republicans will be pushing hard to restore fiscal sanity, as Congress works to pass new government funding bills in the weeks ahead.

It’s unclear, though, if they’ll tie spending cuts to Ukraine aid.

But they are demanding border and immigration policy changes before approving funds for more aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine-Russia prisoners » Meantime, Ukraine and Russia have announced the exchange of hundreds of prisoners. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The United Arab Emirates helped mediate the agreement which saw the two sides swap more than two hundred prisoners, mostly soldiers.

Among the Ukrainians released were seven soldiers captured during a now-famous incident at Snake Island.

That’s where the Ukrainian troops refused calls from a Russian warship to surrender at the beginning of the war.

Ukraine says this is the largest prisoner exchange since the war started almost two years ago.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

SOUND: [Crowd screaming/running]

Iran bombings » In Iran, a pair of explosions ripped through the southern city of Kerman Wednesday, killing more than 100 people.

State media reports the blasts occurred near the burial site of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani as a crowd gathered to commemorate the fourth anniversary of his death in a U.S. airstrike.

Spokeswoman for the U.N. secretary general, Florencia Soto, told reporters:

SOTO: The Secretary-General calls for those responsible to be held accountable and the Secretary-General expresses his deep condolences to the bereaved families.

Iranian officials called the bombings a terrorist attack, but no group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Soleimani led the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force and planned attacks that killed American and Iraqi personnel.

Menendez latest » Embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is facing more corruption charges.

Prosecutors now accuse the Democrat of accepting gifts from the government of Qatar.

The senator already stands accused of taking bribes and acting as an unregistered government agent for Egypt.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer:

Schumer: Senator Menendez’s behavior as reported in these indictments is way below the standard of Senator and it's deeply disappointing and disturbing to me.

Menendez insists he is innocent and has repeatedly refused to step down since he was indicted in September.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the schism of a major protestant denomination. Plus, masculinity and belly flops.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.