Thursday morning news: January 5, 2023

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

House speaker » On Capitol Hill Wednesday, it was a new day, but the same story.

AUDIO: No member elect having received a majority of the votes cast, a speaker has not been elected.

GOP leader Kevin McCarthy fell short in several more rounds of voting for the speakership.

A group of 20 Republicans on McCarthy’s right flank stand between him and the speaker’s gavel, including Congressman Scott Perry.

PERRY: We are showing the American people that this process works. Yeah, it’s been about 100 years since this has happened before. But we have said we’re not going to take any more of Washington being broken.

Perry says McCarthy is part of that brokenness.

On Tuesday, the holdouts supported Ohio’s Jim Jordan instead of McCarthy. Yesterday, they threw their votes behind a new alternative.

AUDIO: The honorable Byron Donalds of the state of Florida has received 20.

McCarthy says the dissenting Republicans are putting their own interests above the good of the country. But the group of 20 says it’s tried to bridge the gap, but McCarthy has refused the group’s policy proposals.

Ukraine-Russia » Russia’s defense ministry now says 89 troops died in a missile attack on a military facility in the occupied Donetsk region. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Moscow raised the official death toll as top commanders continue to take rhetorical fire from within Russia.

They clustered hundreds of troops together in a single building close to the front lines in the town of Makiivka. The building was well within range of Ukraine’s artillery and right next to an ammunition stockpile.

Russian critics say it was a recipe for disaster.

The Kremlin says Russian troops using cell phones may have given away their position.

It was one of Ukraine’s most effective single strikes since the start of Russia’s invasion.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

China COVID US offer » China is facing a massive COVID-19 surge after easing strict lockdowns.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Washington has offered assistance, but so far, Beijing has said “no thanks.”

PIERRE: We’ll continue to stand by our offer. We clearly cannot speak for China and their decision on that. We can only speak for what we have done as a leader globally.

Pierre says the United States has offered to share vaccine doses with China to help curb the outbreak.

Many experts question the effectiveness of Chinese-made vaccines. And after long lockdowns, many people there have no natural immunity to the virus.

Colorado migrants » Democrats in recent months have blasted Republican governors for busing migrants to so-called sanctuary cities. But now a Democratic governor is reportedly doing the same.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams:

ADAMS: We were notified yesterday that the governor of Colorado has now stated that they are going to be sending migrants to places like New York and Chicago.

He told WABC radio that it’s unfair for local governments to have to shoulder this national obligation.

Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said his state is helping migrants get to their desired destinations.

Border officials reported a record high of more than 2 million migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in the last fiscal year. The crisis has strained resources in border states, and, increasingly in states and cities across the country.

FDA abortion pill » Regulators at the FDA have just finalized a rule that could make abortion pills much easier to get. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The rule change will make abortion drugs available to many more pharmacies, including mail-order companies.

The Biden administration partially implemented the change last year. It announced it would stop enforcing long-standing rules governing access to the drugs.

For decades, the FDA allowed only certain facilities to provide the pills, citing safety concerns.

Some states still have pro-life laws that require women to see a licensed provider to receive the drugs.

They can cause heavy cramping, bleeding, and other complications.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Hamlin update » Damar Hamlin’s recovery is moving in “a positive direction” two days after the Buffalo Bills safety suffered cardiac arrest during a game.

He’s still sedated on a ventilator, but doctors have reportedly been able to reduce the amount of oxygen they’re giving him.

Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game Monday night in Cincinnati. And Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Wednesday…

TAYLOR: We’re all praying for the best possible outcome here. So any information that’s trending in a positive direction is what everybody hopes to hear and has prayed about.

Hamlin remains hospitalized in critical condition.

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

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