Thursday morning news - July 14, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukraine/Putin » Russian missile strikes killed at least five people Wednesday in the city of Mykolaiv. It was part of a series of missile and artillery attacks in southern and eastern Ukraine that killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said …

KULEBA: The deliveries of weapons have to be sped up. All of our friends and partners know that. Many are working to make that happen.

But Vladimir Putin may be shopping for reinforcements, as well. He’ll soon travel to Tehran to meet with Iranian leaders.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan …

SULLIVAN: Russia deepening an alliance with Iran to kill Ukrainians is something the whole world should look at and see as a profound threat.

During his trip to Tehran next Tuesday, Putin will also attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey for talks about Syria.

Biden in Middle East » AUDIO: [Trumpets]

President Biden, meanwhile, is already in the Middle East.

Trumpets greeted the arrival of Air Force One in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Biden stepped off the plane onto a red carpet where Israeli President Isaac Herzog greeted him with a handshake.

HERZOG: Mr. President, welcome to Israel…

Biden’s arrival in Israel marked the start of his first Middle East trip as president.

He plans two more days of meetings with Israeli leaders. The growing threat of a nuclear Iran will top the agenda. He also plans to meet with Palestinian leaders.

BIDEN: We’ll discuss my continued support, even though I know it’s not in the near term, a two-state solution.

From Israel, Biden will travel to the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That’s a visit that may be just as much about beating back inflation at home than it is about Mideast relations. The White House has not said if the president will directly ask the Saudi’s to ramp up their oil output.

Inflation » And speaking of inflation, it surged once again in June to a new four-decade high. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: A new government report says that, as of last month, prices have swelled 9.1 percent over the past year. And there’s no end in sight.

Prices are expected to continue climbing on everything from rent to food.

The Federal Reserve, in response, has promised a rate hike of three-quarters of a point later this month, with more to follow in hopes of curbing inflation.

The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year, and many analysts believe the trend continued in the second quarter.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Footage of Uvalde police response » A new wave of anger swept through Uvalde this week after surveillance footage of the police response at Robb Elementary School leaked to the public.

The video showed armed police officers in the hallway.

AUDIO: [Gunfire]

When they heard gunshots from a classroom, they retreated back down the hall.

Later, officers arrived with rifles and bulletproof shields, but still, they waited.

Adam Martinez is the father of a student at the school.

MARTINEZ: Anybody see them do a good job? Just because they tried to go in there. Was that good enough? Was that good enough for the people that were bleeding out?

The footage has many Uvalde residents renewing their calls for accountability for what they feel was a poorly executed response.

Senate Republicans tour border in South Texas » A group of about a half-dozen Senate Republicans are touring the border in South Texas today. They plan to meet with leaders from the Border Patrol and other agencies.

At a news conference Wednesday, Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sounded alarms about a record surge at the border. Ranking Member James Risch …

RISCH: Since the new administration took over, 2.6 million illegal immigrants have been encountered by United States personnel.

GOP lawmakers have blamed President Biden’s policies and called on him to change course.

Vice President Kamala Harris on CBS’ Face The Nation countered that Biden has been focused on fixing problems …

HARRIS: What in particular under the prior administration was a badly broken system so that we can have a humane and appropriate approach.

But Florida Sen. Marco Rubio fired back …

RUBIO: There’s nothing compassionate about luring people into a trip where rapists and the worst human beings on the planet get their clutches into them and abuse them and their children, on women traveling alone. It’s a horrifying experience.

Border apprehensions set a record in the month of May, nearly a quarter of a million.

Sri Lanka President flees » AUDIO: [Protest]

Chaos continued in the capital of Sri Lanka on Wednesday as protesters demand new leadership.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the acting president, ordered the military to restore order by any means necessary. That after protesters stormed his office.

AUDIO: [Protest]

Security forces heard there firing tear gas at demonstrators.

Peaceful demonstrations over an economic collapse started in April. But those protests turned increasingly forceful as they demanded that both the president and prime minister resign.

Wickremesinghe said won’t step down until a new government is in place.

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

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