Thursday morning news - July 7, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kristen Flavin. 

Crimo in court / weapon purchase » The suspected mass shooter at a July 4th parade near Chicago faced a judge on Wednesday before officers transported him back to his jail cell.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart …

RINEHART: The judge ruled that Robert Crimo III would be held without bond and there was probable cause at this time to hold him on seven counts of first degree murder.

Before his court appearance, he confessed to raining bullets on the Highland Park parade from the rooftop of a building. He then fled almost 100 miles to Madison, Wisconsin. The suspect told police that he considered attacking an event there, too.

Chris Covelli is deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. He told reporters…

COVELLI: His motivation isn’t necessarily clear, I don’t want to go specifically into what he told investigators. However, he had some type of affinity toward the number four and seven and the inverse of that is seven four.

Those numbers correspond to the date of the attack, July 4th.

Police said the alleged shooter passed a background check in 2019 and purchased five guns legally, despite a suicide attempt and threatening to kill everyone in his home earlier that year.

Senate Intelligence Committee challenges Tik Tok » TikTok, the popular social media app, could deliver Americans’ private user data to the Chinese government. That is the concern of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is calling for an investigation. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: The committee asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to launch a probe of the social media giant and its China-based parent company, ByteDance.

The letter notes a recent BuzzFeed News report that found ByteDance employees in China had a history of accessing U.S. TikTok users’ information.

The Republican co-chair of the committee, Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that TikTok's claim that it would safeguard user data from the Chinese government was—quote—“laughable.”

He added that “Under Chinese law every Chinese company MUST hand over whatever data [the] govt asks for.”

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

EU calls natural gas, nuclear energy “green” » European Union leaders have taken another step aimed at weaning Europe off of Russian energy.

Officials voted Wednesday to add natural gas and nuclear energy to a list of “sustainable activities.” Labeling those energy sources as more environmentally friendly may encourage more investment in those industries and lessen Europe’s dependence on Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday…

LEYEN: We think it is important to have a European overview and a coordinated approach to a potential complete cutoff of Russian gas.

Many environmental groups oppose the expansion of nuclear energy. Some criticized the EU’s decision and called it “dirty politics.”

The European Parliament and member nations have until Monday to object with the labels set to take effect next year.

8 killed in Ukraine » A new round of Russian airstrikes killed at least eight civilians and wounded 25 more in Ukraine’s Donetsk province as Russian missiles continue to rain down across the region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared this week…

ZELENSKYY: Russia’s war against Ukraine is not simply an attempt to seize our land and destroy our state institutions or break down our independence. It is a far greater confrontation of outlooks.

Russia recently declared victory in the Loo hansk uhansk province, but Ukraine says its forces still have strongholds in the area and they’re not giving up the fight.

Griner case » The White House remains committed to bringing a WNBA basketball star home from a Russian jail. That according to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre…

PIERRE: This has been top of mind for the president. He receives daily updates about the status of her negotiations.

Brittney Griner recently sent a handwritten letter appealing to President Biden. She said she feared never returning home.

Pierre said the matter “is very personal to” the president.

Authorities arrested Griner at a Moscow airport in February on charges of possessing cannabis oil while returning to play for her Russian team.

Her trial resumes today. She could face years in a Russian prison.

Boris Johnson faces opposition » British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is vowing to soldier on, brushing off calls to resign.

That after two top ministers and others called it quits, including Health Secretary Sahjid Javid, who said a team is only as good as its captain.

JAVID: Treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months.

Recent reports have emerged that Johnson knew about a senior official’s alleged sexual misconduct even before he promoted him. Those reports have led members of his own party to question his moral authority.

But the prime minister says he plans to stay the course.

JOHNSON: The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when he's been handed is to keep going and that's what I'm going to do.

Johnson survived a no-confidence vote last month following a scandal over COVID lockdown violations within his administration.

I’m Kristen Flavin. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us wng.org.

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