Thursday morning news - May 13, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Israel steps up Gaza offensive, kills senior Hamas figure »

SOUND: ISRAEL NATS

Fighting continued to escalate in Israel and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

SOUND: ISRAEL NATS

Israel pressed ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing as many as 10 senior Hamas military figures and toppling a pair of high-rise towers housing Hamas facilities in a series of airstrikes.

Meantime, Hamas continued firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities.

Speaking at the White House, President Biden said Wednesday...

BIDEN: My expectation and hope is that this will be closing down sooner than later. But Israel has a right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory.

In just a few days, this latest round of fighting has already begun to resemble—and even exceed—a devastating 50-day war in 2014.

United States marks progress against COVID-19 » American deaths from COVID-19 are now at their lowest level in almost a year. WORLD’s Paul Butler has more.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: The United States is now averaging 600 deaths per day. While still high, that does represent a 10-month low for COVID-19 fatalities.

By contrast, at the January peak, more than 3,400 Americans were dying every 24-hours.

Confirmed infections are also down, averaging 38,000 per day. That’s the lowest level since September.

Almost 45 percent of American adults are fully vaccinated. That number is closer to 60 percent for those who have received at least one dose.

Several groups of researchers commissioned by the CDC recently projected that the impact of the virus will drop dramatically by the end of July.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

U.S. advisers endorse Pfizer COVID shot for kids 12 and up » U.S. health advisers have endorsed the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids as young as 12. And the CDC is expected to rapidly accept that recommendation.

Members of the advisory panel said the shots will let kids safely attend camps this summer and help assure a more normal return to classrooms next school year.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters,

WALENSKY: I recognize that some parents want to sort of see how it goes first, but I am encouraging all parents to get their children vaccinated.

She said her teenage son is getting vaccinated.

Pfizer's vaccine has been used for months in people 16 and older, and earlier this week the FDA cleared its use for those as young as age 12. But before rolling it out to the younger kids, much of the nation was awaiting recommendations from CDC's advisers.

The agency also now says it is safe for both adults and children to get the COVID-19 shots at the same time as other vaccines.

House Republicans remove Cheney from leadership » Republicans removed Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her House leadership post Wednesday.

The Wyoming lawmaker has refused to back down from her ongoing rift with former President Donald Trump. Many Republicans complained that it had become a distraction. But after Wednesday’s vote removing her as conference chair, she declared once more that she will not stop speaking out.

CHENEY: The party is in a place that we’ve got to bring it back from. And we’ve got to get back to a position where we are a party that can fight for conservative principles, that can fight for substance. We cannot be dragged backward by the very dangerous lies of a former president.

Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has repeatedly rebuked Trump over the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and for his claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday,

MCCARTHY: I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with. We’re sitting here with the president today.

But GOP leaders had urged Cheney to back away from her feud with Trump for fear of alienating his supporters ahead of next year's election.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik will likely replace Cheney as the No. 3 Republican House leader. But that is yet to be determined.

Consumer prices shot up in April » A worrisome bout of inflation struck the U.S. economy in April. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has that story.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: Consumer prices for goods and services jumped 8/10 of a percent. That’s the biggest monthly jump in more than a decade—with the year-over-year increase reaching its fastest rate since 2008.

The acceleration in prices has been building for months, and it’s driving fears that it could weaken the economic recovery.

Wednesday's report from the Labor Department showed sharply higher prices for everything from food and clothes to housing. The cost of used cars and trucks surged 10 percent! That’s a record. That jump accounted for roughly one-third of last month's overall increases.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

And I’m Kent Covington. For more top news, along with features, and commentary, visit us online at wng.org.

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