Thursday morning news: May 23, 2024

Iowa tornado » The small Iowa town of Greenfield continues to pick up the pieces after powerful storms spawned several tornadoes.

Authorities blame the storms for multiple deaths and many more injuries throughout the state. But they said last night that it was still unclear exactly how many people died in those storms as search and rescue crews are still out looking for survivors.

One woman told reporters:

RESIDENT: Being from a small town, you know everybody. But I know as you see, everybody's out helping everybody and it's like, you don't know what to do. You don't know what to do, but I know that we'll rebuild and everybody will help each other because that's what our town does.

Thousands of residents in the state are still without power.

ICC possible sanctions » Republicans on Capitol Hill find themselves in rare agreement with the Biden administration on at least one pressing matter.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul posed this question to Secretary of State Tony Blinken Wednesday:

MCCAUL: Will you commit to working with this committee to find a bipartisan bill that would place meaningful sanctions on the International Criminal Court?

That question stems from an announcement this week by the top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Kareem Khan, that he’ll seek war crimes arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza.

BLINKEN: Mr. Chairman, first, let me say again that that decision was totally wrong headed and any equivalence that it implied between Hamas and Israel and its leaders was shameful. And we commit to engaging on a bipartisan basis and finding an appropriate response.

And he said the administration is committed to working with McCaul’s committee and others on a response.

President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have called the move by the ICC prosecutor shameful.

And House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday:

JOHNSON: America should punish the ICC and put Kareem Khan back in his place.

He added that House members are working on legislation to do exactly that.

Several Western countries say they’ll recognize a Palestinian state » Meantime, Israel is facing a major diplomatic challenge as several allies say they will recognize a Palestinian state, something the Israeli government strongly opposes.

The declaration by Norway, Ireland, and Spain is a largely symbolic move, but a significant one.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan:

SULLIVAN:  We certainly have seen a growing chorus of voices, including voices that had previously been in support of Israel, drift in another direction. That is of concern to us because we do not believe that that contributes to Israel's long term security or vitality.

Israel immediately denounced Wednesday's decision and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries. Palestinians welcomed the announcements as an affirmation of their decades-long quest for statehood in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel gained control of the territories in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Biden administration does support a so-called two state solution. But it says that must happen as part of a negotiation with Israel at the table.

Russia space launch » Russia has launched a satellite into space that U.S. leaders say is also a weapon. WORLD’s Mark Mellinger has more.

MARK MELLINGER: U.S. Space Command calls Russia’s COSMOS 2576 a new weapon that can inspect and attack other satellites and is in the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.

For months, the U.S. has warned Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon that can destroy entire networks of satellites, potentially crippling U.S. communications and leaving the country in chaos during a conflict.

Russia’s space weapons plans were reportedly what House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner was referring to in February when he warned of a serious national security threat… and asked the president to declassify all information relating to the danger.

For WORLD, I’m Mark Mellinger.

Biden loan cancellation » The Biden Administration has canceled another $8 billion dollars of student loan debt affecting more than 160,000 borrowers.

That’s drawing heavy criticism from Republicans. Florida Congressman Byron Donalds:

DONALDS: The Supreme Court has told Joe Biden “no.” The Congress has not voted on anything like this for student loans, but he does it anyway. That is a violation of separation of powers. It’s an impeachable offense.

Last year, the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s plan to cancel more than $400 billion dollars in student debt all at once.

Since then, the White House has spread out a one-piece-at-a-time approach… canceling smaller amounts through existing loan forgiveness programs limited to certain types of borrowers.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre:

JEAN-PIERRE: The student loan system needs to be fixed. The president is trying to do that and fix it in a way where people are not feeling that crushing financial burden.

All told, The White House now says it has erased around $160 billion dollars in debt that was owed to the federal government.

UK election date » In London standing in front of his 10 Downing Street office, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised many with this announcement Wednesday:

SUNAK: Earlier today, I spoke with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the 4th of July.

He had long said he would call an election in the second half of the year. But with polls favoring the opposition Labour party many thought he would hold off in hopes of turning those numbers around.

But the prime minister voiced optimism in light of strong economic numbers.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: viewpoint diversity in the marketplace. Plus, something that’s ahead but not immediately straight ahead.

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