Thursday morning news - November 11, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kristen Flavin. 

Biden responds to high inflation numbers » President Biden visited a port in Baltimore Wednesday to tout the infrastructure spending bill passed last week by the House.

BIDEN: It’s going to modernize our ports with $17 billion in investment. $17 billion in investment. It’s going to reduce congestion. We’re going to address maintenance and repair backlogs, deploy state of the art technologies and make our ports cleaner and more efficient. And we’re going to do the same with our airports and freight rail.

The president highlighted the $1 trillion spending package as a way to help fix supply chain woes and lower prices on a range of goods.

BIDEN: Along with other plans that I’m advancing, this bill is going to reduce the cost of goods to consumers, businesses, and get people back to work. Helping us build an economy from the bottom up and middle out, where everybody’s better off.

But his optimistic message clashed with new government numbers released earlier in the day. Consumer prices climbed 6.2 percent in October, compared to a year ago. That’s the highest level in three decades.

The president called reversing that trend a top priority.

The Biden administration has repeatedly said price hikes would be temporary. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said they might last through next summer. The Labor Department says Americans now spend about 15 percent more on goods than they did before the pandemic.

Jan. 6th records ruling and possible appeal » The National Archives is preparing to turn over White House records related to the Jan. 6th Capitol riot. Barring a court intervention, it plans to deliver the files to Congress tomorrow. WORLD’s Paul Butler reports.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: The House committee investigating the riot subpoenaed the documents earlier this year. President Biden said he would not invoke executive privilege to stop their release.

Former President Trump sued, alleging he still had executive privilege to protect the files. But on Tuesday, a federal judge rejected that claim.

Judge Tanya Chutkan said the sitting president was best suited to discern what White House records needed to stay private. In her ruling, she said the court is “not best situated to determine executive branch interests.”

Trump immediately filed an appeal.

The House committee is seeking documents created by former chief of staff Mark Meadows, presidential adviser Stephen Miller, and White House deputy counsel Patrick Philbin, as well as call records and visitor logs.

The committee is trying to determine what level of responsibility Trump may bear for inciting the crowd that stormed Capitol Hill.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

Japanese prime minister re-elected » AUDIO: [Sound of man speaking Japanese, followed by clapping]

Japan’s parliament re-elected Fumio Kishida as prime minister on Wednesday.

Kishida became the nation’s leader last month when his predecessor stepped down after just one year in office. Kishida called for an election almost immediately, and his Liberal Democratic Party won a majority of seats in parliament.

The better-than-expected showing gives the prime minister a stronger position to advocate for his priorities. Those include strengthening Japan’s military.

Kishida’s party has long advocated for revising the pacifist constitution drafted under U.S. influence at the end of World War II.

Kishida met briefly with President Joe Biden during last week’s climate conference in Scotland. But he said he hopes to visit Washington before the end of the year to discuss threats in the region. Those include North Korea’s nuclear program and China’s growing military aggression.

Special counsel recommends Hatch Act revisions » The Office of Special Counsel is recommending changes to the law that’s supposed to prevent government officials from influencing elections. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has that story.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: In a report released Tuesday, the office said 13 former Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act during the 2020 presidential campaign.

They include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, who is also the president’s son-in-law. All of the Trump administration officials named in the report advocated for the president’s re-election while speaking in their official capacity.

The report urged Congress to amend the act to allow fines for Senate-confirmed presidential appointees and commissioned officers who violate its rules.

It also wants lawmakers to clarify which areas of the White House should be off-limits to political activity. President Trump hosted the 2020 Republican National Convention at the White House amid pandemic restrictions against large gatherings. Despite its recommendation, the report found the convention did not violate restrictions against campaign influence.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

Border fight between Belarus and Poland » European Union ambassadors agreed Wednesday to broaden sanctions against Belarus. That in retaliation for a growing migrant crisis on the country’s border with Poland.

AUDIO: [Vladimir Makei]

Belarus’ foreign minister called the move “political blackmail.” He said his country would seek a solution to the crisis with help from its allies in Moscow.

As many as 4,000 migrants are staying in makeshift camps on the border with Poland. Temperatures in the region dip well below freezing at night.

A UN spokeswoman accused both sides of using the migrants as pawns in a political game.

SHAMDASANI: What we are seeing is politically charged and security charged responses from both sides, from the Belarussian side as well as from the Poland side, whereas we are calling for a human rights based response to this situation.

Germany’s foreign minister accused Belarus on Wednesday of partnering with Russia to destabilize the West by encouraging migration. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said over the summer his country would no longer stop migrants from entering Europe. That move was widely seen as retaliation for sanctions imposed on his authoritarian regime last year.

Judge OK’s Flint water settlement » A federal judge has approved a $626 million settlement to end litigation over the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Most of the money will come from the state. It was accused of overlooking the risks of switching the city’s water source without treating it. The resulting corrosion in old pipes led to contamination from lead and bacteria.

The settlement makes money available to every child exposed to the water and every adult who can show an injury. It also compensates certain businesses and anyone who paid water bills in Flint during 2014 and 2015.

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

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.