Thursday morning news: October 27, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukraine » Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones continue to target civilian populations in Ukraine.

Officials said Tuesday that Russian missiles killed two people, including a pregnant woman, in the city of Dnipro. Several others are in critical condition.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Vladimir Putin is failing on the battlefield…

STOLTENBERG: He is responding with more indiscriminate attacks on Ukrainian cities against civilians and against critical infrastructure.

ZELENSKYY: [Ukrainian]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, continues to call on Israel to step up its support of Ukraine. Kyiv is urging Israel to share its air-defense expertise to help Ukraine fend off Russian aerial attacks.

North Korea warning » The White House and Asian U.S. allies are warning North Korea against carrying out another nuclear test.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea suspect Pyongyang is preparing for a nuclear test and they warned Wednesday that their joint response would be—quote—"decisive.”

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman:

SHERMAN: All of this behavior is reckless and deeply destabilizing to the region. We urge the DPRK to refrain from further provocations.

The three allied nations are bolstering their defense cooperation to deter North Korea. Last month, Pyongyang adopted legislation spelling out when it might use nukes, including preemptively.

This year alone, North Korea has tested more than 20 ballistic missiles, but it has not tested a nuclear weapon in five years.

Wisconsin Brooks verdict » The man who drove his speeding SUV into a Christmas parade last year faced a jury in Wisconsin Wednesday.

DOROW: We the jury find the defendant, Darrell E. Brooks, guilty of first degree intentional homicide as charged in count-1 of the information.

Judge Jennifer Dorow read the jury’s verdict as Darrell Brooks silently rested his head on folded hands. His subdued demeanor stood in sharp contrast to his sometimes outrageous behavior during the trial, during which the judge had him removed from the courtroom multiple times.

The jury found Brooks guilty of all 76 charges. He faces a mandatory life sentence on each of six homicide counts.

Men convicted of Whitmer kidnapping plot » Meantime in Michigan, a jury found three men guilty of supporting terrorism with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The charges focused on paramilitary drills and fierce contempt for government ahead of the 2020 election.

COURT: For count-1, gang membership felonies, we find the defendant guilty. Count-2, providing material support for an act of terrorism, we find the defendant guilty.

The verdict heard there for Pete Musico. He was convicted on a firearms charge, as well. Co-defendants Joe Morrison and Paul Bellar were also found guilty.

They held gun training in rural Jackson County with a leader of the kidnapping scheme, Adam Fox.

NY judge reinstates workers fired over vax mandate » A judge in New York says that city sanitation workers should not have been fired for failing to comply with a COVID vaccine mandate. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: The judge ruled that the vaccine mandate for the workers was not about public safety and health, it was about policy compliance on the job.

New York City had rescinded its vaccine requirement for the private sector. So, the former sanitation workers said the mandate for them as public sector workers was arbitrary.

The judge said his decision was not about the effectiveness of vaccines.

New York City is appealing the ruling.

For WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

Iran protests / 15 killed in Iran attack » In Iran, gunmen attacked a major Shiite holy site on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens. Iranian state TV blamed the attack on Sunni Muslim extremists who have targeted the country's Shiite majority in the past.

The attack appeared to be unrelated to nationwide anti-government protests, which continued yesterday…

AUDIO: [Protest]

Students chanted slogans outside the University of Tehran …

AUDIO: [Protest]

And thousands of protesters poured into the streets of a northwestern city to mark 40 days since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She was arrested for not wearing her hijab correctly. Many women ripped off their headscarves and waved them overhead.

AUDIO: [Cemetery]

In Amini's Kurdish hometown of Saqez …

AUDIO: [Cemetery]

...as many as 10,000 demonstrators marched through the local cemetery to her grave.

Sunak faces Parliament » AUDIO: Prime minister! (cheers)

Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday made his first appearance in Parliament since taking office. He received a warm welcome, but also faced plenty criticism from the opposition party.

Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer:

STARMER: There’s a new Tory at the top, but as always with them, party first, country second.

Starmer questioned whether Sunak had been honest about what it will take to fix the nation’s problems. Sunak’s response…

SUNAK: I have been honest. We will have to take difficult decisions to restore economic stability and confidence.

Sunak has appointed a government that mixes allies with experienced ministers from the administrations of his two immediate predecessors as he tries to tackle Britain’s economic problems.

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

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