Thursday morning news: September 7, 2023

Ukraine/attack/Blinken » In eastern Ukraine, weeping civilians dug through blackened ruins of an outdoor market Wednesday after a Russian missile rained down, killing at least 17 people.

SOUND: [Missile]

Video footage showed a chaotic scene of charred bodies strewn across the market in the deadliest Russian attack on a civilian target in months.

That attack in the town of Kostiantynivka came as U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken paid an unannounced visit to the capital city of Kyiv.

BLINKEN: I am here first and foremost to demonstrate our ongoing and determined support for Ukraine.

Blinken announced another $1 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine with the most of that backing Ukraine’s military.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood shoulder to shoulder with Blinken at a joint news conference.

ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much. We really are thankful to you. We are very thankful to the White House.

He called Blinken’s visit and the new aid announcement “a great message of support.”

Harris ASEAN » Vice President Kamala Harris is in Jakarta for a major summit with Southeast Asian Nations, an event known as ASEAN.

She announced that the United States is opening a new ASEAN center in Washington aimed at forging stronger cultural ties with Asian nations.

Harris on Wednesday also pushed back against those who say President Biden, at age 80, is too old to serve another term. She said in her many Oval Office meetings with the president, she’s observed …

HARRIS: His ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way no one else can to make smart and informed decisions on behalf of the American people.

GOP candidates » But White House hopeful, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he’s not convinced. He also noted that former President Donald Trump is only three years younger.

CHRISTIE: We have two leading contenders in each party who are both too old. Seventy-eight is too old too for Donald Trump. We don’t need two candidates who are gonna be 160 years old running next November.

But Trump still holds a nearly 40-point edge in an average of recent polls over his closest GOP rival.

But general election polls now show Biden leading Trump by one point.

Coach Kennedy resigns » A High School football coach who was fired for praying on the field until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor, has resigned.

The high court earlier this year ruled that the school district violated Coach Joe Kennedy’s Constitutional rights by firing him for kneeling at the fifty-yard line after each game.

Kennedy returned for one game at Bremerton High School in Washington State, but says he feels he can best advocate for religious liberties outside the school system.

Cars privacy » A consumer watchdog group is warning that the biggest threat to your privacy might be parked in your garage. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: If you drive a high-tech late-model car, your vehicle may record information about speed, mileage, driving patterns, and even where you drive.

Many cars also have microphones that could record audio inside the vehicle.

And the Mozilla Foundation says that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The group examined 25 automakers and found that nearly all of them say they can share drivers’ data with third parties. And many said they hand your information to the government or law enforcement without a court order.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Brazil flooding » In Brazil, at least 31 people are dead and more than 1,600 others are now homeless after flooding in the southern part of the country.

An extratropical cyclone has roared across much of the country since Monday, washing away houses and submerging streets.

Another cyclone pounded Brazil in June, killing 16 people while ripping apart dozens of cities.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: pro-life efforts to halt the flow of abortion drugs into states that prohibit them. Plus, an evangelical at the United Nations.

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