Tuesday morning news: April 18, 2023

Sudan » The death toll from clashes in Sudan has risen to about 200, with nearly 2,000 people injured.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres:

ANTONIO GUTERRES: The situation has already led to horrendous loss of life, including many civilians. The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic.

Two generals are fighting each other for control in the country after leading a coup together in 2021.

United Nations official Volker Perthes:

VOLKER PERTHES: The two sides who are fighting are not giving the impression that they want mediation for a peace between them right away.

The battle started this weekend, trapping people in their homes or other shelters.

Missiles have also hit hospitals, making it harder for the injured to get treatment.

China secret police » Two American men are in federal custody on charges of conspiring with the Chinese government. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY: Federal prosecutors in New York City arrested Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping yesterday for setting up a secret police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Both men are U.S. citizens and neither registered as agents of a foreign government.

Officials say the men used the outpost to intimidate Chinese dissidents living in the U.S.

Two other cases filed on Monday charged 34 Chinese national police officers and at least eight other officials with using social media to harass Chinese citizens living abroad.

The defendants in those cases are believed to be living in China.

For WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

KC shooting » An elderly man faces felony assault charges for shooting a teenage boy who rang the wrong doorbell.

Clay County, Missouri, Prosecutor Zachary Thompson:

ZACHARY THOMPSON: This afternoon my office received a criminal referral from the Kansas City, Missouri, police department. After a thorough review of the case file the appropriate laws and information gained during the investigation phase of the case, I filed two felony counts.

Sixteen-year-old Ralph Yarl was picking up his younger siblings Thursday night but went to the wrong address.

The homeowner, Andrew Lester, told police he had just gone to bed when he heard his doorbell.

He said he saw Yarl pulling on the handle of the front storm door and thought someone was trying to break in.

He shot Yarl twice; once in the head. The teen has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home. The arrest follows protests over the weekend calling for charges against the homeowner.

McCarthy » The Republican-led House will vote on legislation to raise the U-S government’s debt ceiling and make major spending cuts.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday and promised to, in his words, lift the debt ceiling into the next year. The current debt limit is $31 trillion.

McCarthy also criticized President Biden’s response to economic challenges.

KEVIN McCARTHY: Rather than face the facts, this president has embraced a fantasy that debt doesn't matter, that money can always be created out of thin air.

The speaker’s plan would cap all government spending increases at 1 percent per year, and roll spending back to fiscal year 2022 levels.

Democrats maintain there should be no conditions tied to raising the debt ceiling.

McConnell Returns » Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell returned to the Capitol yesterday nearly six weeks after he fell and suffered a concussion.

MITCH MCCONNELL: Needless to say I’m very happy to be back. There’s important business for Congress to tackle. We should be working to undo this administration’s mistakes.

The 81-year-old Kentucky senator is expected to decide whether Republicans should support a plan to temporarily replace Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee.

The 89-year-old Feinstein has been in California for over six weeks recovering from a case of shingles. Her absence has made it more difficult for the committee to approve President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations.

Democrats need 60 votes to replace Feinstein, which means at least 10 Republicans would need to support the measure.

Boston marathon »

SOUND: [Boston marathon cheers]

Kenyan runner Evans Chebet won the Boston Marathon yesterday for the second year in a row. He beat marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge.

Hellen Obiri, also from Kenya, won the women’s race.

Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered at the marathon finish line to mark the ten-year anniversary of a deadly bombing at the race.

One of bombers is still fighting his death sentence, which the Supreme Court upheld last year.

I’m Jill Nelson.

Straight ahead: Taking a hard look at the other abortion pill. Plus, adopting frozen embryos.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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