Tuesday morning news: August 1, 2023

Hunter Biden » Hunter Biden's friend and former business partner Devin Archer testified behind closed doors on Monday about Biden family business dealings overseas.

He served alongside Hunter on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

GOP Congressman Scott Fitzgerald:

FITZGERALD: It appears Devin Archer was definitely very close to the whole thing.

As for what Archer said, that depends on who you ask.

Republicans say Archer told lawmakers that Hunter Biden was selling access to his father. But a Democrats say Archer testified that Hunter was selling the illusion of access to Joe Biden.

Archer testified that Hunter put his father, then Vice President Biden, on speaker phone more than 20 times to help boost his credibility. But he reportedly said Joe Biden did not discuss any business dealings on those calls.

Heat moves east » If this summer seems a little hotter than usual to you, you’re not wrong.

NASA climate scientist Gavin Scmidt said Monday:

SCHMIDT: It’s very, very likely that July will be not only the warmest month of the year, but the warmest month in the entire record.

Tens of millions of Americans remain under excessive heat advisories.

And a sweltering heat dome continues to shift eastward. A combination of heat and humidity could bring the heat indexes well above 100 degrees across much of the south.

Nuclear reactor » A new nuclear reactor is up and running in Georgia today. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle is the first nuclear reactor built from scratch in the United States in more than 30 years.

Georgia Power flipped the switch on Monday after years of delays. Construction on Unit 3 and a fourth nuclear plant started 14 years ago. And the cost has swelled to more than $30 billion dollars, more than doubling the expected price tag.

The company expects the plant to power a half-million homes and businesses in several states.

A fourth reactor is nearing completion and is expected to online next spring.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Haiti kidnapping » State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller spoke out Monday on the kidnapping of an American nurse and her young daughter in Haiti. He told reporters:

MILLER: We are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners.

New Hampshire native Alix Dorsanvil works with a ministry called El Roi Haiti, which runs a school and provides medical care to the poor. In a video on the group’s website, Alix called it a blessing to serve.

DORSAINVIL: Haitians are such a resilient people, they’re full of joy and life and love, and I’m so blessed to be able to know so many amazing Hatians.

Kidnappings are alarmingly common in Haiti.

The U.S. State Department has warned Americans not to travel there.

Russian ballistic missile » Russian ballistic missiles killed at least six people and wounded nearly 70 others Monday. WORLD’s Anna Johnansen Brown has that story.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: The missiles struck an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Zelenskyy called the attack an act of terrorism, saying that one of the victims was a 10-year-old girl and her mother.

And he called on the world to ramp up sanctions against Russia.

Meanwhile Russia is accusing Ukraine of terrorism after it claims Ukrainian forces tried to attack Moscow with drones over the weekend.

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Pee Wee Herman » Actor Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-Wee Herman has died at the age of 70 after a six-year battle with cancer.

HERMAN: Hi Boys and Girls, I’m going to play with my new toy.

The TV show Pee-wee’s Playhouse ran for five seasons and earned 15 Emmy’s.

He also starred in successful Pee-Wee Herman movies.

His reputation took a big hit in 1991 when Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure.

But he reprised the role 25 years later in the Netflix feature Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hunter Biden’s plan to avoid prison time hits a roadblock. Plus, Classic Book of the Month for August.

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