Tuesday morning news: February 28, 2023

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

China COVID source » The White House is brushing off a Wall Street Journal report this week about the origins of COVID-19.

The Journal reported that new intelligence has led the Department of Energy to conclude that COVID-19 likely came from a lab in China, though it reached that conclusion with low confidence.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters:

KIRBY: There is not a consensus right now in the US government about exactly how COVID started.

But GOP Congressman Andy Biggs said the intelligence is beginning to vindicate him and many other Republicans.

BIGGS: We were completely shut down, called conspiracy theorists and had our reputations attacked and savaged.

The Chinese government has responded angrily to suggestions that it’s responsible for the pandemic. It severely limited or denied access to UN investigators tasked with finding COVID’s origin.

West Bank » Kirby also weighed in on recent bloodshed in the West Bank.

A Palestinian gunman opened fire yesterday, killing one Israeli. The attack follows more violence over the weekend.

The spike in tensions came after both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict announced that peace talks in Jordan had led to an agreement.

Kirby told reporters:

KIRBY - The United States will continue to remain actively engaged in this format with all parties over the coming weeks, including through a follow up engagement next month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Israel has moved more troops into the West Bank to try to restore order after the weekend’s violence.

 Weather » Severe winter weather continues to batter much of the country.

Much of Northern California is under blizzard or storm warnings through Wednesday as a major storm moves east.

National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec.

ORAVEC: Over the next several days it looks like there’s going to be an additional four to six feet of snow across and through the Sierras.

In Michigan more than a thousand people are without power for the fifth straight day … and high winds spawned at least nine tornadoes in the central U-S on Sunday and Monday.

UK trade agreement » The UK and European Union say they’ve patched up a trade dispute over Northern Ireland.

Speaking just outside of London, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared:

SUNAK: I am standing here today, because I believe we have found ways to end the uncertainty and challenge for the people of Northern Ireland.

The so-called Windsor Framework sets rules for imports and border checks between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the rest of the Republic of Ireland, which remains part of the EU.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement historic.

LEYEN: It provides for long-lasting solutions that both of us are confident will work for all people and businesses in Northern Ireland.

Sunak promised a vote on the agreement in Parliament.

New Turkey quakes » A dust cloud rose over the ruins of a five-story building in southeastern Turkey on Monday, after yet another earthquake shook it to the ground.

That was just one of dozens of buildings to fall on Monday after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake.

One person died and more than 100 were injured.

A February sixth earthquake and its aftershocks have killed about 50,000 people and caused more than 34 billion dollars of damage to Turkey.

Florida takes control of Reedy Creek » Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law that ends Disney’s unprecedented total control over its properties near Orlando.

DESANTIS: How do you give one theme park its own government and then treat all the other theme parks different? And so we believe that was not good policy.

Disney’s control over Reedy Creek Improvement District came with unique tax benefits and the power to self-regulate. But the law now puts the district under control of a state board.

Professor Emeritus at Rollins College, Dr. Rick Foglesong said the arrangement dated back to the 1960s.

FOGLESONG: Florida was really glad to have Disney interested in them and was willing to give just about anything that the company wanted.

DeSantis and Florida Republicans began scrutinizing the arrangement after Disney waded into politics, opposing a parental rights law at the behest of LGBT activists.

Senator Fetterman Health » The office of Democratic Senator John Fetterman says he is on the road to recovery. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The senator from Pennsylvania is still at the Walter Reed national military hospital. He checked in roughly two weeks ago for treatment of severe clinical depression.

His staff said that he suffered from depression in the past, but it worsened after he suffered a stroke last May while campaigning for office. Doctors say that depression is common after a stroke.

Fetterman’s staff gave an update on his condition Monday. It said his recovery would be a weekslong process, and staffers are keeping him up-to-date about Senate business and news.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

COVINGTON: And I'm Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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