Tuesday morning news: February 7, 2023

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Turkey/Syria Quakes » Rescuers across Turkey and Syria are digging through piles of shattered lumber and twisted steel where buildings once stood. They’re still hoping to find more survivors after a series of powerful earthquakes devastated the region.

Nearly 4,000 people were killed and thousands more injured.

University College London Seismologist Stephen Hicks says the earthquake was particularly devastating because it happened close to the Earth’s surface.

HICKS: We can safely say that there will be tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of aftershocks.

A 7.8 magnitude quake was followed by another magnitude 7.4 earthquake hours later.

The European Union, United Nations, and at least a dozen countries have committed to send rescue teams and relief supplies to the area.

Balloon latest » Top U.S. officials are defending the decision to let a Chinese spy balloon travel across the United States last week before shooting it down off the Atlantic coast.

General Glen VanHerck is commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command—or NORAD. He told reporters:

VANHERCK: We took maximum precaution to prevent any intel collection. And we provided counterintelligence messages out of our intelligence shop so that we could take maximum protective measures.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that allowing the balloon to travel across the country gave the U.S. officials more intelligence data than if it had been shot down immediately.

KIRBY: Will give us a lot more clarity, not only on the capabilities these balloons have but what China’s trying to do with them.

Republicans have been critical of President Biden’s decision not to shoot it down earlier.

The White House also says similar incidents occurred during the Trump administration. Several former Trump administration officials have said they’re unaware of anything like this happening in the past.

Russian attack in Kharkiv » Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with attacks in the eastern Donbas region as Moscow piles up additional firepower there.WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

ZELENSKYY: [Ukrainian]

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his troops have so far been able to fend off a Russian offensive in the region.

But Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with constant attacks as Moscow piles up more firepower in the region.

Military analysts say Russian generals are likely probing Ukrainian defenses for weak points before launching a major military offensive in the spring.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

UK health strike » AUDIO: [Chanting]

Thousands of nurses and ambulance staff across Britain walked off the job Monday over pay disputes.

England’s National Health Service said it was the largest round of strikes the agency has ever seen.

Workers from a variety of industries are calling for pay raises amid persistent inflation. A teacher strike last week was the largest in over a decade.

Ethna Vaughan was one of the nurses on strike.

VAUGHAN: The government needs to listen and discuss pay rather than just saying the NHS doesn’t have money.

Government officials have said they will only negotiate pay rates for next year, while union leaders want raises for the current year.

Poll: Most Dems don’t want Biden to run » The majority of Democrats say they don’t want President Biden to run for reelection. That according to a new poll from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Research .

The poll of more than a thousand people found found that only 37 percent of Democratic voters and just 22% of adults overall want Biden to run again.

But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president isn’t worried. She cited better-than-expected results for Democrats in the midterms.

BIDEN: And that’s because the president went out there, spoke directly to the American people, and laid out what it is that we have done the last two years.

Many voters say the 80-year-old Biden is simply too old to run again. His low national approval rating of about 44% is also a factor.

State of the Union Address Preview » But the president will have a chance to change a few minds tonight when he delivers his second State of the Union address.

Some have speculated that he could seize the moment to announce his reelection bid.

Democratic Congressman James Clyburn said Monday:

CLYBURN: He is deserving of this party’s support. He has not announced yet, but when he does I’ll be there with him.

Biden tonight is expected to tackle tensions with China and the war in Ukraine.

On the home front, he’ll touch on issues like gun violence, inflation, and the ongoing standoff over raising the debt ceiling.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republican response.

Debt Ceiling » Ahead of the president’s speech, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted Biden’s economic policies and Washington spending that he says is out of control.

McCARTHY: We are now $31 trillion in debt. That is more than the size of the entire American economy. 20% more.

McCarthy called out President Biden specifically—saying that he ought to negotiate with Republicans and agree to balance the budget and spend responsibly.

McCarthy clarified that Republicans wouldn’t cut Social Security and Medicare and that they also wouldn’t default on the national debt.

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

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