Tuesday morning news: July 30, 2024

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Venezuela’s strongman president Nicolas Maduro claims victory …but did he win the election fair and square?

BLINKEN: The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Also, the challenge of running America’s prisons.

And an athlete competes in very different summer games … the Highland Games.

WOMAK-ADAMS: To win the day, you don't have to win every single event. You just have to be in the top three.

MAST: And commentary on the desecration of the holy at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, July 30th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MAST: And I'm Lindsay Mast. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Venezuela election » Disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared victory in his country’s national election … but did he actually win that election?

The White House has its doubts. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY:  And we've seen the announcement by Venezuelan electoral authorities. And quite frankly, we have serious concerns that the result as announced does not reflect the will and the votes of the Venezuelan people.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have held that Maduro rigged previous elections.

And the US government’s message to Maduro: If you say you’ve won the election … prove it. Secretary of State Tony Blinken:

BLINKEN:  It's critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently, that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay, and that the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes.

And several Latin American governments are calling for an emergency meeting of regional leaders to express concern over Sunday's election.

Trump shooting investigation » Former President Donald Trump has agreed to an interview with the FBI … as part of the investigation into the assassination attempt against Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. FBI special agent Kevin Rojek:

ROJEK: We want to get his perspective on what he observed. So just like any other witness to the crime, as well as get his perspective on what occurred to him during that event. But it is a standard victim interview like we would do for any other victim of crime, uh, under any other circumstances.

Rojek says the FBI has determined that the shooter was highly intelligent, attended college, and maintained steady employment. He was also a loner with few friends.

The bureau’s investigation also revealed that he made searches related to power plants, mass shooting events, and information on improvised explosive devices. He also looked up details about the assassinations of political officials around the world.

AUDIO: (Liturgical chant)

Israel/Hezbollah strike » Hundreds of mourners gathered at a funeral in northern Israel on Monday…honoring one of the 12 children killed from a rocket strike on a soccer field by Hezbollah over the weekend.

More than a dozen more teens and children were seriously injured from the attack.

Israel Defense Force Spokesman Daniel Hagari

HAGARI: For more than nine months Hezbollah is attacking our citizens in the north, firing 1000s of rockets and missiles…targeting families, homes and communities.

U-S security leaders say they’re working to broker a truce … hoping to avoid another front opening in Israel’s war against another Iran-backed terror group, Hamas.

Dems push for SCOTUS overhaul » Vice President Kamala Harris says she fully backs a new proposal from President Biden … to overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Biden-Harris administration wants Congress to establish term limits for the high court. That’s something Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna says he can get behind:

KHANNA: Every president would get two appointments in their term. Term limits is something I've supported for House and Senate members. We have term limits for the president. Why not have term limits, uh, for Supreme Court justices?

The proposal would also impose a new code of ethics for the court’s nine justices.

Biden also is calling for a constitutional amendment that would limit presidential immunity.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the proposal a “dangerous gambit,” and predicted it will be dead on arrival in the House.

Republicans say it’s a politically motivated ploy by Democrats to attack a court they don’t agree with.

Iowa abortion » Unborn children in Iowa are now protected from abortion once a heartbeat is detectable. WORLD’s Christina Grube has more.

GRUBE: The new pro-life protections took effect yesterday … banning most abortions around six weeks gestation.
Although the law was passed last year, a judge had blocked its enforcement as a legal battle played out. But the Iowa Supreme Court later reiterated that there's no constitutional right to an abortion in the state. And that hold has now been lifted.
Currently, 14 states have near total protections for unborn children.
For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.

National debt hits $35 trillion » The Treasury Department says the U.S. national debt … has now topped $35 trillion dollars.

The debt has ballooned by 150 percent over the past 15 years. The country is expected to pay over a trillion dollars in interest payments alone this year … even as the federal government continues to overspend, adding to the spiraling debt.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: More reporting on Venezuela’s election results.

Plus, competing in the Highland Games.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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