Tuesday morning news: May 30, 2023

Ukraine » Children ran in terror through the streets of Kyiv on Monday as explosions rocked the capital city.

Russian forces fired 11 ballistic missiles into the city. Fortunately, the explosions occurred in the air as Kyiv’s defenses intercepted all of the incoming missiles.

The attack came just hours after a more common nighttime barrage on the city by drones and cruise missiles.

CITIZEN: [SPEAKING UKRAINIAN]

One witness said he heard five to six explosions, and then heard a missile fragment hit the ground.

Falling debris set the roof of a building ablaze. At least one civilian was hurt.

Russia Graham » Meantime, Russia on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

Anna Johansen Brown: In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Graham noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia.

Russia’s Interior Ministry later declared that it had issued a warrant for Graham’s arrest.

The senator called the warrant a “badge of honor.”

He added, “to know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy.”

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Debt limit » Some Republican lawmakers are highly critical of a new debt ceiling deal that GOP leaders reached in principle with the White House over the weekend, but most say they plan to vote “yes.”

Congressman Buddy Carter of Georgia:

BUDDY CARTER: I am a yes. And look, this is not the best deal and it’s not the worst deal, but it is a deal.

The deal will achieve a slight reduction in overspending, but nothing close to a balanced budget.

Just before boarding Air Force One on Monday, President Biden said again on Monday that he feels good about where things stand.

JOE BIDEN: I have spoken to a number of the members. I spoke to McConnell. I spoke to a whole bunch of people.

He said there’s no reason a bill shouldn’t land on his desk before a June 5th deadline. The House will vote on a debt ceiling increase as early as tomorrow.

Space war » A top Pentagon official says the US military is preparing for threats in outerspace. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY: Brigadier General Jesse Morehouse of US Space Command says satellites will play a key role in the next war… since militaries use them for communication and navigation.

He says Russia and China have already created anti-satellite technology including missiles, and China is creating a satellite equipped with a robotic arm to grab and dismantle them.

He says the U.S. is developing technology to counter those threats.

For WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

Iowa building » Iowa officials demolished a six-story apartment building in Davenport after part of it collapsed Sunday.

This man escaped the building unharmed.

IOWA RESIDENT: There was a lot of screams. A lot of cries. A lot of people saying “help” when the building came down. But that did not last—two or three minutes, and then the whole area was silent.

Rescuers pulled eight people from the debris and transported them to a local hospital.

Officials said as of last night, miraculously, there were no reported deaths.

Hebrew Bible » The world’s oldest complete Hebrew Bible just sold at auction as one of the most valuable manuscripts ever sold.

Manuscript consultant Sharon Liberman Mintz:

SHARON MINTZ: The Bible is written on parchment. It’s handwritten by one scribe on 792 pages. Parchment was a really expensive strata on which to write things. It’s what books were writing on in the Medieval period.

It’s more than 1,100 years old.

Former U.S. Ambassador Alfred Moses bought it for $38 million earlier this month and donated it to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: The pro-life Democrats getting pushed out of their party. Plus, Learning the tricks of the trade in an 18th century clothing shop.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.