Tuesday morning news: October 25, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

UK prime minister » The incoming British prime minister has a tough job ahead. Rishi Sunak said Monday …

SUNAK: The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt, we face a profound economic challenge.

The Conservative party named him on Monday as the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss.

He’ll try to shore up a sliding economy while also attempting to unite a demoralized party.

British political historian Nigel Fletcher says Prime Minister Liz Truss’ failed economic plan put the party in a deep hole.

FLETCHER: The Conservative party support fell off a cliff when Liz Truss had that budget. So the only way is up for Rishi Sunak, really.

Sunak is a former UK Treasury chief. At 42, he’ll be the youngest prime minister in centuries.

Ukraine » The Kremlin claimed on Monday that Ukraine is preparing to detonate a dirty bomb to force an escalation of the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov:

LAVROV (translator): We have concrete information regarding Ukrainian scientific institutes having technologies which allow them to make a dirty bomb.

Western countries say the claim that Ukraine would detonate a radiological weapon on its own soil is absurd and “transparently false.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Kremlin’s accusations suggest that Russia is preparing to use such a weapon.

ZELENSKYY: [Ukrainian]

He said, “They understand who is the source of everything dirty that can be imagined in this war.”

Chinese officers charged in plot to obstruct US Huawei probe » Attorney General Merrick Garland called reporters to the Justice Department on Monday to announce charges against two suspected Chinese spies.

GARLAND: Good afternoon. Over the past week, the Justice Department has taken several actions to disrupt criminal activity by individuals working on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China.

The two men are accused of trying to obstruct a criminal investigation into Chinese tech giant Huawei. Garland said the defendants thought they had recruited a US employee as an asset. But the person they recruited was a double-agent working for the FBI.

The department has issued arrest warrants for the pair, but it’s not clear whether they’ll ever be taken into custody.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the charges unsealed this week fit a pattern of behavior by Beijing …

MONACO: That includes espionage, harassment, obstruction of our justice system, and unceasing efforts to steal sensitive US technology.

The DOJ charged 11 other Chinese defendants with various offenses.

School shooting » Families are grieving in St. Louis this morning, after a gunman broke into a high school on Monday and shot eight people, at least two of them fatally.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters:

PIERRE: Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the senseless violence, particularly those injured and killed, their families, as well as the first [responders].

The attack happened at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School just after 9 A.M., forcing students to barricade doors and jump from windows.

The city’s police chief said a security guard and police officers “ran to the gunfire” and shot and killed the 20-year-old gunman before more people were hurt.

Teen shooter pleads guilty » Meantime, in Michigan, 16-year-old Ethan Crumbley wore an orange jumpsuit and shackles as he faced a judge on Monday after carrying out a school shooting last year.

The teenager withdrew his intent to pursue an insanity defense and pleaded guilty to terrorism and the first-degree murder of four students.

JUDGE: You understand the maximum possible penalties you face here?
CRUMBLEY: Yes sir.
JUDGE: You understand that the maximum possible penalty you face here on the underlying offenses is up to life in prison?
CRUMBLEY: Yes sir.

That would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

And Crumbley may be called to testify against his parents, who've been jailed on manslaughter charges. They allegedly purchased the gun for their son.

Officer pleads guilty to manslaughter in Floyd death » One of the former police officers involved in the death of George Floyd pleaded guilty Monday. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Just as a trial was about to begin for two former Minneapolis police officers, one of them pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The plea deal for J. Alexander Kueng calls for 3 1/2 years in prison, with prosecutors agreeing to drop a more serious charge.

And his former colleague, Tou Thao agreed to waive his right to jury trial in exchange for the state dropping a charge of aiding and abetting murder. A judge will now decide his fate on a charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter.

During the 2020 incident, Kueng kneeled on Floyd’s back and Thao kept bystanders from intervening.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Nation’s report card » A failing grade for the nation’s report card as math and reading scores dropped in every state over the past year.

The Education Department released the results of national standardized tests on Monday. Math saw the sharpest decline ever, while reading sank to its lowest level since 1992.

Peggy Carr with the National Center for Education Statistics:

CARR: What we’re seeing is all students, regardless of their ability they’re declining in these data, particularly in mathematics. It is a serious wake up call for us all.

Nearly four in 10 eighth graders failed to grasp basic math concepts. Not a single state saw a notable improvement in its average test scores.

Officials blame COVID-19 disruptions for the decline.

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

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