Wednesday morning news: August 28, 2024

AUDIO: [Brother of hostage]

Hostage rescue » An Israeli man has been reunited with his family after being held hostage by Hamas for nearly 11 months.

AUDIO: [Brother of hostage]

The brother of that freed hostage heard there, speaking at a hospital. Doctors there were treating 52-year-old Qaid Farhan Alkadi after Israeli forces rescued him from a tunnel in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his country is committed to bringing every hostage home.

NETANYAHU (translated): We do this in two main ways, through negotiations and rescue operations. Both ways, together require our military presence on the ground and unceasing military pressure on Hamas.

Israel estimates that there are still more than a hundred hostages remaining in Hamas custody.

SOUND: [Ukraine rescue efforts]

More Russian attacks in Ukraine » In Ukraine, rescue workers dug through the rubble of buildings blown apart by Russian missiles and drones.

SOUND: [Ukraine rescue efforts]

Moscow’s forces on Tuesday bombarding civilian areas for a second day.

After the latest attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed calls for the U.S. to lift restrictions and let Ukraine strike military targets deep inside Russia.

But Pentagon spokesman, Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters:

RYDER: The Ukrainians can use U.S. security assistance to defend themselves from cross-border attacks, in other words, counter-fire. But as it relates to long-range strikes, deep strikes into Russia, our policy has not changed.

Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets were able to shoot down some of the incoming threats on Tuesday, but the airstrikes still killed at least 5 people.

Zelenskyy plan to end Ukraine war » Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has a plan that he believes will end war in his country.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking in Ukrainian]

He says part of the plan involves what he calls a powerful package of coercion to force the Kremlin to the bargaining table.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s ongoing offensive in the Russian border region of Kursk is a key part of that plan.

Ukraine says it’s seized about 500 square miles of the region. That’s about the size of Los Angeles.

Grossi at Russian nuke facility » And the head of the United Nation’s nuclear agency was on on-the-ground in the Kursk region of Russia Tuesday amid concerns over fighting near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Rafael Grossi said he’s working to develop a plan to prevent any accidents amid the war.

Pennsylvania Face Act » The Justice Department is suing a Pennsylvania man for allegedly interfering with operations at an abortion facility. WORLD’s Christina Grube reports.

CHRISTINA GRUBE: Matthew Connolly entered a Philadelphia abortion facility in August 2021 and locked himself in the bathroom, causing the facility to close early and call the police.

The Department of Justice is now suing Connolly under the FACE Act, a federal law which makes it illegal for anyone to hinder access to abortion facilities.

But Monica Miller Citizens for a Pro-Life Society shot back, accusing federal authorities in their suit of attempting to “twist and stretch the language” of the law.

For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.

New Trump indictment » Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a new indictment against Donald Trump related to the Capitol riot. The new filing keeps the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him, after a Supreme Court opinion conferring broad immunity to presidents for official acts.

The new indictment removes a part of the indictment that dealt with Trump’s interactions with the Justice Department.

The stripped-down case represents a first effort by prosecutors to comply with the Supreme Court opinion.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: RFK Jr. joins team Trump on Washington Wednesday. Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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