Wednesday morning news - July 13, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kristen Flavin. 

Biden embarks on Middle East trip after meeting with Mexican president » President Biden is in Israel today on the first Middle East trip of his presidency. He plans to meet with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, as well. He’ll also travel to Saudi Arabia, a country that candidate Biden once vowed to make a global pariah over human rights abuses.

But before jetting out of Washington on Tuesday, Biden welcomed Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the Oval Office.

BIDEN: Mr. President, my friend, my partner, it’s good to have you back in the White House.

Biden said the U.S.-Mexico relationship is vital for many reasons, from the fight against COVID-19 …

BIDEN: To continuing to grow our economies, to strengthening our partnerships and addressing migration as a shared hemispheric challenge.

The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including trade and immigration. The Mexican president heard here through an interpreter.

OBRADOR (translated): It is indispensable for us to regularize and give certainty to migrants that have for years lived and worked in a very honest manner.

Migrants are showing up at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers.

The two presidents have their share of differences. Most notably, Lopez Obrardor has called U.S. support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion a—quote—“crass error.”

CDC on new subvariants, hospitalizations » The CDC is urging Americans to exercise greater caution due to the spread of two offshoots of the omicron variant.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says hospitalizations are rising slowly, but they’re mounting.

WALENSKY: We have seen a doubling in the number of hospitalizations since April.

The new strains, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors.

The agency estimates that B-A-5 now makes up about two-thirds of U.S. infections and it has shown a worrisome resistance to immunity.

But White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says they’ve on top of it.

JHA: We’ve been planning and preparing for this moment. BA.5 is something we’re closely monitoring, and we know how to manage it.

The BA.4 subvariant accounts for another 16 percent of U.S. cases.

U.S. health officials are again urging vaccines and boosters, though it’s unclear how much protection vaccines provide against the latest strains.

Judge blocks AZ’s ‘personhood’ abortion law / MN abortion expansion » A federal judge in Phoenix has blocked a law that would give unborn children legal rights from the moment of conception. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: Arizona’s “personhood” law went into effect the day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

But U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes ruled the law was too vague. He said abortionists would not know whether they would be prosecuted or for what crime.

The personhood law could also conflict with another law that protects unborn babies after 15 weeks gestation.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, a district court blocked enforcement of several pro-life laws. Among them was a 24-hour waiting period before getting an abortion and an informed consent requirement.

The court said a 1995 state Supreme Court ruling made abortion a constitutional right.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

ISIS terrorist strike » The Pentagon says that one of its drones killed a senior ISIS commander and injured another on Tuesday in northwest Syria.

Military officials insist no civilians died in the operation.

The strike comes only months after the top ISIS leader blew himself up along with several members of his family as U.S. Special Forces raided his hideout.

The White House said the attack "takes a key terrorist off the field” and greatly “degrades the ability of [ISIS] to” operate in the region.

Belarus military drills / Ukraine update » Belarus has launched new military drills along its border with Ukraine, raising concerns that the Russian ally could join Moscow’s forces on the battlefield. WORLD’s Anna Johanson Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: The Belarusian government says soldiers and tactical vehicles will perform drills through this Friday.

The West widely views the government of President Aleksandr Lukashenko to be a puppet regime under the Kremlin’s thumb.

But some experts say the country’s military is ill-equipped for battle and for that reason, may be unlikely to join the fight anytime soon.

Meantime, in Ukraine, a new round of Russian shelling killed at least 16 civilians and wounded nearly 50 more.

Officials in Kyiv say Russian rockets killed nine civilians in mulitple cities in Donetsk province, including Toretsk, where a kindergarten was hit.

Ukraine also raised the death toll from a weekend Russian strike in the country's east to 41.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Sri Lanka lawmakers to elect new president, govt uncertain » In Sri Lanka, lawmakers have agreed to elect a new president. But they struggled Tuesday to decide on the makeup of a new government.

Protesters suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine stormed the president’s house over the weekend demanding a change in leadership.

The president and the prime minister agreed to resign.

Jehan Perera is executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka.

PERERA: What people are saying is that if the government doesn’t go, then there will be another show of people’s power. And this time it might not be so peaceful.

Lawmakers have agreed to elect a new president from their ranks one week from today to serve the remainder of the current presidential term. But they have not yet decided who will take over as prime minister and fill the Cabinet.

I’m Kristen Flavin. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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