Wednesday morning news - July 20, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Putin in Iran » Cameras flashed furiously in Tehran as Iranian leaders welcomed Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

The Russian president is deepening ties with Iran as the West presses sanctions against both nations. The leaders say the talks are focused on ending years of conflict in Syria.

But the White House believes Putin is also asking for drones and other weapons as he wages war on Ukraine.

PUTIN: [Speaking in Russian]

Putin also took part in trilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan …

PUTIN: [Speaking in Russian]

He thanked Erdogan for mediating talks on the export of grain from Ukraine and said they are making progress in those talks.

Ukraine’s first lady at White House » Meantime in Washington, first lady Jill Biden welcomed Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, at the White House.

Jill Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine back in May, and on Tuesday she told Zelenska …

J.BIDEN: When I came back, one of the things that I said was you cannot go into a war zone and come back and not feel the sorrow and the pain of the people.

Biden said they’re working on mental health initiatives for Ukrainians amid the war.

More Russian missiles struck cities and villages in eastern and southern Ukraine Tuesday, hitting homes, a school and a community center.

Today, Zelenska is scheduled to address members of Congress at the Capitol.

COVID-19 again on the rise » COVID-19 is on the rise once again, thanks to the new BA.5 strain of the omicron variant. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: According to a rolling 7-day average, about 130,000 Americans are testing positive each day. The rise thus far has been much slower and steadier than the severe omicron spike seen over the winter.

Still, infections are now at their highest level since February.

The CDC says hospital stays are also up to just under 6,000 per day. That number has quadrupled in three month’s time.

But daily COVID-related deaths are largely unchanged, hovering below 400 since April.

The BA.5 omicron subvariant is skilled at dodging our immune systems—whether the immunity is from vaccines or prior infections.

But federal health agencies say vaccines can still help protect against severe cases.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Congress marriage vote » Lawmakers in the House passed a bill Tuesday to codify same-sex marriage in federal law.

AUDIO: The yeas are 267 and the nays are 157.

Democratic leaders say after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, they fear the high court might strike down a prior ruling establishing a right to same-sex marriage and return that matter to the states, as well.

But Republican Congressman Mike Johnson said the Supreme Court made clear that its ruling pertained only to life and abortion. Here he is reading from the court’s decision:

JOHNSON: And to ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to an abortion and no other right.

The legislation, backed by the White House, would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

No Democrat opposed the bill and 46 Republicans supported it.

Europe heatwave » A record-breaking heatwave has baked much of Europe this week. London hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday—Paris, 105.

Petteri Taalas is chief of the UN’s weather agency. He said dry, scorching weather has been bearing down on much of the continent.

TAALAS: We have seen forest fires already in in southwestern part of Europe and in Portugal, for example, they are also having severe forest fires.

In France, firefighters battling out-of-control blazes. Authorities have had to evacuate nearly 15,000 people.

And the governments of Spain and Portugal have reported more than 700 heat-related deaths in recent weeks.

Some parts of Europe will get relief today with temperatures dropping into the 80s, but Madrid, Spain, is among the cities expecting triple digits into next week.

Abortion laws in LA, IN, WV » Legal battles continue over pro-life laws in several states. WORLD’S Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: In West Virginia, a circuit court judge blocked a pro-life law that had been dormant since the Roe v. Wade decision nearly 50 years ago.

The law would make performing or obtaining an abortion a crime, but it makes an exception if the mother’s life is at risk.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered lower courts to reexamine a law that requires minors to tell their parents before they get an abortion.

And in Louisiana, a law that would protect babies in every case—except to save the life of the mother—is still on hold.

A district judge there blocked the law and Louisiana’s attorney general said the case will likely land before the state Supreme Court.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

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

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