Wednesday morning news: July 31, 2024

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Congress heads out for summer recess… will they be able to fund the government when they return?

FLEISCHMANN: So the sooner, ideally, we can get it passed, the better it is not only for the new president, but also for the country

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday.

Also, World Tour.

And, a veteran finds healing through podcasting.

HUNT: It’s helped me because it’s getting me to talk. It’s getting me to communicate to another person.

MAST: And how bad border policy harms young people.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, July 31st. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MAST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Acting Secret Service director speaks on Trump failure » A fiery hearing on Capitol Hill today, as senators grilled the Acting Director of the Secret Service … about the failures that almost led to the assassination of Donald Trump. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley:

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley:

ROWE:  I acknowledge this was a failure of …
HAWLEY: Is it not prima facie that somebody has failed? The former president was shot. Sir, this could have been our Texas school book depository. I have lost sleep over that for the last 17 days. Just like you have. Then fire somebody and I will hold them accountable.

Acting Director Ronald Rowe vowed that people will be held accountable … but Republicans say that accountability is already overdue.

Rowe testified that he visited the scene of the crime … and laid on the exact same rooftop … where the would-be assassin took aim at Trump.

ROWE:  When I laid in that position, I could not and I will not and I cannot understand why there was not better coverage or at least somebody looking at that roof line when that's where they were posted.

It was Rowe in the hot seat today after now-former Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the wake of the shooting.

Senate online safety bill » And on the Senate floor Tuesday, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed legislation aimed at better protecting kids online. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal is one of the co-authors of the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

BLUMENTHAL:  Social media platforms will be bound by a duty of care, legally required to exercise reasonable care to prevent their products from causing self harm, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and other harmful impacts.

Only three senators voted no.

The fate of the legislation is uncertain in the House, but Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed an openness to considering the Senate bill.

UK Puberty blockers » Meantime, protections for kids against puberty blockers in the U.K. … are staying in place after a high court ruling. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more:

MUNCY: Justice Beverly Lang on Monday upheld the government’s emergency ban on the drugs … finding that the restrictions are lawful.

She pointed to a study that prompted the restrictions … which put forth strong evidence that puberty blockers are potentially harmful … with very narrow benefits.

A former UK health secretary introduced emergency legislation in May … to immediately ban the prescription of puberty blockers to children who were not already taking them.

A transgender activist group promptly sued, arguing that the emergency process had been misused.

The organization says it may appeal this week’s ruling.
For WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

Venezuela election reax » Demonstrators in the streets of Venezuela … protesting an election they believe was stolen by the ruling regime … of disputed President Nicolas Maduro.

And President Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are now calling on Venezuela’s government … to release detailed voting data from the presidential election.

State Dept Deputy spokesman Vadent Patel told reporters:

PATEL:  Maduro and his representatives declared themselves the winner of what we believe is a national election that was undermined by anti democratic actions, political repression, and electoral manipulation.

The opposition says their candidate, Edmundo González, secured more than twice as many votes in Sunday’s election.

In a joint statement Biden and Brazil’s Lula, who is an ally of Maduro … said they “agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data.”

Vermont flooding » In northeastern Vermont … heavy rain has caved in roads, forced some homes off their foundations and forced dozens of high-water rescues.

One local resident said he was able to get himself and a few neighbors to safety just in time.

MOS: I woke up to boulders rolling down the road, more or less. Barely able to get these people out and what they needed medication-wise before the house broke off.

This comes nearly three weeks after many farmers and residents in the state were slammed by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl.

The National Weather Service in Burlington says some areas got 6 to more than 8 inches of rain starting late Monday … triggering flash floods.

Most of the rain fell to the northeast of the state capital of Montpelier.

And more rain is in the forecast for the region today.

Stop Woke Act injunction » A federal judge has shot down a section of Florida law … that allowed workers to opt out of race-related workplace training … that could be seen as discriminatory.

The law is called the Individual Freedom Act … unofficially known as the Stop Woke Act.

Governor Ron DeSantis championed the law…

DeSantis: We have every right as a state to provide protections for employees and businesses to say, if they are doing woke training–which is basically discriminating against folks on the basis of race–You have the right to opt out of that.

The judge said the parts of the law aimed at shielding workers from discriminatory racially-based training … was too vague to enforce and violated the free speech of employers.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Government funding, and Supreme Court ethics…on Washington Wednesday.

Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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