Wednesday morning news - July 6, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Chicago shooting update » The man suspected of opening fire on a 4th of July parade near Chicago is behind bars. And if prosecutors have their way, he’ll be there the rest of his life.

Eric Rinehart is Lake County state's attorney.

RINEHART: These seven counts of first-degree murder will lead to a mandatory life sentence should he be convicted, without the possibility of parole.

A seventh victim died Tuesday from gunshot wounds.

InviDeputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Christopher Covelli told reporters …

COVELLI: Investigators have been really tirelessly working trying to determine a motive. At this point, there is no definitive motive that he had.

Investigators say Robert E. Crimo III had a history of disturbing behavior and planned this shooting for weeks.

Sweden, Finland » Sweden and Finland are one step closer to becoming members of NATO.

Member nations have signed off on accession protocols.

Secretary general Jens Stoltenberg …

STOLTENBERG: This is a good day for Finland and Sweden and a good day for NATO. With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer.

But the Nordic nations are not members yet. All 30 existing member nations must ratify the treaty within their own governments. That’s a process that could take up to a year.

And despite a recent agreement between the two nations and Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is warning that he could still block the countries from joining.

He wants them to agree to extradite people Turkey suspects of terrorism. Finland and Sweden say that was not part of the deal.

Ukraine - Russian advance » In Ukraine, the governor of the eastern Donetsk province has ordered hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes as Russian troops close in. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher reports.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Russian artillery shells began shaking the ground in the town of Sloviansk in Donetsk this week. The town is one of Russia’s next targets as Moscow's forces aim to conquer all of the Donbas region.

Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has ordered the roughly 350,000 people remaining in the province to evacuate.

He said the evacuation is necessary to save lives and to clear the way for Ukrainian troops to engage the enemy without fear of civilian casualties.

The governor’s evacuation order came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory over the neighboring Luhansk province.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Biden awards Medal of Honor to vets » President Biden awarded four Army soldiers the Medal of Honor on Tuesday for their bravery in the Vietnam War.

BIDEN: Not every service member has received the recognition they deserve, today we’re setting the record straight.

Spc. Five Dwight Birdwell, helped his unit even with severe injuries.

Spc. Five Dennis Fujii treated the wounded and directed airstrikes.

Retired Maj. John Duffy led troops to fend off an attack and evacuate the wounded after their commander was killed.

BIDEN: 50 years since the jungles of Vietnam, where as young men, these soldiers first proved their mettle.

The fourth recipient was honored posthumously. Staff Sgt. Edward Kaneshiro—died in combat in 1967.

Sydney floods update » The rain keeps falling in Australia where floodwaters have forced some 50,000 people to flee from parts of Sydney. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Emergency response teams responded to roughly 100 calls for help in the overnight hours. That as the New South Wales state government declared a disaster across 23 local jurisdictions.

As of last night, officials had not reported any deaths or serious injuries, though the damage will be catastrophic. Rain levels dropped from 40 or 50 inches on Sunday, to about 8 inches on Monday.

The storm has triggered the fourth flood emergency for the city in the last 18 months.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Flight delays, cancellations » Chaotic U.S. airports packed throughout the July 4th weekend are beginning to quiet just a bit.

Travelers flying to and from holiday getaways have faced frustrating delays. After travel picked up on Thursday, airlines canceled nearly 3,000 flights.

Tuesday was better, though. Airlines had cancelled fewer than 600 flights as of last night.

More than 9 million flyers flocked to U.S. airports between Thursday and Sunday, peaking at roughly 2.5 million. That’s a new high for the pandemic era.

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

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