Wednesday morning news - June 6, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

1. DHS warns of “heightened threat environment” for domestic terror » The Department of Homeland Security issued a warning on Tuesday.

DHS said the United States is in a “heightened threat environment” for extremist violence and domestic acts of terrorism.

On Capitol Hill, a Senate panel heard from experts on domestic terrorism. University of Chicago professor Robert Pape testified,

PAPE: I do think that we have an obligation as a country. And it’s our political leaders, it’s our community leaders, it’s our university leaders. It’s not just one side, and it’s not simply a law enforcement problem.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also heard from people affected by recent mass shootings. Garnell Whitfield Jr. lost his mother in last month’s massacre at a Buffalo, New York supermarket.

WHITFIELD: Our lives are forever changed, forever damaged by a profound act of hate and evil. And nothing will ever take away the hurt, the pain, or the hole in our hearts.

Homeland Security warned that extremists could exploit high-profile events to justify attacks. They said those events include the possible Supreme Court reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision, the ongoing migrant surge at the southern border and midterm elections in November.

2. Yellen: inflation to ‘remain high;’ hopes it’s beginning to ease » Also on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she is hopeful that inflation is beginning to ease, but she does expect it to remain high into next year.

Yellen told members of the Senate Finance Committee that “bringing inflation down should be our number one priority.”

YELLEN: We now are entering a period of transition from one of historic recovery to one that can be marked by stable and steady growth.

The hearing was an opportunity for lawmakers to press Yellen on the causes for inflation.

Republican members of the committee said President Biden’s big-spending policies have helped to fuel spiraling costs.

Others say the Federal Reserve acted too slowly to raise interest rates. Both the Fed and the Biden administration repeatedly declared that high inflation was only temporary but later had to concede it would last much longer than they expected.

3. Biden to attend Summit of Americas as other key leaders skip event » President Biden is expected to arrive in Los Angeles this morning for the Summit of the Americas. The event is intended to foster cooperation between countries in the Western Hemisphere. But some key leaders have decided not to attend. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: The event takes place every few years, and it’s being held on U.S. soil for the first time since 1994.

The Biden administration said it hoped to use the summit to rally governments to work together to address surging migration.

But that will be much harder to do without the president of Mexico.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is skipping the event this week.

He has led a chorus of mostly leftist leaders pushing Washington to invite Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to the gathering.

But the White House stated, “We do not believe that dictators should be invited.”

López Obrador is skipping the event in protest, though a member of his administration will attend.

Other leaders indicated they would stay home, too. They include leaders from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador--the three biggest drivers of the surge at the U.S. border.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

4. Russia claims advances in Ukraine amid fierce fighting » Russia claims it has now taken control of 97 percent of one of the two provinces that make up Ukraine's Donbas region.

If true, that brings the Kremlin closer to its goal of fully capturing the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

Moscow says it now controls nearly all of the Luhansk province.

Ukrainian officials and military analysts say it appears Russia now occupies roughly half of the Donetsk province.

Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region since 2014.

Louisiana enacts Fairness in Women’s Sports Act » Louisiana is the latest state to enact a law barring school athletes who are biologically male from participating in girls and women’s sports. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The law is called the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. It requires grade schools and colleges to assign student athletes to male or female sports teams or divisions according to their biological sex.

Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards this week criticized the legislation. But he said he would not try to block it because the bill has more than two-thirds majority support in the legislature, which would allow supporters to override any veto.

The governor did veto a similar bill last year.

With that, Louisiana becomes the 18th state to bar biologically male athletes who identify as female from participating in girls' and women's sports.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

I’m Kent Covington.

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