Wednesday morning news: May 15, 2024

BLINKEN-ZELENSKYY GREETING: So good to see you./Good to see you and welcome./Wonderful to be back.

Ukraine/Blinken » Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy welcoming U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Tuesday in Kyiv.

The secretary made the unannounced visit in a show of support as Russia ramps up its attacks in the border region of Kharkiv.

BLINKEN:  A strong, successful, thriving, free Ukraine is the best possible rebuke to Putin, uh, and the best possible guarantor for your future. And for all of that, the United States is and will remain a committed partner.

Meanwhile…

SOUND: [Artillery fire]

Russia’s Defense Ministry releasing new video it says came from the battlefield. Russia claims to have captured a residential area in northeast Ukraine’s Kharkov region.

Russia is hurrying to capitalize on Ukraine’s ammunition shortage as renewed military aid from the U.S. gradually arrives in the country.

He also praised the courage of Ukrainians, telling students at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute:

BLINKEN: The spirit of Ukrainians cannot be destroyed by a bomb or buried in a mass grave. It cannot be bought with a bribe or repressed with a threat. It is pure. It is unbreakable. And it is why Ukraine will succeed.

Israel/U.S. weapons » Meantime, on Capitol Hill, some Republicans are calling on President Biden to ensure that weapons arrive promptly in Israel.

Sen. Mike Rounds is among those denouncing the Biden administration’s decision to withhold certain bombs, and possibly other ammunition, until or unless Israel abandons plans for a ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah …

ROUNDS:  He is telling them how they should run their war. He is also then releasing that information of a private conversation, uh, to the world. In doing so, he is sending a message to Hamas, which gives them an opportunity to, to play with it.

Republicans in both chambers are pushing legislation that seeks to force the administration's hand on providing weapons to Israel without restriction.

The Associated Press reports that the Biden administration is planning to send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel. The shipment will reportedly consist of more than 3,000 bombs, though there was no immediate indication … that the shipment would include the 2,000-pound bombs the administration has been withholding.

IDF destroys Hamas command center » Meantime, Israeli fighter jets have taken out a Hamas command center near Rafah, killing 15 people. WORLD’s Mark Mellinger has more.

MARK MELLINGER: Israeli officials say at least 10 of the 15 killed were Hamas fighters.

They added that the center was set up in a school run by UNRWA. That’s the United Nations Palestinian relief agency. Israel believes the agency has employed Hamas members within its ranks.

Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, says it planned the strike carefully to minimize risk to civilians.

Meantime, Israeli tanks pushed deeper into Rafah Tuesday, reaching some residential areas.

Since the start of the ground offensive, the IDF says it’s killed around 100 Hamas fighters, recovered weapons, and discovered close to a dozen hidden tunnels.

Axios reports Israel has promised not to expand its Rafah operations until after U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visits Israel this weekend, but the White House won’t confirm that.

For WORLD, I’m Mark Mellinger.

China tariffs » President Biden says his administration is slapping new tariffs on numerous products from China including steel, solar equipment, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles.

The president says Chinese companies in these sectors have an unfair advantage, because they’re backed by government subsidies and can operate at a loss, undercutting global competitors.

BIDEN: The fact is American workers are, can outwork and outcompete anyone as long as the competition is fair. But for too long it hasn’t been fair.

Biden also took a shot at his Republican rival, Donald Trump, saying Trump’s trade deal with China didn’t result in the Chinese buying more imported goods as promised.

But Trump fired back:

TRUMP:  On the electric vehicles that Biden is pushing down everybody's throat, even though people don't want ‘em. He wants to put a big tariff on China, which is a suggestion that I said, Where have you been for three and a half years? They should have done it a long time ago.

Mike Johnson, GOP at Trump trial/trial latest » Trump spoke from the Manhattan courthouse where he’s spent much of his time for more than a month now. This is week-five of his trial in New York’s criminal business fraud case against him.

Republican lawmakers stood outside the courthouse today in a show of support including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called it a “sham of a trial.” He said prosecutors could have brought this case years ago, but they didn’t.

JOHNSON:  Why is that? Because there's no crime here. Now, eight years later, suddenly they've resurrected this thing. They brought it back. And why is that? Well, just apply common sense. Everyone can see it's painfully obvious they were now six months out from an election day.

Inside the courthouse, Defense attorneys cross examined former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified against his former boss. Johnson said Cohen is someone who “has a history of perjury and is well known for it,” adding, “No one should believe a word he says.”

SOUND: [PROTESTS]

Georgia foreign agents law » Protesters have flooded the streets outside Parliament in the nation of Georgia, outraged over a new law they say threatens free speech and the country’s hopes of joining the European Union.

Under the Russian-style law organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources have to register as agents of foreign influence.

The government says the law is aimed at increasing transparency. But protesters, like political analyst Alex Petriashvili, say this law drags the country back to its Soviet roots.

PETRIASHVILI: It is important to demonstrate that the Georgian society and Georgian people will not accept blocking its path toward the European Union in going back to the USSR.

Georgia's president says she’ll veto the law, but Parliament can override that with a simple majority vote.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Reviewing big cases before the Supreme Court on Washington Wednesday. Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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