Wednesday morning news: September 14, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukraine » In eastern Ukraine …

AUDIO: [War]

Many Russian troops are on the run as Ukrainian forces advance.

The counteroffensive has produced major gains and dealt a stunning blow to Moscow's military prestige.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday …

KIRBY: Clearly there’s a sense of momentum here by the Ukrainian armed forces. And so what we’re going to do is continue to support them as best we can.

Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 2 miles from Russia. It was seized on the first day of the war.

Ukrainian officials released footage showing their forces burning Russian flags and inspecting abandoned, charred tanks.

Inflation » Lower gas costs slowed U.S. inflation for a second straight month in August, but most other prices kept rising. PNC Bank senior economist Kurt Rankin said that includes housing.

RANKIN: Not just the price of houses but services to maintain a home, utilities, appliances, basically the cost of home ownership.

Consumer prices rose 8.3% from a year earlier and 0.1% from July.

But the jump in “core” prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, was especially worrisome.

It was worse than expected and ignited fear that the Federal Reserve will have to boost interest rates more aggressively, raising the risk of a sharp economic downturn.

Railroad labor dispute » And with inflation still historically high, the White House says it would be extremely bad timing for a railroad strike.

The Biden administration and business groups are pressuring freight railroads and their unions to settle a contract dispute before Friday's looming strike deadline.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre …

PIERRE: A shutdown would have a tremendous impact on our supply chains, ripple effects into our overall economy, on American families. A shutdown is not acceptable.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says halting rail deliveries of U..S goods right now would be a—quote—“economic disaster.”

The White House says President Biden and members of his cabinet were in touch with the unions and railroads this week as part of their efforts to avoid a strike.

The Association of American Railroads trade group estimated that shutting down the railroads would cost the economy $2 billion a day.

King Charles N. Ireland » In Belfast on Tuesday …

AUDIO: [Gun salute]

A gun salute to the newly crowned King Charles III.

AUDIO: [Gun salute]

His visit to Northern Ireland was the second stop on his tour of the UK.

A crowd gathered outside Hillsborough Castle to greet King Charles and the queen consort.

Queen’s coffin arrives in London » Meantime, a hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin made its way slowly through the drizzly streets of London. Large windows in the specially outfitted vehicle displayed the coffin, covered with a wreath and a royal flag.

Londoners lined the streets to catch a glimpse.

And outside Buckingham Palace…

AUDIO: [Crowd]

A crowd greeted its arrival.

The coffin remained at the palace overnight. Today, a procession will transport it to the Palace of Westminster where the queen will lie in state beginning this afternoon.

Twitter whistleblower » On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Twitter’s former head of security turned whistleblower told a Senate panel …

ZATKO: Twitter leadership is misleading the public, lawmakers, regulators, and even its own board of directors.

Peter Zatko charged that his former employer is not telling the truth about its cybersecurity weaknesses, among other things.

Zatko likened Twitter’s cyber-defenses to an unlocked door and said the company’s put users’ data at risk.

He told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Twitter ignored warnings from its engineers …

ZATKO: Because key parts of leadership lacked the competency to understand the problem, but more importantly, their executive incentives led them to prioritize profits over security.

He also charged that Twitter had intelligence agents from China and India on its payroll.

Twitter fired Zatko months ago and has disputed his allegations.

Separately on Tuesday, Twitter shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the sale of the company to billionaire Elon Musk, though Musk is currently trying to back out of that deal.

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

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