Top U.S. & World Headlines — July 17, 2023

welcome to democracy Now democracynow.org The War and Peace report I'm Amy Goodman suffocating heat is gripping three continents as a summer's record-breaking temperatures continue to Scorch large swaths of the United States Asia and Europe 100 million U.S residents remained under extreme heat advisories with dangerous conditions forecast this week in the south of Southwest and South Florida in Arizona an unrelenting heat waves on track to break the previous record of 18 straight days of 110 degrees plus highs in Phoenix that's Fahrenheit some of the most at risk include people who work Outdoors like construction workers as well as unhoused people here for 12 years and I haven't seen nothing like it it's hot I fell asleep on some con hot concrete and my whole left side got 33 Burns so that's a that's an eye opener Europe could record its hottest day ever on the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia over the weekend Italian authorities issued an extreme health risk in 16 cities including Rome and Florence Italians flock to lakes and seasides an attempt to cool down [Music] I don't remember such intense heat especially at this time of year in Northern Syria displaced people describe the conditions at camps as akin to living in an oven children and elderly people are some of the most vulnerable have scarce options for Relief amidst 108 degree Fahrenheit heat meanwhile China's just recorded its highest known temperatures the thermometer hit 126 degrees Fahrenheit smashing the previous record by three degrees in South Korea at least 40 people have died after days of torrential downpours and flooding 12 people were killed when 16 Vehicles including a bus got trapped and inundated in a tunnel in chengzhou after a river Levy collapsed grief-stricken locals called out the response of authorities to the disaster it feels like it could have happened to me I feel like I've died authorities should have restricted access to the tunnel in advance the response was insufficient South Korean president Yun sakyo who also placed blame on authorities called for better plans to deal with weather-related disasters which are becoming commonplace due to the climate crisis at least a hundred people have died in India this month as the monsoon continues to wreak havoc with entire towns swamped while flooding washes away Vehicles Bridges and Roads Delhi has received over 90 percent more rainfall than is considered normal during the monsoon but the worst flooding has been experienced in the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh where new construction to accommodate tourists has worsened landslides and flooding this is a young girl whose former school was Swept Away I used to study in the school and I felt really bad when the school building was washed away the studies of children who are from far off places are also suffering I feel really sad that the children are hit by this loss our memories are also washed away with the school here in the U.S parts of the Northeast were pummeled with more rain over the weekend in the Philadelphia suburbs of Bucks County at least five people died after they were caught in flash flooding while in their car at least 1400 flights were canceled in the Northeast as of Sunday night meanwhile Thick Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires triggered air quality alerts across the Midwest with Chicago Minneapolis and Milwaukee reporting unhealthy levels of air pollution there are also warnings put out by the New York Governor across the state in the Canary Islands Spanish authorities have evacuated more than 4 000 people from the island of La Palma as firefighters battle out of control wildfires while more on the global Heat Wave extreme weather in the climate crisis after headlines with Rolling Stones reporter Jeff Goodell author of The Heat will kill you first life and death on a Scorch planet Russia says it's terminating the Black Sea grain deal which expires today the deal is allowed for the safe export of food and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports and was seen as essential in combating Global Food insecurity today's announcement from Moscow came hours after the bridge connecting Crimea to Russia was shut down following early morning explosions which killed two people and injured a child according to Russian officials Ukraine did not take explicit responsibility though Ukrainian officials told several media Outlets their forces carried out the attack on the battlefield Ukraine says it's gradually regaining control of more territory amidst reports of intense fighting along the Eastern Front the U.S says it will allow European countries to train Ukrainian fighters on u.s-made F-16 fighter jets meanwhile Russia's vowed to respond in kind if Ukraine deploys cluster bombs provided by the United States this is Russian defense minister Sergey shoigu I want to mark that Russia has cluster bombs for All Occasions they are more effective than Americans and more widely varied Russia Ukraine and the US are not signatories to an international treaty Banning the use of cluster bombs we'll have more on cluster bombs later in the broadcast when I speak to U.N human rights Chief Volker Turk and the former Swedish foreign minister Margot volstrom both oppose the use of cluster bombs President Vladimir Putin said he plans to go ahead with a trip to South Africa next month to attend the brics summit despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the international criminal court as a member of the ICC South Africa would be obligated to arrest President Putin UNICEF said Friday at least 289 migrant children drowned while trying to reach Europe so far this year around twice as many as in the first six months of 2022 over at 11 000 children made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean since the start of the Year according to the UN agency many of them were either unaccompanied or separated from family a UNICEF official called for better protections for young Asylum Seekers lamenting quote hundreds of girls and boys are drowning in the worlds in action Libyan border guards have apprehended at least 80 exhausted and dehydrated migrants after they were rounded up by authorities in neighboring Tunisia and abandoned in the desert without food water or shelter the group was among hundreds of black African Asylum Seekers forcibly expelled from the city of spax in tunisia's heavily militarized border with Libya refugees have faced abuse from Authorities on both sides of the border with accounts of rape and sexual assault on Sunday tunisia's government signed a strategic partnership with the European Union pledging to crack down on migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean to seek asylum in Europe the agreement comes after the European commission said it was considering an aid package for Tunisia worth over 1 billion dollars in Mexico authorities apprehended over 500 Asylum Seekers this weekend in the state of Vita Cruz as the Mexican Government intensifies its Crackdown of migrants attempting to reach the U.S border more than 200 people including children were found in an abandoned trailer many of them with symptoms of severe dehydration at least six people were arrested for their role in transporting the hundreds of migrants who were mostly from Central America and Cuba stricter immigration policies in Mexico and the U.S have forced Asylum Seekers to rely on Smugglers and take on deadly routes to reach the United States in Mexico a journalist was shot dead Saturday in the state of Guerrero Nelson matus was the director of a local news outlet that reported worsening violence in the region matus was gunned down while he sat in his car in the parking lot of a store in the city of Acapulco he had survived two other assassination attempts including one in 2019. Iran's morality police have resumed patrolling the streets for the first time since the death of 22 year old masamini in its custody in September the morality police had largely been pulled back after amini's death which triggered massive Nationwide protests the move comes as a runny in the 30s or escalating efforts to arrest women who are deemed in violation of the strict headscarf dress code this is an Iranian student in Tehran do you think the morality police can prevent women from not wearing hijab they cannot impose it like before the number of people who do not obey is too high now they cannot handle all of us the last thing they can do is use violence and force against us back in the United States the justice department has opened an investigation into conditions at Atlanta area jails following the death of another prisoner Fulton County officials say 19-year-old Noni Batiste kosoko was found unresponsive in her cell in the Atlanta City Detention Center last Tuesday she was arrested a misdemeanor warrant and held to that bond this follows the death last year of 35-year-old LaShawn Thompson a black man who is being held in the Fulton County Jail's psychiatric Wing where his family says he was eaten alive by insects and bed bugs in his cell assistant U.S attorney general Christian Clark says the probe will look into reports of deplorable conditions in Fulton County jails lack of access to medical and mental health care and the use of excessive force by staff in Washington the House of Representatives approved a record-shattering military budget of 886 billion dollars for the coming fiscal year lawmakers approved the National Defense authorization act Friday by a vote of 219 to 210 with all but four Democrats opposed the legislation appears doomed in the democratic-controlled Senate after Republicans included amendments barring the Pentagon from reimbursing the expenses of personnel who travel out of state to obtain an abortion this is democratic Congress member Greg Stanton of Arizona today nearly half of service women no longer have access to abortion care many live hundreds of miles from the nearest provider access to abortion should not depend on where someone lives or where they are stationed defense secretary Lloyd Austin rightly noted that the Dobb's decision would quote would interfere with the U.S military's ability to recruit retain and maintain the Readiness of a highly qualified Force other amendments added by Republicans bar the Pentagon from paying for gender affirming Medical Care and hormone therapy for transgender people and ban the display of lgbtqia Pride flags at military bases House Republicans refused to allow a vote on amendment by Democratic Congress Members Mark pocan and Barbara Lee that would have slashed a hundred billion dollars from the military budget and the education department said Friday it's canceling 39 billion dollars in federal student debt for over 800 000 borrowers the plan will benefit those enrolled in income-driven repayment plans who would or should have qualified for relief after making monthly payments for 20 to 25 years but did not because of oversight errors or shortcuts taken by loan servicers the move which has been in the works for at least the past year comes two weeks after the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student debt plan that would have eliminated 400 billion dollars in student loans for some 40 million people and those are some of the headlines this is democracy Now democracynow.org The War and Peace report

Channel: Democracy Now!

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Length: 11min 58sec (718 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 17 2023