In our news Thursday, California moves to eliminate most sales of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, President Biden calls on Russia to return a nuclear plant to the control of -Ukraine, a court decides that the former Prime Minister of Pakistan cannot be arrested until September, marking the Rohingya Muslims. five years since they fled persecution in Myanmar, and teachers in Ohio agree to end a four-day strike.
Read the Full Transcript
The US Department of Justice will have to release at least some of the information it used to justify searching the Trump property in Florida. A federal magistrate judge today ordered that the redacted affidavit statement be made public by noon tomorrow. News organizations called for the move after FBI agents searched the Mar-a-Lago property for classified documents.
We will take a closer look at this after the new summary.
California regulators — I apologize — meanwhile, a prosecutor in Georgia is seeking testimony from more allies of former President Trump as part of the state’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Now you want to hear from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, as well as attorney Sidney Powell, who helped lead the legal challenges to those election results.
California regulators have approved a mandate that all new vehicles sold in the state be electric or hydrogen-powered by 2035. Today’s vote by the state Air Resources Board will still allow sales of used gasoline-powered vehicles after 2035. Change could reshape the entire United States. car market, since many states follow the policies of California.
President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy are urging Russia tonight to return the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Ukrainian control. Mr Biden spoke to Zelenskyy by phone today as the plant was temporarily cut off from Ukraine’s power grid. There was more barking around the site this week.
And Zelenskyy said that today’s incident could have released radiation.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through translator):
I want to assure all Ukrainians that we are doing everything to avoid an emergency. There is a need for international pressure to force the occupiers to withdraw immediately from the Zaporizhzhia site, because every minute of the Russian military staying in the nuclear plant is a risk of a global radiation disaster.
Meanwhile, workers cleared the rubble a day after Russian rockets hit a train station in Central Ukraine. The Ukrainians said that 25 people were killed. Russia said it targeted a military train.
US Senator Marsha Blackburn has arrived in Taiwan, the last US lawmaker to visit the island, despite China’s objections. The Tennessee Republican flew to Taipei tonight. Local reports said she will meet the president of Taiwan on Friday. The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi started this series of visits to the United States congress. This led to large-scale Chinese military exercises across Taiwan.
In Pakistan today, a court ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan cannot be arrested until at least September. He was charged with terrorism, violating a ban on mass demonstrations and contempt of court. Today, hundreds of his supporters gathered in Islamabad. Khan accused the government of targeting him for political reasons.
Imran Khan, Former Pakistani Prime Minister (through translator):
If you said you will take legal actions and, for this, I am accused of terrorism, then Pakistan is like a banana republic, like there is no law here, and you want to arrest the head of a party who is the largest part of the country. Those who are doing all this, should think about the country.
Khan was removed from office in April after a vote of no confidence in Parliament. Some of the charges brought against him today have him banned for life from politics.
More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims today marked five years since they fled persecution in largely Buddhist Myanmar. The U.N. she said the Myanmar military carried out a bloody campaign with — quote — “genocidal intent”.
Today, thousands of Rohingya have gathered in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Some said they would return to Myanmar if their safety was guaranteed.
Jamalida Begum, Rohingya Refugee (through translator):
We must go back to our country with our rights. We had houses and were rich there. We could bear our own expenses, and we didn’t have to rely on someone else’s pocket. We are trying to go back to where our ancestors died.
So far, attempts to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar have largely failed.
The World Health Organization reports that global cases of monkeypox fell more than 20 percent last week, after rising for a month. The agency says the outbreak may be starting to subside in Europe, but cases across the Americas are still rising sharply. And new infections in Africa rose by 50 percent last week.
Back in this country, teachers in Columbus Ohio reached an agreement with the local school board that tentatively ends a four-day strike. They had been on the picket lines since Monday demanding better working conditions and a smaller class. Almost 4,500 teachers and school staff will vote on the new contract this weekend.
And on Wall Street today, stocks rose again as interest rates on Treasury bonds edged lower. The main indices rose by 1 to more than 1.5 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 322 points to close at 33291. The Nasdaq rose 207 points and the S&P 500 added 58.
Still to come on the “NewsHour”: CDC director discusses COVID-19 and her efforts to reform the agency; parents