Infrastructure damage hampers flood recovery in Kentucky
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says damage to critical infrastructure is hampering efforts to help residents hit by massive flooding. Beshear said Sunday that dozens of bridges were destroyed in last week’s floods. That makes it difficult to assist many areas, including those whose water systems were damaged. The governor says communications issues also exist. The National Guard estimates about 400 people have been rescued by helicopter. More heavy rain arrived in the region where the death toll climbed to at least 28 Sunday. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for at least eight eastern Kentucky counties. About 13,000 utility customers in Kentucky remain without power.
Pelosi heads for Singapore, but is silent on Taiwan
Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to arrive in Singapore Monday as part of a tour of Asia that has stoked fears, including at the highest levels of the U.S. government, of dangerously heightened tensions with China over the possibility that she would visit Taiwan. Pelosi has not confirmed whether she will visit Taiwan, a self-governing democracy of 23 million people that China claims as its territory. But she had proposed a trip to the island this year, which was postponed, and when asked recently about her travels plans, she said that it was “important for us to show support for Taiwan.”
Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura on ‘Star Trek,’ has died at 89
Relatives say Sunday that Nichelle Nichols, who broke ground for Black women acting on television as the beautiful, no-nonsense communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original “Star Trek” TV series, has died at the age of 89. Her role in the 1966-69 series as Lt. Uhura earned Nichols a lifelong position of honor with the series’ rabid fans, known as Trekkers and Trekkies. It also earned her accolades for breaking racial stereotypes and included an interracial onscreen kiss with co-star William Shatner that was unheard of at the time.
Doctor: Biden tests positive for COVID for 2nd day in a row
President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second straight day, in what appears to be a rare case of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug. White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor says in a letter Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence. After Biden tested positive on Saturday, he canceled upcoming plans to travel and hold in-person events. He’s isolating for at least five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The 79-year-old Biden first tested positive on July 21. He was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid and he had ended his isolation on Wednesday.
Russia says a drone attack hit the Crimean base of its Black Sea fleet
Russian authorities said a drone attack against the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea injured six people and forced the cancellation of celebrations to honor the Russian navy. Although Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack, Ukrainian officials denied that Kyiv was behind the strike, which took place just as ceremonies for Navy Day — one of the main celebrations of the year in Sevastopol — were about to get underway. An attack on a target at the heart of the Russian military industrial machine on a day meant for celebration had deep symbolic resonance.
Tensions flare on Kosovo-Serbian border amid protests and gunfire
A dispute over license plates between the Balkan nations of Kosovo and Serbia, from whom Kosovo split 14 years ago, yielded protests and gunfire Sunday night, prompting fears that the violence could escalate as Western countries are focused on the war in Ukraine. Amid demonstrators who built barricades, unknown gunmen fired on Kosovo police officers along the restive northern border with Serbia on the eve of a new law requiring ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo to switch from Serbian license plates to Kosovar ones in the next two months. Many Serbs in Kosovo still use Serbian-issued plates, which the government considers illegal.
Ramos, ex-Philippine leader who helped oust dictator, dies
Former Philippine President Fidel Valdez Ramos, a U.S.-trained ex-general who saw action in the Korean and Vietnam wars and played a key role in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising that ousted a dictator, has died. He was 94. Ramos’s family announced his death with profound sadness. His longtime aide, Norman Legaspi, told The Associated Press that Ramos had been in and out of the hospital in recent years due to a heart condition and had suffered from dementia. The cigar-chomping Ramos, known for his visionary “win-win” outlook, attention to detail, thumbs-up signa and firm handshakes, served as president from 1992 to 1998, succeeding the democracy icon, Corazon Aquino. She was swept into the presidency after Ramos helped lead a revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.