One debate down, Republicans face tougher qualifications for round 2
Eight Republicans clawed their way onto the stage Wednesday for the first presidential primary debate, with some using gimmicks and giveaways to meet the party’s criteria. To qualify for the second debate, which will be held Sept. 27 in Simi Valley, California, candidates must register at least 3% support in a minimum of two national polls accepted by the Republican National Committee, according to a person familiar with the party’s criteria. That is up from the 1% threshold for Wednesday’s debate. Only candidates who have received financial support from 50,000 donors will make the debate stage, which is 10,000 more than they needed for the first debate.
BTK killer named as prime suspect in two unsolved murders
This week, Dennis Rader, a notorious and elusive serial killer known as BTK who is serving 10 consecutive life terms, was named the primary suspect in two unsolved killings: Cynthia Kinney, a 16-year-old who worked at a laundromat and disappeared in 1976 from Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and Shawna Beth Garber, a 22-year-old whose body was discovered in 1990 in Lanagan, Missouri. Police determined that Rader’s employment as a regional installer with ADT, a residential and commercial security company, coincided with the construction of a bank near the laundromat where Kinney worked. Records put him in the same area at the same time of Garber’s disappearance in 1990.’
A first look from NASA’s new air pollution satellite
When scientists switched on the instrument aboard a new satellite this summer, they got a preview of what will soon be the nation’s first continuous record of air pollution. The satellite will stay parked above North America and provide scientists with hourly daytime updates on air pollution nationwide. On Thursday, researchers released their first images, which show changes in nitrogen dioxide pollution over the United States over the course of a day. The images show clear hot spots of the gas around major cities, with higher levels during the morning and evening when there’s more traffic.
Tulsa schools, under threat of takeover, retain control for now
The Oklahoma Board of Education imposed strict oversight over Tulsa public schools Thursday, but it allowed the district to continue operating, averting a takeover of the state’s largest school system. The decision came after a fraught standoff between Ryan Walters, the state’s hard-charging Republican superintendent, and the school district in left-leaning Tulsa. Walters had called for the removal of the superintendent, Deborah A. Gist, whom he blamed for poor outcomes. The school district has appointed an interim superintendent and will be required to make monthly updates to the state, including on its finances.
As fires endanger the ‘lungs’ of Athens, Greek anger rises
Even as Greek authorities battled scores of wildfires, stretching from north to south on the mainland, the fires encroaching on a treasured national park north of Athens on Thursday provoked special anger. Mount Parnitha, a protected wildlife area widely known as the “lungs” of Athens, is normally a respite for city dwellers, especially as the heat of Greek summers has tipped to dangerous extremes. But Thursday, residents and conservationists lamented the potential loss of one of the few green spaces left near the capital. They accused authorities of failing to protect a precious forestland that is home to more than 1,000 species of plants and animals.
Late-summer heat wave
bakes southern Europe
Large areas of southern Europe baked under extreme temperatures Thursday, the latest in a string of heat waves that has scorched the continent over the summer and sent residents and tourists scrambling for cool shelter. In a region where it is not especially common for homes and businesses to have air conditioning, many areas sweltered under temperatures exceeding 86 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (30 to 35 degrees Celsius), and some topped 104 degrees. Temperatures in some cities were not as high but still far above the norm for so late in the summer.
Antarctica’s low sea ice robbed some penguins of their
breeding grounds
Four out of five emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea region very likely lost their chicks late last year because of disappearing sea ice underneath their breeding grounds, according to a new study. Parts of this coastal region had lost all of their sea ice by November, which was probably before penguin chicks had grown waterproof adult feathers and learned to swim. It’s the first time scientists have seen a widespread failure across multiple penguin colonies in a region, researchers said. Sea ice levels around Antarctica in 2023 are likely to reach record low levels by a wide margin. This sudden drop has alarmed scientists.
Thousands camp all night to vote, leaving a nation on edge
A chaotic presidential election left Zimbabweans anxiously awaiting the outcome Thursday after thousands were forced to wait overnight to vote and police arrested dozens of independent election observers tasked with ensuring a fair election. Voting in Zimbabwe, a nation of 16 million people in southern Africa, was supposed to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday. But many polling stations, almost exclusively in urban areas that tend to favor opposition parties, had to stay open into Thursday because their ballots were not delivered until late the previous afternoon. As early results trickled out, supporters of the main candidates all claimed they were on the path to victory.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are among 6 countries joining emerging nations group
Seeking more political and economic influence in a global system dominated by the United States and Europe, the BRICS club of emerging nations agreed Thursday to expand by bringing on six new countries. The expansion was regarded as a significant victory for the two leading members of the group, increasing China’s political clout and helping to reduce Russia’s isolation. Yet, Russia and China face growing economic headwinds that could undermine the economies of the very nations whose interests they claim to be promoting. Joining China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa in the group are three members from the Middle East, most notably Saudi Arabia and a fiercely anti-American Iran.
Blast likely downed jet and killed Prigozhin, U.S. officials say
An explosion on a plane believed to be carrying Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin probably brought down the aircraft Wednesday, killing all the passengers aboard, according to U.S. and other Western officials citing preliminary intelligence. A definitive conclusion has not yet been reached, but a blast is the leading theory of what caused a private plane to crash in a field between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The explosion could have been caused by a bomb or other device planted on the aircraft, although other theories, such as adulterated fuel, were also being explored, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
By wire sources
