News Wrap: Russian missile strikes Zelenskyy’s hometown

In our news wrap Wednesday, a Russian missile struck Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s hometown, the Supreme Court left on hold a Biden plan to cut billions of dollars in student debt, Sarah Palin won her bid for a new trial against The New York Times and a jury in Nevada found a former Las Vegas politician guilty of murdering an investigative journalist who wrote critical articles about him.
Amna Nawaz:
The day’s other headlines take us to Ukraine, where a Russian missile struck President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih. Eight people were injured as the city held a day of mourning for four people killed the day before.
Russia’s stepped-up aerial attacks this week come as Ukrainian battalions push further across the Russian border into Kursk. Officials there are installing bomb shelters to protect against Ukrainian strikes, and residents can’t believe the war has come so close.
Svetlana Rodionova, Displaced Kursk Resident (through interpreter):
Life has changed unexpectedly, like in a dream, you know? Sometimes, you even catch yourself thinking, is it really true? Could it really have happened? Well, it turns out that it did.
Amna Nawaz:
CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said today that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to take back territory in Kursk from Ukraine.
But speaking at a national security industry conference, Cohen called that — quote — “a difficult fight.”
Here in the U.S., the Supreme Court has left on hold a Biden administration plan to cut billions of dollars in student debt. Some Republican-led states are also working to block those loan forgiveness efforts. Last year, the Supreme Court rejected a proposal that would have canceled more than $400 billion in loans. The administration countered with a more tailored approach.
This new plan would cap the amount people have to repay, from 10 percent of their incomes down to 5 percent, and loans of $12,000 or less would be canceled after 10 years.
Sarah Palin has won her bid for a new trial against The New York Times. A federal appeals court ruled today that a judge in her 2022 trial was wrong to dismiss the case while the jury was still deliberating. The former Alaska governor accused the paper of defamation after it incorrectly linked her to a mass shooting in a 2017 editorial. The Times later corrected the mistake.
This case could force the Supreme Court to revisit its ruling in The New York Times v. Sullivan case, which set a high bar for public figures to prove defamation.
A jury in Nevada has found a former Las Vegas politician guilty of murder in the death of an investigative journalist who wrote critical articles about him.
Woman:
Guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, victim 60 years of age or older.
Amna Nawaz:
Robert Telles shook his head as the verdict was read in court. He’s been jailed without bail since his arrest in 2022, shortly after reporter Jeff German was found stabbed to death near his home. Telles had denied killing German, saying he had been framed. He faces up to life in prison without parole.
A suffocating heat wave that gripped the Upper Midwest earlier this week has now moved east. A large chunk of the mid-Atlantic was under a heat advisory today, while a more severe excessive heat warning was issued in Philadelphia. Humidity there made it feel as high as 105 degrees. Dozens of schools closed early for a second day.
Meanwhile, in Michigan, crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses after severe storms swept through last night.
The nation’s green energy sector added jobs at more than twice the rate of the rest of the economy in 2023. The Energy Department said today that employment in the clean energy sector, including wind, solar and nuclear power, rose by 142,000, up 4.2 percent from the year before. That is more than double the broader U.S. job growth rate of 2 percent.
Overall, the energy sector added 250,000 total jobs last year. More than half of those came from clean energy.
On Wall Street today, stocks ended lower as investors braced for a major earnings report from A.I. giant Nvidia. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped nearly 160 points. The Nasdaq gave back nearly 200 points, or more than 1 percent. The S&P 500 also ended lower on the day.
And it was 10 years ago today that rocked by a sartorial scandal, prompted by then-President Barack Obama’s choice of clothing.
Barack Obama, Former President of the United States: Good afternoon, everybody. I want to say a few words on a number of topics and take a few questions before the long Labor Day weekend.
Amna Nawaz:
And, indeed, many had questions about Mr. Obama’s tan suit. In a government town where dark suits seemed to be standard issue, critics saw the outfit as fundamentally unserious.
But the look has since made a comeback, like when Vice President Kamala Harris wore tan at the DNC, and then there’s Donald Trump and the suit he wore to the June debate against President Biden. Trump is distributing pieces of the suit to supporters if they buy enough of his digital trading cards.