News Wrap: Nobel laureate Yunus selected to lead Bangladesh’s interim government

In our news wrap Tuesday, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been selected to lead Bangladesh’s interim government until new elections can take place, an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank killed 10 Palestinians, stocks recovered some ground after Monday’s selloff and the NTSB released details on its ongoing investigation into a door panel blowout on a Boeing 737 Max jet in January.
Geoff Bennett:
We start today’s other headlines in Bangladesh, where Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been selected to lead that country’s new interim government until new elections can take place.
The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is widely respected in Bangladesh. His appointment comes a day after a longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following weeks of protests that left nearly 300 people dead.
On the streets of the capital today, a sense of calm returned to the once-violent streets. Students stepped into direct traffic, while police went on strike to protest violence against officers during the unrest.
An Israeli military raid today in the occupied West Bank killed 10 Palestinians amid increasing fears of a larger war in the region; 10 others were wounded. Meantime, to the north, sirens blared and smoked billowed near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, as Hezbollah launched a barrage of drones for a second day. Israel fired rockets in response. At least 19 people were hurt.
In a televised address, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed more violence against Israel for its recent strike in Beirut that killed a top commander there.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Leader (through interpreter):
After the assassination of the martyr leader Said Fuad, Hezbollah also sees itself obligated to respond. And Iran will respond. And Hezbollah will respond. Our response, God willing, will be strong, influential, and effective.
Geoff Bennett:
Separately, Hamas has named its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, as its new political chief. Sinwar is widely considered the architect of the October 7 attack on Israel. He’s been in hiding ever since and is at the top of Israel’s kill list. He replaces Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week.
A Pakistani man has been charged with allegedly plotting to carry out political assassinations here in the U.S.. According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, Asif Merchant spent time in Iran before flying to New York in April to recruit hit men for the job.
The 46-year-old was arrested last month and charged with murder for hire. In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.”
The National Transportation Safety Board released some 4,000 pages related to its ongoing investigation into a door panel blowout on a Boeing 737 MAX jet back in January. The co-pilot of the Alaska Airlines flight is quoted as saying: “It was chaos.”
At a rare investigative hearing today, witnesses for Boeing and its supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, outlined design changes that should prevent future blowouts. But the NTSB chair emphasized the past shortcomings, including four missing bolts in the Alaska Airlines door plug.
Jennifer Homendy, Chair, National Transportation Safety Board:
This isn’t a P.R. campaign for Boeing. You can talk all about where you are today. There’s going to be plenty of time for that. We want to know these safety improvements.
But what is very confusing for a lot of people who are watching, who are listening, is, what was going on then? This is an investigation what happened on January 5.
Geoff Bennett:
The NTSB chair also said that Boeing has a long way to go to improve its safety culture. The hearing continues tomorrow.
In California, firefighters are battling blazes both old and new.
Woman:
Hey, get out of there. Go. Go, go, go, go.
Geoff Bennett:
The Edgehill Fire in San Bernardino east of Los Angeles erupted on Monday afternoon. Some residents had just minutes to evacuate before flames ignited hillsides and completely engulfed homes.
As of earlier today, that fire was 75 percent contained. Hundreds of miles to the north, the Park Fire has been wreaking havoc since late July and is still only 34 percent contained. It’s the fourth largest fire in California’s history and has burned more land in the state than all of last year’s fires combined.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is donating $600 million to the endowments of four historically Black medical schools. Founder Michael Bloomberg announced the funds at the annual convention of the National Medical Association, a group that advocates for African American physicians. Almost half of Black physicians graduate from the four historically Black medical schools, and the donations will more than double the size of three of the schools’ endowments.
On Wall Street today, stocks recovered some after Monday’s sell-off. The Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 300 points, but closed off its highs of the day. The Nasdaq rose 166 points, or about 1 percent. The S&P 500 also added 1 percent on the day.
And we have the day’s Olympic headlines now, which includes some gold medals and some spoiler alerts. The track and field finals in Paris today quickly turned into a golden hour for Team USA. In the men’s 1,500 meters, Cole Hocker pulled off a stunning upset, beating a competitive field and topping his own personal best by three seconds.
Just a short time later in the women’s 200, Gabby Thomas sprinted her way to gold after a third-place finish at the last Olympics. Meantime, on the soccer field, Sophia Smith sent the U.S. women’s soccer team to the finals after scoring the winning goal against Germany in extra time. They will face Brazil for gold on Saturday.
So, as of this evening, the U.S. has racked up 86 medals overall, well ahead of the next best, which is China.