Ukraine reconstruction cost estimated at $750 billion – some could ...

This story is on news of the day in Ukraine for July 4. For the latest news, click here.

The cost of rebuilding battered Ukraine after the war is estimated at a staggering $750 billion, but some of those funds could come from the source of the damage.

Just as he has appealed to the international community for help in his country's attempt to fend off the Russian invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland a global effort will be needed for restoration.

“The reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project, is not a project of one nation, but a common task of the entire democratic world — all countries, all countries who can say they are civilized,” Zelenskyy said in a video message. ”Restoring Ukraine means restoring the principles of life, restoring the space of life, restoring everything that makes humans humans.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who attended the conference in Lugano in person, provided the $750 billion figure and presented a recovery plan for immediate and long-term needs.

Shmyhal also said a large source of funding “should be the confiscated assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs,” which he said may currently amount to between $300 billion and $500 billion.

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Latest developments

►Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the International Olympic Committee for supporting a ban on Russian athletes in most Olympics sports. Russia has an appeal hearing Tuesday challenging its ban from international soccer at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

►Pope Francis, who has condemned the "ferocity'' and "cruelty'' of Russian troops in Ukraine, said he hopes to visit Moscow and Kyiv after his trip to Canada July 24-30.

Putin declares victory in Luhansk province, orders rest for troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the battle for Ukraine's Luhansk province Monday and ordered rest for his troops before pushing on in the Kremlin's quest to take control of the entire Donbas industrial region.

"Military units that took part in active hostilities and achieved success and victory should rest, increase their combat capabilities,” Putin said on state TV.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported that Russian forces had taken control of Lysychansk, the last disputed major city in Luhansk. Earlier, Ukraine's military said it was forced to withdraw in the face of Russia's advantage in artillery, aviation, ammunition and personnel. Continuing to hold out would lead to "fatal consequences" for its troops, the military said in a Facebook post.

"We just gotta keep on fighting," the post said. "Unfortunately, steel will and patriotism are not enough for success. Material and technical resources are needed."

War continues to have a 'devastating impact' on Ukraine's agricultural exports

Despite Russia's claims to the contrary, its invasion is still having "a devastating impact on Ukraine's agricultural sector,'' the British Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence assessment.

The ministry said the Russian blockade of the key port of Odesa in the Black Sea is severely limiting Ukraine's ability to export grain while harvest has begun. In addition, the war has disrupted the supply chain of seeds and fertilizer farmers use.

That combination will most likely shrink Ukraine's agricultural exports this year to 35% or less of what they were in 2021, the ministry said, pointing out that drastic reduction from a major wheat producer is contributing to the global food crisis.

Russian military lacks 'accurate modern weapons'

Russia's increasing use of outdated weaponry in a number of deadly attacks may be evidence its military lacks more precise modern weapons, military analysts say.

Russian bombers have been using 1960s-era KH-class missiles, which were primarily designed to target aircraft carriers using a nuclear warhead and are not able to accurately strike ground targets, officials say. The weapons were used in two attacks on a shopping center and apartment building last week, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties.

“Russia continues to employ air-launched anti-ship missiles in a secondary land-attack role, likely because of dwindling stockpiles of more accurate modern weapons,” the British defense ministry said on Twitter.

Both Russia and Ukraine have expended large amounts of weaponry in a grinding war of attrition for the eastern Donbas region. President Joe Biden said last month the U.S. would provide Ukraine longer-range precision rockets, but it's not clear yet how much difference they'll make.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Highland Park shooting, Ukraine, Wimbledon: 5 things to know ...

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USA TODAY

Person of interest in custody after shooting in Chicago suburb leaves at least six dead

A person of interest is in custody Tuesday after a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on a Fourth of July parade in a suburb of Chicago, killing at least six people and wounding at least 30. Authorities spent hours Monday searching for the person of interest – Robert E. Crimo III – and arrested him before 7 p.m. local time following a short pursuit about five miles away from the shooting in Highland Park. No charges were announced. Authorities initially said Crimo was 22, but an FBI bulletin and Crimo’s social media said he was 21. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said a "significant amount of digital evidence" helped lead investigators to Crimo.Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people killed at the parade were adults but didn't have information on the sixth victim, who died at a hospital. Their identities were not released by local authorities. One of those killed was a Mexican national, Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s director for North American affairs, said on Twitter Monday. He said two other Mexicans were wounded.

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Hearing scheduled for lawsuit filed to stop Mississippi abortion 'trigger law'

A hearing for a lawsuit filed to prevent Mississippi from enforcing its abortion trigger law is scheduled for Tuesday morning, according to Rob McDuff, of the Mississippi Center for Justice. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state’s last abortion provider, filed the lawsuit arguing Mississippians have a state constitutional right to an abortion that was confirmed by a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that held the “right to privacy includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion," according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. Mississippi's Republican attorney general published notice that the state’s trigger law would take effect in 10 days after the Supreme Court ended constitutional abortion protections. Under the trigger law, any person who knowingly performs or attempts to induce an abortion, except the pregnant woman, could be punished by up to 10 years in prison.

Estimated cost of rebuilding Ukraine after war sits at $750 billion

The cost of rebuilding battered Ukraine after the war continues to climb, and is estimated at a staggering $750 billion. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland that a global effort will be needed for restoration. "The reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project, is not a project of one nation, but a common task of the entire democratic world — all countries, all countries who can say they are civilized," Zelenskyy said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal provided the $750 billion figure and presented a recovery plan for immediate and long-term needs. Shmyhal also said a large source of funding "should be the confiscated assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs," which he said may currently amount to between $300 billion and $500 billion.

Costco ends an exception that gave New Jersey residents a break on gas

Costco is restricting gasoline sales to club members at its locations in New Jersey Tuesday, as it does everywhere else in the country. In 2004, Costco and other warehouse clubs were told restricting gasoline sales to members would violate New Jersey state law after the retailer posted signs at pumps requiring drivers to present a membership card. The membership-card requirement was ultimately abandoned. But after Costco announced its change to gas sales in the state, Steven Barnes, director of communications for the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General said "the practice of offering members-only gasoline sales does not violate any of New Jersey's consumer protection laws." The attorney general's office in its recent statement did not explain how it came to a different conclusion in 2004.

Wimbledon quarterfinals begin

Singles quarterfinal matches at Wimbledon begin Tuesday morning for viewers in the United States, when two unseeded German players, Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier, face off at 8 a.m. ET in the women's singles tournament. Maria will look to advance again following three consecutive wins over seeded opponents: Sorana Cirstea, Maria Sakkari and Jelena Ostapenko. In the other women's singles match, third-seeded Ons Jabeur takes on Marie Bouzkova at 10:30 a.m. ET. In the men's bracket, top seed Novak Djokovic is in action, and will face No. 10 seed Jannik Sinner, who pulled off an upset against fifth-seeded Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round. Djokovic heads into the quarterfinals after winning in four sets over Tim van Rijthoven. In the second men's singles match of the day, No. 9 seed Cameron Norrie will go up against David Goffin at 9:30 a.m. ET. In his round of 16 match, Goffin unseated American Frances Tiafoe, who was the No. 26 seed in the tournament.

Does Vladimir Putin still have an endgame in Ukraine?

The next few weeks in Ukraine are pivotal, according to a Pentagon official.

Russia will “have some real decisions to make” if their new offensive doesn’t succeed.

But if Russian takeover of parts of eastern Ukraine could give Russian President Vladimir Putin the victory he desperately needs.

As the United States and its allies rush more cannons, tanks and ammunition to Ukraine, Russia’s diminished military is looking for victories to justify the huge cost of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Putin hopes to gain in eastern Ukraine and parts of the Black Sea coastline. If successful, he could claim he met an initial objective of securing the Donbas area contested by Ukrainians and Russian-backed separatists since 2014.


Medal of Freedom: Biden honors 17 people - CNNPolitics

(CNN) President Joe Biden on Thursday awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 Americans, including Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, soccer star Megan Rapinoe and Gold Star father Khizr Khan.

The 17 individuals are the first people Biden has awarded the nation's highest civilian honor since taking office. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff attended the ceremony at the White House as well.

"The Fourth of July week reminds us what brought us together long ago, and still binds us -- binds us at our best, what we strive for. We the people, doing what we can to ensure that the idea of America, the cause of freedom, shines like the sun to light up the future of the world," Biden said in his opening remarks. "That's the soul of our nation. That's who we are as Americans."

The medal is "presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors," the White House said.

The President awarded the medal posthumously to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, former Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

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Biden awards Medal of Freedom to Denzel Washington, Simone ...

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden presented the Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest honor – to 17 people Thursday, including actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles and former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The president also presented the award posthumously to Sen. John McCain, Apple founder Steve Jobs and Richard Trumka, who was president of the AFL-CIO.

In a ceremony in the White House East Room, Biden called the recipients "extraordinary Americans."

"This is America," he said, pointing to the recipients seated behind him on the stage.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was established under former President John F. Kennedy, is one of the highest awards a civilian can receive.

Biden received the award in January 2017 from former President Barack Obama – one week before the two left office. He was presented the award for his public service as a U.S. senator and vice president.

More:President Biden speaks to wife of Brittney Griner, drafts letter to send WNBA star detained in Russia

The award is presented “to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” according to the White House.

“President Biden has long said that America can be defined by one word: possibilities,” the White House said in a statement last week announcing the recipients. “These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith.”

Here are the recipients:

Simone Biles

Biles is the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history, winning 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. The gymnast is also an outspoken advocate on issues that are personal to her, including athletes' mental health, children in foster care and sexual assault victims.

"Everyone stops everything every time she is on camera just to watch," Biden said.

Denzel Washington

Washington is an actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, he has served as the national spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.

Washington, whom Biden called "one of our greatest actors in American history," has COVID and was unable to attend the ceremony. Biden said he would present the medal to Washington at a later date, "when he's able to get here."

John McCain

McCain, who died of brain cancer in 2018, served for decades in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008. McCain, who spent more than five years in captivity in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Navy, was awarded a Purple Heart with one gold star for his service. Biden has called McCain a "dear friend" and "a hero."

McCain’s widow, Cindy, who accepted the medal on his behalf, wept as Biden reminisced about his long friendship and working relationship with the Arizona Republican, even though they belonged to different parties.

"We agreed on a lot more than we disagreed on," Biden said. "We both wanted to make things better for the country."

Exclusive:Email shows Biden was set to nominate anti-abortion GOP judge on day of Supreme Court Roe ruling

Steve Jobs

Jobs, who died in 2011, was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company.

Gabrielle Giffords

Giffords, a former congresswoman from Arizona, is a survivor of gun violence and co-founder of Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun violence prevention.

Biden described Giffords as the embodiment of "a significant American trait: Never give up" and said she is proof that Americans "will not grow numb to the epidemic of gun violence in this nation."

Megan Rapinoe

Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ rights.

In addition to her success on the soccer field, Biden said called Rapinoe "a champion for essential American truth" and the belief that "everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect."

Khizr Khan

Khan, an immigrant from Pakistan, is a Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center. His son, who was an Army officer, was killed in Iraq. Khan gained national prominence after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and became a target of Donald Trump's wrath.

'Who is that guy?':Joe Biden, Jen Psaki joke with James Corden during White House visit

Richard Trumka

Trumka, who died in August 2021, was president of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade, president of the United Mine Workers, and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. Throughout his career, he was an outspoken advocate for social and economic justice.

Fred Gray

Gray was one of the first black members of the Alabama Legislature since Reconstruction. He was a prominent attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, who called him “the chief counsel for the protest movement.”

Sandra Lindsay

Lindsay, a New York critical care nurse, was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside clinical trials. She served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Sister Simone Campbell

Campbell is a member of the Sisters of Social Service and former Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is also a prominent advocate for economic justice, immigration reform, and healthcare policy.

Juliet García

García is the former president of The University of Texas at Brownsville. She was the first Latina woman to serve as a college president.

Alexander Karloutsos

Karloutsos is the former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After over 50 years as a priest, providing counsel to several U.S. presidents, he was named by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

'We need to end this horror':Vice President Harris visits site of shooting in Highland Park, Ill.

Diane Nash

Nash is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century. She worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr., who described her as the “driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters.”

Her activism "echoes a call of freedom around the world today," Biden said.

Alan Simpson

Simpson served as a U.S. senator from Wyoming for 18 years. During his public service, he has been a prominent advocate on issues including campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality.

Biden called Simpson "one of the finest men I've ever worked with" and said that, even though they didn't always agree, Simpson "has always believed in the common good and what's best for the nation."

Wilma Vaught

Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught is one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military, repeatedly breaking gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. She was one of only seven women generals in the Armed Forces when she retired in 1985.

Raúl Yzaguirre

Yzaguirre is a civil rights advocate who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza – now known as UnidosUS – for 30 years. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Obama.

Contributing: Michael Collins, USA TODAY; Associated Press

More:Woody Williams, last World War II Medal of Honor recipient, to lie in honor at US Capitol

Medal of Freedom: Biden to honor 17 people | CNN Politics

Medal of Freedom: Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, Gabby Giffords ...

(CNN) President Joe Biden will award the Medal of Freedom -- the nation's highest civilian honor -- to 17 recipients next week, with his first slate of honorees since taking office featuring Olympians, an Academy Award winner, the first American to receive the Covid-19 vaccine outside of trials, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and civil rights advocates.

Biden will bestow the medal to several posthumous honorees, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

The list includes Olympic athletes Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe , the fifth and sixth female athletes to be honored for the award. Rapinoe will be the first female soccer player to receive the medal.

According to a statement from US Soccer, Rapinoe, the US Women's National Team forward and an advocate for equal pay, found out last week when Biden called her between practice sessions in Denver. When she saw "The White House" pop up on her phone screen, she thought she was either getting a robocall or being pranked by her teammates.

"In that moment I spoke to the President, I was, and still am, totally overwhelmed," Rapinoe said in a statement, adding that she is thinking of "all the people who I feel deserve a part of this medal."

"I am humbled and truly honored to be chosen for this award by President Biden and feel as inspired and motivated as ever to continue this long history of fighting for the freedoms of all people. To quote Emma Lazarus, 'Until we are all free, we are none of us free,'" she added.

Biden's list of awardees also includes religious clergy and social justice advocates, including: Sister Simone Campbell, who previously led the Catholic social justice organization NETWORK; Father Alexander Karloutsos, a priest who has provided counsel to several US presidents; Fred Gray, one of the first Black members of the Alabama State legislature since Reconstruction; Diane Nash, a civil rights organizer; and Raul Yzaguirre, a civil rights advocate and former US ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington will also receive the award.

Giffords, who became an advocate for gun violence prevention after she was shot in an assassination attempt in 2011, said in a statement that she's "humbled and honored" to receive the medal.

"Since I was shot more than 11 years ago, my personal recovery journey has taught me that it's not the setback that defines us: it's how we respond to it. There have been no shortage of setbacks as I relearned how to talk and how to walk, just as there have been no shortage of setbacks in the fight for gun safety that I've dedicated my life to. And yet I've never lost hope," she said. "One of my reasons for hope sits inside the Oval Office today, elected to accomplish the near-impossible task of healing a divided nation."

Other recipients include Dr. Juliet Garcia -- the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president, Gold Star father Khizr Khan Sandra Lindsay -- a New York nurse who was the first American to receive a Covid-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, and Brigadier General Wilma Vaught -- one of the most decorated women in the history of the US military.

The honorees have a variety of connections to Democrats and Biden world.

Laurene Powell Jobs, the founder of Emerson Collective and Steve Jobs' widow, donated more than $700,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in 2020.

McCain's widow, Cindy McCain, was appointed by Biden to serve as the US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. Biden appointed Khan to serve on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom last year. And Garcia served on the Clinton and Obama transition teams for education.

Giffords and the Giffords PAC endorsed Biden in 2020. And Trumka's AFL-CIO endorsed Biden, too, with the late union leader saying just after the 2020 election that Biden's "path to the White House ran through America's labor movement."

Biden's called Sister Campbell a friend and Father Karloutsos has called the President "his closest friend."

Simpson was a peer of Biden's on the Senate Judiciary Committee, supporting the then-senator as he attempted to salvage his 1988 presidential campaign following a plagiarism scandal.

According to the White House, Biden will present the awards on July 7 at the White House.

Medal of Freedom recipients: Denzel Washington, Simone Biles, more

Darlene Superville

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will present the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 17 people, including actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles and the late John McCain, the Arizona Republican with whom Biden served in the U.S. Senate, the White House announced Friday.

Washington is a double Oscar-winning actor, director and producer. He also has a Tony award, two Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a longtime spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Biden's honors list includes both living and deceased honorees from the worlds of Hollywood, sports, politics, the military, academia, and civil rights and social justice advocacy.

The Democratic president will present the medals at the White House on July 7.

Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington:Read USA TODAY's rare joint interview with the Hollywood icons

Other Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

Simone Biles: Biles is the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history, winning 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. She is an outspoken advocate on issues that are very personal to her, including athletes' mental health, children in foster care and sexual assault victims.

More medals:Olympians Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe will receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

Sandra Lindsay: The New York City nurse who rolled up her sleeve on live television in December 2020 to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose that was pumped into an arm in the United States. Lindsay became an advocate for COVID-19 vaccinations.

John McCain: McCain, who died of brain cancer in 2018, spent more than five years in captivity in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Navy. He later represented Arizona in both houses of Congress and was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008. Biden said McCain was a "dear friend" and "a hero."

Sister Simone Campbell: Campbell is a member of the Sister of Social Service and a former executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is an advocate for economic justice, overhauling the U.S. immigration system and health care policy.

Julieta Garcia: A former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Garcia was the first Latina to become a college president, the White House said. She was named one of the nation's best college presidents by Time magazine.

Gabrielle Giffords: A former U.S. House member from Arizona, the Democrat founded Giffords, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence. She was shot in the head in January 2011 during a constituent event in Tucson and was gravely wounded.

Fred Gray: Gray was one of the first Black members of the Alabama Legislature after Reconstruction. He was a prominent civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr.

Steve Jobs: Jobs was the co-founder, chief executive and chair of Apple Inc. He died in 2011.

Father Alexander Karloutsos: Karloutsos is the assistant to Archbishop Demetrios of America. The White House said Karloutsos has counseled several U.S. presidents.

Khizr Khan: An immigrant from Pakistan, Khan's Army officer son was killed in Iraq. Khan gained national prominence, and became a target of Donald Trump's wrath, after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Diane Nash: A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Nash organized some of the most important 20th century civil rights campaigns and worked with King.

Megan Rapinoe: The Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup soccer champion captains the OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights who has appeared at Biden's White House.

Alan Simpson: The retired U.S. senator from Wyoming served with Biden and has been a prominent advocate for campaign finance reform, responsible governance and marriage equality.

Richard Trumka: Trumka had been president of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade at the time of his August 2021 death. He was a past president of the United Mine Workers.

Wilma Vaught: A brigadier general, Vaught is one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history, breaking gender barriers as she has risen through the ranks. When Vaught retired in 1985, she was one of only seven female generals in the Armed Forces.

Raúl Yzaguirre: A civil rights advocate, Yzaguirre was president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years. He served as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Obama.

Biden received a Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama

Biden himself is a medal recipient. President Barack Obama honored Biden's public service as a longtime U.S. senator and vice president by awarding him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017, a week before they left office.

More:Obama surprises a choked-up Biden with Medal of Freedom

What is the Presidential Medal of Freedom?

The honorees who'll receive medals from Biden "have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities, and across the world, while blazing trails for generations to come," the White House said.

The honor is reserved for people who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal public or private endeavors, the White House said.

At Des Moines rally, Trump praises foreign leaders, bashes Biden

President Donald Trump praised the mental acuity of the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea at a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday evening, arguing that his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, is not as smart.

"President Xi of China, he’s 100%. Putin of Russia, 100%. … Kim Jong Un of North Korea, 100%," Trump said. "These people are sharp, and they’re smart. Joe has lost it. In his best days he wasn’t a smart man, and everybody knows it."

Trump returned to Iowa with early voting already underway and with polls suggesting a far closer contest here than the one he faced in 2016.

As he began speaking, Trump turned almost immediately to his place in the polls. He cited a poll released Wednesday by Focus on Rural America that showed him leading Biden in Iowa by 6 percentage points, 50% to 44%.

“For me to only be up six, I'm a little bit concerned, I'll tell you that,” he said. “Because nobody's going to do for Iowa what I did for Iowa.”

"I saved ethanol. Ethanol is safe," Trump said, promising Iowa's farmers and biofuels industry that he is the only one who will deliver for them.

The Focus on Rural America poll of 200 likely Iowa voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 6.9 percentage points and paints a rosier picture for the president than other recent polling.

A September Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed Trump and Biden tied at 47% — a number that is relatively unchanged from June, when Trump led by just 1 percentage point.

Trump said he was “thrilled to be back in the American heartland with thousands of loyal hardworking Iowa patriots.”

MORE COVERAGE OF TRUMP IN IOWA

Attendees arrived to the airport in cars bedecked with "Make America Great Again" flags, and they sported "Trump Pence 2020" campaign gear as they trekked across the airport's parking lots and open fields to reach the airport hangar where Trump was set to speak.

"Eye of the Tiger" played over the loudspeakers as Air Force One rolled up to the rally site and the crowd of onlookers cheered and snapped photos.

The president’s reelection efforts come at an extraordinary and volatile moment in American history. This year has been marked by the president's impeachment, nationwide protests over racism and policing, a global pandemic, a bitter dispute over the nation's next U.S. Supreme Court justice and concerns over an election that is being conducted by mail to an unprecedented degree.

Biden has campaigned on the argument that he can help restore calm and order to a chaotic world.

"Iowans whose lives have been thrown into chaos need real leadership — not more division," he said in a statement provided to the Des Moines Register on Wednesday. "... We’re better than this moment under President Trump — and as president, I will bring this country together so that we can build back better."

More:Joe Biden: Trump is traveling to Iowa to 'distract from his record of failure' on coronavirus

Biden last physically campaigned in the state in February ahead of the Iowa Democratic caucuses. He finished in fourth place.

'Didn't love it,' Trump says of bout with coronavirus

The president's Des Moines rally was the last on a three-day campaign swing of battleground states — his first campaign events since testing positive for the coronavirus earlier this month.

Trump was helicoptered to Walter Reed medical center Oct. 3 after he developed a fever and cough, and his oxygen level dropped. He spent three nights in the hospital, where doctors gave him several medications, including an experimental antibody treatment that is not widely available.

"Didn't love it," Trump said sharply. "It's a little tough when you have a temperature, you don't feel good. And the scary part is, you know, where does it go? ... You see what happens to people."

More than 215,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, including more than 1,500 Iowans.

First lady Melania Trump confirmed publicly earlier Wednesday that Trump's youngest son, Barron, 14, had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since tested negative.

Trump claimed that “99.9%” of children do fine if they catch the coronavirus, and he argued schools should be reopened.

“He had it for such a short period of time, I don’t even think he knew he had it," Trump said of his son. "Because they’re young, and their immune systems are strong and they fight it off — 99.9%. And Barron is beautiful and he’s free, free."

Trump also suggested again that he is immune from the virus. He invited legendary Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable to join him onstage, saying he intended to soon present Gable with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"Hey, Dan, I’m immune and I can’t give it to you," he said, urging Gable to come close to him on the stage. Neither man wore a mask.

Gable kept a short distance from Trump and used a handheld microphone, rather than the one Trump had been using at a lectern.

Public health experts and others warned that the president's rally had the potential to become a "super-spreader" event for the coronavirus.

Trump's doctor said this week that he is no longer a threat to transmit the virus to others. But experts worry that people who attended the rally and were close to one another could share the virus among themselves.

Several thousand attendees gathered closely together to cheer on the president Wednesday in disregard of state and federal guidance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Chairs had been set up less than 6 feet apart, and attendees filled bleachers.

Trump campaign officials said rally-goers would have their temperatures checked and would be given masks that they were encouraged to wear, although many in the crowd were not masked. To obtain tickets, attendees had to agree to a liability waiver acknowledging the risk of catching the virus.

Trump's White House Coronavirus Task Force has said central Iowa social gatherings should be limited to 25 people.

"If anyone in attendance is infectious, we are potentially looking at another super-spreader event," Lina Tucker Reinders, executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association, wrote in an email to the Des Moines Register on Tuesday. "We again today set a record high for hospitalizations. We need to be focusing on bringing those numbers down and controlling the spread, not enabling large events, political or otherwise."

The Rural America 2020 campaign put up a digital billboard outside of the Des Moines airport that reads "Trump COVID superspreader event," with an arrow pointing toward the event setup.

Full coverage:Everything you need to know about Trump's event

More:White House experts advise against Des Moines gatherings of more than 25. Trump planned a rally in Des Moines for 10,000.

"It's a virus. Everybody's going to get it," said Jane Finch, a 54-year-old Jefferson resident who arrived at the rally with her daughter, Emily. "It's not like he's Superman. He was going to get it sometime, with as many people that surround him from day to day. He's trying to be a president that's being seen. He's proof that you will survive through it. And I think that he wants to take the fear out of the American public that has been given to them through the media."

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, had encouraged Iowans to attend the rally on Twitter earlier in the week, even though she has issued a proclamation that organizers for social gatherings "must ensure at least six feet of physical distance between each group or individual attending alone."

Reynolds attended the rally and spoke before the president arrived, tossing red, white and camouflage MAGA hats into the crowd.

“The momentum, the enthusiasm, the energy is on our side," she said. "Don’t believe the polls, don’t believe what the media is telling you. Up and down the ticket, people are fired up for Republican victories on November 3rd.”

Trump seizes on unverified Hunter Biden claims

At the start of his speech, Trump seized on unverified claims published Wednesday in an article by the New York Post. The article claimed that a “smoking gun email” showed that while he was vice president, Joe Biden was introduced to an adviser to the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma by his son Hunter, who served with the company. However, the substance and sourcing of the Post story remain suspect.

Biden’s campaign said Wednesday that Biden’s schedules show he didn’t meet with the adviser.

The New York Post claims to have learned about the hard drive containing the email and other files from former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. The tabloid claims to have received a copy of the files from Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who said he received the files from a Delaware repair shop owner who said the laptop was left for repairs but never returned.

Officials at Facebook and Twitter both took steps to limit the spread of the story on their social media platforms Wednesday. Andy Stone, a Facebook spokesman, said the platform is waiting for its third-party fact checkers to fact-check the article.

More:As Donald Trump heads to Iowa, what does the Iowa Poll say Iowans are thinking about him?

Trump has repeatedly gone after Hunter Biden for his work on the board of the company, including claiming that Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor as a way to stop an investigation into the company. But inquiries into the matter, including during Trump’s impeachment proceedings and an investigation by Senate Republicans, have found no evidence that Joe Biden committed wrongdoing.

Trump made other suspect claims about Hunter Biden during the first presidential debate, including that Hunter had received $3.5 million from the wife of Moscow’s ex-mayor. Both USA Today and Politifact have rated that accusation as unproven because it comes from a Senate committee report that links the source of the claim to a confidential document and provides little elaboration.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

Support reporters who follow your government by becoming a subscriber. Sign up at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.

Jonathan Karl: Journalists from multiple news outlets test positive for ...

New York (CNN Business) A version of this article first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.

Trevor Noah joked about the event becoming a superspreader — and now the cases are rolling in. The annual White House Correspondents Dinner, along with the festivities held in the days before and after it, have led to the inevitable spread of Covid.

In the days since WHCD weekend, reporters and staffers from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Politico, and other participating news organizations have tested positive for the virus. Most notably, ABC's Jon Karl, who shook hands with President Biden and who sat next to Kim Kardashian , has fallen ill, as Politico's Maxwell Tani first reported

There is no exact data to indicate precisely how many people have caught the virus from the weekend. But, anecdotally speaking, much of Tuesday afternoon seemed to consist of attendees trading text messages and emails about colleagues and friends and people they had seen who had tested positive. That's almost certainly going to continue in the days ahead...

What the WHCA is saying

Read More

JCPS tax increase likely on November ballot after Louisville petition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A petition to put a tax increase for local schools on the November ballot has enough valid signatures to force a vote, officials said Monday.

Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw said her office confirmed the petition received 38,507 valid signatures, nearly 3,000 more than needed to place it on the ballot.

Even with sufficient signatures, the effort's future is not yet certain. Jefferson County Public Schools has 10 days to appeal.

"We will be reviewing their findings," JCPS spokeswoman Renee Murphy said.

A group of teachers and community members that has been calling petition signees to verify signatures are finding several petitioners who say they didn't sign the petition and want their names removed.

Emilie McKiernan Blanton, a JCPS teacher and leader in the local teachers union, estimated that about one-fifth of people who have been reached by phone have asked for their signatures to be withdrawn.

The effort is not officially tied to the union, she said. Murphy said the district did not organize the coalition, either, but was aware of the effort.

Top headlines:Beshear recommends virtual learning for schools until Sept. 28

Theresa Camoriano, an Anchorage resident and Louisville Tea Party leader who spearheaded the petition, said several people who signed the petition have reported receiving calls asking them to confirm their signatures.

Camoriano did not provide further details regarding the phone calls she said began last week.

"There is no legitimate reason for teachers to be making these calls. We are telling people that they have no obligation to answer any questions these people may ask," Camoriano said.

But Blanton said the petition had "no safeguards to assure that no one else entered your name without your knowledge and consent."

The only way to confirm signatures is to call and ask, she said.

The months leading to the November election are guaranteed to feature a public battle between those in favor of the tax increase and those against it. JCPS already signed a $575,000 contract with a Danville-based public relations firm to pitch the increase to voters.

The petition against the tax increase was created in May, soon after JCPS board members, in a 5-2 vote, approved a 7-cent property tax increase. The hike represents roughly an extra $70 a year for a $100,000 home.

Under state law, Kentucky school boards can raise property taxes enough to boost revenue by 4% without being subject to a recall. The JCPS proposal would raise district revenue past that cap.

JCPS board approves tax increase:Here's what leaders say it would fund

The group behind the petition, dubbed "No JCPS Tax Hike," said in July that it had turned in 40,320 signatures.

But a review of the more than 1,100-page petition, obtained by The Courier Journal under the state's open records law, showed that staff from the county clerk's office were discarding up to a dozen signatures per page.

A review of the petition signatures turned up the names of several current and past Republican lawmakers, including ex-state Rep. Phil Moffett and current state House members Kevin Bratcher and Jerry Miller.

Bratcher told The Courier Journal that he has "a great deal of respect" for JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio but that asking for a tax hike during a pandemic that has caused widespread unemployment was "tone deaf."

"I just think it's a horrible time to be trying to raise taxes," Bratcher said.

Rhonda Palazzo, a Republican who is vying to unseat U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth in November's election, also confirmed that she signed the petition.

At least one JCPS board member — Linda Duncan — signed as well. Duncan, along with Chris Brady, voted against the tax increase in May, citing the economic impact of COVID-19.

As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, JCPS estimates it will lose about $23 million locally from a drop in occupational tax revenue.

But Pollio and other district leaders said helping children during the pandemic and economic downturn was necessary now more than ever.

"I know it's a difficult time, and I know this is a challenge," Pollio said in May. "But I don't believe our district can wait."

Pollio:JCPS has completed its corrective action goals to potentially avoid takeover

The current JCPS property tax rate, 73.6 cents for $100 of assessed value, is among the lowest in the area.

An increase to 80.6 cents would bring it closer to peer districts, including Fayette County Public Schools, that serve large groups of disadvantaged students living in poverty.

JCPS officials have said the new revenue would largely go to building and renovating schools, and to providing more supports for the district's most disadvantaged students.

The district has also pointed to its proposal for a new student assignment model that would allow West End students to go to a school closer to home.

To make that possible, JCPS said it would need millions to both build new schools in the West End and provide resources for the students who attend them.

Camoriano and other tax hike opponents argued that JCPS should better manage its existing funds and not raise taxes during a pandemic.

JCPS, the state's largest school district, has a roughly $1.65 billion budget.

In the petition period, libertarian advocacy groups, including the Bluegrass Institute and Americans for Prosperity, supported the effort.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, who lives in Jefferson County, also encouraged voters to sign the petition.

"Democracy wins again," Adams tweeted from his personal account after news broke that the petition received enough signatures.

Support for the petition even came from one of the most vocal pro-public school groups, Dear JCPS, which said the district needs more time to figure out budget priorities in the wake of the pandemic and racial justice protests.

The group turned in 32 signatures that weren't counted because they didn't come from the official petition committee tied to the No JCPS Tax Hike group, the county clerk said.

See also:Here's how JCPS families can request a Chromebook and Wi-Fi hot spot

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com. Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4471 or on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.

Give these men a medal: Our view

The Editorial Board, USA TODAY

Barack Obama has been getting quite a bit of unsolicited advice in recent days as his presidency approaches its conclusion.

Some people say he should grant clemency to thousands of drug offenders or give a blanket pardon to “dreamers,” young undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them here when they were children.

Others say he should have used the recent congressional recess to appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court after the Senate failed to fulfill its constitutional obligations of advice and consent.

Allow us to join the chorus with a recommendation that may be a bit less controversial or consequential, but is vital in setting the historical record straight.

Obama should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom not just to Vice President Biden, as he did last week, but also to the people most responsible for preventing the world from falling into depression during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

The three most important are Ben Bernanke, who served as Federal Reserve chairman under both George W. Bush and Obama; Tim Geithner, the New York Fed president beginning in 2003 and then Treasury secretary in the early years of the Obama administration; and Hank Paulson, Bush’s final Treasury secretary.

None of them did a very good job of anticipating the financial crisis. But when the global banking system was close to collapse, they acted heroically. They arranged mergers for faltering banks, lent money to corporations, and extended deposit insurance to stop bank runs. And yes, they helped sell Congress on a controversial bank “bailout” bill that generated much blowback and mindless demonization.

If that bill constituted a bailout, there needs to be a new definition of bailout. It not only helped save the American banking system, it also produced a $15.3 billion profit for taxpayers. Including other “bailouts,” undertaken separate from that legislation (for such institutions as insurance giant AIG and the mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) the total profit to taxpayers was $85.6 billion.

Even more profits flowed when Bernanke initiated a much derided program of buying mortgages and U.S. government debt. From 2010 to 2015, the Fed remitted to the Treasury $517.3 billion in profits. That’s at least $300 billion more than the Fed would remit under normal circumstances.

The biggest windfall, however, was that the world avoided another Great Depression.

Despite the slow and uneven recovery from the financial meltdown, economic historians will undoubtedly recognize Bernanke, Geithner and Paulson for their important leadership roles at moments of crisis. Why not start the process now?

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

To read more editorials, go to the Opinion front page or sign up for the daily Opinion email newsletter. To respond to this editorial, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns after recent scandals

Happy Thursday, OnPolitics readers!

President Joe Biden presented the Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest honor—to 17 people Thursday, including actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles and former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The president also presented the award posthumously to Sen. John McCain, Apple founder Steve Jobs and Richard Trumka, who was president of the AFL-CIO. Other recipients include Fred Gray, a prominent attorney who represented Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, and Sandra Lindsay, a New York critical care nurse, was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside clinical trials.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was established under former President John F. Kennedy, is one of the highest awards a civilian can receive.

"This is America," Biden said, pointing to the recipients seated behind him on the stage.

It's Amy with today's top stories.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns following multiple scandals

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Thursday that he would resign, ending an unprecedented political crisis that has roiled the United Kingdom.

"It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister," Johnson said outside his office at 10 Downing St. in London.

Johnson said the process to select his successor would begin immediately and a timetable for the change in leadership would be announced next week.

He said it was "painful" for him to leave office but conceded he had failed to push back against an onslaught of opposition from his own party ministers urging him to resign.

Johnson’s departure will end his three-year turn as Britain's leader. Days of turmoil were triggered by his evolving explanations of what he knew about a sexual misconduct scandal involving one of his allies. Two of Johnson's top Cabinet ministers quit this week, followed by more than 30 others who said they could no longer serve under his leadership and who urged him to step down.

Who will take over? While there is no clear frontrunner for the U.K's top job, several people already have emerged as possible successors to Johnson, such as the British Defense Secretary and certain members of Parliament.

Real Quick: stories you'll want to read

Why are mass shooters getting younger? Experts say pressures on youth have been amplified over the past decade by internet and social media platforms, where bullying and aggressive marketing of hateful ideologies—and weapons—is rampant.

Experts say pressures on youth have been amplified over the past decade by internet and social media platforms, where bullying and aggressive marketing of hateful ideologies—and weapons—is rampant. DOJ sues Arizona over election law : The U.S. Department of Justice is the latest to object to a new Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship for people who are registered to vote only in presidential elections.

: The U.S. Department of Justice is the latest to object to a new Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship for people who are registered to vote only in presidential elections. Trump could announce 2024 run this summer : Donald Trump's prospective campaign to reclaim the presidency in 2024 faces legal and political jeopardy, but allies said some potential roadblocks—including the threat of prosecution— actually motivate him to run.

: Donald Trump's prospective campaign to reclaim the presidency in 2024 faces legal and political jeopardy, but allies said some potential roadblocks—including the threat of prosecution— actually motivate him to run. When's the next Jan. 6 hearing? The seventh Jan. 6 committee hearing will take place July 12 at 10 a.m. EST. Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told Face the Nation that the next hearing's topic will be "the efforts to assemble" the Jan. 6 mob.

Georgia prosecutors want to talk to Giuliani, Graham and other Trump allies

Shot: Last month's House Jan. 6 committee hearing focused on the pressure Trump applied to state officials to overturn 2020 election results.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, top aide Gabriel Sterling along with election workers Shaye Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman outlined an extensive pressure campaign led by Trump and his allies, all aimed at seeking to flip the state’s election result in the former president’s favor.

Chaser: A special Fulton County grand jury investigating interference in the 2020 election issued subpoenas to some of Trump’s closest legal and political allies who allegedly led the effort to subvert the Georgia vote. Testimony is scheduled as early as Tuesday.

In court documents, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the wide-ranging criminal inquiry, offered a preview of what investigators are expected to seek from the most high-profile witnesses yet to be called in the Georgia inquiry.

Who was subpoenaed? Lawyers working with Trump's 2020 campaign: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell and Jenna Ellis; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and lawyer and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason.

What roles did they play? Some of the witnesses pursued claims of election fraud, which state officials debunked. Others developed a national strategy to reject 2020 electors from states President Joe Biden won, including Georgia, in order to overturn the election in Trump's favor.

Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter celebrate 76 years of marriage today. Take a look at their marriage over the years in these photos. -- Amy