News Wrap: At least 45 killed by flooding in western Kenya

In our news wrap Monday, at least 45 people died in flash floods in western Kenya, Ukraine appealed for quick delivery of Western weapons as it gave more ground in the east, weekend tornadoes in Oklahomas killed four people and injured at least a hundred and the FDA will begin regulating new medical tests developed by labs to see if they work.

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Geoff Bennett: Ukraine appealed for quick delivery of Western weapons as it gave more ground in the east. The army chief said Sunday that Ukrainian troops pulled back from three villages, lacking air defenses under heavy Russian fire.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with NATO head Jens Stoltenberg and warned that a new U.S. aid package and other weapons can’t come soon enough.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through interpreter): The Russian army is now trying to take advantage of a situation when we are waiting for supplies from our partners, especially from the United States. And that is exactly why the speed of deliveries means stabilizing the front. Russia’s army is preparing for further offensive actions.

Geoff Bennett: For his part, NATO’s Stoltenberg criticized alliance members for not delivering what they have promised to Ukraine.

In Western Kenya, at least 45 people died in flash floods early today after torrential rain across the region. More than 100 people were injured, and scores more were missing. Floodwaters in the Great Rift Valley region coated the area in mud, wiping out homes and uprooting trees. Heavy rain has inundated the area since mid-March.

Weeks of record heat are hitting extremes across Asia. Temperatures have soared to nearly 117 degrees in Myanmar and 111 in Thailand. And Cambodia has had its hottest weather in 170 years. Today, in the Philippines, authorities canceled in-person classes for millions of public school students, and rickshaw operators in Bangladesh braved the sweltering temperatures, taking breaks to rest between jobs.

Shaheb Ali, Rickshaw Driver (through interpreter): I have never experienced such heat in my life. Yes, it should be hot, but there would usually be gusts of wind and rain, but it’s not happening this time. People are suffering a lot.

Geoff Bennett: In neighboring India, officials are predicting more heat wave days than normal until June, when the monsoon season sets in.

In Oklahoma, an extensive cleanup is under way after weekend tornadoes killed four people and injured at least 100. The storms spread destruction across the small town of Sulphur south of Oklahoma City. Entire commercial blocks crumbled in homes were blasted into piles of bricks and wooden beams.

A federal trial started today in Hawaii over the leak of jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s groundwater. The contamination came from an underground U.S. military fuel tank and put thousands of people at risk. Three lawsuits by military families argue Navy officials knew the water was tainted, but told people it was safe. The government disputes whether it really caused health problems.

The FDA will start regulating new medical tests developed by labs to see if they actually work. The final rule announced today applies to tests for everything from cancer to COVID-19. It does not include existing test products. Agency officials say the rule is designed to — quote — “ensure that important health care decisions are made based on test results that patients and health care providers can trust.”

And on Wall Street, stocks edged higher to start the week. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 146 points to close at 38386. The Nasdaq rose 55 points. The S&P 500 added 16.

And there is a new record in music. Taylor Swift is now the first artist to occupy all 14 top spots of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. They’re all tracks from her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Swift also set the previous record two years ago, when she occupied the top 10 spots.