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Russia attempts to move on from Wagner Group revolt: June 26 rundown

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The Wagner Group staged a revolt against Russia, and a bridge collapse in Montana sent a hazardous freight train into a river. These stories and more highlight the rundown for Monday, June 26, 2023.

Dust settles in Russia following Wagner group revolt

Russia’s defense minister made his first public appearance since a mercenary group fighting for Russia in its war with Ukraine turned on Russia. Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his mercenaries to march on Moscow Saturday. The Wagner Group was even able to take over a Russian city before a deal with Russia’s government to end the revolt was reached less than 24 hours later.

Under the deal, Prigozhin will move to Belarus. Neither he nor his Wagner Group mercenaries will be prosecuted.

Some analysts called the revolt the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than 20 years in power. They added it may create a whole new dynamic regarding the war in Ukraine.

“The fact that this deal appears to have given Prigozhin a sort of free pardon to retire into Belarus and that the Wagner mercenaries will be absorbed into regular Russian army is perhaps a surprise, but it’s also why I think this saga isn’t finally over,” former UK ambassador to the UN Sir Mark Lyall Grant said Sunday, June 25. “Because I find it very hard to believe that Prigozhin will have a quiet peaceful retirement in Belarus.”

North Koreans rally against the United States

More than 120,000 people in North Korea took part in a massive anti-U.S. rally. The rally came as the country observed the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War.

The war was triggered by a North Korean surprise attack. However, the North continues to blame the U.S. for provoking the war.

The weekend rally came at a time of swelling North Korean nationalism, as the country boasts an expansion of its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Since 2022, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un has fired more than 100 missiles to test the country’s ability to conduct nuclear strikes on the U.S. and South Korea.

Hazardous train plunges into river after bridge collapse

A bridge over the Yellowstone River collapsed in Montana, causing a freight train carrying hazardous materials to plunge into the water below. The train cars were carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur.

Officials temporarily shut down drinking water intakes downstream. Small communities use reservoirs full of treated water from the Yellowstone River. All water treatment plants have since resumed operations.

The cause of the bridge’s collapse is under investigation. The river had been full with recent heavy rains, but it’s unclear if that was a factor.

Tornadoes in the Midwest, extreme heat in the South

Video captured a fast-moving tornado as it tore through residential buildings just south of Indianapolis. At least one person died and about a dozen homes were damaged in the storm system. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power overnight Sunday and into Monday morning.

In Minnesota and North Dakota, there were reports of as many as 18 tornadoes.

Meanwhile in the South, tens of millions of Americans are under excessive heat warnings. In Texas, temperatures remain in the triple digits. The Central Plains is expected to experience a similar heat wave later this week.

D.C. airports ground flights over air traffic control issue

Flights at Washington D.C.’s two major airports were paused Sunday evening for about an hour. There was a problem at a major air traffic control facility on site.

Operations were restarted after repairs to a communications power panel were made. The Federal Aviation Administration offered no further details on what caused the need for repairs.

The aviation industry has been heavily scrutinized after a series of mishaps. These include near-misses on the tarmac and outages shutting down operations for hours.

A San Antonio airport employee was ingested into the engine of a Delta airplane on Friday, June 26. This is the second type of this incident in six months after another crew worker was ingested into a plane at an Alabama airport on Dec. 31, 2022.

Ford vehicles under investigation

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into Ford vehicles that could roll away even when placed in park. In 2022, Ford recalled nearly 300,000 Explorer SUVs and added a software update to fix the glitch.

NHTSA said its received complaints even after repairs were made. One complaint came from a driver who struck a utility pole. The driver said their car would slam to a complete stop at speeds of up to 30 to 40 miles per hour.

The original recall covered certain 2020 through 2022 Explorer models. Ford said they are working with NHTSA to resolve the matter.

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COMING UP —
A MAJOR SHIFT IN RUSSIA OVER THE WEEKEND —
AS A MILITANT GROUP FIGHTING FOR PUTIN LED A REVOLT AGAINST HIM.
AND —
A BRIDGE COLLAPSED IN MONTANA — CAUSING A FREIGHT TRAIN TO PLUNGE BELOW INTO THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER.
THE RUNDOWN STARTS NOW.
THIS IS STRAIGHT-ARROW NEWS.
BRINGING YOU UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACTS.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.
I’M KARAH RUCKER.
RUSSIA’S DEFENSE MINISTER HAS MADE HIS FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE A MERCENARY GROUP FIGHTING FOR RUSSIA IN ITS WAR WITH UKRAINE –TURNED ON RUSSIA OVER THE WEEKEND.
WAGNER GROUP CHIEF YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN ORDERED HIS MERCENARIES TO MARCH ON MOSCOW SATURDAY.
THE GROUP WAS EVEN ABLE TO TAKE OVER A RUSSIAN CITY BEFORE A DEAL WITH THE KREMLIN TO END THE REVOLT WAS REACHED LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATER.
UNDER THE DEAL — PRIGOZHIN WILL MOVE TO BELARUS — AND NEITHER HE NOR HIS WAGNER MERCENARIES WILL BE PROSECUTED.
SOME ANALYSTS ARE CALLING THE REBELLION THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN IN HIS MORE THAN 20 YEARS IN POWER — ADDING THAT IT MAY CREATE A WHOLE NEW DYNAMIC REGARDING THE WAR IN UKRAINE.
“The fact that this deal appears to have given Prigozhin a sort of free pardon to retire into Belarus and that the Wagner mercenaries will be absorbed into regular Russian army is perhaps a surprise, but it’s also why I think this saga isn’t finally over. Because I find it very hard to believe that Prigozhin will have a quiet peaceful retirement in Belarus.”

MORE THAN 100 THOUSAND PEOPLE IN NORTH KOREA TOOK PART IN MASSIVE ANTI-U.S. PROTESTS OVER THE WEEKEND.
IT COMES JUST AS THE COUNTRY CELEBRATES ITS 73RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF THE KOREAN WAR —
TRIGGERED BY A NORTH KOREAN SURPRISE ATTACK —
BUT SOMETHING THE NORTH BLAMES THE U.S. FOR.THE PROTESTS COME AT A TIME OF SWELLING NORTH KOREAN NATIONALISM —
WITH ITS PEOPLE BOASTING THE EXPANSION OF ITS “NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND MISSILE PROGRAMS.”
IN THE CROWDS OF PROTESTERS OVER THE WEEKEND —
SIGNS READ QUOTE “THE ENTIRE U.S. MAINLAND IS WITHIN OUR STRIKING RANGE.”
“LET’S ERADICATE U.S. IMPERIALIST INVADERS.”
SINCE JUST LAST YEAR — DICTATOR KIM JONG UN HAS FIRED MORE THAN 100 MISSILES —
TESTING ITS ABILITY TO CONDUCT NUCLEAR STRIKES ON BOTH THE U.S. AND SOUTH KOREA.

A BRIDGE THAT CROSSES THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER COLLAPSED IN MONTANA THIS WEEKEND —
A FREIGHT TRAIN CARRYING HAZARD MATERIALS PLUNGED INTO THE WATER BELOW.
THE TRAIN CARS WERE CARRYING HOT ASPHALT AND MOLTEN SULFUR.
OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN DRINKING WATER INTAKES DOWNSTREAM.
SMALL COMMUNITIES USE RESERVOIRS FULL OF TREATED WATER FROM THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER.
ALL WATER TREATMENT PLANTS ARE NOW BACK UP AND RUNNING AGAIN.
THE CAUSE OF THE BRIDGE’S COLLAPSE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION.
THE RIVER HAD BEEN FULL WITH RECENT HEAVY RAINS BUT IT’S UNCLEAR IF THAT WAS A FACTOR.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS VIDEO —
CAPTURING A FAST MOVING TORNADO ON THE GROUND SWINGING DEBRIS AND TEARING THROUGH RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS JUST SOUTH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
AT LEAST ONE PERSON IS DEAD AND ABOUT A DOZEN HOMES WERE DAMAGED IN SUNDAY’S STORM SYSTEM.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WERE LEFT WITHOUT POWER OVERNIGHT AND INTO THE MORNING.
IN MINNESOTA AND NORTH DAKOTA —
THERE WERE REPORTS OF AS MANY AS 18 TORNADOES.
MEANWHILE IN THE SOUTH —
TENS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE UNDER “EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS”.
IN TEXAS — TEMPERATURES REMAIN IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS —
THE CENTRAL PLAINS IS EXPECTED TO EXPERIENCE A SIMILAR HEAT WAVE LATER THIS WEEK.

FLIGHTS AT WASHINGTON D.C.’S TWO MAJOR AIRPORTS WERE PAUSED SUNDAY EVENING FOR ABOUT AN HOUR.
THERE WAS A PROBLEM AT A MAJOR “AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL FACILITY” ON SITE THAT CAUSED THE GROUNDING OF FLIGHTS.
OPERATIONS WERE RESTARTED AFTER REPAIRS TO A “COMMUNICATIONS POWER PANEL” WERE MADE.
THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADIMINSTRATION OFFERED NO FURTHER DETAILS ON WHAT CAUSED THE NEED FOR REPAIRS.
THE AVIATION INDUSTRY HAS BEEN HEAVILY SCRUTINIZED AFTER A SERIES OF MISHAPS FROM NEAR-MISSES ON THE TARMAC TO OTHER OUTAGES SHUTTING DOWN OPERATIONS FOR HOURS.
ALSO OVER THE WEEKEND — A SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT EMPLOYEE WAS “INGESTED” INTO THE ENGINE OF A DELTA PLANE AND DIED.
THIS IS THE SECOND TYPE OF THIS INCIDENT IN SIX MONTHS AFTER ANOTHER CREW WORKER WAS “INGESTED” INTO A PLANE AT AN ALABAMA AIRPORT ON NEW YEARS EVE LAST YEAR.

OVER THE WEEKEND — U.S. SAFETY AUTO REGULATORS OPENED AN INVESTIGATION INTO FORD VEHICLES THAT COULD **ROLL AWAY** —
EVEN WHILE PLACED IN PARK.
LAST YEAR, FORD RECALLED NEARLY 300-THOUSAND “EXPLORER-SUVS” AND ADDED A SOFTWARE UPDATE TO FIX THE GLITCH.
BUT THE “NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION” SAYS ITS RECEIVED COMPLAINTS EVEN AFTER THE RECALL-RELATED **REPAIRS…
INCLUDING FROM ONE DRIVER WHO STRUCK A UTILITY POLE AND COMPLAINED THE CAR WOULD SLAM TO A COMPLETE STOP AT SPEEDS OF UP TO 30 TO 40 MILES PER HOUR.
THE ORIGINAL RECALL COVERED CERTAIN 2020 THROUGH 2022 EXPLORER MODELS.
FORD SAYS THEY ARE WORKING WITH THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO RESOLVE THE MATTER.
THESE ARE YOUR TOP STORIES.
THANKS FOR JOINING US ON THE RUNDOWN.
WE’RE ON A MISSION TO BRING BACK TRUSTWORTHY JOURNALISM BY SERVING ONLY YOU — NOT AN AGENDA.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR WORK AT STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS DOT COM.
AND YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE LATEST RUNDOWN EPISODES AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS.
WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW.
UNTIL THEN I’M KARAH RUCKER.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!