U.S. and world news for Aug. 13

People view Mendenhall Glacier from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center area, August 3, in Juneau, Alaska.
Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News/AP via CNN Newsource

Glacier outburst in Alaska could cause record flooding

A torrent of water gushing out of a glacier is threatening Juneau, Alaska, with potentially record-breaking flooding for the third straight year. Meteorologists say it’s another consequence of climate change due to fossil fuel pollution. With the Arctic warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, glaciers have begun to thin or melt altogether. As ice gets replaced by liquid water, it pools up and overtops the glacier that normally holds it back, then floods whatever is in its path. On Tuesday morning, a glacial outburst occurred at Suicide Basin and began to flood the Mendenhall Lake and River, prompting officials to recommend that some residents evacuate. While significant flooding was reported in Mendenhall Lake last night, major flooding is forecast to begin this morning and continue until around noon local time. The river is set to crest around 16.6 feet, which would exceed the record crest set just last August.

Russia looks to grab more Ukraine territory

Russia appears to be making an 11th-hour dash to grab as much Ukrainian territory as possible before the summit between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday. Small groups of Russian troops have recently breached parts of Ukraine’s defenses in the eastern Donetsk region, local officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow was trying to create the distorted perception “that Russia is moving forward, advancing, and Ukraine is losing.” Zelensky also vowed not to give eastern lands to Russia in a peace deal because abandoning the Donbas region would open the door for Putin to “start a third war” in Ukraine. While Trump plans to have a conversation with Zelensky and EU leaders today, he has signaled that the Ukrainian leader will not participate in Friday’s summit.

Covid-19 levels on the rise

Covid-19 levels are on the rise in the US, with transmission increasing in at least 45 states. Yet people who want to get vaccinated this fall may face a growing set of obstacles. Last week, the CDC told state and local officials that the FDA may not renew authorization for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than 5. This age group is the most vulnerable to severe illness from a Covid-19 infection. Without authorization, Pfizer’s vaccine would no longer be available to those under 5. Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine — the other option for healthy children with no underlying conditions in that age group — would have to be given “off label” by a willing pharmacist or physician. In May, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the CDC would no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children or pregnant women. As for other adults, the FDA has not yet approved the formulation for either the Covid-19 or flu vaccines for the 2025-2026 season.

Suspect in fatal shooting near medical center found dead following standoff

WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — Police say the 47-year-old parolee who was wanted in connection to a fatal shooting at a Wichita hospital has died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds following an hours-long standoff in north Wichita on Tuesday afternoon. The Wichita Police Department responded around 2 p.m. on Tuesday to the 2300 block of North Somerset, east of Amidon. A Sedgwick County dispatch supervisor called it a “special assignment.” WPD later confirmed it was a standoff. Chief Public Information Officer with WPD, Andrew Ford, said officers received information on Tuesday that 47-year-old Robert Schoenberger Jr. was inside an apartment in the area. Multiple attempts by police and the crisis negotiation team were made to get Schoenberger to surrender peacefully. When those attempts were unsuccessful, the SWAT team on scene deployed chemical ammunition inside the apartment. The shooting outside Wesley Medical Center took place Monday around 7:15 p.m. in the 500 block of North Hillside. First responders arrived to find a woman on the ground. She’d been shot in the upper body and died at the nearby hospital. Police identified the victim as 46-year-old Terri Stidham. One of her children set up a GoFundMe.