U.S. and world news for July 12

Ukrainians hit Russian ammo depot: Ukrainian forces used rockets supplied by the U.S. to hit a Russian ammunition depot in a section of Ukraine near the Black Sea that has been occupied by the Russians. There was a massive explosion.

Iran supplying drones to Russia: The White House says that intelligence indicates Iran is supplying Russia with hundreds of drones capable of being outfitted as weapons to use in Ukraine. The disclosure came as a prelude to President Biden”™s trip to Saudi Arabia. Iran has given drones to rebel forces in Yemen that were used to attack Saudi Arabia in the past.

Jan. 6 committee hearing today: In addition to delving into the role played by the right-wing extremist groups The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the today”™s televised House committee hearing is expected to provide testimony on what was being planned by Trump lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell along with Michael Flynn in meetings before the Capitol was attacked.

Judge won”™t delay Bannon trial: Federal Judge Carl Nichols has derailed efforts by attorneys for Trump advisor Steve Bannon to delay his contempt trial that is scheduled to begin next week. Bannon said he is willing to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee and his attorneys said the trial no longer is necessary. The judge, however, said that nothing Bannon does now can change the fact that he refused to comply with a subpoena to testify before Congress and that claims that he would be violating Donald Trump”™s executive privilege by testifying were invalid because there was no executive privilege involved in Bannon”™s situation.

Protests continue in Sri Lanka: In Sri Lanka, widespread protests and violence continue even though the country”™s president and prime minister have agreed to resign in about a week. Sri Lanka is bankrupt and there are severe shortages of food and most other consumer goods. The country is hoping for aid from the International Monetary Fund along with China, India or any other source willing to help.

PepsiCo reports Q2 financials: Purchase-based PepsiCo today released its second quarter 2022 financials. PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said, “Our business momentum continued despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility and higher levels of inflation across our markets.” The company reported 5.2% revenue growth for the second quarter of 2022, with net revenue of $20.22 billion and net income of $1.45 billion.