News Wrap: Major cities in Central Europe brace for worst flooding in years

In our news wrap Tuesday, major cities in Central Europe are bracing for the worst flooding in years, the Senate rejected a motion on whether to consider legislation that would protect in vitro fertilization, new details emerged about the company behind the Titan submersible that imploded on its way to the Titanic wreckage site and Instagram is rolling out a new type of account for teenagers.

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Amna Nawaz: The day’s other headlines start in Central Europe, where major cities are bracing for the worst flooding in years to head downstream.

In Budapest, along the Danube, soldiers filled sandbags to keep the river from overflowing its banks. Floodwaters have claimed around 20 lives so far across Central Europe and submerged entire towns. Thousands have been displaced. In Poland, the government has declared a state of natural disaster in the south following heavy rains.

In areas where floodwaters have receded, as seen here in the Czech Republic, residents are left to pick up the pieces.

Zuzana Kublova, Czech Resident (through interpreter): The damage will be huge. All is destroyed downstairs. The floors are gone. We are like newlyweds resettling again, but it is not very amusing.

AmnaNawaz: Meantime, in Northern Portugal, it’s a very different scene, as thousands of firefighters battle some hundred wildfires that have killed at least six people. More than 50 others have been injured. And with no rain in the forecast, national authorities say a fire alert will stay in place until Thursday.

The Senate rejected a motion today on whether to consider legislation that would protect in vitro fertilization, or IVF. The final tally was 51-44. Sixty votes were needed in favor to open debate on the measure. That was the second time such a bill came to the floor this year, and it was widely expected to fail.

But it was a chance for Democrats to put Republican lawmakers on the record and draw a contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on the issue.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke before the vote.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Expanding insurance coverage for IVF is not a partisan an issue. A survey from Pew Research showed seven in 10 Americans say access to IVF is a good thing. Just 8 percent oppose it, 8 percent.

Amna Nawaz: IVF protections came to national prominence earlier this year when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics canceled the treatments. The state’s Republican-led legislature then enacted a law to provide legal protections for those providing IVF services.

New details are emerging about the company behind the Titan submersible that imploded last year on its way to the Titanic wreckage site. Former OceanGate operations director David Lochridge told a Coast Guard hearing today that the company’s co-founder, Stockton Rush, who died in the accident, put profits over safety.

David Lochridge, Former OceanGate Operations Director: Cost-cutting And bad engineering decisions, I’d say that’s the two main things. There was a big push to get this done and a lot of steps along the way were missed.

Amna Nawaz: Investigators recently released this photo showing remains of the Titan lodged in the seafloor. The vessel imploded in June of last year, killing all five people on board and raising questions about the future of private undersea exploration.

Instagram is rolling out a new type of account for teenagers. As of today, new users under the age of 18 will be placed into private accounts automatically. This means teens will only receive messages from those they follow or are connected to. So-called sensitive content, like people promoting cosmetic procedures, will be limited.

And teens will be notified if they have been using the app for more than an hour. The new policy comes as Instagram parent company Meta faces dozens of lawsuits that say its social media platforms can be addictive and hurt children’s mental health.

Wall Street ended with little change today as investors wait for tomorrow’s decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 15 points, falling back just a bit from yesterday’s record high. The Nasdaq added around 35 points on the day, and the S&P 500 barely budged, adding just a single point.