News Wrap: Ukraine says forces control nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory

In our news wrap Monday, Ukraine’s top military commander says his forces control nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory, a wildfire in Greece is raging on the outskirts of Athens, the Biden Administration rolled out a new effort to improve customer service experiences by cutting down on wait times and red tape and Mars may be hiding an ocean of liquid water deep below its surface.

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Geoff Bennett: We start today’s other headlines in Russia.

Ukraine’s top military commander says his force is now controlled nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory in the region of Kursk, across from Ukraine’s northeastern border. It’s the first time a Ukrainian military official has commented on the gains of last week’s surprise incursion.

For their part, Russian authorities say more than 121,000 people have evacuated the area so far and that 12 civilians have been killed in the fighting. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of top officials that the attack is an attempt to give Ukraine a better negotiating position for future peace talks.

Vladimir Putin, Russian President (through interpreter): It is becoming obvious and clear now why the Kyiv regime had refused our proposals to return to a peaceful settlement plan, as well as the proposals of interested and neutral mediators. It appears that the West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians.

Geoff Bennett: Ukraine’s operation is the largest attack on Russian soil since the war started two-and-a-half years ago.

In Greece, a wildfire is raging on the outskirts of Athens, forcing hundreds of people from the city’s northern suburbs. At last check, the blaze was about nine miles from the city center. It started on Sunday afternoon, sending flames as high as 80 feet into the air. Some 700 firefighters worked today to extinguish the flames as residents fled through thick clouds of smoke.

Some, however, stayed behind to protect their homes.

Spyros Gorilas, North Athens Resident (through interpreter): The wind would go in one direction, then in the other. The smoke was suffocating. I couldn’t see. My eyes teared up. I couldn’t breathe. I was 60 yards from the house and couldn’t even see it.

Geoff Bennett: The fires have been fanned by intense winds and bone-dry conditions after recent heat waves. June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in that country.

An earthquake rattled Los Angeles around midday today. The 4.4-magnitude quake was centered near the Highland Park neighborhood in the Northeast section of the city. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it could be felt as far south as San Diego and as far east as the Palm Springs desert region. There were no initial reports of injuries or damage. It comes less than a week after a 5.2-magnitude quake hit the area.

The Biden administration has rolled out a broad new effort to improve customer service experiences by cutting down on wait times and red tape. The initiative spans a range of federal agencies and would include requiring companies to make it just as easy to cancel a subscription or membership as it was to sign up.

It would also crack down on so-called doom loops and instead connect people with a live representative with the touch of a button, and it would urge health care companies to allow consumers to file their claims online.

At today’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said companies have prioritized profits over people.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary: Americans are tired of being played for suckers, and President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to use every tool available to protect Americans from corporate greed and practices that hit people in their pocketbooks.

Geoff Bennett: The proposals build on earlier Biden administration efforts, such as requiring airlines to automatically issue cash refunds and to reduce hidden fees to consumers. An administration official says that none of them would require congressional approval.

Mars may be hiding an ocean of liquid water deep below its surface. That’s according to a groundbreaking new study from the University of California that used data from NASA’s now-defunct InSight Lander. It suggests the water is stored in rocks seven to 12 miles underground and could be enough to cover the planet in an ocean about a mile deep.

Researchers believe the water likely seeped down billions of years ago when Mars had rivers and lakes. They say it would take drills and other equipment to confirm their theory. They could then seek out signs of microbial life.

And on Wall Street today, stocks ended little changed ahead of a highly anticipated report on inflation due Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 140 points after a wild run last week. The Nasdaq eked out a gain, adding 35 points. The S&P 500 ended unchanged on the day.

And the work of a famed secretive street artist named Banksy has been popping up all over London. Eight new paintings have appeared in just the past week or so, all of them depictions of animals. The latest work by the mysterious graffiti artist shows a rhinoceros climbing on top of a real-life broken-down car.

Just yesterday, onlookers gathered around a police call box that Banksy turned into a fish tank for piranhas. Other works have included a stretching cat on the side of a building and a mountain goat perched precariously on a ledge, among others.