Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called it a serious agreement. He’s pushing forward a new transitional government in Syria, and he managed to get the five permanent UN Security Council members and regional players to back this. But he did have to water it down quite a bit to get Russia onboard. Annan says that it can include current government officials and opposition figures as long as there’s mutual consent. NPR's Michele Kelemen reporting from Geneva.

 

Egypt has a new president, its first freely elected one. Muhammad Morsi took the oath of office in Cairo. He promised a new Egypt, saying today the Egyptian people are laying the foundation of a new life, absolute freedom, a genuine democracy and stability. Morsi is from the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been banned by previous governments in Egypt. He’s the Arab world's first freely elected Islamist president and the fifth head of state in Egypt since the overthrow of the monarchy 60 years ago.

 

Israeli media reports say former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir died at a nursing home today at the age of 96. He served as prime minister for seven years during the 80s and 90s. He maintained throughout that he would never agree to give the Palestinians land in exchange for peace. Shamir once told the New York-based Jewish post the Arabs will always dream to destroy Israel.

 

Officials now say at least ten people died after a powerful storm swept the Eastern US last night. More than three million people are still without electricity in a day with 100-degree temperatures. Karen Kasler of Ohio Public Radio reports a third of those people are in Ohio.

 

Chain saws are roaring, temperatures are rising, as more than a million Ohioans are without power after winds topping 70 miles an hour uprooted trees and sheared off branches. Mindy Frank of the Columbia suburb of New Albany is taking in stride the news that it could be a week before the electricity is restored. 

 

“I think we’re gonna be throwing a lot of things away, whether in our refrigerators and our freezers. And I keep putting the lights on at home, even though I know there’s no power.”

 

Power outages have made it hard to find gas stations and stores that are open and cool places to escape the oppressive heat. For NPR News, I’m Karen Kasler in Columbus.

 

About 10,000 people are still out of their homes in Colorado Springs, Colorado because of a huge wildfire. At least two people were killed and more than 350 homes were destroyed. Officials report the blaze is now about 30% contained. It’s burned nearly 17,000 acres. 

 

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Chinese President Hu Jintao is visiting Hong Kong this weekend. Today he was asked about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters. NPR's Louisa Lim reports the reporter who asked that question was briefly detained.

 

President Hu Jintao is visiting Hong Kong to mark the 15th anniversary of the island's return to Chinese rule. His tightly choreographed schedule has kept him away from protesters. But a reporter asked Hu Jintao whether he knew that Hong Kong people want a reappraisal of the 1989 protest. The Chinese president didn't answer. The journalist was then detained for 15 minutes by security officers who told him he was too noisy. This comes a day ahead of the inauguration of Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who is enmeshed in scandal even before he takes office. The anniversary will also be marked by a large protest march seen as a gauge of discontent of Chinese rule. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Hong Kong.

 

Police in London are investigating the kidnapping of a hawk named Rufus. This just isn't any ordinary hawk, but one with the job of clearing the skies of pigeons over the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. Rufus was stolen with its cage from a car parked in a suburb of Wimbledon.

 

Someone has returned the Salvador Dali painting that had been stolen from a gallery in New York last week. It was mailed from a location in Europe and recovered by postal inspectors at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Earlier this week, the gallery had received an email saying the painting was "on its way back to you." Officials speculate that publicity surrounding the theft made it hard for the thief to sell it on the black market. 

 

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.