News Wrap: Widespread unrest in Israel on the eve of a defining moment

John Yang:

Good evening. I'm John Yang. Tonight, there is unrest across Israel on the eve of a defining moment, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recovers from an emergency heart procedure. Netanyahu's doctors gave him a pacemaker last night after he was rushed to a hospital with an irregular heartbeat.

From his hospital room today, the 73-year-old prime minister said he's in excellent health and said he will be in the Knesset Monday when his right wing ruling coalition is set to pass the first part of his judicial overhaul plan.

Opposition to the plan reached a climax this weekend with mass protests across the country. The bitter disagreement reflects the deep split in Israel between those who want a more secular and diverse nation and those with a more religious and nationalistic vision.

The heat dome that's been over the southwestern United States is beginning to drift to the east that will bring triple digit temperatures to the Plains and Midwest by midweek.

In the Midwest, many places could see the highest temperatures of the year. Dangerous heat is expected to reach the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic by the end of the week.

Overseas, the heat is fueling wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes, the biggest evacuation effort in the country's history. 19,000 people placed in temporary shelters away from the fast moving flames. In India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, heavy monsoon rains caused flash floods.

In India, water levels are the highest they've been in 45 years due to the unusually heavy rains. The floods have killed at least 13 people in Pakistan. In Afghanistan, the Taliban reported 31 dead, with dozens more missing.

Russian missile strikes inflicted severe damage today on dozens of landmarks in the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa, the city's largest Orthodox cathedral, was among them. At least one person was killed. 22 others, including four children, were injured.

Russia has struck Odesa several times in the past week as Russia targets grain exporting hubs. Moscow pulled out of a deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments to safely cross the Black Sea. At the Aspen Security Forum this past week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he's looking for other means of ensuring safe transit.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through translator):

The Black Sea is the sea of all the nations of ours. This is not the sea of the Russian Federation. There is Ukraine, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, and we are talking to all the countries in the Black Sea region. We have legal relations with everyone but Russia because they think that this is their own sea.

John Yang:

This week, NATO and Ukrainian officials are to discuss the Black Sea situation.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, how to deal with extreme heat and avoid a trip to the ER and why black farmers have lost so much of their land.