Five Things to Know, Aug. 8, 2022

1.   China on Monday continued its military exercises around Taiwan that were scheduled to end at noon the previous day, according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense. The Eastern Theater Command “continued to conduct practical joint exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan Island, focusing on organizing joint anti-submarine and sea assault operations,” according to a terse notice posted on the ministry website. It did not specify where or for how long the drills would continue.

2.   The first of the ships to leave Ukraine under a deal to unblock grain supplies and stave off a potential global food crisis arrived at its destination in Turkey on Monday. The Turkey-flagged Polarnet docked at Derince port in the Gulf of Izmit after setting off from Chornomorsk on Aug. 5 laden with 12,000 tons of corn.

3.   North Korea on Saturday called U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” accusing her of inciting anti-North Korea sentiment and enraging China during her Asian tour earlier this week.

4.   DNA, dental and other analyses confirmed the identity of remains buried in Belgium as a 27-year-old World War II soldier from North Carolina who died during battle in a German forest, officials with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Friday. This newspaper clipping from 1944 reports that Army Pfc. David Owens of Green Hill in Watauga County was missing. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Army Pfc. David Owens, of Green Hill in Watauga County, was among the first soldiers to land on the French coast on D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Allied troops invaded Nazi-occupied France, according to newspaper clippings when Owens was reported missing in action on Nov. 22, 1944.

5.   “You could tell that this was a family of patriots, a family of love, a family of givers.” The residents of Laurel and surrounding communities have been leaning on each other to get through this tough time. A comforting thought shared amongst the public is knowing that Past American Legion Department of Nebraska Commander Gene Twiford’s impact will live on.