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In our news wrap Wednesday, Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana was killed in a car crash along with two young aides, President Biden signed an executive order to help women who cross state lines for abortions, the U.S. began annual military drills with Indonesia, the Senate moved to admit Finland and Sweden to NATO, and the WHO reports COVID's total global count of cases fell.

Backers of abortion rights and of former President Trump are claiming big wins in Tuesday's primaries.

In Kansas, voters rejected a state constitutional amendment to let lawmakers restrict or ban abortion. Meanwhile, in Arizona, Mark Finchem, a 2020 election denier, won the Republican primary for secretary of state, overseeing elections. And Michigan Republican congressman Peter Meijer lost his primary bid. He had voted to impeach Mr. Trump over the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

We will have much more after the news summary.

A sitting member of Congress, Republican Representative Jackie Walorski of Indiana, was killed today in a car crash. It happened as the five-term representative was traveling in her district. Two young aides also died in the accident. Walorski was seen as a rising star in GOP ranks. She was 58 years old.

President Biden has signed an executive order to help women who cross state lines for abortions. It offers breaks on Medicaid costs for states where abortion is legal, so that they can assist women from states where it is not. Activists had urged Mr. Biden to do even more, but the White House defended his actions today.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary:

The president has been very clear that he's going to do everything that he can. It doesn't stop with this. But we also understand he can't only be the only person working on this, right? That's why we continue to Congress to take action.

The president's event today was once again virtual. He tested positive for COVID for a fifth day, after his infection rebounded over the weekend.

Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has ended, but the fallout continues. The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives met today with President Tsai Ing-wen before flying on to South Korea. In response, China said it is launching military exercises this week on all sides of Taiwan, which it claims as a renegade province.

We will return to this later in the program.

The U.S. began annual military drills with Indonesia today, amid China's aggressive moves. Australia, Japan and Singapore are also taking part. More than 5,000 soldiers kicked off two weeks of exercises on Indonesia's Sumatra Island. This year's maneuvers are the largest since they began in 2009.

The first ship carrying grain from Ukraine under a wartime deal with Russia is now en route to Lebanon. The ship was inspected by an international team off Istanbul, Turkey, today, and then cleared to sail on. In Kyiv, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said he wants more shipments soon.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through translator):

Thanks to the U.N., in partnership with Turkey, we had a first ship go out. It's still nothing, but we hope its the start of a trend. In total, the consequences of this war are horrible, not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world.

Ukrainian officials say that 17 more grain ships are waiting for permission to sail.

The U.S. Senate moved this evening to admit Finland and Sweden to NATO. It's a crucial step in expanding the alliance, in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine. All 30 NATO members have to approve any new members.

An Illinois man pleaded not guilty today in the shooting massacre at a Fourth of July parade. Robert Crimo allegedly killed seven people and wounded dozens. He appeared at a brief hearing, facing 117 counts of murder, attempted murder and other crimes.

Eastern Kentucky faced a new danger today after last week's devastating flood that killed 37 people. Relief workers labored in heat index is climbing to 100 degrees, as cleanup operations continued. Governor Andy Beshear urged caution in the hot weather and he also warned of the flood disaster's emotional toll.

A lot of the grief that we have suppressed these last seven days trying to get the mud out and take care of each other when it rained again or it's so hot, that's going to come to the surface.

If you need help, ask for it. Remember, it's OK not to be OK.

We will take a closer look at the disaster's aftermath later in the program.

And on Wall Street, stocks surged on strong corporate earning reports. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 416 points to close at up 32812. That's up 1 percent. The Nasdaq rose 2.5 percent. The S&P 500 advance 1.5 percent.

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