February 9, 2022

UKRAINE | Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov yesterday denied reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron had reached a tentative agreement on de-escalating the Ukraine crisis. [more]

CONSUMER DEBT | A report released yesterday by the New York Federal Reserve said U.S. household debt rose by $1.02 trillion in 2021 — the largest increase since 2007. [more]

RNC | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticized the Republican National Committee yesterday for its decision to censure Republican House members on the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks. McConnell said it is not the role of the RNC to single out lawmakers for criticism over differing views. [more]

CALIFORNIA | The University of California has agreed to a $243 million settlement under which each of 203 women who accused former UCLA gynaecologist Dr. James Heaps of sexual abuse will receive $1.2 million. Lawsuits filed by the women said UCLA deliberately concealed the abuse and ignored decades of complaints about Heaps. [more]

CREATIVE WORK | A UNESCO report released on Tuesday said that about 10 million jobs in the cultural and creative sectors were lost in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Re-Shaping Policies for Creativity” report calls on governments to ensure economic and social protection for artists and cultural professionals. [read the full report] [more]

VERMONT | The Vermont House yesterday voted to advance a proposed state constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion, contraception and other reproductive care. Pending further approval, the measure could appear on Vermont ballots in November. The move comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to consider several key abortion-related cases this year.  [more]

COVID-19 | CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said yesterday that the federal organization’s COVID-19-related mask guidelines have not changed. Walensky’s statement came as several states began to announce the easing of some mask and social distancing requirements. [more]

CANADA PROTESTS | Protests against COVID-19 restrictions by Canadian truckers spread yesterday from the Canadian capitol Ottawa to the U.S. border, blocking a key transportation site at the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan. [more]

BITCOIN | The U.S. Justice Department yesterday announced the seizure of bitcoin worth more than $3.6 billion, as well as the arrest of two persons, in connection with the 2016 theft of cryptocurrency worth approximately $4.5 billion from the Bitfinex exchange. [more]

OSCAR NOMINATIONS | The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday announced the slate of nominations for the 2022 Oscar awards. Drama feature film “The Power of the Dog” led the field with 12 nominations. [full nomination list] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | Today in 1996, German physicist Peter Armbruster and colleagues synthesized chemical element 112, a heavy transuranium element that was later named copernicium. [more history]