April 4, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 40 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates [more]:

• Ukrainian officials say they have discovered the bodies of 410 civilians killed in towns around the capital Kyiv following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the region. Ukrainian leaders have blamed Russian forces for the deaths, but Russia’s Defense Ministry says photos and videos of the bodies were staged by Ukraine for the media. [more]
• German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said yesterday that the European Union must consider banning Russian gas imports following reports of atrocities by Russian forces near Kyiv. [more]
• Reports say U.S. and NATO countries are working to facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era Russian T-72 tanks to Ukraine’s military. [more]
• Oil facilities and gas depots have been the focus of increased Russian attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa in recent days, according to Ukrainian military officials. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Police in Sacramento, California, say they are searching for at least two people in connection with a mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 12 others early Sunday morning in the city’s entertainment district. [more]

SUPREME COURT | The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote this morning on whether to move the consideration of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to the full Senate. [more]

BIRD FLU | The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that outbreaks of avian flu have been detected in 19 states as of March 31, prompting the culling of millions of chickens and turkeys. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say no cases of related human infections have been reported, and the USDA says consumption of properly cooked poultry and eggs does not pose a risk to consumers. [more]

TRANSPORTATION | New vehicles produced in the U.S. will be required to average at least 40 mpg in 2026 under new federal rules announced Friday by the Department of Transportation. [more]

MARIJUANA | The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to remove cannabis from the list of banned federal substances and to expunge certain marijuana-related criminal offenses. Consideration of a similar measure in the Senate is expected later this spring. [more]

POLITICS | Former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced Friday that she is joining a field of some 40 candidates for Alaska’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. [more]

SRI LANKA | Amidst widespread protests and a growing economic crisis, 26 members of Sri Lanka’s cabinet resigned yesterday. [more]

COVID-19 | Reports say the Chinese government has deployed more than 2,000 military medics and 10,000 medical workers to Shanghai in recent days to assist in battling the city’s surge in COVID-19 infections. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Taliban officials in Afghanistan yesterday announced a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in the country, including the cultivation of poppy, which is used in the production of heroin. The move is seen as part of Taliban efforts to have international sanctions against the country eased. [more]

PAKISTAN | Prime Minister Imran Khan called for new elections and dissolved Pakistan’s parliament yesterday after blocking a no-confidence vote that had been expected to remove him from office. The country's Supreme Court is scheduled to hold hearings today on a challenge to Khan's parliamentary actions. [more]

HUNGARY | Preliminary results from this weekend’s general elections in Hungary show that Prime Minister Viktor Orban has won a fourth term in office. Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party is reported to have 53.1% of the vote with 98% of the count complete. [more]

HONG KONG | Carrie Lam announced today that she will not run for a second five-year term as Hong Kong's chief executive. [more]

AMAZON | Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, voted Friday to unionize — the first such move at an Amazon facility. [more]

BUSINESS | JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned today in his annual letter to shareholders that the bank could lose up to $1 billion on its Russia exposure and secondary impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [more]

GRAMMY AWARDS | Silk Sonic won the awards for record and song of the year for “Leave the Door Open,” and Jon Batiste received the album of the year award for “We Are” at last night’s 64th annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas. Olivia Rodrigo won best new artist and best pop album. [full list of winners] [more]

ARTS | Poet, activist, and educator Sonia Sanchez has been named this year’s winner of the Edward MacDowell Medal, a lifetime achievement honor started in 1960. Previous medal recipients have included Robert Frost, Toni Morrison and Stephen Sondheim. [more]

NCAA BASKETBALL | Several updates:

• North Carolina will play Kansas in tonight’s men’s NCAA basketball championship. The teams beat Duke and Villanova, respectively, on Saturday to reach the championship game.
• South Carolina beat UConn last night to win the 2022 women's NCAA basketball championship.
• Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe has been named The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year.
• South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston has been named The Associated Press women’s basketball player of the year.

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1968, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., while in Memphis, Tennessee, to support a strike by the city's sanitation workers, was assassinated by James Earl Ray. [more history]