April 13, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 49 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates [more]:

• The U.S. is expected to announce an additional $750 million in military assistance for Ukraine today. The aid is expected to include heavy ground artillery systems, among other weapons systems and equipment. [more]
• Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday characterized peace talks with Ukraine as being at a dead end and said that Russia’s military operations in Ukraine will continue until its objectives are achieved. [more]
• U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday termed the Russian invasion of Ukraine a “genocide,” saying that President Vladimir Putin is trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.” [more]
• Russian Defense Ministry officials say at least 1,000 members of the Ukrainian military surrendered to Russian forces in Mariupol yesterday. [more]
• The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are traveling to Kyiv for in-person meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. [more]

BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING | At least 10 people were shot and 29 injured when a man deployed smoke canisters and began shooting yesterday in a Brooklyn subway station. Police have named Frank R. James, 62, as a person of interest in the investigation. [more]

ABORTION | Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law yesterday that makes it a felony offense to perform an abortion in the state, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. [more]

NEW YORK | New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned yesterday following his arrest on charges of bribery, fraud, and falsification of records related to a campaign contribution scheme. Benjamin pleaded not guilty in an initial appearance in a Manhattan federal court. [more]

FUEL PRICES | President Biden yesterday announced a new Environmental Protection Agency waiver that will temporarily allow increased sales of 15% ethanol blend gasoline. [more]

MINNESOTA | Two men convicted of taking part in the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque received prison sentences of 14 and 16 years yesterday. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Labor Department data released yesterday showed an 8.5% year-over-year increase in consumer prices, with the largest increases seen in grocery and gas costs. [more]

NEW MEXICO | Residents of several New Mexico counties were forced to evacuate their homes yesterday as wildfires in several areas continued to spread. A fire in Ruideso has destroyed at least 150 structures. [more]

NIGERIA | Local officials in the Nigerian state of Plateau say an armed gang has killed more than 100 people in four villages in the state’s Kanam region. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Search and rescue operations in the Philippines continue this morning after at least 56 people died in landslides and floods caused this week by heavy rains. [more]

LONDON | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fined yesterday for attending a birthday party in his official residence in June 2020 that violated COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. [more]

R.I.P. | Actor and comic Gilbert Gottfried died yesterday at the age of 67. Reports say the cause of death was a rare genetic muscle disease that affects the heart. [more]

MLB | San Francisco Giants’ Alyssa Nakken became the first female on-field coach in Major League Baseball history last night when she took over as the first-base coach during the Giants game  against the San Diego Padres. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1964, for his performance in “Lilies of the Field,” Sidney Poitier became the first African American to win the Academy Award for best actor. [more history]