April 15, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 51 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates [more]:

• The Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva sank yesterday while being towed to port a day after Ukrainian officials say their military struck the ship with missiles.  [more]
• Reports say U.S. intelligence officials have eased rules that have limited the sharing of actionable information with Ukrainian forces for use in their fight against Russia. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Labor Department data released Thursday shows initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 18,000 last week to 185,000. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The Republican National Committee voted unanimously yesterday to bar its presidential candidates from taking part in debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen the presidential debate process for decades. [more]

COVID-19 | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday issued emergency use authorization to a new COVID-19 test that can detect infections with only a sample of a patient's breath. [more]

WILDFIRES | Officials in New Mexico say two people have died and more than 200 homes have been damaged near the city of Ruidoso in wildfires that have burned in the area since Tuesday. [more]

ISLAMIC STATE | A federal jury in Virginia yesterday convicted El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, on four counts of hostage-taking and four counts of conspiracy related to the deaths of three American men and a young woman captured by the Islamic State group in Syria in 2012 and 2013. [more]

JANUARY 6 | A federal jury yesterday convicted Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, on five charges related to his participation in the January 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Thompson had claimed that he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump in taking part in the action. [more]

ABORTION | Florida became the latest U.S. state to increase restrictions on abortion yesterday when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law. The Florida law provides no exceptions for rape or incest. [more]

CYBERSECURITY | The FBI said yesterday that a North Korean hacking group was responsible for the theft of some $615 million in cryptocurrency assets from players of the online game Axie Infinity in March. [more]

MARIJUANA | New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced yesterday that sales of recreational marijuana in his state will begin April 21. [more]

RUSSIA | Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, suggested yesterday that Russia could deploy nuclear weapons to its territories along the Black Sea coast if Sweden and Finland choose to join the NATO alliance. [more]

ISRAEL | Reports say at least 150 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli police this morning near the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | The death toll from recent flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains in eastern South Africa has risen to at least 341. Reports say protests calling for more government support are taking place in the region's port city of Durban. [more]

TAIWAN | The Chinese military is conducting naval and air drills around Taiwan today after saying that a visit to the island nation by a U.S. Congressional delegation was provocative. [more]

MLB | The average salary in U.S. baseball’s major leagues rose to $4.4 million this year — up 5.9% from last year — according to an Associated Press study of baseball contracts. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1912, the British luxury passenger liner Titanic sank en route to New York City from England after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage. [more history]