June 3, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 100 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated this week that 60-100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying in combat every day in the fight against the Russian invasion, with up to 500 more being wounded. [more]
• British military officials said this week that the U.K. will provide Ukraine with an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can fire precision-guided rockets up to about 50 miles. [more]
• The European Union yesterday formally approved an embargo on Russian oil. The EU plan calls for imports of Russian crude oil to be phased out over six months, and for other refined petroleum products over eight months. [more]

GUN VIOLENCE | In a nationally televised address last night, U.S. President Joe Biden made impassioned calls for Congress to take action aimed at preventing gun violence. Among other measures, Biden called for the restoration of federal bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. [more]

GUN LEGISLATION | The New York State Legislature passed a group of gun-related bills yesterday which included measures raising the minimum age to buy a semiautomatic rifle to 21, banning most civilians from purchasing bullet-resistant body vests, and revising the state’s so-called red flag laws. Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to sign the measures into law. [more]

TULSA | Police say the gunman that killed four people Wednesday at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was targeting a doctor he blamed for his continuing pain after a recent back operation and that he purchased the AR-style assault rifle used in the killing just hours before the attack. [more]

COVID-19 | White House officials say children under the age of 5 may be able to get their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine as early as June 21 if the FDA panel evaluating Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger children approves such use, as expected, when it meets June 14-15. [more]

SOCIAL SECURITY | An annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released yesterday says the Social Security trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035 and that Medicare funds for inpatient hospital care should last until 2028. Both estimations are based on a stronger-than-expected U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic. [more]

NORTH KOREA | Officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan are reported to have met today in Seoul for discussions surrounding signs that North Korea may be preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017. [more]

IRAN | In a meeting today with International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Iran of continuing its progress toward the development of nuclear weapons and deceiving the international community about such progress. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell by 11,000 to 200,000 for the week ended May 28, while the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ended May 21 fell from the previous week, to 1,309,000 -- the lowest level since December 1969 -- according to Labor Department data released yesterday. [more]

YEMEN | U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said yesterday that Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces have agreed to renew a nationwide truce for another two months. A similar cease-fire was first implemented on April 2. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data due to be released later this morning is expected to show that the U.S. added about 350,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate decreasing slightly to 3.5%. [more]

WEATHER | The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm watches for Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas as a system that recently affected Mexico moves eastward. [more]

U.K. | Queen Elizabeth II will not attend a church service honoring her 70 years on the throne today in London due to "discomfort" felt by the 96-year-old monarch during yesterday's kick-off events for her Platinum Jubilee. [more]

TESLA | Reuters cites an internal company e-mail as saying that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called for pausing all company hiring worldwide and cutting up to 10% of jobs at the electric carmaker due to pessimistic outlooks for the economy. [more]

BUSINESS | Ford Motor Co. has announced plans to invest $3.7 billion in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio between now and 2026 to expand its workforce and production of electric vehicles and other vehicle models at multiple plants in the states. [more]

INTERNATIONAL TRADE | Russian trade officials have announced plans to limit the country's exports of noble gases -- key ingredients in the production of computer chips. Russia accounts for about 30% of the global supply of noble gases. [more]

BASKETBALL | The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 120-108, last night to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1989, the Chinese government called in the military to put down a pro-democracy demonstration staged by more than 100,000 people in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, resulting in hundreds of deaths. [more history]