July 19, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 146 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• A Russian missile attack overnight on the Black Sea port city of Odessa wounded at least four people and destroyed multiple houses, according to Ukrainian authorities. [more]
• Reports say a draft European Union document indicates the bloc intends to vote this week to amend its sanctions on Russia to unfreeze some Russian bank funds that could be required to ease bottlenecks in the global trade of food and fertilizers. [more]
• Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Iran today, where he will meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The war in Ukraine is expected to be a main topic of discussion, as is a U.N.-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain. [more]

U.K. WEATHER | British officials say the U.K. could see record-high temperatures today, with forecasts for portions of the country predicting highs of 40 degree Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). [more]

UVALDE | Texas state police officials have announced the opening of an internal review of the actions of its officers who responded to the May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The move comes two days after the release of a Texas House report that noted failures in the law enforcement response at the scene of the shooting and identified 91 state troopers at the scene. [more]

EDUCATION | A new report from the non-profit educational research group NWEA says academic gains among U.S. K-12 students in the 2021-2022 school year has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but that continued efforts and investment in education will be required to make up for academic losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. [full report] [more]

U.S. MARRIAGE | The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal a defunct Clinton-era law that defines marriage as a legal relationship between a man and a woman and prohibit any state from denying out-of-state marriage licenses and benefits on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin. The measure is expected to pass in the House, but not in the Senate. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Residents of Maryland are voting today to choose Republican and Democratic candidates for November's statewide, legislative, and congressional elections. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Two Trump administration aides, Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, and Sarah Matthews, a former press aide, are scheduled to testify Thursday evening at the next public hearing of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. [more]

SEMICONDUCTORS | The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would provide $52 billion to rebuild the U.S. semiconductor industry and offer tax incentives for companies to build computer chip plants in the United States. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION | Albania and North Macedonia began formal membership talks with the European Union today after overcoming years of objections by several countries, including Germany, France, and Bulgaria. [more]

COVID-19 | Officials in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou's Liwan district have issued a public apology for breaking into the homes of 84 people who were taken to a COVID-19 quarantine hotel in efforts to find any close contacts hiding inside the homes and to disinfect the premises. [more]

EGYPT | Reports say at least 22 people were killed and another 33 injured when a bus hit a stopped truck today on a highway near the Egyptian city of Malawi. [more]

TRAVEL | Nordic airline SAS has reached an agreement with its pilots to end the strike that has cancelled about half of the airline's flights over the past two week. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Taliban officials say at least 31 people were injured in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika province today when a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck the region. [more]

UBER | Ride-share company Uber will reportedly pay several million dollars in compensation and modify its wait time fee policy to settle a Justice Department lawsuit that claimed the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by charging disabled passengers wait time fees because it took them longer to enter ride share cars. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | The U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp to build 375 F-35 fighter jets over three years in a deal worth an estimated $30 billion. [more]

SOCCER | The U.S. defeated Canada, 1-0, last night to win the CONCACAF W Championship, securing a spot in the 2024 Olympics. The lone U.S. goal was scored by Alex Morgan on a penalty kick in the 78th minute. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1848, the women's suffrage movement in the United States was launched with the opening of the Seneca Falls Convention, which sought to gain certain rights and privileges for women, notably the right to vote. [more history]