August 11, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 169 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say satellite imagery shows that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed or significantly damaged in a series of explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday, despite Russian claims that no airplanes were damaged. [more]
• In a parliamentary resolution yesterday, Latvia designated Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism" over its invasion of Ukraine and said that "Latvia recognizes Russia's actions in Ukraine as targeted genocide against the Ukrainian people." [more]
• In an interview with Russian state news agency TASS, Chinese ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said today that the U.S. was the main instigator of the war in Ukraine due to its push for NATO expansion and support for Ukrainian alignment with the European Union rather than Russia. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | AAA reports that the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell this week to $3.99 -- the first average below $4 per gallon in more than five months. [more]

MORE U.S. ECONOMY | The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday that consumer prices rose 8.5% in July, compared to the year-ago period, with falling fuel prices being responsible for a smaller increase than in June. [more]

MICHIGAN | State environmental regulators in Michigan say an operator at a Tribar Manufacturing plant along Michigan's Huron River overrode an alarm more than 450 times ahead of the release of some 10,000 gallons of toxic chrome plating solution into the river last month. [more]

INDIANA | Officials in Evansville, Indiana, say at least three people were killed, and 39 homes damaged, when an explosion occurred yesterday at an area home. Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are investigating the cause of the explosion. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | In appearing for a deposition yesterday with the New York attorney general’s office in connection with investigations into his company's business practices, former President Donald Trump answered one question, about his name, read a statement into the record in which he questioned the investigation, then invoked the Fifth Amendment for all other questions, according to Trump attorney Ronald Fischetti. [more]

FRANCE | Authorities in France say more than 1,000 firefighters are involved in battling a major wildfire in the country's Gironde region and neighboring Landes. The fire, which broke out Tuesday, has burned some 26 square miles, forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people, and destroyed at least 16 houses. [more]

GERMANY | Officials at Germany's Transport Ministry say the water level of some portions of the Rhine River could reach critically low levels in the coming days, making it difficult for ships to move goods. Drought, high temperatures, and climate change have been cited as possible reasons for the low water levels. [more]

U.K. TERRORISM | Suspected Islamic State group member Aine Davis, 38, was arrested on terrorism charges in Britain today after being deported from Turkey. Davis is alleged to have been a member of a hostage-taking cell responsible for the killing of several captives in Syria and Iraq in 2014. [more]

SIERRA LEONE | The government of Sierra Leone imposed a nationwide curfew yesterday after at least two police officers and one civilian were killed in anti-government protests in the West African nation's capital of Freetown. [more]

KASHMIR | At least three Indian soldiers and two suspected militants were killed today when rebel forces attacked an Indian military camp in the disputed Kashmir region, according to local police officials. [more]

NORTH KOREA | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said today that his country has been victorious in its battle against COVID-19 and called for a lifting of major preventive measures. North Korea reported its first official case of coronavirus in May. [more]

CLIMATE | A study published yesterday in the journal Science Advances concludes that city-level methane emissions are significantly higher than previously estimated and that emissions from landfills contribute much more to overall emissions than previously thought. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1929, in a game against the Cleveland Indians, Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit his 500th career home run, becoming the first baseball player to reach that milestone. [more history]