August 16, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 174 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu are reported to have held a phone call earlier this week to discuss the safe operation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been threatened by nearby fighting over the past several weeks. [more]
• Reports say as many as 2,000 people in the Dzhankoi district of the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula were evacuated today following a series of explosions that Russian officials say were the result of a fire at an ammunition depot. [more]

U.S. INFLATION REDUCTION ACT | President Joe Biden is expected to sign the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act into law today. The bill, which provides major funding for fighting climate change, lowering healthcare costs, and reducing the deficit, was passed in the House and Senate along party lines. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | After having released the search warrant and inventory of items taken from former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida last week, the U.S. Justice Department is opposing efforts to also release the affidavit supporting the search warrant, saying that doing so would "cause significant and irreparable damage" to its ongoing investigations. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The July U.S. Customs and Border Protection operational update says U.S. authorities stopped migrants along the border with Mexico 199,976 times in July, down 3.8% from June and down 6.8% from the July 2021 level. [CBP July report] [more]

TRUMP ORGANIZATION | The Associated Press cites unnamed sources as saying Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is expected to plead guilty later this week in a tax evasion case that is the only criminal prosecution so far to arise from a long-running investigation into former President Donald Trump's company. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Two states -- Alaska and Wyoming -- are holding primary elections today to choose candidates for November's general elections. [more]

U.S. TRANSPORTATION | The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today that it is providing $1.66 billion to cities and states to purchase as many as 1,800 zero- and low-emission public transit buses. [more]

COVID-19 | The U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency yesterday approved the use of a new COVID-19 booster vaccine from Moderna -- the first vaccine to specifically target two different coronavirus variants. [more]

KENYA | The Kenyan electoral commission yesterday declared Deputy President William Ruto to be the winner of the East African country's tightly contested presidential election. Ruto's opponent, Raila Odinga, has yet to comment on the election results, and reports say he may challenge the outcome in court within the legally mandated seven-day post-election period. [more]

SYRIA | Reports say at least one civilian was killed, and several others wounded, today in an escalation of artillery fire between Turkish forces and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters around the northern Syrian border town of Kobane. [more]

JAPAN | Heavy rains in northern and western Japan this week are leading to a high risk of landslides and flooding, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. [more]

R.I.P. | Pakistani doctor Nafis Sadik, who championed international efforts for women's health, rights, and empowerment as head of the U.N. Population Fund, died earlier this week at the age of 92. [more]

NCAA FOOTBALL | Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season, followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, and Notre Dame. [full pre-season top 25] [more]

SOCCER | World soccer governing body FIFA has suspended India's football federation for "undue influence by third parties." The suspension puts at risk India's hosting of the Under-17 Women's World Cup, which is scheduled for October. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1977, American singer Elvis Presley, known as the “King of Rock and Roll,” died of a heart attack brought on largely by drug abuse. [more history]