August 30, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 188 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian military officials said yesterday that their forces have launched a major counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region. [more]
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that only technological problems caused by Western sanctions are responsible for cuts in Russian gas exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Russian officials announced recently that the pipeline will be shut for maintenance for three days starting tomorrow. [more]
• France's Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher yesterday accused Russia of using control of gas exports as a "weapon of war." [more]
• European Union ministers meeting in Prague today discussed several issues related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including ways to increase weapon production, expand military training for Ukrainian armed forces, and inflict heavier costs on Russia. [more]

U.S. GUN CONTROL | The White House says President Biden will speak about his proposal to restore a federal ban on assault-style weapons today in a speech at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | The U.S. Department of Justice says an initial review of documents seized from the Florida home of former President Donald Trump earlier this month has identified "a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information." [more]

SPACE | The launch of the NASA Artemis 1 mission was postponed yesterday due to issues with the temperature of the Space Launch System's hydrogen fuel on one of its engines. The next available window to launch Artemis 1 will be Friday afternoon. [more]

MONKEYPOX | The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced yesterday that it will provide about $11 million to Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to purchase the necessary equipment to produce the Jynneos vaccine, which protects against monkeypox and smallpox. [more]

MISSISSIPPI | The main water treatment facility in Jackson, Mississippi, failed yesterday amidst the city's flood emergency, leaving residents with little or no water pressure in homes. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, who declared a state of emergency for the city, said its system cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to reliably flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Joshua Pruitt, a member of the Proud Boys far-right group, was sentenced to 55 months in prison for his actions during the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capital. Pruitt pleaded guilty in June to charges of obstructing an official proceeding. [more]

IRAQ | Reports say at least 30 people have died, and more than 400 wounded, in Baghdad since yesterday in clashes between security forces and supporters of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who announced his retirement from politics this week amidst Iraq's political impasse over the formation of a new government. Iraq's military announced a nationwide curfew yesterday due to the ongoing violence. Al-Sadr condemned the violence this morning and called for his supporters to cease their protests in central Baghdad. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths warned yesterday that up to 6 million people are at risk of famine in Afghanistan and called for international donors to provide $770 million to help Afghans get through the winter. [more]

PAKISTAN | U.N. officials are expected to appeal today for $160 million in emergency aid for relief efforts in Pakistan, where more than 500,000 people have been displaced and more than 1,150 have died in widespread flooding since mid-June. [more]

MADAGASCAR | Reports say police in Ikongo, Madagascar, opened fire on a crown trying to storm a police station yesterday, killing 19 people and injuring 21 others. The crowd was reportedly attempting to seize four suspects being held in the police station. [more]

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION | The Associated Press cites internal World Health Organization correspondence as saying that Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the WHO director in the Western Pacific, has been removed from his position following accusations of racist, abusive, and unethical behavior that staffers claim undermined the U.N. agency’s efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic in Asia. [more]

DIGITAL PRIVACY | The U.S. Federal Trade Commission yesterday filed a lawsuit against Kochava Inc., accusing the Idaho-based data broker company of selling sensitive geolocation data from millions of mobile devices. In its lawsuit, the FTC said information the company sells could be used to identify people and track their movements to and from sensitive locations, including reproductive health clinics, homeless shelters, and places of worship. [more]

NETHERLANDS | Almost all train routes in the Netherlands are shut down today as rail workers strike to demand better pay and working conditions. An exception to the route closures is the line linking Amsterdam with the Schiphol Airport. [more]

BASEBALL | New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hit his 50th home run of the season last night in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Judge is only the 10th player in major league history to have multiple 50-home-run seasons. [more]

TENNIS | In what is expected to be her last tournament before retiring from tennis, Serena Williams defeated Montenegro's Danka Kovinic yesterday at the U.S. Open. Williams will face No. 2 seed Anett Kontveit of Estonia in the tournament's second round on Wednesday. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | More than 3,000 movie theaters across the U.S. are expected to take part in this coming Saturday's "National Cinema Day," on which movie tickets will be priced at no more than $3 for every movie showing. The discount day is an initiative of The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1918, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was shot twice in an unsuccessful assassination attempt. [more history]