August 31, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 189 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• A U.N. team of nuclear inspectors left Kyiv today, heading to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he hoped to establish a permanent mission in Ukraine to monitor safety at the plant, which has been damaged in recent fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. [more]
• Russian exports of natural gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline were stopped this morning as a previously announced three-day pause in gas flow went into effect. Russia says the pause is for maintenance, while European leaders contend that it is part of Russia's attempts to punish European countries for supporting Ukraine. [more]

RUSSIA | Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev died yesterday in Moscow at the age of 91. As the final Soviet leader, Gorbachev oversaw the breakup of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. [more]

COVID TESTS | The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that ordering of free at-home COVID-19 tests at covid.gov will be suspended on Friday, September 2 due to lack of funding. [more]

U.S. LIFE EXPECTANCY | A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report scheduled to be released today says U.S. life expectancy dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021, and that the COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for about half of the decline. Life expectancy for U.S. women fell about 10 months, from just under 80 years in 2020 to slightly more than 79 in 2021, while that of men dropped a full year, from about 74 years to 73 over the same period. [more]

U.S. EMPLOYMENT | Labor Department jobs data released yesterday indicates there were 11.2 million open jobs in the U.S. at the end of July, or nearly two job openings for each of the 5.7 million Americans who reported being unemployed in July. [more]

MISSISSIPPI | Large parts of Jackson, Mississippi, remain without running water this morning, as work continues to restore operations at one of the two water treatment plants in the city. Reports say longstanding problems at the plant were exacerbated by regional flooding this week. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | In a court filing yesterday, the U.S. Justice Department suggested that classified documents were likely concealed and removed from former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida as part of an effort to obstruct the federal investigation into the government records. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | A new Justice Department policy announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland yesterday bans the department's political appointees from attending fundraisers and other campaign events. Garland said the new restrictions are to help ensure that politics, “both in fact and appearance,” won’t affect the way the law is enforced or how investigations are conducted. [more]

COVID-19 | Data from the Chicago Public Schools system shows that cases of coronavirus infection in students' first week of the new school year were 3.3 times higher than the same period last year. Reports cite the prevalence of the newer BA.5 variant and loosening of COVID mitigation measures as contributing to the increased infection levels seen this year. [more]

CLIMATE | The U.N. World Meteorological Organization said today that a rare third-straight-year of the global La Niña climate pattern will last through the end of 2022. [more]

PAKISTAN | U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday launched an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding to provide food, water, sanitation, health, and other forms of aid to millions of people affected by record-breaking floods across much of Pakistan. [more]

TAIWAN | Military officials in Taiwan said yesterday that their troops fired warning shots at Chinese drones that were flying over the territory's outposts on the Kinmen island group. [more]

EUROPEAN ECONOMY | The European Union statistics agency, Eurostat, reported yesterday that annualized inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro rose to 9.1% in August, up from 8.9% in July. [more]

CHINA | China's ruling Communist Party announced yesterday that its next congress will begin October 16.  Xi Jinping is expected to secure an historic third leadership term at the congress, which is held every five years. [more]

SPACE | NASA announced yesterday that it has rescheduled the launch of its Artemis 1 mission to Saturday, September 3, after Monday's launch was postponed due to engine problems. [more]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES | Toyota Motor Corp. announced today that it will increase its investment in a new U.S. battery plant from $1.29 billion to $3.8 billion in response to rising consumer demand for electric vehicles. The Liberty, North Carolina, plant is scheduled to open in 2025. [more]

TENNIS | Last year's U.S. Open women's champion Emma Raducanu lost to Alizé Cornet last night in the 2022 tournament. Also last night, four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka lost to Danielle Collins. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1980, Polish labour activist Lech Wałęsa and Mieczysław Jagielski, Poland's first deputy premier, signed an agreement that conceded to workers the right to organize freely and independently. [more history]