September 15, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 204 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reuters cites multiple unnamed Russian sources as saying Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a provisional deal with Kyiv that would satisfy Russia's demand that Ukraine stay out of NATO ahead of the February Russian invasion of Ukraine. In response to the reporting, Kremlin officials said there was no such agreement and that the reports have "absolutely no relation to reality."  [more]
• Ukrainian military officials say eight Russian cruise missiles struck in and around the central Ukraine city of Kryvyi Rih yesterday, damaging the Karachunov reservoir dam. More than 100 homes are reported to have been flooded as a result of damage to the dam. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Results from a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released yesterday show a U.S. approval rating of 45% for President Joe Biden -- up from a low of 36% in July. [more]

RAIL STRIKE | Ahead of a Friday deadline, the White House announced this morning that a tentative agreement has been reached on pay and working conditions issues between major U.S. railways and rail worker unions to avert a rail strike that threatened to intensify nationwide supply chain issues. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Labor Department data released yesterday shows that the producer price index -- a measure of product inflation before it reaches consumers -- fell 0.1% from July to August, but remained high at 8.7% compared to the year-ago period. [more]

DIPLOMACY | Veteran diplomat Lynne Tracy, currently the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, has been nominated by the Biden administration to be the new U.S. ambassador to Russia. [more]

DELAWARE | A state judge ruled yesterday that Delaware's new vote-by-mail law violates provisions on absentee voting in the state's constitution and that universal voting by mail cannot be used in the upcoming November elections. [more]

GLOBAL FOOD | Officials at the World Bank say the organization is willing to provide up to $30 billion to help fight global food shortages aggravated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [more]

RUSSIA AND CHINA | Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet one-on-one to discuss Ukraine and other issues at a summit of the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which begins today in Uzbekistan. [more]

MILITARY RESEARCH | Reports say Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have agreed that their nations will undertake joint technological research to counter hypersonic weapons. [more]

FORCED LABOR | Citing data from the International Labor Organization estimating the global number of people engaged in forced labor at 27.6 million, the European Commission yesterday proposed implementing a ban on products within the European Union that are manufactured using forced labor. [more]

QUEEN ELIZABETH II | Reports say the line to view the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall stretched some 5 kilometers (3 miles) this morning in London. [more]

AMAZON | The state of California has filed a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Amazon, accusing the company of violating antitrust and unfair competition laws by requiring third-party sellers on its platform to not sell products on other sites at lower prices. [more]

GREEN BUSINESS | Technology giant Samsung Electronics says it will invest about $5 billion in environmental initiatives to help achieve the company's goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. [more]

BUSINESS CHARITY | Yvon Chouinard, founder of the California-based outdoor clothing company Patagonia, has announced that he has turned the company over to a charitable trust, and that, moving forward, any profit not reinvested in running the business will go toward fighting climate change. [more]

MUSIC | Allison Russell won album of the year for “Outside Child" at the Americana Honors and Awards held last night in Nashville Tennessee. Billy Strings won artist of the year, and Brandi Carlile won song of the year for “Right On Time." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1821, Central American notables accepted a plan drafted by the Mexican caudillo Agustín de Iturbide that brought independence from Spain to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. [more history]