November 8, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 257 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• According to an Interfax news agency report, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that 50,000 Russian soldiers called up as part of his recent mobilization drive are now fighting with combat units in Ukraine. [more]
• North Korean officials yesterday denied reports that Pyongyang has provided rockets and artillery shells to Russia for use in its invasion of Ukraine. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | The evening before today’s mid-term elections saw President Joe Biden campaigning for Democratic candidates at a rally in Maryland, while former President Donald Trump campaigned in Ohio, where he said he would make a “big announcement” next Tuesday, leading to speculation that he could announce a bid for the 2024 presidential race on that date. Every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is up for election this year, as are about a third of U.S. Senate seats. [more]

MORE U.S. ELECTIONS | The Justice Department announced yesterday that members of its Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys’ offices will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 64 jurisdictions in 24 states for today’s general elections. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The Associated Press cites unnamed sources as saying the Justice Department has opened an investigation into Massachusetts’ U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins, citing concerns about Rollins’ appearance at a political fundraiser. [more]

U.S. REAL ESTATE | Mortgage firm Fannie Mae released its latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index report yesterday, which showed that consumer confidence in the U.S. housing market fell in October for the eighth straight month and reached its lowest level since the report was first published in 2011. [more]

RUSSIA AND U.S. | In a social media post yesterday, Kremlin-linked Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted that he has been involved in interfering with U.S. elections, saying, “We have interfered, are interfering and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way.” [more]

NATO | Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is reported to be meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today for talks aimed at securing Turkey’s approval for Sweden’s bid to join the NATO alliance. [more]

CLIMATE | At the U.N. COP27 climate summit in Egypt yesterday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif addressed summer floods in his country that caused an estimated $40 billion in damage, and which have been widely linked to climate change. [more]

CHINA | Chinese officials say at least seven people were arrested in the Shandong province city of Linyi yesterday following what were reported to be clashes between city residents and authorities enforcing COVID-19-related quarantine restrictions. [more]

COVID-19 | Health officials in China reported an increase in COVID-19 cases yesterday, with 7,475 new locally transmitted infections for the day — up from 5,496 the day before and the highest number since May 1. About one-third of the new infections were in the manufacturing hub city of Guangzhou. [more]

DEMENTIA | A study published yesterday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that the age-adjusted prevalence of dementia in the U.S. fell to 8.5% in people over age 65 in 2016, down from 12.2% in 2000. The researchers suggest that increased education, lower levels of smoking, and treatment of risk factors could have played roles in the reduction, as could cognitive and social activities. [full study] [more]

NBA | The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored a season-high 47 points in last night’s 116-113 Warriors’ win over the Sacramento Kings. [more]

NFL | The Indianapolis Colts fired head coach Frank Reich yesterday due to the team’s poor performance halfway through the season. Former Colts’ All-Pro center Jeff Saturday, whose only coaching experience is four years at a Georgia high school, was named the team’s interim head coach. [more]

ARCHAEOLOGY | Archaeologists in Italy have reported the discovery of more than two dozen well preserved bronze statues thought to be about 2,300 years old at the site of an ancient thermal bath in the Tuscan town of San Casciano dei Bagni. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2013, an estimated 8,000 people were killed, and more than a million homes were damaged or destroyed, when the Philippines was struck by Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded to strike land. [more history]