November 16, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 265 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Two people were killed yesterday when a missile struck the eastern Poland village of Przewodow, which Is located about six miles from the country’s border with Ukraine, prompting emergency meetings of G7 and NATO member nations. Russia has denied responsibility for firing the missile and reports suggest it could well have been an air defense missile fired by Ukrainian forces to intercept Russian missiles. [more]
• Ukrainian officials say most of some 85 missiles fired across Ukraine by Russian forces yesterday specifically targeted energy infrastructure sites, resulting in widespread power outages across the country. [more]
• A new report from the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says investigations conducted by its Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine show that both Ukrainian and Russian forces have engaged in widespread abuse and torture of prisoners of war. [full report] [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Former President Donald Trump last night launched his third campaign for the U.S. presidency at an event held at his Florida home. [more]

IDAHO | Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt said yesterday that preliminary evidence suggests the four University of Idaho students found dead in an off-campus house earlier this week in Moscow, Idaho, were stabbed to death. Local police say there is no imminent risk to the community, but have not released information on what evidence has led them to that belief. [more]

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP | Republican leader Kevin McCarthy won his party’s nomination yesterday to become House speaker and will face a full House vote for the position when the new Congress convenes in January. In the Senate, where a leadership vote is scheduled for today, Florida Sen. Rick Scott announced yesterday that he will challenge Mitch McConnell for the Republican leadership role. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released yesterday, the producer price index measure of wholesale inflation rose 0.2% in October — less than the 0.4% increase projected. Year-over-year, the PPI rose 8.0% in October — down from 8.4% in September. [more]

U.S. BORDERS | A federal district court judge yesterday ordered the lifting of the Trump-era Title 42 public health asylum restrictions that have been used under the Trump and Biden administrations to deny entry into the U.S. as a COVID-19 preventive measure. Reports say the Justice Department has asked that the judicial order not take effect until December 21 to give border enforcement agencies time to prepare for the change.  [more]

MARRIAGE LEGISLATION | The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hold a vote today on moving forward with proposed legislation that would ensure the recognition and legality of same-sex and interracial marriages nationwide. If the new “Respect for Marriage Act” moves forward, a final vote on the legislation is expected to take place by the end of November. [more]

OPIOID CRISIS | Retail giant Walmart yesterday proposed that it pay $3.1 billion to settle state and local allegations that it improperly filled prescriptions for opioid painkillers. The move follows similar proposals from pharmacy chains Walgreen and CVS earlier this month. [more]

CLIMATE | At the COP27 U.N. climate summit in Egypt today, Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva committed to protecting the Amazon rainforest and proposed that the COP30 summit be held in Brazil in 2025. [more]

U.K. ECONOMY | Britain’s Office for National Statistics said today that consumer inflation in the U.K. rose 11.1% in October, compared to the year-ago period — the country’s highest inflation rate since 1981. [more]

OMAN | Reports say an oil tanker was struck by a bomb-carrying drone about 150 miles off the coast of Oman last night. Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, operator of the Liberian-flagged Pacific Zircon tanker, say there was minor damage to the ship’s hull, but no spillage of cargo or water ingress. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | Newly released data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that new home prices in China fell 1.6% in October, compared to the year-ago period — the largest year-over-year decline since August 2015. [more]

EUROPEAN TRAVEL | The European Commission today called for Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania to be admitted to the 26-nation Schengen area to allow unrestricted travel between the three countries and most other European nations. The European Council is expected to vote on the admissions in December. [more]

SPACE | The NASA Artemis I mission began early this morning with the successful launch of the agency’s new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The unmanned moon-orbiting mission is scheduled to last for 25 days. [mission website] [more]

GRAMMY AWARDS | Beyoncé received a pack-leading nine nominations, including for best record and song of the year, as nominees for the 2023 Grammy Awards were announced last night. Other leading nominees were Kendrick Lamar with eight nominations and Adele and Brandi Carlile with seven each. [full list of nominations] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman in modern history to lead a Muslim country. She served as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. [more history]