November 30, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 279 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that the E.U. will try to set up a special tribunal, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. [more]
• At the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, yesterday, alliance foreign ministers discussed ways to ease political, energy, and territorial tensions in Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Steward Rhodes, founder of the far-right Oath Keepers group, was convicted by a Washington, DC, jury yesterday of seditious conspiracy for his actions aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election and preventing the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. A co-defendant who led the Oath Keepers’ Florida chapter was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, while three other associates were cleared of the charge. [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA | Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said yesterday that nuclear arms control talks scheduled to begin this week between the U.S. and Russia have been postponed due to differences in approaches to the talks and tensions over the war in Ukraine. [more]

U.S. GUN DEATHS | In a paper published yesterday in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers say firearm-related fatalities in the U.S. reached a nearly-30-year high last year and increased by 45.5% between 2004 and 2021. According to the paper, 1,110,421 people in the U.S. were killed both intentionally and accidentally by a firearm between 1990 and 2021. [full paper] [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are widely expected to select New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to be the House Democratic leader today in a closed-door caucus meeting. If elected, Jeffries would be the first Black person to hold a top party leadership job in the House or Senate. [more]

RAIL STRIKE | The House has scheduled debate today on a Biden administration proposal that calls for Congress to impose a compromise labor agreement on rail workers and companies ahead of a December 9 strike deadline. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | A new report from the non-profit Conference Board says its measure of U.S. consumer confidence fell in November for the second month in a row. [more]

U.S. AND FRANCE | In the first state visit of the Biden administration, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Washington last night for a three-day stay. Talks between Biden and Macron are expected to focus on the war in Ukraine, economic relations with China, issues in Iran, and economic cooperation. [more]

MARRIAGE LEGISLATION | The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to approve legislation aimed at protecting same-sex and interracial marriage. The Respect for Marriage Act, if approved by the House and signed into law, would not mandate that states legalize such marriages, but would require them to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Reports say as many as 15 people were killed today in a bomb explosion at a religious school in northern Afghanistan’s Samangan province. No claims of responsibility for the blast have yet been made. [more]

CHINA | Following widespread protests against COVID-19-related lockdowns and other restrictions, China’s ruling Communist Party, while not directly addressing the protests, said yesterday that it would “resolutely crack down on infiltration and sabotage activities by hostile forces.” [more]

MORE CHINA | China’s official Xinhua News Agency reports that former President Jiang Zemin died from leukemia and multiple organ failure today in Shanghai at the age of 96. Jiang led China in various roles from 1989 to 2004 and oversaw market-oriented reforms that led to decades of rapid economic growth in China. [more]

PAKISTAN | Reports say at least three people were killed, and 30 others injured, today when a suicide bomber attacked a police escort mission that was protecting a polio vaccination team near the city of Quetta in southwestern Pakistan. The Islamic group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

COLOMBIA | Citing his government’s efforts to address regional migration, Colombian ambassador to the U.S. Luis Alberto Murillo Urrutia has asked the U.S. to grant temporary legal status to Colombians currently living in the United States. [more]

RUSSIA AND CHINA | According to the Russian defense ministry, joint air exercises involving Russian and Chinese strategic warplanes conducted over the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea yesterday marked the first time that the two countries’ military aircraft landed at each other's airfields as part of a joint air patrol. [more]

QATAR | In an interview this week with British journalist Piers Morgan, Hassan al-Thawadi, head of Qatar’s efforts to prepare for the 2022 World Cup, said that between 400 and 500 migrant workers died in projects connected to the tournament. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Saying his actions undermined trust in government, Australia’s parliament today voted to censure former Prime Minister Scott Morrison for secretly appointing himself to five ministerial roles — health, finance, treasury, resources and home affairs — during the COVID-19 pandemic. [more]

WORLD CUP | The Netherlands beat Qatar, Senegal beat Ecuador, England beat Wales, and the United States beat Iran in yesterday’s World Cup matches in Qatar. Today’s matches include Australia vs Denmark, Tunisia vs France, Poland vs Argentina, and Saudi Arabia vs Mexico. [full schedule and results] [more]

MORE WORLD CUP | The U.S. advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup with yesterday’s 1-0 win over Iran and will face the Netherlands on Saturday. Christian Pulisic, who scored the game’s only goal, was injured in yesterday’s game, but is hopeful to return for Saturday’s match. [more]

TWITTER | In a move not publicized by the company, but reportedly spotted by users this week, social media company Twitter recently changed its online rules, saying that, “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy.” Public health experts have warned that the change could have serious consequences if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat COVID-19. [more]

MUSIC | The global top songs of 2022, according to the newly released Apple Music Top 100 list, were: “Stay” by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, “As It Was” by Harry Styles, “Wait For U” by Future featuring Drake and Tems, “Super Gremlin” by Kodak Black, and “Easy on Me” by Adele. [full list] [more]

R.I.P. | Actor Clarence Gilyard Jr., best known for his supporting roles in television’s “Matlock” and “Walker, Texas Ranger,” and in the films “Die Hard” and “Top Gun,” died this week at the age of 66, according to a release from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he taught stage and screen acting. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1782, Britain and the United States signed the preliminary articles of the Treaty of Paris as part of the Peace of Paris, a collection of treaties concluding the American Revolution. [more history]