April 4, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 404 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi is scheduled to visit Kaliningrad, Russia, tomorrow for talks aimed at ensuring the security of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power plant. [more]
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that Western countries have sent a total of about 65 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began and that NATO is prepared to support Ukraine “for the long haul.” [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | Former U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon at a Manhattan courthouse following his indictment last week by a grand jury investigating alleged hush money payments made on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Trump is expected to address the indictment at a rally scheduled for this evening at his home in Florida. [more]

TENNESSEE | Republican lawmakers in Tennessee’s House of Representatives filed resolutions yesterday to expel three Democratic members from the House, saying their actions in leading gun-control chants with supporters in the body’s viewing gallery last week brought “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.” The votes to remove Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson are scheduled for Thursday. [more]

NEW YORK | Following last week’s lifting of most related injunctions, regulators in New York yesterday approved 99 new provisional licenses for recreational marijuana dispensaries in the state, bringing to 165 the total of such license approvals since adult use of recreational marijuana was legalized two years ago. [more]

FLORIDA | Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law yesterday that allows concealed carrying of firearms in Florida without a permit. The law is scheduled to go into effect July 1. [more]

CHICAGO | Voters in today’s runoff mayoral election will choose between two Democratic candidates: former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas and former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson. [more]

U.S. AND SYRIA | U.S. military officials say a drone strike carried out by the American-led coalition in northwestern Syria yesterday killed senior Islamic State group member Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, who is reported to have overseen planning for Islamic State attacks in Europe. [more]

NATO | With ceremonies to be held today in Brussels, Finland will become a member of the NATO alliance. The Nordic country’s accession comes on the 74th anniversary of the founding of NATO. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Reports say two Israeli soldiers were stabbed by a Palestinian suspect this morning near the Tel Aviv-area Tsrifin military base. The incident occurred one day after two Palestinians gunmen were killed in an Israeli arrest raid in the West Bank city of Nablus. [more]

FRANCE AND CHINA | French President Emmanuel Macron begins a three-day visit to China tomorrow, where he is scheduled to meet with multiple Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping. Main topics of discussion at the meetings are expected to include Ukraine, human rights, climate change, and trade. [more]

INDIA | An Indian court yesterday suspended opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s two-year prison sentence pending his appeal of a criminal defamation conviction for comments made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname during an election rally in 2019. [more]

MORE INDIA | Authorities say at least six people were killed, eight hospitalized, and an unknown number remain missing, when an avalanche buried multiple tourist vehicles today in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim. [more]

SPACE | NASA yesterday announced the names of four astronauts who will take part in the Artemis II mission late next year. Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen will fly around the moon on the mission in preparation for a planned lunar landing as early as 2025. [more]

AI | Amidst growing development and use of artificial intelligence systems, as well as related concerns, U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with science and technology advisers at the White House today to discuss the risks and opportunities related to AI. [more]

NCAA BASKETBALL | Connecticut beat San Diego State, 76-59, last night to claim the 2023 men’s NCAA basketball championship. UConn’s Adama Sanogo was named the game’s most outstanding player. [more]

COUNTRY MUSIC | Singers Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless, and songwriter Bob McDill, have been announced as this year’s inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. [more]

LITERATURE | This year’s winners of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which have recognized books that have made important contributions to the understanding of racism, diversity, and human cultures since 1935, have been announced. Winners of the 2023 awards include: “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks, “The Family Chao” by Lan Samantha Chang, “Half American” by Matthew F. Delmont, and "Alive at the End of the World” by Saeed Jones. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader of the American civil rights movement who was in Memphis, Tennessee, to support a strike by the city's sanitation workers, was assassinated by James Earl Ray. [more history]