April 6, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 406 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• At a meeting in Warsaw yesterday, Polish President Andrzej Duda awarded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Poland’s oldest and highest civilian honor, The Order of the White Eagle. Duda and Zelensky are also reported to have signed an agreement for a new aid package of Polish weaponry for Ukraine. [more]
• Speaking to an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council yesterday, Russian commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova said Russia is working with international organizations to return children taken from Ukraine during Russia’s invasion to their families and that their removal was done for reasons of safety. Lvova-Belova, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. [more]

MISSOURI | Reports say least five people were killed when an early-morning tornado struck southeastern Missouri yesterday, primarily affecting areas of Bollinger County — about 50 miles south of St. Louis. [more]

MARYLAND | The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released a report yesterday on its yearslong investigation into sexual abuse by priests and others associated with the Catholic church’s Archdiocese of Baltimore. The report says more than 150 Catholic priests and others with ties to the Archdiocese sexually abused at least 600 children over an 80-year span. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his intention yesterday to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination for next year’s presidential election. Kennedy, a nephew of late President John F. Kennedy, is known as being an anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer. [more]

U.S. MEDIA | Twitter yesterday labeled National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media,” changing its guidelines that had specifically excluded NPR from such a designation because of its editorial independence. No reason was given by Twitter for the change. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | A spokesman for former Vice President Mike Pence said yesterday that Pence will not appeal a recent judicial order compelling him to testify in the Justice Department investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. [more]

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE | The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced nearly $585 million in new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for water infrastructure projects in 11 states yesterday. The 83 projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington are aimed at securing aging dams, improving hydro power generation, providing water treatment, and increasing water conveyance and storage. [more]

ENVIRONMENT | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules yesterday that would tighten restrictions on allowable mercury and other harmful pollutant emissions from coal-fired power plants. [rule proposal] [more]

U.S., CHINA, AND TAIWAN | Following a meeting yesterday in California between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, China said today it would take “resolute and forceful measures” in response and warned that the U.S. was on a “dangerous road” in continuing its support for Taiwan. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Following an announcement by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban this week that Afghan women would no longer be allowed to work for United Nations’ organizations, the U.N. said yesterday that it could not accept the ruling and called it an unparalleled violation of women’s rights. [more]

SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN | Reports say Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed this morning to reopen diplomatic missions in their respective capitals and additional cities — a move that follows last month’s China-brokered reconciliation between the two Middle East countries. [more]

BRAZIL | Authorities in Brazil say four children were killed yesterday when a 25-year-old man attacked students at a day care center in the city of Blumenau. Reports say the suspect, who is in police custody, appears to have had no connection with the center. [more]

NORTH KOREA | In a commentary released by North Korean state media yesterday, security analyst Choe Ju Hyon said joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises are pushing the Korean Peninsula “to the brink of nuclear war.” [more]

INDIA | More than 100 opposition lawmakers in India took part in a protest march today in New Delhi, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration of using government investigative agencies to intimidate opposition leaders and warning of dangers to Indian democracy. [more]

ISRAEL AND GAZA STRIP | Following a second night of clashes between Israeli police and Muslim worshipers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian militants fired as many as seven rockets from Gaza this morning. Israeli officials say all of the rockets exploded in mid-air. [more]

FRANCE | Hundreds of thousands of people in France are expected to take part in nationwide protests and strikes today against the government’s plan to increase the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64. This is the 11th day of national protests against the plan in the past three months. [more]

CYBERSECURITY | U.S. and European authorities announced yesterday that they have taken down a major international online marketplace for stolen account credentials. The Genesis Market, which officials say is based in Russia, provided users with access to data taken from more than 1.5 million computers infected with malware, according to reports. [more]

BASKETBALL | No. 1 seeds in the NBA’s East and West Conference playoffs were clinched last night, with Milwaukee set as the East’s top seed after beating Chicago and Denver securing the West’s No. 1 seeding after New Orleans beat Memphis. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, entering World War I three years after the conflict began.  [more history]