June 7, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 468 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reports say damage from yesterday's collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on the Dnipro River, for which Russia and Ukraine continue to blame one another, will take days to assess as thousands of people continue to be evacuated due to flooding in southeastern Ukraine. [more]
• In his nightly address last night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Russia is resigned to losing control of Russian-annexed Crimea and destroyed the Kakhovka dam to cut off the region’s fresh water supply. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Police say two people were killed, and five others wounded, yesterday when a gunman opened fire outside the city-owned Altria Theater in downtown Richmond, Virginia, where a high school graduation had just been held. Interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards says a 19-year-old suspect has been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting. [more]

NORTHEASTERN U.S. | Air quality alerts were issued yesterday for multiple regions of the northeastern United States yesterday, ranging from the Great Lakes region to New York City, Philadelphia, and much of New England, due to smoke from Canadian wildfires intensifying in the affected areas. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | Reports say federal authorities investigating the possession of classified documents by former President Donald Trump are making use of a previously unreported second grand jury — this one in Florida. Testimony in the case has been largely before a DC-based grand jury up to now and it is unknown at this time why, or for which witnesses, an additional grand jury has been convened. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum are both expected to formally launch their bids for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination today. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie kicked off his campaign for the same nomination yesterday. [more]

U.S. AND U.K. | British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives in the U.S. today, where he will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, business leaders, and members of Congress this week for talks aimed at strengthening economic ties between the two countries. [more]

CANADA | More than 150 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Quebec, 110 of which are still characterized as uncontrolled, according to provincial authorities, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people and contributing to air quality hazards in both the U.S. and Canada. [more]

GLOBAL ECONOMY | Economists with the World Bank say they predict global economic activity to expand by 2.1% in 2023 — down from 3.1% growth in 2022. The bank’s Global Economic Prospects report says high interest rates, repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic will all contribute to the economic slowdown this year. [more]

NATO | Germany will host the largest military air deployment exercise in the NATO alliance’s history next week. As many as 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations are expected to take part in the 10-day Air Defender 23 exercise. [more]

HAITI | Officials with Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency say at least four people were killed, and 36 others were injured, yesterday when a 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation’s southern coast. The quake struck amidst ongoing recovery efforts from the effects of widespread flooding in Haiti over the past several days in which more than 40 people are reported to have died and thousands have been displaced. [more]

MEXICO | Authorities in the Mexican state of Jalisco say the bodies of eight young workers at a call center operated by the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel have been identified and that they suspect the workers were killed by the cartel after trying to quit their jobs. [more]

POPE FRANCIS | Vatican officials say Pope Francis, 86, is scheduled to undergo abdominal surgery today in Rome to treat an intestinal blockage. Francis is expected to be hospitalized for several days following the procedure. [more]

FRANCE | Rallies, strikes, and marches were held across France yesterday in continuing opposition to the law that increased the national retirement age from 62 to 64. Reports say about a third of flights at Paris’ Orly Airport were cancelled and about 10% of scheduled trains were disrupted due to strikes yesterday. [more]

RWANDA | In a ruling yesterday, judges at the U.N.’s International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals said 88-year-old Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga is unfit to stand trial because he has dementia. [more]

SRI LANKA | Reports say police in Colombo, Sri Lanka, used tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of students taking part in protests today to demand the release of people arrested last year during anti-government protests. [more]

KOSOVO | In a Reuters interview, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said she is open to calling for new elections in Serb-majority municipalities if 20% of voters sign a petition asking for them. [more]

AI | On a visit to the United Arab Emirates yesterday, Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, reiterated his call for an international agency to oversee and mitigate risks associated with the development of powerful artificial intelligence systems, similar to how the International Atomic Energy Agency oversees nuclear developments and threats. [more]

CRYPTOCURRENCY | Following a similar move on Monday against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against leading crypto platform Coinbase yesterday, saying the company has acted as a middleman on crypto transactions while evading disclosure requirements meant to protect investors. [more]

GOLF | Following two years of disruptions and lawsuits, the PGA Tour, the European tour, and the Saudi investment fund behind LIV Golf announced an agreement yesterday to merge for the creation of a global for-profit commercial golf venture. Reports say all lawsuits between the groups will be dropped as part of the merger. [more]

R.I.P. | Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian female singer featured in the Grammy Award-winning 1965 hit “The Girl from Ipanema,” died Monday at the age of 83. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas—an agreement between Spain and Portugal aimed at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered or explored by Christopher Columbus and other late 15th-century voyagers—was signed. [more history]