June 8, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 469 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the region of Kherson affected by the Kakhovka dam breach today and said efforts are underway to continue evacuations, provide aid, and evaluate the environmental and agricultural damage caused by flooding from the dam collapse. [more]
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today accused Ukrainian forces of shelling Russian rescue workers in the areas around the collapsed Kakhovka dam. The accusation comes a day after Ukrainian officials made similar charges against Russian forces. [more]

AIR QUALITY | Millions of people in the U.S. and Canada remain under air quality hazard warnings today as smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires sparks health warnings, outdoor activity limits, event cancellations, and travel advisories. The U.S. National Weather Service says weather patterns in the northeastern U.S. will likely keep the smoke levels high for at least a few more days. [more]

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | Multiple media outlets reported yesterday that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a target letter to attorneys for former President Donald Trump informing them that Trump is the subject of a criminal investigation related to the retention of classified documents at his home in Florida. Such target letters typically indicate that prosecutors feel they have substantial evidence linking someone to a crime. [more]

HOUSE OVERSIGHT | House Oversight Committee chair James Comer says the committee will no longer pursue a contempt of Congress charge against FBI Director Christopher Wray after the FBI offered to give all committee members access to a redacted version of an unverified law enforcement tip that alleges a bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national. [more]

OREGON | In a series of measures meant to help address the city’s homelessness crisis, the Portland, Oregon, city council voted yesterday to pass an ordinance that bans camping during daytime hours in most public places. The new ordinance also prohibits camping near schools, parks, and some other busy locations. [more]

HAWAII | The Kilauea volcano began erupting on Hawaii’s Big Island yesterday after a three-month pause in activity. Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say the eruption and lava flow are not expected to threaten communities on the island. [more]

SUDAN | Officials with the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, say some 300 infants, toddlers and older children have been rescued and relocated from the Al-Mayqoma orphanage in Khartoum, Sudan, amidst ongoing fighting between the country’s military and paramilitary forces. Reports say 71 children have died from hunger or illness at the orphanage since mid-April. [more]

ITALY | Italian coast guard officials say more than 1,400 migrants have been rescued from overcrowded boats attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea this week in four separate operations off the coast of southern Italy. [more]

EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION | Interior ministers from European Union nations are meeting in Luxembourg today for talks about how to share responsibility for migrants that enter the 27-nation bloc without authorization. [more]

E.U. ECONOMY | European Union statistics agency Eurostat reports that the seasonally adjusted gross domestic product in nations that use the euro currency fell by 0.1% and increased by 0.1% in the European Union as a whole during the first quarter of 2023. [full report] [more]

JAPAN | A ruling today by southern Japan’s Fukuoka District Court says that Japan’s lack of legal protections for LGTBQ+ people and for same-sex marriage appears to be unconstitutional. [more]

FRANCE | Police in southeastern France say a Syrian national wounded at least four children and an adult in a stabbing attack today in the town of Annecy. Three of the victims are reported to be in critical condition. [more]

MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA | After 18 years of related disputes, Malaysian and Indonesian leaders signed treaties today specifying the delineation of territorial seas between the two nations in the Straits of Malacca and the Sulawesi Sea. Officials also pledged to improve border crossings, strengthen border trade, and promote investment between the two Southeast Asian countries. [more]

ETHIOPIA | The United States Agency for International Development announced today that it has suspended food assistance to Ethiopia because its donations are being diverted away from people in need, and that aid will resume only when reforms are in place. [more]

BASKETBALL | The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray became the first teammates in NBA history to record 30-point triple doubles in a game last night, leading Denver to a 109-94 win over the Miami Heat and giving the Nuggets a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. Game 4 of the championship series is scheduled for Friday night. [more]

SOCCER | Soccer icon Lionel Messi announced yesterday that he will join U.S. Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami franchise later this summer. [more]

WALK OF FAME | Late hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur was honored yesterday with the 2,758th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, whose organizers characterized Shakur as “an internationally recognized artist renowned for his work, defying distinction between art and activism” who has “continued to be part of the zeitgeist for decades after his passing and will continue to be an important cultural figure for many years to come.” [more]

R.I.P. | Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, who founded the global Christian Broadcasting Network and was a U.S. Republican presidential candidate in 1988, died today at the age of 93. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1949, British author George Orwell published his dystopian classic "Nineteen Eighty-four," a warning against totalitarianism that introduced such concepts as Big Brother and the Thought Police. [more history]