June 16, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 477 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian state media cites Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov as saying today that Russia is unlikely to withdraw from the U.N.-brokered deal allowing the shipment of grain from Ukrainian ports before the deal’s July 17 renewal date. Reports note, however, that Russian officials have cast doubt on a renewal of the grain shipment deal past the July expiration date. [more]
• Senior officials from South Africa, Zambia, Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, and the Comoro Islands make up an African delegation that arrived in Ukraine today for a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss possible ways to end Ukraine's war with Russia. The delegation is scheduled to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, later today ahead of a Saturday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Police say the man suspected of shooting and killing three children and wounding a woman yesterday afternoon in Monroe Township, Ohio, was arrested and charged with aggravated murder. The suspect, Chad Doerman, 32, is believed to be the father of the children, who were 3, 4, and 7 years old. [more]

TEXAS | Authorities in the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton say at least three people were killed, dozens of others were injured, and numerous homes and businesses were destroyed when a tornado struck the area yesterday afternoon. Reports say as many as 200,000 customers remain without electricity in the region due to the series of storms that sparked the tornado. [more]

MINNESOTA | The U.S. Justice Department is expected to release a report on its two-year “pattern or practice” investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department today. The investigation was launched in May 2021 following the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. [more]

CYBERSECURITY | Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency say the multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, are among the business and governmental organizations affected by a recent hacking and ransomware operation by the Russian cyber-extortion group CL0P. The cyberattack, which reports say also affected the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Nova Scotia provincial government, British Airways, the British Broadcasting Company, and the U.K. drugstore chain Boots, among others, exploited the MoveIt secure file transfer program from Progress Software. [more]

SUPREME COURT | The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the system giving preference to Native American families in foster care and adoptions of Native American children should be left in place, rejecting arguments against the policy by opponents who criticize it for being based on race. [more]

U.S. AND KOREA | For the first time in six years, the U.S. has deployed a guided-missile nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea. The USS Michigan arrived in the South Korean port of Busan today as part of a recent agreement under which the U.S. plans to enhance the visibility of strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula in response to ongoing threats from North Korea. [more]

SUDAN | The United Nations children’s organization, UNICEF, says more than 330 children have been killed in two months of fighting in Sudan between the country’s military and paramilitary forces, and that as many as 13 million children in the northeast African country are in need of humanitarian assistance. [more]

KASHMIR | Indian authorities say five suspected militants were killed today during a counterinsurgency operation in the disputed Kashmir border region between India and Pakistan. [more]

CANADA | Police in the Canadian province of Manitoba say 15 people were killed, and 10 others injured, yesterday when a bus carrying senior citizens to a casino collided with a cargo truck near the town of Carberry. [more]

CLIMATE | U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said yesterday that oil and other fossil fuel companies are risking the world’s future for profits on products that are “incompatible with human survival.” Guterres' comments came amidst ongoing planning for the upcoming COP28 climate summit in Dubai, which begins November 30. [more]

MORE CLIMATE | Researchers at the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said yesterday that the world experienced its warmest early June on record this year, with global surface air temperatures briefly reaching the key warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels early in the month. The agency also warned of the risks of higher extreme temperatures as the worldwide El Niño weather pattern begins. [press release] [more]

CYCLONE BIPARJOY | Evaluation of damage is underway in western India and southeastern Pakistan today following the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy last night. Reports say at least two people are known to have died in the storm, which is expected to weaken first to a cyclonic storm and then to a depression by this evening, according to Pakistan’s national disaster management agency. [more]

JAPANESE ECONOMY | Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock index reached a 33-year high today — up 0.7% to 33,706.08. The new record followed a decision by the Bank of Japan to keep its key interest rate at its long-standing minus 0.1% level. [more]

POPE FRANCIS | Nine days after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia and remove scarring from previous surgeries, Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital today. [more]

GOLF | Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele each shot record-setting first round 62s yesterday to share the lead following the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament in Los Angeles. [more]

SOCCER | The U.S. men’s national soccer team beat Mexico, 3-0, last night to secure a matchup in Sunday’s CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada. [more]

CYCLING | Reports say Swiss cyclist Gino Mader died this morning at the age of 26 from injuries sustained in a crash yesterday on stage five of the Tour de Suisse race. [more]

BASEBALL | Amidst Major League Baseball’s ongoing process to approve the Oakland Athletics’ move to Las Vegas, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed a $380 million public financing package into law yesterday to help build a new stadium for the team on the Las Vegas Strip. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | Pop star Gloria Estefan, rapper and producer Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, and Electric Light Orchestra founder Jeff Lynne were among the inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last night in New York City. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel in space, having been launched into orbit aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6, which completed 48 orbits around Earth in 71 hours.  [more history]