July 28, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 519 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian defense ministry officials say a Ukrainian drone was shot down this morning on the outskirts of Moscow — the third such attempted strike on the Russian capital attributed to Ukraine this month. [more]
• Japan announced an expanded list of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine today that includes an export ban on electric and hybrid vehicles. [more]

U.S. WEATHER | Reports say as much as 60% of the U.S. population is under heat advisories or flood warnings today amidst wide ranging heat waves and severe storm forecasts. [more]

TRUMP DOCUMENTS TRIAL | Special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution team filed new charges yesterday in the case against former President Donald Trump in connection with the alleged illegal retention of classified documents after Trump left office. The updated indictment in the case adds new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, and adds a third defendant, Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, who prosecutors say conspired with Trump and co-defendant Walt Nauta to conceal evidence from investigators. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the nation’s gross domestic product — the key measure of total output of goods and services — grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the April-June quarter. The economic growth rate was up from 2% in the previous quarter and higher than the 1.5% increase predicted by economists. [more]

U.S. DEFENSE FUNDING | The U.S. Senate voted 86-11 yesterday to approve its version of the annual defense bill, which includes a 5.2% pay increase for service members and funds military operations for the next year. Senate leaders note that there are significant differences between their version of the bill and that of the House, which passed its version earlier this month. [more]

TENNESSEE | The U.S. Justice Department announced yesterday that it has opened a civil rights investigation into the Memphis, Tennessee, police department. DOJ officials say the investigation will focus on the Memphis Police Department’s use of force, its stops, searches, and arrests, and whether it engages in discriminatory policing. [more]

TYPHOON DOKSURI | Officials in the Philippines say at least 39 people died this week, including 26 killed when a passenger ship capsized, and more than 20 others remain missing, in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri, which made landfall in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian this morning. Reports say as many as 400,000 people in China were moved to safety ahead of the typhoon’s arrival. [more]

NIGER | The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday that it has paused operations in Niger, where factions of the African nation’s military said earlier in the week they had overthrown the government. Nigerian state media reported today that General Omar Tchiani, who has headed the country's presidential guard since 2011, has declared himself the country's new leader. [more]

SYRIA | David Miliband, president of the global aid non-profit International Rescue Committee, warned this week that a United Nations Security Council impasse over renewing the U.N. mandate for the aid-related Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey is putting some 4.1 million people in northwestern Syria at risk due to the inability to deliver food, medicine, and other aid to the region. [more]

CANADA | Canada’s Human Rights Tribunal has reportedly approved a landmark $17.7 billion (C$23.4 billion) settlement for indigenous children and families harmed by the country’s child welfare system. The settlement comes seven years after the tribunal found that Canada had underfunded child welfare services for indigenous populations, compared to funding for non-indigenous children. [more]

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE RECORD | Scientists at the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said yesterday that July has been the hottest month on record, with the global temperature averaging 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit (16.95 Celsius). [more]

FINLAND AND NORWAY | The Norwegian Food Safety Authority imposed a travel ban on three nature reserves in the country’s far north yesterday — the latest protective measure against an ongoing outbreak of bird flu, or avian influenza, in Norway and Finland that has seen tens of thousands of birds killed this year. [more]

SOUTH CHINA SEA | China’s Maritime Safety Administration said today that the Chinese military will conduct training exercises in the South China Sea from July 29 through August 3. The training area includes the Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank, which are also claimed partly by Vietnam and Taiwan. [more]

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP | World soccer governing body FIFA says nearly 1.6 million tickets have been sold so far for matches at this year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, surpassing the previous record of 1.35 million set in 2015 in Canada. [more]

R.I.P. | Randy Meisner, founding member of the Eagles and lead singer on the band’s hit song “Take It to the Limit,” died Wednesday at the age of 77, according to a statement released by the band yesterday. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1914, a month after the assassination of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, sparking World War I.  [more history]