August 9, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 531 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• The Russian Defense Ministry says two Ukrainian attack drones targeting Moscow were shot down overnight, causing no damage after falling in the Domodedovo region south of Moscow and near the Minsk highway, west of the city. [more]
• Reports say at least 45 people were injured in an explosion today at an industrial facility in Sergiev Posad, Russia — some 45 miles northeast of Moscow. Russian officials say the explosion occurred in a warehouse rented to a pyrotechnic equipment manufacturer at an optics and optical electronics factory, but Ukrainian officials have suggested the facility may have been used for arms production. [more]

OHIO | Ahead of a planned November public vote on enshrining abortion rights in the state’s constitution, residents of Ohio voted yesterday to reject “Issue 1” — a ballot initiative that would have raised the threshold for approving future changes to Ohio’s constitution from a simple majority to 60%. [more]

TRUMP ELECTION TRIAL | U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has scheduled a hearing for Friday at 10am to discuss how evidence can be used and shared in the trial of former President Donald Trump on charges related to alleged actions taken to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. [more]

HAWAII | Authorities on the Hawaiian island of Maui say wildfires in two regions of the island have burned multiple structures, forced evacuations, and left some 13,000 Hawaiian Electric customers without power. Reports say strong winds from Hurricane Dora, which is passing some 500 miles south of the state, contributed to the wildfire spread. [more]

GHOST GUNS | With a 5-4 ruling yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to temporarily suspend a lower court ruling that invalidated the federal regulation of so-called ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers sold in kit form or intended for printing with 3D printers. The Court ruling keeps regulation in place while the Justice Department appeals the lower court ruling. [more]

ARIZONA | President Joe Biden yesterday signed a national monument declaration for some 1,500 square miles surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. The designation had long been sought by Native American tribes and environmental activists and opposed by outdoor and sporting groups, as well as mining companies. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Reuters cites unnamed U.S. government sources as saying the White House is expected to detail plans today for prohibiting some investments in sensitive technology in China and requiring that the government be notified of other investments that could support China’s military modernization. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | As Typhoon Khanun approaches the country, emergency officials in South Korea have warned of the potential for significant damage from strong winds, flooding, landslides, and tidal waves across much of the country. South Korea’s national weather agency says the storm is expected to drop 4-16 inches of rain in the country’s southern and central regions and as much as 24 inches in eastern mountainous regions through Friday. [more]

FRANCE | Reports say at least nine people died today, and two others remain missing, after a fire broke out at a holiday home for people with disabilities in the eastern France town of Wintzenheim. Officials say 17 people were evacuated from the facility and that the cause of the fire remains under investigation. [more]

NIGER | Citing security concerns, Niger’s military junta yesterday refused entry to mediators from the United Nations, the African Union, and West African regional bloc ECOWAS, who were scheduled to meet in the capital Niamey to discuss paths to a negotiated solution to the country’s two-week-old military coup. Military leaders also began appointing new government officials this week, including the designation of civilian economist Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as prime minister. [more]

NORWAY | Major roads have been closed, train service suspended, and thousands of people have been evacuated in southern Norway today due to landslides and flooding caused by recent heavy rains. [more]

INDIA | Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi today called for India’s government to deploy military forces to the country’s northeastern Manipur state to quell ethnic violence that has seen more than 150 people killed since early May. [more]

GERMANY | According to Germany’s Finance Ministry, the country’s cabinet agreed today to allocate 57.6 billion euros to fund green investments in 2024 — up 60.2% from the target allocation for 2023. [more]

UGANDA | Citing a need to ensure that its projects align with its social standards and its goal of protecting sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion, the World Bank said yesterday that it will not consider new funding of projects in Uganda due to the East African country’s anti-gay law enacted earlier this year. [more]

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP | The quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup are set, with the following teams still in contention for the title: Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Australia, France, England, and Colombia. [more]

SPORTS BETTING | Sports media giant ESPN has reportedly reached a deal with Penn Entertainment that will see an existing Penn sports-betting app rebranded as “ESPN Bet.” Reports say Penn is paying $1.5 billion in cash and $500 million in stock warrants for exclusive rights to the ESPN name in the sports betting context. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1945, the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan by the United States in World War II struck the city of Nagasaki.  [more history]