August 10, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 532 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Sergey Sobyanin, mayor of the Russian capital Moscow, said today that two Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow were shot down outside the city overnight. Reports say the drone attacks disrupted traffic for hours at the Moscow region’s Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports. [more]
• Ukrainian naval officials announced the establishment of a humanitarian shipping corridor today to allow dozens of ships trapped in Ukrainian ports since the start of the Russian invasion to leave the area. Reports say the humanitarian corridor establishment is a unilateral Ukrainian action and suggest that ships could still be at risk from Russian forces. [more]

HAWAII | According to a statement posted on the Maui County website last night, at least 36 people have died in the county in the Hawaiian island’s Lahaina fire. At least 271 structures had been damaged or destroyed as of yesterday evening, and firefighting crews continued to battle the fire in multiple locations. [more]

U.S. INFLATION | According to economists surveyed by data firm FactSet, Commerce Department data scheduled to be released later today is expected to show that consumer inflation in the U.S. rose 3.3% in July from the year-ago period — up from a 3% year-over-year increase in June and the first monthly increase in 12 months. [more]

GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA | A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments today on a Biden administration appeal of a July lower-court ruling that ordered the U.S. executive branch to limit communications with social media companies related to content moderation issues. [more]

TRUMP DOCUMENTS TRIAL | Walt Nauta, an aide to former President Donald Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, are due to appear in federal court in Florida today for arraignment on charges of conspiring to obstruct the investigation into allegations that Trump illegally kept classified documents after leaving office. Trump is also to be arraigned at the court today, but has filed paperwork submitting a plea of not guilty and waiving his right to appear. [more]

UTAH | FBI officials say Craig Deleeuw Robertson was killed in a firefight with FBI agents yesterday in Provo, Utah, that broke out when agents attempted to serve a warrant related to violent threats made by Robertson against President Joe Biden. [more]

VIRGINIA | Joining Ohio, Iowa, Florida, Missouri, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Alabama today, Virginia withdrew from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, voter data-sharing partnership that aims to avoid having people registered to vote in multiple states. Virginia officials say increased costs associated with the partnership, which Republican activists have suggested favors Democrats, played a role in the move. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday signed an executive order authorizing increased regulation of certain U.S. investments in Chinese companies and other entities involved in national security sensitive technologies in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems. [White House press briefing and Biden administration statement] [more]

ECUADOR | Anti-cartel activist and Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated at a political rally in the capital city of Quito yesterday. Reports say one suspect in the killing died in a firefight with police following the assassination and that six others have been arrested in connection with the case. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Reports say more than 10,000 people in southern coastal areas of South Korea have been forced to evacuate due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Khanun, which made landfall early this morning and has dropped as much as 14 inches of rain on some regions since yesterday. [more]

HONG KONG | Police in Hong Kong say 10 people were arrested today on charges of endangering national security by helping to raise funds for a now-defunct fund to aid pro-democracy activists following 2019 protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. [more]

NORWAY | Officials in southern Norway say a dam at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant on the Glomma River partially collapsed yesterday following days of heavy rains that have caused flooding and landslides and forced thousands of people to evacuate. [more]

EGYPT | According to Egypt’s Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics, consumer inflation in the African country rose 38.2% in July, compared to the year-ago period — a record increase and up from 36.8% in June. [more]

BASEBALL | In last night’s 7-0 win over the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Michael Lorenzen, in just his second start with the team, threw Major League Baseball’s fourth no-hitter of the season and the 14th in Phillies history. [more]

R.I.P. | Robbie Robertson, co-founder, guitarist, and songwriter for The Band, died yesterday at the age of 80. The Band served for years as the backing group for Bob Dylan and went on to their own stardom, eventually being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was founded in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Congress with funds bequeathed by English scientist James Smithson.  [more history]