September 22, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 575 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Amidst meetings between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. leaders in Washington, D.C., yesterday, the U.S. announced a new $325 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes air defense systems, artillery ammunition, cluster munitions, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment. [more]
• Following talks with U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address to Ukrainians that the U.S. and Ukraine have agreed to launch a joint weapons production program that will enable Kyiv to begin producing its own air defense systems. [more]
• Russia’s TASS news agency reports that the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea naval fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol was damaged in a Ukrainian missile attack on the city today. [more]

U.S. MID-ATLANTIC | Tropical storm and storm surge warnings have been issued for coastal regions of Virginia and North Carolina today after a large, as-yet-unnamed, storm system strengthened off the coast of South Carolina yesterday. The storm is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to large portions of the East Coast through the weekend. [National Hurricane Center info] [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | The House of Representatives adjourned for the weekend yesterday after failing to advance its defense appropriations bill for the second time this week and ahead of a September 30 deadline to pass overall funding measures for the federal government. Reports say the Biden administration is expected to warn federal agencies today to prepare for a potential partial government shutdown. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Amidst a spike in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, the mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, declared a state of emergency yesterday, border control agents closed multiple international bridges this week, and the Biden administration announced that it is sending 800 additional active-duty military troops to the border to assist in administrative and migrant processing efforts. [more]

TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE | In two cases that are widely expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments yesterday on lawsuits over the denial of insurance coverage for gender-affirming procedures and healthcare by government-sponsored insurance programs in North Carolina and West Virginia. [more]

U.S. LABOR | United Auto Workers union president Shawn Fain is expected to announce later this morning which automobile production plants will join the UAW’s ongoing limited strike against the Big 3 U.S. automakers if substantial progress on new labor contracts is not made by noon today. [more]

CANADA AND INDIA | The Associated Press cites an unnamed Canadian government official as saying that allegations of India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh independence activist in Canada are based on communications surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by an unspecified major ally. [more]

SUDAN | Sudanese Army Chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan, speaking before the U.N. General Assembly yesterday, said that his country’s ongoing conflict between its military and paramilitary forces could spread beyond the country's borders and called on the international community to help end the conflict. [more]

BRAZIL | In a ruling expected to have wide implications across the South American country, the Brazilian Supreme Court yesterday rejected an effort by Santa Catarina state to block an Indigenous group from expanding the size of its territorial claims, saying that “Areas occupied by Indigenous people and areas that are linked to the ancestry and tradition of Indigenous peoples have constitutional protection, even if they are not demarcated.” [more]

NAGORNO-KARABAKH | Ethnic Armenian leaders in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Armenia say no concrete results have yet emerged from talks that followed a ceasefire agreement earlier this week that ended a 24-hour Azerbaijani military operation aimed at securing the reintegration of the region into Azerbaijan. [more]

NIGERIA | Officials in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state say 24 students, 10 workers, and a security guard at the state’s Federal University of Gusau were kidnapped by armed gunmen early today. Reports say the kidnapping – the first major abduction involving students this year – is a continuation of similar actions seen in recent years through which militants attempt to intimidate the population and secure funds through ransom payments. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Authorities in the Philippines closed schools and issued health advisories in dozens of cities and towns today due to high levels of sulfur dioxide and volcanic smog from the Manila-region Taal volcano. [more]

ETHIOPIA | Organizers of a prominent peace forum in Ethiopia announced yesterday that October’s annual meeting of the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa has been rescheduled to April 2024. The move comes amidst ongoing clashes between government forces and militant groups in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where the summit was to be held. [more]

MEDIA | Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox Corp. and News Corp. media groups, announced yesterday that he is stepping down from his role as leader of the two companies. Murdoch’s son Lachlan will reportedly control both companies going forward. [more]

GAMING | Reports say tech giant Microsoft’s restructuring of its $69 billion acquisition of game company Activision Blizzard appears to have resolved major concerns of U.K. antitrust regulators who blocked the deal in April. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1980, the Iran-Iraq War began when Iraqi armed forces invaded western Iran along the countries' joint border. Fighting continued until 1988, and a formal peace agreement was signed in 1990.  [more history]