October 6, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 589 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say a Russian missile attack killed at least 51 civilians attending a wake yesterday in the eastern village of Hroza. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was attending a summit of European leaders in Spain at the time of the attack, said, “Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world.” [more]
• Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said today that his country has approved a new 2.2 billion crown ($199 million) military support package for Ukraine that consists mainly of artillery ammunition. Jonson also suggested that Sweden could approve sending fighter jets to Ukraine if the Nordic country’s bid to join NATO is ratified. [more]

NOBEL PRIZES | Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi has been named the recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all." Mohammadi, who is currently imprisoned on charges related to her attendance at a memorial service for a victim of violent 2019 protests in Iran, is the 19th woman, and second Iranian woman, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Department of Homeland Security and the Biden administration will reportedly resume the deportation of Venezuelan migrants in the near future. The updated deportation policy follows an agreement with the Venezuelan government for “safe and orderly repatriation” of the migrants. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Labor Department is scheduled to release its September jobs report later this morning, with economists predicting that U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs during the month. The September unemployment rate is expected to have dropped to 3.7%, down from 3.8% in August. [more]

ALABAMA | Federal judges yesterday released a new congressional districting map for Alabama that creates a second district in the state with a near majority of Black voters. The move follows recent court decisions that found Alabama’s legislature to have illegally diluted the voting power of Black residents in violation of the Voting Rights Act. [more]

TRUMP CLASSIFIED INFORMATION | Citing unnamed sources, ABC News reported yesterday that former U.S. President Donald Trump, after leaving office, discussed sensitive and classified information about the U.S. nuclear submarine program with an Australian member of his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and that the club member then shared the information with dozens of other people, including multiple foreign officials. The New York Times later identified the Mar-a-Lago club member as Australian businessman Anthony Pratt. [more]

TRUMP FEDERAL ELECTION TRIAL | Attorneys for former U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday asked a judge to dismiss the federal election subversion case against Trump, arguing that his actions related to questioning the results of the 2020 election were part of his official role as president and that he is, therefore, immune from prosecution. Reports say prosecutors are expected to vigorously contest Trump’s motion and that prolonged arguments over the motion could significantly delay the case. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Former President Donald Trump, for whom multiple GOP House members have expressed support for being named the next House Speaker following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy from the position, yesterday announced his support for Ohio congressman Jim Jordan to become Speaker. [more]

U.S. LABOR | United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is expected to announce later today if talks with the Big 3 U.S. automakers have produced enough progress to postpone an expansion of the union’s ongoing three-week-old strike. [more]

GEORGE SANTOS | Nancy Marks, former treasurer for U.S. Rep. George Santos’ campaign, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge yesterday and implicated Santos in a scheme to falsify his campaign finance reports. Santos is currently facing a 13-count federal indictment on charges of deceiving donors, embezzling money from his campaign, and lying in financial disclosures to Congress. [more]

CHILD DISPLACEMENT | A new report from the United Nations’ children’s agency, UNICEF, says more than 43 million displacements involving children occurred between 2016 and 2021 due to storms, floods, fires, and other extreme weather events. The report predicts that more than 113 million weather-related child displacements will take place over the next 30 years, with climate change playing a major role in the increased frequency of such weather events. [press release] [full report] [more]

SYRIA | Syrian authorities say 89 people were killed, and another 277 were injured, yesterday in a drone attack on a military college in the city of Homs where officers and their families were attending a graduation ceremony. [more]

MORE SYRIA | According to the Turkish defense ministry, Turkey carried out multiple airstrikes today on Kurdish militant groups in northern Syria’s Tal Rifat, Jazeera and Derik regions. The airstrikes came one day after the U.S. military shot down a Turkish drone that came close to American troops in the area. [more]

RUSSIA | Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, said today that lawmakers will consider revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban treaty, confirming a similar statement by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week. [more]

INDIA | Authorities in India's northeastern Sikkim State say the death toll from this week's flooding in the region has risen to 41 and that approximately 100 people remain missing. [more]

PHILIPPINES AND CHINA | Philippine authorities today condemned Chinese military aggression following an incident yesterday in which a Chinese coast guard ship came within a few feet of a Philippine patrol ship it was trying to block from entering the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, which both countries claim as their own. [more]

SRI LANKA | Officials in the Indian Ocean nation of Sri Lanka say at least six people died this week in floods and mudslides brought on by heavy rains that reports say affected some 50,000 people and damaged homes in at least 12 districts. [more]

NFL | The Chicago Bears ended the team’s 14-game losing streak dating to October 2022 last night with a 40-20 win over the Washington Commanders. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | Movie distributor AMC says global advance ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film have surpassed $100 million, making it the most profitable concert film in history. The film is due to be released in theaters in more than 100 countries next Friday. [more]

R.I.P. | Legendary Chicago Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Dick Butkus died yesterday at the age of 80. After retiring from football due to injuries in 1973, Butkus turned to acting, appearing in numerous film and television roles. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1927, "The Jazz Singer," starring Al Jolson, premiered in New York City. It was the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech, and its release effectively marked the end of the silent film era. [more history]