March 6, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 152 of the conflict:

• Ongoing U.S.-, Qatar- and Egypt-mediated cease-fire talks, which have failed to achieve a breakthrough, are expected to continue today in Cairo. Reports say Israel and Hamas have each presented competing proposals with which the other side has, as yet, been unwilling to agree. [more]
• Houthi rebel forces in Yemen continue their targeting of Western ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, launching drone and missile attacks on multiple U.S. warships yesterday and damaging an Indian naval ship late Monday. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 741 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi arrived in Russia today for talks with officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, on nuclear safety in Ukraine, where potential damage to nuclear power plants amidst the ongoing war continues to cause concern. [more]
• The International Criminal Court yesterday issued arrest warrants for two Russian military commanders for their roles in carrying out missile strikes against Ukrainian electricity infrastructure. Russia dismissed the announcement and warrants, calling them “legally insignificant” and pointing out that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the Court. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Following primaries and caucuses in 16 states and one U.S. territory yesterday, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have all-but clenched the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively, for November’s general election. Late reports this morning say Republican hopeful Nikki Haley will suspend her campaign later today. [Associated Press election tracker] [more]

U.S. CONSUMER FEES | In a continuation of efforts to minimize so-called "junk fees," the White House announced the finalization of a new regulation yesterday that would cap late-payment fees to credit card companies and banks at the amount it actually costs the companies to collect the late payments. In addressing the regulation, President Joe Biden said the typical late-payment fee could be reduced from an average of $32 to about $8. [White House remarks] [more]

CALIFORNIA | Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff received the most votes in yesterday’s California primary election and will compete for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by the late Dianne Feinstein. [more]

VIRGINIA | The U.S. Department of Education announced a $14 million fine imposed on Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, yesterday for the school’s failure to disclose complete information about crimes on its campus and its handling of sexual assault cases. Reports note that the fine is the largest ever levied under the Clery Act, a law that requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to collect data on campus crime and notify students of threats. [more]

E.U. DIGITAL MARKETS | Midnight tonight is the deadline for large tech companies to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act, under which companies including Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok owner ByteDance, and others are required to make various changes to the way their products and services work to allow users more choice in areas such as default browsers and search engines, messaging interoperability, app store tie-ins, and opting out of personalized ads. [more]

POLAND | Reports say thousands of Polish farmers took part in protests outside the Warsaw offices of Prime Minister Donald Tusk today in a renewal of action against low-priced imports and E.U. environmental regulations that they say are harmful to their livelihoods. [more]

SPAIN | Citing data on the economic impacts of menstruation, Spain’s Catalonia region launched its $9.2 million “My period, my rules” women's health initiative this week, under which menstrual cups, underwear for periods, and cloth pads are available at local pharmacies for free. [more]

CRYPTOCURRENCY | Bitcoin hit an all-time high yesterday, briefly surpassing $68,800 – just above the cryptocurrency’s November 2021 record, and up about 60% since the approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1869, at a meeting of the Russian Chemical Society, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first periodic table of elements. [more history]