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UKRAINE | Today is day 1,348 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that two more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems have been provided to his country by Germany to help counter Russian drone and missile attacks. [more]
• Russian military officials claimed today that their forces have made progress in controlling the key Ukrainian transport and logistics hub city of Pokrovsk, which Russian forces have been attempting to capture for more than a year. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | Day 34. Two federal judges ruled Friday that the federal government must use an already established contingency fund to pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, at least partially, during the ongoing government shutdown. The Trump administration faces a deadline of later today to respond to the court orders. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office has distributed a memo detailing topics that Defense Department personnel are now required to seek prior approval on before discussing with Congress. In addition to "sensitive military operations," the topics include: enhanced counternarcotics operations, homeland missile defenses, critical munitions, and national defense strategy. [more]

OREGON | U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut yesterday extended her order barring the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, through Friday, saying she found "no credible evidence” that protests at an immigration center in the city grew out of control before President Trump ordered the deployment. [more]

U.S. NUCLEAR TESTING | Energy Secretary Chris Wright said yesterday that nuclear weapons testing ordered last week by President Donald Trump will not involve actual nuclear explosions, but, rather, will be "system tests." [more]

U.S. AND NIGERIA | U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has ordered the Department of Defense to begin planning for potential military action against Islamic militant groups in Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians in the West African nation. Nigerian government officials condemned the possibility of unilateral U.S. military action and said Nigeria is ready to work with the U.S. "to deepen cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths." [more]

GLOBAL MIGRATION | According to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, permanent migration to the organization's 38 member countries fell by 4% in 2024, following three years of significant increases. The report notes that about 6.2 million permanent immigrants arrived in member countries in 2024 – 15% above 2019 levels – and taht despite the overall drop, permanent migration during the year increased in the United States, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechia, Ireland, and Japan. [press release] [full report] [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Public health officials say at least 20 people were killed, and at least 500 others were injured, when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early this morning. Reports cite local media as saying hundreds of homes were destroyed in the quake and that casualty and damage assessments are ongoing. [more]

U.K. | Police in the U.K. say Anthony Williams, 32, has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and other crimes in connection with a mass stabbing attack on a train Saturday in London in which 11 people were wounded. Authorities note that Williams, a British citizen, is believed to have acted alone and that they are not investigating the attacks as an act of terror. [more]

LATVIA | Amidst ongoing concern over recent Russian fighter jet and drone intrusions into NATO airspace, police in Latvia say a Latvian citizen has been arrested and charged with collection information about the Baltic country's defense sector for Russian military intelligence. [more]

PHILIPPINES | More than 70,000 people in the east-central Philippines have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Kalmaegi, which is expected to make landfall later today in the country's Eastern Samar province. [more]

VIETNAM | Authorities say the death toll from recent flooding and landslides in central Vietnam has risen to at least 37 and that ongoing recovery efforts could well be hampered by the arrival of Typhoon Kalmaegi, which is expected to affect the region later this week. [more]

KENYA | Local officials say at least 26 people died, and 25 others remain missing, following a series of landslides Saturday in Kenya's western Rift Valley region. Reports say more than 1,000 homes were destroyed in the landslides and that recovery and relief efforts in the affected area are ongoing. [more]

BASEBALL | The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4, Saturday night to win the 2025 World Series. The Game 7 win was watched by an average combined viewership of 25.98 million people – an approximately 10% increase over the last World Series Game 7 in 2019. [more]

NYC MARATHON | Kenya's Hellen Obiri won the women's competition in yesterday's New York City Marathon with a record-setting time of 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 51 seconds. Benson Kipruto, also from Kenya, won the men's race, finishing just three-hundredths of a second ahead of Alexander Mutiso. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, which carried the dog Laika, the first living creature to be sent into space and orbit Earth.  [more history]