Putin completes annexation:Â Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the paperwork to annex four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory. A spokesman for the Kremlin indicated that there are plans to annex additional Ukrainian territory. Reports from the field say that Ukrainian forces continue to make progress fighting against the Russian military in the territories Putin declared now are part of Russia.
Biden and DeSantis to meet:Â President Biden visits Florida today in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Biden and Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis are scheduled to meet to discuss the recovery efforts. The White House said that political issues would not be brought up when the two political rivals meet.
Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded:Â The Nobel Prize Committee today awarded the prize for chemistry. It will be shared by three scientists: American Carolyn Bertozzi; Denmark’s Morten Meidal; and American K. Barry Sharpless. The three worked on new techniques for combining molecules to create better medicines.
Musk to go ahead with Twitter deal:Â An attorney for billionaire Elon Musk has filed a letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying that Musk has decided to proceed with his purchase of Twitter for the original price of $44 billion. The latter says that the deal would be contingent on an end to the lawsuit Twitter filed against Musk to try to force him to complete the transaction.
U.S. debt now $31T:Â The Treasury Department says that the U.S. now is carrying more than $31 trillion in debt. The country’s current budget cap set by Congress is $31.4 trillion. The Office of Management and Budget said a few weeks ago that the debt would be down by $1.7 trillion by the end of the year.
Trump files with Supreme Court:Â Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court for emergency action to block a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the Justice Department to continue using classified documents seized from Trump at Mar-a-Lago in its investigation of Trump. The 29-page filing by Trump’s lawyers went to Justice Clarence Thomas for consideration. Thomas’ wife Virginia was active in trying to get the 2020 election results overturned.
