10 things you need to know today: July 21, 2023

1. Russia targets grain port again as US warns ships could be next

Russia hit the key Ukrainian grain port of Odesa with airstrikes on Thursday in the third straight day of attacks on cities on or near the Black Sea. Moscow called the barrages of missiles and drones "retaliatory" strikes for an attack on a bridge Russia uses to resupply troops in Crimea. Russia blames that attack on Ukrainian drone boats. The latest Russian attack killed two people in Odesa and injured at least 19 in nearby Mykolaiv. The White House warned that Russia — which just ended a deal that allowed Ukraine to safely export wheat, corn, and edible oils — has mined the sea routes used to transport the agricultural products and might start attacking commercial transport ships, The New York Times reported.

The Associated Press The New York Times

2. Hackers linked to China targeted 2 top US diplomats

China-based hackers broke into the email account of the U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, as part of a spying campaign first revealed last week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The cyberattack also targeted Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, who recently accompanied Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a trip. Blinken's email account was untouched, but CNN previously reported that the hackers accessed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's messages. In all, the hackers accessed hundreds of thousands of U.S. government emails. The emails were unclassified but might have given the spies information into planning for recent China visits by senior Biden administration officials, according to the Journal.

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The Wall Street Journal CNN

3. RFK Jr. rejects racism allegations in GOP-led hearing on government censorship

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended himself against allegations of racist and conspiratorial comments during a hearing on government censorship held by the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. A liberal watchdog group had called for the panel to disinvite Kennedy, a long-shot Democratic presidential candidate, after he was recording saying COVID-19 may have been "ethnically targeted" to spare "Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese" people. Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, accused his fellow Democrats of trying to "censor a censorship hearing." "It's why Mr. Kennedy is running for president — to help us expose and stop what's going on," said the committee's chair, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

The Washington Post

4. Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over Quran burning

Iraq kicked out Sweden's ambassador on Thursday in response to a decision by Stockholm police to authorize a protest in which organizers plan to burn a Quran. One of the anti-Islam protesters is an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden who torched an Islamic holy book outside the city's main mosque in June. Hundreds of Iraqis this week stormed Sweden's embassy in Baghdad in an outburst of anger over the planned Quran burning. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Iraq had failed to fulfill its responsibility to protect the embassy but that all staff members were safe. The Iraqi government also recalled its charge d'affaires in Sweden, and suspended the permit for Swedish telecom Ericsson to operate in Iraq. Iran summoned Sweden's ambassador in Tehran.

Reuters

5. White House says Ukraine using US cluster bombs 'effectively'

The White House confirmed Thursday that Ukraine has already started using U.S. cluster bombs "effectively" against Russian forces. "They are using them appropriately," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. "They're using them effectively and they are actually having an impact on Russia's defensive formations and Russia's defensive maneuvering. I think I can leave it at that." The U.S. sent the widely banned bombs, which scatter into multiple bomblets, after Ukraine warned it was running low on ammunition for its summer counteroffensive against Russian invaders. President Biden called the decision to send the controversial weapons "very difficult." Cluster bombs are effective against troops in fortified positions but leave many unexploded bomblets that make large areas dangerous for civilians until the explosives are cleared.

BBC News

6. Grassley releases FBI memo on unverified Biden allegation

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) released an unclassified internal FBI document containing an informant's unverified allegation that President Biden and his son Hunter Biden participated in a foreign bribery scheme. The redacted document describes a 2016 conversation agents had with a source who claimed the CEO of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company whose board Hunter Biden served on, had said he paid $10 million to "the Bidens." The CEO has denied the allegation. Grassley and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who subpoenaed the document from the FBI, are pushing to escalate investigations of the president and his son as the 2024 election approaches. White House spokesman Ian Sams said Republicans "continue to push claims that have been debunked for years."

Des Moines Register The Associated Press

7. Missouri high court says state attorney general can't complicate abortion vote

The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that state Attorney General Andrew Bailey lacked the authority to push up the cost of a ballot measure aiming to restore abortion rights in the state. The court ruled unanimously that Bailey must comply with a lower court judge's order to certify the proposed ballot initiative as is. "The attorney general's refusal to perform the plain, unequivocal and ministerial duty of approving those summaries (and informing the auditor he has done so) cannot be justified," the state Supreme Court said in a scathing decision. State officials still have to certify the measure before its supporters can collect the signatures needed to get it on the 2024 ballot. Bailey's office said it would respect the decision but disagreed with it.

The Kansas City Star St. Louis Post-Dispatch

8. UK voters reject Conservatives in blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

British voters elected Labour Party candidates in two northern England districts that were once considered safe for the Conservative Party. The results were considered a rejection of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's embattled Conservative government. The Conservatives barely managed to avoid a sweep in the by-election by narrowly holding onto a third seat that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson held until last month, when he resigned from Parliament after an investigation into parties at his offices that violated his own government's Covid-19 restrictions. Sunak has tried to restore the Conservatives' declining popularity since taking office nine months ago. The party has been damaged by scandals, economic problems and worsening public services.

CNN The Times

9. Warrant: Las Vegas police seize bullets, computers in Tupac Shakur murder case search

Las Vegas police seized .40-caliber cartridges, computers, photos, and other potential evidence when they executed a search warrant this week related to the unsolved 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The materials are allegedly connected to the shooting. They were taken from the home of Duane Keith Davis, 60, in Henderson, Nevada, on Monday under a warrant approved by Clark County Judge Jacqueline Bluth. Shakur was shot in a black BMW at a red light on the Las Vegas strip and died several days later. Davis, a.k.a. Keffe D, wrote in his book "Compton Street Legend" that he was involved in the South Side Compton Crips gang and was in the white Cadillac that pulled alongside Shakur's vehicle when the hip-hop star was shot.

Las Vegas Review-Journal Los Angeles Times

10. NFL team owners approve Washington Commanders' sale

NFL team owners on Thursday unanimously approved Josh Harris' $6.05 billion purchase of the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder. The record-setting sale could close as soon as Friday. The deal sets up the first change in ownership for the pro football team since Snyder bought it for $800 million from the Jack Kent Cooke estate in 1999. Snyder owned the team for 24 years but never restored the success it had on the field under Cooke's ownership. As part of the sale process, Snyder will pay the NFL $60 million as a result of a league investigation that found he sexually harassed an employee and the Commanders kept some revenue they should have shared with other teams.

The Washington Post