10 things you need to know today: August 21, 2022

1. Daughter of Putin adviser Alexander Dugin killed by car bomb in Moscow

Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian political philosopher Alexander Dugin, was killed Saturday in a car bombing in Moscow. Dugina, a journalist and vocal supporter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, died at the scene after an explosive device detonated in the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving. Andrei Krasnov, an acquaintance of Dugina, told Russian media the car belonged to Dugin and that "Alexander or probably they together were the target." Dugin has been described as "Putin's brain" and as the ideological architect of the invasion of Ukraine. Denis Pushilin, who heads the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk People's Republic in the Donbas, immediately blamed the attack on the "terrorists of the Ukrainian regime."

CNN The Guardian

2. Trump calls McConnell a 'broken down hack' over complaints about 'candidate quality' in Senate races

Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to blast Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over his criticisms of Republican Senate candidates. "Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate[?]" Trump wrote. "This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!" Trump's comments come after McConnell said Thursday that Republicans might fail to flip the Senate in November and that "candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."

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Fox News Donald J. Trump

3. Somali security forces end hotel siege that left 21 people dead

Somali security forces said Saturday that they had rescued 106 people after putting an end to a 30-hour siege of a Mogadishu hotel that left 21 people dead and 117 injured. Islamist militant group and al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which began Friday evening when a pair of car bombs were detonated at the front barrier and gate of the Mogadishu Hayat. An al-Shebab website claimed that the militants carried out "random shootings" after breaching the hotel.

BBC The Wall Street Journal

4. Indiana GOP selects candidate to run for open seat of Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in car crash

Republican precinct committee members from Indiana's Second Congressional District on Saturday chose Rudy Yakym as the GOP nominee for the seat that has been vacant since the death of Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) earlier this month. Walorski died on Aug. 3 in a car crash that also killed two members of her staff and the driver of the other vehicle. Yakym, who worked as Walorski's finance director in 2011 and 2012, will appear twice on the ballot in November — once to finish Walorski's term and once for a full two-year term of his own. He is heavily favored to win in the deep-red district.

The Associated Press South Bend Tribune

5. Zelensky: Russia could launch a 'particularly ugly' attack as Ukraine's Independence Day approaches

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Russia could launch an attack aimed at demoralizing Ukraine as the country plans to celebrate the 31st anniversary of its independence on Wednesday. "We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly vicious," Zelensky said, urging Ukrainians not to allow Russia to "spread despondency and fear." In addition to Ukraine's Independence Day, Aug. 24 also marks the six-month anniversary of Russia's invasion.

Reuters

6. Trump is considering launching his 2024 campaign after the midterms, sources say

Former President Donald Trump is reportedly reconsidering his plan to launch his 2024 presidential campaign before the November midterms, according to sources who have spoken to Trump in recent weeks. According to one person close to him, Trump hopes to avoid being blamed if the midterms don't go as well as Republicans hope. In a Sunday column for The Washington Post, Megan McArdle suggested that Trump deserves plenty of blame already. She blamed Trump for endorsing "weak and inexperienced" candidates in winnable races and argued that the Republican Party's "Trumpy base, which loves to see the GOP's more moderate candidates getting what-for, is helping Trump to inadvertently elect Democrats."

NBC News The Washington Post

7. Drone reportedly shot down over Russian Black Sea Fleet HQ in Crimea

Russian forces claimed Saturday that they had shot down a drone, which then crashed on the roof of Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea and caught fire. Video shared on social media showed a large plume of smoke rising from the building. This news comes after a series of explosions tore through a Russian airbase in the annexed peninsula earlier this month. Unnamed Ukrainian sources have told multiple media outlets that pro-Ukraine partisans were behind the explosions.

NBC News The Week

8. Report: Giuliani associate tried to get him a 'general pardon' and the Medal of Freedom after Jan. 6

An associate of Rudi Giuliani reportedly tried to pass a note to former President Donald Trump just after the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, urging Trump to grant the former New York City mayor a "general pardon" and to award Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, according to a forthcoming book. The associate, Maria Ryan, sent the note without Giuliani's authorization, a lawyer for Giuliani said. Trump never saw the note, which was intercepted by Giuliani adviser Bernard B. Kerik, journalist Andrew Kirtzman wrote in Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's Mayor, which is due out next month.

The New York Times

9. Stock market rally broadens, but the worst could be yet to come

This summer's stock market rebound continues to broaden, with 93 percent of S&P 500 stocks closing above their 50-day moving averages last week. This is a significant recovery, considering that when the index hit its year-to-date low in mid-June, more than 98 percent of stocks were trading below their 50-day moving averages. But as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates, many analysts are concerned that the market hasn't bottomed out yet. "I don't think we can say with any confidence that the bottom in June was truly the start of a new bull market," said Liz Ann Sonders, the chief investments strategist at Charles Schwab.

The Wall Street Journal

10. Jennifer Lopez marries Ben Affleck — again — at his Georgia home

Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez tied the knot (for the second time in as many months) on Saturday in a ceremony at Affleck's home in Riceboro, Georgia. The bride, the groom, and the guests who attended the weekend-long celebration all wore white. Affleck and Lopez dated from 2002 to 2004, reconnected last year, and got married in an intimate ceremony at a Las Vegas wedding chapel in July before honeymooning in Paris. Lopez is Affleck's second wife. Affleck is Lopez's fourth husband.

The New York Post Page Six