Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/briefing/putin-martial-law-ukraine-bread-prices.html

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

1. Vladimir Putin declares martial law in occupied regions of Ukraine.

The aggressive move could allow pro-Russian authorities to impose even tighter restrictions on the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow recently annexed but does not fully control. The move could also allow Russian troops and their allies to seize property and forcibly resettle residents.

Russian proxy officials, apparently girding for a battle for control, said they began moving as many as 60,000 civilians out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson today. Ukrainian officials dismissed the plans as “a propaganda show,” but the move was another sign that Moscow’s hold on the area was slipping.

In Moscow, there are noticeably fewer men at restaurants, stores and social gatherings. Many have been called up to fight in Ukraine. Others have fled.

In Europe, the E.U. agreed to new sanctions on Iran for providing drones that Russia used to strike Ukraine.

2. Inflation has sent the price of bread, and virtually everything else, skyrocketing in Europe.

Prices across the continent for a basic loaf have never been higher. They are now up nearly 19 percent from a year ago — the fastest rise on record, largely caused by the war in Ukraine.

Overall, the cost of food jumped by nearly 16 percent in the E.U. and more than 14 percent in Britain. The squeeze has been sharpest near the conflict zone: Bread prices are up by more than 30 percent in Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia, and 77 percent in Hungary.

In Britain, new data showed that consumer prices rose 10.1 percent in September from a year earlier.

In the U.S., American officials spent last week quizzing investors and economists about the risks of a British-style meltdown at home.

4. Britain’s prime minister, Liz Truss, fires a second cabinet member as she fights for political survival.

Just hours after Truss rejected demands to resign — declaring “I’m a fighter and not a quitter” — she dismissed the home secretary, Suella Braverman, for sending a government document over her personal email in a breach of security protocols.

Truss’s ability to govern has appeared fragile in her six weeks atop the British government. Braverman said in her resignation letter that she had “concerns about the direction of this government” and accused it of breaking pledges to voters.

To caricature Truss’s loosening grasp on power, a British newspaper pitted her against a days-old head of lettuce: Who will wilt first?

4. New videos show confusion among Floridians arrested on voter fraud charges.

Body camera footage obtained by The Times indicates that people arrested on charges of voting illegally appeared to have run afoul of the law through confusion rather than intent.

The arrests targeted people convicted of felonies, a group that includes many former inmates who had voting rights restored in a process that left many uncertain about their eligibility. Those arrested on video repeatedly told officers that they had been cleared to vote by election officials.

In other politics news, the Biden administration has prioritized resettling people fleeing Ukraine and Afghanistan, leaving many thousands of other refugees in limbo.

In New York, Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor, built his profile defending Trump. He voted to overturn the 2020 election results and blamed Democrats for Jan. 6 violence. Will voters mind?

5. Suzanne Scott has turned Fox News into a lucrative consumer brand. But a lawsuit is testing her strategy.

With Scott as chief executive, Fox News has established itself as a ratings juggernaut and a sanctuary for conservatives where few unpleasant facts intrude. Scott’s tactics have proved enticing to viewers, but they may have put her and the company in legal jeopardy.

While focusing on the stories its conservative audience wants to hear, Fox has at times allowed political misinformation to spread. The network is now facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over false information it aired about Dominion voting machines.

In other business news, the consumer giants Nestlé and Procter & Gamble raised prices so significantly that they have been able to bring in more money from selling fewer goods.

6. An F.D.A. panel advised pulling a preterm birth drug from the market.

The committee said that the drug Makena, which was approved 11 years ago to forestall preterm birth, had proved to be ineffective. If health authorities follow the panel’s recommendation, there would be no approved alternative drug.

The panel’s decision was widely viewed as a test of the agency’s “accelerated approval” program, which has fast-tracked nearly 300 promising drugs to the market in 30 years, but has been criticized for leaving drugs in use while follow-up studies dragged on to determine whether they worked.

In other health news, physicians in anonymous focus groups spoke of being eager to get rid of patients with disabilities. These opinions were consistent with the experiences of many patients.

7. A new exhibition of Edward Hopper’s art has rekindled questions about the origins of a minister’s collection of his works.

The Whitney Museum of American Art opened an exhibition today examining Hopper’s perspective on New York City. Among the museum’s enormous collection of Hopper artifacts are thousands of items once owned by the Baptist minister Arthayer Sanborn.

Experts have long raised concerns about how Sanborn obtained the works, since there are no known records of any gifts of Hopper’s artworks to Sanborn. The museum’s former Hopper curator, Gail Levin, suspects that Sanborn took advantage of the Hoppers in their later years, which Sanborn denies.

8. Spending “stupid” money has paid off for the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was a major risk for the team’s owner, John Middleton, to authorize $527 million in free-agent contracts for just three players. But those three stars, Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber, have proved to be solid investments.

They led the Phillies to a win last night in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. One big obstacle standing in their way: San Diego’s $300 million bargain, Manny Machado.

In the American League, the Yankees will play the Astros tonight just one day after punching their ticket to the semifinal round. They were again fueled by their not-so-secret weapon Nestor Cortes.

9. The everlasting charm of Salisbury steak.

Americans have long had mixed feelings about the dish named after Dr. James Henry Salisbury. Made of burger patties tenderly distended with bread crumbs and a little egg and smothered in a savory brown gravy, Salisbury steak is mostly known as a TV dinner.

But when made well with just the right seasonings, cooking writer Eric Kim writes, it can also be a soul-warming staple. “You can cook it at home and have it be a main character in your life,” he says. Here’s Eric’s recipe.

Looking for something to drink? Our wine critic picked out 12 red wines from the Loire region of France. The region’s wines are known for their high quality but still under the radar in the U.S.

10. And finally, can luxury buses become a substitute for planes?

A handful of new premium bus companies hope so, especially as air travel continues to be plagued by delays and train service remains limited in the U.S. These operators are betting that travelers will be willing to abandon their image of rumbling, cramped buses and embrace long-haul coaches.

Sleeper bus companies like Napaway promise a comfortable ride, including high-speed Wi-Fi and seats that recline far back, for around $100 each way. My colleague Maria Cramer tried out one of these buses and found the experience to be surprisingly pleasant.

Have a comfortable night.

Lara Signorelli and Veronica Sanchis compiled photos for this briefing.

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