President Biden on Tuesday signed the ratification documents for Sweden and Finland to join NATO, bringing the two countries a step closer to formally becoming part of the alliance.
Why it matters: Sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO would significantly change the security landscape in Europe and more than double the length of the alliance's borders with Russia.
Art Laboe, one of the first DJs to play R&B and rock 'n' roll in California and cherished among Mexican Americans for his ongoing inmate shoutouts, turned 97 on Sunday.
The big picture: Laboe has been on the air for nearly eight decades and today hosts a show that allows family members to send dedications to incarcerated loved ones.
The casting of James Franco as Fidel Castro in the upcoming film, “Alina of Cuba,” is drawing fire from Latino actors, writers and activists.
Driving the news: Variety got confirmation last week that Franco, who is not Hispanic, will star opposite Ana Villafañe, who portrays the title character Alina Fernández Revuelta, Castro’s daughter.
Online nationalist sentiment in the wake of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last week urged Beijing to take more aggressive actions and pushed celebrities to publicly support China's position.
Why it matters: Nationalism thrives on China's highly censored internet, but it comes at a cost for Beijing. If Chinese leaders are perceived as responding too weakly to what people online might consider a foreign provocation, nationalist ire could turn against Beijing.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed China's reaction to her recent trip to Taiwan during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping was acting "like a scared bully."
Why it matters: China, which warned of a "strong and resolute" response ahead of the visit, began carrying out military drills near Taiwan in an apparent show of force following Pelosi's visit.
Flooding in Seoul, South Korea, overnight killed at least nine people, including two sisters in their 40s and a 13-year-old girl, the New York Times reports.
Driving the news: It was some of the heaviest rainfall seen in decades and weather officials estimate that nearly 17 inches of rain fell in southern Seoul between Monday and early Tuesday.
Russia's state-backed media apparatus is financing four new TV programs produced by a U.S. conspiracy theorist and aimed in large part at undercutting America's image and interests in the developing world, records show.
Why it matters: The campaign shows how the Kremlin waging an information battle in key regions after its invasion of Ukraine prompted a massive global backlash.
The Biden administration moved on Monday to suspend the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy.
Driving the news: U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk earlier on Monday lifted an injunction that required the Department of Homeland Security to resume the policy, formally called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
Tuesday's election in Kenyais a clash of personalities between two familiar faces: longtime opposition stalwart Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto.
Why it matters: Kenya’s next president will have to navigate soaring food prices, ballooning debts, relations with Beijing and regional instability.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken unveiled the Biden administration's Africa strategy in South Africa on Monday.
Why it matters: One element of that strategy is not to force countries to choose between the U.S. and China or Russia. "The United States will not dictate Africa’s choices," Blinken said. "Neither should anyone else."
A judge has authorized U.S. prosecutors to seize a $90 million Airbus plane owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Why it matters: The move is part of the U.S. effort to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by freezing and seizing assets belonging to Russian oligarchs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western countries to ban all Russian travelers to deter Russia from annexing Ukrainian territory.
What he's saying: "The most important sanctions are to close the borders — because the Russians are taking away someone else’s land," Zelensky said in an interview with The Washington Post out Monday.
The Biden administration announced on Monday that it send an additional $1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine as the war with Russia continues into its sixth month.
Why it matters: The aid comes several weeks after it was revealed the Kremlin has plans to annex large swaths of southern and eastern Ukraine.
Recent shelling at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, is "suicidal," UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday.
Driving the news: Last week Russia and Ukraine accused each other of being responsible for the shelling that damaged a power line and forced one of the plant's three reactors to be disconnected.
An Egypt-mediated ceasefire in Gaza began on Sunday at 11:30pm local time, Egyptian, Israeli and Islamic Jihad officials said separately.
The latest: The ceasefire, which was reached following three days of fighting that marked the worst violence in Gaza since a devastating 11-day war in May 2021, held overnight.
Mayor Eric Adams of New York called for federal assistance Sunday as he criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending charter buses of migrants to the city.
Driving the news: The Republican governor has expanded to New York City a program that has bussed migrants to Washington as part of a protest against the Biden Administration's border policies.
