The Morning Dispatch: The Russia-Ukraine Holding Pattern
Happy Thursday! Congratulations to future Hall-of-Fame pitcher, cancer survivor, and all-around good guy Jon Lester for calling it a career on Wednesday after 16 seasons, five All-Star Game appearances, and three World Series championships.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, hit 7 percent year-over-year in December, the steepest annual price increase since June 1982.
According to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 458 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2021, a 55 percent increase over 2020. 301 of those deaths were attributed to COVID-19, 84 to felonious assaults (including 61 killed by firearms), and 58 to traffic-related causes.
The State Department announced Wednesday it had sanctioned eight DPRK-linked individuals and entities for their ties to North Korea’s weapons and missiles program. North Korea has launched two test missiles off its east coast in recent weeks.
