Your Thursday Briefing

Missile barrage cuts power and water across Ukraine

Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy facilities yesterday, with missiles rocking Kyiv and other cities, plunging large areas of the nation into darkness, shutting down water systems and cutting off power in half the neighboring country of Moldova. It was the widest attack in more than a week, hitting critical infrastructure in regions across the country, a Ukrainian official said.

From Lviv in the west to Dnipro and Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast, officials reported interruptions in electricity, water and other key services. Whole cities were without light. Russia is trying to disable Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and leave its people in the cold and dark as winter brings subfreezing temperatures and snow.

Though Moscow is running low on precision cruise missiles, according to Ukraine and its allies, intelligence reports suggest it still has enough to carry out attacks on a scale rivaling its Nov. 15 barrage, which was even bigger than yesterday’s, “three or four more times.”

Deaths: The assault killed at least 10 people and injured dozens, government officials said, while Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 51 of 70 Russian cruise missiles and five drones.

In other news from the war:

• Pope Francis compared Moscow’s attacks on civilian targets to the “terrible genocide” of the 1930s in Ukraine, when Soviet policies caused a devastating famine.

• E.U. diplomats could not agree on where to set a cap on the price of Russian oil. It was not immediately clear when they would reconvene to pick up negotiations.

Explosions rock Jerusalem

Two blasts in Jerusalem yesterday killed a teenager and wounded at least 18 other people in what were the first bomb attacks on civilians in Israel in more than six years. Both occurred during the morning rush hour and were caused by explosive devices planted at the scene, the police said.

The person killed was a young yeshiva student, Aryeh Schupak, 15, who held dual Israeli and Canadian citizenship, according to officials. Yair Lapid, the departing prime minister, said of the perpetrators, “They can run, they can hide — it won’t help them; the security forces will reach them.” Security forces would be bolstered in the area, he added.

The explosions came as Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to form what would be Israel’s most right-wing government in history. The attacks prompted calls by far-right leaders, who have pressed for tougher action against terrorism, for the announcement of a new administration as soon as possible.

Context: Israel and the occupied West Bank have been experiencing their deadliest wave of violence since 2015.

Another mass shooting in the U.S.

Late on Tuesday, an employee of a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., took out a pistol and wordlessly opened fire, a witness said, killing five of his co-workers and a 16-year-old boy and wounding several others before turning the weapon on himself. It was not clear how the gunman had acquired his weapon or what events led to the shooting.

It has thrust the nation, for the third time in less than two weeks, into a familiar and increasingly frequent cycle of mourning and soul-searching, prayer-sending and finger-pointing. Days earlier, an attacker killed five people and wounded 18 others at an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub in Colorado. Earlier this month, a student at the University of Virginia shot and killed three members of the school’s football team.

President Biden said that gun control legislation signed into law this year in response to the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, had not been enough. “We must take greater action,” he said.

Victims: The police identified the six people killed in the shooting as Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins, Tyneka Johnson and the boy, whose name was being withheld. Walmart said the five adults all worked there; the company did not immediately respond to queries about the teenager.

Club Q shooting: The person accused of killing five people in a club in Colorado made an initial court appearance. Lawyers said their client identified as nonbinary and used they-them pronouns.

THE LATEST NEWS

Around the World

• Iran’s security forces are using ambulances to infiltrate protests and detain people.

• Thousands of Indonesians have put aside their livelihoods and rushed to helped rescue those still missing after Monday’s deadly earthquake. The death toll rose to 271.

• In a setback to Scottish nationalists, judges in Britain ruled that a second referendum on breaking away from the rest of the U.K. needed the consent of the British Parliament.

• A judge in Brazil has dismissed a bid by President Jair Bolsonaro to overturn the result of the recent election, which he lost. He argued that many votes should be nullified because of a software bug. Experts said it had not affected the vote.

Other Big Stories

• The U.S. Justice Department is seeking witness testimony from Mike Pence in connection with a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to stay in power.

• The British government acknowledged that a key prosecution tactic may cause disproportionate jailing of Black people but said that prosecutors were following the law.

• Georgia’s Supreme Court reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, temporarily restoring a law that a lower court blocked last week.

• Since the collapse of FTX, Caroline Ellison, a little-known cryptocurrency trader who ran the firm Alameda Research, has found herself at the center of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crumbled empire.

What Else Is Happening

• For the sake of the planet, Les Knight, the founder of the Voluntary Human Extinction movement, has spent decades pushing one message: “May we live long and die out.”

• Thieves stole nearly 500 ancient gold coins, which could be worth $1.7 million, from a German museum.

A Morning Read

Fossil hunting has changed from an academic pursuit into a multimillion-dollar business, much to the chagrin of academic paleontologists who worry that specimens of scientific interest are being sold off to the highest bidders.

“Ranchers who used to let you go and collect specimens are now wondering why they should let you have it for free,” one paleontologist said, “when a commercial collector would dig up the bones and split the profit.”

SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC

Ronaldo’s exit helps, but the Glazers are Manchester United’s big issue: Since buying Manchester United, the Glazer family has overseen the deterioration of a once-great team and once-great stadium, our columnist writes.

The USMNT’s start in Qatar exemplifies the razor-thin margins of a World Cup: Few things can help propel a team in a World Cup like an opening win. A draw, though? Now it gets tricky.

Germany shocked by Japan: The upsets kept coming in Qatar as Japan came back from 1-0 down to leave European giants Germany staring down the barrel of a second successive group stage exit.

From The Times: England had a game, but first its fans had a quest — for beer.

ARTS AND IDEAS

The Scorsese film you definitely haven’t seen

The Martin Scorsese film “Goncharov,” made in 1973, takes place in Naples, Italy, and stars Robert DeNiro in the titular role as a Russian hit man and former discothèque owner. Cybill Shepherd plays his wife, Katya, and Al Pacino, Gene Hackman and Harvey Keitel round out the cast.

The film has it all: murder, a love triangle, homoerotic undertones, a striking original score and a dramatic final scene that film buffs have been debating for years. Also, it doesn’t exist.

But Tumblr users have created an entire universe to support the idea that the movie is real. Dozens of people have bought prints of the bullet-riddled movie poster, which was created by Alex Korotchuk, a 20-year-old-artist in Prague, with the tagline: “The Greatest Mafia Movie Ever Made.” There’s even a theme song, composed by Alix Latta, a 25-year-old music teacher in Indiana, inspired by the theme from “The Godfather.”

Read more about the fake film — and how it all began with a pair of shoes.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

It’s not too late to make a plan for Thanksgiving. Here are same-day recipes for turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans and a pumpkin pie.

What to Listen to

Ornette Coleman might be the perfect “background music” for your dinner. Here’s a playlist.

World Through a Lens

How do wild turkeys find love? With wingmen and sexy snoods.

Now Time to Play

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Long-handled garden tool (three letters).

And here are today’s Wordle and the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. Thanks for joining me. — Natasha

P.S. The Athletic plans to double its coverage of women’s sports through a partnership with Google.

“The Daily” is about cooking the perfect turkey. And “Still Processing” discusses Beyoncé’s latest album.

Share thoughts, feedback and anything else with Natasha and the team at [email protected].