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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.
1. The Chicago mayoral election reveals a polarizing divide among Democrats that will play out on a national stage.
The race to lead America’s third-largest city — long a Democratic stronghold — narrowed to two candidates last night: Paul Vallas, a former public schools chief, and Brandon Johnson, a progressive county commissioner. The results set up a crystal-clear ideological contest because the two finalists stand on polar opposite sides of two of the hottest issues facing the nation: crime and education.
Whether Chicagoans want it or not, their choice in an April runoff will offer a signal of the party’s priorities heading into the 2024 presidential campaign. At the same time, national Republicans are eager to transform the crime debate into a potent weapon to try to win back the suburbs and chip away at Democratic gains among urban professionals.
For more: Lori Lightfoot, the incumbent, was resoundingly defeated, reflecting a widespread dissatisfaction with her leadership.
2. Russia was routed in the biggest tank battle of the war so far, Ukrainian officials said.
After a brutal three-week fight near the coal-mining town of Vuhledar in southern Ukraine, Russia had not only failed to capture the city, Ukrainian officials said, but also made the same mistake that cost Moscow hundreds of tanks earlier in the war: advancing columns into ambushes.
3. The drugmaker Eli Lilly said it would slash the prices of some of its insulin products.
The move, which comes after enormous political pressure, marks at least a partial retreat for a company that has been a major contributor to soaring prices for a lifesaving injection that millions of Americans rely on. In recent years, some out-of-pocket payments have exceeded $1,000 a month.
Lilly’s actions, however, are limited. The lower list prices apply only to the company’s older insulin products, and a large percentage of diabetes patients use products made by other manufacturers.
4. Nigeria named a winner of its presidential election, despite claims of fraud.
Bola Tinubu, a former state governor who campaigned using the slogan “It’s my turn,” was declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election, extending the governing party’s rule in Africa’s largest nation.
Tinubu won about 36 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff. But with only 27 percent of voters participating, turnout was the lowest in the country’s history. Citing delays and violence, opposition parties have called for a redo of the election.
Tinubu is a divisive figure. Some credit him for turning around the fortunes of Lagos during his eight years as governor; others deride him as a corrupt stalwart of the old guard, who could struggle to unite a country with a huge population of young people. The president-elect says he is 70, but some Nigerians think he is much older.
In other international news, the Greek transport minister resigned after a head-on collision between two trains killed at least 38 people.
6. U.S. intelligence agencies said foreign foes were “very unlikely” to blame for Havana syndrome.
The mysterious ailments including headaches and dizziness that American spies and diplomats have reported experiencing in missions around the world since 2016 could not be attributed to hostile foreign action, according to an assessment by seven American agencies. The agencies also found no “credible evidence” that any adversary had developed a weapon capable of causing the injuries that U.S. officials have reported.
The agencies who took part in the assessment had varying levels of confidence in its conclusions. As part of the investigation they reviewed intelligence, which showed that adversaries were also puzzled and thought the reported symptoms were part of an American plot.
7. Some young adults who moved in with their parents are still figuring out an exit plan.
It has long been considered a rite of passage for people in their late teens or early 20s to leave home, establish financial independence and build a new life away from their parents. But for some members of Generation Z and younger millennials who returned home to save money, the high cost of living and student debt are keeping them home for longer than expected.
More than one-third of Americans in a survey said that it was bad for society for young adults to live with their parents, but many young people said they felt it was necessary in order to achieve their financial goals.
10. And finally, how long could you go without shoes?
Joseph DeRuvo Jr. took off his footwear nearly 20 years ago — and he’s not ready to stop. He initially decided to stop wearing shoes because of agonizing bunions, but DeRuvo liked the way it felt and couldn’t find any reason to return to shoe wearing, aside from social pressure.
He has, over the last two decades, become a litmus test of people’s forbearance and their willingness to tolerate a stranger’s unconventional lifestyle. “Navigating the terrain is easy,” DeRuvo said. “Navigating people is tricky.”
Have a thick-skinned night.
Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.
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