Vox Sentences: Shot down

Vox Sentences is your daily digest for what’s happening in the world. Sign up for the Vox Sentences newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday, or view the Vox Sentences archive for past editions.

Reports: Missile strike downed Ukrainian airliner

• The Ukrainian airliner that crashed with no survivors near Tehran on Wednesday was hit by an Iranian missile, new video suggests. [NYT / Christiaan Triebert, Malachy Browne, Sarah Kerr, and Ainara Tiefenthäler]
• The missile strike may have been unintentional, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. One hundred seventy-six people died in the crash, including 63 Canadian citizens and 82 Iranians. [Washington Post / Isabelle Khurshudyan, Missy Ryan, Dan Lamothe, and Paul Sonne]
• Initial Iranian statements blamed a technical issue for the crash, which occurred just minutes after the plane took off. Iran’s civilian aviation has also questioned the plausibility of a missile strike. [CNN / Jim Sciutto, Pamela Brown, Barbara Starr, Zachary Cohen, and Maegan Vazquez]
• The crash followed closely on the heels of an Iranian reprisal against the US in response to the death of military leader Qassem Soleimani. Iran launched missiles at two US bases in Iraq. [NBC / Tom Costello, Mosheh Gains, Ken Dilanian, and Janelle Griffith]
• The plane’s “black box,” which contains cockpit recordings and other information, was damaged in the crash. However, according to Trudeau, Iran will share some information with Ukrainian investigators. [Vox / Sean Collins and Jen Kirby]

Power outages persist after Puerto Rico earthquakes

• After a series of severe earthquakes earlier this week leveled buildings and damaged Puerto Rico’s largest power plant, about two-thirds of the island is still without power. [CNN / Paul P. Murphy]
• Many buildings on the island were never built to withstand an earthquake, and there are concerns that damaged structures could still collapse as aftershocks continue. [NYT / Patricia Mazzei, Edmy Ayala, and Frances Robles]
• The Trump administration issued an emergency declaration Tuesday in response to the quakes that would free up federal disaster relief funds. However, Puerto Rico officials are worried about whether aid can be delivered quickly enough. [AP / Dánica Coto]
• The earthquakes are only the latest natural disaster to hit Puerto Rico: The island was also ravaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Residents say that the earthquake has brought back memories — and trauma — from the last crisis. [NBC / Nicole Acevedo, Sandra Lilley, and Suzanne Gamboa]
• The island is still waiting on hurricane recovery aid. Nearly $20 billion in congressional funding is still on hold, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday accused the Trump administration of an “unlawful withholding of funds.” [Washington Post / Erica Werner]

Miscellaneous

• The return of Infrastructure Week? Trump takes aim at environmental impact reviews for construction projects. [Politico / Zack Colman]
• After a UK general election last month, Brexit is on course to go into effect at the end of the month. [NYT / Stephen Castle]
• Facebook continues to take a pass on regulating political advertising. [Recode / Peter Kafka]
• “I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!)”: Trump’s obsession with sanctions, explained. [Washington Post / Ashley Parker]
• A new study shows that a higher minimum wage could mean fewer suicides. [NPR / Graison Dangor]

Verbatim

“There was a senator, I think it was after my pancreatic cancer, who announced with great glee that I was going to be dead within six months. That senator, whose name I have forgotten, is now himself dead, and I am very much alive.” [Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who this week announced that she is cancer-free, in an interview last year / NYT]

Listen to this: The other Iranian threat: cyberwarfare

How much should we worry about Iranian hackers? [Recode / Arielle Duhaime-Ross and Andy Greenberg]

Read more

What young Iranians think about the latest US-Iran conflict

Trump has created a loophole to allow pipelines to avoid environmental review

The rise in meth and cocaine overdoses, explained

7 things everyone should know about Australia’s wildfire disaster

Trump is taking credit for the decades-old decline in cancer deaths

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via