HARD NUMBERS: Russia unleashes deadliest airstrike of the year, Hong Kong opposition ends itself, Sudanese refugee camp attacked, U.S. economic outlook darkens, McIlroy finally snags Masters
34: Russian missiles killed at least 34 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday. It was the deadliest Russian strike in Ukraine so far this year, and it came just two days after US special envoy Steven Witkoffmet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than four hours to explore possible settlements to the conflict. “There’s a point at which you have to put up or shut up,” US President Donald Trumpsaid of the talks.
0: And then there were zero. Hong Kong’s last standing opposition party took steps this weekend to formally disband itself. The Democratic Party, which predates the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China rule, has been all-but suffocated under a harsh new security law that Beijing imposed in 2024.
100: At least 100 civilians, including nearly two dozen children, were killed in an assault on a refugee camp in Sudan. The attack has been blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group that has been at war with the Sudanese army for two years. The conflict has displaced nearly 13 million people, per the United Nations, with the besieged camps sheltering 700,000 refugees.
0.8: In the wake of Trump’s massive escalation of tariffs earlier this month, leading economists now expect the U.S. economy to grow just 0.8% in 2025, down from an earlier estimate of 2%. The survey, conducted by the Wall Street Journal, also showed that expectations of a recession have more than doubled since January, to 45%.
14: Fourteen years after a historic meltdown on the back nine cost him the Masters, Rory McIlroyfinally claimed the green jacket last night in an extraordinary and exhilarating finish, fending off a late surge from Justin Rose. McIlroy looked like he might have blown it again, chucking away a five-shot lead at Amen Corner, before recovering with an astonishing stroke at the 15th hole and a wonderful approach in the playoff. The Northern Irishman’s victory at Augusta National completes a career grand slam.