News Wrap: Ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan takeover

Geoff Bennett:

In the day's other headlines: Ukraine says it killed the commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet, in one of Kyiv's boldest attacks yet on the occupied peninsula of Crimea. But Kyiv did not provide any evidence to support its claim.

That's as Russian drones and missiles pounded a string of cities across Ukraine. Some of the worst violence was in and around Odesa, where port infrastructure, a grain silo, and an abandoned hotel were destroyed.

Thousands of ethnic Armenians are fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh region to safety in Armenia. The territory was controlled by separatists for three decades until Azerbaijan recaptured it last week. Residents packed their belongings and headed for the border. Azerbaijan said it would protect any Armenians who stay, but those leaving say it's no longer safe.

Alpine Movsyan, Nagorno-Karabakh Refugee (through interpreter):

We don't know what will happen to us next. We don't know what's in store for us, but there's no chance we can go back. If we could, we wouldn't have left in the first place. It is very dangerous there.

Geoff Bennett:

Hours later, an explosion at a gas storage depot in Nagorno-Karabakh injured more than 200 people. There was no immediate word what caused the blast.

In Hawaii, residents began returning to what's left of their Lahaina properties today, after wildfires destroyed the historic town earlier this summer. Authorities cleared the first zone for reentry in the northern part of Lahaina. Officials supervised the temporary visits and warned that the ash might still contain toxic chemicals. It was the first of 17 zones in the area to reopen.

The Biden administration announced today it's investing $1.4 billion into improving the nation's aging railway system. It will fund 70 projects in 35 states and Washington, D.C., and aims to increase capacity and improve safety. Railway safety has been a major concern since a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last February.

Free at-home COVID-19 tests by mail are back, as a wave of new infections continues to sweep the nation. Starting today, the U.S. government will send up to four rapid tests per household to anyone who requests them on the Web site COVIDtests.gov. The program has been on hiatus since June.

And stocks closed higher on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 43 points to close at 34007. The Nasdaq rose 59 points. The S&P 500 added 17.