Midday Roundup: EU, U.S. clamp down on cash flow to Russia

Cut off. The United States and European Union on Tuesday enacted new sanctions against Russia in an attempt to stymie its economy. The sanctions hammer the Russian banking sector by making European capital markets off-limits to Russian state-owned banks. Not being able to generate debt in Europe will limit the banks’ ability to lend money to smaller banks throughout Russia. U.S. officials said Tuesday the sanctions will constrain roughly 30 percent of Russia’s banking sector. The measures are intended to punish Russia for supporting the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine who are accused of shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

Missing without notice. A recent FBI operation to rescue child victims of sex trafficking turned up an alarming number of children who had never been reported missing. Those results have led child welfare advocates to call for better communication between local and national law enforcement. State requirements for reporting missing children to law enforcement vary, according the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Many of the unreported missing children came from single-parent homes, and some were in state foster care.

Confirmed. The Senate voted 97-0 on Tuesday to confirm Robert McDonald as the new secretary of Veterans Affairs. McDonald faces an uphill battle to reform a VA healthcare system scandalized by fraud and long wait times. The former CEO of Proctor & Gamble is himself a former Army Ranger with a family history of military service. His father served in the Army Air Corps after World War II, and his wife’s father was shot down over Europe and survived harsh treatment as a prisoner of war. This profile of him in The New York Times includes anecdotes from his time as a cadet at West Point, including how he overcame his fear of swimming and what he did when Annapolis graduate Ross Perot broke into the campus to play a prank.

Mismatched samples. An FBI review of forensic evidence from the 1980s and 1990s has found widespread flaws that might have led to false convictions. The cases involve hair and fiber matches made by the FBI before DNA analysis became common, The Washington Post reported. The review started in 2012, but the FBI put it on hold in August. The Justice Department said it never approved the pause in the investigation and has ordered the FBI to restart it.

Turtle slip. Paramount Pictures has apologized for and pulled a movie poster that looked like a reference to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The poster for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles showed the turtles leaping from an explosion at the top of a skyscraper and advertised the Australian release date for the movie—Sept. 11. Paramount Australia apologized for the unintentional reference.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.