Friday Briefing: Fireworks get Tokyo Olympics' no-frills opening ceremony underway

The Reuters Daily Briefing Friday, July 23, 2021 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Smartphones could be next to suffer from a chip shortage, the U.S. housing market floats back to earth, and the 'QAnon Shaman' is in plea negotiations Today's biggest stories Fireworks explode during the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, July 23,2021. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch WORLD The sky over the National Stadium in Tokyo exploded in indigo and white as fireworks marked the start of the opening ceremony for the Olympics. Australia's New South Wales state reported its biggest daily rise in new COVID-19 cases this year, prompting a tighter lockdown in Sydney and a request for additional vaccine doses which was rebuffed by other state leaders. New Zealand said it will pause its quarantine-free travel arrangement with Australia for at least eight weeks. Workers driving construction vehicles rescued stranded residents and delivered food to those still trapped after days of torrential rain swamped the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou. The United States imposed sanctions on a Cuban security minister and an interior ministry special forces unit for alleged human rights abuses in a crackdown on anti-government protests earlier this month. Mexico will send two navy ships loaded with food and medical supplies to Cuba, after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed the U.S. embargo for fomenting the unrest. Protests by angry supporters of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise convulsed the slain leader's hometown for a second successive day as workers labored into the night to finish a makeshift auditorium in time for his funeral today. FILE PHOTO: Jacob Chansley speaks in front of the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix, Arizona, November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Cheney Orr U.S. The participant in the January 6 U.S. Capitol riots nicknamed the 'QAnon Shaman' is negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors, after prison psychologists found he suffers from a variety of mental illnesses, his attorney said. The state of Mississippi urged the Supreme Court in a major case set to be argued in its next term to overturn the landmark 1973 ruling that recognized that women have a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Seven Democratic senators said that newly released materials show the FBI failed to fully investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was nominated to the court in 2018. One of the Pennsylvania counties targeted in a Republican lawmaker's "forensic investigation" into the 2020 election has beefed up security around its courthouse following threatening posts on social media. Two Democratic senators will today add to the stack of bills going after Section 230 - a law that protects tech companies from being sued over content posted by users - making such platforms responsible for health-related misinformation. The White House has YouTube, not just Facebook, on its list of platforms officials say are responsible for an alarming spread of misinformation about COVID vaccines and are not doing enough to stop it, sources familiar with the administration's thinking said. BUSINESS The U.S. housing market appears to be straining under the weight of its own pandemic-driven success. Recent data shows the sector is returning from the stratosphere and coming back to pre-COVID levels, as evidenced by a slew of data released this week. A rally in the U.S. dollar has investors looking at a broad range of factors -- from global COVID-19 infections to yield gaps -- to determine whether the greenback will continue appreciating. The semiconductor shortage that has gripped the world could last well into 2022 and hit smartphone production next, foreshadowing deficient supply for a range of appliances and industrial equipment. Britain's rapid economic bounce-back from the pandemic slowed sharply in July as a new wave of cases forced hundreds of thousands of workers to self-isolate under government rules to limit the spread of the disease. Volvo Cars reported a return to profit in the first half as demand for electric vehicles pushed earnings above pre-pandemic levels, putting the carmaker on a firmer footing as it considers a possible IPO this year. OLYMPIC GAMES The latest news, video and graphics See our full coverage of Tokyo 2020 Quote of the day "You can't defend everything. If you defend everywhere, you defend nowhere" Kenneth McKenzie U.S. marine general As Taliban advances, Afghan military overhauls war strategy Video of the day Extreme heat roasts Christmas trees in Oregon One farm owner estimates that he has lost over $100,000 worth of Christmas trees as a result of the 'heat dome' event. And finally… Marsquakes reveal the anatomy of the Red Planet's interior Seismic waves from quakes detected by NASA's robotic InSight lander have given scientists the first estimates of the size of its large liquid metal core and thickness of its crust. More from Reuters COVID-19 Investigations Breakingviews Legal News Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036