2021年7月14日星期三

Wednesday Briefing: Texas Democrats defy calls for their arrest in voting restrictions fight

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

by Linda Noakes

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Here's what you need to know.

Biden decries Trump's 'Big Lie', South African crowds rampage, and a health scare for Brazil's Bolsonaro

Today's biggest stories

Representative Chris Turner, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, joins with other Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives as they speak in front of the U.S. Capitol, July 13, 2021

U.S.

Texas Democratic lawmakers defied calls for their arrest, a day after fleeing their state to thwart efforts to pass voting restrictions, and said they would stay in Washington to push for federal voting reform. We spoke to some of them about the personal sacrifices they face, as Vice President Kamala Harris likened their efforts to those of civil rights activists and suffragettes.

President Joe Biden, under pressure from civil rights leaders, called it a "national imperative" to pass sweeping voting rights legislation that has stalled in Congress, but he did not outline a path to overcome Republican opposition. "The Big Lie is just that: a big lie," Biden said, referring to unfounded election fraud claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies.

One of the three Pennsylvania counties asked to provide access to voting machines for a Republican lawmaker's probe of the 2020 election has decided it cannot comply due to a directive from the state's top election official. The decision poses a potential hurdle for state Senator Doug Mastriano, a Trump ally, who announced his "forensic investigation" into the election last week.

Biden's drive for big new infrastructure investment got a boost when leading Senate Democrats agreed on a $3.5 trillion investment plan they aim to include in a budget resolution to be debated soon.

U.S. prosecutors have charged four Iranians, alleged to be intelligence operatives for Tehran, with plotting to kidnap a New York journalist and human rights activist who was critical of Iran, according to a Justice Department indictment.

A self-armed local looks for looters inside a supermarket in Durban, South Africa, July 13, 2021

WORLD

Crowds looted shops and offices in South Africa, defying government calls to end a week of violence that has killed more than 70 people and wrecked hundreds of businesses.

Cuba has restricted access to social media and messaging platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, global internet monitoring firm NetBlocks said, in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in decades.

Britain's top domestic spymaster cautioned the population to treat the threat of spying from Russia and China as vigilantly as terrorism, warning that foreign spies were seeking to steal technology, sow discord and attack infrastructure.

The United Arab Emirates become the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel, as its envoy hailed the trade and investment opportunities that closer ties would bring at a flag-raising ceremony also attended by Israel's president.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalized to identify the cause of chronic hiccups, the president's office says, in the latest health scare for the far-right leader who was stabbed in the gut on the campaign trail in 2018.

BUSINESS

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell begins two days of grilling by lawmakers with the country facing faster-than-anticipated inflation and a new rise in coronavirus infections, a combination that could pull the Fed's outlook in opposing directions. We look at how the case for keeping Powell as Fed chair is building.

Elon Musk told a judge Tesla had to buy SolarCity in 2016 because the failing solar panel company was essential to the electric vehicle maker's long-term goal of accelerating the transition to sustainable energy. The celebrity chief executive completed about eight hours of testimony over two days to defend himself against a lawsuit brought by union pension funds and asset managers.

A report that Apple is working on a service to let users pay for purchases in instalments dragged down shares in the 'buy now, pay later' sector, which has thrived during the pandemic as online shoppers look for easier repayment options.

Bank of America's second-quarter earnings nearly tripled as it released loss reserves it had set aside last year, but its mainstay lending business took a hit from low interest rates put in place to revive a pandemic-hit economy.

Quote of the day

"We fear the U.S. will do what it has always done: impose its own solution on Haiti"

Pierre Esperance

Executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network

Haitians apprehensive of foreign troops as government seeks U.S. help

Video of the day

Afghan commandos caught in fierce Taliban attack

A Reuters video journalist captured the moment Afghan forces came under attack from the Taliban in Kandahar, as U.S. troops near completion of their pullout from Afghanistan.

And finally…

Royals, superheroes and Baby Yoda lead Emmy nominations

'The Crown' and 'The Mandalorian' lead nominations for the Emmy Awards in a field that reflects the surge in streaming during the pandemic.

More from Reuters

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