Wednesday Briefing: U.S. Senate Democrats pass sweeping $3.5 trillion spending plan

The Reuters Daily Briefing Wednesday, August 11, 2021 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. The Taliban continue their speedy advance across Afghanistan, a $600 million cyberheist, and how Sweden became the Silicon Valley of Europe Today's biggest stories U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrives at the Capitol in Washington, August 10, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U.S. The U.S. Senate approved a $3.5 trillion spending blueprint for President Joe Biden's top priorities in a 50-49 vote along party lines, after lawmakers sparred over the need for huge spending to fight climate change and poverty. The vote followed about 14-1/2 hours of debate that started right after the Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in a bipartisan 69-30 vote. Faced with mounting legal pressures and demands for his departure from Biden and others, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned following an inquiry that found he sexually harassed 11 women, capping a startling downfall for one of the most prominent politicians in the United States. His departure means that Kathy Hochul will become the first woman to lead New York. School districts in Florida and Texas are bucking their Republican governors' bans on requiring masks for children and teachers as coronavirus cases soar in conservative areas with low vaccination rates. Meanwhile, Hawaii is to reimpose COVID-19 restrictions as the Delta variant surges. Temperatures rose across the Pacific Northwest as residents of Portland, Oregon and Washington state prepared for a third punishing heat wave of the summer. Taliban fighters record a message after seizing Pul-e-Khumri, capital of Baghlan province, Afghanistan, in this still image taken from a social media video, uploaded August 10, 2021 WORLD Taliban fighters took control of another city in northern Afghanistan, the eighth provincial capital to fall to the insurgents in six days as U.S.-led foreign forces complete their withdrawal. Wildfires tearing through forested areas of northern Algeria have killed at least 65 people, as some of the most destructive blazes in the country's history continue to rage. The government has deployed the army to help fight the fires, and 28 of the dead are soldiers. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a Chinese court's sentencing of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage was "absolutely unacceptable" and called for his immediate release. The U.S. embassy in Beijing also condemned the sentencing, saying that proceedings against Spavor and another Canadian charged with espionage were an attempt to "use human beings as bargaining leverage". Thai police defended their use of force against protesters as a necessary public safety measure, as the capital Bangkok braced for more demonstrations to demand the prime minister's removal for mismanaging a coronavirus crisis. German police have arrested a British man who worked at the British embassy in Berlin on suspicion of passing documents to the Russian intelligence service in exchange for cash. BUSINESS A cryptocurrency platform has lost an estimated $600 million in digital tokens after one of the sector's biggest ever hacking attacks. Poly Network, a decentralized finance platform, posted details of digital wallets to which it said the money was transferred, urging people to blacklist tokens from those addresses. As Klarna's billionaire founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski prepares to stage one of the biggest-ever European fintech company listings, a feast of capitalism, he credits an unlikely backer for his runaway success: the Swedish welfare state. From container ships to cardboard, tighter environmental regulations are stoking shortages and price spikes as 'greenflation' takes a grip, adding a new twist to corporate valuations. Fretting about unprecedented regulatory heat for China's tech sector, some companies are no longer waiting for any official reprimands that may or may not be forthcoming. Instead, eager to pre-empt authorities, they've decided to 'self-correct', imposing restrictions on or even walking away from their own businesses. Quote of the day "While other countries are celebrating the return of their athletes, we are subjecting ours to the most cruel and uncaring treatment" Matt Carroll Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Olympic body lambasts 28-day quarantine for athletes returning to South Australia Video of the day In war-torn Yemen, children work to keep their families fed Instead of attending school, 15-year-old Harith Mansour spends his days wringing chickens' necks, plucking feathers and bagging up fresh meat for customers of a small shop in Yemen's capital Sanaa. And finally… Indonesian village turns unwanted trash into COVID helper An eclectic assembly of household items like pots, pans and an old television monitor, the 'Delta robot' brings food to self-isolating residents. 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. 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