Biden targets 'extremist' Trump allies as democratic threat in fraught political moment

The Reuters Daily Briefing Friday, September 2, 2022 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Russia says it will stop selling oil to countries that set price caps, Britain's new prime minister is facing an 80s playlist, and all eyes are on U.S. jobs growth Today's biggest stories President Joe Biden delivers remarks in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, September 1, 2022 WORLD President Joe Biden charged Republican allies of Donald Trump with undermining the country's democracy and urged voters to reject extremism. The prime-time speech in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy, marked a sharp turn for Biden as midterm congressional elections approach. A federal judge appeared sympathetic to Trump's request to appoint a special master to review the documents the FBI seized from his home in August, though she declined to issue a ruling immediately on the matter. Trump said he was giving financial help to some supporters involved in the January 6, 2021 assault on Congress and would look very favorably on giving pardons if he were again elected to the White House. Meanwhile a former NYPD officer got 10 years in the longest Capitol attack sentence yet and a man accused of pepper spraying Capitol police pleaded guilty to assault. A federal judge narrowed the scope of questions that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham must answer from a special grand jury investigating Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, but she again rejected Graham's bid to avoid testifying altogether. Federal and local officials are scrambling to locate close to a dozen unaccompanied migrant children, after Houston police raised concerns about a trend of migrant children reported missing in the Texas city, according to U.S. government officials and related emails reviewed by Reuters. Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency expert mission visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022 WORLD Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over each others' actions around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as a team of inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog tried to check the safety of the facility and avert a potential disaster. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now. Pakistan's armed forces have rescued a further 2,000 people stranded by rising floodwaters, in a disaster blamed on climate change that has swamped about a third of the South Asian nation and is still growing. Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains brought floods that have killed at least 1,208 people, including 416 children. Myanmar's deposed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty of electoral fraud and sentenced by a judge to three years in jail with hard labor, according to a source familiar with the proceedings. The Nobel laureate and figurehead of Myanmar's opposition to decades of military rule has been detained since a coup early last year and has already been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner escaped unharmed after a man fired a loaded gun at her that failed to go off inches from her head. The attack, which the economy minister called an assassination attempt, comes at a time of acute political and social frictions inside Argentina. Britain's prime minister in waiting Liz Truss models herself on Margaret Thatcher, judging by her photo ops echoing famous images of the country's first female premier. If Truss becomes leader of the ruling party on Monday as is widely expected, she'll need all the grit and guile of the Iron Lady as she walks into a scene straight out of the 1980s: a looming recession, industrial unrest and urban decay. A pedestrian passes a 'Now Hiring' sign at a Chase Bank branch in Somerville, Massachusetts, September 1, 2022 BUSINESS U.S. employers likely continued to hire workers at a strong clip in August while steadily raising wages, signs of persistent labor market strength that could encourage the Federal Reserve to deliver a third 75 basis point interest rate hike this month. Group of Seven finance ministers are expected to firm up plans today to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at slashing revenues for Moscow's war in Ukraine but keeping crude flowing to avoid price spikes. The Kremlin said that Russia would stop selling oil to countries that impose price caps. Credit Suisse is considering cutting around 5,000 jobs, about one position in 10, as part of a cost reduction drive at Switzerland's second-biggest bank, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Shell has shortlisted four candidates to succeed Chief Executive Ben van Beurden who is preparing to step down next year after nearly a decade at the helm of the giant energy firm, two company sources told Reuters. Starbucks named Laxman Narasimhan as its next chief executive officer, choosing an executive credited with revitalizing the maker of Lysol disinfectants to undertake a "reinvention" of the world's biggest coffee chain. Just as inflation ravages the big guns of U.S. apparel retail, awash in high inventory and deep discounts to lure shoppers back to stores, Japan's Uniqlo is set for its best year ever in North America after a COVID-imposed revolution in its business model. Quote of the day "He believed not just in the closeness of the Russian and Ukrainian people, he believed that those two nations were intermingled" Pavel Palazhchenko Interpreter who worked with Gorbachev for 37 years Gorbachev died shocked and bewildered by Ukraine conflict Video of the day Back to school in Ukraine It's the first day of first grade for these children in Ukraine. Just months ago their school served as a bomb shelter and then a makeshift hospital. And finally… WANTED: 25 men to guard the pope. Must be Catholic. Must be Swiss The world's smallest army, in the world's smallest state, is growing and looking for a few good men. More from Reuters Sustainable Business Future of Health Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. 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. 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