Wednesday Morning Briefing: War-of-words escalates between Russia, Britain

Highlights

The U.S. House of Representatives election in Pennsylvania is in a dead heat, an ominous sign for Republicans in a vote seen as a referendum on Trump's performance and only eight months ahead of congressional elections. This comes as a leading Washington, D.C. polling firm warned the senators in no uncertain terms that intense Democratic antipathy toward Trump could spur that party’s voters to turn out in record numbers, jeopardizing safe Republican districts and potentially costing the party control of Congress.

U.S. teenagers from coast to coast will join students from the Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people last month in a national class walkout they hope will press policy makers to act on tighter gun control.

Commentary: “Trump is learning to work the presidency,” writes columnist Peter Apps. Though he observes few presidential norms, and disagrees with the Washington establishment on just about everything, “it’s hard to dispute that he is becoming more successful at marrying his idiosyncratic style with the levers of power to get his own way."

Britain will expel 23 Russian diplomats in response to a nerve agent attack on a Russian former double agent in Salisbury, Prime Minister Theresa May said, adding it is the biggest single expulsion in over 30 years. The British-Russian war of words escalated after Russia threatened to expel all British media and Britain warned it could strip Russian broadcaster RT of its UK operating licence.

world

Stephen Hawking, who sought to explain some of the most complicated questions of life while working under the shadow of a likely premature death, has died at 76. Reuters Graphics charted a brief history of the life of the British theoretical physicist, who probed the very limits of human understanding both in the vastness of space and in the bizarre sub-molecular world of quantum theory.

Even royals, it seems, may suffer from the gender pay gap. British actress Claire Foy, who starred as a young Queen Elizabeth in the critically acclaimed Netflix series “The Crown,” was paid less than her co-star, Matt Smith, according to the television show’s producers.

In an about-turn, the Philippines said it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to what President Rodrigo Duterte called “outrageous” attacks by U.N. officials and violations of due process by the ICC.

Philip Pullella  @PhilipPullella

Finland is world's happiest country, U.S. discontent grows: U.N. report released at Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences https://reut.rs/2FIetdC

11:47 PM - MAR 14, 2018

Business

Even backers of Trump's economic policies pan tariffs

As Trump forges ahead with his controversial trade policies, even financial experts who enthusiastically applaud many of Trump’s other policies are worried that the protectionist measures could hurt U.S. growth, Reuters interviews with more than two dozen such specialists show.

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Broadcom ends bid for Qualcomm after President Trump nixes deal

Singapore-based Broadcom withdrew its $117 billion bid to acquire Qualcomm today, two days after U.S. Trump blocked the attempt citing national security concerns.

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Corporate America's undertakers prepare for feast after lean years

As the era of cheap money gradually draws to a close and rising inflation and interest rates cast a shadow over Wall Street’s nine-year bull market, one corner of the financial industry is cheering.

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