Wednesday Morning Briefing: As more women run for office, statehouses are poised to change

Highlights

As women line up to run for U.S. political office at historic rates, state legislatures - where some of America’s most critical policy decisions get made - could see a slew of new female lawmakers after November’s vote, according to a Reuters analysis of election data.

Voters chose nominees yesterday in the key battleground states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, setting up what are expected to be tight races as November’s congressional elections draw near.

Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania sexually abused thousands of children over a 70-year period and silenced victims through "the weaponization of faith" and a systematic cover-up campaign by their bishops, the state attorney general said.

 

#Turkey doubled tariffs on some U.S. imports including alcohol, cars and tobacco on Wednesday in retaliation for U.S. moves, but the lira rallied about 6 percent after central bank’s liquidity moves had the effect of supporting the currency https://reut.rs/2MNZfaH

10:57 AM - August 15, 2018

The plunge in Turkey’s lira to a series of record lows over the past week sent tremors through global markets. While the currency has recovered a little lost ground since yewsterday, investors are fretting about contagion via stress on foreign banks and firesales of emerging market assets.

World

Rescuers searched for survivors amid the debris of Italy’s bridge collapse as the death toll climbed to 37 and the government blamed the bridge’s operator, demanding resignations and moving to strip its toll concession.

Israel allowed commercial goods back into the Gaza Strip today, in a sign of an easing of tensions as neighboring Egypt pursued a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian enclave’s dominant armed faction.

The Trump administration's plan to form an "Arab NATO" – a new security alliance of Sunni-led Gulf states, along with Egypt and Jordan – is structurally flawed and has little chance of curbing Iran, writes Maysam Behravesh, an affiliated researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Sweden.

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Two @Reuters journalists have been detained in Myanmar for 247 days. See our full coverage: https://reut.rs/2yPnwus

11:49 AM - August 15, 2018

Business

Saudi fund may only play minor part in Musk's $72 billion Tesla plan: bankers

Elon Musk told investors this week that “obviously, the Saudi sovereign fund has more than enough capital needed” to finance taking Tesla private. But it is not that simple.

5 min read

Chinese oil importers shun U.S. crude despite tariff reversal

Chinese oil importers are shying away from buying U.S. crude as they fear Beijing’s decision to exclude the commodity from its tariff list in a trade dispute between the world’s biggest economies may only be temporary.

4 min read

Express Scripts staking out million-dollar gene therapies

Express Scripts built a multi-billion enterprise pressuring drug companies to lower their prices for U.S. patients. Now it is quietly building a side business: getting paid to help drug companies dispense a new generation of high-priced drugs

8 Min Read

From blue lipstick to Facebook Live, home shopping networks refine their pitch

The Home Shopping Network is getting an image makeover. A U.S. television network where shoppers can buy everything from electronics to kitchen gadgets, the Home Shopping Network is overhauling its lineup to offer more beauty products while adding streamed video content to win over shoppers without cable TV.

6 min read

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