Wednesday Morning Briefing: Sanders and Warren defend progressive policies against attacks in Democratic debate

Politics

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders offered an unabashed defense of their progressive policies during a Democratic presidential debate, as their more moderate rivals criticized their proposals as unrealistic and politically untenable. The debate frequently pitted the Democratic Party’s two leading progressives against the other eight candidates on stage. They came under fire from a debate stage stuffed with moderates who said their “impossible” proposals and “wish-list economics” risked keeping Republican President Donald Trump in the White House for four more years.

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden and rival Kamala Harris will stage a rematch of last month’s explosive debate confrontation during Round 2, with a re-energized Biden promising a more aggressive approach. Biden will be flanked at center stage by Harris and Cory Booker, senators who are the most prominent black contenders in a nominating contest in which race has played a prominent role. Seven other candidates will join them on stage in Detroit in search of a breakout moment that will generate new momentum for their campaigns.

Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony will feature in a television ad advocating for impeaching Donald Trump, set to run before and after the Democratic presidential debates. Backed by the Need to Impeach group founded by billionaire Democratic candidate Tom Steyer, the “What Mueller Said” ad will run on CNN and MSNBC, days after Mueller told two congressional panels about his investigation of Trump and Russia.

Top News

Special Report: Egyptian courts have sentenced some 3,000 people to death since 2014, when President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi took power, according to an independent group that documents human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa. Reuters investigates how Sisi’s Egypt hands out justice.

A roadside bomb in Afghanistan killed at least 35 people traveling on a bus, including children, and injured 27, officials said. Security has been deteriorating across Afghanistan this year, with the Taliban and Islamic State fighters mounting near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, government employees and civilians.

More than 40 people appeared in a Hong Kong court charged with rioting for their role in a recent protest that turned violent when thousands of activists clashed with police near Beijing’s main representative office in the city. The 44 charged had been arrested after a peaceful gathering on Sunday in a park in the city’s central business district rapidly morphed into running battles between thousands of black-clad demonstrators and police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be confronted by the most intractable riddle of Brexit when he visits Northern Ireland on a nationwide tour to sell his plan to pull Britain out of the EU with or without a deal. Plans for the border have become the most contentious issue in Britain’s negotiations with the European Union over the terms of its exit.

Business

Getting under the hood of Amazon’s auto ambitions. Amazon’s corporate customers ‘should be very scared’ as the tech titan expands its transportation prowess to do everything short of building a car, transportation consultant John Ellis tells Reuters.

Apple iPhone sales dropped to less than half of quarterly revenue for the first time in seven years, but CEO Tim Cook described the change as successfully diversifying away from a single product and forecast results above Wall Street targets.

German prosecutors said they had filed charges against former Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler, who is being investigated over his role in Volkswagen’s emissions test cheating scandal. Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to having used illegal engine control software to cheat pollution tests, triggering a global backlash against diesel. The affair has so far cost the German carmaker $33.5 billion.

EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear maker, announced it is buying Dutch optical retailer GrandVision in a cash transaction worth up to $8 billion to expand its global retail network. The takeover would mark a new milestone for EssilorLuxottica, which was formed last year through the merger of French lenses specialist Essilor, known for its Varilux lenses, and Italian spectacles maker Luxottica, which owns prestigious brands such as Ray-Ban, but has been beset by disagreements over who runs the merged group.

The Fed

With Fed sure to cut rates, Powell on hook to flag next steps

The U.S. Federal Reserve is almost certain to cut interest rates for the first time in more than a decade, delivering a mild jolt to an economy that is facing headwinds from trade disputes and a global slowdown.

4 min read

Is Trump the reason the Fed is about to cut rates?

President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for easier monetary policy may not be what’s driving the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. But Trump’s policies have set the table for it.

4 Min Read

What a Fed rate cut means for your wallet

A decision by the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates may do little at this point to cut some of the costs that matter to many U.S. consumers. From mortgages to credit cards, banks and other lenders may resist offering substantially lower rates to consumers, analysts said, even if the central bank makes a widely expected cut to its policy rate.

5 min read

Top Stories on Reuters TV

China, U.S. make new bid to break trade deadlock

World   1:16

North Korea launches more rockets, despite diplomats

World   1:31
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