| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, July 14, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Biden decries Trump's 'Big Lie', South African crowds rampage, and a health scare for Brazil's Bolsonaro | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Representative Chris Turner, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, joins with other Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives as they speak in front of the U.S. Capitol, July 13, 2021 U.S. Texas Democratic lawmakers defied calls for their arrest, a day after fleeing their state to thwart efforts to pass voting restrictions, and said they would stay in Washington to push for federal voting reform. We spoke to some of them about the personal sacrifices they face, as Vice President Kamala Harris likened their efforts to those of civil rights activists and suffragettes.
President Joe Biden, under pressure from civil rights leaders, called it a "national imperative" to pass sweeping voting rights legislation that has stalled in Congress, but he did not outline a path to overcome Republican opposition. "The Big Lie is just that: a big lie," Biden said, referring to unfounded election fraud claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies.
One of the three Pennsylvania counties asked to provide access to voting machines for a Republican lawmaker's probe of the 2020 election has decided it cannot comply due to a directive from the state's top election official. The decision poses a potential hurdle for state Senator Doug Mastriano, a Trump ally, who announced his "forensic investigation" into the election last week.
Biden's drive for big new infrastructure investment got a boost when leading Senate Democrats agreed on a $3.5 trillion investment plan they aim to include in a budget resolution to be debated soon.
U.S. prosecutors have charged four Iranians, alleged to be intelligence operatives for Tehran, with plotting to kidnap a New York journalist and human rights activist who was critical of Iran, according to a Justice Department indictment.
|  A self-armed local looks for looters inside a supermarket in Durban, South Africa, July 13, 2021 WORLD Crowds looted shops and offices in South Africa, defying government calls to end a week of violence that has killed more than 70 people and wrecked hundreds of businesses.
Cuba has restricted access to social media and messaging platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, global internet monitoring firm NetBlocks said, in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in decades.
Britain's top domestic spymaster cautioned the population to treat the threat of spying from Russia and China as vigilantly as terrorism, warning that foreign spies were seeking to steal technology, sow discord and attack infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates become the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel, as its envoy hailed the trade and investment opportunities that closer ties would bring at a flag-raising ceremony also attended by Israel's president.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalized to identify the cause of chronic hiccups, the president's office says, in the latest health scare for the far-right leader who was stabbed in the gut on the campaign trail in 2018.
| | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Afghan commandos caught in fierce Taliban attack A Reuters video journalist captured the moment Afghan forces came under attack from the Taliban in Kandahar, as U.S. troops near completion of their pullout from Afghanistan. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
