| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, August 18, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Biden's approval rating drops to the lowest of his presidency, California's wildfire crisis escalates, and New Zealanders begin life in lockdown | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A customer shows proof of vaccination to a worker in Clinton Hall as the vaccine mandate commenced in Manhattan, New York City, August 17, 2021
U.S.
The United States reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths yesterday, equating to around 42 fatalities an hour, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has tested positive for COVID-19 but so far has no symptoms of the illness, his office said. Abbott, a Republican who is locked in battle with some local leaders over his ban on mask mandates in schools, is fully vaccinated and is receiving a monoclonal antibody treatment.
Fans attending baseball, football and outdoor music events in Los Angeles County will be required to wear a mask starting on Friday regardless of their vaccination status, according to an order from the health department.
California's wildfire crisis escalated as resurgent strong winds fanned the state's biggest conflagration, drove flames from a separate, smaller blaze into a rural mountain community and prompted widespread precautionary power shutoffs.
The R&B superstar R. Kelly goes on trial today in Brooklyn on charges he was the ringleader of a two-decade scheme where he recruited women and underage girls for sex, including demanding they demonstrate "absolute commitment" and call him "Daddy”.
WORLD
Haitians left homeless by a devastating earthquake that killed about 2,000 people voiced anger over a lack of government aid as they spent a fourth night in the open, many without clean water and food. As the poorest country in the Americas is racked by political instability and natural disasters, members of Haiti's 1 million-strong diaspora in the United States are struggling to find ways to help from afar.
New Zealand's city streets are largely deserted as the country returns to life in lockdown for the first time in six months in a bid to halt any spread of the infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Sydney's Delta outbreak has not peaked and residents must brace for more deaths, authorities said as Australia's largest city continued to break records for new daily infections despite a nearly two-month lockdown.
Malaysia's king will name a new prime minister as soon as possible but the appointee will have to face a confidence vote in parliament to prove his majority, the palace said. Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as prime minister on Monday after conceding he had lost his majority in parliament but remains caretaker premier until a successor is named.
Germany's center-left Social Democrats have overtaken the Greens and are closing the gap with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives less than six weeks before a federal election, an opinion poll shows. Support for the conservative bloc led by Armin Laschet, who has been widely seen as frontrunner to succeed Merkel as chancellor, has ebbed since the end of June.
| BUSINESS T-Mobile US said an ongoing investigation into a cyberattack on its systems revealed that some personal data of about 7.8 million of its current postpaid customers were compromised.
Binance has appointed a former U.S. Treasury criminal investigator as its global money laundering reporting officer, part of an attempt by one of the world's largest crypto exchanges to reinvent itself as a regulated financial firm.
Insight into the Federal Reserve's debate over when to end its pandemic-era emergency programs and the level of concern among officials over a spike in inflation should emerge today with the release of a readout of the U.S. central bank's policy meeting last month.
The Delta variant has delayed an expected rate hike in New Zealand, leaving Norway likely the first G10 economy to begin the journey out of an era of emergency-level interest rate lows. Here's a look at where major central banks stand on the path out of pandemic-era money printing.
British house prices rose in June at the fastest annual rate since 2004 as the market surged ahead of a phasing out of a tax break on property purchases, official data shows. "Prices went berserk," said Lucy Pendleton from London-based estate agent James Pendleton. House prices were 13.2% higher than in June 2020, following a 9.8% annual increase in May.
| | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Solar-powered jeeps offer quieter, cleaner safaris A new breed of safari vehicle is silently making its way across Kenya's Maasai Mara. Nairobi-based Opibus is converting the gas-guzzling vehicles to offer tourists a more eco-friendly and quiet experience. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
