| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Thursday, June 9, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. The U.S. Capitol riot hearings open, parts of Shanghai return to lockdown, and Thailand legalizes marijuana - but you can't smoke it
| | | | | Today's biggest stories  Ukrainian service members walk near the town of Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 8, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR Ukrainian troops claimed to have pushed forward in intense street fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, but said their only hope to turn the tide was more artillery to offset Russia's massive firepower.
In the south, Ukraine's defense ministry said it had captured new ground in a counter-attack in Kherson province, aiming at the biggest swath of territory Russia has seized since its invasion in February.
Two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine could face the death penalty after pleading guilty in a court of one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine, Russia's RIA news agency reported.
Turkish efforts to ease a global food crisis by negotiating safe passage for grain stuck in Black Sea ports met resistance as Ukraine said Russia was imposing unreasonable conditions and the Kremlin said free shipment depended on an end to sanctions.
Russia's Orthodox Church has ousted its second most powerful bishop from his role in charge of foreign relations and sent him to Budapest, an abrupt decision indicating discord at the top of the Moscow Patriarchate over the war in Ukraine.
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now |  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at a rally demanding gun legislation outside the Capitol in Washington, June 8, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
U.S.
A rare bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate to agree on legislation to address a wave of mass shootings could reach a watershed moment today as lawmakers decide whether the drive has enough momentum to succeed.
The congressional hearings on the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters will spotlight testimony by the former president's top aides and family members as a House committee seeks to persuade Americans that the riot was an orchestrated attack on democracy.
Trump and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, have agreed to testify starting July 15 in a New York state civil investigation into the former president's business practices.
A California man armed with a handgun who planned to kill Brett Kavanaugh was charged with attempted murder after being arrested near the Supreme Court justice's Maryland home.
A group representing 600 Texas families and backed by the American Civil Liberties Union sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop state officials from treating transgender healthcare for minors as a form of child abuse.
WORLD
Shanghai and Beijing went back on fresh COVID-19 alert after parts of China's largest economic hub started imposing new lockdown restrictions while the most populous district in the Chinese capital shut entertainment venues.
German investigators are trying to make sense of "confused" statements from a 29-year-old man who rammed his car into a group of schoolchildren and killed a teacher in Berlin, the city's mayor, Franziska Giffey, said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will promise today to rejuvenate a flagging economy and make it easier for people to buy homes in his latest reset after just surviving a major revolt against his leadership.
Indonesian naval officers have asked for $375,000 to release a fuel tanker they detained last week, accusing it of anchoring illegally in Indonesian waters off Singapore, people involved in negotiations over the unofficial payment said. The incident comes after Reuters reported a dozen similar detentions last year.
Thailand legalized the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks, the first Asian country to do so, but smoking pot is still against the law. | BUSINESS Freeport LNG, operator of one of the largest U.S. export plants producing liquefied natural gas, will shut for at least three weeks following an explosion at its Texas Gulf Coast facility, raising the risk of shortages especially in Europe.
U.S. renewable energy developers have delayed or scrapped several big battery projects meant to store electrical power on the grid in recent months, scuttling plans to replace fossil fuels with wind and solar energy.
The top U.S. securities regulator unveiled a planned overhaul of Wall Street retail stock trading rules, aiming to boost competition for handling orders by commission-free brokerages to ensure mom-and-pop investors get the best price for trades.
Major retailers like Target and Walmart may be cutting prices to clear overstocked warehouses, but for hotel operators the revenue is pouring in with daily room rates and occupancy that have broken above pre-pandemic levels.
Tesla was proceeding with an online hiring event in China and added two dozen new job postings for the country, a week after Elon Musk threatened job cuts at the electric car maker and said the company was "overstaffed" in some areas. | | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  The Egyptian artist using unusual materials Using sunlight, sand and eggs among other things, Hossam Gamal creates portraits of famous people in captivating ways. | | | | And finally… For the first time in years, Gazans enjoy clean seawater  Untreated sewage has flowed directly into the waters off Gaza for years, causing an environmental disaster that has ruined one of the few affordable opportunities for swimming available to people locked into the narrow coastal strip. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
