Inside the Alex Jones jury room - tensions, pizza and 'lizard people'

The Reuters Daily Briefing Monday, August 15, 2022 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Republicans push to see the affidavit that justified the FBI search of Trump's home, Kenya's election outcome is set to be announced, and how tech giants are confronting India's caste system Today's biggest stories An itemized receipt for property seized in the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. REUTERS/Jim Bourg U.S. Republicans stepped up calls for the release of an FBI affidavit showing the justification for its seizure of documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home amid reports of heightened threats against federal law enforcement personnel. As the jury in the Alex Jones defamation trial gathered in a conference room in a Texas courthouse on August 5 to decide how much the U.S. conspiracy theorist owed to two parents of a murdered Sandy Hook first-grader, sums at first ranged from $500,000 to $200 million, a juror told Reuters. Read our exclusive account of what happened in the jury room. Salman Rushdie, the acclaimed author who was stabbed repeatedly at a public appearance in New York state on Friday, 33 years after Iran's then-supreme leader called for him to be killed, is off a ventilator and his health is improving. American actor Anne Heche was taken off life support, nine days after suffering severe injuries in a fiery car crash, as a compatible person was found to receive her donated organs, a spokesperson said. Three people were injured following gunfire outside the Six Flags theme park in Gurnee, Illinois, the Gurnee Police Department said. Entertainers perform ahead of the announcement of Kenya's presidential election results at the IEBC National Tallying Centre at the Bomas of Kenya, in Nairobi. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi WORLD Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto led a tight presidential race against opposition leader Raila Odinga, official results reported by Kenyan media showed, as an announcement from electoral authorities on the winner appeared imminent. Ukrainian forces reported heavy Russian shelling and attempts to advance on several towns in the eastern region of Donetsk that has become a key focus of the near six-month war, but said they had repelled many of the attacks. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now. China's military said it carried out more exercises near Taiwan as a group of U.S. lawmakers visited the Chinese-claimed island and met President Tsai Ing-wen, in what Beijing said was an infringement of its sovereignty. Iran will respond to the European Union's "final" text by midnight, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, calling on the United States to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues to save a 2015 nuclear pact. A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six years in prison after finding her guilty in four corruption cases, a source with knowledge of the proceedings said. BUSINESS Global shares struggled to advance while investors digested news of an unexpected cut in Chinese interest rates as data pointed to faltering growth in the world's second largest economy, sending oil prices nearly 2% lower. Several major Wall Street banks have begun offering to facilitate trades in Russian debt in recent days, according to bank documents seen by Reuters, giving investors another chance to dispose of assets widely seen in the West as toxic. America's tech giants are taking a modern-day crash course in India's ancient caste system, with Apple emerging as an early leader in policies to rid Silicon Valley of a rigid hierarchy that's segregated Indians for generations. Drugmakers are launching new medicines at record-high prices this year, a Reuters analysis has found, highlighting their pricing power even as Congress moves to cut the $500 billion-plus annual bill for prescription drugs in the United States. Scandinavian airline SAS kept its bid for survival aloft by securing bridge financing through bankruptcy protection proceedings, sending its shares 9% higher. The airline, whose biggest owners are Sweden and Denmark, said it had signed a deal with U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $700 million in financing. Quote of the day "In a world where conflicts are still unabated, Japan is a proactive leader in peace" Fumio Kishida Japanese PM promises to never again wage war Video of the day Firefighters battle blazes in Spain's Valencia region A fire in Vall d’Ebo, near Alicante, forced 1,000 locals to evacuate their homes while in nearby Castellon firefighters struggled to control a blaze at Les Useres which spread quickly through tinder-dry undergrowth. And finally… French sorghum farmer defies drought with sustainable crop Corn plants near Paris are stunted and the soil of harvested wheat fields is bone dry, but on Eudes Coutte's sorghum plot the leaves are green and the plants carry a full ear of grains. More from Reuters Sustainable Business The Great Reboot Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? 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