| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Friday, October 14, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Musk is under federal investigations, UK gilts soar on reports of a Truss U-turn, and why upcoming Russian nuclear exercises will pose a challenge for the West | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Volunteers of a newly formed battalion take part in training at a range outside the city of Melitopol, Russian-controlled Ukraine, October 13, 2022 RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Russian-backed forces have made some advances in eastern Ukraine, Britain said, even as Moscow's hold weakens in the south, where a Russian-installed official has advised residents to flee a region Russia claims to have annexed.
A British intelligence update said forces led by the private Russian military company Wagner Group had captured the villages of Optyine and Ivangrad south of the fiercely-contested town of Bakhmut, the first such advance in more than three months.
With Russia expected to soon carry out large-scale drills of its nuclear forces as President Vladimir Putin threatens to use them, the United States and its allies will be challenged to ensure they can spot the difference between exercises and the real thing.
Elon Musk said SpaceX cannot "indefinitely" fund the Starlink internet service in Ukraine and send it several thousands more terminals after a report suggested that his rocket company had asked the Pentagon to pay for the donations.
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now
|  A video of former President Donald Trump is played during a public hearing of the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, October 13, 2022
U.S.
The U.S. House of Representatives committee probing the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters voted unanimously to subpoena the former president, a move that could lead to criminal charges if he does not comply.
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has vowed to fight a nearly $1 billion defamation verdict against him, but experts say neither bankruptcy nor an appeal of a Connecticut jury’s findings are likely to salvage his personal fortune and media empire.
Republican Herschel Walker's bid to unseat Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia comes to a head today when they meet for their sole televised debate in a contentious race that could help determine which party controls the Senate.
A Florida jury decided to spare Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who killed 17 people in 2018 at a high school in the city of Parkland, from the death penalty, instead calling for life in prison without possibility of parole.
Five people including an off-duty police officer were shot dead in the North Carolina capital of Raleigh, triggering a massive manhunt that shut down part of city for hours and resulted in the arrest of a juvenile suspect.
WORLD
Thousands of people across Australia's southeast were asked to evacuate their homes, including some in a western suburb of Melbourne, after two days of incessant rains triggered flash flooding and fast-moving waters burst river banks.
North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of launches by the nuclear-armed country amid heightened tensions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will take the stage on Sunday to kick off a historic congress of the ruling Communist Party, where he is poised to win a third term that solidifies his place as China's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.
Haiti is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as it struggles with malnutrition, gang violence, inflation and a cholera outbreak, the U.N.'s World Food Programme said. Some 4.7 million people, almost half the population, are facing hunger, with about 19,000 people in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Cite Soleil facing "catastrophic hunger".
Chilean authorities will beef up security on trains carrying cargoes of copper, after a spate of violent heists that have been blamed on international organized crime gangs. Long a beacon of stability in Latin America, Chile in recent years has seen a jump in organized crime, apparently related to the drug trade.
| BUSINESS & MARKETS British Prime Minister Liz Truss will fire her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and scrap parts of their economic package, the Times newspaper reported, in a bid to survive the market and political pressure unleashed by their fiscal plan.
The European Central Bank is considering entering the maelstrom of volatile world markets to start winding down its massive bond holdings - just as governments scale up spending to respond to an energy crisis likely to induce a recession.
Investors with classic "60/40" portfolios are facing the worst returns this year for a century, BofA Global Research said, noting that bond markets continue to see huge outflows.
Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over his conduct in his $44 billion takeover deal for Twitter, the social media company said in a court filing. While the filing said he was under investigations, it did not say what the exact focus of the probes was and which federal authorities are conducting them.
French food company Danone will shed control of its dairy food business in Russia in a deal that could lead to a write-off of up to $978 million. Joining a lengthening list of global companies making costly exits, Danone will be offloading a business representing about 90% of its operations in Russia.
Britain's Royal Mail could cut up to 10,000 jobs and the loss-making business warned of more layoffs if planned strikes go ahead, as the company that is locked in a dispute with its largest union flags even deeper losses this year.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Argentines feel the pain of 100% inflation Argentines are grappling to survive, turning to recycling from garbage dumps or lining up to trade their belongings in barter clubs. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
