| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, July 21, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. A winning start for the hosts as the Games 'of hope' begin, a worrying jump in COVID cases in locked-down Australia, and how safe is the U.S. president's 'nuclear football'? | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Residents wade through floodwaters amid heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, July 20, 2021 WORLD At least 25 people have died in China's flood-stricken central province of Henan, a dozen of them in a subway line in its capital that was drenched by what weather officials called the heaviest rains for 1,000 years.
A relief official said rescue crews were unlikely to find any more survivors in the rubble of villages devastated by floods in western Germany, and a new poll showed many Germans felt policymakers had not done enough to protect them.
The Japanese women's softball team got the Tokyo 2020 Olympics off to a winning start for the hosts, kicking off a pandemic-postponed Games that the World Health Organization says can be "a celebration of hope" even as COVID-19 cases surge. Australia's Brisbane has been named host of the 2032 summer Games.
Australia's two largest states reported sharp increases in new COVID-19 cases, a blow to hopes that lockdown restrictions would be lifted with more than half the country's population under stay-at-home orders.
Police and government authorities have secured the release of 100 people, including women, children and nursing mothers, who were kidnapped from their village in northwestern Nigeria over a month ago.
|  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer looks down the hall after speaking to reporters following the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch at the Capitol in Washington, July 20, 2021 U.S.
President Joe Biden's goal of passing a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill faces a test today as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer presses ahead with a planned procedural vote despite Republican appeals for delay.
The Pentagon's watchdog said it would evaluate the safety protocols surrounding the president's "nuclear football" - containing codes needed for a strike - after one such briefcase nearly came within range of rioters storming the Capitol on January 6.
Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, was arrested and charged with illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
A federal judge blocked enforcement of a newly enacted Arkansas law banning all abortions except in medical emergencies until she had a chance to decide a legal challenge to the statute on its merits.
The Milwaukee Bucks, powered by a masterpiece from Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, ended their 50-year wait for a second NBA championship with a 105-98 win over the visiting Phoenix Suns.
| | | | | | | | | Quote of the day "Instead of being deployed widely, vaccines have been concentrated in the hands and arms of a lucky few. The pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it. It is in our hands" Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO head Tedros backs Tokyo Games | | | | Video of the day  Russia's new stealth fighter jet Russia's state-owned aerospace conglomerate unveiled the prototype of a fifth-generation Sukhoi fighter jet, touted as a rival to the American F-35 warplane. | | | | And finally… UK's swan-uppers check on the queen's birds  Royal officials took to the River Thames to count the swans that belong to Britain's Queen Elizabeth at the start of the 'Swan Upping' ceremony which dates back to the 12th Century. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
