What happened
President Donald Trump repeated his “long-running complaints” about the security of the American voting system in a primetime speech Thursday, Reuters said. The president claimed mail-in ballots are “inherently corrupt”; voting machines are “easily compromised”; China interfered with the 2020 elections; and 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote. He called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would severely tighten ID rules for voters.

Who said what
These “unsubstantiated claims” are based on “incomplete” data with “no underlying evidence,” Bloomberg said. “All we got is more rehashed, debunked conspiracy theories,” David Becker of The Center for Election Innovation & Research told CBS News. The speech comes as Republicans “are facing the prospect of losing one or both chambers of Congress in ​November,” Reuters said.

What next?
The SAVE America Act “lacks the necessary support” to clear the Senate, NBC News said, but House Republicans want “to force the bill through” without Democratic support by weaving parts of it into a new reconciliation bill. It’s “far from clear” this legislation “will have enough support to pass,” The New York Times said. 

What happened
U.S. health officials have linked an ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak to iceberg lettuce from Mexico that was sent to Taco Bell locations across five states. The supplier has not been officially named, but “two individuals familiar with the inquiry” told The Washington Post it is Taylor Farms. At least 1,645 cases of the parasitic infection, which can cause explosive diarrhea, have been confirmed, most of them in Michigan.  

Who said what
“Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia,” the CDC said in a statement. The fast food company said it had “taken immediate action” to “indefinitely” remove the lettuce from its supply chain.

What next?
The FDA said it had “increased screening at the border” for the “implicated” products and is working with the supplier to figure out if any contaminated lettuce remains on the market. Taylor Farms is “one of the largest producers of fresh lettuce and vegetables in the country,” serving many leading restaurant chains, The New York Times said. “Additional implicated brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” may yet emerge, the FDA warned.

Fiji and Australia have agreed to a new alliance, the latest in a series of regional pacts that could significantly alter the Pacific’s defense landscape. In a “surprise move,” Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji elevated diplomatic ties between the two countries to a “formal treaty,” said The Guardian. The Ocean of Peace Alliance, which will be open to other Pacific nations, aims to bolster regional security and “limit China’s influence.”

For 75 years, Australia had just two formal alliances, with the U.S. and New Zealand under the Anzus Treaty signed in 1951. But it has been “racing to shore up defense ties with its Pacific neighbors” to counter China’s “military expansion,” said the BBC. Last October, Australia signed a defense deal with Papua New Guinea, the most populous South Pacific nation, that granted access to PNG’s military facilities and troops.

This latest Australia-Fiji pact, which complements the Vuvale Union that focuses heavily on economic integration, is more significant than previous deals because it includes a mutual defense agreement, committing each country to come to the other’s aid should there be the threat of an armed attack. It also offers closer military cooperation, including planning, exercises and intelligence sharing.

Hours after the pact was signed, China test-launched a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean. Beijing described it as routine and part of the country’s annual military program, but the launch provoked an angry response from Australia, which accused China of destabilizing the region. Ultimately, the test “underscored the need for Pacific Island countries to collectively think through their defense and security arrangements,” said The Conversation.