8 Things You Need To Know This AM — Jul 21 2016

1. Major News: A federal appeals court ruled that Texas' voter-ID law has a "discriminatory effect" on minority voters.

The 9-6 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, a generally conservative court, represents the third consecutive decision against the Texas law and sets up a potential Supreme Court showdown over the contentious issue of state photo-ID rules. (USA Today)

2. Here At Home: At 125 days, Merrick Garland is the longest-waiting Supreme Court nominee to have been neither confirmed nor rejected.

NBC News compiled the lengths of the longest-running Supreme Court confirmations and pointed out that as of July 20, Garland has tied with former Justice Louis Brandeis for the longest wait for a Supreme Court nomination. Brandeis was confirmed to the court in 1916, after waiting more than four months. (Read More)

3. World News: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said official Brexit negotiations will not begin until 2017.

Speaking in Berlin, the PM said securing a "sensible and orderly departure" from the E.U. would take time. But she insisted the U.K. would not "walk away" from Europe and wanted to retain the "closest economic links." (BBC)

4. Talking Points: An aide who helped Melania Trump write her convention speech apologized for mirroring Michelle Obama's speech.

Meredith McIver, an "in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization," said she offered to resign over the controversy, but that Donald Trump would not accept it. McIver says a note-taking error on her part during a conversation with the potential future first lady led to the inclusion of the similar language. (Read More)

5. Lawyer Up: Zara is being sued by an indie artist who alleges that the company copied her work multiple times.

"I had my lawyer contact Zara, and they literally said I have no [case], because I'm an indie artist and they're a major corporation and that not enough people even know about me for it to matter," Bassen wrote on Instagram. (Read More)

6. Tech Talk: Twitter announced that anyone is allowed to apply for a verified account.

Before completing a necessary form, your account must include a verified phone number and email address along with a bio, a profile and header photo, a birthdate (if you’re an individual), a website, and privacy settings set to public. (Read More)

7. A-List: Model Miranda Kerr is now engaged to Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel.

After a year of dating, the 26-year-old tech mogul popped the question with some major bling. Kerr took to Instagram to share the news. "I said yes!!!" the 33-year-old captioned the cute pic. (Read More)

While Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was trying to build bridges with his party in Cleveland, out in Los Angeles, someone else built a wall around his Walk Of Fame star. According to CBS Los Angeles, the mini-wall was the work of L.A. street artist Plastic Jesus. The artist was making a statement about Trump's plan to build a wall on the Mexico border. (Read More)