10 things you need to know today: June 27, 2017

The CBO says the Senate GOP health bill will leave 22 million more uninsured, the Supreme Court agrees to review the Trump travel ban, and more

President Trump
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

1. CBO says Senate health bill would leave 22 million more uninsured

Senate Republicans' proposal to replace ObamaCare would reduce the number of Americans with health insurance by 22 million over a decade, according to a report released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO score estimated that the Senate proposal would reduce federal spending by $321 billion by 2026, about $200 billion more in savings than would come from the House plan. The extra savings could give backers more room to add spending to win over GOP moderates who are balking at voting for the plan because of its cuts to Medicaid, but any amendments added to please moderates risk driving away reluctant conservatives. The GOP can only afford to lose two of its 52 votes to secure the majority it needs to pass the bill. Moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she would oppose the bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is vowing to hold a vote this week.

The Washington Post

2. Supreme Court agrees to hear case on Trump travel ban

The Supreme Court said Monday that it would hear the Trump administration's challenge of a ruling blocking President Trump's temporary travel ban on six predominantly Muslim nations, partly reinstating the ban in the meantime. The justices imposed tight limits on the ban pending its review, saying it could not be imposed on anyone with "a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States." Trump called the decision a "clear victory" for national security. "As president, I cannot allow people into our country who want to do us harm," Trump wrote. "I want people who can love the United States and all of its citizens, and who will be hardworking and productive." Opponents of the ban said the justices' provisions would protect most people from the affected countries. The court will hear the case in October.

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The New York Times

3. White House warns Syria over alleged preparations for another chemical attack

The White House said late Monday that the Syrian government appeared to be preparing another chemical weapons attack "that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children." The statement warned that the U.S. would respond forcefully if the Syrian government launches another chemical attack like one in April that killed dozens of civilians. "As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria," the statement said. "If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price." Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted late Monday that any further attacks "will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia & Iran who support him killing his own people."

The New York Times

4. Castile family reaches $3 million settlement with city over shooting

The family of Philando Castile, the black motorist fatally shot last July by a police officer, has reached a $3 million settlement with the city of St. Anthony, Minnesota. The settlement will let both sides avoid a wrongful death lawsuit that could have taken years. The agreement came 10 days after a jury acquitted the officer, Jeronimo Yanez, of second-degree manslaughter and other charges. The settlement will be paid to the victim's mother, Valerie Castile, as the family's trustee. The shooting attracted national attention and sparked protests after Castile's girlfriend, who was in the car with Castile and her then-4-year-old daughter, livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook.

The Associated Press

5. Survey finds U.S. image abroad has suffered under Trump

In the six months since former President Barack Obama left office and President Trump was sworn in, favorable views of the U.S. abroad have dropped from 64 percent at the end of Obama's tenure to 49 percent, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 37 countries. The survey found that under Trump unfavorable views of the U.S. rose from 26 percent to 39 percent. Still, in two of the 37 countries — Russia and Israel — people had more confidence in Trump doing the right thing in the world than they did Obama. A 55 percent majority of people in the 37 countries told Pew they view Trump as a "strong leader" — below the number who view him as "arrogant" (75 percent), "intolerant" (65 percent), and "dangerous" (62 percent).

Pew Research Center The Washington Post

6. U.K. broadens fire safety survey after fatal inferno

British authorities said Monday that they would test schools and hospitals for fire safety after exterior cladding samples from dozens of high-rise apartment buildings failed combustibility tests. Hundreds more residential towers remain to be tested as officials respond to safety concerns following an inferno that killed at least 79 people in London's 24-story Grenfell Tower less than two weeks ago. At the time of the tragedy, authorities called the "unprecedented" blaze an anomaly, but the failed tests have shown that fire risks are far more widespread than anyone believed before the deadly Grenfell Tower fire.

The Washington Post

7. Shkreli's securities fraud trial gets underway

Jury selection began Monday in the securities fraud trial of Martin Shkreli, the widely reviled 34-year-old former pharmaceutical company leader also known as "pharma bro." Shkreli gained national notoriety by hiking the price for a life-saving drug for AIDS patients by 5,000 percent. Prosecutors say that before that he swindled through his hedge fund. Federal agents arrested him in December 2015. The Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of committing a "series of frauds" from October 2009 to March 2014. In interviews, potential jurors told Judge Kiyo Matsumoto they thought Shkreli was "evil" and "a snake." "I have total disdain for the man," one juror said.

NPR Ars Technica

8. European antitrust regulators fine Google a record $2.7 billion

The European Commission fined Google $2.7 billion on Tuesday after ruling that the company abused its power by steering search results to promote its comparison shopping service. The fine is the biggest ever imposed by the EU's antitrust regulators. The ruling also required Google to stop the practices within 90 days, or it could face further penalties of 5 percent of its parent company Alphabet's average daily worldwide earnings, about $14 million a day. Google indicated it might appeal, saying it presented results to help users shop "quickly and easily." "We respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today," the search giant said. "We will review the commission's decision in detail as we consider an appeal, and we look forward to continuing to make our case."

BBC News

9. 3 CNN journalists resign over retracted Russia-Trump story

Three CNN journalists resigned Monday over their roles in publishing a story about a "Russian investment fund with ties to Trump officials" that the news outlet later retracted. CNN said Friday that the story, which cited a single anonymous source, "did not meet CNN's editorial standards," which should have included fact-checking, source corroboration, and review by journalism standards experts and lawyers. CNN pulled the story off its website — it was never presented on any of CNN's television channels. The employees who abruptly left were part of a new investigative unit: Thomas Frank, who wrote the story, editor Eric Lichtblau, and Lex Haris, who oversaw the investigative team. On Friday, Trump ally Anthony Scaramucci, who was among the people mentioned in the story, said he "did nothing wrong," and he accepted CNN's apology after the retraction. Members of the investigative team were told in a meeting that the retraction didn't mean the story was wrong, but it "wasn't solid enough to publish as is."

CNN

10. Brazilian president formally charged with corruption

Brazilian Attorney General Rodrigo Janot formally accused President Michel Temer of corruption on Monday. The case goes next to the lower house of Congress in Latin America's largest nation, which will hold a trial if two-thirds of the lawmakers there decide the charges have merit. Temer is Brazil's first sitting president to face criminal charges. Janot said Temer took a bribe of about $150,000 from Joesley Batista, former chairman of meat-packing company JBS. A recording surfaced earlier this year in which Temer appears to endorse paying hush money to a former ally imprisoned for corruption. Temer has denied wrongdoing and dismissed calls to resign. Batista reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

The Associated Press

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.