10 things you need to know today: May 19, 2013

1. U.S. HITS DEBT CEILING SECOND TIME THIS YEAR

The U.S. bumped up against its borrowing limit Sunday, forcing the Treasury Department to employ "extraordinary measures" to make sure the government keeps paying its bills. Congress agreed to suspend the nation's $16.4 trillion borrowing limit the last time they approached it, in January. In a letter to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the extraordinary actions should allow the government to meet all its obligations at least through the Sept. 2 Labor Day holiday. [Chicago Tribune, The Hill]

………………………………………………………………………………

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. BAN KI-MOON DENOUNCES NORTH KOREA'S WEEKEND MISSILE TESTS

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on North Korea to refrain from carrying out any further missile tests as Pyongyang test-fired a fourth short-range missile from its east coast on Sunday. Such launches are routine but come as countries in the region are trying to break a stalemate in relations there. Ban urged Pyongyang to lower the tensions in the region and "resume dialogue" over its nuclear program. [BBC]

………………………………………………………………………………

3. OBAMA'S APPROVAL RATINGS HOLD STEADY

President Obama came out of a week riddled with the IRS and Benghazi scandals and more with his approval rating holding steady, according to a new national poll conducted by CNN. According to the survey, which was conducted Friday and Saturday, 53 percent of Americans say they approve of the job the president is doing, with 45 percent saying they disapprove. The president's approval rating was at 51 percent in CNN's last poll, which was conducted in early April. [CNN]

………………………………………………………………………………

4. PROMINENT FEMALE POLITICIAN IN PAKISTAN IS KILLED

Gunmen killed Zohra Shahid Hussain, a senior Pakistani politician, on Saturday night, the latest violent incident in a bloody election campaign. It was not immediately clear who killed Hussain, a senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the party to which cricket star Imran Khan also belongs. A Karachi district held a re-vote on Sunday following the murder. [Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

5. OBAMA ADVISER INSISTS THE PRESIDENT KNEW NOTHING OF IRS SCANDAL

Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer insisted that President Obama learned that the IRS had been targeting tea party groups "when it came out in the news." Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Pfeiffer added that the White House counsel's office learned of the IRS inspector general's investigation in late April, but Obama wasn't informed of the probe. Pfeiffer said "the political sensitivity is exactly why no one got involved." [Washington Post]

………………………………………………………………………………

6. POLICE OFFICER MISTAKENLY KILLED HOFSTRA STUDENT

Andrea Rebello, a 21-year-old Hofstra University student, was mistakenly shot and killed by an officer who fired eight times at a home invasion suspect. Rebello was among several people taken hostage on Friday morning in an apparent robbery attempt. The Nassau County police identified the gunman as Dalton Smith, 30, a Hempstead, N.Y., resident with an extensive criminal record who was wanted for violating parole on a robbery conviction. [New York Times]

………………………………………………………………………………

7. WINNING POWERBALL TICKET SOLD IN FLORIDA

The winning Powerball ticket, worth a $590.5 million jackpot, was sold at a Publix Supermarket in Florida. It matched all six numbers for a record Powerball jackpot of an estimated $590.5 million. "This would be the sixth Florida Powerball winner and right now, it's the sole winner of the largest ever Powerball jackpot," Florida Lottery executive Cindy O'Connell told The Associated Press. [USA Today]

………………………………………………………………………………

8. NASA ANNOUNCES HISTORIC METEOR CRASH ON MOON

NASA scientists discovered the biggest explosion seen on the moon since they started monitoring it in a video captured on March 17. The explosion was caused by a meteor that crashed into the lunar surface at a mind-boggling 56,000 mph, causing a bright flash of light that would have been visible to anyone looking at the moon at the time with the naked eye, NASA scientists say. [Huffington Post]

………………………………………………………………………………

9. DENMARK WINS EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Denmark's Emmelie de Forest won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, with her folksy ballad "Only Teardrops." Twenty-year-old de Forest beat the closest runners up, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The event attracts about 120 million viewers, more than the Academy Awards or Super Bowl. [Wall Street Journal]

………………………………………………………………………………

10. OXBOW WINS PREAKNESS STAKES

Long-shot horse Oxbow upset Kentucky Derby winner Orb to win this year's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md., on Saturday. This upset victory denied Orb, who finished fourth, a shot at the Triple Crown. Belmont Stakes, final race of the Triple Crown, is on June 8. [ESPN]