10 things you need to know today: December 20, 2018

1. Trump orders troop withdrawal from Syria, declaring ISIS defeated

President Trump has ordered the withdrawal within 30 days of the 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria, White House officials said Wednesday. "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency," Trump tweeted. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that the administration had "started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign." Pentagon officials tried to dissuade Trump, telling him a rapid withdrawal would leave Kurdish allies vulnerable to an offensive threatened by Turkey. Some Trump allies objected. "If Obama had done this, all of us would be furious," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). "If Obama had done this, we'd be going nuts right now: 'How weak, how dangerous.'"

The New York Times

2. Senate approves stop-gap spending bill without money for Trump's wall

The Senate on Wednesday approved a short-term spending bill to fund federal agencies through February, aiming to beat a Friday deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. The bill goes to the House on Thursday. The measure does not include $5 billion toward building President Trump's border wall. Trump had said he would be "proud" to let the government shut down to get Congress to provide the money for the wall. The White House suggested Wednesday that Trump would sign the bill and accept the $1.6 billion Democrats had agreed to provide for border security, then find money for the wall elsewhere. "At the end of the day we don't want to shut down the government," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

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NBC News Politico

3. Stocks fall after 4th Fed rate hike of 2018

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked short-term interest rates for the fourth time this year. The move was widely expected, but Fed leaders also downgraded their economic outlook for 2019, sending U.S. stocks into the latest in a series of nosedives on Wednesday, with stock-index futures falling further early Thursday. The U.S. central bank said that with trade tensions and recent signs of a global slowdown, it would likely raise interest rates twice in 2019, instead of the previously forecast three times. Investors had hoped the Fed would slow the pace of rate hikes more quickly. President Trump has called the Fed's pace of rate hikes "foolish," saying it should keep rates low to avoid damaging the economy and dragging down stocks.

The Washington Post CNBC

4. North Korea says no denuclearization until U.S. removes nuclear threat

North Korea said Thursday it would never give up its nuclear weapons unless the U.S. first removes its 28,500 troops from South Korea, and eliminates the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to work toward "complete denuclearization" at a June summit, but "the United States must now recognize the accurate meaning of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and especially, must study geography," North Korea's official news agency said in a statement. The statement is seen as a sign that Pyongyang isn't interested in giving up its nuclear weapons for just sanctions relief and security guarantees.

The Associated Press

5. Ryan laments 'broken politics' in farewell speech

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) delivered a farewell speech Wednesday ahead of his departure from Congress, decrying the "broken politics" that are blocking solutions to many of America's most pressing issues. "Our complex problems are solvable," Ryan said. "That is to say, our problems are solvable if our politics will allow it." Ryan noted that the dispute over President Trump's border wall, which has threatened to prevent a spending deal necessary to avoid a partial government shutdown, was just one challenge to broad improvements needed in the U.S. immigration system. He said lawmakers must also modernize the visa system, deal with illegal immigration, and find a solution for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. years ago as children, "through no fault of their own."

CBS News

6. Pope Francis accepts resignation of L.A. bishop accused of abuse

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Monsignor Alexander Salazar, a Los Angeles auxiliary bishop accused of sexual misconduct against a minor in the 1990s, church officials said Wednesday. The current Los Angeles archbishop, Most Rev. Jose Gomez, said the church found out about the accusation in 2005. Police recommended prosecuting Salazar for a lewd act against a child, but prosecutors decided not to bring charges. The archdiocese, however, sent the case to the Vatican office that examines sexual abuse claims. Gomez said that office imposed precautionary measures and an archdiocese investigation found the allegation credible. Gomez said Salazar, 69, has denied he did anything wrong. Critics faulted archdiocese officials for taking 13 years to disclose the case after learning of it.

The Associated Press

7. Michigan Republicans drop bill seeking to limit Democratic AG's powers

Michigan's Republican-controlled House on Wednesday declined to consider a bill passed by state senators seeking to weaken the authority of the incoming Democratic secretary of state by taking away campaign finance oversight and giving it to a new bipartisan commission. The proposed changes were among a series of measures that GOP-dominated state legislatures in Michigan and Wisconsin have taken to limit the power of Democrats who won state offices in November, in moves similar to ones North Carolina Republicans took in 2016. Michigan House Republicans left the bill off the agenda in a key committee's final 2018 meeting after Democrats complained it was a partisan power grab. In Wisconsin, outgoing Gov. Scott Walker (R) last week signed several bills limiting the powers of Democratic Governor-elect Tony Evers, who is considering a legal challenge.

Reuters

8. Judge blocks Trump restrictions on asylum applications

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration's policy of denying immigrants a chance to apply for asylum to escape gang violence or domestic abuse in their home countries. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions' guidance earlier this year against hearing these claims could not be implemented if an immigrant showed a credible fear of persecution or torture, because that would be a violation of federal immigration law. "It is the will of Congress — not the whims of the executive," that sets rules for turning away migrants, the judge said. A Justice Department spokesman said the administration is considering its options, and is only seeking to restore order to the immigration process.

The Associated Press

9. Illinois AG: Catholic Church withheld names of 500 priests accused of abuse

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan released a report on Wednesday saying that 505 more Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing children in the state than the church has acknowledged. The report found that credible abuse claims had been made against 690 priests; Catholic officials have publicly identified just 185 clergy members facing allegations. The state began the investigation following revelations in the summer of widespread abuse and cover-ups by Catholic officials in Pennsylvania. Madigan said the omissions indicate the dioceses can't investigate themselves and resolve the crisis on their own. The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, said he wants "to express again the profound regret of the whole church for our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse."

Chicago Tribune The New York Times

10. Japanese court rejects request to extend ex-Nissan chairman's detention

A Japanese court on Thursday denied a request by prosecutors to extend the detention of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, raising the possibility that Ghosn could be released within days if the court accepts his lawyer's bail request. Prosecutors have appealed the decision, saying they need time for further investigation. The Tokyo District Court's rejection of another 10-day detention was rare in a country where such requests are almost automatically approved. Ghosn was arrested Nov. 19 and charged with underreporting his pay by $44 million from 2011 through 2015. Tokyo prosecutors last week added another allegation, saying Ghosn and his co-defendant, former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, underreported another $36 million in Ghosn's pay for 2016 through 2018.

The Associated Press