10 things you need to know today: May 10, 2023

1. Trump found liable for sexual abuse of author E. Jean Carroll

A jury in a Manhattan civil trial on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in a case that could rattle Trump's bid to win back the White House in 2024. The jurors rejected Carroll's claim that Trump raped her during the encounter in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, but found him liable for defaming her when he said her allegations were "a Hoax and a lie." Trump said on his social media platform that the verdict was "a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time." Carroll is one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment.

The New York Times The Associated Press

2. Biden, McCarthy meet but remain deadlocked over raising debt ceiling

President Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday to work on breaking an impasse on raising the debt ceiling before a catastrophic default that could be weeks away. Biden insists Congress must lift the $31.4 trillion debt limit without conditions. McCarthy and his fellow Republicans are demanding spending cuts in exchange for raising the borrowing cap. It was Biden's first face-to-face meeting with McCarthy since Feb. 1. There was no breakthrough on Tuesday. The leaders agreed to meet again on Friday.

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

Reuters CNN

3. Senate panel asks GOP donor for list of gifts to Thomas, other justices

The Senate Judiciary Committee has sent a letter asking billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow for details on free travel and other gifts he provided for Justice Clarence Thomas and other members of the Supreme Court. The letter, sent Monday, amounted to an escalation of the influential panel's push for the high court, which polices itself, to tighten its ethics rules. Judiciary Committee Chair Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and the 10 other Democrats on the committee asked Crow to list all gifts worth more than $415, including lodging, transportation, real estate deals, and club memberships. The scrutiny followed a ProPublica investigation that described luxury vacations Crow had provided for Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, but that Thomas didn't report.

The Washington Post

4. Wagner mercenary chief renews threat to withdraw if Moscow doesn't send ammunition

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, said Tuesday his fighters in eastern Ukraine hadn't received ammunition Moscow promised after he threatened to withdraw from the ruined city of Bakhmut. Prigozhin, in a profanity-laced recorded audio rant, renewed his threat to pull his forces out of Bakhmut, and said Moscow had warned him not to abandon the city. "A combat order came yesterday which clearly stated that if we leave our positions (in Bakhmut), it will be regarded as treason against the Motherland," Prigozhin said. "(But) if there is no ammunition, then we will leave our positions and be the ones asking who is really betraying the Motherland."

Reuters

5. Federal prosecutors file criminal charges against embattled Rep. George Santos

The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who has faced widespread criticism for lying about his experience and background during his campaign, CNN reported Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter. Santos is expected to appear in a New York court on Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear what crimes he was accused of committing. Santos' attorney declined CNN's request for comment. Democrats and some Republicans have called for Santos to resign, and the freshman representative faces several investigations, including one by the House Ethics Committee. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he would have to see the charges against Santos before deciding whether he should be removed from Congress, according to CNN.

CNN

6. Pakistan arrests former Prime Minister Imran Khan, sparking violent protests

Security forces in riot gear stormed the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday and arrested former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was there to face corruption charges. Khan's political party called for protests. His supporters rioted in several cities, setting fires and blocking highways in the capital, Islamabad, and overrunning the gate of the military headquarters in Rawalpindi. At least one person, a party worker, was "martyred" in Quetta, a party official said. Khan was ousted last year and was wounded when someone shot at his convoy after a rally in November. He has said the corruption charges against him were concocted by the military and government to keep him out of politics.

CNBC BBC News

7. Feinstein heads back to Washington after long absence

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) headed back to Washington on Tuesday aboard a charter plane to return to the Senate after an extended absence due to the shingles virus, her spokesperson said. Feinstein had been in the San Francisco Bay Area since the middle of February, recovering. Her prolonged absence threatened to stall Democrats' agenda in the Senate, where their caucus holds a 51-49 majority. Democrats don't have votes to spare to confirm judicial nominees and new members of President Biden's Cabinet, or key legislation like the bill needed to raise the debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default. The situation prompted some Democrats to call for Feinstein, 89, to step down.

Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle

8. Louisiana man accused of shooting teen playing hide-and-seek on his property

A Louisiana man is facing felony assault charges for allegedly shooting a 14-year-old girl in the back of the head as she and friends played hide-and-seek on his property, police said Tuesday. David Doyle, 58, was charged with aggravated battery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and illegal discharge of a firearm, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office said in a press release. Officials said the incident occurred last Sunday in Starks, a small town near the Texas state line. The girl was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. Doyle told detectives he "observed shadows outside of his home, at which point he went inside and received his firearm," went outside, and started shooting at people he saw running away.

USA Today

9. Health experts urge women to start getting mammograms at 40

Health experts, alarmed by rising breast cancer diagnoses in younger women, on Tuesday revised the standard medical advice on mammograms and recommended that women at average risk of breast cancer start getting regular mammograms at age 40. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force previously advised women to start regular mammograms at age 50. The task force had raised the recommended age from 40 to 50 in 2009 due to researchers' concerns that earlier screening could do more harm than good. But the number of breast cancer cases in younger women has risen, and the survival gap has failed to narrow, particularly for younger Black women, who die of breast cancer at twice the rate of younger white women.

The New York Times

10. Tucker Carlson to revive canceled Fox News show on Twitter

Tucker Carlson, who was fired by Fox News last month, announced Tuesday that he plans to bring a version of his old show to Twitter. "Free speech is the main right you have. Without it, you have no others," Carlson said in a video shared Tuesday on the platform. The conservative news network fired Carlson days after agreeing to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of knowingly airing false claims that the company's machines switched some votes for then-President Donald Trump to President Biden. Carlson stands to lose $25 million in compensation under a non-compete clause in his contract, but he accuses the company of "fraud and breach of contract."

Variety