10 things you need to know today: May 18, 2023

1. Biden, McCarthy say debt ceiling deal 'doable' in coming week

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that they were determined to reach a deal soon on raising the debt ceiling to prevent a catastrophic default. Biden and McCarthy on Tuesday agreed to negotiate directly on a deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling before the government runs short of money in June. Biden and fellow Democrats insist on raising the cap with no conditions. Republicans want deep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit. "We're going to come together because there's no alternative," Biden told reporters at the White House before leaving for a Group of Seven summit in Japan. McCarthy said reaching a deal by the time Biden returns Sunday is "doable."

Reuters

2. Deutsche Bank agrees to pay Epstein victims $75 million

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit by women who said they were sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail awaiting a sex-trafficking trial. The lawsuit, filed in November 2022, accused the German bank of continuing to do business with Epstein despite being aware of the abuse, and facilitating Epstein's sex-trafficking ring. The Wall Street Journal said the lender didn't admit wrongdoing under the settlement. David Boies, one of the victims' lawyers, said in a statement the abuse "could not have happened without the collaboration and support of many powerful individuals and institutions." Deutsche Bank didn't comment, referring to a 2020 statement admitting it was a mistake to take on Epstein as a client.

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The Wall Street Journal DW

3. Appeals court judges skeptical about abortion pill access

A federal appeals court in New Orleans appeared poised Wednesday to limit access to a key abortion pill, mifepristone, as a panel of three judges expressed doubts that the Food and Drug Administration observed proper procedure when it approved the drug more than two decades ago, The Washington Post reported. The judges, all with records of backing other abortion restrictions, asked government and pharmaceutical company lawyers why the FDA allowed the drug to be sent by mail and prescribed by medical professionals other than doctors. The government said the court shouldn't overrule FDA experts. "I don't understand this idea that the FDA can do no wrong," Judge James C. Ho said. "We are allowed to look at FDA just like any other agency."

The Washington Post

4. Key Trump attorney in Mar-a-Lago documents case leaves

Attorney Timothy Parlatore is leaving former President Donald Trump's legal team after playing a key role in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and testifying to a grand jury, CNN reported Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Parlatore told CNN in a statement that his departure "was a personal choice and does not reflect upon the case." His departure comes as special counsel Jack Smith reportedly is wrapping up investigations into the possible mishandling of classified documents found at Trump's Florida residence, and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden. Parlatore was the lawyer who arranged searches for more secret documents at Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, and other Trump properties.

CNN

5. UN agency says global warming to briefly cross dangerous threshold

Global temperatures are likely to reach more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — a climate change tipping point — in the next five years, scientists from the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday. The breaching of the threshold should be temporary, but still would mark an acceleration of human impact on the climate system that would put the planet into "uncharted territory," the U.N. agency warned. Countries pledged under the 2015 Paris climate agreement to take action to prevent global temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius because scientists have warned that temperatures that high would trigger catastrophic and potentially irreversible climate change. The highest average annual temperature so far has only reached 1.28 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The Guardian

6. Montana governor signs TikTok ban into law

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) on Wednesday signed a new law outlawing the Chinese-owned short-video sharing app TikTok statewide starting in 2024, making Montana the first state to impose a total TikTok ban. The federal government has warned that the Chinese government could access TikTok data, posing a potential national security risk. A growing number of Republican-dominated state governments have banned TikTok on government-issued devices. A TikTok spokesperson told Axios in an emailed statement that Montana's law violated First Amendment rights to free speech. "We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana," the TikTok spokesperson said.

Axios

7. Erdogan says Russia, Ukraine have extended grain deal

Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan announced Wednesday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to extend the deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports to be shipped through the Black Sea for another two months. The agreement, seen as crucial to bringing down global food prices, came a day before the arrangement was set to expire. Russia had been threatening to withdraw, saying the 10-month-old deal wasn't resulting in a promise to clear the way for Russian agricultural exports Moscow says Western sanctions have prevented. Food and fertilizers aren't sanctioned, but Russia said banking and other sanctions prevented all kinds of trade. "The Black Sea Grain Initiative has been extended by another two months," Erdogan said. "May it be beneficial to the whole world."

NPR

8. Ecuador president dissolves legislature to avoid impeachment

Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso announced Wednesday he was dissolving the opposition-led National Assembly and would rule by decree until snap general elections in six months. Lasso, one of Latin America's last conservative heads of state, applied a constitutional mechanism known as "muerte cruzada," or mutual death, as a last resort to stop impeachment proceedings over allegations of embezzlement, which he denies. The clause, which had never been used, allows him to close the legislature while setting him up to lose power in six months, although he can run for re-election. Soldiers and police prevented lawmakers from entering parliament, and opposition groups planned mass protests, calling the move "dictatorship."

The Washington Post BBC News

9. Texas lawmakers approve bill seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth

The Republican-majority Texas legislature on Wednesday approved a ban on providing gender-transitioning treatment to children. The bill, which heads to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his signature, bars physicians from treating transgender children with such treatment as sterilization or puberty-suppressing drugs. If Abbott signs the bill into law, Texas will become the most populous out of at least 18 states that have banned gender-affirming medication or surgery for transgender youths. The bill contradicts recommendations from medical associations. Ricardo Martinez, head of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Texas, said it was "part of a nefarious plan to eliminate us from public life." Bill sponsor Tom Oliverson, an anesthesiologist, said parents were being "manipulated" into seeking care for transgender children.

The Washington Post The Dallas Morning News

10. Harry and Meghan say they fled paparazzi in 'near catastrophic' car chase

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, said Wednesday they were forced into a "near catastrophic car chase" by "a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi" after a charity event in New York on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, were rattled but uninjured in the chase, which allegedly resulted in several near-collisions. Some police sources and a taxi driver who drove the couple for part of the time said the chase was shorter and less dangerous than suggested. Still, the incident prompted comparisons to the 1997 crash that killed Harry's mother, Princess Diana, after paparazzi chased her car in Paris.

Los Angeles Times The New York Times