10 things you need to know today: May 24, 2023

1. Judge sets Trump trial for March 2024, during primaries

A Manhattan judge on Tuesday scheduled a March 2024 trial for former President Donald Trump on criminal charges of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to cover up alleged extramarital affairs during his 2016 campaign. Trump said little while appearing in a pre-trial hearing by video conference, but afterwards he criticized the decision to schedule the trial "right in the middle of Primary season," when he will be campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. "Very unfair, but this is exactly what the Radical Left Democrats wanted," Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform. "It's called ELECTION INTERFERENCE, and nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before!!!" Trump denies any wrongdoing.

The Associated Press

2. S.C. lawmakers pass 6-week abortion ban

South Carolina's Republican-controlled Legislature on Tuesday passed a ban on abortions six weeks into a pregnancy, when most women don't yet know they are pregnant. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) is expected to sign it this week. The bill, which prohibits abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, allows abortions up to 12 weeks in cases of rape and incest. It also includes exceptions for fetal anomaly and to protect the woman's life. The South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a similar ban passed in 2021, ruling it unconstitutional. The new law is expected to face an immediate court challenge. When the last ban was blocked, South Carolina saw a surge in out-of-state women seeking abortions as neighboring states tightened restrictions.

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The State

3. Debt ceiling talks stall as investors get nervous

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) left the Capitol late Tuesday without a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avert an unprecedented default, and his top negotiator suggested Republicans and Democrats were locked in a standoff. "Bottom line is that we're going to have to see some movement," Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) said. The impasse made it likely the House and Senate would vote on any deal days or hours before June 1, the point at which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said her department would start running short of money to pay all the country's bills. The standoff prompted investors worried about a potential default to shed their go-to safe haven, Treasury bills, and buy bonds of top-rated companies like Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson.

Bloomberg The Wall Street Journal

4. Billionaire rejects senators' demand for list of gifts to Clarence Thomas

Texas billionaire Harlan Crow, a major Republican donor and friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has refused to comply with a request from the Senate Judiciary Committee for a list of gifts he and his businesses have given to Thomas, Reuters reported Tuesday. "We do not believe the committee has the authority to investigate Mr. Crow's personal friendship with Justice Clarence Thomas," Crow's lawyers wrote in a letter to the panel. "Most importantly, Congress does not have the constitutional power to impose ethics rules" on the Supreme Court. The committee's chair, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said the panel would continue to press Crow for answers, saying his letter "relies on a separation of powers defense" but he doesn't work for the Supreme Court.

Reuters

5. DeSantis expected to announce presidential bid in Twitter talk with Musk

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) plans to announce his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination Wednesday in a conversation with billionaire Elon Musk in an event on Twitter, the social media company Musk bought last year, NBC reported Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter. Musk and DeSantis reportedly plan to talk at 6 p.m. ET on Twitter Spaces, the company's platform for audio chats. DeSantis' campaign also is expected to release a launch video on the same night. DeSantis reportedly plans to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on the same day, then visit several early-primary states after Memorial Day. Musk confirmed he would interview DeSantis and promised "a major announcement."

NBC News

6. Illinois finds nearly 2,000 kids abused by Catholic clergy over seven decades

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Tuesday in an investigative report that credible sexual abuse allegations have been made against 451 Catholic clergy and lay leaders who targeted nearly 2,000 children in the state over seven decades. The alleged abusers included one late priest, Thomas Francis Kelly, who reportedly abused more than 15 boys as the archdiocese moved him from parish to parish in the '60s and '70s. Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, said the archdiocese "has been at the forefront" of addressing abuse and supporting survivors. A spokesperson for SNAP, a victim advocacy group, said the report showed "no one knew more about abuse, and no one did less about it, than these dioceses themselves."

The New York Times

7. France bans short flights on routes served by high-speed rail

France on Tuesday finalized a law that will ban short domestic flights on routes that can be traveled in two-and-a-half hours by train under a push to fight climate change. "This is an essential step and a strong symbol in the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Clement Beaune, France's transport minister. "As we fight relentlessly to decarbonize our lifestyles, how can we justify the use of the plane between the big cities which benefit from regular, fast, and efficient connections by train?" The ban immediately will affect only three routes connecting Paris-Orly airport with Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon. The European Union insisted on applying the rule only to routes with a convenient high-speed rail alternative available, with early and late departures for convenience.

CNN AFP

8. Russian court extends Journal reporter's pretrial detention

A Russian court on Tuesday extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich until at least Aug. 30. It had been set to expire on May 29. The decision came after investigators asked for more time to prepare for the trial. Agents from Russia's Federal Security Service arrested Gershkovich, 31, during a reporting trip in the Urals city of Ekaterinburg, accusing him of spying. The Journal and the U.S. government strongly deny the charges. "The accusations are demonstrably false, and we continue to demand his immediate release," the Journal said.

The Wall Street Journal The Guardian

9. Spain arrests fans suspected of racist abuse of soccer star

Spanish police on Wednesday detained three men on suspicion of hate crimes connected to racist abuse directed at Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain's main league, during a weekend away match in Valencia. Four extreme fans of another club also were arrested over the hanging of an inflatable effigy — outfitted with a Vinicius jersey — by its neck from a Madrid bridge. The 22-year-old Vini Jr, who is Black, called on the league to do more to fight racism in the stands, calling the abuse "inhuman" and urging sponsors and broadcasters to increase pressure on the league to address the problem.

BBC News Reuters

10. Surgeon general warns of potential social media harm to teens

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Tuesday released a 19-page advisory warning of that excessive use of social media can cause "harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents." Murthy noted in the extraordinary warning that social media can benefit some users, but its effects on adolescent mental health were not fully understood. The report included recommendations for families, like keeping mealtimes free of devices to encourage conversation, and setting boundaries on social media use, content, and privacy. Murthy also urged tech companies to enforce age limits and provide settings for young users with higher safety standards. Adolescents "are not just smaller adults," Murthy told The New York Times. "They're in a critical phase of brain development."

The New York Times