10 things you need to know today: June 15, 2023

1. Fed pauses interest rate hikes, for now

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday paused its aggressive campaign to raise interest rates but indicated it is likely to increase rates two more times this year to continue fighting high inflation. The decision leaves the Fed's benchmark short-term lending rate at 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years. The central bank's leaders said the pause would provide time to determine how increased borrowing costs have affected the economy. The Fed hiked rates at its last 10 meetings. Data have shown that the economy remains stronger than expected. Inflation has fallen steadily, but not as sharply as hoped. It remains near 5% on an annual basis, excluding volatile food and energy costs, far above the Fed's 2% target.

The Associated Press

2. UK panel says ex-PM Boris Johnson misled Parliament about 'partygate'

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament about parties held in his offices that violated pandemic lockdown rules, according to a long-awaited parliamentary committee's report released Thursday after a year-long investigation. The House of Commons Privileges Committee said Johnson's violation of parliamentary rules was flagrant enough to warrant a 90-day suspension. Johnson, 58, stepped down as a Conservative member of Parliament last week after getting an advance look at the report. He described the committee as a "kangaroo court" that was determined "to find me guilty, regardless of the facts." Johnson conceded that some of his early statements about the "partygate" scandal turned out to be untrue, but he insisted there was no evidence he intentionally misled lawmakers.

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BBC News NBC News

3. Trump raises $2 million after arraignment

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, raised $2 million from a "candlelight dinner" fundraiser with top donors at his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort hours after his arraignment on federal criminal charges in a Miami courtroom. Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts tied to his alleged retention and mishandling of national security secrets, lying to investigators, and obstruction. His campaign said Wednesday that Trump had raised $7 million since he was indicted by a Miami grand jury last week, including the haul from the Bedminster fundraiser. Trump briefly addressed the crowd at the dinner, repeating his claim the case is a partisan witch hunt.

Politico Reuters

4. Southern Baptists expel Saddleback, 2nd church over female pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly voted at its annual meeting on Wednesday to uphold the expulsions of two churches because they have women pastors. The churches — California's Saddleback megachurch and the smaller Fern Creek Baptist in Louisville, Kentucky — were the only two of five churches expelled in February that appealed. The SBC's 2000 statement of faith, the Baptist Faith and Message, says only "qualified" men can be pastors. Rev. Linda Popham, who has been a pastor at Fern Creek for more than three decades, said her congregation follows the 1963 version of the statement of faith, which doesn't exclude women. After confirming the expulsions, the delegates approved an amendment to their constitution saying only men can be pastors.

NPR

5. 79 migrants die in shipwreck off Greece

At least 79 migrants drowned Wednesday when an overloaded boat capsized in open Mediterranean waters off Greece. Hundreds more people were missing and feared dead. The disaster could become one of Europe's deadliest maritime tragedies in years. A rescue-support charity said about 750 people were believed to be on the boat, estimated to be 65 to 100 feet long. Rescuers managed to pull at least 104 survivors out of the water. Military aircraft fired flares to illuminate the water to help crews search for more survivors overnight. The vessel reportedly left Libya with mostly refugees from Egypt, Syria, and Pakistan on board.

Reuters

6. Xi meets with Palestinian leader Abbas in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Wednesday with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, as Beijing continued its push to expand its influence in the Middle East and challenge U.S. global leadership. Before Abbas arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a four-day visit, Chinese officials suggested China could help get new peace talks going between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. On Wednesday, Xi unveiled a three-part proposal for a two-state solution to the conflict, although it was largely similar to a plan he proposed in 2013. "Justice must be returned to Palestine as soon as possible," Xi said. Israel, given its alliance with the United States, would likely be wary of "giving China a role in any negotiations," according to The New York Times.

The New York Times

7. Miami mayor joins race for GOP presidential nomination

Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez on Wednesday filed paperwork to join the increasingly crowded field of candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Suarez, 45, made his move the day after former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the GOP who is dominating the polls, was arraigned in a federal courtroom in Miami on charges of mishandling national security secrets. Suarez, a lawyer and son of Miami's first Cuban-born mayor, is more politically moderate than the other two Floridians in the race, Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. He told Politico in May that if he ran it would be "because I think I can grow the [Republican] tent — not for an election, but for a generation."

The New York Times Politico

8. Women protest Poland anti-abortion laws

Abortion rights supporters in Poland marched through Warsaw and several other cities to protest the country's anti-abortion laws after the death of a woman whose family believes she could have survived if she had been able terminate her pregnancy. People in the crowds chanted "stop killing us!" and carried signs saying, "We want doctors, not missionaries," and "Hell for women," a slogan often used in the country to describe life for those forced to carry an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy to term. Poland's anti-abortion laws are among the most restrictive in Europe. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's government in 2021 started enforcing a constitutional court ban on ending pregnancies due to fetal defects.

Reuters

9. Texas sends busload of 42 migrants to L.A.

A busload of 42 migrants, including eight children, sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Abbott tweeted it was only his "1st bus" to the California city to allow "much-needed relief" as "small Texas border towns remain overrun & overwhelmed because Biden refuses to secure the border." L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) said it was "abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games." After taking office last year, Bass told city agencies to prepare for such a "despicable stunt." In the last year, Abbott has sent thousands of migrants to cities run by Democrats, including Washington, D.C., and New York City. Border crossings have dropped significantly in the past six weeks.

Los Angeles Times The Guardian

10. 9 more women accuse Cosby of sexual assault in Nevada lawsuit

Nine more women accused actor and comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Nevada. The woman accuse Cosby of drugging and assaulting them between 1979 and 1992 in homes, dressing rooms, and hotels in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. One accuser said the 85-year-old former "Cosby Show" star claimed to be her acting mentor, and got her to travel from New York to Nevada, where he drugged her with what he said was non-alcoholic sparkling cider and raped her. Cosby has been accused of sexual abuse by more than 60 women. He spent nearly three years in a Pennsylvania prison before a higher court threw out his conviction in 2021. Cosby has denied all the allegations.

The Associated Press