10 things you need to know today: July 27, 2023

1. Ukraine deploys foreign-trained reserves in counteroffensive's main thrust

Ukrainian forces are now conducting the main push in their two-month-old counteroffensive against Russian invaders, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing two Pentagon officials. Thousands of reinforcements trained and equipped by Western allies have now joined the battle after being held in reserve at the start of the campaign to take back territory occupied by Russian troops. The two sides are fighting artillery battles on the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine is trying to cut off the land bridge between Russian-occupied Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014, or at least get close enough to hit Russian positions with artillery. "This is the big test," one senior official told the Times.

The New York Times

2. Hunter Biden pleads not guilty after judge balks at plea-deal wording

A judge on Wednesday put Hunter Biden's plea deal in a tax case on hold after expressing concern about a related agreement on a gun charge. U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump, questioned language about not prosecuting President Biden's son for tax crimes in the future. Noreika told defense and prosecuting attorneys to discuss clearer wording. After the deal, which Republicans have called too lenient, was delayed, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the two misdemeanor tax crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018.

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Politico The Associated Press

3. Giuliani acknowledges false statements about Georgia election workers

Rudy Giuliani conceded in court papers that he falsely accused two Georgia election workers of mishandling ballots during the 2020 election. Giuliani made the allegations while acting as a lawyer for Donald Trump during the former president's effort to overturn President Biden's victory in Georgia. Giuliani's concession that his claims were "false" and "carry meaning that is defamatory" came in a filing late Tuesday in the defamation lawsuit the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, filed against him in a Washington, D.C., federal court in December 2021. An aide, Ted Goodman, said Giuliani was only acknowledging his statements were false to move from the fact-gathering phase of the case to the question of whether he can be held liable for damages.

The Wall Street Journal The New York Times

4. Fed announces 11th interest rate hike despite cooling inflation

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark short-term interest rate a quarter percentage point, its 11th rate hike in 17 months under an aggressive campaign to slow the economy and bring down inflation. The change put the rate in a range between 5.1% and 5.3%, a two-decade high. That could further push up rates on mortgages and other loans. Inflation in the last month eased to its slowest pace in two years but remains above the Fed's 2% target. Consumer confidence has jumped to its highest level in two years. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that given the economy's resilience the central bank's economists "are no longer forecasting a recession," leaving the door open to another hike in September.

Bloomberg The Associated Press

5. Water temperature off Florida's southern tip hits 101 degrees

The water temperature at a buoy in Manatee Bay south of Miami reached 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit one evening this week, making the shallows between the Florida Keys and the mainland among the hottest ocean water ever recorded. That's warmer than an unofficial reading once reported in Kuwait, although meteorologists said it's misleading to compare the two because the Florida gauge is in shallower, darker water near land. Still, the reading confirms that the ocean off South Florida is unusually warm, just like temperatures on shore. The heat index in Miami has exceeded 100 degrees for 43 straight days, 11 days longer than the previous record. "Calling this heat wave unprecedented is an understatement," tweeted Brian McNoldy, a University of Miami marine science researcher.

USA Today

6. Ohio officer fired for releasing police dog on trucker with hands up

The Circleville, Ohio, police department has fired an officer, Ryan Speakman, who released a police dog that bit an unarmed Black truck driver who had his hands up after being chased and stopped for having a missing rear mud flap. "Officer Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers," the department said. Police used tire-deflating devices to stop driver Jadarrius Rose, 23, on July 4. He told a trooper who ordered him to get out of his truck that he was on the phone with 911, apparently telling the dispatcher he didn't feel safe. When he got out, he put up his hands but didn't get on the ground as instructed.

NBC News CNN

7. Niger president defiant after soldiers announce coup

Soldiers in Niger on Wednesday night announced a coup against President Mohamed Bazoum. The soldiers said they had closed the West African nation's borders, dissolved its constitution and closed all national institutions. Bazoum on Thursday vowed on social media to defend Niger's "hard-won" democratic gains. His foreign minister, Hassoumi Massoudou, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "all democrats and patriots" should rally against the coup. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a trip to New Zealand that he had spoken with Bazoum, a U.S. ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the region, "and made clear that the United States resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president, and we call for his immediate release."

The Washington Post Reuters

8. McConnell freezes mid-sentence during press briefing

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) froze mid-sentence during a press conference on Wednesday, pausing for 20 seconds before colleagues jumped in. "Are you okay, Mitch?" asked Senate Republican Conference Committee Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a doctor, while placing a hand on McConnell's right forearm. "Anything else you want to say? Let's go back to your office." An aide led McConnell, 81, down the hall toward his office, but the Senate minority leader returned and took the first question after his colleagues wrapped up the news conference. CNN's Manu Raju asked him whether the episode was related to a fall earlier this year that left him with a concussion. "No, I'm fine," McConnell said before answering several other questions.

The Hill

9. U.K. jury finds actor Kevin Spacey not guilty of sexual assault

A British jury on Wednesday found actor Kevin Spacey not guilty of sexually assaulting four men. The Oscar winner wept as the verdict was read after a four-week trial in one of Britain's highest-profile #MeToo cases. Spacey, 64, thanked the jury for "having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts, carefully." He also thanked his legal team and courthouse security. Spacey was accused of nine sexual offenses against the men, who were in their 20s and 30s, between 2004 and 2013. A prosecutor said he was a "sexual bully" who used his fame as leverage. Spacey said the allegations were "madness" and "absolute bollocks."

The Guardian

10. Singer Sinéad O'Connor dies at 56

Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, whose song "Nothing Compares 2 U" was at one time the Billboard Music Awards' No. 1 world single, has died at age 56, her family announced Wednesday. The ballad, which was written by Prince, earned her three Grammy nominations. O'Connor, who battled mental health troubles, was also known for making controversial political statements, including when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II in a 1992 appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" to protest child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. "I'm not sorry I did it ... but it was traumatizing," she later said. In a final social media post, O'Connor said she had been "living as an undead night creature" since her 17-year-old son, Shane, killed himself last year.

The Irish Times Daily Mail