10 things you need to know today: July 28, 2023

1. Prosecutors accuse Trump of ordering Mar-a-Lago security footage deleted

Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced new charges against former President Donald Trump over his alleged hiding and mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. The sealed charges accuse Trump and two aides — including Walt Nauta, who had already been charged, and Carlos De Oliveira, who hadn't — of asking another Trump employee to "delete security camera footage at the Mar-a-Lago Club to prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury." Trump also faces an additional charge of illegally keeping national defense information after leaving office. Trump's lawyers also met with members of special counsel Jack Smith's team to discuss a possibly looming indictment over Trump's efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.

The Washington Post The New York Times

2. DOJ launches civil rights investigation of Memphis police

The Justice Department on Thursday announced it was conducting a civil rights investigation into policing in Memphis. The decision came six months after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was kicked, punched and pepper-sprayed after a traffic stop by a group of officers who then failed to render aid. Nichols' death, captured on body camera and surveillance video, triggered intense scrutiny of the Memphis Police Department. Residents and activists said the case reflected pervasive problems of excessive force and unlawful stops of Black residents by an overly aggressive department, especially units that patrol high-crime areas like the one where Nichols was stopped. Nichols' family has filed a $550 million lawsuit against the city and police officials.

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Memphis Commercial Appeal The New York Times

3. US economic growth surges in latest sign of resilience

U.S. economic growth accelerated to a 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter, up from 2% growth in the first quarter in the latest sign of resilience despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes to bring down inflation. The expansion, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, outpaced economists' forecasts of 1.5% growth in gross domestic product, a measure of total goods and services output, that economists had predicted. The growth was fueled by a surge of investment by businesses in such things as factories and equipment. Consumer spending, the economy's main engine, remained solid but slowed to a 1.6% annual rate from 4.2% the previous quarter.

The Associated Press

4. Georgia rioter who stormed Capitol as teen sentenced to 1 year

A young Georgia man, Bruno Joseph Cua, was sentenced to a year in prison on Thursday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters. Cua, who was 18 when he stormed the Capitol with other rioters, attended a rally at the Washington Monument with his parents but got separated from them at the Capitol. He climbed scaffolding and entered the building, walking through the halls waving a baton and shouting, "This is what happens when you piss off patriots." He then shoved an officer trying to lock the Senate doors and sat in former Vice President Mike Pence's chair. Prosecutors argued Cua deserved a longer sentence.

The Hill

5. Senate passes defense bill, setting up clash with House

The Senate on Thursday approved a defense policy bill with bipartisan support, setting up tough negotiations with the House, which approved a version pushed through by hard-right Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said there was a "glaring contrast" between the Senate's $886 billion bill, which passed 86-11 without "animus or acrimony," and the House bill, which came out of a partisan battle over such GOP provisions as rollbacks of Pentagon policies on abortion access and gender-affirming care. Leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee issued a joint statement saying the legislation they drafted was "forward-looking" and hoped negotiations with the House would result in a final version that "puts our national defense on a path toward improving our deterrent capabilities."

The Washington Post The Associated Press

6. Coup supporters attack president's party HQ in Niger

Coup supporters in Niger on Thursday attacked the headquarters of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum's ruling party. A small group broke away from the crowd and set fire to the building and cars parked outside. The army threw its support behind the soldiers who captured Bazoum on Wednesday, despite intensifying protests from the rest of the world. Russia joined the countries calling for Bazoum's release. The United States and France, which have military bases in the uranium-rich country, considered the 64-year-old, democratically elected president a key ally in the fight against Islamist militants in West Africa, according to the BBC. It wasn't immediately clear who was controlling the rebellion as no junta leader has been named.

BBC News

7. Arizona teen missing for 4 years turns up in Montana

An Arizona teenager who disappeared nearly four years ago turned up healthy this week in a small Montana town. Alicia Navarro, now 18, walked into a police station in Havre, Montana (pop. 9,200), on Sunday. She was alone and told officers in the town near the Canadian border her name and that she was a missing teen from Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. When she disappeared in 2015 at age 15, Navarro left her mother, Jessica Nunez, a note saying, "I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry." Her mother said at the time she feared that her daughter, who had been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, might have been tricked into meeting someone she met online.

The Associated Press

8. Bronny James released from hospital 3 days after cardiac arrest

Doctors released Bronny James, NBA star LeBron James' eldest son, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, three days after he suffered a cardiac arrest during basketball practice at the University of Southern California. James, 18, will be a freshman at USC this fall. The heavily recruited 6-3 guard collapsed while practicing with the team and was immediately treated by team trainers. He arrived at the hospital "fully conscious, neurologically intact and stable" due to the quick response, Dr. Merije Chukumerije, a cardiologist at the hospital, said in a statement. LeBron James thanked well-wishers for their support. "We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love," he said.

ESPN NPR

9. Judge orders release of 3 'Newburgh 4' terror defendants

A New York judge on Thursday ordered the release of three men who were part of the "Newburgh Four" convicted in a post-9/11 FBI terror sting 14 years ago in which an informant with a history of lying lured them into a plot to blow up synagogues. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon said the operation targeted "hapless" and "easily manipulated" petty criminals who hadn't contemplated the crimes before the sting and could never have carried them out. "The real lead conspirator was the United States," McMahon wrote in the scathing decision. The judge described the defendants — Onta Williams, David Williams and Laguerre Payen — as "small-time grifters" with no history of terrorism. Alleged ringleader James Cromitie didn't join the request for "compassionate release."

Albany Times Union The Associated Press

10. Dangerous heat reaches Northeast

The extreme heat that has baked the southern part of the United States for weeks moved into central and northern states, with some of the most dangerous temperatures hitting the Northeast. "A dangerous heat wave will begin Thursday for much of the I-95 corridor," the National Weather Service said Thursday. "It is imperative that residents in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic practice heat safety this week as the hottest stretch of the summer begins on Thursday and continues through Saturday." About 170 million people — more than half the population — are under heat alerts, and by Friday about 118 million are expected to be in the "danger" zone, with the heat index measuring temperature and humidity exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times