10 things you need to know today: August 2, 2023

A person holds a sign reading &quot;Trump Indicted&quot;

A grand jury indicted Donald Trump on felony charges connected to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss

(Image credit: STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

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1. Trump indicted over efforts to overturn 2020 election
2. Analysts identify 5 of 6 alleged Trump 'co-conspirators'
3. Henrietta Lacks' family settles with Thermo Fisher over cells used in medical breakthroughs
4. DeSantis-stacked Disney board scraps diversity programs
5. Fitch downgrades U.S. credit rating over debt standoffs
6. NASA loses contact with Voyager 2, then picks up 'heartbeat' again
7. Iran declares public holidays due to 'unprecedented' heat
8. PGA Tour names Tiger Woods to board in response to players' merger concerns
9. Overstock rebrands online as Bed Bath & Beyond
10. Sheila Oliver, N.J. lieutenant governor, dies at 71

By Harold Maass, The Week US

published 2 August 2023

1. Trump indicted over efforts to overturn 2020 election

A grand jury on Tuesday indicted former President Donald Trump on felony charges connected to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. The indictment accused Trump and six unnamed alleged co-conspirators of plotting to defraud the United States, obstruct an official proceeding, and deny citizens their right to a free election. "The attack on our nation's Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy" that was "fueled" by Trump's lies about election fraud, Special Counsel Jack Smith said. The indictment says Trump tried to "exploit" the chaos to delay the certification of President Biden's win. A spokesperson for Trump called the indictment "disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting."

Media outlets on Tuesday identified five of the six alleged co-conspirators cited in the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump over his attempts to reverse the 2020 election result. "Co-conspirator 1" — an attorney who "spread knowingly false claims" of election fraud — matches up to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Conservative lawyer John Eastman reportedly is "co-conspirator 2," who devised the failed push for then-Vice President Mike Pence to use his ceremonial role certifying the election result to block it. "Co-conspirator 3," who "filed a lawsuit against the governor of Georgia," is Sidney Powell. "Co-conspirator 4," a Justice Department official who pushed for "sham election crime investigations," is Jeffrey Clark. "Co-conspirator 5," a lawyer behind the fake-elector scheme, is Kenneth Chesebro.

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The family of Henrietta Lacks on Tuesday announced a settlement with biotech company Thermo Fisher over the use of her cells in scientific research after they were taken without consent in the 1950s. Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took the cells when Lacks, a Black mother of five who was dying of cervical cancer, went there for treatment in 1951. The so-called HeLa line became the first human cells to reproduce in a lab, allowing researchers to make breakthroughs in developing everything from vaccines for polio and the coronavirus to treatments for cancer and Parkinson's. The family sued demanding compensation for the use of Lack's cells. Lawyers for the family didn't disclose the terms of the settlement.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which serves as the local authority for Walt Disney World, announced Tuesday that it was abolishing diversity and equity programs. "Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal," District Administrator Glen Gilzean said. The board is filled with appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has clashed with Disney over numerous social issues since the entertainment giant criticized his Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics call the "don't say gay law." The district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was created in 1967 to support economic development and tourism around the theme park.

Fitch Ratings, one of the three major independent credit rating agencies, downgraded the long-term U.S.credit rating from AAA, the highest tier, to AA+ on Tuesday evening. This is only the second credit downgrade in U.S. history, following a cut by S&P Global Ratings in 2011 amid a fight between House Republicans and President Barack Obama over raising the federal borrowing limit. Fitch said a similar standoff this spring, in which House Republicans again refused to raise the debt ceiling for months, heavily influenced its decision. "The repeated debt limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management." The rating agency also cited America's growing debt burden at the state and federal levels.

NASA lost contact with its Voyager 2 spacecraft after it tilted its antenna two degrees away from Earth, but managed to pick up its "heartbeat" signal again Tuesday. The space agency launched Voyager 2 in 1977 to explore the outer planets and interstellar space. It is now 12.3 billion miles away from Earth. The probe had been unable to receive commands or send data back to NASA's Deep Space Network, which has giant antennae around the world, since July 21. NASA said there is hope for the spacecraft now that the agency has reestablished contact and found that it is still in "good health." The agency hopes a regular reset of its antenna in October will reestablish fuller communication.

Iran has declared Wednesday and Thursday to be public holidays to "protect public health" during what the government called an "unprecedented heatwave." The government also has urged the elderly and people with health conditions to stay indoors, Iranian state media reported Tuesday. Banks, courts, and schools will be closed. Sporting events have been canceled. Hospitals were placed on high alert after what the Ministry of Health described as an "alarming" number of admissions due to heat-related illnesses in recent days. Temperatures climbed as high as 123 degrees Fahrenheit in Ahvaz, a city in southern Iran. In another bout of extreme weather fueling fears of climate change, Beijing has been hit with the heaviest rainfall since record-keeping began 140 years ago.

The PGA Tour on Tuesday appointed Tiger Woods to its board as its sixth player director in response to players' complaints that it wasn't transparent enough about its surprise decision to join forces with the rival DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour said the player directors and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will revise the board's governing documents so that "no major decision can be made in the future without the prior involvement and approval" of the player directors. The move came after 41 players sent the tour a letter demanding a bigger decision-making role for players. Obviously many "of us were frustrated and taken aback with how some things took place," player Justin Thomas said.

Overstock officially rebranded itself as Bed Bath & Beyond online Tuesday, less than two days after the home goods retailer closed its last brick-and-mortar stores. Overstock's takeover was among the fastest relaunches of a bankrupt brand and website ever. GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders said Overstock was making a "big bet" that could generate more traffic and online sales. "Bed Bath & Beyond is a much more powerful, much better-known brand than Overstock and, despite recent problems, it retains a lot of customer goodwill," he wrote in a note.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver (D), the first Black woman to hold statewide office in New Jersey, died Tuesday, a day after being rushed to a hospital. She was 71. Her family did not immediately release details on her illness. Oliver served 15 years as a legislator — becoming the first Black woman to lead the mostly male State Assembly — before her 2017 election as Gov. Philip Murphy's running mate. "When I selected her to be my running mate in 2017, Lieutenant Governor Oliver was already a trailblazer in every sense of the word," Murphy said in a statement. "Sheila leaves behind a legacy of breaking barriers that will never be forgotten," said LeRoy J. Jones Jr., the state's Democratic Party chair.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.