10 things you need to know today: August 3, 2023

1. Trump to be arraigned on election charges

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be formally charged Thursday in Washington under a grand jury indictment accusing him of crimes related to his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss. Trump is expected to appear in person for his arraignment on charges of plotting to defraud the United States, obstruct an official proceeding, and deny citizens their right to a free election. Former Vice President Mike Pence, now a longshot rival of Trump's for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, gave key testimony on Trump's effort to pressure him into blocking the certification of President Biden's victory on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump's lawyers have hinted that their defense will center on his free-speech right to claim the election was stolen.

The Washington Post The New York Times

2. Jury sentences Pittsburgh synagogue shooter to death

U.S. District Judge Robert Colville on Wednesday announced that a jury sentenced Robert Bowers to death for killing eleven worshipers and wounding six people, including four police officers, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. The decision to impose capital punishment had to be unanimous. Bowers burst into the synagogue and opened fire with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, killing Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger. It was "the deadliest-ever attack on Jewish people in the United States," according to CNN. Bowers is the first person to face a federal death penalty under the Biden administration.

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette CNN

3. Grain prices jump after Russian strike on Ukrainian Danube River port

Global grain prices climbed Wednesday — wheat jumped nearly 5% in Chicago — on supply concerns after Russian drones hit Ukraine's main inland port of Izmail, across the Danube River from Romania, and prevented ships from loading grain. The strikes came as Russia intensifies attacks aiming to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain now that Moscow has ended the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed Kyiv to export food through the Black Sea. Ukraine said the strikes damaged nearly 40,000 tons of grain intended for shipment to Africa, China, and Israel. "Russian terrorists have once again attacked ports, grain, global food security," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post. Russian state news agency RIA said the targeted area housed military equipment and foreign mercenaries.

Reuters BBC News

4. U.S. pulls out non-emergency personnel from embassy in Niger

The State Department announced Wednesday it was pulling out non-emergency U.S. personnel and their families from the U.S. embassy in Niger as coup leaders in the West African nation resisted international pressure to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. The decision came a day after the Pentagon suspended security cooperation with Niger's military, previously a key partner in the fight against Islamist militants in the region. Washington is urging U.S. citizens against traveling to Niger, but holding off on a broader evacuation. The U.S. is calling for restoring Bazoum, who took office in 2021 in the country's first democratic transition. The State Department ordered a similar evacuation last week from Haiti as the Caribbean nation's security situation worsens.

The Washington Post

5. Pope Francis calls for 'ongoing purification' after damning Portugal abuse report

Pope Francis, speaking in Portugal following a damning report on clergy sexual abuse there, said Wednesday the Catholic church must seek "humble and ongoing purification." Francis also said the church must always listen to victims. A commission reported six months ago that at least 4,815 children were sexually abused by priests and other clergy members over seven decades. The pope, speaking in an ancient monastery, told bishops, priests, and nuns that the global abuse crisis and other scandals had fueled "growing detachment from the practice of the faith." Francis also met with abuse survivors.

U.S. News & World Report Vatican News

6. Left-over Yeezy sneaker sale boosts Adidas

Adidas sales exceeded expectations in the second quarter, after the German sports apparel giant brought in $437 million from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after it broke ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, over his antisemitic remarks. Adidas said strong demand for a second sale of Yeezy goods launched Wednesday should narrow its expected full-year loss. Adidas was stuck with more than $1.3 billion worth of the high-end Yeezy shoes, and is trying to get rid of them responsibly. The company has set aside $120 million to donate to groups fighting antisemitism, including the Anti-Defamation League. "This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory," said CEO Bjørn Gulden.

The Associated Press

7. Dead body found in Texas' floating border barrier

Mexico's foreign ministry reported Wednesday that a dead body had been found stuck in a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) placed the barrier in the river straddling the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal immigration. Officials are working to identify the person and determine how they died. Mexico has sent two diplomatic letters objecting to the barrier, saying it violates a water treaty and might encroach on Mexican territory. "We are concerned about the impact on migrants' human rights and personal security," the Mexican ministry said. Texas said when it installed the buoys at a common crossing point that they would "help deter illegal immigrants attempting to make the dangerous river crossing."

Reuters

8. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Gregoire separate

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire, announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday that they were separating after 18 years. The Trudeaus, who have three children, said the decision came after "meaningful and difficult conversations," and the prime minister's office said they would continue making public appearances even though they have signed a separation agreement. "We remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build," said Trudeau, 51, and Gregoire, 48, who married in May 2005. "Both parents will be a constant presence in their children's lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together," Trudeau's office said.

The Globe and Mail BBC News

9. Oregon man accused of abusing woman, keeping her in homemade cell

An Oregon man has been accused of kidnapping a Seattle woman and locking her in a homemade cinderblock cell in his garage, according to a federal affidavit unsealed Wednesday. Suspect Negasi Zuberi, also known as Justin Joshua Hyche, allegedly posed as an undercover police officer when he grabbed the woman, sexually abused her, and drove her to his home. He was arrested in Nevada last month and faces extradition to Oregon. The woman managed to escape by beating and tearing through a metal screen security door, leaving her hands bloody. "Her will to survive may have actually saved many other women," said Stephanie Shark, assistant special agent in charge of Oregon's FBI. Investigators found evidence at the suspect's home they said "points to an individual's ongoing and escalating pattern of violence targeting women in multiple states."

The Oregonian

10. Greece sets cap on daily Acropolis visits

Greece announced Wednesday that it would starting capping visits to the Acropolis of Athens at 20,000 per day starting next month. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the controls were necessary at the country's most popular archaeological site because daily visits had reached up to 23,000 during the busy summer tourism season despite extreme heat. "That's a huge number," Mendoni said. Starting next month, crowds will be limited to 3,000 during the busy 8 a.m. hour — half of the visitors to the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site, arrive between 8 a.m. and noon. The cap will drop to 2,000 at 9 a.m. and vary the rest of the day. More than three million people visited the site's 5th century B.C. temples last year.

The Associated Press