10 things you need to know today: August 4, 2023

1. Trump pleads not guilty to conspiring to overturn election loss

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges that he plotted to stay in power by overturning his 2020 election loss to President Biden. Special counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of conspiring to block Congress from certifying the result, and urging supporters to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to delay the process. Trump, now the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, claimed on social media that the case was simply "Election Interference" intended to thwart his campaign. He entered his plea in person in a federal courtroom blocks away from the scene of the Jan. 6 riot. His campaign issued the latest in a series of attacks on Smith, calling him Biden's "political pawn."

The Associated Press The Washington Post

2. 6 white former Mississippi officers plead guilty to racist assault

Six white former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty Thursday to a racist assault on two Black men. The five former Rankin County sheriff's deputies and another officer — who called themselves the "goon squad" — allegedly burst into the home where Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were staying in January, then beat them, sexually assaulted them with a sex toy, shocked them with Tasers, and shot one of them in the mouth. The officers — Rankin County sheriff's deputies Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield — were charged with 13 felonies, including civil rights conspiracy and deprivation of rights under cover of law.

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USA Today The Associated Press

3. 2 US Navy sailors arrested for alleged China espionage

Two U.S. Navy sailors have been charged with giving national security secrets to China, U.S. officials announced Thursday. Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao is accused of taking a $15,000 bribe in exchange for photos and videos of plans for U.S. military exercises in the Indo-Pacific region. The 26-year-old also allegedly gave his Chinese handler other sensitive material, including blueprints for a radar system on a U.S. base in Japan. U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei allegedly conspired to accept thousands of dollars for giving China national defense information. "Sensitive military info ended up in the hands of the People's Republic of China" because of what they did, Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen told reporters in San Diego.

Reuters

4. Florida bars teaching AP Psychology over gender, sexual orientation content

Florida has "effectively banned" public schools from teaching AP Psychology because the class includes discussion of gender and sexual orientation, school officials said Thursday. The state guidance marked the second time Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) administration has clashed with the College Board, which runs the AP program, over course content. Florida barred schools from offering a newly created AP African American Studies class earlier this year. Educators said Florida officials encouraged schools to offer a modified version of the psychology class, which has been taught for years. The College Board said a new version couldn't be offered as "Advanced Placement" because it wouldn't meet college requirements. It advised schools not to offer AP Psychology unless Florida reverses its new policy.

The Washington Post USA Today

5. Appeals court rules Biden asylum policy can stand pending challenge

A federal appeals court said Thursday that the Biden administration can enforce its new asylum restrictions while courts consider challenges to the policy, which requires asylum seekers to apply in another country before reaching the southern border. The 2-1 ruling temporarily blocked a decision by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, who ruled last week that the new policy violates asylum law meant to permit anyone entering the United States to apply for protection, no matter how they reached the U.S. The new policy is a key part of President Biden's effort to prevent a wave of migrants following the end of Title 42, the public health law that allowed immigration officials to turn away asylum seekers to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The Wall Street Journal

6. Colombian president's son says campaign got illegal money

Nicolás Petro, the eldest son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, admitted Thursday that he received "large sums" from at least one convicted criminal and funneled some of the money into his father's campaign, according to the prosecutor handling the case. The younger Petro has promised to turn over evidence, the prosecutor said. Nicolás Petro, 37, and his ex-wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, were arrested Saturday in the city of Barranquilla. She said two people allegedly tied to drug traffickers contributed to the campaign. Petro pleaded not guilty. His father has denied wrongdoing. "It was my people who chose me," President Petro said Thursday. "I owe the election to no one else."

Bloomberg Reuters

7. 14 injured in South Korea car, stabbing attack

A man in South Korea drove a car into five pedestrians then stabbed nine other people, authorities in Seongnam, a city south of the country's capital, Seoul, said Thursday. Three of the 14 victims were hospitalized in critical condition. Police did not immediately say what motivated the attack. Authorities arrested the suspect and are expected to look into his mental health, national broadcaster KBS reported. Police did not identify the suspect, describing him only as a man in his 20s who acted alone. Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said the attack appeared to be random. "Unlike traditional crimes driven by personal resentment," he said, this incident was "in effect, an act of terrorism in that anyone can become a victim."

The Washington Post

8. Texas A&M to pay professor $1 million in botched-hiring settlement

Texas A&M University confirmed Thursday it would pay a $1 million settlement to a Black journalism professor whose hiring was sabotaged after conservatives complained about her past work promoting diversity in newsrooms. Texas A&M, the nation's largest public school, apologized to the professor, Kathleen McElroy, and admitted "mistakes were made during the hiring process." McElroy, a Texas A&M graduate and former New York Times editor, ran the journalism school at the University of Texas at Austin, a more liberal rival state university. Shortly after Texas A&M hired her, detractors, including six board of regents members, objected and the university slashed her offer from a protected, tenured position to a tentative one-year contract. McElroy rejected the revised offer and returned to UT.

The Texas Tribune The Associated Press

9. Apple reports longest sales slump since 2016

Apple reported Thursday that its revenue fell for the third straight quarter, the tech giant's longest sales slide since 2016. Apple reported iPhone revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations. The company's smartphone line is a key profit engine, but net income was up 2.3% on an annual basis at $19.9 billion thanks to record revenue of $21 billion from its service unit, driven by paid music and TV streaming and purchases in Apple's App Store. Subscriptions jumped 150 million to more than a billion. "People spending on services shows that economic activity is good," Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.

The Wall Street Journal

10. Cease-fire takes effect between Colombia, rebels

Colombia's government and the leftist National Liberation Army, or ELN, started a cease-fire Thursday intended to last six months, the longest truce the guerrilla organization has ever accepted. The deal could open the door to a permanent truce with the ELN, the South American nation's largest remaining rebel group. The cease-fire marks a milestone in efforts to end a 60-year internal conflict that has killed about 450,000 people. President Gustavo Petro, a former member of a rebel organization, took office last year promising "total peace" with all armed groups. A previous effort to negotiate peace with the ELN was halted in 2019 after it bombed a Bogota police academy, killing 22 cadets.

Los Angeles Times The New York Times