10 things you need to know today: October 6, 2023

1. Trump backs Jim Jordan's bid to be House speaker

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday backed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to be speaker of the House, saying on social media that the House Judiciary Committee chair "has my Complete and Total Endorsement!" House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) is also seeking the job. Trump is considering a possible visit to the Capitol while Republicans debate who should replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted last week in an unprecedented vote. It would be Trump's first visit to the Capitol since before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of his supporters trying to prevent lawmakers from certifying his 2020 election loss. A few Republicans have suggested Trump himself for interim speaker. Politico, The Associated Press

2. Jailed Iranian rights activist Narges Mohammadi awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi has won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all," the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee said Friday. The committee said Mohammadi's "brave struggle has come with tremendous personal cost." The committee received 351 nominations for the peace prize. The nominees are kept secret, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian dissident Alexei Navalny had been considered front-runners. Last year's prize went to human rights campaigners in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Past winners include Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela and former President Barack Obama. CNBC, USA Today

3. Biden administration to build miles of border wall in reversal

The Biden administration filed notice Thursday that it is using executive power to waive laws to build up to 20 miles of walls on the U.S.-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The move marked a reversal for President Biden, who criticized former President Donald Trump's efforts to place barriers on the border. The White House said it had to spend the rest of $1 billion Congress approved for a wall in 2019 during the 2023 fiscal year, which ended last week. The administration had urged Congress to take back the money. Biden said he still didn't believe a border wall was effective. But the move came as the administration steps up efforts to stem an influx of migrants. The Wall Street Journal

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

4. Report: Trump shared US nuclear submarine secrets with Australian businessman

Former President Donald Trump, a few months after leaving office, allegedly shared sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, ABC News reported Thursday night, citing people familiar with the matter. Pratt then reportedly told scores of others, including foreign officials, employees, and journalists. Trump's disclosures — about the number of nuclear warheads the submarines routinely carry and how close they can get to Russian subs without being detected — "potentially endangered the U.S. nuclear fleet," The New York Times reported, citing two sources who confirmed ABC News' scoop. Pratt is now a possible witness in Trump's federal classified documents case. A Trump spokesperson said he did nothing wrong. ABC News, The New York Times

5. Russian missile kills 51 in Ukrainian village

A Russian missile hit a northeastern Ukraine village and killed 51 people during a gathering to mourn a local Ukrainian soldier. Six people were injured, and three remained missing late Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike, which hit a cafe, was a deliberate attack on civilians. "Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike," Zelenskyy said. Russia denies that it intentionally targets civilians. Moscow did not comment on Kyiv's allegations. The attack occurred in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast, near a town, Kupiansk, that Ukrainian forces recaptured from Russian troops late last year. Reuters

6. Federal court orders Alabama to use new congressional map

A federal court on Thursday ordered Alabama to use a congressional map — drawn by a court-appointed special master — that increases the percentage of Black voters in one of the state's six majority-white congressional districts. The new map could tip a second House seat in the state to Democrats. The order requires Alabama to tweak the map to increase the proportion of Black voters in one of the districts from 30% to 48.7%. The decision came after the state's Republican-controlled legislature redrew districting maps without adding a second majority-Black district, as ordered by a court that ruled the map illegally diluted Black voting power. The change could result in the election of two Black representatives for the first time in Alabama history. The New York Times

7. Trump lawyers file motion seeking dismissal of federal election subversion case

Former President Donald Trump's lawyers on Thursday filed a new motion asking a Washington, D.C., judge to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith's federal election subversion case against him. Trump's lawyers argued that as a former president, he has "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions performed within the 'outer perimeter' of his official responsibility," and that the charges target actions "at the heart of his official responsibilities as president," breaking "234 years of precedent." Smith's team is expected to forcefully oppose the motion. They signaled in the indictment that they anticipated the immunity defense, saying Trump did far more than is legally permissible in the run-up to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack by a mob of his supporters. The Guardian, The Associated Press

8. SEC sues Elon Musk for testimony on Twitter stock purchase

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit seeking to force billionaire Elon Musk to testify about his 2022 purchase of Twitter stock, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The SEC said in the complaint that Musk was subpoenaed and scheduled to appear on Sept. 14, but "two days before his scheduled testimony, Musk abruptly notified the SEC staff that he would not appear." He raised "several spurious objections, including an objection to San Francisco as an appropriate testimony location," the SEC said. The Wall Street regulator started investigating Musk in April 2022, the same year he bought Twitter. It has requested thousands of documents from Musk and others, and taken testimony from Musk twice. Bloomberg, The Verge

9. Norwegian writer Jon Fosse awarded literature Nobel

Norwegian author Jon Fosse has won the 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable," the Swedish Academy announced Thursday. Fosse's works, mostly written in Norwegian, have been translated into many other languages, including English. The prize recognizes all his writing, which includes novels, short stories, children's books, poetry, essays and dozens of plays. His debut novel, "Raudt, svrt," came out in 1983 and was praised as "emotionally raw," according to USA Today. "I am overwhelmed and grateful. I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations,” Fosse, 64, said in a statement released by his publisher. USA Today

10. Legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus dies at 80

Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus died "peacefully in his sleep" at his Malibu, California, home, his family said Thursday. He was 80. Butkus was fast and powerful, with the versatility to stop runs up the middle or drop back and foil pass attempts. He was first-team All-Pro five times, and made the Pro Bowl game eight times. Butkus was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 1979. In 2019 the Chicago Tribune ranked him No. 2 on the list of the Chicago Bears' 100 greatest players. After retiring from football, Butkus took up acting, appearing in several TV shows and movies, including "Necessary Roughness" and "Any Given Sunday." Chicago Tribune, The New York Times