Tuesday morning news: May 2, 2023

Debt ceiling » President Biden has invited top lawmakers to meet with him at the White House next week to talk about raising the debt ceiling.

Hours earlier, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters:

KEVIN MCCARTHY: The only way you solve problems is you negotiate. And I’m looking forward to the president changing his mind and negotiating with us.

But it’s not clear that the president has changed his mind. In the meeting one week from today, Biden says he’ll discuss the need to pass a clean bill that raises the debt ceiling without cutting spending.

Republicans want to reduce overspending before agreeing to borrow more. But the president has said tying spending cuts to the debt limit is out of the question.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday warned that the country could slam against the current debt ceiling on June 1st, risking default on US debts.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre:

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: The only way to avoid this kind of economic disaster is for Congress to do its job and prevent default.

House Republicans passed a bill last week that would both raise the debt limit and trim spending. McCarthy says the ball is now in the Democrats’ court.

First Republic » The latest mid-sized U.S. bank to fail, now has a new owner.

JPMorgan Chase bought First Republic Bank in a fire sale after what was the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

Financial analysts David Bahnsen:

DAVID BAHNSEN: First Republic Bank ceases to exist. They have 84 branches that by opening this morning were essentially JPMorgan branches.

The government insures deposits in FDIC-insured banks up to $250,000. But that insurance was not needed in this case due to the JPMorgan sale.

20k Russians killed since December » The White House says the Russian people continue to pay a heavy price for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

JOHN KIRBY: Just since December, we estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties.

Kirby said the estimate is based on newly declassified U-S intelligence.

The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.

Missouri Judge ruling » A Missouri judge has temporarily blocked a regulation that would protect children and some adults from most transgender procedures. WORLD Reporter Lauren Canterberry has more.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: The rule would require anyone seeking transgender treatment to attend therapy sessions for at least a year and a half.

Patients would also have to show proof of a pattern of gender dysphoria for at least three years, and providers would have to ensure that any mental health conditions a patient had were resolved.

Supporters say the bill will keep providers from rushing people into experimental treatments.

The judge blocked the regulation yesterday until at least May 15 while he hears a pending lawsuit against it.

For WORLD I’m Lauren Canterberry.

Texas shooter » Authorities in Texas say the suspect in a mass shooting outside Houston was a Mexican national who had been deported four times.

Francisco Oropeza is accused of killing five of his neighbors Friday night. One of the victims was a nine-year-old boy. FBI agent James Smith said, as of last night, the manhunt was ongoing.

JAMES SMITH: We do not know where he is. We don’t have any tips right now to where he may be.

Police say he attacked the victims with a semiautomatic rifle after they asked him to stop shooting in his yard.

DeSantis signs death penalty for child rape » Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned capital punishment in such cases.

RON DESANTIS: We think that that decision was wrong. We think that in the worst of the worst cases, the only appropriate punishment is the ultimate punishment.

DeSantis is hoping this law will eventually prompt the Supreme Court to reconsider.

He also signed a bill that ramps up sentencing for selling fentanyl, especially in colorful forms that look like candy. Offenders now face a life sentence.

Florida board counter-sues Disney » Another twist in the battle between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Members of the new state oversight board appointed by the governor have counter-sued the company.

GARCIA: We didn’t sue Disney. Disney sued us. We have no choice now but to respond.

Disney sued DeSantis for what it said was retaliation for siding with LGBT activists in publicly opposing a parental rights bill.

The company effectively owned its own private local government and could approve its own construction permits. That was until Florida Republicans stripped it of the unprecedented arrangement.

At the 11th hour, the Disney’s outgoing board tried to sign away many of the government’s rights to the company for decades to come. But the new oversight board invalidated that contract, triggering Disney’s lawsuit.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Putting the handcuffs back on drug possession. Plus, revisiting Herman Melville’s classic, Moby Dick.

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