Wednesday morning news: May 10, 2023

Debt limit » House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says talks over raising the nation’s debt ceiling are going nowhere fast.

He spoke to reporters after meeting with President Biden and other top lawmakers at the White House.

KEVIN MCCARTHY: Everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at. I didn’t see any new movement. The president said the staff should get back together, but I was very clear with the president; we have now just two weeks to go.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that without a deal, the country could start defaulting on its debts on June 1st.

Hours earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president is waiting for Congress to take the lead.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: They need to take action. Congress has to do their job. Super simple. They are manufacturing a crisis.

But McCarthy said the GOP-led House has done its job. It passed a bill late last month that would raise the debt ceiling while reducing overspending to slow the growth of the national debt.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the bill “dead on arrival” in his chamber.

Trump » Former President Donald Trump is blasting a New York jury after it found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

The jury rejected writer E. Jean Carroll’s claim that Trump raped her in a department store in the mid 1990s, but agreed that he assaulted her and defamed her after she publicly came forward with her claim in 2019. Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations claiming he doesn’t know her.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina:

JOE TACOPINA: He’s firm in his belief that you cannot get a fair trial in New York City. And I think one could argue that that's probably an accurate assessment based on what happened.

The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump said he will appeal.

Russia cyber operation AV » The Justice Department says it has disrupted a nearly two-decade Russian cyber-espionage campaign. WORLD’s Anna Johnsen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: The cyber campaign targeted the United States and other NATO members.

Prosecutors say the Russian intelligence agency, F-S-B, masterminded the operation and accused hackers of stealing documents from NATO governments and a U.S. journalist.

The Justice Department said the Russian operation relied on a so-called “Snake” virus, and the Department used a sophisticated tool to get the malware to self-destruct.

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Border » More than 500 active duty troops have begun arriving along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pentagon spokesman, General Pat Ryder:

PAT RYDER: This was to meet an urgent request from DHS while they explore options to support his long term.

It’s the first wave of troops who will support Border Patrol agents with migrant traffic expected to spike tomorrow when the pandemic-era Title 42 rule expires. That rule allowed the government to expel unauthorized immigrants more quickly.

Roughly 1,500 troops will mainly help monitor the border and perform administrative tasks to free Border Patrol agents up for field work.

Ukraine/Russia » Ryder on Tuesday also officially announced a $1.2 billion dollar military aid package for Ukraine.

RYDER - The capabilities in this package include additional air defense systems and munitions equipment to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles and radars with Ukraine's air defense systems.

Meanwhile, the European Union is proposing new penalties for countries that help Russia evade Western sanctions.

Israel Attacks » Schools, beaches, and highways in southern Israel closed Tuesday, bracing for attacks from Hamas.

The Iran-backed group was expected to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip that killed three Islamic militant leaders on Tuesday.

AUDIO: [Netanyahu speaking Hebrew]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the militants were responsible for launching rockets toward Israel and were planning more attacks.

Palestinian health officials said the airstrikes also killed several civilians.

Bud Light backlash » Budweiser continues to hemorrhage sales after partnering with a transgender social media star. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more:

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Sales of Bud Light fell a staggering 21.4 percent last month.

Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris recently downplayed the partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, saying the Bud Light can with his face on it was only “one can,” not a full marketing campaign. He blamed online misinformation for the backlash.

Ahneuser-Busch has so far refused to apologize for what many see as its promotion of the transgender social agenda.

But LGBT groups are now boycotting the brand now as well, because the company is not declaring steadfast support for that agenda.

In the meantime, sales of Anheuser-Busch products as a whole are down 12%.

And analysts say if the bleeding doesn’t stop, Modelo could soon overtake Budweiser as the nation’s top-selling beer.

For WORLD, I’m correspondent Josh Schumacher.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: The fight over America’s debt limit. Plus, taking Christian education to Albania.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.