This morning's top headlines: Friday, May 26
(9) updates to this series since Updated
An upbeat President Joe Biden says a deal to resolve the government’s debt ceiling crisis seems “very close." He spoke late Friday, shortly after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pushed the deadline for a potentially catastrophic default back to June 5. That announcement seemed likely to drag negotiations between the White House and Republicans into another frustrating week. House Republicans led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy spent the day negotiating by phone and computers with the White House. One Republican negotiator, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, called Biden’s comments “a hopeful sign” but also cautioned that there’s still “sticky points” impeding a final agreement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called on his supporters to protest when the GOP-led state House of Representatives takes up impeachment proceedings against him on Saturday. During a news conference Friday, the three-term Republican invited "fellow citizens and friends to peacefully come let their voices be heard at the Capitol tomorrow.” The request echoes former President Donald Trump’s call for people to protest his electoral defeat on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol. Paxton decried the impeachment proceeding as an effort to disenfranchise the voters who returned him to office in November. The state House will consider on Saturday whether to impeach Paxton on 20 articles, including bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust.
Authorities say Russia’s southern Belgorod region that borders Ukraine came under attack from Ukrainian artillery fire, hours after two drones struck a Russian city in a region next to the Crimea Peninsula. The Kremlin’s forces meanwhile struck a clinic in Dnipro on Friday, killing two and wounding another 23, including two children. Ukrainian officials also said a Russian missile hit a dam in the Karlivka district of Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine. That placed nearby settlements under threat of severe flooding. Russia's Belgorod region was earlier this week the target of one of the most serious cross-border attacks from Ukraine since the war began 15 months ago.
A U.S. study suggests 1 in 10 people are getting long COVID after an omicron infection, a lower estimate than earlier in the pandemic. The National Institutes of Health is studying nearly 10,000 U.S. adults to help better understand why some people suffer debilitating health problems that can last for months or years after even mild COVID-19. In the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers identified a dozen key symptoms that help distinguish long COVID. They say doctors shouldn't use the list to diagnose patients — it's only a first step — but it might help future studies.
President Joe Biden has announced a new government strategy to fight hate, bias and violence directed at Jews. The document released Thursday outlines more than 100 steps the administration and its partners can take to combat an alarming rise in antisemitism. The strategy is centered around four goals: increasing awareness and understanding of antisemitism, improving safety and security for Jewish communities, reversing the normalization of antisemitism and building solidarity across communities to help counter hate. Biden says the recommendations send the message that “evil will not win” and “hate will not prevail” in America.
An Indiana board has decided to reprimand an Indianapolis doctor after finding that she violated patient privacy laws by talking publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from neighboring Ohio. The state Medical Licensing Board voted that Dr. Caitlin Bernard didn’t abide by privacy laws when she told a newspaper reporter about the girl’s treatment in a case that became a flashpoint in the national abortion debate days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. Board members chose to fine Bernard $3,000 for the violations, turning down a request from the attorney general’s office to suspend Bernard’s license.
Body-camera footage shows former police officers who were indicted by a Mississippi grand jury laughing about a man who died in their custody. The footage also shows one of them questioning whether to immediately call an ambulance for the man. Officials in the state capital of Jackson announced Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted two former police officers on murder charges and another ex-officer on a manslaughter charge in the death of Keith Murriel. Murriel is Black and is seen on video being pinned down and repeatedly shocked with stun guns during a New Year’s Eve arrest. The city released hours of body-camera footage detailing the encounter.
Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, helping lead the charge as the Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 on to extend the Eastern Conference finals. Marcus Smart had 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points apiece as the Celtics claimed their second straight win and trimmed Miami’s series lead to 3-2. It keeps alive Boston’s hopes of becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Saturday in Miami. Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 18 points.
Joe Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime and the Dallas Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Jason Robertson scored twice for his first career multigoal playoff game for Dallas, which played without suspended captain Jamie Benn. Jake Oettinger had 37 saves, two nights after he was pulled 7:10 into Game 3 after allowing three goals on five shots. Benn was suspended two games by the NHL on Wednesday for his cross-check with his stick landing near the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in the first two minutes of Game 3 on Tuesday night. William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Vegas.
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