Tyre Nichols remembered at funeral, Tom Brady retires again: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Tyre Nichols remembered at funeral as speakers call for police reform

Tyre Nichols was laid to rest Wednesday at a service attended by friends and family, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and Rev. Al Sharpton. Plus, USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison has the latest on President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's standoff over the debt ceiling, USA TODAY Markets and Personal Finance Reporter Elisabeth Buchwald explains what the latest Fed interest rate hike means, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will reportedly run for president.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 2nd of February 2023. Today, remembering Tyre Nichols. Plus, what's next for addressing the debt ceiling, and another candidate is set to join Trump in the Republican presidential field.

♦

Tyre Nichols was remembered at a funeral yesterday in Memphis. Tyre's mother, RowVaughn Wells, thanked local activists for their support after her son died following a police traffic stop and beating last month. His stepfather, Rodney Wells, said the family will fight for justice, not just for Tyre, but for others who have died in police custody. Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke, as did Reverend Al Sharpton.

Reverend Al Sharpton:

Some of us are going to fight until we make this legislation happen. I don't know when, I don't know how, but we won't stop until we hold you accountable and change this system.

Taylor Wilson:

Tyre Nichols was remembered as a father and an avid skateboarder. He was 29. Five officers have been charged with second-degree murder in Nichols' death. Two other officers have been fired, and three Memphis Fire Department employees have also been dismissed for failing to give adequate medical care. The duty of officers to provide medical care was a key factor in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd.

♦

President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met yesterday as both try to find ways to address the elephant in the room, the debt ceiling. For more, I spoke with USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison. Joey, thanks for coming on the show.

Joey Garrison:

Hey. Thanks, Taylor. Glad to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So, President Joe Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday. There's been this standoff, really, between them on the debt ceiling issue. Biden said before the meeting that he wouldn't even entertain Republican spending cuts in exchange for debt ceiling action. So, what's the latest here, Joey, and what actually came out of this meeting?

Joey Garrison:

Yeah. So, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy met for about an hour in really the first one-on-one meeting of this new divided government. Speaker McCarthy said it went better than he expected. He thinks there's a real opportunity to reach agreement. However, he stuck to what he's been saying from the beginning, that he and Republicans are demanding spending cuts. That's a position that President Biden has categorically rejected.

Taylor Wilson:

You mentioned the spending cuts. What specifically is on the table?

Joey Garrison:

The answer is we just don't know. And in fact, reporters asked McCarthy afterwards, "Well, what specific cuts do you want to see?" And he said, "He doesn't want to negotiate that with the press and that it's something that will be negotiated behind closed doors between Congress and the president." Now, the White House and Biden are pointing to proposals over the years of Republicans to cut Social Security and Medicare, and those are two very popular programs that really get people riled up when they hear that those could be touched. Now, McCarthy reiterated today that, no, we're not going to touch those two particular programs. But in lieu of there not being a plan out there, you can bet the White House is going to continue to say, "Hey, this is what they're going to go after." We're going to hear this, I'm sure, from the White House later, that the president asked McCarthy one-on-one, "What do you want to cut, and when is your plan going to be released?"

Taylor Wilson:

We know, obviously, back in 2011 there was this debt ceiling standoff that then Vice President Joe Biden was actually involved with negotiating. How much influence does that 2011 standoff have right now in terms of what the Biden White House strategy is on this?

Joey Garrison:

Yeah. From talking to officials who would have been working there at the time, Biden, then vice president, came back with a lesson, "Don't negotiate over them." In other words, back then, the Obama administration did entertain spending cuts. Vice President Biden is the one who convened this bipartisan group of lawmakers. It really took the debt ceiling crisis to the brink, and you saw the bond rating of the US get downgraded. There was a huge plunge in the stock market. Ultimately, I don't think the White House got the deal that they were looking for.

Taylor Wilson:

Joey, what happens next?

Joey Garrison:

Yeah. So, the US reached its debt limit earlier this month. I think it was $31.8 trillion. In response to that, the Treasury Department is doing an array of financial maneuvers to get more space. That'll take us, as you said, to June. There's not a hard deadline, but that's generally when we need to see action. I mean, if the debt ceiling isn't raised by a certain point, the US won't be able to meet its financial obligations, won't be able to borrow. Economists fear that it can plunge the country into recession, something that we've been able to avoid to this point, even amid the rising inflation that we saw over the last year, et cetera. So, McCarthy said that, "Hey, I would like to get an agreement well before we get to that point," but both sides are not budging yet.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Great Insight. USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison. Joey, thanks so much for making the time.

Joey Garrison:

Yeah, enjoyed talking about it. Thanks a lot.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

The Federal Reserve raised its key short-term interest rate by a quarter percentage point yesterday, but what does that actually mean for the economy? USA TODAY Markets and Personal Finance Reporter Elizabeth Buchwald fills us in. Elizabeth, thanks for hopping on the pod.

Elizabeth Buchwald:

Thank you for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So, the Fed raised its key short-term interest rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday. What does this tell us about inflation and the economy as a whole right now?

Elizabeth Buchwald:

It was a big reversal from what we were seeing the Fed do at prior meetings. So they've gradually come down a little bit. The meeting before this was 50, and then before that it was a lot of 75s, which was really, really big, and we kind of got used to it. But before the Fed did these recent 75 basis hikes, they hadn't done it since 1994. And the reason it was so aggressive like that was because inflation has gone so high. It's come down a bit, which is why the Fed was able to do this smaller rate hike now, but it signaled that it doesn't see a stopping point anytime soon.

Taylor Wilson:

What do we actually expect the Fed to do the rest of this year when it comes to raising rates?

Elizabeth Buchwald:

Well, I'll start off by answering what they're probably not going to do and that's cutting rates. They've said that they don't see that happening many times. Now, the other option is to either keep hiking rates, which is likely to happen, I would say, or to just pause and wait to see what will happen. Now, I really think the Fed, for them to take the wait and see approach of just pausing really needs to see inflation come down to a level that they're more comfortable with, and they target 2% inflation. Right now we're at 6.5%.

Taylor Wilson:

There's a lot of conversation about this debt ceiling on Capitol Hill right now, Elizabeth. Are Fed officials saying anything about that and how it might impact their decisions?

Elizabeth Buchwald:

Fed Chair Powell addressed that today. Now, he kind of wants to maintain the Fed's independence, and he put it on Congress to figure out the debt ceiling, which is exactly what he should be saying. He has no part in that. But he did say that the Fed shouldn't be expected to pick up the tab if date X is reached and the debt ceiling is not hiked.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Elizabeth Buchwald, great info. Thank you so much as always. Appreciate it.

Elizabeth Buchwald:

Thank you.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is set to run for president. According to multiple sources familiar with her plans, Haley will formally launch her 2024 campaign on February 15th. She would become the first Republican to officially jump into the field with former president Donald Trump. She's teased the run for weeks, including in a tweeted video this week. If Haley wins in the primaries, she would be the Republican Party's first female and first South Asian presidential nominee.

♦

Tom Brady is retiring again. One year to the day after his first retirement announcement, the legendary quarterback told his fans yesterday that he's leaving the sport for good.

Tom Brady:

It won't be long-winded. I think you only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year. So, I really thank you guys so much to every single one of you. Thank you, guys, for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn't change a thing. I love you all.

Taylor Wilson:

Brady was a scrawny sixth round pick out of Michigan, but went on to become arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He spent 23 seasons in the league and won an astonishing seven Super Bowls. He also made the Pro Bowl 15 times, and Brady retires as the NFL record holder in career passing touchdowns and passing yards. As for what's next, Brady will join Fox Sports in the broadcast booth next season. You can read more about Brady's remarkable career from USA TODAY Sports.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every morning right here on your favorite podcast app. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tyre Nichols funeral held, Tom Brady retires again: 5 Things podcast