The Federal Reserve is standing pat amid its mission to stop inflation. A conspiracy theory about COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire. And if your kid bought something on Fortnite without permission, you might be due a refund. |
👋 Hey there! I'm Laura Davis, and it's time for Wednesday's news. |
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged |
The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady Wednesday but signaled another hike is likely this year amid still-elevated inflation and a sturdy economy. The central bank also forecast fewer rate cuts next year than previously expected as it keeps rates higher for longer. The latest decision leaves the benchmark short-term rate at a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% – and it's just the second meeting at which the Fed hasn't raised its federal funds rate since it began its hiking campaign in March 2022. 👉 How high will interest rates really go? The current situation. |
Emotional Merrick Garland defends DOJ |
Attorney General Merrick Garland struck a defiant tone Wednesday, defending the Justice Department's independence as Republicans attacked him repeatedly for the handling of high-profile investigations of Hunter Biden and Donald Trump. "Our job is to uphold the rule of law," Garland told the House Judiciary Committee in an uncharacteristically emotional statement that brought him close to tears as he described his family fleeing the Holocaust. "Our job is not to do what is politically convenient." Garland's testimony came against a backdrop of multiple investigations that are politically fraught. House Republicans are investigating whether to impeach President Joe Biden, in part because of alleged influence peddling by his son Hunter. 👉 Here's everything that happened. | Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Jack Gruber, Jack Gruber-USA TODAY |
What everyone's talking about |
Fact check: COVID lockdowns and mail-in ballots |
It's a false, but rising, conspiracy theory: As COVID-19 rates climb later this year, the Biden administration will reinstate pandemic restrictions and push mail-in ballots to influence the next election. And some social media platforms are now allowing it to spread openly. That's the finding of a new study from Advance Democracy, a nonpartisan research agency, which warns that social platforms are generally not removing the claims or labeling them with fact-check warnings. Social media companies have repeatedly said they aggressively police content on their platforms, but experts say the spreading COVID-election claims raise alarm bells for a rising tide of disinformation. Here's what you should know. |
Does Fortnite owe you a refund? |
Fortnite players − and in some cases, their parents − may be entitled to cash payments as part of a settlement reached between the game's parent company, Epic Games, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The agency said this week it has started emailing people who might be entitled to compensation after a recent $245 million settlement over allegations that Epic Games used "dark patterns and other deceptive practices" to trick players into making unwanted purchases. The complaint said that Epic Games deployed "a variety of design tricks aimed at getting consumers of all ages to make unintended in-game purchases," made it easy for children to rack up charges without parental consent and locked the accounts of consumers who disputed unauthorized charges. How to see if you can get a refund. | | | | Folks in portions of the northwestern U.S. will get an early taste of winter, including the highest elevations of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. | | | | Video shows fresh, green leaves sprouting from the branches of Lahaina's iconic banyan tree, a "welcome sight" as the historical town recovers. | | | | On Sept. 20, 1973, Billie Jean King took on self-described "male chauvinist pig" Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes in the Houston Astrodome. | | | | A flood of migrants into New York City and other domestic issues weigh on Joe Biden as he met with world leaders and delivered his UN speech. | | | | The Turgeon Funeral Home in Massachusetts was listed for sale Wednesday. It's "probably haunted," the sign out front reads. | | | | Ty Cobb said Trump had "no reason" to expect his former assistant to lie to investigators on his behalf, in reaction to new case developments. | | | | Oprah Winfrey wants to reframe and destigmatize the conversations surrounding weight in a new panel discussion, "The State of Weight." | | | | Administrators fired a middle school teacher in Texas after she assigned her students a version of Anne Frank's diary that includes sexuality. | | | | An eastern diamondback rattlesnake was coiled nearby as an Amazon driver approached the home in Palm City, Florida, officials said. | | | | A man broke into neighbor's house and beat a boy with a baseball bat, an arrest affidavit says. He then hit his own mother with the bat. | | | | | | | Sign up for the news you want | Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. | | | | | | |
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