Thursday, June 16th, 2022
Fed Raises Rates, Biden vs. Big Oil & Real ‘Squid Game’
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Zocdoc.com/newsworthy and Indeed.com/newsworthy
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want to peruse the latest happenings.
Fed Raised Interest Rates
The Federal Reserve took its most significant action yet to get inflation under control. As expected, the Fed decided to raise interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point, the largest hike since 1994. More steep hikes are likely coming. Fed officials expect their target interest rate will reach 3.4% by the end of the year, much higher than they predicted a few months ago. Fed officials are expecting the next few months to bring slower growth and a higher unemployment rate. Still, the Fed says the costs are worth it if it means getting inflation under control, which it believes will happen next year.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, AP, CBS News, Federal Reserve
More Military Aid for Ukraine
The U.S. is sending Ukraine a lot more military assistance to help fight off the Russian invasion. The package is worth $1 billion, the largest single share of aid the U.S. has given since the war began. Altogether, the U.S. has now committed about $5.6 billion to Ukraine in the last four months. On top of the U.S. commitment, several European countries and Canada added contributions. All this is in response to pleas from Ukrainian leaders who say up to 1,000 of their soldiers are being killed or hurt every day in eastern Ukraine. They also say they’re running out of ammunition, are outgunned by the Russians, and that Russia is making a lot of headway.
Read More: AP, WSJ, Politico, Axios, Fox News, White House
New Video from Jan 6th Cmte
Lawmakers on the January 6th committee are raising questions about what one of their colleagues was doing the day before the Capitol riot. They released surveillance footage that showed Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk giving a tour of the Capitol complex. In that video, you can see people taking photos of stairwells, tunnels, and security checkpoints. The committee says at least one of the people on the tour was also seen the next day, storming the building. However, Rep. Loudermilk says he did nothing wrong. The chief of the Capitol Police also looked at the video and said nothing looked suspicious.
Read More: CBS News, Fox News, NY Times, AP, Axios, Jan. 6th Cmte
Biden Warns Big Oil
Some of the largest oil companies in the world got a threatening letter from President Biden. It tells them to increase output, or he’ll force them to with executive powers. He wants the refining capacity to get back up to what it was before the pandemic started. In the past, oil companies have explained that they’ve closed or downsized refineries for a couple of reasons: either they were trying to cut back on emissions of greenhouse gasses, or their operations were no longer profitable at the height of the pandemic. While both sides work to come up with solutions, average gas prices in the U.S. are still above $5 a gallon nationwide.
Read More: NY Times, CNBC, Fox Business, Reuters
Biden Signs LGBTQ Executive Order
The White House is hoping to strengthen protections for the LGBTQ community. President Biden signed an executive order that directs government agencies to get to work. For example, it tells the Health and Human Services Department to release new policies for states about how to expand healthcare for LGBTQ children and families. It also tells the Education Department to release a sample school policy that promotes inclusion. The president says protections are needed, in part because of new laws in Republican-led states. The lawmakers and governors who back those laws usually say they’re about protecting religious freedoms or parental rights.
Read More: NBC News, WSJ, Axios, Fox News, White House
Storm Damages Formula Plant
There’s another setback for parents who rely on baby formula. The big formula plant that just reopened a couple of weeks ago after being closed for more than three months got flooded in storms last night. So once again, Abbott paused baby formula production at the plant. The company says that pause means distribution will be delayed for another few weeks while the damage is assessed and the building is cleaned and sanitized. That’s a big deal since the factory produces one-fifth of the baby formula in the U.S. When it got shut down, that’s when the formula shortage got especially bad.
Read More: WSJ, NBC News, Weather Channel, USA Today, NOAA
Ford Recalls 3M Vehicles
About three million Ford vehicles are being recalled, including a variety of sedans, SUVs, and vans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the issue stems from a component in a car that allows you to change gears. There’s a chance you could try to put it in ‘park’, for example, but the vehicle won’t be in ‘park’, and it could roll away. Based on government documents, Ford knows of at least six reports of property damage and four injuries because of the issue, plus more than 1,600 warranty claims. Ford owners can go to their local dealership to get a fix.
Read More: Reuters, CNN, CNET, Fox Business, NHTSA
Apple + MLS
For the first time in the history of sports, fans will be able to watch every game of a major American sports league in only one place, without a cable subscription. That’s because Major League Soccer signed an exclusive deal with Apple. It means every MLS match will be available through the Apple TV app for the next ten years, starting next year. There will be an extra fee on top of an Apple TV+ subscription. Even though MLS isn’t as popular as some other sports leagues in the U.S., it’s a sign that more leagues are moving to streaming.
Read More: TechCrunch, Ars Technica, LA Times, The Athletic, Apple
U.S. Open Championship Begins
One of the top golf tournaments in the world tees off today with some of the sport’s biggest stars. We’re talking about the U.S. Open. It will include the players who were banned from other big events for joining a Saudi Arabia-backed tour called LIV Golf. It’s because the U.S. Open is put on by the U.S. Golf Association, not the PGA Tour that decided on the suspensions for other events. That means Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, and others who signed on with LIV Golf will be there. Overall, Rory McIlroy is considered the favorite after winning another big tournament last weekend.
Read More: AP, CBS Sports, Golf, ESPN, Golf Channel
Real-Life ‘Squid Game’
Netflix’s South Korean thriller series ‘Squid Game’ is becoming a reality TV show. It’s called ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’, and it will offer the largest cash prize in reality TV show history. The winner will take home more than $4.5 million. With Netflix recruiting 456 English-speaking players to compete, it will also become the largest reality TV cast in history. They will take part in a series of games inspired by the show. Netflix hasn’t said what will happen to the losers, but we can probably assume there won’t be any murder involved. So far, no release date has been revealed.
Read More: CNN, TechCrunch, Yahoo!, Netflix
Thing to Know Thursday: DACA's 10th Anniversary
The DACA program turned 10 years old this week. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It protects about 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, allowing them to live in the U.S. legally, work here, and pay taxes. The young immigrants are known as Dreamers. Many advocates are urging Congress to expand the program. They say dreamers are Americans since most have grown up here and that they could be good assets to the economy. However, critics are fighting the program in court. Some feel it only encourages more illegal immigration.
Read More: The Hill, WAVY, MPI, ACE, White House