Wicked Blue
Wicked Blue's JournalFed holds rates steady, nods to possible September cut
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but opened the door to reducing borrowing costs as soon as its next meeting in September as inflation continues coming into line with the U.S. central bank's 2% target.
"There has been some further progress towards the Committee's 2% objective," the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement at the end of a two-day policy meeting in which it kept its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range, but also set the stage for a rate cut at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, just seven weeks shy of the Nov. 5 U.S. elections.
While Fed officials are wary of any actions that could mar their data-not-politics approach to setting monetary policy, the steady drop in inflation in recent months prompted a broad consensus that the inflation battle was near its end.
Inflation, the Fed said, was now just "somewhat elevated," a key downgrade from the assessment that it has used throughout much of its battle against rising prices that inflation was "elevated."
The central bank uses the personal consumption expenditures price index for its 2% annual inflation target. The PCE price index rose 2.5% in June after exceeding 7% in 2022.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fed-expected-hold-rates-steady-open-door-september-cut-2024-07-31/
N.J.'s ban on AR-15 'assault' rifles is unconstitutional, federal court rules
By S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A federal court judge on Tuesday ruled New Jersey’s ban on AR-15 rifles is unconstitutional, a decision that could force the state to lift its decades-old prohibition on certain semi-automatic weapons.
The judge’s ruling was limited in scope — it applies only to one type of firearm, the Colt AR-15, and allows “for use of self-defense within the home.”
It marks the latest clawback of New Jersey’s famously strict gun laws following several recent pro-Second Amendment decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision was hailed as a partial victory by gun rights advocates who challenged New Jersey’s ban, arguing in court papers the law “blatantly violates the fundamental rights of the state’s law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in common use for self-defense and other lawful purposes.”
https://www.nj.com/news/2024/07/njs-ban-on-ar-15-assault-rifles-is-unconstitutional-federal-court-rules.html
They built an 8-foot fence around a N.J. city park to keep out the homeless. Is it legal?
By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A locked fence erected around a park in Newark’s Ironbound section has sparked a controversy pitting a local business group and the area’s city councilman against advocates for the hungry and homeless people who had populated the park.
The Ironbound Business Improvement District, or IBID, put up the 8-foot iron fence around Peter Francisco Park this summer in conjunction with East Ward Councilman Michael Silva, an IBID board member, who appropriated city council funds available at his discretion to split the fence’s $45,000 cost with the business group.
Silva asserts that people were making a mess of the park, littering, defecating and urinating on statues honoring Portuguese immigrants who helped build up the Ironbound and driving away customers of local businesses.
“It was an eyesore that was an entranceway into the East Ward,” said Silva, insisting that the park remains accessible to anyone who obtains a permit. “As the son of Portuguese immigrants, I saw things that were very discouraging in my heart. As councilman now, I felt that I had a responsibility to my constituents, to my business owners.”
https://www.nj.com/essex/2024/07/they-built-8ft-fence-around-nj-city-park-to-keep-out-homeless-is-it-legal.html
(paywall)
N.J. rattled by 2.2 magnitude earthquake. Did you feel it?
By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A 2.2 magnitude earthquake rattled part of New Jersey early Wednesday, the strongest tremor to hit this state this month.
The earthquake was centered about 3.1 miles east of Califon, Hunterdon County at about 1:44 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake is the sixth of the month in New Jersey. Five of the six have been near Califon, while a 2.0 magnitude tremor was recorded near New Egypt in Ocean County on July 6.
There have been well over 100 small aftershocks felt in the state since a 4.8 magintude earthquake centered in Tewksbury, Hunterdon County on April 5 was felt by more than 42 million people along the East Coast.
https://www.nj.com/news/2024/07/nj-rattled-by-22-magnitude-earthquake-did-you-feel-it.html
4 Accused Of Selling Ghost Guns, Firearms Trafficking In Ocean County
Toms River Patch
TRENTON, NJ — Four Ocean County men are accused of trafficking in firearms, including so-called "ghost guns," U.S. Attorney Phillip Sellinger announced.
James Hyres, 38, and Edward W. Trost, 36, both of Toms River; Dennis McMickle, 35, of Brick, and James Opalenik, 51, of Ocean Gate, are charged with conspiracy to traffic in firearms and trafficking in firearms, Sellinger said.
Hyres and McMickle are also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, authorities said. McMickle and Opalenik are also charged with one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, authorities said.
Hyres and Opalenik were arrested Monday in Ocean County, the U.S. Attorney's office said. McMickle was arrested May 20 in Monmouth County on unrelated charges and is being held in the Monmouth County jail, and Trost has been in the Ocean County jail since July 7 on unrelated charges.
https://patch.com/new-jersey/tomsriver/4-accused-selling-ghost-guns-firearms-trafficking-ocean-county
Speaking of political name-calling
I had fun looking up epithets in an on-line thesaurus last night.
Weird is absolutely awesome.
Remember how Tricky Dick (Nixon) got stuck with that nickname?
Choose your favorites and enjoy.
Unpatriotic
Oily
Addled
Crackpot
Crank
Craven
Decadent
Degenerate
Depraved
Deviant
Disloyal
Dweeb
Fanatic
Freakish
Grotesque
Heinous
Lecherous
Loathsome
Perverted
Scheming
Screwy
Shifty
Sinister
Sleazy
Slippery
Sneaky
Sordid
Subversive
Tricky
Unbalanced
Vicious
Vulgar
and a few for couchboy
Bogus
Stooge
Weenie
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, drawing threats of retaliation against Israel
Source: Reuters
CAIRO/DUBAI, July 31 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated early on Wednesday morning in Iran, the Palestinian militant group and Tehran said, drawing threats of revenge on Israel in a region already shaken by the war in Gaza and a deepening conflict in Lebanon.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new president, and said it was investigating.
Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, has been the face of Hamas's international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has raged in Gaza. He had been taking part in internationally-brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas' armed wing said in a statement Haniyeh's killing would "take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions". Vowing to retaliate, Iran declared three days of national mourning and said the U.S. bears responsibility because of its support for Israel.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-chief-ismail-haniyeh-killed-iran-hamas-says-statement-2024-07-31/
U.S. judge upholds LGBTQ student protections in a win for the Biden administration
Source: NBC
A federal judge in Alabama on Tuesday refused to block the Biden administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in four Republican-led states, breaking with six other judges who have said the rules are invalid.
U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon in Birmingham in a 122-page ruling, rejected various arguments that the four states led by Alabama made in challenging U.S. Department of Education regulations that say a federal law barring sex discrimination in education extends to gender identity.
The regulations also bar harassment against LGBTQ students, such as refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, and changes the procedures schools must use in investigating accusations of student misconduct.
Axon, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, said the claims by the states and several conservative groups were conclusory and not backed by court precedent.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/us-judge-upholds-lgbtq-student-protections-win-biden-administration-rcna164454
Fed on track for first post-pandemic rate cut amid growing signs of cooling economy
Source: NBC
Federal Reserve officials have begun contemplating cutting interest rates for the first time in the post-pandemic period as their focus shifts from surging inflation to a steadily weakening job market.
The Federal Open Market Committee began its two-day meeting Tuesday amid mounting signs that economic growth, while still on seemingly stable footing, is slowing. At 4.1%, the unemployment rate is at its highest level since February 2018, though it is still historically low.
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that while layoff activity remains subdued, the hiring rate in the economy has slowed to a level not seen since 2014. The percentage of unemployed workers who've gone without roles for 27 weeks or more has recently begun to surge, with about 1.5 million total workers now in that category.
Meanwhile, the Fed's pressured inflation gauge hit 2.5% in June, the lowest reading since March and the third time it had hit that mark this year. The Fed's official target is 2%.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/federal-reserve-interest-rate-decision-july-2024-rcna164048
I'll believe it when I actually see it.
William Calley, face of My Lai massacre, dead at 80
A former US officer who was the only person to be convicted in connection with the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War has died, according to reports.
William Calley died on 28 April at the age of 80, the Washington Post and New York Times reported, citing official death records.
Calley led the US Army platoon that carried out the mass murder of hundreds of civilians, including women and children, in the Vietnamese village of Son My in 1968.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 1971 for killing 22 civilians, but only served three days behind bars after then-President Richard Nixon ordered his release under house arrest.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wv9l7pe9po
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