WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

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1/ Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide. While Graham’s measure stands no chance of enactment, it comes less than two months before the midterm elections when some Republican candidates are walking back their support for a total ban. 56% of voters say abortion will be very important to their midterm votes. Additionally, Mitch McConnell all but rejected the measure, saying that questions about the bill should be directed to Graham and that most Republican senators “prefer this be handled at the state level.” John Cornyn added: “That wasn’t a conference decision. It was an individual senator’s decision.” The White House, meanwhile, criticized the bill as “wildly out of step with what Americans believe.” ‌(Washington Post / Politico / Axios / NBC News / New York Times / NPR / CNN)

2/ Inflation rose 8.3% in August compared with a year earlier. While inflation is down from an 8.5% jump in July and a four-decade high of 9.1% in June, it’s at a slower pace than anticipated given decreases in gasoline prices and other forms of energy fell. Economists expected consumer prices to rise about 8% annually in August. In response, stock markets posted their worst one-day performance since June 2020. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is expected to raise interest rates another 0.75 percentage point next week to slow economy further. The Census Bureau reported that from 2019 to 2021, real median household income decreased 2.8%. (Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Washington Post / Politico / New York Times / Axios / NBC News / Bloomberg)

3/ At least 97 current members of Congress reported trades by themselves or family in stocks or other financial assets that intersected with the work of congressional com...

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