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☆ Border Wall Made of Shipping Containers Comes Down in Arizona, Rises in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Arizona has agreed to dismantle a barrier made of shipping containers after a challenge from the U.S. government. Texas has erected a barrier made of shipping containers along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, following a similar move by Arizona, which has begun dismantling its makeshift wall after legal threats from the federal government. The container barriers mark the latest skirmishes between the U.S. government, which has authority over the international boundary, and border-state leaders frustrated with illegal immigration. The tension comes as border communities brace for a potential new surge of migrants.

The overall tone of the minutes is still likely to show inflation has top billing among policymakers. The minutes "will lean against easing prematurely" and keep the focus on the likelihood that rates will rise further and remain high, Derek Tang, economist at LH Meyer, wrote on Tuesday. COGNIZANT OF RISKSThe minutes could help pin down how much sentiment there is to ease the pace of upcoming rate increases to a quarter of a percentage point as of the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting. "It is especially challenging to estimate spillovers, and there are concerns that policymakers may underestimate them. Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Happy Fed Year: What’s on deck for the central bank in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Minneapolis CNN —America’s central bank found itself in a glaring spotlight for much of this past year, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell wielded blunt tools of interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening to curb surging inflation. That means the Fed, with its “laser focus on the job market,” could be “continually hawkish” at the start of 2023, said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “This latent strength in the job market could be the reason that the Fed over-tightens,” he told CNN. Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, from right, Lael Brainard, vice chair of the board of governors for the Federal Reserve System, and John Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during a break at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Aug. 26, 2022. That’s 0.2 percentage points higher than the 4.4% rate they were expecting in September and significantly higher than the current 3.7% rate.

☆ In Texas, Nothing Says Christmas Like Tamales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For Texas tamale purveyors such as Delia’s, it is crunchtime as demand for the traditional treat surges. SAN JUAN, Texas—Preorders for Christmas tamales begin in July at Delia’s, a South Texas chain with a fervent regional following. By mid-December, constables must be on hand to direct lines of cars stretching down the street to get into restaurants. On a recent morning at Delia’s San Juan location, Gabriel Murillo, an IT manager for the local school district, was picking up a cooler with more than a thousand tamales to be served at a holiday staff appreciation luncheon. Outside, two semitrailer trucks were loaded with boxes of online orders waiting to be shipped.

☆ Entrepreneur’s Death at Hands of Austin Police Prompts Calls for Change
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/entrepreneurs-death-at-hands-of-austin-police-prompts-calls-for-change-11671458081

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden met Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso on Monday to discuss efforts to stem the flow of migrants to the United States as the White House faces increased pressure over its immigration policies. Together we've made historic strides on migration," Biden told reporters. "We have talked about migration and migration as a consequence of the economic problems of many countries in Latin America. Lasso visited the White House after former U.S.

☆ U.S. Senate sets first vote on stopgap funding bill Thursday -aide
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate is expected to hold an initial procedural vote Thursday on a week-long stopgap funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown ahead of a midnight Friday deadline, a Senate Democratic aide said. Passage of the measure, which senior Senate Democrats and Republicans back, would forestall the risk of a year-end partial government shutdown. While top Senate Republicans signed onto that deal, House Republicans rejected it, wanting negotiations delayed until after they assume the House majority on Jan. 3, which would give them more leverage to cut domestic spending. The last time Democrats and Republicans allowed government funding to lapse, a record-long, 35-day partial shutdown ensued, spanning from Dec. 22, 2018, until Jan. 25, 2019.

☆ U.S. Senate must work quickly to pass stopgap funding bill, Schumer says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate needs to move quickly to pass a weeklong stopgap funding bill ahead of a midnight Friday deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday. Passage of the measure, which senior Senate Democrats and Republicans back, would forestall the risk of a year-end partial government shutdown. While top Senate Republicans signed onto that deal, House Republicans rejected it, wanting negotiations delayed until after they assume the House majority on Jan. 3, which would give them more leverage to cut domestic spending. The last time Democrats and Republicans allowed government funding to lapse, a record-long, 35-day partial shutdown ensued, spanning from Dec. 22, 2018, until Jan. 25, 2019.

☆ When will the Federal Reserve ease its rate hikes and inflation fight? Keep an eye on your annual raise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference in Washington, November 2, 2022. It's the labor market as much as the CPI, and employment data remains troubling for the Fed. Inflation is down, but employee expectations are still high for raises because they have lost purchasing power. This views positions the positive news on CPI inflation as only one piece of the puzzle, and not even the biggest piece as far as the Fed is concerned. And until the Fed sees that labor market inflation coming into line, the central bank is not likely to make a major move away from its tightening course.

☆ The Fed has to portray itself as tough on inflation even as it pushes through a smaller rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"The Fed has been saying for some time that it wants to slow the pace of tightening. The fed funds target rate range is currently 3.75% to 4%. "But then the press conference would cause a bit of a whipsaw if he sounds hawkish," she said. "I think the most interesting thing will be the press conference," said Rick Rieder, BlackRock chief investment officer of global fixed income. "I think we've heard two different types of sentiment from the chair between the latest press conference and Brookings."

☆ Oregon lawsuit spotlights destruction of Black neighborhoods
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A home that was a fixture of Bobby Fouther’s childhood is now a parking lot, the two-story, shingle-sided house having been demolished in the 1970s along with many other properties in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. In 1934, Fouther’s great-aunt and her husband bought a house, which he and his sister visited almost daily, in the Albina neighborhood of Portland, according to the lawsuit. A total of 32 business and four church or community organizations were also destroyed, according to the lawsuit. They were not fairly compensated and in some cases not compensated at all, according to the lawsuit. Many of the plaintiffs’ homes, if they had not been destroyed, would have been worth more than $500,000 today, the lawsuit says.

☆ U.S. CFTC chair to be questioned over FTX collapse by lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The hearing, entitled "Lessons Learned From the FTX Collapse, and the Need for Congressional Action", will take place at 10am Eastern Time (1500 GMT). The committee, which oversees the CFTC, could also press Behnam on meetings between the commodities regulator and FTX staff, including founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The CFTC had “many meetings” with FTX over its application to directly clear customer trades, Behnam said Monday at a Financial Times event. Offices for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, along with its Republican ranking member Sen. John Boozman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Many Senate Agriculture Committee members have previously agreed with Behnam that the CFTC should take on a larger role.

It would not bar states from blocking same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allowed them to do so. A similar, but not identical, bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this year with support from 47 Republicans and all Democrats. The House would need to approve the Senate version before it is sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law. In June, the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion, undoing 50 years of precedent. In a concurring opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court should consider reversing other decisions protecting individual freedoms, including the 2015 ruling on gay marriage.

☆ Embattled El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales Resigns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Adolfo Flores | Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Yvonne Rosales, the district attorney in charge of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting case in El Paso County, Texas, has resigned. Yvonne Rosales, the El Paso County, Texas, district attorney, resigned Monday amid allegations of mishandling cases and growing efforts to remove her from office. Ms. Rosales was accused of incompetence and misconduct in the 2019 Walmart mass shooting as well as inaction on cases, according to an amended petition for her removal filed by El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2022. The Supreme Court in recent years has limited the latitude of prosecutors in political corruption cases. The charges against Percoco and Ciminelli were brought in 2016 by former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who also pursued corruption cases against top state lawmakers including former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. They also have asked the Supreme Court to reverse their convictions. A trial judge in July allowed him to be released from prison on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

☆ Same-sex marriage protection bill clears initial hurdle in U.S. Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government to recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed. It would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so. All 50 Democrats and 12 Republican senators voted to advance the bill in the 100-member Senate. Speaking before Wednesday's vote, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, another key negotiator, called the bill "a good compromise... based on mutual respect for our fellow Americans." In a mark of how far the country has moved on the issue, the Mormon church - once a virulent opponent of legalizing same-sex marriage - came out in support of the bill.

Jeffries, 52, would be the first Black House Democratic leader, representing both the party's diverse voter base and bringing a new generation of leadership. House Democrats are scheduled to vote on their leaders on Nov. 30. Jeffries, who has held the leadership post of House Democratic Caucus chairman since 2019, also would represent a stylistic contrast to Pelosi, who made her announcement on Thursday. Current House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, 83, said he would not seek a leadership position in the next Congress and backed Jeffries. Clyburn told reporters ahead of Pelosi's announcement that he intends to remain in the House Democratic leadership regardless of the path she takes.

☆ In Lauren Boebert’s Colorado District, Some Voters Grow Tired of Trump-Style Politics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | Photographs Rachel Woolf For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PALISADE, Colo.— Bill Heller , a retired oil-field worker on Colorado’s Western Slope and lifelong registered Republican, said he would like to support his party but found he couldn’t vote to re-elect his congresswoman, Rep. Lauren Boebert . Ms. Boebert (R., Colo.) has gained national recognition for her vocal support of gun rights and for attention-grabbing statements, including tweeting “Today is 1776” on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Mr. Heller instead voted for her opponent, Adam Frisch , a little-known centrist Democrat and former Aspen city councilman.

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoNov 14 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will likely soon slow its interest rates hikes, Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard signaled on Monday, as the U.S. central bank tries to figure out how high borrowing costs need to go and how long they should stay there to bring down inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signaled that the central bank's next move may be smaller to give time to judge how the rapid rate hikes so far this year are affecting the economy. But he also signaled the policy rate may next year peak at a rate higher than the 4.6% level that most policymakers had expected in September. Currently the U.S. unemployment rate is at 3.7%, below the 4% level that most policymakers believe reflects a long-run sustainable rate. Recent labor market data suggests "cooling," Brainard said, and lessening wage pressures.

☆ Yellen says U.S. debt ceiling hike by lame-duck Congress would be 'great'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at a news conference during the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2022. Yellen told reporters on the sidelines of G20 summit meetings in Bali that Senate control by Democrats would ease the path for approving nominations and other legislative actions. "We want to see the debt ceiling get done. If it got done in the lame duck, that would be great, as far as I'm concerned," Yellen said. Reporting by David Lawder Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Democrats retain grip on U.S. Senate, defying Republican 'red wave' predictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Tim Reid | Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

“We were on the edge of autocracy and, thank God, the American people pulled us back in this election,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference on Sunday. As of late on Saturday, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 205, with 218 needed for a majority. House Republicans, should they prevail, have pledged to try to roll back Biden-led legislation to battle climate change and want to make permanent a series of 2017 tax cuts set to expire. Slideshow ( 2 images )“That has to be a focal point of every single committee in the Congress, especially in the House under Republican control,” Banks said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday”. Continued control of the Senate means Democrats will still be able to approve Biden’s nominees such as federal judges.

REUTERS/Ken Cedeno, Elizabeth FrantzPHOENIX, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Democrats held onto control of the U.S. Senate, handing a major victory to President Joe Biden and extinguishing hopes of the "red wave" that Republicans had expected leading into the midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described it as a "victory and vindication" for Democrats and their agenda. Republicans, however, remained close to seizing control of the House of Representatives as officials continued counting ballots. The Democrats would control the Senate, as they have for the past two years, with 50 of its 100 seats, as Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote. Continued control of the Senate means Democrats will still be able to approve Biden's nominees such as federal judges.

☆ Few State Governor Races Result in Change of Control
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | Jimmy Vielkind | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gubernatorial elections resulted in few changes of control on Election Day, as Democrats held off challengers in several races that polls showed could be close including Wisconsin, New York, Kansas and Michigan, while Republican incumbents won decisively in Florida and Texas, according to the Associated Press. Democrats also prevailed in the only two states to flip, Maryland and Massachusetts.

☆ ‘The Crown’ Season 5 takes dramatic liberties, but here’s where they lean into history
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage miseryDominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana in Season 5 of "The Crown." The friendship between Prince Phillip and Penny KnatchbullJonathan Pryce as Prince Phillip and Natascha McElhone as Penny Knatchbull in Season 5 of "The Crown." Keith Bernstein/NetflixPenny Knatchbull married the godson of the Duke of Edinburgh, but her friendship with Prince Phillip was solid in a way that went beyond that. The series features Prince Phillip stepping in to help Knatchbull after a family tragedy which leads to years of them growing closer. That dressElizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in the now famous "revenge dress."

☆ Binance just bought FTX. Here's how rumors of insolvency and fears of contagion led Sam Bankman-Fried into a deal.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Here's the short of it: The once-top-dog crypto firm, FTX, helmed by 30-year-old billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is being bought by Binance amid significant liquidity issues and rumors of insolvency. But Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao seemed to think saving a floundering FTX was worth the risk of any future downside. CoinDesk published a revealing report on November 2 about the crypto trading firm Alameda Research, another branch of Sam Bankman-Fried's empire. It turns out that the trading firm held billions of dollars' worth of FTX's native token, FTT. Anthony Georgiades, co-founder of blockchain company Pastel Network told me he doesn't think Binance is too concerned about making those investors whole again at this point.

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