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☆ Voters to Pick Governors in 36 States, With Many Democrats on Defense
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jimmy Vielkind | Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Voters in three dozen states will choose new governors Tuesday in contests that could bring the number of states led by each party closer—or expand Republicans’ advantage. Most of the nation’s tightest races feature Democratic incumbents on defense, including in Kansas, Nevada and Wisconsin. Those elections are considered tossups by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, as are the ones to succeed GOP Gov. Doug Ducey in Arizona and Democratic Gov. Kate Brown in Oregon, both of whom are leaving office because of term limits.

☆ Some in White House worry abortion message bungled before midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Some White House officials believe they should have linked abortion to economic concerns more, rather than fundamental rights and privacy, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The White House faced a similar situation when trying to expand the child tax credit earlier this year, both sources noted. White House spokesman Kevin Munoz dismissed "any notion of over focus" on reproductive rights and said Biden has addressed multiple issues. The White House has asked the DNC to gather data for an election postmortem to identify what messages worked and what didn't, party sources said. The White House signed executive orders on the issue and met with state legislators, grassroots activists and coalitions to finetune abortion messaging.

☆ COP27 Climate talks must wrench attention from competing crises
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The attention of many leaders has been going to other issues," said Espinosa, who led the U.N. climate change body - called the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC - from 2016 until July this year. "This is a very important conference in order to really get again the issue of addressing climate change very, very high up on the agenda," she told Reuters. Countries' national climate pledges put the world on track to warm by 2.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, overshooting the 1.5C threshhold beyond which scientists say climate change impacts will significantly worsen. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa speaks during an interview with Reuters at a United Nations Information Center offices in Washington, U.S., December 7, 2021.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2022. The Senate has the authority to confirm a president's nominees to the federal judiciary including the Supreme Court. Biden's Republican predecessor Donald Trump put a major emphasis on getting judicial nominations confirmed as he worked to move the judiciary rightward. If Democrats retain control, Biden has a chance to match or surpass Trump's mark of having 234 judicial nominees confirmed over four years. Circuit courts are the regional federal appellate courts one step below the Supreme Court.

☆ Fed seen sticking to rate rises after jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after Powell announced the Fed raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point as part of their continuing efforts to combat inflation, following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on interest rate policy in Washington, U.S., November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzNov 4 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is seen taking its benchmark policy rate upward after a government report Friday showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, but also signaled some signs of slack in the labor market. Futures contracts that settle to short-term U.S. interest rates added to losses immediately after the report, as traders priced in a bigger chance of higher interest rates, and then reversed course. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from 3.5%, the report showed. Futures prices currently reflect close to even odds of a half-point rate hike versus a 75-basis point increase in December, about the same as seen before the report, and a subsequent continued march upward into next year, to a policy rate in the 5.00%-5.25% range.

☆ Rapper Takeoff of Popular Trio Migos Killed in Houston
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Takeoff, of the group Migos, performing during the 2019 BET Experience in Los Angeles. The rapper known as Takeoff, part of the Georgia-based hip-hop trio Migos, was killed in an overnight shooting at a Houston bowling alley, a person briefed on the investigation said. Takeoff, whose name was Kirsnick Khari Ball , was 28 years old. Migos was nominated for best rap performance and best rap album at the 2018 Grammys and has been one of the most commercially successful rap groups of recent years.

☆ In Kansas Governor Race, Even the Democrat Touts Ties to Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TOPEKA, Kan.—One of the nation’s tightest gubernatorial races is taking place in Kansas, where the incumbent Democrat is focusing on her record against a Republican trying to tie her to President Biden. To win re-election in a state where Donald Trump beat Joe Biden 56% to 41% in 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly is attempting to replicate the coalition of voters she drew four years ago that included Democrats, independents and a slice of defector Republicans. She is one of four Democratic governors in states that voted for Mr. Trump.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Opening arguments are set for Monday in the Los Angeles rape trial of Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful Hollywood producer who became the face of #MeToo allegations five years ago. In Los Angeles, he is facing 11 charges of rape and sexual assault involving five women in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area between 2004 and 2013. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker, actor and wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, is one of Weinstein's accusers in the California case. Now in declining health, he was seated in a wheelchair during jury selection in Los Angeles Superior Court. He could face up to 140 years in prison if convicted on all 11 of the charges in Los Angeles.

☆ Texas State Trooper Who Responded to Uvalde Shooting Fired
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Uvalde school police force has been widely criticized for its role leading the response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. A Texas state trooper who was among the responding officers to the elementary-school mass shooting in Uvalde was fired Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Juan Maldonado was served with termination papers, a spokesperson for the agency said.

☆ Jailed Harvey Weinstein faces rape trial in Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein, currently serving a 23-year sentence for sex crimes in New York, is back on trial on criminal charges in Los Angeles, the city where he once held sway as one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. Weinstein, 70, is facing 11 charges of rape and sexual assault involving five women in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area between 2004 and 2013. Weinstein was extradicted from New York to a Los Angeles prison in July 2021. Now in declining health, he has been seated in a wheelchair during jury selection in Los Angeles Superior Court. He could face up to 140 years in prison if convicted on all 11 of the charges in Los Angeles.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2022. World Bank President David Malpass said at the meeting that the bank would use the "full suite" of its financing and guarantee instruments "to unlock larger volumes of private finance for quality, sustainable infrastructure." Opposition from Russia stalled new agreements from the G20 and the IMF and World Bank steering committees. WORLD BANK REFORMSThe World Bank's steering committee on Saturday backed the U.S. call for change, and asked World Bank leadership to deliver a roadmap for revamping the bank's institutional and operational framework by the end of the year. It also asked Malpass to develop a plan for implementing the recommendations of an independent panel that reviewed the bank's capital adequacy rules, in time for next spring's IMF and World Bank meetings in April.

Iranian Americans rally outside the White House in support of anti-regime protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2022. Belgium's foreign minister and two other lawmakers cut their hair in parliament. "We are not looking to get involved in regime change," said a Western diplomat. Some officials and analysts argue Tehran may not seek a deal given the political sensitivities at home. "Why would we throw a lifeline to a regime that is on the ropes and that is killing young women?"

☆ U.S. military suicide rate drops but still seeking 'sustained' reduction
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The annual Pentagon report found that while the rate had decreased from 2020 to 2021, there was a gradual increase in suicide rates between 2011 and 2021. "We need to see a sustained, long-term reduction in suicide rates to know if we're making progress," she added. The report said that the rate of suicides in 2021 was 24.3 per 100,000 service members, down from 28.7 per 100,000 members the year prior. All the military services, except the Army, saw a decrease in suicide rates between 2020 and 2021. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Strange Guest Budget Hotels Are Talking About
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The owner of the America’s Best Value Inn in Butte, Montana, got a peculiar call from an employee one summer day a few years ago. In Room 206, a mundane piece of hotel art, a pink print of a rose from the mid-1990s, had been painted over with a wide-eyed cartoon beaver. “My head housekeeper at the time said ‘There’s been vandalism,’ ” recalls Andy Burton, who has owned the motel for 33 years. “I said ‘Well...it is but it isn’t. It’s quirky.’”

☆ Biden: UK's Truss' original economic plan was a mistake
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzPORTLAND, Ore., Oct 15 (Reuters) - Biden says he was not the only one who thought British Prime Minister Liz Truss' original economic plan, which has led to a steep dive in the value of the pound, was a mistake. "I wasn't the only one that thought it was a mistake." He told reporters during a stop at an ice cream shop in Oregon as he helped campaign for Tina Kotek, who is running for Governor or Oregon. The White House has refrained from commenting on Truss' problems. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jeff Mason in Portland, Oregon, writing by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Yellen says policymakers improving coordination on global economic challenges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

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. REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that many of the challenges facing the global economy stem from Russia's "terrible war in Ukraine" and continued pandemic recovery, but policymakers are improving coordination to tackle them. Yellen said that the U.S. economy remains resilient but inflation remains too high and bringing it down remains President Joe Biden's top economic priority. She also said global policymakers gathering in Washington agreed on decisive action on taming inflation, securing energy supplies and addressing other challenges. And we are united around our collective effort to tackle our shared challenges."

☆ Motel Banksy Strikes Again, Redoing Art in Budget Rooms Everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ U.S. Has Made ‘Dramatic Change’ in Technology Used for Nuclear Code System
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Daniella Cheslow | Photographs Elizabeth Frantz For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FORT MEADE, Md.—The museum of one of the nation’s most secretive government agencies has recently reopened following a two-year pandemic closure, and among its new exhibits is one that provides a rare window into a technological upgrade to the nation’s nuclear command and control system. The National Cryptologic Museum located outside Washington, D.C. is now home to several pieces of equipment that were in operation until just a few years ago to generate the codes the president could use to authorize the launch of nuclear weapons. The placement of the retired equipment in the National Security Agency’s museum reveals an upgrade to the classified system that is rarely talked about by government officials.

☆ Biden's national security plan aims at China, Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. President Joe Biden attends a meeting of the Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 4, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The White House rolled out a long-delayed national security strategy on Wednesday that seeks to contain China's rise while reemphasizing the importance of working with allies to tackle challenges confronting democratic nations. The 48-page document, which was delayed by the Ukraine crisis, includes no major shifts in thinking and introduces no major new doctrines for Biden's foreign policy. Even after the Russian invasion, China represents the most consequential challenge to the global order, it states. Sullivan said the Ukraine crisis did delay but did not "fundamentally alter" Biden's approach to foreign policy.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"There is clarity that monetary policy will be restrictive for some time, until there is confidence inflation comes down. The (Federal Open Market) Committee has said policy rates will increase further," Brainard said. But "we also will be learning as we go and that assessment will reflect incoming data and also risks domestically and globally ... The Fed has raised rates rapidly this year, using three-quarter point increments of late to bring the target federal funds rate to a range between 3% and 3.25%. "We're headed for this four and a half percent-ish federal funds rate by March," Evans said, with little time left for data to shift officials' views.

☆ There's renewed hope in the possibility that global central banks are nearing the end of their rate hike cycle. Here's how that's driving markets.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Central bank moves and softer economic data have investors hoping that the Fed and other central banks are almost done hiking interest rates. There's some renewed hope for a Fed pivot on the horizon. Australia's central bank surprised forecasters by raising interest rates by a less-than-expected 25 basis points, becoming the first central bank to abandon its path of jumbo rate hikes. Fewer job openings mean employers aren't compelled to offer more competitive wages. Number of job openings Chart: Andy Kiersz and Madison Hoff Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED10.

Residents of southwest Florida faced scenes of widespread destruction and flooding Thursday, as Hurricane Ian continued to batter the state overnight with high winds and rain. Rescue crews and local officials fanned out across hard-hit areas of the state, including Naples and Fort Myers, to assess the damage from the storm, which made landfall Wednesday afternoon as a destructive Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles an hour.

☆ Hurricane Ian Takes Aim at Fast-Growing Region in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As forecasts for the path of Hurricane Ian solidified Wednesday, the storm was poised to hit an area full of newcomers. Projections show the hurricane is likely to make landfall near Port Charlotte, just above Fort Myers and just below Sarasota, before moving inland. It is an area that has seen a rapid influx of people since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

☆ In Texas Attorney General Race, Democrat Targets Ken Paxton’s Legal Problems as He Courts Conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AUSTIN, Texas—Democratic civil-rights lawyer Rochelle Garza is challenging Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race where the incumbent is emphasizing his close ties to former President Donald Trump and counting on the loyalty of the state’s most conservative voters, while his opponent tries to make his legal scandals the focus. Democrats see opportunity this election season in Ms. Garza’s campaign, which is based in part on trying to win moderates who might otherwise vote Republican but are concerned that Mr. Paxton has been indicted on securities fraud charges and is being probed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after former aides accused him of misusing his office.

☆ Opinion: The British Empire: A legacy of violence?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

A related question is also surfacing now: What is the legacy of the British Empire writ large? Bergen: This reassessment of British Empire: You are leading the charge. Bergen: So, are the British in high school as they learn about British history being told a bunch of fairy tales? Are there similarities between the 1619 Project and what you and other colleagues are doing in your reassessment of the British Empire? And I think that’s what we’re seeing in different kinds of ways with the history of the British Empire.

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