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      Trump celebrates Jimmy Kimmel suspension as some networks replace show with Charlie Kirk tribute – US politics live

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      Here is a summary of the latest developments:

      The Jimmy Kimmel Live! show has been indefinitely suspensded the after the late-night host made comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk. The ABC network, which Disney owns, announced on Wednesday night that it would remove Kimmel’s show from its schedule for the foreseeable future.

      Politicians, media figures and free speech organisations expressed anger and alarm at the suspension of Kimmel’s late night show, warning that critics of Donald Trump were being systematically silenced. California governor Gavin Newsom said the Republican party “does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”

      Two of Hollywood’s biggest unions, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild, have voiced their support for Kimmel. WGA West wrote late on Wednesday: “As a guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent.” The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) strongly condemned the decision to take the late-night show off the air, describing it as “government overreach”.

      Senator Elizabeth Warren joined a number of her Democratic colleagues in condemning the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s programme, saying “giant media companies are enabling his [Donald Trump’s] authoritarianism.” Illinois governor JB Pritzker and senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii also weighed in on X with similar comments. Pritzker called it “an attack on free speech,” while Schatz said, “his was the govt using regulatory leverage to crush speech.”

      Donald Trump called the move “great news for America” and congratulated ABC for its “courage” in a social media post.

      There has been widespread glee among Trump officials and Maga followers after the news that Kimmel’s programme has been suspended. Nancy Mace, a Republican South Carolina representative who is running to be governor of South Carolina, celebrated in an impassioned post on X, claiming “we’re on a truth streak. President Trump is always right, YOU’RE FIRED”. Deputy White House chief of staff and cabinet secretary, Taylor Budowich, called it “consequence culture”.

      ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel came just minutes after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it “strongly object[ed]” to his comments and would pre-empt any episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! set to air on the stations it owns across the country “for the foreseeable future”. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more ABC stations than any other TV conglomerate including Nexstar, announced it would run a tribute to Kirk during Kimmel’s timeslot on Friday.

      Before ABC pulled Kimmel, the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, had urged local broadcasters to stop airing the show, saying they were “running the possibility of fines or licensed revocation from the FCC” during an appearance on the right-wing commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast. On Wednesday night Carr thanked Nexstar “for doing the right thing” in a statement on social media.

      A number of figures in US comedy have reacted with shock to the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel from the air. Comedian Mike Birbiglia wrote that he had long defended comedians with views he didn’t agree with, adding: “If you’re a comedian and you don’t call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air – don’t bother spouting off about free speech any more.” Comedian Michael Kosta, who occasionally hosts the Daily Show, wrote: “This is a serious moment in American history. TV networks MUST push back. This is complete BS.”
      Germany’s main journalists’ union urged major US media to support journalists after Walt Disney-owned broadcaster ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a row over comments by the show’s host about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.According to Reuters, the head of Deutscher Journalisten Verband (DJV), Mika Beuster said in a statement on Thursday:
      We are observing a rampant erosion of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the US.
      Broadcasters like ABC were wrong, he said, adding that journalists needed the full support of their employers:
      Their servility towards [US President] Trump will not bring them peace, but will result in further pressure.
      More celebrities have spoken up in defence of Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night chatshow has been suspended over comments he made about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.Actor Jamie Lee Curtis has joined Ben Stiller and Sophia Bush in expressing her opposition to the decision. Curtis posted a link on Instagram that showed an image of Kimmel and a quote he gave to Rolling Stone magazine in April, when he said: “I really don’t think anybody should be cancelled. I really don’t.” Model and actor Christie Brinkley posted a photo of Kimmel and others on her Instagram, adding:
      I love these guys. The laughter they provide is as important as the air we breathe. We must protect their and our first amendment rights!
      Actor and comedian Wanda Sykes posted a video on Instagram saying of President Donald Trump: “He did end freedom of speech within his first year.”Hacks actor Jean Smart asked:
      What is happening to our country?
      I am horrified at the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
      What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech. People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda.
      Though I didn’t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being.
      MSNBC host Chris Hayes is one of those mentioned in the previous post that has highlighted Donald Trump’s July Truth Social post in which he said “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next”.Writing on X, Hayes said:
      Trump literally said Kimmel is next back in July! All of this is clearly pretextual. It’s like having us believe Lisa Cook got fired because of a mortgage application. Other people can pretend to be that stupid, but you don’t have to be.
      In an earlier post, Hayes said:
      The countries where comedians can’t mock the leader on late night TV are not really ones you want to live in.
      Over on social media, some people have been pointing out that after the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show, Donald Trump wrote “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next” on Truth Social.In a post published on 18 July 2025, Trump wrote:
      I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.
      Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, has said the indefinite suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show by the ABC network should “go to court”.In a post on X, Schumer wrote:
      America is meant to be a bastion of free speech. Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel.
      This is about protecting democracy. This must go to court.
      Jimmy Kimmel is yet to issue any statement on the backlash over his comments about the Charlie Kirk shooting or on the topic of his late-night show being indefenitely suspended.The Hollywood Reporter said a source had told the publication that Kimmel was prepared to address the backlash on Wednesday night’s show. According to the source, Kimmel planned to explain what he said and demonstrate how it was taken out of context but did not plan on apologising.In case you missed it earlier, here is a post on what exactly Jimmy Kimmel said about Charlie Kirk’s killing and the full article here:Hollywood stars have also backed Jimmy Kimmel, with actor Ben Stiller saying in a post on X ABC network’s move to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! “isn’t right”, while actor Sophia Bush said the “first amendment doesn’t exist in America any more”.Here is a summary of the latest developments:

      The Jimmy Kimmel Live! show has been indefinitely suspensded the after the late-night host made comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk. The ABC network, which Disney owns, announced on Wednesday night that it would remove Kimmel’s show from its schedule for the foreseeable future.

      Politicians, media figures and free speech organisations expressed anger and alarm at the suspension of Kimmel’s late night show, warning that critics of Donald Trump were being systematically silenced. California governor Gavin Newsom said the Republican party “does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”

      Two of Hollywood’s biggest unions, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild, have voiced their support for Kimmel. WGA West wrote late on Wednesday: “As a guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent.” The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) strongly condemned the decision to take the late-night show off the air, describing it as “government overreach”.

      Senator Elizabeth Warren joined a number of her Democratic colleagues in condemning the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s programme, saying “giant media companies are enabling his [Donald Trump’s] authoritarianism.” Illinois governor JB Pritzker and senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii also weighed in on X with similar comments. Pritzker called it “an attack on free speech,” while Schatz said, “his was the govt using regulatory leverage to crush speech.”

      Donald Trump called the move “great news for America” and congratulated ABC for its “courage” in a social media post.

      There has been widespread glee among Trump officials and Maga followers after the news that Kimmel’s programme has been suspended. Nancy Mace, a Republican South Carolina representative who is running to be governor of South Carolina, celebrated in an impassioned post on X, claiming “we’re on a truth streak. President Trump is always right, YOU’RE FIRED”. Deputy White House chief of staff and cabinet secretary, Taylor Budowich, called it “consequence culture”.

      ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel came just minutes after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it “strongly object[ed]” to his comments and would pre-empt any episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! set to air on the stations it owns across the country “for the foreseeable future”. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more ABC stations than any other TV conglomerate including Nexstar, announced it would run a tribute to Kirk during Kimmel’s timeslot on Friday.

      Before ABC pulled Kimmel, the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, had urged local broadcasters to stop airing the show, saying they were “running the possibility of fines or licensed revocation from the FCC” during an appearance on the right-wing commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast. On Wednesday night Carr thanked Nexstar “for doing the right thing” in a statement on social media.

      A number of figures in US comedy have reacted with shock to the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel from the air. Comedian Mike Birbiglia wrote that he had long defended comedians with views he didn’t agree with, adding: “If you’re a comedian and you don’t call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air – don’t bother spouting off about free speech any more.” Comedian Michael Kosta, who occasionally hosts the Daily Show, wrote: “This is a serious moment in American history. TV networks MUST push back. This is complete BS.”
      In reaction to the news that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has been indefinitely suspended, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) said that “Trump’s FCC identified speech it did not like and threatened ABC with extreme reprisals. This is state censorship.”On X, the president of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, Tino Gagliardi, issued a statement in response to ABC taking Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which employs musicians from the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 in Los Angeles, off the air. In it he said:
      This is not complicated: Trump’s FCC identified speech it did not like and theatened ABC with extreme reprisals. This is state censorship. It’s now happening in the United States of America, not some far-off country. It’s happening right here and right now.
      This act by the Trump administration represents a direct attack on free speech and artistic expression. These are fundamental rights that we must protect in a free society. The American Federation of Musicians strongly condemns the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air.
      We stand in solidarity with all those who will be without work because of government overreach.
      Two of Hollywood’s biggest unions, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild, have voiced their support for Jimmy Kimmel after his show was suspended by ABC.“The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice,” WGA West wrote late on Wednesday.
      As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn’t have bothered to write it into the constitution. What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree.”
      “Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth.”Meanwhile Sag-Aftra, which represents about 170,000 actors, journalists and many more professions across the media and entertainment industries, said it “condemns” Kimmel’s suspension.Their statement read:
      Democracy thrives when diverse points of view are expressed.
      The decision to suspend airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms. Sag-Aftra stands with all media artists and defends their right to express their diverse points of view, and everyone’s right to hear them.
      Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump have a history of feuding and trading barbs.When Kimmel hosted the 2024 Academy Awards, Trump posted online “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be.”Kimmel read the missive out during the ceremony and responded by saying he was “surprised” Trump was still awake, asking, “Isn’t it past your jail time?” in reference to the numerous cases that were then making their way through the courts.In 2017, during Trump’s first term, Kimmel emerged as an unlikely leader in the fight to save Obamacare. He dedicated a number of monologues on his programme to pushing back against efforts to to tear up the Affordable Care Act (ACA).He revealed in a tearful speech that his son, Billy, had been born with a heart defect and nearly died. Kimmel said that thanks to the top-of-the-line healthcare, his surgery was successful.When announcing that it would pull Jimmy Kimmel’s programme, TV station operator Nexstar Communications Group called comments the comedian had made about Charlie Kirk’s death “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”Supporters of Donald Trump have praised the decision, with the White House deputy chief of staff calling it an example of “consequence culture.”But what did Kimmel actually say that raised the ire of the president’s Maga movement?During his Monday evening monologue, Kimmel suggested Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.“The Maga Gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.It appears this was the comment that most angered Trump supporters and officials.In an interview earlier on Wednesday, the Trump-appointed head of the US media regulator said it appeared to be a “concerted effort to try to lie to the American people.”Jimmy Kimmel also mentioned reaction to the death of Kirk on his Tuesday programme as well, saying “many in Maga-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk”.Referencing vice-president JD Vance’s comment while guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast, Kimmel said “the president and his henchmen are doing their best to fan the flames, so they can I guess attack people on the dangerous left.”Free speech groups have reacted with alarm to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s programme, with one calling it a “new McCarthyism.”Truth Wins Out (TWO), an anti-extremism nonprofit said it was part of a “dangerous right‑wing ‘Cancel Crusade’ that has weaponized outrage to silence dissent and intimidate media outlets.”
      If this dire situation continues, the only people left on the air will be Baghdad Bob and that anchorwoman in North Korea. This is a new McCarthyism that has expanded the boundaries of ‘woke’ to once unimaginable dimensions. It is chilling the free press and punishing truth‑tellers.”
      The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has said that the ABC network “caved” to pressure from the US government.
      The timing of ABC’s decision, on the heels of the FCC chairman’s pledge to the network to “do this the easy way or the hard way,” tells the whole story. Another media outlet withered under government pressure, ensuring that the administration will continue to extort and exact retribution on broadcasters and publishers who criticize it.”
      In a statement, the advocacy group went on to say that the US “cannot be a country where late night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the president. But until institutions grow a backbone and learn to resist government pressure, that is the country we are.”Earlier on Wednesday, the chair of the US media regulator, Brendan Carr, appeared on a rightwing podcast and threatened broadcasters’ licenses if action was not taken against Jimmy Kimmel.In the interview with Benny Johnson, Carr suggested suspending Kimmel could be an appropriate action from ABC.Carr was responding to comments from Kimmel on Monday, in which he said that “we hit some new lows over the weekend with the Maga gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”Carr called Kimmel’s comments an attempt to “play into a narrative that this was somehow a Maga or Republican motivated person.”After ABC’s announcement hours later, Johnson boasted online that it was his interview with Carr that had led to Kimmel’s suspension. “It’s called soft power,” he said. “The Left uses it all the time. Thanks to President Trump, the Right has learned how to wield power as well.”There has been widespread glee among Trump officials and Maga followers to the news that Jimmy Kimmel’s programme has beens suspended.Nancy Mace, a Republican South Carolina representative who is running to be governor of South Carolina, celebrated in an impassioned post on X, claiming “we’re on a truth streak. President Trump is always right, YOU’RE FIRED”.The deputy White House chief of staff and cabinet secretary, Taylor Budowich, called it “consequence culture”.
      Normal, common sense Americans are no longer taking the bullshit and companies like ABC are finally willing to do the right and reasonable thing.”
      Rightwing commentator Megyn Kelly said of Kimmel’s suspension “MAGA has f&cking HAD IT. We are ANGRY. We are INCENSED”.Commentator Matt Walsh said Kimmel “deserves to be fired”.
      These are the repercussions that conservatives have been experiencing for years for infractions not nearly as egregious.”
      Senator Elizabeth Warren has joined a number of her Democratic colleagues in condemning the decisions to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s programme, saying “giant media companies are enabling his authoritarianism.”
      First Colbert, now Kimmel. Last-minute settlements, secret side deals, multi-billion dollar mergers pending Donald Trump’s approval. Trump silencing free speech stifles our democracy. It sure looks like giant media companies are enabling his authoritarianism.
      Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii also weighed in on X with similar comments. Pritzker called it “an attack on free speech,” while Schatz said, “his was the govt using regulatory leverage to crush speech.”“This is censorship in action,” said Senator Ed Markey.
      FCC chair threatens ABC and Disney over Kimmel’s comments. Hours later, he’s off air. It’s dangerous and unconstitutional. The message to every media company is clear: Adopt the Maga line or the Federal Censorship Commission will come after you.”
      The stunning decision on Wednesday to suspend one of the United States’ most popular and influential late-night shows has come as Donald Trump and his allies have threatened to crack down on criticism of Charlie Kirk, the rightwing activist killed last week.Jimmy Kimmel’s show was taken off the air “indefinitely” after the host was criticised for comments about the motives behind the killing Kirk and the president’s reaction to the event.The move was immediately welcomed by Trump, who hailed it as “Great News for America.”
      The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
      Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns or operates dozens of local ABC stations across the US, has said it will replace Kimmel’s programme on Friday with a tribute to Charlie Kirk.In a statement posted online, Sinclair praised the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, for threatening the licenses of stations that defended Kimmel’s right to free speech, and called the comic’s remarks “inappropriate and deeply insensitive”.The company owns ABC affiliates in dozens of cities, including: Washington DC; St Louis, Missouri; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington and Tulsa, Oklahoma.It pledged to keep Kimmel’s show off its stations “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”Hello and welcome to live coverage of the latest news in the US amid the fallout from the indefinite suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show after the late-night host’s comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk. The ABC network, which Disney owns, announced on Wednesday night that it would remove Kimmel’s show from its schedule for the foreseeable future.Here is a summary of the latest developements:

      Politicians, media figures and free speech organisations expressed anger and alarm at the suspension of Kimmel’s late night show, warning that critics of Donald Trump were being systematically silenced. California governor Gavin Newsom said the Republican party “does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”

      Donald Trump called the move “great news for America” and congratulated ABC for its “courage” in a social media post.

      ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel came just minutes after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it “strongly object[ed]” to his comments and would preempt any episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! set to air on the stations it owns across the country “for the foreseeable future”. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more ABC stations than any other TV conglomerate including Nexstar, announced it would run a tribute to Kirk during Kimmel’s timeslot on Friday.

      Before ABC pulled Kimmel, the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, had urged local broadcasters to stop airing the show, saying they were “running the possibility of fines or licensed revocation from the FCC” during an appearance on the rightwing commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast. On Wednesday night Carr thanked Nexstar “for doing the right thing” in a statement on social media.

      A number of figures in US comedy have reacted with shock to the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel from the air. Comedian Mike Birbiglia wrote that he had long defended comedians with views he didn’t agree with, adding: “If you’re a comedian and you don’t call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air – don’t bother spouting off about free speech anymore.” Comedian Michael Kosta, who occasionally hosts the Daily Show, wrote: “This is a serious moment in American history. TV networks MUST push back. This is complete BS.” More

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      The Federal Reserve’s independence is about to be tested like never before

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      The time has come to ban the “revolving door” between the White House and the Federal Reserve, two academics argued last year. Doing so would be “critical to reducing the incentives for officials to act in the short-term political interests of the president”, they wrote.Eight months ago, the two writers – Dan Katz and Stephen Miran – joined the Trump administration in senior roles. On Tuesday, Miran, the chair of the US Council of Economic Advisers, walked into the Fed as a governor.Strolling through the revolving door himself, Miran pledged during his confirmation hearing to preserve the Fed’s independence, but made clear he would not resign from the White House, just take unpaid leave.Having expressed concern last year about the Fed’s vulnerability to the short-term political interests of the president, Miran was rushed into his new seat on the central bank’s board of governors hours before its latest meeting – as Donald Trump continued to push to have another voting member removed.The president, at least, is clearer about aspirations for the Fed. “We’ll have a majority very shortly,” Trump said of the central bank’s rate-setting open market committee last month. “So that’ll be great.”As his efforts to exert greater influence and fire Lisa Cook, a governor appointed by Joe Biden, fuel concern over the Fed’s ability to operate without political interference, Trump was asked by reporters on Tuesday if he thought the central bank was independent. “Oh, it should be,” he replied. “But I think they should listen to smart people, like me.”For a generation, presidents – no matter how smart they may be – have broadly steered clear of publicly expressing opinions for the Fed to listen to. Trump has bulldozed through this norm, calling for drastic rate cuts and attacking Fed chair Jerome Powell for not delivering them.On Wednesday, the Fed finally nudged rates in the direction Trump has been demanding, albeit not at nearly the pace he wants. The benchmark federal funds rate was cut by 25 basis points to a range of between 4 and 4.25%, their lowest level in almost three years, and policymakers indicated more reductions would follow.There was only one dissent: Miran wanted to cut by 50 basis points.If Miran is truly independent from the White House, his first vote on interest rates as Fed governor fell somewhat conveniently in line with the president’s demands for faster, and deeper, cuts than his new colleagues have been minded to execute.Other rate-setting officials have been far more concerned about striking a delicate balance. Of course, they want to shore up the economy – and cutting rates typically spurs activity – but they are also wary of inflation, which has held firm in recent months.The economic impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign imports is one thing. But the uncertainty caused by months of erratic threats, declarations, pauses and vague trade pacts with certain economies has so far cast the darker shadow.“Changes to government policies continue to evolve, and their effects on the economy remain uncertain,” Powell, ever the diplomat, put it in a press conference on Wednesday. Risks around inflation are “tilted to the upside”, he added, with risks to the labor market to the downside.Official data for August indicated that price growth is again picking up, and Fed officials have increased their expectations for inflation next year, according to projections released alongside their latest decision.But Trump, and, apparently, Miran, believe concern over higher inflation, and the risk of overheating the US economy by cutting rates too fast, is unfounded.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe US president, impatient for the Fed to come around to his way of thinking, is trying to change who sits around the table.Miran has secured a seat – at least until the new year. The campaign to remove Cook continues. And Powell’s term as chair will expire next year, enabling Trump to select a new figure to lead the Fed.For now, Trump’s control over the central bank remains limited. Sure, Miran might have voted for a deeper cut, but at this week’s meeting there “wasn’t widespread support at all” for this move, Powell stressed afterwards.The Fed chair expressed confidence that discussions on rates remain unaffected by politics. Such considerations are typically left at the door, he noted, as 12 voting policymakers – out of a pool of 19 – gather at a table to make the decision.“The only way for any voter to really move things around is to be incredibly persuasive,” said Powell. “And the only way to do that, in the context in which we work, is to make really strong arguments based on the data, and one’s understanding of the economy. That’s really all that matters.”“That’s in the DNA of the institution,” he added. “That’s not going to change.”Time will tell. “We’re strongly committed to maintaining our independence,” Powell told reporters. “And beyond that, I really don’t have anything to share.”That strong commitment faces an extraordinary test. “They have to make their own choice,” Trump said of the Fed earlier this week. “But they should listen.” More

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      Explainer: What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk’s killing?

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      When announcing that it would pull Jimmy Kimmel’s programme, the TV station operator Nexstar Media Group called comments the comedian had made about the far-right activist Charlie Kirk’s death “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse”.Supporters of Donald Trump have praised the decision, and the White House deputy chief of staff called it an example of “consequence culture”.But what did Kimmel actually say to raise the ire of the Maga movement?During his Monday evening monologue, Kimmel appeared to suggest Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.“The Maga Gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he said.It appears this was the comment that most angered Trump supporters and officials.In an interview on Wednesday, the Trump-appointed head of the US media regulator, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States (FCC), said it appeared to be a “concerted effort to try to lie to the American people”.Brendan Carr went on to call Kimmel’s comments an attempt to “play into a narrative that this was somehow a Maga or Republican motivated person”.Carr went on to threaten that if action was not taken against Kimmel, there would be “additional work for the FCC ahead”.He added: “It’s long past the time that a lot of these licensed broadcasters themselves … say: ‘We’re not gonna run Kimmel any more … because we licensed broadcasters are running the possibly of fines, or licensed revocation from the FCC’.”The Democratic senator Ed Markey called it “censorship in action”.“The FCC chair threatens ABC and Disney over Kimmel’s comments. Hours later, he’s off air. It’s dangerous and unconstitutional. The message to every media company is clear: adopt the Maga line or the Federal Censorship Commission will come after you,” he added.Kimmel also mentioned reaction to the death of Kirk on his Tuesday programme, saying “many in Maga-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk”.Referencing the vice-president JD Vance’s comment while guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast, Kimmel said “the president and his henchmen are doing their best to fan the flames, so they can I guess attack people on the dangerous left”.The Hollywood Reporter has said Kimmel was preparing to address the backlash on Wednesday night’s show and explain how his comments had been taken out of context. Its report says he was not intending to apologise for them. More

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      ‘We pray a visa comes before death’: Gaza’s injured children left in limbo

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      Mariam Sabbah had been fast asleep, huddled under a blanket with her siblings, when an Israeli missile tore through her home in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, in the early hours of 1 March.View image in fullscreenThe missile narrowly missed the sleeping children but as the terrified nine-year-old ran to her parents, a second one hit. “I saw her coming towards me but suddenly there was another explosion and she vanished into the smoke,” says her mother, Fatma Salman.As the parents searched desperately for their children, they found Mariam lying unconscious in a pool of blood; her left arm was ripped off, shards of shrapnel had pierced through her small body, and she was bleeding heavily from her abdomen.As well as losing her arm, the blast left Mariam with severe abdominal and pelvic injuries from shrapnel tearing through her bladder, uterus, and bowel.“Mariam needs specialised paediatric reconstructive surgery,” says Dr Mohammed Tahir, a British surgeon who treated Mariam while volunteering at al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza. “Her arm amputation is also very high and requires limb lengthening and specialist prosthesis. Without this, it will be very difficult for her to live a normal life.”View image in fullscreenMariam is one of tens of thousands of people in Gaza who have been injured by Israeli military attacks over the past 23 months, which have also killed more than 64,000, mainly women and children.Repeated military strikes and attacks on Gaza’s hospitals and Israel’s blockade of basic goods and supplies into the territory have left the health sector devastated and doctors without the means to treat the sick, injured, and famished.Since October 2023, 7,672 patients, including 5,332 children, have been medically evacuated from Gaza for urgent treatment abroad, but trying to get a medical evacuation organised and approved is a slow, arduous and heavily vetted process.So far more than 700 patients – many of them children – have died waiting for permission to be granted to leave Gaza by Cogat, the Israeli government department responsible for approving medical evacuations, according to the WHO.View image in fullscreenMariam and her family secured the offer of surgical care from a specialist team in Ohio, and the little girl waited two months to be given permission from Cogat to leave Gaza, by which time her condition had deteriorated. She was finally evacuated to Egypt but was then stuck for months waiting for her US travel documents to be processed.Then, just a few days before her appointment at the embassy in Cairo to approve her visa, the US suddenly stopped issuing visas for Palestinians – including children – to be treated in US hospitals.View image in fullscreenThe decision followed an online pressure campaign by Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer close to Donald Trump, who had posted pictures and videos of evacuated patients from Gaza arriving on US soil on social media channels, asking: “Why are any Islamic invaders coming into the US under the Trump admin?”Despite the rhetoric surrounding the visa ban – with Loomer hailing the move as a victory, saying it would stop “this invasion of our country”, the US has only accepted a total of 48 medical evacuations from Gaza, according to the figures provided to the Guardian by WHO. In comparison, 3,995 and 1,450 critically injured people have been evacuated to Egypt and the UAE respectively from Gaza. The UK has so far accepted 13.Medical NGOs say that around 20 severely wounded children have been affected by the ban, and are now stuck in transit countries with nowhere to go and with the treatment needed to save them dangerously out of reach.Since receiving the news that she had been blocked from receiving treatment, Salman has been unable to console her daughter. “She won’t leave her bed or stop crying,” she says. “Mariam had placed all her hopes of getting better on her medical treatment in the US.”A few wards down, and also now stuck in Egypt after the US visa ban, is 18-year-old Nasser al-Najjar, who can no longer bear to look at himself in the mirror.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionView image in fullscreenAfter becoming displaced, Najjar and his family were sheltering at a school in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, when it was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in January. The 18-year-old suffered devastating injuries to his face and jaw that left him completely disfigured; he lost his left eye, his nose was severed and his jaw shattered – leaving him unable to breathe, eat or speak properly.“I once took pride in my appearance but now I don’t even recognise myself,” says Najjar, his voice raspy and breathless.The teenager requires extensive reconstructive and cosmetic surgery that is not available in Egypt and doctors have warned that without the operations, his condition will deteriorate.He has been offered treatment at the El Paso children’s hospital in Texas, where specialist doctors are waiting to operate on him, but it is now uncertain if Najjar will ever be permitted to go.View image in fullscreenThe weight of uncertainty takes a heavy mental toll. Ahmed Duweik already suffers from phantom limb pain; sharp, stabbing sensations that come and go unpredictably and leave him screaming in agony. But since learning that his medical trip to the US might not go ahead, the 10-year-old has become withdrawn and emotionally unresponsive.View image in fullscreenAhmed was also asleep at home when the missiles struck the Nuseirat refugee camp in the middle of the night. During the bombing, he suffered horrific injuries with shrapnel penetrating his entire body; he was left with an amputated arm, soft tissue loss in his right thigh, and severe nerve and vascular damage.Ahmed requires complex reconstructive surgery and prosthetic fitting that are not available in Egypt. Since the attack, he has developed severe psychological trauma and is unable to sleep, waking up every night crying and screaming, clinging to his mother in fear.Doctors warn that if Ahmed’s treatment is delayed any further, his condition will continue to worsen.Dr Mosab Nasser, chief executive of FAJR Global, the medical aid organisation that managed to evacuate the children from Gaza and was due to arrange their surgical care in the US, said the visa ban had imposed an “indirect death penalty on the most innocent victims of this war”.View image in fullscreen“We’re talking about a handful of children suffering from severe, life threatening injuries,” he says. “These medical evacuations are a lifeline for these kids and we urge the US government to reject such divisive rhetoric and reaffirm its role as a temporary safe haven for those who so desperately need it.”In a statement to the Guardian, a US state department spokesperson confirmed it had paused the visas and would take the time necessary to conduct a full and thorough review, adding: “There are many countries around the world with great hospitals that should be stepping up to provide assistance, including France, Australia, UK, and Canada to name a few.”For now, a bleak Egyptian hospital has become the children’s home, where they have been stuck in limbo since the visa ban, with no designated doctors and limited specialist expertise to treat their extensive war injuries. The families are confined to small, sweltering and cramped rooms. None of them have any idea what comes next.“We feel so powerless,” says Khatib, as she sits beside her son. “All we can do is pray that his visa approval comes before death does.” More

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      FBI director Kash Patel fails to recognize name of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof in Senate questioning – live

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      In a remarkable moment during his appearance before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday, the FBI director, Kash Patel, appeared not to recognize the name of the white supremacist murderer, Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black congregants at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.At the start of a series of questions on violent extremism coming from both sides of the partisan divide, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democratic congresswoman from Los Angeles, asked Patel to tell her if he disagreed with the characterization that several violent extremists were motivated by rightwing views.“So Dylann Roof, who followed white supremacist propaganda, murdered nine Black parishioners in Charleston in 2015. Do you deny this?” Kamlager-Dove asked Patel.“I’m sorry, Dylan Ruth?” Patel asked, puzzled.“Roof,” Kamlager-Dove corrected him.“Roof. Can you give me some more information?” Patel asked.“You’re head of the FBI, you probably know this,” Kamlager-Dove said. “If you don’t know, that’s fine.”“If you can give me a reminder, I’ve got a lot in front of me,” Patel said.“It was national news,” Kamlager-Dove said. She then moved on to ask if Patel disagreed with the statement that “Robert Bowers murdered 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh in 2018–”“I do remember that,” Patel interjected.“And it was the deadliest antisemitic attack. So do you admit that that happened?” Kamlager-Dove asked.“I’m not saying the other thing didn’t happen, I’m just asking for a little information,” Patel replied.After the hearing, the congresswoman shared video of the exchange on social media with the comment: “The Director of the FBI doesn’t know who Dylann Roof is? It’s incredibly shameful and concerning that Kash Patel doesn’t know about one of the most heinous hate crimes against Black Americans in the last decade.”Outside DC, and on the campaign trail, Kyle Sweetser, who is running as a Democratic candidate for US Senate in Alabama, delivered a speech this week where he accused Donald Trump of “tearing” down the economy.Sweetser, who voted for Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, noted that he once “believed” the president’s promises to “shake up Washington”.But now, the president’s widespread tariffs, Sweetser says, have pushed him across the aisle and into electoral politics.“His [Trump’s] favorite thing to do is raise OUR prices with HIS tariffs. Those tariffs have hurt businesses like mine and driven up prices on just about everything,” he said.Sweetser, who owns a construction company, spoke at last year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and has said the January 6 attack led him to become a “Republican voter against Trump.”At an event for rank-and-file Alabama Democrats in downtown Mobile, Sweetser said that instead of strengthening our economy, Trump has “made it harder for families and small businesses to get by.”“I’ve come to understand that Trump isn’t the answer – he never was. His policies are cruel, reckless, and defy logic,” he said. “ He sees himself above the law, and with the Republican Party groveling at his feet, bending over backwards to praise their so-called King, he can get away with anything – no matter the cost to the American people.”But Sweetser also called out a wing of the Democratic party rallying around progressive policies and candidates – like Zohran Mamdani, the NYC mayoral candidate surging ahead in the polls.“I’m a common sense, Southern Democrat – not a New York City socialist. I’m a hardworking American who owns more guns than shoes,” Sweetser said.Despite calling for Americans to treat the trans community with respect, Sweetser did note today that he doesn’t “think it’s fair for men to participate in women’s sports” and urged the party at large to “reevaluate” its “image and policies.”“We need to start talking about the most important issues. Not focusing on everyone’s pronouns,” he added.Sweetser is running to fill the Alabama Senate seat in 2026 — left open by Tommy Tuberville, the incumbent Republican running for governor. He faces a stiff challenge from the state’s attorney general and GOP front runner, Steve Marshall.In a remarkable moment during his appearance before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday, the FBI director, Kash Patel, appeared not to recognize the name of the white supremacist murderer, Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black congregants at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.At the start of a series of questions on violent extremism coming from both sides of the partisan divide, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democratic congresswoman from Los Angeles, asked Patel to tell her if he disagreed with the characterization that several violent extremists were motivated by rightwing views.“So Dylann Roof, who followed white supremacist propaganda, murdered nine Black parishioners in Charleston in 2015. Do you deny this?” Kamlager-Dove asked Patel.“I’m sorry, Dylan Ruth?” Patel asked, puzzled.“Roof,” Kamlager-Dove corrected him.“Roof. Can you give me some more information?” Patel asked.“You’re head of the FBI, you probably know this,” Kamlager-Dove said. “If you don’t know, that’s fine.”“If you can give me a reminder, I’ve got a lot in front of me,” Patel said.“It was national news,” Kamlager-Dove said. She then moved on to ask if Patel disagreed with the statement that “Robert Bowers murdered 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh in 2018–”“I do remember that,” Patel interjected.“And it was the deadliest antisemitic attack. So do you admit that that happened?” Kamlager-Dove asked.“I’m not saying the other thing didn’t happen, I’m just asking for a little information,” Patel replied.After the hearing, the congresswoman shared video of the exchange on social media with the comment: “The Director of the FBI doesn’t know who Dylann Roof is? It’s incredibly shameful and concerning that Kash Patel doesn’t know about one of the most heinous hate crimes against Black Americans in the last decade.”As our colleague Lucy Campbell reports on the UK live blog, Donald Trump has just completed his toast to King Charles at the state banquet in the UK.Trump’s remarks were laced with a heavy dollop of praise for his own leadership.“We are, as a country, as you know, doing unbelievably well,” Trump said, reading from printed remarks. “We had a very sick country, one year ago, and today I believe we are the hottest country anywhere in the world. In fact, nobody’s even questioning it.”This is a slight departure for Trump from a claim that he has made dozens of times this year, in a variety of settings. More usually, Trump claims that, during the presidency of Joe Biden, the United States was “a dead country”. What prompted his revised diagnosis of the state of the US under Biden is unclear.Trump also did not, as he usually does, attribute the appraisal that the US is now “the hottest country” in the world to the king of Saudi Arabia, as he has done since visiting Riyadh in May. (Trump did not actually meet the Saudi king, who is elderly and in poor health, on that trip, but that has not stopped him from repeatedly claiming since then that it was the king who told him the US was “dead” a year ago, and is now “the hottest”.)Trump also overlooked centuries of imperialism and unprovoked military aggression of the part of the UK and the US to claim: “Together, we’ve done more good for humanity than any two countries in all of history.”Also today, FBI director Kash Patel appeared before the House judiciary committee today. He answered questions from lawmakers about the department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.In several exchanges Patel sparred with Democratic representatives. When congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland – who also serves as the committee’s ranking member – asked why Patel had not released the full tranche of Epstein records, the FBI director said he was hamstrung by recent court orders preventing him from doing so. “I’m not going to break the law to satisfy your curiosity,” Patel said.Raskin also played clips of Patel on a podcast where he urged the Biden administration to “put on your big boy pants” and release Epstein’s so called “client list”. Patel had previously claimed that the FBI was in possession of the list.More broadly, Raskin denigrated Patel’s management of the FBI, including the firing of senior officials for, what they claim, are politically motivated reasons. “You share [J Edgar] Hoover’s dangerous obsession with blind loyalty over professionalism,” Raskin said. “For you, it’s blind loyalty to Donald Trump and keeping his secrets.”Later, California congressman Eric Swalwell, also a Democrat, went back and forth with Patel over whether he spoke to attorney general Pam Bondi about the president’s name appearing in the Epstein files. When Swalwell pushed Patel for answer, the FBI director snapped back with an unrelated diatribe: “Why don’t you try serving your constituency by focusing on reducing violent crime in this country, and the number of pedophiles that are illegally harbored in your sancturary cities in California.”After Swalwell attempted to discuss Patel’s history of listing several “political enemies” for investigation, the FBI director said: “I’m going to borrow your terminology and call bullshit on your entire career in Congress. It has been a disgrace to the American people.”A group of 95 members of Congress have written a letter to Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, condemning the arrest of protected immigrants known as Dreamers and demanding to know how many have been detained and deported in recent months.In a letter shared with the Guardian and submitted to Noem on Wednesday morning, Democratic representatives denounced the recent rise in the wrongful detention and deportation of immigrants residing in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program.The representatives’ letter is also addressed to Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the federal agency tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s mass deportation program.In the letter, co-written by House members Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Sylvia Garcia of Texas and backed up by the dozens of other signatories, the representatives condemned the “blatant disregard” of the protections afforded to people under Daca.The members of Congress also included various examples of the detention and even deportation in the second Trump administration of Daca recipients, who are known as Dreamers after the Dream Act, legislation first introduced in 2001 to protect a large group of undocumented people who had been brought to the US as children.As Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK continues, guests are due to start arriving for the state banquet shortly, with the dinner expected about 3.30pm EST/8.30pm BST, to top off a day off pomp, pageantry and parades in Windsor.Prime minister Keir Starmer will want to make the most of the face time with Trump, with the aim of this unprecedented visit to keep relations sweet with the administration, as opposed to securing any immediate big-ticket deals or international agreements.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to meet the president for the first time. And a number of American business leaders, who accompanied Trump on Air Force One yesterday, will also attend the dinner, as the UK government tries to court investment and boost growth. Among those expected are Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Open AI’s Sam Altman.Both King Charles and Donald Trump are expected to deliver short speeches at today’s banquet.You can follow the latest developments at our dedicated live blog below:Per my last post, classes at Utah Valley University have resumed today – one week after Charlie Kirk’s murder on campus.Following the shooting on 10 September, the university closed and students and faculty were sent home. There will be a vigil on campus in Kirk’s honor, scheduled for Friday 19 September.Republican congressman James Comer, who also serves as chair of the House oversight committee, has called the CEOs of the leading online forum and messaging companies – Discord, Twitch, Steam and Reddit – to a hearing on 8 October.“The hearing will examine the radicalization of online forum users, including instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts,” Comer said. This comes after the news that Tyler Robinson, the man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, used Discord to communicate that he had killed Kirk.Comer added that the leaders of these platforms must appear before lawmakers to explain “what actions they will take to ensure their platforms are not exploited for nefarious purpose”.At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, FBI director Kash Patel said that the department was investigating other members of the Discord group chat in which Robinson was providing updates.The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by a quarter point – the first time in nearly a year. Rates now stand between 4% and 4.25%, the lowest since November 2022. Fed chair Jerome Powell is due to host a press conference at around 2:30pm ET where our business blog will be bringing you all the details:Barack Obama addressed the recent killing of Charlie Kirk and told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday the country was “at an inflection point”, but that political violence “is not new” and “has happened at certain periods” in US history.Obama added that despite history, political violence was “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”.The former president made the remarks at the Jefferson Educational Society, a non-profit in Erie, Pennsylvania. He explicitly denounced political violence, addressing the fatal attacks this year of Kirk and the Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman. He called both incidents “a tragedy” and said that Donald Trump has further divided the country rather than work to bring people together.“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, the central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree and have sometimes really contentious debates without resorting to violence,” he said.For the full story, click here:With the hearing of fired CDC director Susan Monarez and fomer public health official Debra Houry now over, here’s a look at today’s key developments so far – both on Capitol Hill and beyond:

      Susan Monarez said that there had been “several explanations” about her removal from the top role at the CDC. “I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence, fire career officials without cause or resign,” she said, adding: I told the secretary that if he believed he could not trust me, he could fire me … I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity.”

      Asked by Senator Bernie Sanders why she refused to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without seeing them or the evidence behind them, the former CDC director explained that it wasn’t negotiable. “I refused to do it because I have built a career on scientific integrity, and my worst fear was that I would then be in a position of approving something that would reduce access of life-saving vaccines to children and others who need them,” she said.

      Both Monarez and Houry expressed their concerns about the decisions that the vaccine advisory committee meeting tomorrow will make. “I know that the medical community has raised concerns about whether or not, again, they have the commensurate backgrounds to be able to understand the data and the evidence and to evaluate it appropriately.” Meanwhile Houry said she had “significant concerns” as the public had not been able to weigh in.

      Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr did not express condolences for the police officer killed at the CDC shooting, Monarez said. David Rose was the police officer who was killed during the recent shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The perpetrator had blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.

      Houry also called for Kennedy’s resignation. Speaking at the hearing, she said: “After seeing his Senate finance testimony, and the number of misstatements, seeing what he has asked our scientists to do, and to compromise our integrity, and the children that have died under his watch, I think he should resign.”

      The Trump administration is using civil rights laws to wage a campaign against the University of California in an attempt to curtail academic freedom and undermine free speech, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday by faculty, staff, student organizations and every labor union representing UC workers. The lawsuit comes weeks after the Trump administration fined the University of California, Los Angeles $1.2bn and froze research funding after accusing the school of allowing antisemitism on campus and other civil rights violations.

      The Trump administration has aggressively rolled back efforts across the federal government to combat human trafficking, a Guardian investigation has found. The sweeping retreat threatens to negate decades of progress in the drive to prevent sexual slavery, forced labor and child sexual exploitation, according to legal experts, former government officials and anti-trafficking advocates.
      As he brought the hearing with fired CDC director Susan Monarez, and former public health official Debra Houry to a close, Republican chair Bill Cassidy spoke about his years as a practising physician, specializing in liver issues.He noted that in Thursday’s vaccine advisory panel meeting, ending the recommendation for the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is reportedly set for discussion.“Why should a child be vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease when they’re at birth? The child passes through the birth canal and is exposed to the same secretions of one would otherwise, and that passage through the birth canal makes that child vulnerable to the virus being transmitted,” Cassidy said. “If that child is infected at birth, more than 90% of them develop chronic, lifelong infection.”Cassidy summarized the impact of the vaccine on infection rates in the decades following the approval of a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. “Now, fewer than 20 babies per year get hepatitis B from their mother,” he added. “That is an accomplishment to make America healthy again, and we should stand up and salute the people that made that decision, because there’s people who would otherwise be dead if those mothers were not given that option to have their child vaccinated.”Dr Debra Houry just said that Robert F Kennedy Jr should resign.
      After seeing his Senate finance testimony, and the number of misstatements, seeing what he has asked our scientists to do, and to compromise our integrity, and the children that have died under his watch, I think he should resign.
      And another update on that front. Senator Cassidy has just said that Senator Mullin told reporters that “he was mistaken” in saying that the meeting between secretary Kennedy and Dr Monarez on 25 August was recorded.“But in case he’s mistaken, that he was mistaken,” Cassidy said, invoking laughter from those in the hearing room. “If there is a recording, it should be released, and would beg the question of what other conversations were recorded.”Per my earlier post, where senator Mullin made claims that Monarez was lying about her meeting with Kennedy – where she told him that if he felt she was untrustworthy he could fire her.Republican senator Bill Cassidy – the committee chair – has called out Mullin’s “implication” that he has a recording of that meeting.“I will note that if materials have been provided to Senator Mullin, and invoked in official committee business, they’re committee records and all other senators on the committee have the right to see those records,” he said. “This is allegiance to President Trump’s values, and so I ask that that recording be released.”He added:
      I’ll also note that we put in a request for any documents or communications that would bring transparency to the situation. We have not yet received those documents. If a recording does not exist, I asked Senator Mullin to retract his line of questions.
      When asked by Democratic senator Ed Markey, of Massachusetts, whether Dr Monarez and Dr Houry feel that politics is driving the change to vaccine recommendations, including hepatitis B vaccines, instead of science in children’s health, both former officials agree.“I’m thankful to Senator Cassidy for really raising hepatitis B via social media,” Houry said of the series of posts by the Republican chair of the committee, which sought to debunk misinformation around testing and the vaccine. “I think there’s a lot of moms that don’t know they have hepatitis that can then transmit it to their baby, and even the mom is hepatitis B negative, we don’t know what the home situation is.”Republican senator Markywane Mullin, of Oklahoma, is saying that Monarez is “not being honest” about her recollection of the conversation with secretary Kennedy.“I tell my kids all the time, you know one thing I want from you. I can deal with any situation we walk into, as long as I know you’re being 100% honest with me,” he said.Mullin has provided no evidence about how why he feels she is not telling the truth.“Your personality and your answers aren’t correct,” Mullin said in an exchange with the fired CDC director. More

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      RFK Jr and red flags: key moments from ousted CDC director’s testimony

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      Two former Centers for Disease Control (CDC) leaders testified at a fiery congressional hearing on Wednesday – taking aim at Robert F Kennedy Jr’s sweeping changes to the agency and the country’s public health system.Susan Monarez, the CDC director who was fired after less than a month, and Debra Houry, the chief medical officer who resigned after a decade at the agency, faced lawmakers on the Senate health, education, labor and pensions (Help) committee.The hearing, chaired by Republican senator Bill Cassidy, saw senators from both sides of the aisle question the impact of RFK Jr’s dismantling of vaccine standards. Here are the main takeaways.1. Monarez said she was fired for not complying with RFK Jr’s vaccine agendaMonarez said Kennedy demanded “blanket approval” of “each and every one of the recommendations” in the upcoming vaccine advisory panel meeting. Monarez claimed Kennedy said if she could not do that she would need to resign.“I did not resign, and that is when he told me he had already spoken to the White House about having me removed,” Monarez said.When Bernie Sanders asked Monarez why she refused to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without seeing them or the evidence behind them, she explained it was not negotiable.“I refused to do it because I have built a career on scientific integrity, and my worst fear was that I would then be in a position of approving something that would reduce access of life-saving vaccines to children and others who need them,” she said.2. Monarez and Houry raised flags about the impact of Kennedy’s vaccine agendaAn Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on Thursday loomed over the hearing. RFK Jr has replaced many members of the panel with other people who question the science of government recommended vaccines.“I know that the medical community has raised concerns about whether or not, again, they have the commensurate backgrounds to be able to understand the data and the evidence and to evaluate it appropriately,” Monarez said.Monarez also said there was a risk of vaccines being restricted without rigorous review. She continued: “The stakes are not theoretical. We already have seen the largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, which claimed the lives of two children. If vaccine protections are weakened, preventable diseases will return.”Meanwhile Houry said she had “significant concerns” about the ACIP meeting as the public had not been able to weigh in.The pair said the prospect of future pandemics is what keeps them up at night. Answering a question by Democratic senator John Hickenlooper, Monarez and Houry expressed concern over how the US might respond to future pandemics.“I don’t believe that we’ll be prepared,” Monarez said. Houry echoed similar sentiments, saying: “I’m concerned about the future of [the] CDC and public health in our country.”3. Monarez said RFK Jr had expressed disdain for CDC employees“He called, in that context, [the] CDC the ‘most corrupt federal agency in the world’,” Monarez said. “He said that CDC employees were killing children and they don’t care. He said CDC employees were bought by the pharmaceutical industry. He said the CDC forced people to wear masks and social distance like a dictatorship.”Monarez said the health secretary did not express condolences for David Rose, the police officer who was killed during the recent shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. The perpetrator had blamed the Covid vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.4. Monarez and Houry said politics is driving changes to vaccine recommendationsWhen asked about the public implications of health decisions made by political staff, Monarez expressed concern. She added: “These are important and highly technical discussions that have life-saving implications.”Similarly, Houry accused Kennedy of “politicizing” the CDC, saying that the secretary “censored CDC science, politicized its processes and stripped leaders of independence”.In response to a question about career scientists who have been excluded from the director’s office, Houry said that nearly everyone who left is political.“A level down we do have center directors, although 80% are now acting because they’ve been fired, resigned or retired,” Houry said.5. Monarez said that Kennedy deemed her untrustworthy for expressing her concernsMonarez laid out a timeline of events that resulted in her firing.In a meeting with Kennedy, Monarez claimed he was “very concerned” that she had spoken to members of the Help committee about what was being asked of her, with regard to approving vaccine recommendations and firing career officials.“He told me I was never to do it again,” Monarez said.When Republican senator Ashley Moody questioned whether Monarez’s decision to contact the committee chair was calculated, Senator Cassidy pushed back.“It is entirely appropriate for someone with oversight concerns to contact my office, or me, or, frankly, any of us,” he said. “Upon receiving outreach from Dr Monarez, I contacted both the secretary and the White House to inquire what was happening and to express concerns about what was alleged.” More

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      Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter point, for first time in nearly a year – as it happened

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      The Fed just announced an interest rate cut by a quarter point, which was largely anticipated amid a weakening labor market.This is the first time the Fed has cut rates since December 2024. Rates now stand at a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since November 2022.Stay tuned for a press conference Fed chair Jerome Powell is expected to give at 2.30pm ET.The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point today, a move that will reverberate across the economy in the coming months. Fed chair Jerome Powell spoke at a closely watched press conference about the Fed’s decision.Here’s a summary of what happened this afternoon:

      The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter point, the first cut since December 2024. Rates are now at a range of 4% to 4.25%.

      Fed economists also released projections, which point to a majority expecting at least one more rate cut by the end of the year.

      During his press conference, Powell said the rate cut was a move toward “risk management” instead of a testament to the strength of the economy. Economists at the Fed are concerned about a weakening labor market, which could see higher layoffs if worsened.

      But Fed officials are still concerned about inflation. Powell said that prices are likely to continue going up toward the end of the year as companies pass along the price of tariffs to consumers.

      A question remains: Will tariff-related inflation be a one-time price increase, or will it be persistent? Powell said economists at the Fed expect it to be more of a one-time price increase but that the Fed’s just is to make sure it’s not persistent.

      With pressure from the labor market and prices, Powell described it as an “unusual” situation for the Fed to manage. “Our tools can’t do two things at once,” he said.

      Powell also took questions about the recent appointment of Fed governor Stephen Miran, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday. Powell assured that the Fed’s independence is a priority to the entire committee that sets interest rates. And the Fed’s structure offers protection: For a single member to have outsized influence, they need to “make really strong arguments based on the data and one’s understanding of the economy… That’s in the DNA of the institution.”
      Powell responded to a question about comments new Fed governor Stephen Miran made at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate earlier this week.Miran said that the Fed actually has a “third mandate”, which is to “moderate long-term interest rates”.The introduction of a third mandate is in opposition to how Powell has framed the Fed’s “dual mandate” – balancing unemployment and price increases.“We always think of it as the dual mandate,” Powell said, explaining that moderate interest rates come from stable inflation.“As far as I’m concerned, there’s no thought of … incorporating that in a different way,” he said.Markets appear to be relatively unresponsiveness to the Fed’s highly anticipated rate cut. Both the S&P and Nasdaq are both slightly down for the day, while the Dow is up.It’s a stark contrast to last week, when markets shot up at data that showed wholesale prices falling slightly in August, and consumer inflation being within expectations for the month.The overall picture that Powell has painted of the economy in his press conference isn’t necessarily one that’s thriving. Powell said that the economy has left the Fed in an “unusual” situation, and said that the Fed’s rate cut is more about “risk management” rather than an testament to a strong economy. The recent rate cut could cause inflation to rise, but risks of the job market worsening under current rates are higher.“We’ve seen much more challenging economic times from a policy standpoint, the standpoint of what we’re trying to accomplish, it’s challenging to know what to do,” Powell said. “There are no risk-free paths now.”Powell was, again, questioned about Stephen Miran’s role as both a new Fed governor and Trump’s chair to the Council of Economic Advisor.A reporter asked Powell how the Fed can be nonpolitical if one of its voting members is explicitly connected to politics. Powell emphasized that there are 12 voting members and 19 total participants on the board.“The only way for any voter to really move things around is to be incredibly persuasive, and the only way to do that in the context in which we work is to make really strong arguments based on the data and one’s understanding of the economy,” Powell said. “That’s really all that matters. … That’s in the DNA of the institution, that’s not going to change.”A Politico reporter asked Powell how Americans will be able to tell if the Fed, which has historically been nonpartisan, starts to be partisan.“We don’t frame these questions at all or see them in terms of political outcomes. In another part of Washington, everything is seen through the lens of does it help or hurt this political party, this politicians,” Powell said. “That’s the framework. People find it hard to believe that’s not at all the way we think about things at the Fed. We take a longer perspective, we’re trying to serve the American people as best as we can.”“I think you would be able to tell. I don’t think we’ll ever get to that place.”When asked about Fed governor Lisa Cook’s lawsuit against Donald Trump for her firing (a court reinstated her last week), Powell said: “I see it as a court case that I would see as inappropriate for me to comment on.”Powell said that Fed officials are expecting inflation from tariffs to be a one-time price level increase, though “we can’t just assume that, [and] or job is to make sure that’s what happens.”“We continue to expect it to move up,” Powell said of prices. “Maybe not as high as we would have expected it to.”He added that the case for “persistent inflation” is weaker.Which is why the Fed cut rates, what he described as a “neutral” policy, given that inflation isn’t out of control, but the labor market has slowed down.But Powell acknowledged that it’s “an unusual situation” – the Fed would most likely want to be more careful with rate cuts because of inflation, but has to be wary of the labor market.“Our tools can’t do two things at once,” he said.Powell is again describing the labor market as being in a “curious balance” – a term that he first used in his Jackson Hole speech last month.The labor market is balanced out, meaning that the supply of workers is on par with the demand that employers have for workers, but it’s not necessarily a sign of strength.Because of immigration, “the supply of workers is coming down”, Powell noted. “At the same time, demand for workers has come down quite sharply to the point where we see what I’ve called a ‘curious balance’.”“Typically, when we say things are in balance that sounds good,” he added. “But in this case, the balance is because both demand and supply have come down sharply, now demand is coming down more sharply because we now see the unemployment rate going up.”A reporter asked Jerome Powell about Stephen Miran’s appointment, specifically on the fact that Miran is the first Fed governor to also have a role in the executive branch while also serving on the Fed board. Miran is the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors.“The committee remains united in pursuing our dual mandate goals,” Powell said in response. “We’re strongly committed to maintaining our independence and beyond that, I really don’t have anything to share.”Fed chair Jerome Powell just started his press conference on the Fed’s rate cut decision.As outlined in the board’s statement, Powell said that the unemployment rate, while still generally low, has edged up.“Job gains have slowed and the downside risks to unemployment have risen,” he said.Powell pointed to new immigration policy as a major factor in the labor market slowdown.“A good part of the slowing likely reflects a decline in the growth of the labor force, due to lower immigration and lower labor force participation,” Powell said. “Even so, labor demand has softened and the recent pace of job creation appears to be running below the breakeven rate needed to hold the unemployment rate constant.”The median projection for the unemployment rate, which is currently at 4.3%, sees it rising to 4.5% by the end of the year.Powells also said higher tariffs have begun to push up some prices in some categories of goods, though the full impact have yet to be seen. Price increases due to tariffs could be a one-time price increase or it could lead to “persistent” inflation.“Our obligation is to ensure that a one-time price increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem,” he said.Much of this is what Powell said during his speech last month at the Fed’s symposium in Jackson Hole, during which he first suggested that the Fed was looking toward an interest rate cut.In economic projections released after the Fed’s rate-cute decision, members of the Fed’s board submitted their economic predictions for the economy over the next few years.A slight majority of board members seem to expect another rate cut by the end of the year, while a majority see more rate cuts in 2026. Board members are predicting a slight increase in unemployment, though they seem to think that inflation will largely cool in 2026 and 2027.It’s a more dovish take on the economy than how the Fed is describing the current economy in its board statement, where the Fed said that the labor market has slowed and inflation is going up – a dynamic that points to an economic condition known as stagflation.Before Fed chair Jerome Powell can expand on the Fed’s decision in his 2.30pm ET press conference, right now we just have the Fed’s statement on its rate cut to parse through why officials voted for a cut.Notably, the Fed’s rate-setting board took note of the jobs market.“Job gains have slowed, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remains low,” it said. It also noted that “inflation has moved up and remains somewhat elevated”.This is a change from the board’s last meeting in July, when it said that labor market conditions “remain solid”. And this is the first time the board has said inflation is going up.The statement also noted that Stephen Miran, Trump’s appointee to the board who was confirmed on Monday, was the only member of the board to vote against the rate cut. Miran wanted to lower rates by a half-point, instead of a quarter-point.The Fed just announced an interest rate cut by a quarter point, which was largely anticipated amid a weakening labor market.This is the first time the Fed has cut rates since December 2024. Rates now stand at a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since November 2022.Stay tuned for a press conference Fed chair Jerome Powell is expected to give at 2.30pm ET.Inflation rose slightly in August as companies continued to push the cost of tariffs on to consumers.The newest update to the consumer price index (CPI), which measures a basket of goods and services, showed that prices increased 2.9% over the last year – the highest since January. Core CPI, which excludes energy and food costs, stayed stable at 3.1% after going up in July.Despite this slight uptick in inflation, Wall Street remains optimistic that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at the central bank’s board meeting next week. The Fed is under intense pressure from Donald Trump to cut rates, but the decision looks likely to be led by fears that the US jobs market is weakening.Investors are anticipating a quarter-point rate cut. Rates currently stand at a range of 4.25% to 5.5%.The Fed chair Jerome Powell indicated last month that the central bank was gearing up to cut interest rates for the first time this year.For months, policymakers defied public calls from Trump to lower rates – and brushed off his increasingly aggressive criticism of the Fed’s decision to hold them steady.“With policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance,” Powell said in a closely scrutinized speech at the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming, highlighting a “challenging” dichotomy of risks: that Trump’s tariffs might increase inflation, while his immigration policies knock the US labor market.Concerning economic signs, including data indicating that the labor market has stalled while inflation picked up, have reinforced expectations that many policymakers will want to tread carefully in the months ahead.Trump has already suggested that he will be unhappy with the modest cut the Fed is widely expected to unveil later. Powell “MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND”, the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform early on Monday, claiming: “HOUSING WILL SOAR!!!”The Trump administration’s extraordinary bid to fire Lisa Cook, a Fed governor appointed by Biden, and remove her from the central bank’s board before this meeting, has so far failed.Late on Monday, a federal appeals court rejected Trump’s request to block Cook from attending the Fed’s latest rate-setting session, which started yesterday.The president cited unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud as he attempted to fire Cook, who has denied wrongdoing and argued Trump has no authority to fire her. Her term is not due to expire until 2038.No president has pursued such action – and moved to dismiss a governor at the Fed, which has long been independent from political interference – since the central bank’s founding in 1913.Trump has made no secret of his hopes to increase his oversight of the Fed, calling into question the future of its longstanding independence from political oversight by publicly describing plans to swiftly build “a majority” on its board.The Trump administration raced to strengthen its influence over the Fed ahead of this week’s meeting.Stephen Miran, a senior official who served as chair of the White House council of economic advisers, was confirmed by Senate Republicans as a Fed governor on Monday evening, and formally sworn in on Tuesday.His appointment marks the first time in the history of the modern Federal Reserve, which stretches back almost a century, that a sitting member of the executive branch will also work at the highest levels of the central bank.While Miran described the Fed’s independence as “critical” during a confirmation hearing earlier this month, and pledged to preserve it as governor, his decision to only take unpaid leave from his current job at the White House, rather than resign, raised questions over his ability to operate independently.The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce the first interest rate cut since December as a two-day policy meeting nears its end.The Fed started the meeting on Tuesday, hours after Donald Trump’s new appointee narrowly won confirmation to join the central bank – while Fed governor Lisa Cook continues to fight her removal by the president.Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, took the oath of office as a Fed governor early on Tuesday after narrowly winning a Senate confirmation vote along party lines on Monday night.There is little doubt that the Fed will make its first interest rate cut of 2025 after the latest gathering, as policymakers pivot towards shoring up a deteriorating jobs market.But concerns about political influence targeting the independent central bank looms over the gathering, as Trump repeatedly bashes Fed Chair Jerome Powell over his rate decisions, and after he moved to fire governor Lisa Cook, sparking a legal battle.On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the Fed should “listen to smart people like me”. 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