AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - August inflation data strengthens the case for another Fed rate hike
Consumer prices climbed again in August, with inflation running well above the Federal Reserve's target for more than five years, and now traders see a 90 percent chance the central bank raises interest rates at its meeting next week. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent from July and 3.4 percent on an annual basis, […] The post August inflation data strengthens the case for another Fed rate hike appeared first on American Almanac .
Consumer prices climbed again in August, with inflation running well above the Federal Reserve's target for more than five years, and now traders see a 90 percent chance the central bank raises interest rates at its meeting next week. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent from July and 3.4 percent on an annual basis, the August report showed . Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, came in at 0.3 percent for the month and 2.4 percent year-over-year. A narrower measure the Fed watches closely, services prices excluding energy and housing, sometimes called "supercore" inflation, accelerated to 0.5 percent in August, running at a 3 percent annual clip. Energy costs drove much of the headline number. Gasoline…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - August inflation report strengthens the case for a Fed rate hike next week
Consumer prices rose at a 3.4 percent annual pace in August, well above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target, and with real wages falling for a fifth straight month, American workers are losing ground. The August Consumer Price Index data, released Friday, showed prices climbed 0.4 percent from July alone. Core inflation, which strips out […] The post August inflation report strengthens the case for a Fed rate hike next week appeared first on American Almanac .
Consumer prices rose at a 3.4 percent annual pace in August, well above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target, and with real wages falling for a fifth straight month, American workers are losing ground. The August Consumer Price Index data, released Friday , showed prices climbed 0.4 percent from July alone. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3 percent on the month and 2.4 percent year over year. The so-called "supercore" measure, services minus energy and housing, a gauge the Fed watches closely, accelerated to 0.5 percent in August, running at a 3 percent annual clip. The numbers land days before the Fed's policy-setting committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday. Federal-funds futures markets now price…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - America's $40 trillion debt tab lands on every taxpayer's doorstep
The national debt has blown past $40 trillion for the first time, and the interest alone now costs taxpayers more than $1 trillion a year, a bill that budget experts warn will crowd out defense, drive up borrowing costs, and drag down wages for a generation. The milestone arrived in August, just five months after […] The post America's $40 trillion debt tab lands on every taxpayer's doorstep appeared first on American Almanac .
The national debt has blown past $40 trillion for the first time, and the interest alone now costs taxpayers more than $1 trillion a year, a bill that budget experts warn will crowd out defense, drive up borrowing costs, and drag down wages for a generation. The milestone arrived in August, just five months after the debt crossed $39 trillion in March. Five months before that, it had hit $38 trillion. Each trillion-dollar jump is coming faster than the last, a pace that AP News reported has left the United States ranked dead last in fiscal health among developed countries, according to OECD data. That $40.047 trillion figure is not an abstraction. It works out to roughly $120,000 for every American taxpayer and nearly $300,000 per…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Alex Gibney's nearly four-hour Musk documentary leans on scorned exes and debunked conspiracy theories
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney has built a nearly four-hour documentary around the premise that Elon Musk is a fraud, relying heavily on disgruntled former partners and a Starlink election-rigging theory that officials already debunked. The film, titled Musk, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday and is scheduled to open in theaters October 16. […] The post Alex Gibney's nearly four-hour Musk documentary leans on scorned exes and debunked conspiracy theories appeared first on American Almanac .
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney has built a nearly four-hour documentary around the premise that Elon Musk is a fraud, relying heavily on disgruntled former partners and a Starlink election-rigging theory that officials already debunked. The film, titled Musk, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday and is scheduled to open in theaters October 16. It runs three hours and forty-five minutes, including a ten-minute intermission, a runtime that suggests Gibney needed every spare minute to stitch together a case that keeps circling back to claims the public record has already addressed. Gibney, who previously directed documentaries on Enron and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, began the project in 2023 and expanded its scope…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Six Nigerian nationals extradited to U.S. after allegedly swindling American women out of $6 million in romance scams
Six men tied to the Black Axe criminal network landed in U.S. custody Friday after spending five years in a South African jail, accused of running online romance scams that drained more than $6 million from over 100 American women. South African police handed the six Nigerian nationals over to FBI and U.S. Secret Service […] The post Six Nigerian nationals extradited to U.S. after allegedly swindling American women out of $6 million in romance scams appeared first on American Almanac .
Six men tied to the Black Axe criminal network landed in U.S. custody Friday after spending five years in a South African jail, accused of running online romance scams that drained more than $6 million from over 100 American women. South African police handed the six Nigerian nationals over to FBI and U.S. Secret Service agents at Cape Town International Airport on September 11, 2026, closing out a lengthy extradition process that began with their arrest in Cape Town in 2021. The men face wire fraud and money laundering charges in the United States, where federal authorities will now prosecute the case. South African police spokesperson Katlego Mogale told CBS News : "Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Two American women face up to 10 years in Japanese prison after alleged $1 million cannabis smuggling scheme
Tokyo police arrested two 25-year-old American women at Haneda Airport after they allegedly flew from New York with 66 pounds of cannabis hidden in their suitcases, and one suspect says she took the job for a free trip to Japan. Cartron Jamere Bourbon Castillo and Jocelyn Dizon Natividad Patrin arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on […] The post Two American women face up to 10 years in Japanese prison after alleged $1 million cannabis smuggling scheme appeared first on American Almanac .
Tokyo police arrested two 25-year-old American women at Haneda Airport after they allegedly flew from New York with 66 pounds of cannabis hidden in their suitcases, and one suspect says she took the job for a free trip to Japan. Cartron Jamere Bourbon Castillo and Jocelyn Dizon Natividad Patrin arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on September 5 carrying two suitcases that police say contained roughly 30 kilograms of dried cannabis divided among more than a dozen packages, the New York Post reported . The seized substance carried an estimated street value of 150 million yen, approximately $970,000. A Tokyo police spokesman told AFP that "cannabis-like dried plants were secretly stored" in the luggage and that the women "conspired with…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Former CIA officer found with $40 million in gold bars moves toward plea deal
A former CIA officer who allegedly fabricated his military record and academic credentials, and who was found with 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash, and dozens of luxury watches at his Virginia home, is negotiating a plea deal that could spare the government a trial tangled in classified material. David J. Rush, a onetime […] The post Former CIA officer found with $40 million in gold bars moves toward plea deal appeared first on American Almanac .
A former CIA officer who allegedly fabricated his military record and academic credentials, and who was found with 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash, and dozens of luxury watches at his Virginia home, is negotiating a plea deal that could spare the government a trial tangled in classified material. David J. Rush, a onetime official in the CIA's science and technology division, and federal prosecutors filed a joint motion Friday in federal district court in Virginia asking a judge to extend the indictment deadline to Oct. 8. The filing stated that both sides had reached "a plea agreement in principle" and were working to finalize terms before the case reached a grand jury. CBS News reported that the court document did not specify what…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Nashville airport board votes unanimously to begin renaming process after Dolly Parton
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board voted 6-0 to start renaming Nashville International Airport after Dolly Parton, a move backed by both the governor and the mayor just weeks after the singer's death. Six commissioners cast their votes on September 11, clearing the first official hurdle in what could make Nashville's airport one of a […] The post Nashville airport board votes unanimously to begin renaming process after Dolly Parton appeared first on American Almanac .
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board voted 6-0 to start renaming Nashville International Airport after Dolly Parton, a move backed by both the governor and the mayor just weeks after the singer's death. Six commissioners cast their votes on September 11, clearing the first official hurdle in what could make Nashville's airport one of a handful in the country named for a cultural icon. The unanimous decision came less than three weeks after Parton died on August 25 at age 80, following a short battle with cancer, CBS News reported . No final name has been chosen. The board approved the renaming in principle and modified its existing naming policy to allow the process to move forward, but the specific title the airport will…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Federal jury acquits rapper Lil Durk in Los Angeles murder-for-hire case, but a second trial looms
A Los Angeles federal jury cleared Grammy-winning Chicago rapper Lil Durk of all charges in an alleged murder-for-hire plot, but federal prosecutors say they will get another chance when his racketeering trial begins in October. Durk Devontay Banks, the 32-year-old rapper known as Lil Durk, walked away from every count against him Friday after three […] The post Federal jury acquits rapper Lil Durk in Los Angeles murder-for-hire case, but a second trial looms appeared first on American Almanac .
A Los Angeles federal jury cleared Grammy-winning Chicago rapper Lil Durk of all charges in an alleged murder-for-hire plot, but federal prosecutors say they will get another chance when his racketeering trial begins in October. Durk Devontay Banks, the 32-year-old rapper known as Lil Durk, walked away from every count against him Friday after three days of jury deliberation, CBS News reported . The charges, conspiracy, stalking resulting in death, and murder for hire, carried a potential life sentence. The jury rejected all of them. The verdict did not end the case entirely. Two co-defendants, Deandre "OTF Dede" Wilson and David "Browneyez" Lindsey, were convicted on stalking-related charges, including conspiracy to commit stalking,…Open