U.S. and world news for August 1

Prisoner swap: Three people held in prison by Russia are back in U.S. hands today as a result of a complex prisoner swap. The swap involves two dozen prisoners and involves Germany and three other countries besides the U.S. and Russia. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and radio commentator Alsu Kurmasheva were among the prisoners being held by Russia who were involved in the swap.

Seating: The Department of Transportation is proposing a new rule that would block airlines from charging more when parents want their children to sit with them on a flight. The rule would prevent the imposition of a fee when a parent wants a child 13 or under to sit next to them or a designated adult. If there aren’t adjacent seats available within 48 hours of the booking taking place the airline would have to offer the parents the option to rebook later without a rebooking fee or go ahead and fly without sitting next to the child.  

911: The U.S. has reached a plea deal with the man who organized the 911 attacks and two others. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa al Hawsawi will plead guilty to all charges in the murders of 2,976 people. They will spend the rest of their lives in prison. The government took the death penalty off the table during negotiations that lasted 27 months.

Trump: At the convention of the National Association of Black Journalists taking place in Chicago Donald Trump said he was the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. Trump also said that he would pardon the people convicted of attacking and injuring Capitol police during the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Trump also alleged that Vice President Harris misled voters about her race, falsely claiming that she had identified herself as being Indian and turned Black a few years ago.

Interest rates: The Bank of England has cut its interest rates for the first time in four years. It today trimmed the rate by one-quarter of a point from 5.25% to 5%. The move came after the U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday again decided to hold interest rates steady. However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in a news conference yesterday afternoon hinted that the Fed might begin making interest rate cuts when it meets next month.

Unemployment: The Labor Department this morning reported unemployment figures indicating a further slowing in the economy. In the week ending July 27, there were 249,000 new claims filed for unemployment insurance, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 235,000. The unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending July 20, unchanged from the previous week. The number of insured unemployed for the week ending July 20 was 1,877,000, the highest level for insured unemployment since November 27, 2021.