Fed hikes rates by 0.75%: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points, or 0.75%, and pledged to enact additional rate hikes in its efforts to tackle inflation. In a press statement, the central bank said that its policymaking Federal Open Market Committee “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2% over time.” However, the Fed also noted that it “would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals.”
CVS and Walgreens in opioid crisis settlement: CVS Health and Walgreens have agreed to a settlement of more than $10 billion to resolve opioid crisis lawsuits brought by state, municipal and tribal governments. According to a Wall Street Journal report, CVS would pay $4.9 billion to states and municipalities and $130 million to tribes over the next 10 years starting in 2023, while Walgreens would pay up to $4.79 billion to states and municipalities over 15 years and about $155 million to tribes. Both companies said the settlement should not be seen as admission of wrongdoing. The state and local governments and the tribal governments must decide whether to participate in the settlement.
Poll finds inflation is greatest concern among voters: With Election Day less than a week away, a new Quinnipiac University poll finds that inflation is the main issue on the minds of American voters. The poll found 36% of respondents citing inflation as the most urgent issue facing the country today, up nine percentage points since late August, while abortion ranked as the second most urgent issue at 10%. No other issue reached double digits in the polls. The poll also found 54% of Americans stating the price of gas and consumer goods was the economic issue that worries them the most right now, while 25% said the cost of housing or rent was their chief concern.
Thousands stuck in Shanghai Disneyland during Covid lockdown: While Americans have mostly put Covid-19 behind them, the Chinese government is still enacting lockdowns wherever it finds positive cases. The latest place in China to have a lockdown is Shanghai Disneyland, which went into an abrupt lockdown on Tuesday after it was determined that a woman who visited the park in recent days tested positive for Covid. Thousands of visitors have been trapped inside the theme park and have been told they cannot leave unless they can show a negative Covid test result. No visitors are being allowed inside the park and no date was posted on when it would reopen.
Report finds hundreds of U.K. police officers have criminal histories: Police departments in the U.K. have a crime problem ”“ not on the streets, but within their ranks. A new report has found hundreds of current police officers were hired despite having criminal records ”“ including involvement in gangs, arrests for violent crimes and membership in neo-Nazi groups. Matt Parr, Inspector of Constabulary, told BBC Radio 4 that police leaders need to “take more interest in recruiting the right people and they’ve got to take more interest in driving out misconduct, because if they don’t these problems are going to keep coming back, and they can’t.”
Barkley and O”™Neal criticize NBA handling of Kyrie Irving: Two basketball legends have criticized the NBA for its handling of Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets player who voiced his support on social media of a film that championed anti-Semitic tropes. In an appearance on TNT”™s “Inside the NBA,” Charles Barkley said the NBA and its commissioner, Adam Silver, “dropped the ball” by not suspending Irving, noting that the league would not tolerate players who made racist or homophobic statements. Barkley also referred to Irving as an “idiot,” and Shaquille O”™Neal also called Irving an “idiot” during the same program, adding that “it hurts me sometimes when we have to sit up here to talk about stuff that divides the game.”
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