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The United States refuses to charge Merrick Garland with contempt of Congress

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image source, Good pictures

  • author, Max Matza
  • stock, BBC News

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has declined to bring charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt of Congress, after the House of Representatives narrowly voted to impeach him for refusing to hand over audio tapes of the trial of President Joe Biden.

The Republican-controlled House voted 216-207 on Wednesday to file criminal charges against America’s top law enforcement official, the DoJ, the department Mr. Garland oversees.

The move stems from Mr Garland’s refusal to allow Republican lawmakers to record taped interviews from a Justice Department investigation into Mr Biden’s handling of classified documents.

In a letter to House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday, a top DoJ official said the department had found Mr Garland’s actions “did not constitute a crime”. Mr Johnson called the move “sadly predictable”.

Carlos Felipe Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, said it was the department’s “long-standing position” not to press charges in cases where the president uses his executive powers to decide to withhold material requested.

Executive privilege is a legal doctrine that gives presidents the right to withhold executive branch information from the other two branches of the US government.

“Accordingly the Department will not bring the contempt of Congress citation before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the Attorney General,” Mr Uriarte wrote.

The speaker said he would go to federal court to demand that the audio be handed over to the attorney general.

Mr Johnson called the DoJ decision “another example of the two-tier justice system brought to us by the Biden administration”.

He cited the case of two former Trump aides, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro. They were found in contempt of Congress, criminally prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms.

Last month, Mr. Biden obtained executive privilege to block congressional Republicans from accessing tapes of his interviews with special counsel Robert Huron, who was investigating his retention of classified documents after serving as vice president.

Mr Biden saw the documents as soon as they were discovered. A DoJ special counsel who interviewed the Democratic president said that even if he retained the files, he should not be charged because jurors would consider him a “well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”

The White House said there was no legitimate need for Republicans to access the five hours of audio because a transcript had already been released. They argued that Republicans wanted to use the audio for campaign attack ads against Biden as he takes office for a second term this November.

As the oldest US president, opponents see Mr Biden’s age, 81, as a major political vulnerability. Republican candidate Donald Trump turned 78.

After leaving office, Trump faces a federal lawsuit on charges he withheld documents that should have been turned over to government archivists.

After being ordered to produce confidential notes, he allegedly attempted to obstruct justice by concealing them.

Two attorneys general have been held in contempt of Congress in recent years.

In both cases, Democrat Eric Holder and Republican Bill Barr received similar letters from the DoJ saying prosecutors would decline to press charges.

Scotty Scheffler is in danger of missing the US Open cut

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PINEHURST, NC — The solid and formal US Open course crowns champions, yes, but it also has a way of bringing down giants. After all, Arnold Palmer missed the cut eight times. Jack Nicklaus nine times. and Tiger Woods with four.

So never mind that Scottie Scheffler entered this year’s tournament as the heavy favorite and was the kind of heater the game hadn’t seen since Woods’ peak; Nothing is a given at the US Open. The world’s top-ranked golfer was reduced to the world’s most frustrated at Pinehurst No. 2 on Friday morning.

He wasted chances, struggled with his putter and got lost at times. The most unfit player on the planet at one point flipped his putter in the air in frustration, turning his back as it slid down the 15th green.

With two bogeys and a double bogey, Scheffler posted a 74 in Friday’s second round, leaving him at 5 over through 36 holes and, shockingly, in danger of missing the cut. He will have to watch the course later in the afternoon to see if his score is good enough for tee time on a Saturday. It’s an unfamiliar position for Scheffler, who hasn’t missed the cut since August 2022 and finished outside the top 10 once in his last 16 starts.

“I didn’t think 5 over was going to get me into the weekend. But I’m proud of how I fought today,” Scheffler said. “I gave myself a good chance. I actually felt like I did a great job yesterday. I couldn’t get the puddings down today. This golf course can be unpredictable at times and it probably got the best of me the last couple of days. I’ll sit and think about where we’ve been going for the past few days and figure it out.

He shot a 90 in the clubhouse after playing a lot of golf on a scorching Friday afternoon when the temperature was expected to top 90 degrees. The top 60 players (plus dice) after 36 rounds make the cut at the US Open. DataGolf, an analytics site, calculated that 4 over par was the most favored cut line when Scheffler left the course, however, according to the site, the odds later changed to more than 5.

Thursday’s opening round saw a pair of scintillating 65s – Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay – certainly played hard on Friday morning. Hideki Matsuyama returned in the morning round, posting a 66 that put him at 2 under for the tournament, while 31-year-old Belgian Thomas Dedry shot a 67 that put him at 4 under for the tournament lead. Bryson DeChambeau shot a 69 that tied him for 4th, good enough to put him among the leaders heading into Saturday.

Meanwhile, McIlroy shot a 72 to fall to 3 under for the tournament. Looking for his first major championship since 2014, when he won both the British Open and the PGA Championship, he is poised to enter the weekend near the top of the leaderboard.

McIlroy and others hit the clubhouse from the morning tide, curious how the conditions and rising temperatures would treat some of the afternoon players, including Cantlay, who was looking for his first major title; Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg, who shot a 66 on Thursday, and France’s Mathieu Pavon, who opened the tournament with a 67

Scheffler had an early tee time Friday, starting with McIlroy and Xander Schauffele on the back nine, looking for a hot start after Thursday’s 71 to put him in the weekend hunt. But he missed a few birdie putts early and got frustrated before the return.

“I hit it really well. I couldn’t get a putt to fall early,” he said.

A poor chip on No. 15 sent the pin past the edge of the green. Scheffler missed a 17-foot par putt and uncharacteristically flipped his putter into the air, turning his back to the green in disgust.

The greens were particularly fast on Friday morning and every hole felt like a new adventure. On the tee box at the par-3 17th, Scheffler’s ball was still in the air and he muttered to himself, “Maybe the worst golf shot I’ve ever seen.” His ball landed to the left of a bunker and he had to chip onto the sand. But he missed a 12-foot par putt, carding a second bogey that left him at 3 over — his worst score in any round this year.

He never made a birdie that day, the first time he failed to do so in a major round. On the 18th tee box, the 27-year-old Texan slammed his driver’s head into the ground and threw his tee in frustration. He drove the club up the fairway, appearing to choke at times.

Then on the par-5 fifth hole, Scheffler’s round went from bad to nightmares. His chip from the sand and wiregrass to the left of the green failed to clear a hill and rolled right under his feet. His next chip flew 54 feet from the pin and the green. Another chip stopped at 15 feet, and after two putts, Scheffler had a double bogey that featured an area he wasn’t used to, skirting the tee line.

“You have to hit good shots around this place. “The golf course is challenging,” he said. “I think it’s fun to play personally, but yeah, it’s definitely a grind.”

Scheffler hasn’t missed a major since the 2022 PGA Championship. He has finished in the top-5 at the past two US Opens and finished eighth at last month’s PGA Championship after winning his second Masters in April.

FAA Investigates Boeing 737 Max ‘Dutch Roll’ Incident

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A federal investigation is underway into how a Southwest Airlines passenger jet suffered significant damage after experiencing a rare phenomenon known as a Dutch roll at nearly 38,000 feet.

Flight N8825Q, a Boeing 737 Max carrying 175 passengers and six crew, was en route from Phoenix to Oakland on May 25 when its tail began to sway left and right, while the plane’s wings swayed sideways.

The Dutch roll is the name given to this dangerous sideways asymmetric movement, which is said to have been inspired by the movements of ice skaters.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Thursday Boeing is working with the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of the error.

Boeing declined to comment.

A Initial report The FAA said the plane “experienced a Dutch roll, regained control, and post-flight inspection revealed damage to the standby PCU,” referring to the power-control unit.

The plane landed safely in Oakland and there were no injuries.

Federal Aviation Regulations condition A dutch roll below the permitted speed “must be positively damped without restraints and must be controllable by normal use of the primary controls without requiring exceptional pilot skill.”

In most cases an aircraft’s yaw dampener must correct for lateral movement.

Boeing has been the subject of several investigations — including by the Department of Justice — after an explosion on board a 737 Max 9 in January. The explosion prompted investigators to open investigations into other Boeing planes, including the 787 Dreamliner, after receiving evidence from whistleblowers.

Company He says It has invested heavily in security practices, including using machine learning algorithms to detect potential faults.

Tesla shareholders approve CEO Elon Musk’s $45bn pay package Business

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Tesla shareholders approve A $45bn (£35.3bn) pay deal for CEO Elon Musk follows a hotly contested referendum on his leadership.

The decision, announced on Thursday, comes as the billionaire tycoon fights to retain the largest compensation package ever awarded to an executive at a US-listed company.

“Oh, I want to start by saying I love you!” A jubilant Musk said as he appeared on stage following the vote.

After a Delaware judge overturned Musk’s payment – then worth around $56bn (£43.9) – in January, Tesla’s board reached that dollar figure through an illegal operation on the grounds that it could not be considered independent of Musk’s influence.

The result was a victory for Musk and Tesla’s board after campaigning hard to get shareholders to approve the deal. That would serve as a rebuttal to the judge’s ruling that overturned the award — making it easier for Tesla’s board to argue that shareholders were properly informed about the pay package and board members’ ties to Musk before voting.

Tesla’s board warned that Musk could walk away from the company if the package isn’t approved, while Musk said Wednesday evening that he had broad investor support.

Major shareholders such as Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System announced they would vote against the payout ahead of the vote, while proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services also opposed the award.

The vote doesn’t automatically mean Musk will receive the money, however, and further controversy is likely. There are still many legal arguments about whether the board can be considered independent, and whether the package can be considered fair after a judge rules otherwise.

New lawsuits could arise over the referendum, bringing the case back before a judge and raising the prospect of a protracted legal battle. Shareholders also approved a move to move Tesla’s legal home from Delaware to Texas, further complicating any challenges.

Tesla first laid out Musk’s pay package in 2017, setting conditions for the CEO to earn 12 different stock options depending on whether the company hits certain revenue and market targets. Shareholders broadly approved the package in 2018, but an investor filed a lawsuit claiming the board was misleading and the package unfair.

Judge Kathleen McCormick, who oversees Delaware’s court, ruled that Tesla’s team conducted a “deeply flawed” process to determine Musk’s fee. McCormick found the team fraught with personal conflicts and stacked with Musk’s closest allies, such as his former divorce lawyer.

Tesla’s board, which could appeal McCormick’s ruling, sought to correct his decision through a shareholder vote. Despite McCormick’s criticism of the pay package, the board presented the same deal that the judge rejected — now worth less cash because of Tesla’s falling stock price.

US Open Round 1 Live Updates, Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Struggles as Patrick Cantlay Takes Early Lead

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124th US Open No. 2 at Pinehurst, North Carolina.

From the jump, the field chases No. 1 Scotty Scheffler — a heater he hasn’t seen since Tiger Woods’ heyday. Scheffler will go out in the afternoon wave (1:24 pm ET to be exact) along with Rory McIlroy and Sander Schaffel.

So far, many golfers have not been up to par.

Brooks Koepka, a two-time winner of the event, looked to make an early run in third. After briefly holding a share of the lead, Koepka made three bogeys to return to even par for the day.

Instead, Patrick Cantley took the lead on the opening wave. He birdied three of his final five holes of the day to card a 5-under 65. This gave him a brief two-shot lead over the field entering the clubhouse. Ludwig Aberg shot a 4-under 66 in his first US Open round.

Woods, on the other hand, struggled. After a birdie to open his day, he made five birdies in seven holes around the turn before finishing with a 4-over 74. He’ll need a big outing on Friday to make the cut, something he failed to do last month. At the PGA Championship.

If you’re looking for tee times, we’ve got them right here.

If you’re looking for a how-to, we’ve got that covered, too.

If you want to see the leaderboard, Click here.

If you’d like some help with the action, follow along below:

live41 updates

  • Scheffler Birds

    It took seven holes, but Scotty Scheffler is finally looking like Scotty Scheffler. He made his first birdie of the day to get back to 1-over. He drained a curling 12-footer for birdie at 7.

    Also, can we talk about his whitewalls…

    (Photo: Sean M. Hafey/Getty Images)(Photo: Sean M. Hafey/Getty Images)

    (Photo: Sean M. Hafey/Getty Images)

  • Another bogey for Scheffler

    Scheffler missed the 62-foot putt by 18 feet! That led to a bogey, dropping the world No. 1 to six at 2-over. It was probably his worst round in a year…

  • Schauffele’s back-to-back bogeys

    Xander Schauffele struggles early at Pinehurst. He missed a fairly straightforward par putt on the 5th for his second straight bogey. He is now 2 over early

  • Rory does it again

    Back-to-back birdies from Rory McIlroy after an easy chip-in at No. 5! He’s now 2-under, three shots back from Patrick Cantlay.

  • Rory McIlroy is even

    After three straight pars, Rory McIlroy is finally in the red.

  • Patrick Cantlay after his opening round

    More after Patrick Cantlay’s opening-round 65:

  • Scheffler left early

    We’re so used to seeing Scotty Scheffler perfect. But… that’s what we’ve been seeing through four holes so far. He missed fairways left and right and had to struggle a bit to make par.

    At the third, he putt his tee shot into a left-side bunker, then found a green bunker and had a long putt for par. It’s a trend for the world no.

  • Xander is available in red numbers

    Xander Schauffele has an early lead in the battle of the big dogs. He was the second birdie at 1-under. Scheffler and McIlroy are still tied.

  • A special committee is underway

    Three of the world’s top-ranked players have been paired together. Cell shape.

    Anyway, Scottie Scheffler (1), Xander Schauffele (2) and Rory McIlroy are out and running. The first three card bars.

  • Reset the leaderboard

    After the initial wave is (mostly) over, see where things stand at Pinehurst.

    Leaderboard update

    1. Patrick Cantlay -5

    2. Ludwig Aberg -4

    3. Matthew Pavon -3

    4. Tony Finau -2

    T5. SH Kim-1

    T5. Sergio Garcia -1

    T5. Corey Conners -1

    T5. (12 people)

    Other notable results

    T19. Brooks Koepka E

    D 19 Colin Morikawa E

    T71. Tiger Woods +4

    T87. Justin Thomas +7

    T97. Phil Mickelson +9

    More to come

    • Rory McIlroy

    • Scotty Scheffler

    • Xander Schauffele

    • Bryson DeChambeau

    • Jordan Spieth

  • Ludwig Åberg finished second in solo

    Ludwig Aberg crushes his first round at the US Open. He is now tied for second at 4-under, one shot back of Patrick Cantlay.

  • Patrick Cantley takes a two-shot lead

    What a conclusion from Patrick Cantlay. He made three birdies in his final five holes to open the US Open with a 5-under 65. He needed just 23 putts today, his fewest in a major, and his 65 was the lowest opening round score at the US Open at Pinehurst outside of Martin Gamer.

    As he enters the clubhouse, Contlé holds a two-shot lead over Finau, Aberg and Pavon.

  • Tiger Woods’ 4-over 74

    A closer look at Tiger Woods’ opening round at Pinehurst:

  • Morikawa rally to go to E

    What a perfect decision for Colin Morikawa. He carded back-to-back birdies to finish with an even-par 70, thanks to a big putt on the 18th. He now sits at T15.

  • Tiger Woods finished at 4-over

    Tiger Woods’ day is over. He posted a 4-over 74 to start the US Open, but fired several big par saves to limit the damage.

    Still, Woods is nine shots behind the leaders entering the clubhouse. He’ll need a good outing tomorrow if he’s going to make the cut.

    Click the photo to read more about Woods’ start from Jay Busbee at Pinehurst:

    Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods' opening round at the US Open.Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods' opening round at the US Open.

    Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods’ opening round at the US Open. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

  • Aberg retreated

    Ludwig Aberg’s time at the top didn’t last long. Åberg bogeyed the par-3 6th, which dropped him back to 3-under. He’s now in third place, a shot back from Cantlay and Pavon.

  • Join Pavon above Åberg, Cantlay

    Mathieu Pavon’s presence is no longer present. Ludwig Åberg chipped in for birdie to get to 4-under, and Patrick Kantley made his second straight birdie to join them in the lead.

  • Neil Shipley jumped 2-under

    Neil Shipley from the deep! After a quick stretch of birds in the amateur turn and now two again.

  • Another Tiger Woods bird

    Finally, after a poor stretch from Tiger Woods, we have another birdie.

    Woods stuck his approach on the par-5 5th from about 260 yards to the green, setting him up for an easy two-putt birdie. He is now 3-over.

  • Leaderboard update

    Mathieu Pavon paddled out so his lead was down to just one stroke. But Brooks Koepka bounced back twice.

    Here’s a look at where things stand at the top of the leaderboard in the initial wave:

    1. Pavon-4 (11)

    T2. Henley -3 (13*)

    T2. Aberg-3 (12*)

    T4. Kopka-2 (13)

    T4. Kantlay -2 (13*)

    T4. Molinari -2 (10*)

UK General Election 2024: Labor Party releases manifesto

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  • Britain’s Labor Party said on Thursday it would be “pro-business” and prioritize “wealth creation”.
  • The party’s key pledges include creating a new publicly owned energy company, banning the granting of new North Sea oil and gas licences, reducing patient waiting times on the strained National Health Service and nationalizing most passenger rail services.
  • The Conservatives released their own manifesto on Tuesday, with pledges to cut National Insurance by 2 pence, introduce compulsory national service, halve immigration and introduce a scheme to help first-time property buyers.

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks as he launches Labour’s general election manifesto on June 13, 2024 in Manchester, United Kingdom. According to the latest YouGov data, Labor continues to lead in the polls by more than 20 points.

Anthony Devlin | Getty Images News | Good pictures

LONDON – Britain’s left-leaning Labor Party, the front-runner in the upcoming national election, said on Thursday it would be “pro-business” and prioritize “wealth creation”. Report.

The party’s key pledges include creating a new publicly owned energy company, banning the granting of new North Sea oil and gas licences, reducing patient waiting times on the strained National Health Service and nationalizing most passenger rail services.

“Economic growth and social justice must go hand in hand,” Starmer said during Thursday’s keynote address, which he called “a manifesto to create wealth, a plan to transform Britain”.

Starmer said Labor policies were “absolutely costly” and “you can’t play fast and loose with public funds.”

Much of the manifesto has previously been flagged by the party, including promises to increase windfall taxes on oil and gas companies, scrap tax breaks for independent schools and close existing ones. described “Tax loophole” for private equity investors. The party affirmed its recognition of a Palestinian state, calling statehood “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.” The pledge comes after months of division within the party over its response to the Israel-Hamas war.

“We cannot afford another five years of high taxes, low growth and broken Tory promises,” Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said at a launch event in Manchester, referring to the incumbent Conservatives. Conservatives argue that Labor lacks a clear plan for the nation and will raise taxes on working families.

“When we deliver growth, it will be in every corner of the country.”

This will be achieved through economic stability, reforming planning rules to build 1.5 million new homes and introducing a new industrial strategy, the development section of the 135-page report said. It also said it would create a 7.3 billion pound ($9.32 billion) national wealth fund to invest in areas including the UK steel and auto industries, carbon capture technology and gigafactories.

Despite posting growth of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024, the UK fell into a shallow recession late last year as households and businesses faced high inflation and tight financial conditions.

In his speech announcing the July 4 referendum, UK Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak said inflation was now under control and that his government had cut taxes on workers, increased state pensions and cut taxes on investment.

The second speaker at the Labor event was Richard Walker, chief executive of British grocery chain Iceland, who said only Labor could reverse the UK’s “trajectory of poor economic performance”.

“My first priority is wealth creation,” Labor leader Keir Starmer said on social platform X on Thursday. “My transformed Labor Party has a plan for growth. We are pro-business and pro-labour.”

In a debate earlier this month, Starmer vowed not to raise value-added tax (VAT) or national insurance, a common tax on workers, as Chung did.

The row followed a debate over Labor’s policies that would see tax rises of £2,000 ($2,556) per family in the next parliament. Starmer called the claim “rubbish” and said it was based on “made up Labor principles”.

There is a think tank called the Institute for Fiscal Studies Accused Both party leaders have failed to be clear on where to cut public spending if they are to keep their commitment to reducing UK net debt.

The Conservatives released their own manifesto on Tuesday, with pledges to cut National Insurance by 2 pence, introduce compulsory national service, halve immigration and introduce a scheme to help first-time property buyers.

Polls have been around for years pointed out Labor won a significant victory against the Conservatives, who had been in power for 14 years. National security is another area where the parties trade, with Defense Minister Grand Shops saying Labor would “make the UK an undefended target”. Labor said it would “maintain an unwavering commitment to NATO and our nuclear deterrent and a renewed focus on improving morale in our armed forces”.

Labour’s shift to the political center under Starmer has won the approval of business leaders and financial markets. caused controversy and a split with the left wing of the party.

The main trade union is Unite refused According to a BBC report, Labor is to back a statement over concerns that the oil and gas industry has failed to protect workers’ rights and jobs.

One of basketball’s greatest players, Jerry West, has died at the age of 86

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In his first season as head coach, West led the Lakers to an NBA-best 53-29 record, Abdul-Jabbar was the league’s Most Valuable Player, but they lost in the playoffs to the eventual champions, the Portland Trail Blazers. By Bill Walton, who died last month. Two years later, Los Angeles lost to the one-time champions, the Seattle SuperSonics.

West’s win-loss record in three seasons as coach is 145-101 — an admirable resume, especially considering he has no coaching experience at any position. But it was not a fruitful experience.

Among other things, he suffered two critical incidents. In one, Abdul-Jabbar broke his hand after punching the opposing center after Benson elbowed the Milwaukee Bucks’ Kent Benson in the stomach. Several weeks later came one of the most shocking and upsetting episodes in league history: On December 9, 1977, during an on-court brawl between the Lakers and the Houston Rockets, Laker forward Kermit Washington threw a punch. Rudy Tomjanovich, the leader of the Rockets, almost killed him.

In his 2010 autobiography of West, Roland Lassenby wrote that West would “certainly have the best coaches in the basketball business,” and although Cook sold the team after the 1979 season, new owner Jerry Buss wanted West to stay. , he didn’t mind being on the bench. However, West was interested in player evaluation and managerial involvement in the team, and in 1982, following a season in which the Lakers led by Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson brought home their second championship in three years, Buss named him general manager.

West was an active team builder whose draft picks included several players who became Laker stalwarts: James Worthy (over Dominique Wilkins first overall in 1982), AC Green in the 1985 first round, and Vlad Divac in the 1989 first round instead of Abdul-Jabbar. , retired after 20 years as the game’s dominant player.

US inflation cools as interest rate decision eases

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  • author, Charlotte Edwards
  • stock, BBC Business Correspondent

U.S. consumer price inflation eased slightly last month, official data showed, with interest rates on hold at a 23-year high.

According to the US Labor Department, prices rose 3.3% in the year to the end of May, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

Core inflation has eased even as rents continue to weigh on household budgets, stripping out more volatile items such as food and energy prices.

Despite borrowing costs at their highest rate in years, Federal Reserve officials held off on any interest rate cuts this month.

The inflation number was lower than some economists’ expectations, meaning they now believe there will be more rate cuts this year, but it remains above the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

People in the US are still feeling the pinch of rising rents and electricity bills, while food inflation is hovering around 2%.

The US inflation rate is different for other goods and services.

The pace of price increases for transportation such as taxi rides rose by more than a tenth in the year to May, while used car inflation slowed to almost a tenth.

Lindsey James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors, said despite the decline in inflation markets, “it’s staying put.”

“[We are] Inflation may fall quickly towards the 2% target or the economy is waiting to be buckled under the crisis and a new stimulus is needed.”

The rate of inflation is the rate at which prices rise or fall over a period of time.

In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the Consumer Price Index to measure inflation.

It gets its information from 23,000 businesses and includes price verification of about 80,000 consumer products.

Although the pace of average price increases has been steady, some major U.S. retailers, including Target, have cut prices on items such as food and baby products to attract customers.

Supermarket milk prices fell by 1.3%, while prices of other non-alcoholic beverages also fell.

There is no change in the prices of fruits and vegetables.

Rents rose 0.4%, matching April’s rise, and health care costs rose 0.5%.

Prescription drug prices rose 2.1% and hospital services rose 0.5%.

With the presidential election on November 5th, how the US economy is faring will be crucial.

Inflation figures are said to affect US President Joe Biden’s popularity as Americans continue to feel the pinch.

The US Federal Reserve kept its target rate on Wednesday at 5.25% to 5.5%.

It had forecast a rate cut this year – but policymakers were divided.

Four expected no cut, seven predicted one cut, and eight thought there would be two.

Following the inflation data, traders added bets for a rate cut in September and increased bets for a second cut in December.

French pop icon François Hardy has died at the age of 80

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François Hardy, an icon of French pop who rose to fame in the 1960s Yes yes And the view before branching off, died after a long battle with illness, BBC News reports. “Maman est party” (in English, meaning “mother is gone”) was her son Thomas Dutrank, wrote on Instagram. Hardy is 80 years old.

Born in 1944, François Hardy grew up in a Parisian apartment with his mother and sister, falling in love with pop songs on the radio. After receiving a guitar for his 16th birthday and auditioning with Vogue Records at age 18, he released his first record. All men and women– in 1962. The success of the title track, about a melancholy walker surrounded by happy couples, helped her grow Yes yes In that scene, he was a star, a maverick outlier, wary of fame and determined to write his own songs.

The record’s timeless songs, delivered in a tone of introspection and lust, made her a national treasure and won her fans around the world, especially in the UK and the US, where she remains one of the few crossover French pop stars. He acted in films but preferred to concentrate on music. “Music and Chanson To go deep inside yourself and allow yourself to feel how you feel, cinema plays a role, playing a character that is miles away from who you are,” he said. The New York Times In 2018. A string Yes yes Albums followed (and reissued in 2015 with Light in the Attic), 1966’s masterpiece. The house I grew up in.

Hardy continued from his first fame with a determination that would mark his career. She resisted both industrial intervention and collaboration for her own sake, tending to keep her distance from the era’s male songwriters who lurked in the shadows. In 1968, when Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg struck gold with their famous recording “How to say goodbye to you,” the songwriting legend invited her to record a full album with him. She declined, instead charting her own course in the pop years. His subsequent early 70s albums, question And News staffBold and original, she cemented herself in the French singer-songwriter canon in her own right.

In the 1990s, Hardy delved into astrological literature, while expanding his adult-contemporary pop horizons with albums such as danger And songs Ambiguity And Iggy Pop. He received a lymphoma diagnosis in 2004 and, in 2012, defied doctors by surviving a life-threatening coma. She wrote a memoir, Frustration of monkeys and other triviaIt was translated into English and published in 2018. she argued In his final years of euthanasia, France criticized the practice for outlawing it, writing in a memoir that “I fear that death will subject me to more physical suffering.” His final album, No one elsefeatured the song “Special Train”, in which he said UK Observer: “At my age, I can only sing about that one special train that takes me out of this world. But, of course, I believe it will send me to the stars and help me discover the mystery of the universe.

Joey Chestnut Banned From Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Due To Vegan Sponsored Beef

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After 16-time champion Joey Chestnut signed with the vegan brand, the era of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, deemed unable to compete in the beloved 4th of July event, has come to an end.

Major League Eating said in a statement Tuesday that it was “devastated to learn” of Chestnut’s betrayal: Rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating, “representing a competing brand that sells plant-based hot dogs. Competition.”

Although the organization has not named a competing brand, The New York Post Chestnut recently announced that it has gone into business with Impossible Foods.

Major League Eating “has made major efforts in recent months to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to an appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival off-brand hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,” but they’d been unable to come to an agreement.

“We’ve operated under the same basic hot dog exclusive rules for nearly two decades,” League said. “However, Joey and his managers seem to have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-term relationship.”

In A statement Posting on social media several hours later, Chestnut said he was “flattened” by the ban, which he said he learned about from media reports.

“I want to compete in that event, celebrate America on the 4th with my fans across this great country, and I’m training to defend my title,” he said.

“To set the record straight,” the competitive eater continued, “I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans, and they want to change the rules from last years in relation to other partners I work with.”

He thanked his fans and assured them that they will see him goofy again soon. “Be hungry!”

Chestnut, 40, won the hot dog eating contest every year from 2007 to 2014 and then again from 2016 to 2023. (Matt Stoney beat him by two dogs in 2015.) He holds the record for most franks ever swallowed in competition. , beating the belt-pasting 76 in 2021.

Major League Eating, which has hailed him as “an American hero,” hopes Chestnut can return home to the competition after no longer representing his rival.

The Nathan Tournament has been held at Coney Island in New York City every summer since 1979. In 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an indoor arena a few miles away was held without a crowd, with only five competitors. He sat at the table. Unsurprisingly, Chestnut took home the gold with 75 hot dogs.