Today’s edition of quick hits.
* An extraordinary diplomatic escalation: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that he would not issue visas to Palestinian officials to prevent them from attending the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York next month. The visa ban applies to officials from the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization who are not based in the Palestinian mission at the U.N., the announcement said.”
* The personal consumption expenditures price index offers more bad news on inflation: “Inflation edged higher in July, according to the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, indicating that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are working their way through the U.S. economy.”
* In related news: “U.S. companies have an unwelcome message for inflation-weary consumers: Prices are going up. Companies including Hormel Foods, J.M. Smucker and Ace Hardware said this week they would raise prices for reasons ranging from higher meat costs to tariffs. Large retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy said some tariff-related price increases are already in place. More are on the way.”
* The administration’s latest setback at the 9th Circuit: “A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States.”
* This campaign is far from subtle: “Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said [Thursday night] on X that he sent Attorney General Pam Bondi a ‘2nd criminal referral’ related to Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook’s mortgages.” * This keeps happening: “Mexico said Wednesday its postal service was suspending package shipments to the United States ahead of an end to the exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages by the Trump administration. The announcement follows similar moves by postal services from the European Union and several other countries to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the U.S. measure.” * A sign of the times in Atlanta: “The Journal-Constitution will stop publishing a print newspaper at the end of the year, [publisher Andrew Morse] said, and divert all of its resources into the digital news operation. The company has published in print since 1868.” Have a safe holiday weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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