Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The Fed: “The Federal Reserve again kept interest rates steady in final meeting of the year on Wednesday. … Experts and investors are growing convinced that the Fed is probably done raising interest rates for the foreseeable future. They’re now turning their attention to when the Fed might start reducing rates.”
* In related news: “The Dow Jones industrial Average jumped to a record Wednesday as the Federal Reserve signaled it would cut rates several times next year. … All three major averages hit fresh 52-week highs.”
* COP28: “Delegates at the COP28 international climate summit agreed Wednesday to move away from fossil fuel consumption in a first-of-its-kind deal signaling the possible end of the oil age, although some participants said the pact did not go far enough. … It is the first time a COP summit has agreed to move away from fossil fuels, but the language stops short of calling for them to be phased out, to the disappointment of some nations.”
* In D.C.: “The judge presiding over the federal election interference case against Donald Trump halted all proceedings in the criminal case on Wednesday pending the outcome of Trump’s appeal arguing he’s protected by presidential immunity. All pending deadlines and court dates in the case will be put on pause but not vacated, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan added.”
* The president’s son actually spoke to Capitol Hill reporters this morning: “Hunter Biden on Wednesday repeated his offer to appear at a public hearing on Capitol Hill, defying a House Republican-issued subpoena that called for him to testify instead at a closed-door deposition.”
* For mid-December, it was an interesting day for SCOTUS news: “The Supreme Court agreed to review an appeal from a Jan. 6 defendant that could impact Donald Trump’s federal election interference case, over the scope of the obstruction statute used in prosecutions stemming from the Capitol attack.” * And speaking of the former president’s legal dilemmas: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday shot down former President Donald Trump’s attempt to use presidential immunity in the upcoming E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, finding he’d waited too long to raise the defense.” * A case worth watching: “Media Matters for America sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court late Monday, alleging that Paxton violated the First Amendment last month and chilled its work when he opened an investigation into the organization over its reporting into Elon Musk’s X app.” See you tomorrow.
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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