Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Powell finally did the right thing: “The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was lowering its key interest rate by half a percentage point, an unusually aggressive move designed to cushion the economy from a further slowdown. In announcing the rate cut, the central bank noted job gains had slowed, while inflation had made further progress toward its 2% goal.”
* In Lebanon: “A second wave of device explosions hit Lebanon on Wednesday, killing 14, injuring 450 others and igniting blazes across the country a day after hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members detonated in an unprecedented attack on the militant group. Lebanon’s Red Cross said it deployed 30 ambulances across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in response to the walkie-talkie explosions.”
* The footage of this was remarkable: “A Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian missile facility early Wednesday threw up towering fireballs visible from space and thundering detonations that triggered earthquake monitors. Even by the standards of this incendiary conflict, video showing the blasts north of Moscow made for remarkable footage.”
* On the other hand: “The attack came just hours after the Russian military claimed to have captured the town of Ukrainsk, as Moscow continues a slow but steady advance in eastern Ukraine.”
* While I mistakenly assumed that my opinion of Louisiana’s junior senator couldn’t get much worse, now I know better: “Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., repeatedly suggested a leading Arab American activist is a Hamas supporter when she testified Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on hate crimes, and he told her she should hide her ‘head in a bag.’” * It’s hard not to wonder whether Trump himself will repeat the false claim: “Law enforcement officials on Long Island worked quickly on Wednesday to publicly knock down social media posts falsely reporting that explosives had been found in a car near former President Donald Trump’s planned rally in New York.” * All is not well in Florida: “Law enforcement and education officials in Florida are dealing with a flood of threats against K-12 schools this fall and are taking drastic measures to protect students. A growing number of schools are turning to metal detectors to thwart students from bringing weapons on campus grounds, as a string of student arrests across the state has local leaders on high alert. And sheriffs frustrated by a wave of school shooting threats pouring into schools have decided to dish out public embarrassment to parents and students — some as young as 11 years old — who break Florida’s school safety laws.” 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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