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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* I guess that rate isn’t going to happen? “Inflation remained elevated once again in March, adding another round of price increases to Americans’ already-strained wallets. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 12-month price growth accelerated from 3.2% in February to 3.5% in March, matching consensus forecasts among economists. Excluding food and energy, which represent commodities with more volatile prices, the so-called core 12-month reading was unchanged in March at 3.8%.”
* Weisselberg: “Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was sentenced Wednesday to five months in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of perjury last month in his testimony during former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial.”
* The question for House Republicans couldn’t be clearer: “The top U.S. general overseeing military operations in Europe warned lawmakers Wednesday that the war in Ukraine has reached a decisive moment, with Russia expected to hold a 10-1 advantage on artillery shells ‘within weeks’ unless the United States approves additional military support for the government in Kyiv.”
* Formal states visits don’t happen all the time: “U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida touted increased joint military cooperation and a new missile defense system on Wednesday, strengthening their alliance with an eye on aggressive actions by China and Russia. ‘This is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established,’ Biden said at a joint White House news conference with Kishida, after about two hours of talks that focused on the restive Indo-Pacific region, Ukraine and the Gaza conflict.”
* Speaking of diplomatic efforts: “President Joe Biden upped his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the Israel-Hamas war but did not indicate any significant changes in U.S. policy toward its Middle East ally. ‘I think what he’s doing is a mistake,’ Biden said in an interview with Univision that aired Tuesday night.”
* The classified docs case: “U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon agreed Tuesday to end a long-running dispute with prosecutors over whether government-agent witnesses in Donald Trump’s classified documents criminal trial should be publicly identified in court filings. Her order was the second time this month she has criticized Justice Department lawyers while ruling mostly in their favor.”
* Biden’s pitch for a Care Economy: “He called for 12 weeks of paid family or medical leave, large investments in preschool for 4-year-olds, the extension of a child tax credit to help working families, and investments to give families access to high-quality child care for $10 per day.”
* A focus on PFAS: “For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has established national limits for six types of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. The substances, known by the initialism PFAS, are nicknamed ‘forever chemicals’ because they barely degrade and are nearly impossible to destroy, so they can linger permanently in air, water and soil.”
See you tomorrow.