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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* More good news on inflation: “Inflation’s steady march lower continued Wednesday, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that consumer price growth slowed to 2.5% in August, the lowest measure since 2021.”
* In Ukraine: “The United States and Britain pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine on Wednesday during a visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats as Ukrainian officials renewed their pleas to use Western-provided missiles against targets deeper inside Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more than $700 million in humanitarian aid, while British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that his country would provide another $782 million in assistance and loan guarantees.”
* Hurricane Francine: “Francine’s northern eyewall is approaching the Louisiana coast and is expected to make landfall today as at least a Category 1 hurricane, bringing life-threatening storm surges and hurricane-force winds.”
* I’ll have more on this in the morning: “Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday yanked a government funding bill off the House floor hours before an expected vote after a growing number of disgruntled Republicans vowed to tank the measure.”
* The Bridge Fire in California’s Angeles National Forest “continued to grow Wednesday, consuming nearly 48,000 acres as of Wednesday morning — a day after it had reached 34,000 acres within a matter of hours. The blaze, first detected Sunday, is the largest active wildfire in the state.”
* On a related note: “During a scorching, relentless wildfire season, Facebook has been flagging and removing dozens of posts containing links and screenshots from Watch Duty, a widely relied-upon wildfire alert app, as well as from federal and state agencies. ... And it’s not happening just to people in Hutchinson’s rural and extremely fire-prone community 135 miles north of San Francisco but to volunteer responders, fire and sheriff departments, news stations and disaster nonprofit workers across California and in other states, according to screenshots.”
* Best wishes for a speedy recovery: “Representative Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, was taken to a hospital on Tuesday, according to a social media post. A post on Mr. Wilson’s official social media account confirmed that he experienced a medical emergency.”
See you tomorrow.