Trump planning to lift more Russian sanctions
Russian state media reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration is in talks the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russia’s multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund almost five years after they were put in place by the Biden administration following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Donald Trump has already ended sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales, which Ukraine views as rewarding Putin for invading Ukraine and continuing to attack civilian targets. In a new attack, a Russian drone struck the main railway station in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro as people waited to board a train on Thursday morning, killing 14 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the Dnipro strike as “horrific” and called for more sanctions to deter further Russian attacks. Zelenskyy said sanctions “against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues.”
Fed holds interest rates steady
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday. While defending the decision not to act, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said energy prices have risen again in recent weeks, and the Fed must keep those increases from spreading more broadly through the economy. “It’s our responsibility to get inflation down,” he said, adding that financial conditions have tightened since the Fed’s September action raising interest rates, but he would not characterize them as tight. The vote to hold interest where it is by the Federal Open Market Committee was 10-2. Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented, preferring a quarter-point increase. When asked whether the current financial boom in the technology sector including artificial intelligence is sensitive to what happens with interest rates, Warsh said that he believes interest rates affect all parts of the economy.
Death toll in Spain train collision rises to 69
The death toll in Wednesday’s train collision in Spain’s Toledo province has risen to at least 69 with more than 100 injured. A high-speed train ran into a train that was stopped on the tracks because of a problem with the computer system that controlled traffic on the rails. After a problem with the computer system, control of trains was taken over manually and a decision was made to allow the high-speed train to continue southbound along the tracks despite a red light. The high-speed train was believed to be traveling at about 124 miles per hour when it hit the train that was stopped. It was the third deadly rail incident in Spain this year following a major accident in January in Córdoba province in which more than 40 people died, and a crash near Barcelona that killed a train driver.
DoorDash buying Instacart in $17B deal
DoorDash is buying rival Instacart in a deal worth roughly $17 billion. The deal, announced Thursday, marks an end for Instacart as an independent company. Instacart went public in 2023 and benefited from a pandemic-era boom for the grocery delivery service, but it has struggled to maintain its momentum against larger competitors like Uber, Amazon and Walmart. DoorDash has been expanding its services beyond meal delivery, including adding restaurant reservations and delivery of products other than food. “Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online. Someone has to pick a ripe avocado, find a substitute you’d choose yourself, and get the ice cream to you before it melts,” Tony Xu, the cofounder and CEO of DoorDash said in a statement. The deal is a mix of cash and stock, with DoorDash paying $65 per share, marking a roughly 25% premium from Instacart’s recent stock price.
Milwaukee wins World Series
The Milwaukee Brewers erased nearly six decades of heartache Wednesday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to clinch the franchise’s first World Series title. The Brewers used their small-ball ways, leaning on clutch hitting, stellar defense and exquisite pitching from ace Jacob Misiorowski to claim Game 5 and win the title. RBI singles from Cooper Pratt and David Hamilton built the lead in the second and fifth innings, but it was the sixth when things went up a notch. William Contreras’ RBI double scored a run and then he would score on Pratt’s sacrifice fly to build the lead to 4-0. Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson both doubled in the ninth for the Rays to plate Tampa Bay’s lone run. The Brewers had only been to one World Series before this year, losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982. After coming within three outs of the title on Tuesday and falling short, the Brewers will get to go back to Milwaukee for a victory parade rather than a Game 6. The Brewers’ title is a victory for the league’s smallest media market and 19th-biggest payroll. Notably, the Brewers swept the big-money Los Angeles Dodgers to get to the World Series, a major bit of payback for a franchise has been building toward this moment.
Dolores Huerta dies at age 96
Dolores Huerta, a pioneering labor organizer and civil rights icon who cofounded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez in the 1960s, died Wednesday at age 96. The United Farm Workers said the “greatest possible tribute to her life is for her work of organizing to continue.” A vigil was held Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles, where music filled the street as activists and politicians gathered with candles and roses. The vigil took place beneath a mural of Huerta, painted earlier this year by artist Robert Vargas. Former President Barack Obama called Huerta “a hero of mine” whose calling enabled “thousands of migrant laborers working in brutal conditions make their voices heard, and demand something better.” Obama in 2012 awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama credited her with coming up with the slogan “Yes, we can” that he later used in his political campaigning.
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Source: westfaironline.com
