Trump accuses Harris of ‘FAKE and STAGED’ photo as VP debate looms: Latest updates

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline, though their size and speed would depend on the evolution of the economy.

Wall Street investors and economists are weighing whether the Fed will follow its larger-than-usual half-point cut made earlier this month with another hefty reduction at either of its upcoming meetings in November or December. At their meeting Sept. 18, Fed officials penciled in two more quarter-point rate cuts at those final meetings this year.

In remarks before the National Association for Business Economics in Nashville, Tennessee, Powell said the U.S. economy and hiring are largely healthy and emphasized that the Fed is “recalibrating” its key interest rate, which is now at about 4.8%.

Eric Garia takes a look at what’s happening in the fight to keep hold of the upper chamber.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

A state judge in Georgia has blocked the state from enforcing a ban on abortion at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, finding that state law criminalizing care is unconstitutional.

The 26-page opinion from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered that abortion access must be regulated as it was before Georgia lawmakers passed the state’s anti-abortion in 2019.

That ban under the state’s “LIFE Act” was effectively blocked under Roe v Wade, which the Supreme Court struck down three years later in 2022.

Monday’s ruling will allow Georgia abortion patients to seek care past six weeks of pregnancy, for now, potentially turning the state into a crucial refuge for abortion access across the deep south, where every state has outlawed most forms of abortion care at any point in a pregnancy.

Alex Woodward has the details.

President Joe Biden has hailed the “historic declines” in crime this year according to preliminary data submitted to the FBI.

He released the following statement:

This year, the homicide and violent crime rates have continued their rapid decline from their peaks during the last administration. According to new preliminary data submitted to the FBI, in the first half of this year, the homicide rate continued to fall at record speed, declining by 22.7%, while the violent crime rate fell by 10.3% to its lowest level since 1969. These record decreases follow the historic declines in crime in 2023, including the largest-ever decrease in the homicide rate. Communities across our country are safer now than when I took office.

Under the previous administration, we saw the biggest increase in murder rates on record. Vice President Harris and I moved swiftly to turn it around. We passed the American Rescue Plan – despite every Republican in Congress voting against it – which has helped deliver over $15 billion in public safety funding that enabled over 1,000 state, city, and county governments to avoid cuts to police budgets, invest in community violence interventions, and keep communities safe. And we have taken more action to get illegal guns off of our streets and out of dangerous hands than any Administration, including by signing into law the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years which has expanded background checks and cracked down on gun traffickers. Last year, I established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris, to accelerate this work.

Even among these historic declines, we can and must do more. That’s why, just this past week, Vice President Harris and I announced additional actions to combat machinegun conversion devices, improve school-based active shooter drills, and take other steps to reduce gun crime and save lives. I’ll continue to urge Congress pass my plan to fund 100,000 additional police officers, invest in community violence intervention programs, and make commonsense gun safety reforms, including banning assault weapons.

President Joe Biden has sent a heartfelt birthday message to Jimmy Carter, one day ahead of his 100th birthday.

“Put simply, Mr President, I admire you so darn much,” Biden wrote.

Carter, the longest-lived president in the country’s history, hits the milestone on October 1. The 39th president has recently started “talking about politics again” after Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket and he plans to vote for her, according to his eldest grandson Jason.

Democrats have sued the Georgia State Election Board over its new requirement for counties to hand-count ballots cast on Election Day. They argue that the last-minute change in the rules is unlawful and could cause “chaos” across what is a highly-contested state in the presidential election.

The board voted 3-2 earlier this month passing the new rule which Democrats argue “changes the rules of the game in the ninth inning”.

The suit was filed by the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia. Kamala Harris’s campaign has also given its support to the suit

“In sum, the Hand Count Rule is contrary to the Election Code, exceeds the Board’s rulemaking authority” and “violates foundational limits on agencies that are intended to avoid precisely the scenario here — an unelected body unilaterally making significant changes to the law without notice or explanation,” the suit says.

“To protect the sanctity of the state’s laws and to prevent election night chaos, this Court should declare that the Hand Count Rule exceeds SEB’s statutory authority and enjoin that rule from going into effect,” it adds.

Donald Trump praised the three board members who voted in favor of the new rule. However, there is also opposition from other Republicans, including Georgia’s secretary of state and attorney general. They question the legality of the rule.

Election workers are now required to count the number of ballots cast on Election Day but not every vote on the ballot. The ballots are then delivered to the county for counting and tabulation. The main concern is that there could be an unnecessary delay in reporting results.