NEW YORK NEWS
Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and three of his adult children, Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr.
The allegations of the lawsuit are that Trump, through his business, overvalued his properties to financial institutions in order to get loans. “For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them. Donald Trump stands out as among the most egregious examples of this misconduct,” said James. AG challenger Michael Henry reacted to the lawsuit, tweeting, “Letitia James enthusiastically claims that big banks and major insurance companies are ‘victims’ in a civil lawsuit against the former President. The real victims are NYers who are suffering from the crime crisis, rampant pay-to-play corruption & skyrocketing cost-of-living.”
Aaron-Judge-watch continues as he now has hit 60 home runs this season so far (as of before Rosh HaShanah). Judge tied Babe Ruth’s record with a blast on the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees down by 4. He wasn’t the highlight of that game, however, as Giancarlo Stanton finished off the Pittsburgh Pirates with a walk off Grand Slam. Judge is one home run away from tying the American League home run record set by fellow Yankee Roger Maris in 1961. Said Judge after the game, “Getting a chance to play baseball in Yankee Stadium in a packed house on a first-place team, that’s what you dream about.”
The New York Mets broke a Major League Baseball record for the most hit-by-pitches in a single season. Luis Guillorme was plunked by Jake Cousins of the Milwaukee Brewers in the ninth inning, making it the 106th time a Mets batter was struck, beating the record set last year by the Cincinnati Reds. Mark Canha, who was hit twice in that same game, had an explanation. “I’m closer to the plate, and I don’t move, and pitchers pitch in a lot now,” Canaha said. “It just kind of works out that way.”
US NEWS
Hurricane Fiona hit the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, with some areas receiving 30 inches of rain. The National Guard was mobilized to help evacuate dozens of people, and more than 900,000 people are without power. Hundreds of thousands, around 27% of the population, are waiting for adequate supplies of water. Fiona was a Category 1 hurricane, far smaller than the Category 4 Hurricane Maria that hit Puerto Rico in 2017, and the still-recovering island will see multi-billion dollars’ worth of damage. “I’ve authorized 100% — 100% federal funding for debris removal, search and rescue, water restoration and shelter and food for the whole month,” Biden said. “To the people of Puerto Rico who are still hurting from Hurricane Maria five years later, they should know that we are with you. We’re not going to walk away. I mean it.”
The Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, the third consecutive 0.75 point move this year. Working to bring down inflation, which is at its highest levels in over four decades, the central bank is not making as drastic moves as they did back in the 1980s for fear of crashing the economy. “My main message has not changed since Jackson Hole,” Powell said in his post-meeting news conference, referring to his policy speech at the Fed’s annual symposium in August in Wyoming. “The FOMC is strongly resolved to bring inflation down to 2%, and we will keep at it until the job is done.” Fed officials signaled the intention of continuing to hike until the funds level hits a “terminal rate,” or end point, of 4.6% in 2023. That implies a quarter-point rate hike next year but no decreases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new low for 2022 as it closed under 30,000 points for the first time since June 17. While the DJIA dropped 486.27 points, or 1.62%, the S&P 500 fell 1.72% to 3,693.23, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.8% to 10,867.93. The downturn was the fifth negative week of the past six, and occurred amid rising interest rates and foreign currency turmoil. “The market has been transitioning clearly and quickly from worries over inflation to concerns over the aggressive Federal Reserve campaign,” said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial. “You see bond yields rising to levels we haven’t seen in years — it’s changing the mindset to how does the Fed get to price stability without something breaking.”
Albert Pujols hit his 700th home run, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth as the only players to have achieved that accomplishment. The St. Louis Cardinal slugger returned to the team he started with for one last season before retiring to try and become the fourth player in MLB history to reach 700. “It’s pretty special. When it’s really gonna hit me is when I’m done, at the end of the season, when I’m retired, and probably a moment or two after that I can look at the numbers,” Pujols said. “Look, don’t get me wrong, I know what my place is in this game. But since Day 1, when I made my debut, it was never about numbers, it was never about chasing numbers. It was always about winning championships and trying to get better in this game.”
WORLD NEWS
British Prime Minister Liz Truss told Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid that the United Kingdom is considering moving the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Following the example set by President Trump, Truss made moving the embassy a campaign promise when running to be the leader of the Conservative Party. During the United Nations General Assembly, Truss revived the idea, prompting many to believe that the vow wasn’t an empty promise. The Palestinian delegation was not thrilled with the announcement. “It is extremely unfortunate that Prime Minister Liz Truss uses her first appearance at the UN to commit to potentially breaking international law by promising a ‘review’ of the location of the British embassy to Israel,” the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom tweeted.
Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of military reserves in the wake of a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Reports out of Russia indicate that the call for 300,000 reservists caused a frantic rush for flights out of Russia to visa-free countries. Russians took to the streets by the thousands in protest, breaking the ban on unauthorized demonstrations. More than 1,000 people were arrested. Russian war casualties vary based on source, with Russia claiming it lost only 6,000 troops, while U.S. military intelligence claims that up to 80,000 Russian troops have been killed. After the announcement, the largest internet search in Russia was “How to break arm.”
China’s President Xi Jinping may be under house arrest in a coup attempt, or he may not. Information coming out of China is spotty, with rumors flying as Xi was rushed home from a summit in Uzbekistan. The rumors were fueled by the fact that Xi is seeking an unprecedented third term in office and flight tracking data showing 60%, or over 9,500, domestic flights, were canceled. However, some are saying that this is not happening, but something odd is going on. Author Gordon Chang, a strong critic of the Xi regime, tweeted, “The lack of news from China over the last few hours suggests coup rumors are untrue, but whatever happened inside the Chinese military during the last three days—evidently something unusual occurred—tells us there is turbulence inside the senior CCP leadership.”
Mexico was hit by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, causing at least two deaths, damaging buildings, setting off landslides, and causing a “desert tsunami” over 1,500 miles away. Mexico is no stranger to earthquakes, yet this is the largest one since the 8.2 magnitude earthquake in September 2017. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said there was material damage near the epicenter, with around 200 buildings damaged, but that it was lucky that the death toll was not higher. “It was a tremor of considerable intensity,” he said.
