Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

September 21st, 2023

Good morning, and happy Thursday! A Rhode Island police department is swearing in its newest hire, and he’s cute, cuddly, and ready for duty. A 10-week-old black lab named Blue began his job as the first-ever comfort and therapy dog officer for the Tiverton Police Department earlier this month, gaining instant recognition on Social Media. Go ahead and take a look at the absolutely adorable puppy in his new role, because we could all use a comfort dog some days!

In Today’s Brief

Azerbaijan: Takes control of Nagorno-Karabakh
Merrick Garland: Testifies before House committee
OpenAI: Faces lawsuit for copyright infringement
General Motors: Lays off 2k workers amid strike

...and more

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Top Tips

Fed holds interest rates steady

The Federal Reserve elected to leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday and issued new projections indicating most officials anticipate one more interest rate hike this year.

The Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee left the federal funds rate at a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, a 22-year high, citing an easing of economic conditions while also acknowledging that inflation is still higher than its 2% target. In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said prices for consumers were up 3.7% from the same period last year. Fed officials also announced that they expect to cut interest rates twice next year, fewer than the four rate cuts they had forecast in June.

The Fed has raised interest rates at 11 consecutive meetings from March 2022 through July of this year. It did that to try to get inflation under control, as U.S. consumer prices began to spike in late 2021 and hit 40-year highs last summer.

Senate confirms C.Q. Brown

The Senate has confirmed General C.Q. Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing retiring General Mark Milley as the nation's top military officer.

Brown’s confirmation on an 83-11 vote, months after President Joe Biden nominated him for the post, comes as the Senate tries to maneuver around holds placed on nominations by Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Senate is also expected to confirm General Randy George to be Army Chief of Staff and General Eric Smith as commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps this week. Tuberville is currently blocking the appointment of 300 nominees but said he would not stand in the way of holding those votes.

Since Tuberville began his blockade in February, the military has been forced to operate without Senate-confirmed commandants at the top of three services, the Army, Marines, and Navy, for the first time in history.

White House launches new job program

The White House announced the launch of the American Climate Corps through an executive order yesterday, which will serve as a federal green jobs training program.

The initiative will seek to offer paid training to 20K young people, with the aim of helping them attain jobs in the public and private sectors. Unveiled during Climate Week, the program will have trainees building trails, planting trees, helping install solar panels, and completing other projects to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires. The announcement comes after more than 50 lawmakers signed a letter encouraging Biden to create a climate corps.

The program is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, created in the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as part of the New Deal. The White House previously pitched the idea of launching a new Civilian Climate Corps as part of its Build Back Better Act framework, but the proposal was cut from the Inflation Reduction Act that ultimately passed Congress.

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Quick Tips

Around the Globe

Azerbaijan claimed full control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region yesterday after local Armenian forces there agreed to a Russia-mediated cease-fire following the latest outbreak of fighting in the ongoing separatist conflict (More)
Iran’s parliament has passed a new ‘hijab and chastity’ bill that lays out punishment for people who violate the country’s mandatory dress code rules; lawmakers approved the legislation on a trial basis, with 152 voting in favor and 34 against (More)
The Indian government approved a bill to reserve a third of seats in the lower house of parliament and state assemblies for women; women currently make up almost half of India's voters but only 15% of parliament and about 10% of state legislatures (More)

On the Homefront

Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, his first appearance before the committee in two years; Garland is overseeing two cases against Former President Donald Trump and another against President Biden’s son (More)
The Biden administration is reopening a program mailing COVID-19 tests at no cost to households who request them and is investing $600M into boosting test manufacturing (More)
A federal judge has ordered that Hunter Biden appear in court for his arraignment on federal firearm charges next month after his lawyers requested to have his first hearing take place virtually (More)

Glitz & Games

In partnership with Atlas.co

OpenAI is being sued by 17 authors, including John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, and George R.R. Martin, for “systematic theft,” the latest in a wave of litigation by writers alleging that artificial intelligence programs are using their copyrighted works without permission (More)
The ‘Strike Force Three’ live event announced by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert last week has been canceled after Kimmel tested positive for COVID-19; the show was planned for Saturday, September 23rd (More)
The Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll became the first rookie in MLB history to record 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season after his team’s 7-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants yesterday (More)

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Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market closed lower for the second day in a row, with the Nasdaq leading the losses (Dow -0.22%, Nasdaq - 1.53%, S&P 500 -0.94%)
General Motors has idled a manufacturing plant in Kansas, laying off almost all of the approximately 2K people working there amid the ongoing United Auto Workers strike; Stellantis also announced it is laying off 68 workers in Ohio (More)
Fortnite users can now claim their part of the $245M Epic Games agreed to pay as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which alleged that it used deceptive tactics that drove users to make unwanted purchases in the multiplayer shooter game (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Thousands of Harry Styles concertgoers in Warsaw, Poland, started singing along to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” before the show kicked off in a massive stadium, proving that Queen’s iconic masterpiece from 1975 still endures all over the world decades after it was written
Sneak Peek: Watch Nicholas Cage play a villain who haunts everybody’s dreams in the official trailer for Dream Scenario, an upcoming psychological thriller from indie powerhouse A24
Bump This: Country music maven Maren Morris sounds as soulful as ever in her new Southern-sounding single “The Tree” - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: Just because summer is winding down doesn’t mean you have to give up on delicious smoothies you’ve been whipping up during the hot months - try out this recipe for a mango smoothie that makes for a healthy breakfast or ultra-refreshing snack with just five ingredients
Go Deep: Ancient patches of ultra-fertile black soil have been found throughout the Amazon rainforest, and their origins have confounded scientists until now - read about how these patches of dark earth were intentionally created by ancient cultures, based on new research…and how they continue to support agriculture within the jungle to this day
Hot Goss: Celebrated indie songwriter Sufjan Stevens published an Instagram post saying that he has lost the ability to walk after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare auto-immune condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves
Life Hack: We sit on the floor all of the time as children, but we give it up as adults, even though recent findings suggest that we should probably stick with it - read about the longevity perks of sitting on the floor and how doing so may help you live to the ripe old age of 100

Tip-Offs

See America’s most and least-friendly cities for renters.

…and the cities with the highest share of people living alone.

5 ways to trick people into thinking you can read minds.

Hear eloquent writing advice from George R.R. Martin.

Stunning footage of a probe flying through a sun explosion.

All the different apps that Americans tend to use before bed.

Breaking down why extreme heat is known as a silent killer.

From Hong Kong to Morroco, 50 of the world’s best hotels.

Looking Back…

On September 21st: J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel The Hobbit is published (1937); the Dow Jones industrial average posts its largest weekly loss since the Great Depression (2001); the punk-rock band Green Day release their album American Idiot (2004) novelist Stephen King is born (1947).

In partnership with Purality Health