The midterm elections could reshape Congress as lawmakers grapple with persistent inflation, high energy prices and rising fiscal debt. For investors, by contrast, the political outcome could deliver a boost. Data from financial firm Edward Jones shows that the S&P 500 stock index rose an average of 1.7% in the month after the last 14 midterm races,…
Geneva — Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere rose to record highs in 2025, locking in climate impacts that will persist for centuries, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Levels of the three main greenhouse gases — the climate-warming carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — all rose to unprecedented figures in 2025, the U.N.’s…
California voters next month will decide on whether to tax billionaire wealth, a proposal designed to generate billions of dollars to shore up the state’s healthcare system. But Stanford economists are now cautioning that the tax could backfire, leaving the state with less in tax revenue than before. Seven billionaires have already publicly moved out…
Inflation accelerated across the U.S. in September, rising at an annual rate of 3.7% as energy costs jumped, according to new government data. The latest Consumer Price Index shows that stubborn price pressures persist just weeks before Americans vote in the midterm elections. By the numbers CPI tracks changes in prices over time for a basket…
At least 12 people, including one American, were killed and 309 others injured in a strike Saturday on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, according to Saudi officials. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said those killed included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Those injured…
Little Rock, Ark. — A new video from Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was standard issue Republican messaging for promoting her state’s stricter rules for people on Medicaid. No more could able-bodied people lounge around while receiving taxpayer-funded healthcare, she said — they needed to work. But the decision to portray an unemployed moocher as…
Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday again blocked Missouri from using a redrawn map that aims to give Republicans an additional seat in the House for the midterm elections. The high court’s decision clears the way for the state to use House district lines approved in 2022 for the Nov. 3 general election. Ballots…
Mortgage rates soared past 7% last week, reaching their highest level in more than two years, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.12% the week ending Sept. 18, the MBA said. It was last that high in May 2024, according to the mortgage industry group. The higher…
Baby formula maker Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay nearly $385 million to resolve a civil False Claims Act case with the Justice Department and some states stemming from a Cronobacter bacterial contamination at one of its plants in Michigan that manufactures powdered baby formula, the department announced on Monday. Earlier this year, the Justice Department…
The Atlantic is quiet — record quiet — this hurricane season thanks to an enormous El Niño that crushes storms before they get going. No Atlantic hurricanes have formed yet this year and none are likely to form for at least another week, even though this would normally be the peak of the season, according…
