Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Here’s a general rule I find useful: When the bond market is a major topic of conversation, that’s bad: “Investor angst over stubborn inflation, unsustainable government deficits and rampant spending on artificial intelligence helped send borrowing costs to multiyear highs across the world this week. The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond rose on Tuesday to 5.3 percent, its highest level since 2007.”
* The more Trump says the Strait of Hormuz is open, the more we’re confronted with evidence to the contrary: “Two ships in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked in recent days, killing at least one sailor, maritime officials said on Tuesday, as a declining number of vessels brave the dangerous passageway. Both vessels were hit by unknown projectiles as they passed through the strait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency.”
* An important case: “Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday, seeking to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to stand trial for assault and falsely reporting a crime in the wounding of a man during the agency’s crackdown in Minneapolis.”
* An understandably confused ally: “South Korea’s president said Tuesday a solid alliance with the United States underpins national security, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt order to ‘substantially reduce’ joint military exercises left many South Koreans baffled and concerned.”
* The ongoing saga surrounding the FBI’s headquarters: “A U.S. judge on Monday blocked plans to move the FBI’s headquarters to a federal office building in Washington, finding that President Donald Trump’s administration illegally tossed out a previously approved plan to build a new facility nearby in Maryland.”
* An important defeat: “A federal appeals court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s strategy of circumventing Congress to more freely appoint politically aligned federal prosecutors, casting fresh doubt on the practice. The ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was the second appellate decision within the last year to take issue with the administration’s custom of leaving interim prosecutors in place instead of appointing permanent U.S. attorneys who require congressional confirmation.”
* The California Democrat has already acknowledged “personal mistakes” outside of his marriage, though he insists he hasn’t “violated the law or House Ethics rules”: “The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it is investigating Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California over allegations of sexual misconduct, including ‘inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.’”
* We’re moving in the wrong direction: “The share of U.S. kindergartners with exemptions from school vaccine requirements for the 2025-2026 school year rose to another record high, according to federal data posted Monday. The sharp increase from 3.6 to 4.2 percent seeking exemptions — about 155,000 students — extends a years-long erosion of childhood immunization rates as the country battles its worst measles resurgence in 35 years.”
See you tomorrow.
The post Tuesday’s Mini-Report, 8.18.26 appeared first on MS NOW.
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