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1 House Passes GOP Antisemitism Bill As College Unrest Continues
With unrest building and arrests increasing on college campuses around the country, the House of Representatives took action yesterday. The Antisemitism Awareness Act was passed by the House yesterday on a 320-91 bipartisan vote. The bill would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, but among the opposition to the bill were Jewish representatives like Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who said it would do nothing to stop antisemitism on campuses but would hurt free speech. The bill will now move on to the Senate for consideration while protests continue to ramp up around the country: UCLA announced remote classes through tomorrow after protests turned violent late Tuesday night, sending at least one person to the hospital and injuring 15. UCLA police declared the encampment occupied by protesters as an “unlawful gathering” and ordered demonstrators to leave. After dozens of protesters were arrested on the campus of Columbia University Tuesday night, the students held a press conference. Cameron Jones of Columbia’s Justice for Palestine chapter said, “We will not stop fighting. This is just the beginning.” The New York Police Department arrested 15 people on misdemeanor trespassing charges on the campus of Fordham University because of an encampment set up inside the lobby of the Lowenstein building.
2 Arizona Senate Sends Repeal Of 1864 Abortion Ban To The Governor
The Arizona Senate has sent a repeal of the state’s abortion ban from 1864 to the governor’s desk. After the state Supreme Court ruled that the ban, which makes performing an abortion or helping someone get one a felony punishable by a prison term, was still enforceable even today, the Arizona legislature has spent the last few weeks trying to deal with the fallout. The bill to repeal the ban passed the state House last week, and now yesterday’s Senate vote means the bill is headed to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk to be signed into law. Hobbs said yesterday that she plans to sign it into law at a ceremony this afternoon. Abortion-rights groups predictably praised the vote, while anti-abortion activists and Republicans in the Senate were less pleased with the outcome. It doesn’t do away with the ban immediately, though; under the state’s Constitution, repeals of laws don’t go into effect until 90 days after a legislative session concludes. Last year’s session ended in late July, which would push the repeal back until late October or early November.
3 Federal Reserve Keeps Interest Rates At Current Level
As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged again this month. The current rate, between 5.25 and 5.5-percent, is the highest level in over a decade, but the central bank said there’s been “a lack of further progress” toward the goal of 2-percent inflation. Even with the current economic problems, most analysts say the odds of a recession are slim. Economists say they expect rates to stay high, possibly until after the November general election.