Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Hurricane Francine Makes Landfall In Louisiana As A Category 2 Storm
Hurricane Francine made landfall just after 6 pm Eastern time as a Category 2 storm, increasing in strength to 100 mph maximum sustained winds just before reaching the Louisiana Coast. Within an hour, it had weakened back to a Category 1, which was still strong enough to cause problems in southeast Louisiana. The Causeway Bridge over Lake Pontchartrain [ponch-ah-train] was closed to traffic because of high winds and poor visibility, and the storm brought flash flood warnings to several parishes near New Orleans. As the storm moved through the area, customers reported having problems reaching 911, but AT&T and T-Mobile said the issues were fixed by 11 pm Eastern time. After making landfall, the storm took a slightly more easterly path than predicted, bringing high winds and heavy rains to the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area. Francine left darkness behind her as she moved inland; as of 1:30 am Eastern time, there were over 380,000 customers without power in Louisiana. As of late last night no serious injuries or deaths had been reported from the storm.
2 Consumer Inflation Fell To Three-Year Low In August
Inflation eased in August, which will make it easier for the Federal Reserve to make the call to lower interest rates later this month if it so chooses. Yesterday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the CPI, or Consumer Price Index, rose 2.5-percent in August from a year earlier, the fifth-straight drop. The number reached a three-year low, even though core prices rose 3.2-percent over August 2023, and were up 0.3-percent over the July numbers. In a note to clients, Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said, “Today’s report will add to confidence within the Fed that inflation is indeed on a sustainable path toward 2-percent.” The Fed is set to meet next week, and experts expect an interest rate cut at that meeting.
3 Trump Refuses Harris Call For Second Debate
Shortly after Tuesday night’s debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Harris campaign called for another one. Trump, on the other hand, isn’t convinced. Talking to ABC News, Trump said, “Well, she wants a second debate because she lost tonight, very badly.” The former president said he’s looking at polls and bragged about what he said is a lead over Harris in polling numbers. Talking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump said, “I sort of think maybe I shouldn’t do it.” He has said he’s thinking about it.