Kroger follows Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods in becoming the third major retailer to impose tighter regulations on gun sales. Up until now, Kroger sold guns at 43 of its Fred Meyer locations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Both companies recently released statements saying the tightening of gun restrictions is in reaction to the Parkland school shooting that left 17 people dead. Kroger and Walmart both stopped selling assault-style weapons a few years ago.
NBC Universal will cut the number of ads it airs in primetime by 20%. The media giant owns networks such as NBC, Telemundo, USA, MSNBC, E!, and others. Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and client partnerships, says this is a necessary move to retain customers who are increasingly turning towards streaming platforms. The changes will go into effect by the fourth quarter.
Hope Hicks, one of President Trump's closest aides, is out as White House communications director. Her resignation comes a day after she told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that she tells "white lies" for the president. Ben Dreyfuss, senior editor at Mother Jones, says while the timing of this seems suspect, many reports claim Hicks had been considering leaving the White House for months now. Dreyfuss also weighs in on the latest with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mueller is reportedly interested in President Trump's efforts to push Attorney General Jeff Sessions out last summer. The president has been attacking Sessions on Twitter in recent days.
Congressman John Delaney (D-MD) joins us to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. He's created a bipartisan A.I. Caucus in Congress that will focus on harnessing this technology for good. Too often people are scared of A.I. technology because they fear robots will take their jobs, but Delaney believes it's important to work with the private sector to incorporate A.I. into the business world.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
