>>Federal Reserve To Meet This Week
(Washington, DC) -- The Federal Reserve will meet this week with another interest rate hike widely expected. Last month policymakers pressed pause on rate hikes for the first time in 15 months. The Central Bank will meet Tuesday and Wedneday in Washington, D.C. with a rate decision coming after the second day. Officials have been aiming to bring inflation down to two-percent, but it remains at three-percent. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments will likely provide insight into what's next for the Central Bank's policy and how it currently views the state of the economy.
>>Biden Secures Commitments From Tech Giants On AI Development
(Washington, DC) -- Several leading artificial intelligence companies are agreeing to responsibly develop their cutting edge technology. President Biden told reporters on Friday that the commitment from companies including Google, Amazon and others are "real and concrete." Before a meeting with tech executives, the president said companies are obligated to ensure their tech is safe before releasing it to the public. Commitments include robust security testing of AI products, disclosure of AI-generated material and research on risks of bias and discrimination. Biden said the tech should be deployed to tackle societies biggest challenges, like curing cancer and combatting climate change.
>>WH Adviser Says Economy Trending In Positive Direction
(Washington, DC) -- A White House economic adviser says Bidenomics is "going in the right direction." Speaking on Fox News Sunday, White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein noted that wages are starting to outpace inflation. Bernstein acknowledged that polls show that barely a third of Americans approve of President Biden's handling of the economy. Bernstein said he's hopeful that "consumer confidence and sentiments" will catch up to the progress he believes the Biden administration has made with the economy.
>>UPS, Teamsters To Resume Contract Talks Tuesday
(Undated) -- UPS and the Teamsters union will return to the bargaining table this week. Contract negotiations that will resume Tuesday are aimed at averting a strike by 340-thousand UPS workers. The Teamsters' five-year labor deal with the shipping giant expires on July 31st. A strike could paralyze many supply chains and do tremendous harm to the economy.
>>Musk Says He's Getting Rid Of Twitter's Bird Logo
(San Francisco, CA) -- Elon Musk says he's getting rid of Twitter's bird logo. The owner of the social media platform made the announcement in a pair of tweets early Sunday. In the first tweet, Musk said, "soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds." The second tweet said, "If a good enough X logo is posted tonight," we'll "go live worldwide tomorrow." He then posted an image of a flickering "X" with no comment. Twitter changed its business name to X Corp after Musk bought the company in October.
>>Barbie Beats The Bomb At The Box Office
(Los Angeles, CA) -- You could call it a "Barbenheimer" weekend at North America's box offices. Greta Gerwig's live-action feature "Barbie" is the top movie in the U.S. and Canada earning 155-million-dollars in its first weekend of release. That marks the biggest opening for any film directed by a woman. Coming in second is Christopher Nolan's biopic "Oppenheimer" -- which made 80-and-a-half-million-dollars in its' debut weekend. The picture is about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer -- who led America's development of the atomic bomb during World War Two. Rounding out the Top Five are the faith-based drama "Sounds of Freedom" followed by "Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."
>>Trader Joe's Recalls Two Cookie Products That May Contain Rocks
(Undated) -- Trader Joe's is issuing a nationwide recall of two of its cookie products that may contain rocks. One of the products is Almond Windmill Cookies with a sell-by date between October 19th and October 21st of this year. The other is Dark Chocolate Chunk Almond Cookies with a sell-by date between October 17th and October 21st. Trader Joe's says all "potentially affected products" have been pulled from the shelves and destroyed. Customers who purchased either of the products should either toss them out or return them to Trader Joe's for a full refund. Trader Joe's did not indicate how rocks got into the products.
