Anonymous ID: c41b4f March 4, 2020, 2:49 p.m. No.8318860   🗄️.is 🔗kun

WASHINGTON—U.S. services sector activity jumped to a one-year high in February, suggesting strength in the economy before a recent escalation of recession fears ignited by the coronavirus epidemic that prompted an emergency interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

The economy’s solid fundamentals were also underscored by other data on Wednesday showing private payrolls increased more than expected in February, in part as unseasonably mild weather bolstered hiring at construction sites and in the leisure and hospitality industry.

The Fed on Tuesday slashed its benchmark overnight interest rate by a half percentage point to a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent, in the U.S. central bank’s first emergency rate cut since 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said “the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity.”

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its non-manufacturing activity index increased to a reading of 57.3 last month, the highest level since February 2019, from 55.5 in January. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index falling to a reading of 54.9 in February.

The ISM said services industries remained “positive about business conditions and the overall economy,” but also noted that “most respondents are concerned about the coronavirus and its supply chain impact.”

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-services-sector-growth-accelerates-private-payrolls-rise-solidly_3260136.html

Anonymous ID: c41b4f March 4, 2020, 2:53 p.m. No.8318899   🗄️.is 🔗kun

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will face a spirited challenge from activist and attorney Shahid Buttar in the November general election.

Buttar represents a unique, if unlikely challenge to Pelosi, the most powerful elected Democrat in the country and 33-year incumbent for San Francisco’s congressional seat. On Tuesday, Pelosi took 72.5 percent of the vote in California’s 12th Congressional District. Under the state’s unique primary system — where the top-two vote-getters in the primary make it to the general election, even if they belong to the same party — Buttar’s 12.7 percent was enough to get him on the November ballot.

Buttar is a constitutional lawyer who has dedicated his career on reining in American militarism and advancing causes relating to social justice. As a part-time DJ, Buttar may appear at face value as just another reflexive left-wing activist, but he is well-credentialed with a track record in advocacy and community organizing. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Buttar worked on court cases litigating marriage equality and defending the civil liberties of Muslims facing FBI surveillance, and has challenged the constitutionality of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Currently on leave from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Buttar has waged an insurgent effort, campaigning on a promise to ensure that Pelosi faces bonafide electoral opposition from the left for the first time in modern history. The seemingly quixotic bid has given Buttar the opportunity to elevate genuine concerns with Pelosi’s style of leadership, including her compromise bill on drug pricing, which would only impact a few select pharmaceutical products, her support for President Donald Trump’s increased spending on the Pentagon, and what Buttar describes as a failure to fight for federal financing to alleviate the housing crisis in San Francisco and other cities.

 

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/04/super-tuesday-primaries-california-pelosi-shahid-buttar/

Anonymous ID: c41b4f March 4, 2020, 3:03 p.m. No.8319005   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9288

4 Mar 2020

Task & Purpose | By David Roza

This article by David Roza originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.

An Air Force AC-130U crew was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 12 Air Medals on Monday for phenomenal gunnery above a firefight against ISIS fighters in Afghanistan in April 2019.

 

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/03/04/legendary-air-force-crew-gets-medals-after-9-hour-firefight-against-isis.html