| | Good afternoon. Here’s what you should know today, Sept. 17: |
| - For both leading presidential candidates, mum’s the word on U.S. debt
- Casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war hit a historic—and sad—milestone
- A decade after “Lean In,” progress for women isn’t trickling down
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| | Thanks for reading What’s News! Look for the 🔐 to enjoy a free article on us—and share the link with a friend (or forward the whole newsletter!). |
| |  | PHOTO: HUSSEIN MALLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS |
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| 1. Pagers carried by thousands of Hezbollah operatives exploded at about the same time in what appeared to be an unprecedented attack. |
| More than 2,700 people were injured and eight killed across Lebanon, authorities said. Many of the pagers were from a recent shipment, people familiar with the matter said. Malware might have caused the explosions, a Hezbollah official said, adding that some people felt the pagers heat up (🔐 read for free) and disposed of them before they burst. The U.S.-designated terrorist group and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the attack, and both said civilians were killed. Hezbollah threatened to retaliate. The Israeli military declined to comment. |
| Netanyahu Allies Make the Case for Firing Israel’s Defense Minister (Read) |
| 2. A quarter point might sound small, but it’s a big deal. |
| The Fed is set to cut interest rates tomorrow by a quarter or half percentage point. Data including inflation, unemployment and monthly payroll growth go into the deliberations. The argument for a quarter point rests on considerations including that the economy is fundamentally fine and that cutting rates too fast could encourage risk-taking that sustains higher inflation. The smaller increment allows for more time to study a rate adjustment’s impact. Central bankers opt for a bigger trim when they think the rate stance isn’t well aligned with the balance of risks. Officials raised rates in half and three-quarter point increments to fight high inflation in 2022. Meanwhile, companies are preparing to keep high-yielding cash ahead of the Fed cut, and major U.S. stock indexes wobbled on the first day of its policy meeting, with traders betting on a big rate cut. |
| 3. You’re not imagining it: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris aren’t talking about the federal deficit. |
| The two major-party presidential candidates were both part of administrations that added to the deficit, and neither is likely to do a 180, if elected. The vice president and the former president want to protect the biggest drivers of rising spending—Social Security and Medicare—and extend trillions of dollars in tax cuts. This year’s budget deficit is on track to top $1.9 trillion, or more than 6% of economic output, a threshold reached only around World War II, the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic. |
| Campaigns Carry On Despite Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump (Read) U.S. Authorities Were Warned About Suspected Trump Gunman (Read) Trump Wants IVF Coverage, but Republicans Block Senate Bill (Read) |
| 4. JPMorgan Chase is in talks with Apple to take over its credit-card program from Goldman Sachs. |
| Discussions started earlier this year and have advanced in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be months away or never come together, given that key details haven’t been worked out yet. The tech giant’s credit card has over 12 million users. Apple and Goldman last year decided to end their partnership, which also includes savings accounts. Both have spoken with potential suitors. |
| 5. Cigna’s Express Scripts sued the FTC to force it to retract a critical report. |
| One of the biggest pharmacy-benefit managers, the company called the document “unsupported innuendo” about the businesses that negotiate drug prices and accused FTC Chair Lina Khan of bias, according to its lawsuit. Health insurers and employers hire PBMs to control drug spending, but the report said that they sometimes steer patients away from less expensive medicines and overcharge for cancer therapies. The agency said that it stands by its report. Express Scripts, UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx and CVS Health’s Caremark manage about 80% of U.S. prescriptions. |
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| | 🗨 Make sense of AI’s impact on business. |
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| | ~1 million | The number of Russians and Ukranians killed or wounded in the war between the two countries, according to Western intelligence estimates of Russian casualties and people familiar with a confidential Ukrainian estimate. (Moscow and Kyiv don’t release official estimates or, at times, release widely mistrusted figures.) Large losses mean battlefield problems and accelerated demographic fears for two countries with already shrinking populations. |
| | “The ability to grow talent from the entry-level up to senior leadership is one of the most fundamental challenges companies still haven’t gotten their hands around.” | —Lareina Yee, a senior partner at McKinsey. In a decadelong study, the management consultancy and LeanIn.Org, the nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg, found that women now hold more top jobs at major North American companies, but their share in the lowest—and much larger—managerial ranks has grown by just 2 percentage points, to 39%, over the past 10 years. The increase among middle managers is slightly bigger. |
| | - Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Charged With Multiple Counts of Sex Trafficking and Racketeering (Read)
- 🎥 Xbox Lost the Console War. Now It’s Redefining Gaming. (Watch)
- The Top U.S. Colleges for Student Experience (Read)
- Her ‘Skinny’ Videos Divided TikTok. She Says They’re ‘What the Viewers Want.’ (Read)
- There’s a New Manning Quarterback—and This One Can Run (Read)
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| |  | Instagram plans to automatically put all teens under 18 in restrictive accounts. PHOTO: MIKAELA MARTIN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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| Instagram is restricting teen accounts—and blocking sneaky workarounds. |
| Youth accounts will default to private settings, limiting who can contact them and curbing access to adult-oriented content. Those under 16 need a parent’s OK to change the settings. If teens try to bypass the restrictions by opening a new account with an older birthday, they will have to show an ID or upload a video selfie for age verification. Early next year, the company plans to start using AI in the U.S. to suss out teen accounts. |
| | | To what extent should employers seek to narrow the gender gap in their workplaces? Let us know at whatsnewsletter@wsj.com or reply to this newsletter. Include your full name and location, and we may publish your response in an upcoming issue. |
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| | | The first “Golden Bachelorette” wants a man who grocery shops. |
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Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.