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Setting 12-team playoff bracket not the same as ranking top 12 teams

GRAPEVINE (AP) — Let’s forget all that has happened to Florida State since the Seminoles were 13-0 after winning the ACC title game with a third-string freshman quarterback last season. FSU fans certainly wish they could.

Back before that unprecedented snub last December, when the Seminoles became the only Power Five team in the 10 seasons of the four-team format to be left out of the College Football Playoff.

How would those Seminoles have fared if there had been a 12-team playoff bracket then?

The Associated Press took part in one of a series of mock exercises conducted by CFP officials to provide insight into how the 13-member selection committee’s process will work for the expanded playoff that begins this season.

In the exercises, there was certainly a spot in the 12-team field for an undefeated Florida State, and even a first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. Still, the Seminoles didn’t finish in the top four of any of the final rankings.

Rank and seed not the same
How is that possible? Remember that the rankings and the seedings that will be used to fill out the 12-team bracket aren’t the same. A second-, third- or fourth-ranked team by the CFP could end up no higher than the No. 5 seed and playing a first-round game at home. There also could be teams ranked in the CFP’s top 12 that get left out of the playoff.

Both of those scenarios played out during the mock session attended by the AP.

“Ranking and seeding are going to be different, and people are going to be surprised if they assume that their team is ranked one way and that they’re going to be seeded in that same way,” said Rich Clark, the CFP’s new executive director. “So it could be really a big difference, a shocker.”
The rankings

The CFP selection committee will still compile its weekly top 25, evaluating and ranking teams over seven rounds of balloting each week. The first of the six rankings this season will be released Nov. 5, and the final one Dec. 8, the day the playoff bracket is revealed.

Any group of three of more teams can be reconsidered after each round, but there can be no modifications to the final ranking to avoid rematches or games between schools from the same league once the playoff begins. The committee is charged to pick the “best” teams without predicting or speculating about head-to-head matchups that haven’t and may not happen.
The seedings

In the previous format, the playoff teams were the top four in the final CFP rankings no matter their conference. Last year, that was Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama, with ACC champion Florida State on the outside looking in at No. 5.

The new format: The CFP’s five highest-ranked conference champions and its next seven highest-ranked teams overall make the playoff. If you look at the current AP Top 25 using this format, the top four seeds this week would be top-ranked Texas, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 8 Miami and No. 12 Utah. Georgia, the AP’s No. 2 team behind the Longhorns, would be seeded fifth. Five of the seven at-large teams would be from the Southeastern Conference, and the Big Ten would fill the other spots.
Crafting a bracket

During the mock exercises, participants first put together a list of the best 25 teams from the 2023 season, utilizing the same data committee members used last December. Current conference affiliations were then applied during the seeding after that ranking was set, with Washington picked No. 1 ahead of last year’s national champion Michigan, followed by Texas, Alabama and Florida State.

If not for that twist, last year’s Power Five conference champs would have been seeded 1-5, just like they were ranked.

With Washington instead considered the Big Ten champ and No. 1 seed, Michigan dropped to the fifth seed. Texas (SEC), Florida State (ACC) and 14th-ranked Arizona (Big 12) were between them. Only conference champions can be one of the top four seeds that get a first-round bye.

Undefeated Conference USA champion Liberty, not in the mock final top 25, was then voted in as the top remaining conference champion and the No. 12 seed.

Once the parameters for conference champions were applied to the 12-team bracket, inserting Arizona and Liberty from outside the top 12-ranked teams, No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 12 LSU dropped out of playoff consideration.

SMU won the American Athletic title last season and was ranked 22nd. But the Mustangs are now in the ACC and weren’t recognized as the fifth highest-ranked conference champ. If they had been, they would have been in ahead of Liberty, with only LSU knocked out and Ole Miss then making the playoff.

The result
Using all those twists and turns, the bracket ended up looking like this — which Seminoles fans would have liked to see:

No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Ohio State. Winner vs. No. 1 Washington in the Rose Bowl.

No. 12 Liberty at No. 5 Michigan. Winner vs. No. 4 Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl.

No. 10 Missouri at No. 7 Georgia. Winner vs. No. 2 Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

No. 11 Penn State at No. 6 Alabama. Winner vs. No. 3 Florida State in the Peach Bowl.

Conference contractual agreements still apply for bowl placements in the quarterfinal round, sending Washington to the Rose (Big Ten) and Texas to the Sugar (SEC). Proximity for the top two seeds, whether they make it to the semifinals or not, determines those placements. In this case, the winner of the Washington half of the bracket goes to the Cotton Bowl, instead of the top-seeded Huskies potentially having to go across the country. The team out of the Texas half would go to the Orange Bowl, sending the Longhorns out of their home state again with a victory.

Teamsters union opts to not endorse any presidential candidate

Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the most prominent and influential unions in the country, said Wednesday it will not endorse any presidential candidate this year.

The 1.3-million-member union has historically thrown its weight around in presidential cycles and endorsed Democratic presidential candidates in recent cycles, with 1988 being the last time it supported a Republican, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush. However, hours before the union was set to announce its highly coveted endorsement on Wednesday, the Teamsters released polling of union members showing a nearly two-to-one preference for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.

"The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables. Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business," Teamsters President Sean O'Brien, who took on the role in 2022, said in a statement.

"Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them. We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process," he added. "But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters' International Union."

Blue-collar union workers have been a mainstay of Democratic support for several cycles, but Trump has made inroads with voters without a college degree, a key demographic that helped eat away at Democrats' union advantage.

Most of the country's largest unions, including the AFL-CIO and United Auto Workers union, endorsed President Joe Biden before he dropped out, and that support was reiterated for Harris after she took over as Democrats' nominee. The Teamsters, however, stayed out of the fray.

The union sought to hold meetings with Biden and Trump, and it met with Harris earlier this week before making any decision.

O'Brien ruffled Democrats' feathers when he addressed the Republican National Convention earlier this summer -- a move that was fiercely criticized by some of his counterparts -- and praised Trump, though he accused the former president of backing "economic terrorism" when he expressed support for firing striking workers, which is illegal under federal law.

“I want to be clear. At the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested if you have a ‘D,’ ‘R,’ or an ‘I’ next to your name,” O’Brien said on the stage in Milwaukee. “We want to know one thing: ‘What are you doing to help American workers?’ As a negotiator, I know that no window or door should ever be permanently shut.”

The union's decision Wednesday marks a blow for both candidates.

Trump had wooed the union, inviting O'Brien to Mar-a-Lago and culminating in O'Brien's primetime RNC speech.

Harris, meanwhile, has sought to shore up support among non-college educated voters, particularly in the industrial Midwest, a key region in this year's election where the Teamsters hold sway. The Biden administration has also repeatedly touted its pro-union bona fides, and Biden himself became the first sitting president in history to walk a picket line. However, unions were peeved at the role the administration played in averting a rail strike in late 2022.

After the union's announcement, the Harris campaign said she has "stood strong with organized labor for her entire career."

"As the Vice President told the Teamsters on Monday, when she is elected president, she will look out for the Teamsters rank-and-file no matter what - because they always have been and always will be the people she fights for," Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement.

Trump's campaign said while the Teamsters didn't endorse a candidate, "they want President Trump back in the White House."

"These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he's back in the White House," Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

The internal polling the Teamsters released earlier Wednesday showed that straw polls of members supported Biden over Trump by an 8-point margin, 44-36%.

In explaining its decision, the Teamsters union cited the lack of "majority support" for Harris and "no universal support among the membership" for Trump. However, it did note that Harris had pledged to sign pro-union federal legislation and that Trump would not commit to vetoing national "right to work" legislation, which would allow workers to opt in or out of unions in unionized workplaces -- laws that are enacted in several states that national groups like the Teamsters say weakens collective bargaining power.

Still, the Teamsters' National Black Caucus and several Teamsters' local chapters got out in front of the national organization and endorsed Harris on their own in recent weeks, including Local 623 in Philadelphia, which pointed to work done during the Biden administration, Harris' pledge to "expand union rights" and challenge "any anti-union 'right to work' legislation," and the "threat posed by Donald Trump."

ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Oren Oppenheim, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

Dozens injured after wagon overturns at Wisconsin apple orchard: Authorities

(CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis.) -- More than two dozen people were injured, including three critically, after a wagon overturned at an apple orchard in Wisconsin, authorities said.

The incident was reported Wednesday morning at Bushel and a Peck Apple Orchard in Chippewa Falls.

Elementary school-age children, parents and other chaperones were on a field trip at the time and were on a wagon ride, according to Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes.

A tractor was pulling two wagons at a "low speed" on a public road when the accident occurred, Hakes said.

One of the wagons began to lose control and turn sideways as it descended a hill and overturned, resulting in injuries to both children and adults, Hakes said.

"It's a traumatic day for a lot of people," Hakes told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.

Emergency personnel were dispatched for a "tractor accident involving two hay wagons with kids and adults," Chippewa Fire District Deputy Chief Cory Jeffers told reporters.

The fire department activated its mass casualty protocol so that outside agencies could help respond to the incident, Jeffers said. One helicopter from the Mayo Clinic was called in, he said.

Twenty-five individuals were transported from the scene to various agencies, Jeffers said. One patient was transported via the helicopter and nine via ambulance, Hakes said. Some were also transported in personal vehicles, he said.

Three people have life-threatening injuries and five have serious injuries, according to Hakes.

Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire received seven patients from the incident who are being treated for minor to serious injuries, a spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

Hakes said he believes all patients are in stable condition.

Authorities did not release additional details on the victims, including how many were children.

Hakes called the incident "heart-wrenching."

"As a parent myself, it's a parent's greatest fear that something happens to their children," he said.

He said he responded to the scene and helped calm the children and reunite them with their parents.

"The children were extremely brave, very resilient," he added.

The scene has since been cleared, Jeffers said. All of the children who were still at the scene have been reunited with their families, he added.

The children attended St. Mark Lutheran School in Eau Claire, the school's principal confirmed.

"At this point, we are focusing on reuniting the children with their caregivers," Principal Peter Micheel said in a statement to ABC News. "Whenever we face a challenging time, we commit everything to the Lord's care and trust his guiding hand."

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ABC News left a message with the orchard seeking comment.

Chippewa Falls is located about 12 miles northeast of Eau Claire.

ABC News' Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.

House votes down Speaker Johnson’s funding plan as shutdown deadline approaches

(WASHINGTON) -- The House on Wednesday voted down Speaker Mike Johnson's government funding plan with 14 Republicans voting against it and two others voting present.

The measure failed by a 202-222-2 margin. Three Democrats voted for the bill.

Johnson said after the vote that he was "disappointed that it didn't pass," but suggested there would be a "solution" to avoid a shutdown.

“We ran the play. It was the best play; it was the right one. So now we go back to the playbook. We'll draw up another play, and we'll come up with a solution," John said. "I'm already talking to colleagues about their many ideas. We have time to fix the situation, and we'll get right to it."

“Stay posted,” he concluded his remarks without taking questions.

Johnson's measure would have funded the government for six months but also included the SAVE Act, a bill backed by GOP leadership and former President Donald Trump that would require individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to vote. Democrats said the legislation is a non-starter, noting it is already illegal for non-citizens to cast a ballot in federal elections.

Johnson was set to try to pass the funding plan last week but pulled it from the floor because he didn't have the votes.

Some Republicans in his caucus opposed the measure because they say it would contribute to the deficit while defense hawks say they won't vote for it because the six-month extension would effect the Department of Defense's readiness.

Still, he was dug in on the measure and wasn't talking about what the next steps would be. Congress needs to pass a funding measure before Oct. 1 to avoid a shutdown.

Trump openly called for Republicans to let the government close if they don't pass the SAVE Act. He wrote on his social media platform that if they "don't get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET."

Asked about Trump's comments that Republicans should let funding lapse in such a scenario, Johnson responded “No, look, President Trump and I have talked a lot about this. We talked a lot about it with our colleagues who are building consensus on the plan. We all believe that election security is of preeminent importance right now."

Trump again, just before the vote on Wednesday, called for a government shutdown if "every ounce" of the SAVE Act isn't attached to a funding measure.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the chamber's top Republican, said it would be "politically beyond stupid" to allow a shutdown to take place with just seven weeks until Election Day.

"I think we first have to wait and see what the House sends us. My only observation about this whole discussion is the one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown," McConnell said. "It'd be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election, because certainly we'd get the blame."

Democrats urged Johnson to drop his funding plan and bring a clean short-term measure to the floor to keep the government open.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters last week that the only path forward is a bipartisan agreement that does not include “extreme” measures, such as the SAVE Act.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday also urged the House to pass a clean bill.

"In order to avoid a shutdown, the worst thing our colleagues in the House can do right now is waste time on proposals that don't have broad bipartisan support," Schumer said.

Trump paints NYC hometown as wasteland at Long Island rally, says Dems are ‘threat to democracy’

(NEW YORK) -- Former President Donald Trump, in his first rally since the most recent apparent assassination attempt, painted a bleak picture of his hometown of New York City at a raucous rally just miles away in the suburbs of Long Island and painted his Democratic opponents as a "threat to democracy."

In the appearance before thousands at Nassau Coliseum, Trump also vowed to visit the city of Springfield, Ohio -- a town he has repeatedly targeted with falsehoods about the Haitian population there eating "pets," despite assertions from officials, including the state's Republican governor that they are untrue. He said he would visit in the next two weeks.

Trump's pointed comment about Democrats came as he and his surrogates have repeated that rhetoric from his opponents about him being a threat to democracy was responsible for the attempts on his life.

Trump's reason for his Long Island rally on Wednesday night was to appeal to voters in New York, a blue state. Wednesday night's event was Trump's second rally in the state, on top of the multiple campaign stops he made in between his court appearances for his New York civil fraud trial.

As he addressed the crowd, Trump said a Harris win in November would turn New York "into a third-world country, if it isn't already."

Trump has often claimed during this campaign that crime has been on the rise in New York City and other metropolitan areas. But those claims appear to be at odds with data collected separately by the FBI and New York City officials.

The city has recorded 11% fewer murders this year compared to 2023, according to data released this week by the mayor and police commissioner. Total violent crime complaints, including murder, rape and robbery, have fallen in New York City by almost 3% this year and about 81% over the last 31 years, according to the data.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in June that the most recent national crime data collected by the FBI made clear that a "historic decline in violent crime is continuing."

Trump on Wednesday thanked law enforcement that thwarted an apparent assassination attempt on him on Sunday and praised the woman who captured a picture of the suspect's vehicle, saying he'd like to meet her.

Then he turned to his Democratic opponent, "the radical left Democrat politicians and the fake news media."

"The message is it's time to stop the lies, stop the hoaxes, stop the smears, stop the lawfare or the fake lawsuits against me, and stop claiming your opponents will turn America into a dictatorship," Trump said. "Give me a break. Because the fact is that I'm not a threat to democracy. They are."

He also pledged to restore SALT (state and local deductions), which his 2017 tax cut capped at $10,000.

Outside the Coliseum ahead of Trump's event, vendors lined up selling various Trump merchandise. The celebration, which included music blaring through speakers, featured golden cars with Trump's face on the front and bedazzled Trump jackets. Trump's campaign claimed that 60,000 tickets were requested, which would make it one of Trump's largest rallies during this campaign cycle.

The line for attendees stretched around the building hours before doors opened.

Trump's rally was on the same day he was initially scheduled to be sentenced in his New York civil fraud trial. The judge in the case delayed his sentencing from Sept. 18 until Nov. 26 -- after the presidential election.

Ahead of his Wednesday rally, Trump worked to court New Yorkers by promising to reverse a tax policy he signed into law in 2017. In a post on his social media platform, Trump claimed he would "get SALT back," suggesting eliminating the cap on state and local tax deductions. In his 2017 tax law, Trump capped deductions at $10,000.

A majority of New York's congressional Republican delegation has been pushing to reverse the SALT deduction cap on Capitol Hill, spearheading the ongoing debate around the issue.

However, while many local Republicans have celebrated Trump's posture change, it also comes as he has recently rolled out a series of tax breaks, raising concerns about significant increases to the deficit.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? VOTE FOR TRUMP! I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more," the former president posted on his social media network ahead of his Wednesday rally.

In May, Trump pledged to turn New York red during a campaign rally in deep-blue South Bronx, New York, attempting to court the Hispanic and Black voters that make up a majority of the area's population.

"We have levels of support that nobody's seen before ... Don't assume it doesn't matter just because you live in a blue city. You live in a blue city, but it's going red very, very quickly," Trump said at the time.

The Trump campaign has worked to court New Yorkers this campaign cycle, attempting to at least pull enthusiasm away from Democrats and help make down-ballot races more competitive.

Trump on Wednesday also repeated false claims about the mostly legal immigrants living in Springfield, where he says he'll be holding a campaign stop soon, going on to suggest he could may not back alive from the visit.

"I'm going to go there in the next two weeks. I'm going to Springfield and I'm going to Aurora. You may never see me again, but that's okay. Got to do what I got to do. Whatever happened to Trump? 'Well, he never got out of Springfield.'"

"We're going to take those violent people and we're going to ship them back to their country, and if they come back in, they're going to pay a hell of a price," Trump said, alluding to the Haitian residents who are mainly either legally authorized to live and work in the U.S. or are protected from expulsion by law.

Trump also again falsely suggested that schools were being heavily occupied by children who don't speak English, suggesting the mayor should just kick them out.

"So the mayor of Springfield, and I think he's a very nice person, but instead of saying, we're getting them all out, we're getting them out, he says very simply, we're hiring teachers to teach them English. Can you believe it? We are hiring interpreters," Trump said, making an unsupported claim.

This is also his first large-scale campaign rally after an apparent assassination attempt on Trump while he was golfing in West Palm Beach on Sunday. The day prior, Trump held a town hall where nearly 4,000 Michigan voters attended; the Nassau rally is expected to be four times the size.

Trump had also made multiple smaller campaign stops in New York City before and after his mandated court appearance throughout his seven-week hush money payment criminal trial earlier this year to highlight several campaign messaging at each stop.

In mid-April, he visited a small bodega in Harlem that was the scene of a fatal stabbing two years earlier to highlight what he claimed was the failure of Democratic prosecutors in New York to ensure public safety as they prosecute him. Later that month, he visited a construction site in midtown Manhattan to boast support from union workers and working-class voters.

Kilauea volcano erupting in remote area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

M. Zoeller/US Geological Survey / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(HILO, Hawaii) -- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, one of the most active in the world, is erupting again, prompting a volcano watch alert in surrounding areas, according to officials.

The eruption is occurring within a remote area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Lava began flowing from a new fissure vent that opened from east to west within the volcano's Nāpau Crater early Tuesday morning, the USGS said. The eruption continued throughout the day on Wednesday after a brief pause in activity within the crater, according to an update released by the USGS on Wednesday night.

Several lava fountains about 32 feet high and pools of lava on the floor of the crater were observed by helicopters flying over the eruption Tuesday morning.

A separate fissure west of the Nāpau Crater began emitting lava on Monday, stopping after a few hours and then resuming activity later that evening, according to the USGS, which also noted that the eruption was preceded by a sequence of below-ground earthquakes.

About 17 earthquakes were detected beneath the Kilauea summit region between Monday and Tuesday. The earthquakes occurred at depths between .6 and 1.9 miles below the ground surface, the USGS said.

The USGS issued a volcano watch – known as a code orange – which means that an eruption is either likely or occurring but with no, or minor, ash.

There is no immediate threat to life or infrastructure, but residents nearby may experience volcanic gas emissions related to the eruption, the USGS said.

Yet hazards remain around the Kilauea caldera from the instability of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall, the USGS said. Ground cracking and rockfalls can be enhanced by earthquakes.

Volcanic smog, known as vog, presents airborne health hazards to people and livestock and has the potential to damage agricultural crops and other plants, according to the USGS.

The USGS further warned that additional ground cracking and outbreaks of lava around the active and inactive fissures in Kilauea are also possible.

Another potential hazard is Pele's hair, a volcanic glass formation produced from cooled lava that's stretched into thin strands. The USGS warns that winds could carry lighter particles from the strands downwind. Contact with the particles can cause skin and eye irritation, according to the USGS.

Eruptions at Kilauea have been destructive in the past. In 2018, more than 600 properties were destroyed by heavy lava flow that stretched from the Kilauea summit to the ocean.

Unusual eruptions that were described as being similar to a "stomp-rocket toy," a children's toy that involves launching a rocket into the air after stomping on the release mechanism, contributed to the severity of the lava flow and could potentially impact future eruptions, according to a paper published earlier this year in Nature Geosciences.

The area surrounding the rim of Kilauea's Halemaʻumaʻu crater has been closed to the public since 2008 due to the hazards.

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ABC News' Bonnie Mclean contributed to this report.

See Robert Pattinson, Robert Pattinson and Robert Pattinson in the sci-fi action-comedy ‘Mickey 17’

The trailer has dropped for Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho's follow-up to his Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite, and it stars Robert Pattinson. Or, more accurately, Pattinsons.

An adaptation of Edward Ashton's novel Mickey 7, the darkly comedic sci-fi film has the star playing the title role(s).

English actor Pattinson's voice in character is unrecognizable. "Nothing was working out, and I wanted to get off Earth," he explains in voice-over.

To that end, he signs up to be an "expendable."

That's a deep space exploration gig so perilous that death is common — requiring a new clone to be printed, imprinted with the previous one's memories.

The character is shown falling into a crevasse and being attacked by aliens, all to be "born" again.

The 17 refers to how many times he's been printed to replace the previous one, but troubles arise as Mickey starts to question his true purpose. "Even on my 17th go-round, I hate dying," he confesses.

But he's particularly shook when he discovers an 18th version of him, also played by the The Batman star, that emerges while Mickey 17 is still alive.

Mickey 17 also stars Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Ackie. It hits theaters Jan. 31.

Fed cuts interest rate by half a point

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers.

The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflects its new focus on bolstering the job market, which has shown clear signs of slowing. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the Fed’s move also has the potential to scramble the economic landscape just as Americans prepare to vote.

The central bank’s action lowered its key rate to roughly 4.8%, down from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months as it struggled to curb the worst inflation streak in four decades. Inflation has tumbled from a peak of 9.1% in mid-2022 to a three-year low of 2.5% in August, not far above the Fed’s 2% target.

The Fed’s policymakers also signaled that they expect to cut their key rate by an additional half-point in their final two meetings this year, in November and December. And they envision four more rate cuts in 2025 and two in 2026.

In a statement, the Fed came closer than it has before to declaring victory over inflation: It said it “has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.”

Though the central bank now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.

Rate cuts by the Fed should, over time, lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, boosting Americans’ finances and supporting more spending and growth. Homeowners will be able to refinance mortgages at lower rates, saving on monthly payments, and even shift credit card debt to lower-cost personal loans or home equity lines. Businesses may also borrow and invest more. Average mortgage rates have already dropped to an 18-month low of 6.2%, according to Freddie Mac, spurring a jump in demand for refinancings.

In an updated set of projections, the Fed’s policymakers now collectively envision a faster drop in inflation than they did three months ago but also higher unemployment. They foresee their preferred inflation gauge falling to 2.3% by year’s end, from its current 2.5%, and to 2.1% by the end of 2025. And they now expect the unemployment rate to rise further this year, to 4.4%, from 4.2% now, and to remain there by the end of 2025. That’s above their previous forecasts of 4% for the end of this year and 4.2% for 2025.

The Fed’s next policy meeting is Nov. 6-7 — immediately after the presidential election. By cutting rates this week, soon before the election, the Fed is risking attacks from Trump, who has argued that lowering rates now amounts to political interference. Yet Politico has reported that even some key Senate Republicans who were interviewed have expressed support for a Fed rate cut this week.

The central bank’s officials fought against high inflation by raising their key rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Wage growth has since slowed, removing a potential source of inflationary pressure. And oil and gas prices are falling, a sign that inflation should continue to cool in the months ahead. Consumers are also pushing back against high prices, forcing such companies as Target and McDonald’s to dangle deals and discounts.

The Fed’s decision Wednesday drew the first dissent from a member of its governing board since 2005. Michelle Bowman, a board member who has expressed concern in the past that inflation had not been fully defeated, said she would have preferred a quarter-point rate cut.

Yet after several years of strong job growth, employers have slowed hiring, and the unemployment rate has risen nearly a full percentage point from its half-century low in April 2023 to a still-low 4.2%. Once unemployment rises that much, it tends to keep climbing. Fed officials and many economists note, though, that the rise in unemployment this time largely reflects an influx of people seeking jobs — notably new immigrants and recent college graduates — rather than layoffs.

At issue in the Fed’s deliberations is how fast it wants to lower its benchmark rate to a point where it’s no longer acting as a brake on the economy — nor as an accelerant. Where that so-called “neutral” level falls isn’t clear, though many analysts peg it at 3% to 3.5%.

Man found dead under unoccupied tow truck in Carthage

CARTHAGE – The Carthage Police Department is trying to find answers after a man was found dead under an unoccupied tow truck, according to our news partners at KETK. Carthage PD said they were notified of a crash at 11:22 p.m. on Tuesday in the 800 block of S. Adams Street “involving an out-of-county tow truck and a passenger car.” Officers reportedly found both vehicles unoccupied, and found “the apparent tow truck driver” dead under the tow truck. The Carthage Fire Department helped work the scene and Texas DPS were contacted to help reconstruct the crash. Police are still investigating and the identity of the victim has not been released at this time.

David Rancken’s App of the Day 09/18/24 – Scrollit – Visual Messenger!

How would you like to have you own personal billboard? Get David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Scrollit – Visual Messenger. You can find Scrollit – Visual Messenger in the Apple Store.

Brendan Fraser, Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei break bad in trailer to caper comedy ‘Brothers’

For a streaming movie about two bickering burglars, the upcoming Prime Video movie Brothers boasts some A-list names.

Game of Thrones Emmy winner Peter Dinklage joins Oscar nominees Josh Brolin and Glenn Close, and Oscar winners Brendan Fraser and Marisa Tomei, in the caper comedy that centers on a cache of emeralds with a large side of family dysfunction.

Oh, and there's also an amorous orangutan named Samuel.

The trailer opens with the diminutive Dinklage getting tossed into a bathtub and held underwater by Fraser, who asks where the stones are.

Rewinding, Dinklage explains, "Some families have a long line of dentists and lawyers. We had a long line of felons."

He says that since childhood, he and his "big ugly twin brother," played by Brolin, were always stealing stuff. "I had the plans, he had the hands," the actor narrates.

While Brolin's character has gone straight, Dinklage proposes one last score — for the stones.

Complicating matters is the return of their mother, played by Close. "You were gone 30 years!" Brolin says, with Close responding, "I can apologize only so much."

"You haven't apologized at all," Brolin replies.

Evidently, however, she's needed so the trio can get their hands on the $4 million haul.

There's a ton of physical comedy and R-rated wordplay from director Max Barbakow — and Brolin's character is apparently molested by the ape, requiring the embarrassed thief to slather hand sanitizer all over himself afterward.

The movie hits Prime Video Oct. 17.

Water main break in Gladewater

GLADEWATER – Our news partners at KETK report the City of Gladewater said due to a water main break Wednesday morning portions of the city will not have water. Gladewater ISD officials said all students will be released early at 1 p.m. due to the S. Main Street water main break. City officials said they will provide updates as soon as they receive them on their Facebook page.

Abilene Christian to build nuclear reactor on campus

AUSTIN – the Dallas Morning News reports federal nuclear power regulators have given the go-ahead for the first research nuclear reactor in more than 40 years, and it’s here in Texas. Abilene Christian University will be home to the advanced nuclear reactor, which the university’s NEXT Lab and Abilene-based nuclear company Natura Resources will build on campus. The permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is a milestone in the research and development of smaller-scale nuclear reactors in Texas and could become the state’s first new nuclear reactor since the Comanche Peak power plant’s second unit was licensed to operate in 1993. The NEXT Lab reactor could generate enough energy to power the equivalent of only about 250 homes. However, it will create a testing ground for a type of reactor that its developers believe can be scaled to larger utility-scale reactors. It will be housed in the university’s Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center, which was completed in August 2023.

“With the NRC’s issuance of the construction permit, we are one step closer to making that a reality. The performance-driven approach of Natura Resources to advanced reactor deployment has quickly moved them from a relative unknown to a leader in the upstart advanced reactor industry,” said Phil Schubert, university president. Federal inspectors will monitor the construction of the reactor, which will not produce electricity until ACU obtains additional federal approval to fuel the reactor with uranium. “This is the first research reactor project we’ve approved for construction in decades, and the staff successfully worked with ACU to resolve several technical issues with this novel design,” Andrea Veil, director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, said in a news release. Molten salt will be used to cool the reactor, which can reach extreme temperatures. Heat that radiates through the molten salt can then be used to create electricity. While this method of cooling has existed for more than 50 years, it is not widely used. Legacy reactors generally rely on water to cool fuel rods.

Travis County sues Texas officials over voting

AUSTIN (AP) – Travis County officials sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Tuesday over the state’s attempt to block voter registration efforts ahead of a hotly contested presidential election.

The new federal lawsuit escalates a pre-election war between Republican state officials and Democratic urban county leaders over voter registration efforts and accuses Texas officials of violating the National Voter Registration Act. Developments in the ongoing battle continue unfolding as the Oct. 7 deadline to sign up to vote looms.

“Today, Travis County, once again, fights back,” Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said during a press conference Tuesday.

Paxton’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The federal suit is in response to Paxton turning to state courts to try and block the county from mailing out voter registration applications to people identified as eligible voters who aren’t currently on the rolls. Travis County is home to Austin and has long been a Democratic stronghold in the state.

Paxton’s lawsuit argued that the Texas Election Code did not grant a county officials the ability to collect information about private citizens to convince them to vote and claimed that such an effort is illegal. But Democrats, local leaders and election experts disagree with Paxton’s interpretation of state law.

In interviews with conservative personalities and on social media, Paxton has also pushed false accusations that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris intentionally allowed undocumented immigrants into the country so that they can vote for Democrats. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee this year, has repeated similar claims, including during this month’s presidential debate against Harris, the Democratic nominee.

Paxton has argued that mailing voter registration applications could lead to ineligible voters signing up to vote. Voter registration applications are returned to county offices and are reviewed to confirm eligibility. The Secretary of State’s Office also verifies eligibility.

“Travis County has blatantly violated Texas law by paying partisan actors to conduct unlawful identification efforts to track down people who are not registered to vote,” Paxton said in a statement earlier this month. “Programs like this invite fraud and reduce public trust in our elections. We will stop them and any other county considering such programs.”

Jeremy Smith, the CEO of Civic Government Solutions, the company contracted by Travis County to identify unregistered voters, also denied that his organization engaged in partisan tactics in identifying eligible voters who haven’t yet signed up to cast a ballot in November.

“All of our contracts, 100% of them, are nonpartisan. It is written in,” Smith said. “We are under restrictions and obligations to prove that and maintain that and provide that data for accountability back to all of our clients.”

Garza said the new legal filings transfers Paxton’s state lawsuit to federal court. Travis officials are asking the federal court to allow them to continue sending out voter registration applications. The filing came one day after a judge denied Paxton’s request to block Bexar County, home to San Antonio, from mailing out voter registration applications to its residents. The court found no reason to grant the request since the county had already mailed out the forms. Bexar County is also strongly Democratic.

Travis officials allege Paxton violated Title 52 of the Voting Rights Act by trying to prevent them from carrying out their duties to promote people’s right to vote. They accuse Nelson of doing nothing to stop Paxton’s alleged unlawful conduct. They argue that the state law not only allows them to send out the applications, but also encourages them to do so.

Nelson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Garza pointed out that a state law provision states that local governments can be reimbursed for mailing out voter registration applications to its residents.

“Travis County was going about its business serving the citizens of our community and dutifully complying with federal and state election laws,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown.

Update: U.S. 59 has reopened after a seven-hour traffic delay

UPDATE: U.S. 59 has reopened after a seven-hour traffic delay.

LUFKIN – One person is injured after a wreck involving three 18-wheelers Wednesday morning on US Highway 59 in Lufkin, according to our news partners at KETK.

According to Lufkin officials, the crash happened just before 8 a.m. near the intersection of Southwood Drive and FM 324.
Courtesy of City of Lufkin

Authorities are asking drivers to avoid the area if possible and to expect delays. Officials said one of the vehicles lost its load on the highway and clearing the scene “will take a considerable amount of time.”

Officials said southbound US 59 traffic is rerouted into one of the northbound lanes.

One of the drivers was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, Lufkin officials said.

“Northbound lanes are also expected to experience closures and delays as heavy-rotation wreckers are brought in for cleanup,” authorities said.