Emergency funding for the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, has now bogged down the CR and is leading to the political brinksmanship in Congress. However, all House members and 34 senators are up for re-election this year and thus motivated to avoid the government shutdown that could ensue.
A draft of the Senate’s FY 2017 continuing resolution (CR), the stopgap funding measure to keep the federal government open after FY 2016 ends 30 September, was circulated on Capitol Hill yesterday. By this afternoon, the measure was essentially dead. The draft would extend funding at FY 2016 levels through 9 December, allowing a lame-duck session of Congress to either pass appropriations bills for the remainder of FY 2017 or another short-term f...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
