“This is a good economy,” Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said at a press conference after announcing that the central bank would hold high interest rates steady for now. His statement—if not the decision—was surely welcomed by the Biden administration. For months America’s economic data have been consistently strong, but the vibes are off, which has Joe Biden’s re-election campaign worried.
A federal judge threw out a lawsuit brought by Disney against Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor. Disney sued Mr DeSantis for alleged retaliation after it criticised a law restricting conversations about sexuality and gender in school. Mr DeSantis subsequently oversaw the elimination of the “special district” Disney had operated autonomously since 1967. Disney said it would “press forward” with the case.
Under pressure from a senator, Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Meta, apologised to families of people who had suffered abuse online. Both he and Shou Zi Chew, the TikTok CEO, showed up voluntarily at a Senate committee hearing about children’s online safety for what proved to be a grilling. The bosses of Snap, Discord and X had been subpoenaed.
Texas’s Supreme Court sided with Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney-general, and temporarily blocked depositions in a lawsuit against him. Mr Paxton was nearly ousted last year for an alleged quid pro quo arrangement. Former aides sued him, alleging he fired them for whistleblowing. Mr Paxton tried to end the litigation by saying he would accept judgment, but the whistleblowers want him to testify.
The Biden administration tapped John Podesta, a longtime Democratic strategist, to replace John Kerry, who is stepping down as special climate envoy this spring. Mr Podesta serves as a senior adviser on clean energy to the White House, overseeing the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. He will continue to focus on domestic decarbonisation, plus lead America’s climate diplomacy.
The Biden administration believes that “an umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq” is responsible for the drone attack that killed three American soldiers in Jordan, John Kirby, a White House spokesman, said. The group includes Kata’ib Hizbullah, an Iran-aligned Iraqi faction. Mr Biden previously said he would pursue “multiple actions” in response but that he did not want a wider war.
In 2020 Georgia was a hub of election drama. In 2024, as our story explains, the state will again take centre stage. Donald Trump will be tried for conspiring to overturn the election in Fulton County. Fierce debates over election security will play out in the courts. And as Georgia’s Republicans tighten voting laws, Democrats—trying to get unlikely voters registered—have been forced into new battles.
Daily quiz
Which state had the lowest murder rate, per 100,000 people, in 2021?
Every weekday we’ll quiz you on one question about American politics.
The weekly winner, chosen at random, will be announced here on Fridays.
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Figure of the day
27%, the proportion of eligible voters identifying as Democrat, a record low. Read our story on why America’s political parties are so bad at winning elections.
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—Marsha Blackburn, Republican senator from Tennessee, to Mark Zuckerberg on January 31st
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