Wall Street climbs ahead of Election Day, inflation data
Stocks rose on the eve of Election Day as Wall Street looked ahead to the benefits of a possibly split government in Washington, though trading is likely to stay bumpy in a week full of events that could shake the market. The S&P 500 rose 1% Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.3% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.9%. Analysts say many investors seem to be making bets that Republicans will take control of at least one house of Congress. With a divided government, gridlock is more likely than big, sweeping policy changes that could upend tax and spending plans.
Putin-linked businessman admits to US election meddling
Kremlin-connected businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that he interfered in U.S. elections and would continue to do so. The statement by the man known as “Putin’s chef” because of his catering company confirmed for the first time the accusations that he has rejected for years. In a posting on a Russian social media platform, Prigozhin said: “We have interfered, are interfering and will continue to interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way.” The remarks came on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in response to a request for comment. Prigozhin and other Russians were charged in 2018 with operating a covert social media campaign aimed at dividing American public opinion ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Jackson, in dissent, issues first Supreme Court opinion
New Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has issued her first Supreme Court opinion. It was a short dissent Monday in support of a death row inmate from Ohio. Jackson wrote that she would have thrown out lower court rulings in the case of inmate Davel Chinn, whose lawyers argued that the state suppressed evidence that might have altered the outcome of his trial. Jackson, in a two-page opinion, wrote that she would have ordered a new look at Chinn’s case “because his life is on the line and given the substantial likelihood that the suppressed records would have changed the outcome at trial.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only other member of the court to join Jackson’s opinion.
AP sources: Justice Dept. watchdog probing Mass. US attorney
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is investigating the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, prompted by U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins’ appearance at a political fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden. That’s according to two people briefed on the investigation who weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The nation’s 93 U.S. attorneys are political appointees who are some of the highest-ranking federal law enforcement officials. Such an investigation targeting one of them is highly unusual. And the ethics concerns surrounding Rollins threaten to undermine Attorney General Merrick Garland’s efforts to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for political independence.
Musk’s partisan tweets call Twitter neutrality into question
Elon Musk used his Twitter megaphone to appeal to “independent-minded voters” on Monday, urging them to vote Republican in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, stepping into the country’s political debate that tech company executives have for years worked to stay out of so their platforms wouldn’t be seen as favoring one side over the other. While Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion, has expressed political views in the past, such a direct endorsement of one party over another raises worries about Twitter’s ability to remain neutral under Musk’s rule.
Paxlovid may reduce risk of long COVID-19 in eligible patients, study finds
People who took antiviral drug Paxlovid within a few days after being infected with the coronavirus were less likely to be experiencing long COVID-19 several months later, a large new study found. The findings suggest that for people who are medically eligible for the antiviral — older adults or people with certain health problems — Paxlovid not only reduces the odds that they will be hospitalized or die from COVID, but also lowers their risk of long-term symptoms. The study, which was published online without undergoing peer review, does not indicate whether antivirals might be beneficial for other patients, such as younger people or those without high-risk medical conditions.
Officials: US aid worker shot dead in Baghdad in rare attackTwo police officials say assailants shot dead an American aid worker in Baghdad in a rare killing of a foreigner in the Iraqi capital in recent years, The man was shot as he drove through the capital’s central Karrada district on the east bank of the Tigris River but the reason for the killing was not immediately clear. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killing. U.S. Embassy officials when contacted by The Associated Press said they had only just heard about the shooting and had no information. Two security officials confirmed a U.S. citizen who worked for an international aid organization had been killed without giving his name.
Polish leader blames low birthrate on women using alcohol
A women’s rights group in Poland has urged people to demonstrate after the country’s ruling party leader claimed that the country’s low birthrate is partly caused by young women drinking too much alcohol. Opposition politicians and other critics accused Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a 73-year-old bachelor, of being out of touch. They also argue that Kaczynski, the most powerful politician in Poland since 2015, is himself partly responsible for the the low birthrate in the central European nation of 38 million people. Kaczynski has pushed for tighter restrictions on abortion that have discouraged some women from seeking to get pregnant.
By wire sources