Random News and Notes 10 September
We start this edition of RNN in Poland of all places. Generally speaking, international news is relegated to the end of RNN, but the weight of the happenings in Poland last night make it the lead story today.
The Polish military – along with NATO – tracked, engaged and destroyed several Russian one way attack drones that entered its airspace overnight. The news first broke just before 1900 EDT yesterday – 0100 local time in Poland.
Between 19 and 23 drones entered Polish airspace. All but one were shot down before they hit anything. The one that leaked through hit a residential apartment block, but no deaths were reported.
There were also reports of Russian drones in Moldovan airspace, but there is less information available about them. The Polish and Moldovan incursions occurred during a fairly large Russian attack on Ukraine.
The Russians are, of course, denying any of this happened. And if it did it was Poland’s fault for being in the way.
This news just crossed the transom:
Poland has invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty. Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty allows a member state to request formal consultations among the allies whenever its territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened. This enables members to discuss concerns that fall short of a direct armed attack and to coordinate responses, which can range from political and economic action to military action.
There are a couple of Lawfare notes to cover today. First up is some bad news. Fed Governor and alleged mortgage fraudster Lisa Cook had her position saved by a Judge. Trump fired her for cause after the alleged fraud was uncovered, but District judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, issued a TRO preventing Cook’s removal. That allows her to attend and participate in the September Fed meeting.
Now on to the so-so news. SCOTUS has granted certiorari in the Tariff case. They will expedite the hearings and hear the case as soon as possible.
I have no idea of which way this one is going. Imposing taxes – and tariffs are taxes – is a power solely vested in Congress. However, some of the legislation passed regarding tariffs seems to give the President the power to impose them under some very specific conditions. We’ll see.
The final bit of lawfare news is good-ish news. Chief Justice John Roberts hisself issued a stay in the USAID funding rescission cases. At question is some $4 billion in funding for international health care initiatives. The whole case is a mess, and the district judge seems to think he has the authority to order the Executive to spend money.
. . . just a temporary move, it could make it tougher for the groups suing over the aid cuts to get the money Congress approved.
It gets better though. House Speaker Mike Johnson is shepherding legislation through the House to ensure these funds get clawed back.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers were announced this morning and they came in far better than expected. The PPI, which measures wholesale inflation, came in at a negative .1%, beating the forecast +.3%. That means wholesale prices fell by a tenth of a percent over last month.
The CPI, a related index that focuses on consumer prices, comes out in the next few days. That will give us a better idea of what inflation is doing.
The Missouri House has just approved the new Congressional district map. There is now one lone Dem district in the state.
Gavin Newsom thought he was being slick trying to redistrict California. Whoops.
