Ben Bernanke Holds Historic Live Press Conference on Economy
The Wall Street Journal reports that Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke will hold his first-ever official press conference Wednesday, breaking with a tradition that generally sees Fed chairmen only ever delivering pre-written statements and Congressional testimonies, careful not to disquiet an unstable market. He's expected to cover the $600 billion Treasury bond buying program known as QE2, as well as the weak job market and inflation expectations.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour Won't Run for President
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour this week said he won't seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, according to McClatchy Newspapers. Barbour, 63, was initially considered a possible frontrunner for the Republicans, but his announcement that he will not seek the nomination signals that the field of candidates is beginning to firm up. Barbour stated to supporters that he was not certain he would have the “absolute fire in the belly” necessary to run and serve as president.
BP Makes $7 Billion Profit as Gas Prices Rise
According to Democracy Now!, oil company British Petroleum (BP) reported a $7 billion profit in the first quarter of the year, a 17 percent increase. BP's revenue comes as the price of a gallon of gas rose above $4 in many parts of the United States and a call by President Barack Obama to end $4 billion tax breaks for companies in the oil and gas industries.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
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We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
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With love, rage, and solidarity,
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