Fed interest rate cut expected and global trail behind Hezbollah pager explosions: Morning Rundown

A long-awaited interest rate cut is expected today. The mystery behind the origins of the exploding Hezbollah pagers deepens. And Sean “Diddy” Combs’ team will argue again for his release as he awaits a sex trafficking trial.

Here’s what to know today.

Fed expected to cut key interest rate

The Federal Reserve is poised to cut its key interest rate for the first time since the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020. By how much is the big question that will be answered today. 

Many experts forecast a 0.25% cut from the current 5.3% level, according to a CNBC survey. The Fed tends to move in 0.25% increments, and until recently, there was general agreement that it was likely to lower the rate by that amount. 

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But mixed signals from the economy have some Wall Street traders predicting it’s more likely that there will be a 0.5% cut. Unemployment is relatively low at 4.2%. However, it has been increasing in four of the past five months. Meanwhile, retail sales have remained steady but restaurant spending is growing weaker.

Some say a 0.5% cut is needed to ward off a looming recession. Others argue such a big move would indicate that the Fed thinks the economy is in worse shape than recent data suggests.

Read the full story here.

Who made the exploding pagers? A messy global trail emerges behind deadly Lebanon blasts

An electronics manufacturer in Taiwan said that it did not make the pagers used by members of the militant group Hezbollah that exploded simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday, killing at least 12 people.

More than 2,750 others were injured in the blasts, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, including Iran’s ambassador to the country. In a statement, Iran-backed Hezbollah said there would be a “severe reckoning” over the blasts, for which it blamed Israel without providing evidence. Israel has not commented directly on the explosions.

Images of the destroyed pagers showed that they bore stickers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. The company’s founder and president, Hsu Ching-kuang, told reporters that the pagers were made by another company licensed to use its brand. Gold Apollo identified the other company as the Hungary-based BAC. 

Reached by phone, BAC Consulting chief executive Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono confirmed that her company worked with Gold Apollo. But when asked about the pagers and the explosions, she said, “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong.”

Hezbollah said it has handed out pagers to members, many of whom stopped using cellphones out of fear that Israel could use them to track and monitor them. The explosions come amid rising concern that tensions between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group could spiral into all-out war. 

Here’s what else we know.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs jailed on sex trafficking charges

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team will be back in court this afternoon to argue, again, in favor of releasing the rapper-turned-mogul on bail to await a federal sex trafficking trial.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York accused Combs of having used his sprawling business empire to abuse, threaten and traffic women in order to “fulfill his sexual desires” and protect his reputation. The indictment centers around Combs’ alleged orchestration of elaborate sex parties that he called “freak offs.” Here’s what else the indictment alleges. 

Combs made his first court appearance yesterday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. His offer to post a $50 million bond was denied, and he was sent to jail. Prosecutors argue he should remain jailed until the trial begins. 

Politics in Brief

Funding fight: Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will vote today on a six-month stopgap funding bill, the same legislation he abruptly pulled off the floor last week. But he made no promises the package would pass.

Trump on taxes: Donald Trump called for rolling back a controversial part of his signature tax law, suggesting he would seek to reinstate a state and local tax deduction commonly known as SALT.

Harris interview: Vice President Kamala Harris ripped Trump’s remarks about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, but gave indirect answers about Gaza and reparations in a discussion hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists.  

Right to IVF Act: Senate Republicans blocked a vote to establish protections for access to in vitro fertilization, saying Democrats’ action on the issue is unnecessary and politically motivated.

A political discourse problem: “The current level of political discourse is unsustainable for this democracy,” NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes. Just look at the Trump campaign’s approach to the second apparent assassination attempt on the former president or the false rumors about Haitian migrants in Ohio. Read the full analysis here.

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Read All About It

• In an exclusive interview, the crew of the Polaris Dawn mission recalled their experience conducting the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk. 

• The University of North Texas Health Science Center will stop accepting unclaimed bodies after an NBC News investigation documented how the program used the remains without consent from the dead or their families. 
• A Chinese American family met the descendants of the Black couple who rented to them in 1939, when no one else would. A $5 million donation brought the two families back together in San Diego.
• The Home Depot agreed to a $2 million settlement in a case that alleged it overcharged customers and charged more for items at checkout than the advertised prices.

Staff Pick: A glimmer of inspiration in France’s mass rape trial

France has been shocked by the trial of 51 men who stand accused of raping one woman after her husband of 50 years drugged her and invited strangers he met online to repeatedly assault her. But Gisèle Pelicot’s rare, brave choice to waive her anonymity so she could advocate for other victims has made her a national symbol of defiance, and a hero to the dozens of women who line up outside the courthouse every day to applaud her as she enters to hear gut-wrenching evidence. 

“Today I’m taking back control of my life,” she testified as the trial got underway. “Many women don’t have the proof. I have the proof.” — Annie Hill, platforms editor

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified 

Thinking about holiday shopping yet? If so, good timing — Amazon announced the dates for its October Prime Day sale. It’s for Prime members only, so you’ll have to sign up in time if you want to shop. And did you know that in addition to free shipping, members also get benefits like Prime Video and Grubhub+. Here’s everything to know about your Prime membership.

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

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