⚖️ Judge Tosses Trump Admin's Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard
A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration's civil rights lawsuit against Harvard University on Thursday, ruling the case lacked legal merit.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston found the administration had not plausibly demonstrated an ongoing violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, ruling that the alleged incidents of antisemitism on campus did not meet that threshold. The suit had accused Harvard of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment during pro-Palestinian protests.
The dismissal is the latest setback for the Trump administration's legal campaign targeting Harvard over its response to Gaza war protests on campus.
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack called for continued monetary policy restraint to bring down inflation, warning that growth and investment must not run so fast that the economy overheats.
Hammack, who voted to raise rates at the most recent meeting alongside Kashkari and Logan, said inflation is broad-based and not confined to specific sectors. She noted that supply-shock inflation has proved more persistent than expected, and that businesses have shown resilience and adapted to tariff and oil shocks.
🗳 Half of Young Americans Back Democratic Socialism, Poll Finds
A new CNBC Generation Lab poll finds nearly half of Americans aged 18 to 34 favor democratic socialism and hold strongly negative views of the U.S. economy.
The survey highlights a significant ideological shift among younger voters, with economic pessimism appearing to drive support for alternative political and economic models among the generation entering the workforce and electorate.
🛂 ICE Plans $20M Purchase of Electric-Shock Gloves
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to spend up to $20 million on electrified gloves that deliver painful shocks to gain compliance from combative individuals, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice published Monday.
The device, the CTG 5 GLOVE, is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, which describes it as a "conductive distraction and de-escalation" tool — and calls it "humane" and "low-optics." An unspecified quantity is set for delivery by March 2027.
⚡ US Crude Stockpiles Surge by 17.4 Million Barrels
U.S. crude oil inventories jumped by 17.4 million barrels in the week ending August 7, according to the Energy Information Administration — one of the largest single-week builds on record.
Commercial stockpiles now stand at 424.4 million barrels, just 2% below the five-year seasonal average. The figure far exceeded the American Petroleum Institute's earlier estimate of a 9.07 million barrel increase for the same period.
The sharp inventory build signals a significant supply surplus and typically exerts downward pressure on crude prices.