Happy Friday, readers!
Here’s what’s making news today: battleground Republicans distance themselves from Trump, the Fed hikes rates for the first time since 2023, and more.
Today’s estimated reading time is 3 minutes and 29 seconds.
- The Daily Dip Editor
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**On this day in 1964, which kooky TV family first crept onto ABC? **(answer revealed below!)
(hint: cue the finger snaps)
In today’s issue:
GOP shiftspositioning ahead ofmidterms. 🏛️Interest rates risefor first time since 2023. 📈Hackers crackFlock surveillance cameras. 💻
Plus, take ** today’s poll** and check out the
With the midterms approaching, a growing number of Republicans in competitive races are distancing themselves from President Trump, whose approval has slipped to as low as 33% in national polls.
Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar released an ad breaking with Trump on immigration, though her heavily Hispanic district backed him by nearly 15 points in 2024. Other battleground Republicans skipped his convention and scrubbed him from their websites.
**The stakes:**Seven House Republicans joined Democrats to limit Trump’s Iran war, and the GOP is spending heavily to defend once-safe seats. Trump floated a $5,000 payment to Americans if his party wins, while VP JD Vance is asking voters for more time.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, a quarter-point increase that puts its benchmark between 3.75% and 4%, and it signaled more hikes could come by year’s end.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation has stayed too high for too long, and the central bank is aiming to pull it down toward 2%. Analysts framed the move as the Fed asserting independence from White House pressure.
**The friction:**President Trump, who has long wanted lower rates, demanded cuts and called the rate-setting committee hostile. He had reportedly told Warsh the vote wouldn’t matter. The two say relations are fine, though Trump also floated cutting off countries the U.S. runs trade deficits with.
:📈
Today’s Poll:Rate RiftThe Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 to fight stubborn inflation, defying President Trump, who wants them slashed. Supporters say the hike guards against rising prices, while critics argue higher rates squeeze borrowers and could slow the economy.
Did the Fed make the right call raising interest rates?
A hacking group tore open a Flock automatic license-plate-reader camera and reverse-engineered its software, giving researchers at 404 Media and Wired an unprecedented look at how the surveillance devices track cars and people.
They found an encryption key on the device that unlocked over a million images the camera had captured, plus about 20 apps handling motion detection, photos, and uploads. In three weeks, the camera logged about 50,000 vehicles.
**The fallout:**The camera flagged objects like bumper stickers and even a flag patch as license plates, and identified people in some clips. Flock, which had downplayed a similar warning last year, called the camera tampering illegal and pointed to its vulnerability-reporting process. Critics warn such ‘vigilantism’ could backfire.
Let’s end the week with our feel-good Friday roundup:
Nashville singer-songwriter Jerry Vandiver has spent seven years
trapping mange-stricken foxesand rushing them to a rescue for treatment. He logged 234 volunteer hours in August alone. What a guy! 🦊❤️Volunteers in Veracruz, Mexico released more than
3,200 sea turtle hatchlingsinto the Gulf of Mexico after guarding their nests from harm. Tiny flippers, big send-off! 🌊🐢Three Harvard students just won the U.S.
James Dyson Award for "Rumble Rims", an eye-tracking headset that screens young athletes for concussions in minutes, right on the sideline. Smart and lifesaving! 🧠🏈
🍌 **Food: **Bananas naturally curve toward the Sun as they grow. They’re literally reaching for brighter days.
🚦**Law & Order: **The world’s first speeding ticket was issued in 1896. The driver was going a whopping…8 mph.
🎥 Entertainment: The famous MGM lion logo has featured several different lions since the studio began using it in 1916. Even four-legged movie stars get recast.
🤯 WTF: There are fish that can climb waterfalls using their mouths as suction cups. Gravity became more of a suggestion.
TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWER:
The Addams Family
The Addams Family premiered on ABC on September 18, 1964, based on Charles Addams’s macabre New Yorker cartoons. It introduced Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, and the rest of the ghoulish clan to television. The sitcom ran two seasons and later spawned films, cartoons, and the hit series Wednesday.
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