Fed Raises Rates, AI Oversteps (Again) & Spider-Man Beats Star Wars - Thursday, September 17, 2026

Erica Mandy (0:00)

Today is Thursday, September 17th. We'll tell you about the Fed's latest interest rate decision and what President Trump is now threatening to do if there's not a big drop soon. Also, how AI models have found more new ways to get around the people trying to keep them in check. Plus, why the top US airlines are cutting flights, what kinds of new words were added to the dictionary, and how one modern movie just rewrote the box office record books. Those stories and a lot more news to know, next.

Welcome to The NewsWorthy, all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.

The Federal Reserve just raised interest rates despite President Trump's repeated demands that the Fed should do the opposite. The Fed raised its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent. It's the first rate hike since July of 2023, and this one is particularly notable because it's the first hike since Trump appointed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. But the Fed's 12-member board voted unanimously for it. Warsh explained saying inflation is still too high and has been for too long. Specifically, the data shows prices rose nearly 3.5 percent in August compared with a year earlier. Of course, that's more than a full percentage point above the Fed's 2 percent target. But President Trump says higher rates are hurting the economy, and yesterday, he said the Fed is only raising rates to make him look bad, though he still has confidence in Warsh. He called on him and the rest of the board to cut rates to 1 percent or less. He even warned that if the Fed did not cut rates, he could stop trading with countries that sell more to the US than they buy from us, which could possibly trigger a broader global trade fight. But for now, most top Fed officials expect another rate hike could come later this year if price pressures don't ease. So to be continued.

Lawmakers in the US. House are now heading home even earlier than they had planned. Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the chamber after just seven work days since summer break ended, canceling all the votes scheduled for the rest of the week. And now lawmakers won't be back for more than six weeks. But some members of both parties are mad about it. Like Republican Ralph Norman, who pointed out how the House has already canceled at least 63 scheduled voting days this Congress. And some critics say the Speaker was just trying to avoid the GOP having to take a side on controversial issues before the midterms. For example, GOP Congressman Thomas Massey had introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran. And the House was supposed to deal with that this week. More than 100 Democrats also called for lawmakers to stay in Washington to work on AI safety. But Johnson defends his decision to adjourn early, saying the House had accomplished everything it needed to. He said the impeachment articles were nothing more than a publicity stunt and that he wants AI companies to take more responsibility for policing themselves. Among the issue the House did tackle before leaving town, lawmakers voted for the third time to try to limit President Trump's war powers in Iran. It passed 220 to 204, with seven Republicans joining Democrats this time, up from four in the last vote. The resolution says the US should end its military involvement in the war, and the Senate has passed a similar measure before. But like the others, this measure is largely just symbolic. The House also passed a sweeping new sanctions bill targeting Russia as it wages war in Ukraine. It would let the president impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries and companies buying Russian oil and gas. The bill also targets Russia's energy and defense industries and its so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to evade sanctions. It now heads to President Trump's desk, and he's expected to sign it into law.

Russian spies have apparently been trying to recruit people inside the US to carry out assassinations and other attacks. That's according to the US Justice Department that announced charges against five Russians yesterday. The charges lay out plots to kill people who are considered enemies of the Russian government, like a prominent critic of the Kremlin living in Washington DC, and another living in Lithuania. All five suspects accused in these plots are still at large, and the Russian government has not directly responded to the allegations, but a spokesperson said Russia doesn't see a need to comment until it has seen evidence and tangible facts.