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In the news today: FBI Director Kash Patel’s heated Senate hearing; how tax cuts are colliding with inflation in a key U.S. Senate race; and a struggling economy tests Iran’s ability to defy the U.S. Also, an unlikely musical pair helps find homes for roughly 1,500 beagles.
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FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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FBI Director Kash Patel denies drinking allegations in heated Senate exchange
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In a budget hearing on Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen confronted Patel about a recent article in The Atlantic magazine that painted an unflattering portrait of his leadership of the FBI. Read more.
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- Patel, who has filed a $250 million lawsuit over the story, called the claims that he drinks excessively on the job and has been unreachable at times “unequivocally, categorically false.” The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”
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Tax cuts collide with inflation as voters weigh Trump’s economy in the midterms
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President Donald Trump’s signature legislation, what he called “the one big beautiful bill” that cuts taxes but also reduces funding for public programs like Medicaid, has been a dividing line for voters in the upcoming midterm elections. Although Trump has tried to put more money in middle-class pockets with tax cuts, the benefits are being eroded as prices keep rising, especially during the war with Iran. Read more.
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The latest numbers, released Tuesday, showed the rate of inflation continued to climb. Economic issues have been center stage in the battleground state of North Carolina and its U.S. Senate race, a microcosm of the national fight. Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee and former national party chairman, is championing Trump’s tax overhaul. Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate and a former governor, is panning Trump’s management of the U.S. economy.
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Soaring inflation and plummeting economy test Iran’s ability to withstand war and US blockade
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Iranians have been hit by spiraling prices for food, medicine and other goods. At the same time, the country has seen mass job losses and business closures caused by strike damage to key industries and the government’s monthslong shutdown of the internet. Read more.
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Iran’s rial currency has lost over half its value in the past year. The International Monetary Fund has predicted the Iranian economy will shrink by about 6 percentage points in the next year. Iran’s official statistics center reported in mid-April that annual inflation was 53.7%, while inflation for food breached 115% compared with the same period last year.
Iranian authorities have announced measures to help Iranians bear the crippling prices. But many of these policies — including a 60% hike in the minimum wage and coupon programs for essential goods — are stoking inflation, Taymur Rahmani, an economist at the University of Tehran, wrote recently in a leading business newspaper, Dunya-ye Eqtesad.
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Pop star Debbie Gibson and Black Sabbath co-founder Terry "Geezer" Butler hold beagles that were purchased from a Dane County animal research facility on Tuesday in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
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Beagle relocation effort find fans in an unlikely musical pair
80s pop star Debbie Gibson and Terry “Geezer” Butler, co-founder of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, came together to support ongoing efforts to find homes for roughly 1,500 beagles purchased from Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, a dog breeder and research facility. The first 1,000 dogs were removed earlier this month and are in temporary shelters with agencies partnering with Big Dog Ranch Rescue. The Dane County Humane Society began receiving the remaining 500 dogs this week.
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Nadja
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