Chapter 1: What Supreme Court case is affecting the Federal Reserve's future?
Good morning. Jerome Powell is at the Supreme Court today as his colleague challenges White House attempts to fire her. The Associated Press explains how it could decide his fate, too. In Texas, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal takes us inside the courtroom for the case of the police officer accused of failing to act during the Uvalde school shooting.
And in Davos, a frosty reception for Trump.
We do prefer respect to bullies, and we do prefer rule of law to brutality.
It's Wednesday, January 21st. I'm Shemita Basu. This is Apple News Today. Today, Jerome Powell will watch on as the Supreme Court considers President Trump's attempted firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The case centers on a concept laid out in the Federal Reserve Act, which says that Fed board governors can only be fired for cause.
Chris Rugeber is an economics writer with the Associated Press who explained how this has allowed the agency to retain its independence.
The idea behind the Fed is that it has some insulation, not complete insulation, but some insulation from political pressure. So it can do unpopular things like raise interest rates in order to push back on inflation, which most elected officials don't want to do because higher interest rates makes mortgages more expensive, car loans more expensive.
And so it's hard for anyone who's facing election to want to do that.
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Chapter 2: How does the case against the Uvalde police officer unfold?
The Trump administration has accused Cook of mortgage fraud and argued in court filings that that's a legitimate reason to remove her from her post. Cook and her attorneys deny that accusation and say that she was not afforded due process.
This is an unprecedented move by President Trump to remove a Fed governor. It's not happened in the Fed's 112-year history. So the argument is that the court should maintain the status quo while this case then plays out in the courts.
If the court rules against Cook, it could signal an opening for Trump to remove the Fed chair as well. Powell recently hit back against a threatened criminal indictment from the Trump administration relating to comments he made in Congress about renovations to Fed buildings.
You're seeing a sign of what the Trump administration might do if they are able to remove people for cause. They would then maybe use this building renovation. They would remove the chair and they would possibly find reasons to fire other people.
Some analysts say that the move against Powell made it more likely that Cook would win her case, at least temporarily, because, again, it shows how far things might go if you allow the Trump administration to remove people for cause.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said yesterday that he didn't think it was right for Powell to be attending the Supreme Court arguments. He spoke with CNBC from Davos.
I actually think that's a mistake, because if you're trying not to politicize the Fed, for the Fed chair to be sitting there trying to put his thumb on the scale is a real mistake.
Powell has previously said that the Fed will not get involved in commenting and will abide by whatever the court decides. While his term as chair is set to end in May, Rugeber pointed out an interesting wrinkle that could impact the future of the Fed's relationship with the White House.
There's a separate term he has as a governor, a member of the seven-member governing board, and that goes until 2028, January 2028. He could remain on the board for that time, and then that would deny the Trump administration an opportunity to fill the seat. Most people expected that he was going to step down until this subpoena came out a little more than a week ago.
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Chapter 3: What challenges is Gen Z facing in the job market?
The indictment claims that witnesses alerted Gonzalez to the shooter's location and he heard the gunfire, but he failed to engage, distract, or delay the shooter. And he didn't follow his active shooter training. Here's the special prosecutor Bill Turner in his opening statement.
So why are we here? When a child is in danger and calls 911, we have the right to expect a response.
The prosecution is arguing he should have run towards the gunshot, that that's what cops do. They follow threats and you run towards the gunshots and you figure out where they're coming from and you neutralize them.
Gonzalez has pled not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment. And his defense says he did take action by chasing who he thought was the gunman, then assisting other officers and helping evacuate kids from other classrooms.
The government wants to make it seem like he just sat there, you know. He didn't just sit there. He did what he could with what he knew at the time. And this was fluid and it was a dynamic situation.
Many of the victims' families have been watching the proceedings in the courtroom. Manuel Rizzo, whose nine-year-old nephew was killed in the shooting, told Texas Public Radio why he was there.
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Chapter 4: How does the Fed maintain its independence from political pressure?
We're going to hope that the prosecution, the prosecutors, the district attorney, and the people that owe this to their constituents do their job. And they do a damn good job of it. But we want them to highlight every single opportunity Adrian had to protect the children and teachers and the survivors.
Findel told us that prosecutors have not accused Gonzalez of causing the deaths or injuries of the children, and they must prove his actions negligently caused harm. In attempting to prove his inaction was criminal, this case stands apart from most charges against police officers.
She told us there is really only one other case that parallels this, which was the trial of an officer who was on duty in Parkland, Florida, when a gunman killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. That officer was acquitted of felony child neglect.
While some families of victims say they hope to see Gonzalez found guilty, Findel told us the focus on one individual following systemic failures hasn't satisfied everyone.
Multiple reports have shown that the response to the Uvalde shooting was a complete failure at pretty much every level involving numerous agencies. And so a lot of people have asked why this guy out of 370-some officers. Prosecutors haven't answered that completely directly, but I think the answer is likely because he was the first person on the scene, even if only by seconds.
The closing arguments will be heard today. Something kind of counterintuitive is happening in the American job market. Companies are increasingly looking toward an older workforce to fill its open roles. In fact, according to one recent analysis by a company that reviews employment trends, the average age for a new hire last year ticked up to 42 years old.
What is happening is that entry-level roles are kind of starting to look a lot more like management than they used to.
Taylor Telford is a Washington Post reporter, and she told us there are a couple of things going on that are making life difficult for Gen Zers. Many people who are employed already are staying on the job longer, some into their 60s and 70s. And then employers betting on AI making jobs easier and more efficient are increasingly looking for more seasoned resumes.
The kinds of things that we're now seeing more common in some of these entry-level roles are they're asking for skills that are a lot more like what we would typically see for somebody who's more experienced, who's had more time to learn how to do things like manage people and manage projects. And so what we're seeing is that actually older workers are really having an easier time in this market.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of Trump's actions on the Federal Reserve?
And Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney joined in with what seemed to be a rebuke of Trump, though he never mentioned him by name, urging like-minded nations to stick together.
The middle powers must act together because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu.
But for California's Governor Gavin Newsom, the international response to Trump has so far been lacking.
I can't take this complicity. People rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. I mean, handing out crowns and handing. I mean, this is pathetic. Nobel Prizes, they are being given away. I mean, it's just pathetic. And I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage.
President Trump is expected to speak at Davos today. And Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, announced they are expecting their fourth child later this year, and it'll come with a historic distinction. Vance will be the first vice president known to have welcomed a child while in office.
Vance and Trump have both spoken out about how Americans should have more children, though the New York Times notes how, one year into office, some of Trump's early pro-family proposals, like making IVF free and federal baby bonuses, have not materialized.
The new baby Vance, like all babies born between 2025 and 2028 with a social security number, will be eligible for a so-called Trump account of $1,000 ceded by the government. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
Men's Health explores America's nicotine boom and how, despite an attractive rebrand, long-term health consequences for consumers are just now starting to become clear. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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