First Thing: New Fed chair Kevin Warsh faces early test amid bond market worries

Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters View image in fullscreen Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters First Thing: New Fed chair Kevin Warsh faces early test amid bond market worries Key speech to be delivered this week at Jackson Hole said to focus on productivity and demographics in the US. Plus, how do you vaccinate 1,000 little penguins in the wild? Good morning. The new US Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week amid anxiety in government bond markets over inflation and Donald Trump’s tax and spending plans. As the world’s most powerful central bank prepares for its annual Jackson Hole conference, analysts said bond traders would be looking for signals from Warsh over its commitment to fighting inflation. However, Warsh has signalled reluctance to use his speech on Friday for the “more traditional setup” of dropping hints over how the US central bank may respond to inflationary pressures when its officials next meet to set interest rates in September and December. Instead, he has said his Jackson Hole speech could be “focused on bigger questions”, including concerns over productivity and demographics. Why is this a crucial moment for the Fed? The gathering of the world’s most powerful central bankers in the Grand Teton national park is a blue riband event in the financial calendar. However, the meeting comes as selling pressure intensifies in the $30tn US government debt market despite efforts by the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to assuage investor worries after he committed to at least double Washington’s purchases of US Treasury bonds. Father of USS Lincoln sailor taken into ICE detention while son deployed in Middle East View image in fullscreen Photo courtesy shows Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, left, and Joshua Aviles. Photograph: Katherine Delgado/AP The father of a US sailor onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln ⁠aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East during the Iran war has been taken into federal immigration detention, the sailor ⁠said. The border ​patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, originally from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida, a spokesperson for the US homeland security department said on Sunday. What did Joshua Aviles say about his father’s arrest? “I’ve been deployed for over nine months, out ⁠at sea in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country ​that has given me everything. I just got a call that my dad ‌was taken by ICE. We have done everything through immigration to get his green card approved, and we are just waiting. This is heartbreaking for me. I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days ‌knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal.” How did the DHS respond? The DHS said Luis Manuel Aviles Roa ​entered the US illegally and would remain in immigration and customs enforcement detention pending removal proceedings. “Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws,” the DHS said. Trump’s continued distrust in election integrity has experts eyeing his next move View image in fullscreen Donald Trump. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images A series of moves by Donald Trump’s administration to sow doubt in the integrity of US elections has intensified concern among voting experts – and sparked hope among election deniers – that it could declare a national emergency. Trump used a primetime television address in July to claim – again – that US elections were vulnerable to foreign manipulation, and repeat the lie that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was stolen. While Trump and his allies could try to use a national emergency declaration to delegitimize results of November’s results, experts say such a declaration would not supersede the constitutional restrictions on executive power on election administration. No president has ever attempted to invoke an emergency to assert control over voting. Alarm over $20m plan to supply ICE officers with electric-shock gloves View image in fullscreen Federal agents stand guard outside Delaney Hall. Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian Plans to supply Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with special gloves that can deliver electric shocks have alarmed experts and drawn scrutiny amid some high-profile lawsuits over their use in local correctional facilities. In one extreme case, a 43-year-old man died after allegedly being shocked 40 times by officers with a combination of the gloves and a Taser in a county jail in Kentucky, and the man’s widow is suing authorities. Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the parent agency of ICE, published plans to spend up to $20m (£15m) to outfit ICE officers by March of next year with the controversial gloves, which are also used in various police departments and some schools. In other news … View image in fullscreen A Nevada National Guard helicopter drops water on the Hawk Fire. Photograph: Nevada National Guard/Reuters A fast-moving wildfire in Reno, Nevada, has forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Strong, gusty winds, low humidity and dry vegetation fuelled the blaze as authorities confirmed three civilians and three first responders had been injured in the fire. Democrats are incredulous over a meeting between Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner to discuss possible areas of collaboration, with the latter having no actual formal government job. The family of Iryna Zarutska is suing Charlotte and a security company a year after the Ukrainian refugee was fatally stabbed onboard a light rail train in the North Carolina city. Luigi Mangione’s state murder case is unlikely to proceed, experts say, after his defense filed a motion to dismiss it following his federal guilty plea. An eight-year-old Louisiana girl has died after contracting a rare, typically fatal brain-eating amoeba after a swim in Lake Claiborne. Stat of the day: Natalie Harp reportedly posted 150 pro-Trump tweets on day of Capitol riot View image in fullscreen White House aide Natalie Harp walks to board Air Force One. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp flooded a since-disabled social media account with pro-Trump posts on the day that the president’s supporters attacked the US Capitol in early 2021, a new report has revealed. Building power: The fight to protect a trans landmark in California from ICE’s biggest contractor View image in fullscreen A protest outside 111 Taylor Street. Photograph: Don Rasmussen/ProBonoPhoto.org San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood is home to the world’s first official Transgender District, and the Compton’s riot is memorialized in a historical marker on the former building’s facade. But inside the building, now known as 111 Taylor Street, the space that held Compton’s is occupied by one of the world’s biggest for-profit prison companies and ICE’s biggest contractor, Geo Group. The community want them out. Don’t miss this: Betrayal by Luke Harding review – could Donald Trump be a Russian asset? View image in fullscreen Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Mikhail Metze/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA A review of my colleague Luke’s new book, setting out how the Trump administration has seen President Zelenskyy as the problem, not the aggression of Vladimir Putin, with disastrous consequences for Ukraine. … or this: How do you vaccinate 1,000 tiny penguins against bird flu in the wild? View image in fullscreen Authorities are administering vaccinations to penguins in Australia. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP More than 1,000 little penguins have received their first dose of bird flu vaccine in Victoria, Australia. It is believed to be the world’s largest vaccination program involving wild birds. “It is really tricky and penguins are difficult to handle, but we have very well-trained people,” said Catherine Basterfield, the chief executive of Phillip Island Nature Parks. Climate check: US territories hit out at Trump plan to explore deep sea mining in the Pacific View image in fullscreen Aerial view of the coastline of Guam. Photograph: Amazing Aerial/Alamy A US government plan to lease out millions of hectares of seabed near the Mariana Trench for deep sea exploration has drawn opposition from US territories in the Pacific, as the Trump administration remains locked in a race with China for control of critical ocean minerals. Last Thing: Ten years after my husband died, this is what I’ve learned about grief View image in fullscreen A portrait of author Hannah Richell shot at Sydney’s Tamarama Beach, the place where her husband Matt was killed. Photograph: David Maurice Smith in Sydney on July 23./The Guardian An emotive and thoughtful read from Hannah Richell about living the decade after her husband died in a surfing accident. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com Explore more on these topics US news First Thing newsletter news Share Reuse this content