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Now that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has signaled that the central bank could soon cut its key interest rate, he faces a new challenge: how to do it without seeming to cave to the White House’s demands. For months, Powell has largely ignored President Donald Trump’s constant hectoring that he reduce borrowing costs. Yet on Friday, in a highly anticipated speech, Powell suggested that the Fed could take such a step as soon as its next meeting in September. It will be a fraught decision for the Fed, which must weigh it against persistent inflation and an economy that could also improve in the second half of this year. Both trends, if they occur, could make a cut look premature. Trump has urged Powell to slash rates, arguing there is “no inflation” and saying that a cut would lower the government’s interest payments on its $37 trillion in debt. Powell, on the other hand, has suggested that a rate cut is likely for reasons quite different than Trump’s: He is worried that the economy is weakening. His remarks on Friday at an economic symposium in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming also indicated that the Fed will move carefully and cut rates at a much slower pace than Trump wants. Powell pointed to economic growth that “has slowed notably in the first half of this year,” to an annual rate of 1.2%, down from 2.5% last year. There has also been a “marked slowing” in the demand for workers, he added, which threatens to raise unemployment. Still, Powell said that tariffs have started to lift the price of goods and could continue to push inflation higher, a possibility Fed officials will closely monitor and that will make them cautious about additional rate cuts. The Fed’s key short-term interest rate, which influences other borrowing costs for things like mortgages and auto loans, is currently 4.3%. Trump has called for it to be cut as low as 1%a level no Fed official supports. However the Fed moves forward, it will likely do so while continuing to assert its longstanding independence. A politically independent central bank is considered by most economists as critical to preventing inflation, because it can take stepssuch as raising interest rates to cool the economy and combat inflationthat are harder for elected officials to do. There are 19 members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee, 12 of whom vote on rate decisions. One of them, Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve’s Cleveland branch, said Friday in an interview with the Associated Press that she is committed to the Fed’s independence. “I’m laser focused . . . on ensuring that I can deliver good outcomes for the for the public, and I try to tune out all the other noise,” she said. She remains concerned that the Fed still needs to fight stubborn inflation, a view shared by several colleagues. “Inflation is too high and it’s been trending in the wrong direction,” Hammack said. “Right now I see us moving away from our goals on the inflation side.” Powell himself did not discuss the Fed’s independence during his speech in Wyoming, where he received a standing ovation by the assembled academics, economists, and central bank officials from around the world. But Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that was likely a deliberate choice and intended, ironically, to demonstrate the Fed’s independence. “The not talking about independence was a way of trying as best they could to signal we’re getting on with the business,” Posen said. “We’re still having a civilized internal discussion about the merits of the issue. And even if it pleases the president, we’re going to make the right call.” It was against that backdrop that Trump intensified his own pressure campaign against another top Fed official. Trump said he would fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook if she did not step down from her position. Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to head the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alleged Wednesday that Cook committed mortgage fraud when she bought two properties in 2021. She has not been charged. Cook has said she would not be “bullied” into giving up her position. She declined Friday to comment on Trump’s threat. If Cook is somehow removed, that would give Trump an opportunity to put a loyalist on the Fed’s governing board. Members of the board vote on all interest rate decisions. He has already nominated a top White House economist, Stephen Miran, to replace former governor Adriana Kugler, who stepped down August 1. Trump had previously threatened to fire Powell, but hasn’t done so. Trump appointed Powell in late 2017. His term as chair ends in about nine months. Powell is no stranger to Trump’s attacks. Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that the president also went after him in 2018 for raising interest rates, but that didn’t stop Powell. “The president has a long history of applying pressure to Chairman Powell,” Strain said. “And Chairman Powell has a long history of resisting that pressure. So it would be odd, I think, if on his way out the door, he caved for the first time.” Still, Strain thinks that Powell is overestimating the risk that the economy will weaken further and push unemployment higher. If inflation worsens while hiring continues, that could force the Fed to potentially reverse course and increase rates again next year. “That would do further damage to the Fed’s credibility around maintaining low and stable price inflation,” he said. Christopher Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
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The first case of a flesh-eating maggot in years has reportedly been detected in the United States. The maggot, the larva of a New World screwworm (NWS), is unique among maggots as it does not just devour dead flesh but living flesh as welland its infestation can be deadly to both animals and humans. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed the first human case of the NWS inside the United States, reported Reuters. The HHSs confirmation came weeks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was said to have confirmed the same case of New World screwworm infestation. Fast Company reached out to HHS for comment. That case reportedly involves a person in Maryland who had traveled from Central America to the United States. The New World screwworm is readily found in South America and the Caribbean. It is unclear which country the person traveled from exactly, as some beef industry sources had told Reuters that the person came from El Salvador, while an HHS spokesperson said the individual came from Guatemala. What is a New World screwworm? The New World screwworm is a species of parasitic flies, according to the CDC. The larvae of the flies have a conical shape and have sharp teeth, which they use to eat through and burrow into flesh in a screw-like fashion. NWS fly larvae are introduced to animal and human flesh when the NWS fly lays her eggs on the tissue surrounding wounds on animals and humans. When the eggs hatch, the larvae screw their way into the flesh, infecting it. The larva then eventually drops from the open flesh and into the ground, where it burrows until it grows to become an NWS fly, and the process repeats. [Photo: John Kucharski/USDA] A unique feature about NWS maggots is that, unlike most other maggots, they eat living flesh, not just dead flesh. They frequently infect the area around open wounds, which the flies are attracted to, but can also burrow into the eyes, nose, and mouth. Because an NWS infestation can lead to bacterial or other infections, the infestation can be deadly to both animals and humans. In humans, an NWS infestation is serious and needs to be treated as soon as possible, sometimes with surgery to remove the often hundreds of maggots in the skin individually. But the main threat from an infestation of NWS is to livestock. An outbreak could devastate cattle across the country, leading to massive livestock deaths and severe economic consequences for the beef industry. Reuters notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that an NWS outbreak in Texas could cost the state $1.8 billion in livestock deaths, medication expenses, and labor costs. What are the symptoms of a New World screwworm infection? According to the CDC, the symptoms of an NWS infection in a human may include: Unexplained skin lesions (wounds or sores) that do not heal Skin wounds or sores that worsen over time Painful skin wounds or sores Bleeding from open sores Feeling larvae movement within a skin wound or sore, nose, mouth, or eyes Seeing maggots around or in open sores A foul-smelling odor from the site of the infestation The CDC says that an NWS infection can sometimes lead to secondary bacterial infections as well. How can New World screwworm infections be prevented? Given the threat to human life and livestocknot to mention the extreme negative impact an NWS outbreak could have on the beef industryhealth officials and governments take NWS infestations very seriously. The best way to head one off is through prevention. In the case of human NWS infestations, this includes taking precautionary measures, which include keeping wounds covered and cleaned, and wearing loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts, pants, and socks if you are traveling to a region where NWS is common. As for keeping livestock safe from NWS outbreaks, the best preventative measures are the eradication of the New World screwworm fly so its larvae cannot infect living flesh. The United States had previously eradicated the NWS from within its borders in the mid-twentieth century. But lately, the NWS has been moving north again from South America. The United States and Mexico are currently working on a previously successful eradication method, which involves actually engineering hundreds of millions of New World screwworm flies. But these engineered flies would be sterile, meaning any eggs they lay would not hatch. The idea behind these sterile engineered flies is that their introduction into the NWS population would eventually lead to that populations eradication, as when males mate with the female flies, they would no longer produce viable eggsultimately leading to population collapse. Should I be worried about the New World screwworm? If youre a cattle farmer, then some concern is justified. However, if you are someone who doesnt travel to infestation areas, then it probably doesnt make much sense to spend time fretting over the threat of the NWS to you, as the fly and its larvae are currently not widespread in the U.S. Confirming the case of NWS infection in the Maryland individual, HHS spokesman Andrew G. Nixon told Reuters in an email that “The risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low.
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It looks like ordinary cement. It feels like ordinary cement. But it has a hidden ability: this “supercool” cement can naturally keep buildings cooler without air-conditioning or electricity. Cement normally soaks up heat from the sun, and that in turn makes our buildings hotter. So we crank up the A/C. That’s a major problem for the climate: as the planet warms, and A/C use grows, the energy used for air-conditioning is expected to triple by the middle of the century. Air conditioners, ironically, are perpetuating extreme heat as they contribute to climate change. But they’re not the only way to keep buildings cool. By tweaking the chemistry of cement, scientists at Chinas Southeast University designed the material to reflect more incoming sunlight. Whatever heat is absorbed is beamed away into the atmosphere. In tests, the new cement can reduce indoor temperatures by nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In some locations, the approach could help make it possible for buildings avoid air-conditioning completely. In other places, it can help cut energy use. In hot, dry climates or places with clear skies, super-cool cement can significantly lower building envelope temperatures, reducing or even eliminating the need for mechanical air-conditioning, says Guo Lu, the lead author of a new study about the work published in Science Advances. In more humid or variable climates, it can still substantially reduce energy consumption by easing the load on HVAC systems. How supercool cement is made To make the cement, the scientists engineered the mix so that it forms extra ettringitea mineral that normally is produced in cement in small amounts. The new process creates lots of ettringite crystals in different sizes, helping reflect away light and scatter it in different directions. By adding alumina-rich minerals and making other changes to the chemistry and microstructure, the scientists also made it possible for the material to reflect heat into the atmospheric window, letting it escape into space instead of heating up the surrounding neighborhood like an AC condenser. The material design means that the cement can be made at lower temperatures than standard Portland cement, so it’s better for the planet starting at the production level. We can significantly lower carbon emissions, says Fengyin Du, a postdoctoral researcher of building materials at Oregon State University who worked on the study as a student. The researchers calculated that the process cuts the carbon footprint of making cement by around 25%. Over the cements full lifetime of use in a building, as it saves energy, researchers say that the material could even become carbon negative. Thats a major achievement: cement is currently one of the worlds largest sources of emissions. Finally, because it takes less energy to make, it’s also cheaper than ordinary cement. That lower cost could help it scale. “It requires no extra additives or fillers, and production is fully compatible with existing cement infrastructure,” Lu says. “This allows for low-cost and large-scale deployment, making it highly feasible for widespread adoption in both new construction and retrofitting projectsespecially in regions facing heat stress.” The material can even perform better than typical cement, with faster setting times and higher strength because of its composition. Other researchers have developed coatings that also help buildings stay cooler, including the worlds whitest white paint and an iridescent, plant-based coating. But coatings are fragile and sometimes need to be reapplied. Because the cement inherently reflects light and heat, it’s much more durable. It also can be added as a coating itself, but one that’s long-lasting. The scientists worked with a cement company, Jiangxi Yinshan White Cement Co., to test pilot-scale production. Now, they’re scaling up to produce larger cement panels, the next step toward commercialization, proving that A/C isn’t the only way to keep buildings cool. “Radiative cooling is a passive, zero-energy strategybut that doesnt mean its less effective,” Lu says. “In fact, passive cooling is inherently stable, maintenance-free, and highly energy-efficient, making it particularly valuable in regions where electricity access is limited or energy costs are high.”
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