The US economy surged over the summer, the commerce department announced on Tuesday, with gross domestic product (GDP) – a broad measure of the value of goods and services – rising at an annualized rate of 4.3% over the third quarter, far higher than expected and its fastest rate in two years.
The report comes as polls show Americans have soured on Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and his tariffs. The supreme court is currently weighing legal challenges to those levies.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The TARIFFS are responsible for the GREAT USA Economic Numbers JUST ANNOUNCED…AND THEY WILL ONLY GET BETTER! Also, NO INFLATION & GREAT NATIONAL SECURITY. Pray for the US Supreme Court!!! President DJT.”
US economy grew strongly in third quarter
The summer surge was offset by more bad news on consumer confidence. The Conference Board’s closely watched gauge of consumer sentiment fell in December for the fifth month in a row, the longest consecutive fall since 2008.
The GDP figures will further complicate the decision-making of the Federal Reserve. The Fed announced its third interest rate cut of the year earlier this month amid signs of a weakening jobs market but is divided about how it should proceed.
Newly released Epstein files include references to Trump
A freshly released batch of the so-called Epstein files on Tuesday includes many references to Donald Trump, including a claim by a senior US attorney that the US president was on a flight in the 1990s with the now-deceased convicted child sex offender and a 20-year-old woman.
There is no indication of whether the woman was a victim of any crime, and being included in the files does not indicate any criminal wrongdoing.
US supreme court blocks Trump bid to deploy national guard to Chicago
The US supreme court refused on Tuesday to let Donald Trump send national guard troops to the Chicago area, as an important reining-in of the president’s efforts to expand the use of the military for domestic purposes in historic moves against a growing number of Democratic-led jurisdictions.
Trump administration bans US veterans agency from providing abortions
The Department of Veterans Affairs can no longer provide abortions to veterans, including in cases of rape or incest, following a Department of Justice memo that found last week that the practice was not legally sound.
What else happened today:
Former Republican senator Ben Sasse announced he has terminal stage-four pancreatic cancer in a post on X, calling it a “death sentence.”
The US has seen a dramatic increase in violence against journalists since Donald Trump again took office.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Monday 22 December.
