"While the moderation in monthly inflation is welcome, it will be necessary to see several months of low monthly inflation readings to be confident that inflation is moving back down to 2 percent. How long it takes to move inflation back down to 2 percent will depend on a combination of continued easing in supply constraints, slower demand growth, and lower markups, against the backdrop of anchored expectations. With regard to supply constraints, a variety of indicators are showing signs of improvement on delivery times and supplies of some goods. In addition, labor force participation showed a welcome increase in the August employment data, particularly in the boost in participation among women in the core working years of 25 to 54 years of age." ' more »

"Cultural transmission of behaviour is an important aspect of many animal communities ranging from humans to birds. Male humpback whales ... sing a repetitive, stereotyped, socially learnt and culturally transmitted song display that slowly evolves each year. Most males within a population sing the same, slow-evolving song type; but in the South Pacific, song ‘revolutions’ have led to rapid and complete replacement of one song type by another introduced from a neighbouring population. Songs spread eastwards, from eastern Australia to French Polynesia, but the easterly extent of this transmission was unknown. Here, we investigated whether song revolutions continue to spread from the central (French Polynesia) into the eastern (Ecuador) South Pacific region. Similarity analyses using three consecutive years of song data (2016–2018) revealed that song themes recorded in 2016–2018 French Polynesian song matched song themes sung in 2018 Ecuadorian song, suggesting continued easterly transmission of song to Ecuador, and vocal connectivity across the entire South Pacific Ocean basin." more »

"I mean, as he said, the American Rescue Plan was passed 17 months ago. Three billion dollars of that came to the Commerce Department to do economic development. And we decided to put $1 billion into this Build Back Better Regional Challenge, and it’s because the President directed me to make investments in communities to help communities revitalize themselves and get ready for the transitions in our economy. Because he fundamentally said, “People want to work where they live, and they ought to be able to do that.” And so, that’s what this is all about. We believe every single American, no matter where you live, ought to have an opportunity to have a high-paying, family-supporting job in that community. So, let me fill in some of the blanks about the approach. It’s a novel approach. This is the first time ever the Department of Commerce has made such sizable investments in individual communities." more »

"GAO’s interviews with claims processors suggest that they evaluate claims for these conditions inconsistently based on inaccurate interpretations of VA’s claims processing procedures. Specifically, during interviews at three selected offices that process Agent Orange claims, GAO heard inaccurate statements about (1)when the 1-year manifestation period requirement applies and (2) what types of evidence can be used to address this requirement or to support requesting a medical opinion that could be used to support veterans’ claims. VA’s guidance does not clearly address these issues. Without clear guidance, claims processors may incorrectly apply the 1-year manifestation period requirement when veterans have evidence suggesting a direct connection to service and, in turn, could inappropriately deny benefits to some Vietnam veterans." more »