Fed Raises Interest Rates to 22-Year High

The Federal Reserve resumed lifting interest rates Wednesday with a quarter-percentage-point increase that will bring them to a 22-year high, as the WSJ reports.

Main Thrust of Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Has Begun

The main thrust of Ukraine’s nearly two-month-old counteroffensive is now underway in the country’s southeast, two Pentagon officials said on Wednesday, as the NYT reports.

Israel’s Supreme Court Will Hear Challenges

Israel’s highest court said Wednesday it will hear legal challenges to a divisive new law that weakens its power, putting the country’s top justices in the position of defending their own independence and escalating a political crisis that has unleashed the country’s biggest protests in history, as the AP reports.

Executive Education

Mapping the U.S. DOD Acquisition Ecosystem offers a deep dive into the defense acquisition process and the defense industrial base with an overview of acquisition and timely topics such as export controls, inflation, industrial base competition, rare earth elements, and data rights.

Audio Briefs

CSIS experts give short, spoken-word summaries on the biggest takeaways from their latest reports, white papers and commentaries—in their own words.

Listen here: “Mineral Monopoly” with CSIS's Matthew Funaiole.

In That Number

16

Putin has blamed the West for discouraging African leaders from attending the second Russia-Africa Summit as only 16 African heads of state are set to attend—fewer than half of the 43 in 2019.

Source: The Washington Post

Critical Quote

“We’ve covered a lot of ground, and the full effects of our tightening have yet to be felt.”

—Jerome H. Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman

iDeas Lab

Last week, CSIS's Cameron Hudson testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa on the role of Russia and its proxies across the African continent. Watch what he told Congress, in about 2 minutes.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP/Getty Images.) Children walk along a sea wall as Super Typhoon Doksuri passes close to the northern tip of Luzon island, Philippines on July 26, 2023.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:30 a.m., the CSIS Korea Chair hosts Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) for a conversation about the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, and what's next.

Later, at 4:00 p.m., the CSIS Americas Program explores energy security, the environment, and new opportunities for Mexico's natural gas sector.

And, at 1:30 p.m., the Atlantic Council discusses the legal power nation states can exercise to transfer frozen Russian assets toward reconstruction in Ukraine.

Video

Today, the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program discussed the recent elections in Spain and implications for European politics. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

CSIS’s Mvemba Phezo Dizolele joins the podcast to discuss Russia’s second Africa summit and its objectives with the 54 countries on the continent.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

With all the celebrations surrounding Dead & Company’s triumphant “Final Tour,” lost somewhere in the joyful noise is the superb archival release this summer by the original Grateful Dead.

Continuing their pattern of opening up the vaults to release seminal performances in high quality audio, the Dead dropped a bombshell in late June: “RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73.”

Widely regarded as one of their all-time great shows, RFK in June of ’73 presents a muscular set-list concluding with a third act in which the Dead are joined by The Allman Brothers Band members Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell. This is rare and powerful music. Take a listen to Jerry Garcia and Dickey Betts' dueling guitars on “Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad.” A joyful noise indeed.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Paige Montfort, Claire Dannenbaum, and Ava Rose.