News Wrap: Fed Chair Powell defends aggressive rate hikes, admits recession is possible

Read the Full Transcript

• Judy Woodruff:

  In the day's other news: Afghanistan's Taliban leaders are appealing for help after an earthquake killed at least 1,000 people and injured 1,500.

  It struck in the eastern mountains near the Pakistan border. Officials warned that the death toll may go higher still. We will return to this after the news summary.

  In Ukraine, Russian artillery batter the city of Kharkiv in the northeast for a second day. Officials in Kyiv said the Russians hope to divert Ukrainian troops away from fierce fighting in the Eastern Donbass region. In the Donbass, video from Chinese state TV offered a glimpse of the devastation in Severodonetsk. Ukrainian troops there are still holding out against a Russian siege.

  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pledged today to raise interest rates enough to douse inflation without sparking a recession. Powell told a U.S. Senate hearing that he still hopes for a so-called soft landing. Members on both sides of the aisle pressed him about the potential downside of aggressive rate hikes.

• Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman:

  Of course, we're not trying to provoke and don't think that we will need to provoke a recession. But we do think it's absolutely essential that we restore price stability, really for the benefit of the labor market, as much as anything else.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Last week, the Fed raised a key rate by three-quarters-of-a-point. That was the most in nearly three decades.

  The prime minister of Sri Lanka has declared his nation's economy is in complete collapse, and he's appealing for foreign assistance.

  He spoke today as the island nation faces severe shortages of food, fuel and electricity. Inflation is running near 40 percent, and Sri Lankans have protested on a near daily basis. Many blame government inaction.

  Lakmali Munasinghe, Local Councillor and Protester (through translator): Our children don't have milk powder, no fuel for our husbands to do their jobs. We don't have gas to cook. How can we live? We came to tell this government, if they can't govern, then please leave. They are all thieves.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Sri Lanka has suffered from lost tourism revenue during the pandemic and from soaring commodity costs.

  Back in this country, Yellowstone National Park partially reopened today after record flooding. This morning, hundreds of vehicles waited to get in for the first time since June 13, when 10,000 visitors were evacuated. The Old Faithful geyser was again a major attraction. The northern part of the park is expected to remain closed until at least July.

  And on Wall Street, stocks ended slightly lower as crude oil prices fell 4 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 47 points to close at 30483. The Nasdaq fell 16 points. The S&P 500 dropped five.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": Raphael Warnock recounts his rise to the U.S. Senate in a new memoir; Missouri becomes the latest state to use COVID relief to support underfunded schools; how guitarist and singer Molly Tuttle became a bluegrass music star; plus much more.