Amna Nawaz:
In the day’s other headlines: The Labor Department’s latest look at the U.S. economy raises new questions about just how fast inflation is easing.
Consumer prices in January were up 3.1 percent from a year ago, smaller than the annual increase in December. But month to month, prices rose 3-tenths of a percent, and that was slightly more than in December. Analysts attribute much of it to rising costs of homes, rentals and hotel rooms.
On Wall Street, the inflation numbers raised fears that interest rates will stay higher for longer than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 524 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 38272. The Nasdaq fell 1.8 percent, and the S&P 500 also dropped 1.3 percent.
A winter storm disrupted schools, commutes and flights across much of the Northeast today. Snow fell from New York City to Massachusetts, and parts of Pennsylvania got 15 inches. The storm also brought winds gusting to 60 miles an hour and coastal flooding in some areas. Many government offices and schools closed,and more than 1,000 flights were canceled.
The heads of the CIA and Israel’s spy agency discussed a possible cease-fire in Gaza today with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar. The session in Cairo came as Israel threatens an all-out ground assault on Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering. More of those refugees packed up and left today after shelling overnight.
Israel said it’s working on plans to move them, and U.S. officials insisted again that they be protected.