Today in one sentence: The FDA authorized updated coronavirus booster shots for children as young as 5; Biden said the prospect of a “slight recession” is possible but that he doesn’t "anticipate it"; more than 2,600 federal officials reported stock investments in companies while those companies lobbied their agencies for favorable policies; the Jan. 6 committee will share new video footage and internal Secret Service emails that show Trump ratcheted up the conflict at the Capitol, despite being warned of escalating violence; a federal judge rejected Trump’s attempt to delay his deposition in a defamation suit by a woman who claims he raped her in the 1990s; and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion in damages to the families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.

1/ The FDA authorized updated coronavirus booster shots for children as young as 5. The CDC, which recommends how vaccines are used, signed off hours later. The reformulated boosters are bivalent, meaning they contain a combination of components that target the original coronavirus strain and the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which make up about 80% of the virus circulating in the U.S. (New York Times / CNBC / Associated Press / Washington Post)

  • “We are in trouble”: Study raises alarm about impacts of long covid. (Washington Post)

2/ Biden said the prospect of a “slight recession” is possible but that he doesn’t “anticipate it” despite inflation expected to return to a 40-year high and the Federal Reserve promising to continue raising interest rates until inflation cools. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, is projected to rise 0.4% in September from August and 6.5% from a year earlier – matching the rate seen in March that was the highest since 1982. In response, the Fed has raised its benchmark rate five times this year to a range between 3% and 3.25% today from near zero. It’s the most rapid pace of rate increases since the early 1980s to fight inflation running near 40-year highs. (CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / Bloomberg)

3/ More than 2,600 federal officials reported stock investments in companies while those companies lobbied their agencies for favorable policies. During both Republican and Democratic administrations from 2016 through 2021, more than one in five senior federal employees across 50 federal agencies reported owning or trading stocks that stood to rise or fall with decisions their agencies made. Further, more than 60 officials at five agencies, including the FTC and the Justice Department, reported trading stock in companies shortly before their departments announced regulatory enforcement actions against those companies. (Wall Street Journal)

4/ The Jan. 6 committee will share new video footage and internal Secret Service emails that show Trump ratcheted up the conflict at the Capitol, despite being warned of escalating violence. The committee’s hearing on Thursday is expected to corroborate its key findings about Trump and the Jan. 6 insurrection: that Trump sought to rile up his supporters to block the certification of Biden’s electoral victory; used his speech near the Ellipse to encourage his supporters to “fight like hell” knowing some were armed; directed them to march on the Capitol; and then refused to call off the take. Since its last hearing in July, the committee has interviewed more members of Trump’s cabinet, received Secret Service communications, and interviewed Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The committee’s final report is likely in December. (Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press)

5/ A federal judge rejected Trump’s attempt to delay his deposition in a defamation suit by a woman who claims he raped her in the 1990s. Trump’s deposition is now scheduled for Oct. 19. Judge Lewis Kaplan also denied Trump’s request to substitute the U.S. government into the case as a defendant – replacing him – on the grounds that the alleged defamation of New York columnist E. Jean Carroll occurred while he was president. Carroll brought the libel case three years ago, after Trump repeatedly denied her rape allegations and described her as “not my type.” Kaplan also noted that Trump’s efforts to delay the lawsuit and his production of “virtually” no documents was “inexcusable.” (CNBC / Politico / CNN / Washington Post / Associated Press)

6/ Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion in damages to the families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, where 20 children and six educators were killed. Within hours of the shooting, Jones called it a hoax staged by “crisis actors” following a script written by the government to build support for gun control. During his testimony, Jones acknowledged he had been wrong about Sandy Hook and admitted that the shooting was “100 percent real.” In August, a jury ordered Jones to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of a first grader killed at Sandy Hook. Jones also faces a third trial, in a lawsuit filed by the parents of another child killed in the shooting. Infowars and its parent company Free Speech Systems, however, have filed for bankruptcy protection. (Washington Post / Politico / CNN / ABC News / New York Times)

poll/ 50% of voters say the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has made them more motivated to vote – up 13 percentage points from May. (KFF Health Tracking Poll)

poll/ 46% of Americans call their personal financial situation poor – up from 37% in March. (Associated Press)

poll/ 22% of Americans rate the country’s current economic conditions as good, with 41% calling conditions somewhat poor, and 37% saying they’re very poor. (CNN)

Two years ago today: Day 1362: Swamp things.
Four years ago today: Day 631: Optics.
Five years ago today: Day 266: Trump Vs. Everybody.