Evening Edition: With economy on the line, Fed prepares for its biggest gamble in years

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The day's most important stories

With economy on the line, Fed prepares for its biggest gamble in years

The Federal Reserve this week is all but certain to cut rates in spite of the strong economy, a fraught move that could have as many downsides as upsides.

By Heather Long · Read more

Could Boris Johnson's 'no-deal' Brexit break up the United Kingdom?

Scotland voted against independence in 2014, but there is much animosity toward the British premier north of the border. A Scottish leader in Parliament welcomed Johnson as "the last prime minister of the United Kingdom."

By Karla Adam and William Booth · Read more

'Nothing short of horrific': 3 killed, 12 wounded in shooting at California food festival

One gunman was killed by officers at the scene of the attack at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, Calif. Officials have not determined a motive for the shooting.

By Faiz Siddiqui, Allyson Chiu, Meagan Flynn and Mark Berman · Read more

Olympic cyclist Kelly Catlin could do it all. Until it all became too much.

Catlin was an Olympian cyclist, a three-time world champion and Stanford graduate student. At 23, she took her own life. But beneath her relentless drive to succeed — or perhaps because of it — lay a troubled soul whose mind, she wrote, "just wouldn't stop."

By Kent Babb · Read more

Post Reports | Listen Now

Trump upends U.S. intel agencies with spy-chief pick

Shane Harris unpacks the state of the intelligence community amid the departure of spy chief Daniel Coats. Plus, Shibani Mahtani visits a Philippine troll farm that's transforming discourse online, and Rick Maese on how rising temperatures affect athletes.

By The Washington Post · Read more

'Bigoted and racist': Al Sharpton joins chorus of outrage at Trump's attacks on Baltimore

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also condemns Trump's tweets but stops short of calling them racist.

By Rachel Chason and Ovetta Wiggins · Read more

Analysis

Trump's global guide to places no human would want to live

President Trump's attacks on cities around the world have fixated on crime, immigration and mysterious "no-go zones."

By Rick Noack · Read more

Campaign 2020

How Pete Buttigieg went from war protester to 'packing my bags for Afghanistan'

Months before he launched his first political campaign, he joined the Navy Reserve, adding a valuable credential to his résumé: veteran.

By Steve Hendrix and Josh Partlow · Read more

Trump directed aides to reduce U.S. troops in Afghanistan by 2020 election, Pompeo says

In some of the clearest comments to date about the president's intentions for winding down the conflict, the secretary of state said Trump has been "unambiguous."

By John Hudson · Read more

Mysterious radioactive cloud over Europe in 2017 originated in Russia, researchers say

Russian authorities had repeatedly denied responsibility for the release of the Ruthenium-106 isotopes.

By Rick Noack · Read more

Campaign 2020

In Flint, suspicions of the water — and of Democratic candidates — run deep

Five years on from the start of the water crisis, residents are wary of being deceived.

By Griff Witte · Read more

Fifty-two inmates killed in clash between rival gangs in Brazil prison

At least 16 victims were decapitated in the riot at Altamira jail in northeastern Brazil. Authorities said other victims were asphyxiated.

By Terrence McCoy and Marina Lopes · Read more

That's not a storm over Las Vegas. It's a grasshopper invasion.

Unusually wet weather earlier this year has spurred the massive migration of grasshoppers, which show up on weather radar as they make their way north, experts say.

By Hannah Knowles · Read more