Staying Hydrated on ‘Slurpee Day’; Costco to Raise Membership Fees After 7 Years – Jul. 11

Good evening everyone. Welcome to NTD Tonight. I'm David Zhang. Here are today's top stories. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Indo-Pacific partners today as the NATO summit continued in Washington D.C. One major retail store is raising their membership fees in the next couple months. 7-Eleven gives away Slurpees for their 97th birthday, offering customers a tasty way to cool off during the summer heat. First up, day three of the NATO summit sees meetings between the alliance and leaders of the Indo-Pacific partners. How and why they're trying to cooperate more. The NATO summit continued in Washington D.C. Earlier today, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with G7 foreign ministers this morning. It's a pleasure to be here with all of our colleagues from the G7, which is really the essential coordinating committee for the world's democracies. G7 strongly compliments the work that's being done here at NATO. We had a very good day yesterday with the first day of our summit, not only celebrating 75 years of the alliance, but in particular, putting the alliance in strong shape for the next 75 years. The leaders say they will discuss the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and other issues. The NATO Secretary General also met with the Japanese Prime Minister on the sidelines of the summit earlier today. They're discussing further cooperation between Japan and the alliance on issues such as Ukraine and cybersecurity. The NATO chief told the Japanese leader it's important to work together, because what happens in Ukraine today could happen in Asia tomorrow. He also noted that North Korea, Iran and China are supporting Russia's war efforts. The NATO chief also met with the President of South Korea and Prime Minister of New Zealand. The alliance is agreeing to step up its cooperation with the Indo-Pacific partners. Prices fell in June for the first time since the start of the pandemic. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest Consumer Price Index report, consumer prices dropped 0.1 percent on a monthly basis. That brought the annual inflation rate down to 3 percent from 3.3 percent in May. Falling gas prices and lower new and used car prices led to the overall decline. This marks the first month-on-month decline since May 2020. U.S. stock futures rose on the good inflation news. Investors hope that will pave the way for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Michael Cohen wants the Supreme Court to review his lawsuit against Donald Trump. Cohen sued the former President, former Attorney General Bill Barr and other federal officials in 2021 for alleged retaliation in response to public comments he made about the book he wrote critical of Trump. When Cohen met with the probation officers in 2020 after he was furloughed from prison, they wanted him to avoid engaging with the media. After he asked to change the terms of that agreement, he was taken back to prison and put in solitary confinement for 16 days. Lower courts have dismissed his claim. It is possible for people to sue federal law enforcement officials, but it's extremely difficult. Cohen will have to convince the justices his case is worthy. The Supreme Court will likely not make a decision on whether to hear arguments until the fall. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel encountered Chinese military ships within U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone waters. The zone is considered international water. The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone spans 200 nautical miles from the U.S. coast. The vessel spotted three Chinese military ships off Alaska's Aleutian Islands. A Coast Guard helicopter spotted another Chinese vessel. The Coast Guard said yesterday the ships operated according to international standards. The U.S. responded with its own presence to ensure no disruptions to U.S. sea interests. Chinese naval ships have been spotted near Alaska before. In 2022, the Coast Guard found Chinese guided missile cruisers off Alaska. And in 2021, it encountered another set of Chinese ships in the area. It will soon cost more to be a part of the club. Costco Wholesale announced that it would increase annual membership fees for its U.S. and Canadian customers for the first time in seven years. On Wednesday, Costco Wholesale revealed plans to raise annual membership fees by $5 to $10 in the U.S. and Canada, effective September 1. The annual fee, which was last raised in June 2017, will go up by $5 to $65 for gold store and business members and by $10 to $130 for executive members, according to the company. Costco's press release stated, the fee increases will impact around 52 million memberships, a little over half of which are executive. The retailers' memberships provide a variety of benefits to customers, including free sample testing, discounts on food, gas, home insurance, travel and grocery items, as well as an annual 2% reward on qualified purchases at its warehouses. Michael Schulman, the chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors said, the market has been expecting a membership fee hike for a couple years. Management historically tends to raise membership rates every five to six years. Membership fee revenues rose 7.6% in the third quarter ending May 12th, making up 1.9% of the company's total revenue for fiscal 2023. Costco also reported a 7.4% increase in net sales to $24.48 billion for June. Christina Corona, NTD News. Today is 7-11 and NTD's David Lamb hears from people on how they're staying cool amid the heat and on their lunch breaks. And the heat warnings also forecasted into next week for the most part of the U.S. One way to cool down your body during the summer heat is to get ice cold drinks. Now 7-11 is giving away free slurpees for their 97th birthday, which falls on, which you might have guessed, July 11th. Let's find out how people are trying to stay cool. I got cherry and coke. Yeah, I went with cherry. She kept the classic, original flavor. I got all the flavors. All of them? How many? Five. Five flavors? Okay. Actually six. Six? How does it taste? Good. I got three. I got a couple of cool waters and a jug full of root beer with ice. What's your go-to slurpee? Me? Yeah. I usually like the blue one. The blue one? Yeah. The blueberry is cool. Can't go wrong with that one. Other ways to stay cool include. Either I go ice skate or go to the pool. I either go to my buddies, hop in the pool, or just chill in the A.C. at my place. Yeah, that's the go-to's. I'm usually at work during the heat hours, but I go home, take a shower, relax, you know, water in the backyard, water in the front yard. And what are some family traditions as kids? Growing up, usually just turning on the A.C. Yeah, we just go to the park, probably sometimes barbecue, even though it's hot, but at least we're outside like cooking some food, enjoying something with the heat. Sleep all day. Sometimes I play fun games. What does your mom do for you? Sometimes she does like ice cream. Side by side we eat fruits and mangoes. Get wet in the backyard, water balloon fights. We'll be complaining it's hot, but in the winter we're complaining that it's cold, you know. It's life, right? Yeah. We gotta deal with the elements, no matter what. As we head into the weekend, elements in western U.S. forecast it to continue with high temperatures and widespread heat warnings. The yellow indicating near 90 degrees Fahrenheit across the map, forecasting hazardous heat across a large portion of central and eastern U.S. heading into next week. NOAA says to stay hydrated, decrease time out of the sun, and to check in on others. David Lam, NTD News. Police are searching for a suspect who threw a lit firework at a dog in Orange County. NTD's Christina Corona has more details on the story. Home surveillance from Santa Ana Police shows a male suspect approaching a home near 1800 West Pine Street during the Fourth of July weekend. A black dog named Romeo is walking around in the front yard when he spots the suspect vehicle through a locked gate. The suspect can be seen lighting the firework in his car, then throwing it over the gate. It lands in front of Romeo, who quickly looks at the object. Moments later, the firework explodes, startling the dog with a large plume of smoke. Police reported the dog received significant burns and bleeding from the explosion. The injuries were non-life threatening, and the dog's owner stated he is recovering at home. The suspect fled in a gold beige four-door sedan with distinctive features including black aftermarket wheels, taillights, a trunk spoiler, a gas cap, and rear tinted windows. Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact Investigator R. Perez. Christina Corona, NTD News. We'll take a short break now everybody, but here's a look at what we have for you when we come back. U.S. made F-16 fighter jets are now on their way to Ukraine. Dutch and Danish leaders say Ukraine will be flying them this summer. Economics researchers say high unemployment numbers are concerning. Find out why and more about the current labor market. Four red wolf pups are growing up strong and healthy at the Missouri Wildlife Reserve. More on this endangered species. Those stories and more coming up on NTD Tonight. Welcome back to NTD Tonight. I'm your host, David Zhang. President Biden, along with Dutch and Danish prime ministers, said U.S. made F-16 fighter jets are now on their way to Ukraine. The leaders said in a joint statement that Ukraine will be flying them this summer. NTD's Jeremy Sandberg has takeaways from the NATO summit. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Denmark and the Netherlands are already transferring the first batch of U.S. built F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. And those jets, those jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression. Blinken says a robust package being unveiled over the next couple days for Ukraine will build a clear and strong bridge to its NATO membership. For the next decade, country after country has vowed to help Ukraine build its deterrent and defense capacity. That sends the strongest possible message to Vladimir Putin that he can't outlast Ukraine, he can't outlast Ukraine's partners. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway have committed to providing more than 60 U.S. made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Norwegian government said Wednesday it will donate six F-16s. Norway phased out its aging fleet of F-16 fighters in 2021, after 42 years of service, and is replacing them with new F-35As. Denmark has committed to donate 19 F-16s in total, while the Netherlands has promised to deliver 24. Ukrainian pilots are training to fly the fighter jets ahead of expected deliveries. President Biden, in a joint statement with the Dutch and Danish prime ministers, said Ukraine will be able to fly them this summer. The announcement comes one day after Biden said some NATO members, including the U.S., will be sending Ukraine five Patriot missile defense systems. Ukraine has been fending off Russia's invasion for more than two years. Moscow renewed aerial attacks on Ukraine's national power grid this spring, causing sweeping blackouts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he wants to double Ukraine's air defenses over the summer. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Moscow could consider targeting facilities in NATO countries if they host fighter jets used in Ukraine. Jeremy Sandberg, NTD News. President Biden held his first solo press conference since the presidential debate just a few hours ago. While the president and his staff remain publicly adamant he would stay in the race, more prominent allies are calling for him to step aside, including Vermont Senator Peter Welch, more than a dozen House Democrats, and mega-donor George Clooney. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that a weakening labor market is now of concern. That was at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing this week. For a look at what Powell's statements review about the U.S. economy, NTD's Chris Spears spoke with a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, Tom Savage. Tom Savage, thank you so much for joining us. From your reading, what should we take away from Fed Chair Jerome Powell's statements about unemployment this week? Thanks so much for having me on. I think there's a lot to be concerned about. Of course, they're not expecting a rate cut until maybe September. But given the recent unemployment numbers, there are some genuine concerns about a recession. Okay, and talk to us about those concerns. Sure. Well, unemployment really hasn't moved all that much in the past month. And on top of that, it's still quite above where the government wants it to be. Some economists, we actually have some analyses on our website at AIER.org. We're looking at that, and some of my colleagues there are genuinely concerned that given this kind of persistent unemployment, there are concerns that a recession is incoming. Okay, and explain for us, for our audience, because some of this can get kind of complicated. What's the relationship between inflation, interest rates, and unemployment as it relates to Powell's statements? That's a great question. That's a great question, Chris. At the end of the day, the Federal Reserve controls the money supply. And so that means how much money gets printed by the Federal Reserve. And by the amount of dollars printed, it impacts the interest rate, because you could think of it as the price of borrowing. And so the Federal Reserve, by influencing the money supply, it's changing and increasing. When it prints money, it increases the supply of what we call loadable funds. And so when the supply increases, all else remaining equal, the price of borrowing, otherwise known as the interest rate, will drop. And so it looks at its balance sheet, and it looks to influence the interest rate by increasing or decreasing its balance sheet, increasing its balance sheet by buying assets with newly printed dollars. Okay, and how does that relate to unemployment? Well, in the late 1970s, in the wake of stagflation, the Federal Reserve was charged with a dual mandate, maintaining price stability and managing employment. But unfortunately, that dual mandate has not played out as we've expected. We're still seeing inflation. Inflation, it's the highest it's been in 20 years. We're still seeing persistent unemployment. So the Fed should really start to be looking at alternatives. And really, it should focus on price stability, because that could positively impact employment prospects. And you've earlier mentioned that we could be heading toward a recession. How serious are you about that prediction? My colleagues and I have been looking at it. And while it's, of course, nothing is guaranteed, it is something that we should be watching out for. And we should really be on our toes. Powell emphasized that inflation is no longer the only risk to the economy right now, that we should also be concerned about weakening the labor market. What changed here? That's a great question. And I believe it was him seeing the recent unemployment numbers there, and while still seeing some signs of positive changes in inflation growth, and also seeing the rising unemployment. And at the end of the day, I mentioned, the Fed should be focusing on price stability. Because with price stability, when you have a stable dollar, it makes it easier for businesses to write contracts. And that includes labor contracts. When you don't have a stable dollar, it's going to affect lots of things downstream, including employment prospects. When you're not sure how much a dollar can buy you, you're going to be concerned as a business, if you're a business owner, you're going to be concerned about how many people you can really hire on. Got it. Now, what does all this mean for the average American feeling the pressure of inflation right now? What they're seeing now is that, of course, prices are still rising and absent some deflationary event. We're not going to expect, don't expect prices to go down, but they're going to be rising a little slower than before. All right. Tom Savage, thank you so much for your insight. Thank you. The world's most endangered wolf species got a big boost at the Missouri Wildlife Reserve. Four little puppies born this spring. Let's see how they're doing. A female American red wolf pup named Otter was born April 24th at the St. Louis Zoo. On May 4th, a litter of three other pups, Molly and her brothers, Finn and Obi, were born. Zoo officials said all four are healthy and thriving. The cuteness overload, however, won't be open to the public. Visitors are not allowed so that the wolves learn natural behaviors and survival skills without much human interaction in case they can eventually be released into the wild. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the red wolf is the only large carnivore solely native to the United States. It's smaller than a gray wolf, but larger than a coyote. It differs in appearance from the gray wolf, with reddish fur often found around its head, ears and legs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the red wolf once ranged from central Pennsylvania to southeastern Texas. Populations were decimated by the early 20th century due to predator control programs and loss of habitat. About 20 live in the wild. Another 290 red wolves live in human care, including 17 at the St. Louis Zoo Reserve. Zoo officials said the pups will stay with their parents for at least two years. After that, they may be sent to other institutions that are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' American Red Wolf Saving Animals from Extinction Program to start their own packs. They could also be released into the wild through the Fish and Wildlife Service. Stay tuned for China in Focus with Tiffany Meyer coming up next. More details on the Chinese warships popping up in waters near Alaska. The sighting just two days before the summit in Washington to the world's most powerful military alliance. More on China in Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern. And that's all we've got for you tonight. We'd like you to join us again on NTD Tonight every weekday at 9 p.m. I'm David Zhang. Have a wonderful evening.