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The Delta variant is keeping the US economy from getting back to normal
CNN
The US economy is further from being back to normal again. Thanks, Delta.
The more infectious variant of Covid-19 is making people anxious about being around others. That's bad news for the economy going into the winter months, and might mean it's time to get used to a slower recovery.
The Back-to-Normal Index created by CNN Business and Moody's Analytics, which tracks how the US economy is doing compared with pre-pandemic times, dropped to its lowest level since early June. After hovering in the low-90% area for months, America's economy dropped back to 89% of its pre-Covid strength as of September 17. South Dakota is the now the only state in the union that's stronger than it was before the pandemic.
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The retired Air Force general announced as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump after the abrupt Friday night firing of his predecessor is a respected career F-16 pilot who is described by current and former officials who served with him as a professional with a “strong moral center.”
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Over the past 10 days, Vice President JD Vance put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on notice, rattled the confidence of century-old allies in Western Europe during his first foreign trip, decamped to Capitol Hill to help in delicate budget talks and delivered a spirited defense of the Trump administration’s first month to a gathering of conservatives outside the nation’s capital.