On display: LSU will show off technologies and innovations created by university faculty, staff and students at the third annual Inventorship Showcase. The showcase will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Lod Cook Alumni Center. It also recognizes patents issued to members of the LSU communities and other achievements in the university’s technology transfer efforts. The event is free to attend and is hosted by the LSU Office of Innovation and Technology Commercialization. Register and get more information.
Unchanged: The Federal Reserve is leaving interest rates unchanged, while signaling that it expects a resilient U.S. economy and solid job market to justify further rate hikes later this year, The Associated Press reports. The Fed’s pause comes after it modestly raised its benchmark short-term rate in December and March. Most economists expect it to do so again when it meets again in mid-June. The statement the Fed issued after its latest policy meeting notes that the economy slowed during the January-March quarter but says it expects that slowdown to be “transitory.” Nearly eight years after the Great Recession ended, unemployment is at a low 4.5%. Key sectors of the economy appear sturdy. Still, consumer spending and factory output have slowed, and inflation remains below the Fed’s target rate.
Changing sides: A key GOP holdout says he will back the party’s health care bill, saying that he thinks an amendment he proposed may be enough to win passage in the House later this week. Bloomberg reports the amendment would boost funding for people with pre-existing condition. Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan told reporters at the White House after a meeting with President Donald Trump that he’s ready to vote for the bill once the amendment he devised is added. Republican Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, another holdout, also says he can support the bill now. A White House official says Republicans are still two or three votes away from being able to guarantee passage, adding that the conservative House Freedom Caucus can accept the new amendment. Read more.
