Fed symposium closes, Little League World Series, MTV VMAs: 5 things to know this weekend

Editors
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Federal Reserve's symposium wraps up after Powell's tough speech

Economists from around the world on Saturday wrap up the annual Federal Reserve economic symposium sponsored by the Kansas City Federal Reserve. They will follow U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's high-profile speech about inflation woes by addressing the outlook for global financial policies in the post-COVID pandemic era. In his remarks, Powell said the Fed is committed to bringing inflation down to its 2% goal, which means interest rates will continue to rise. But by how much more will depend on incoming data, he said. "These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation," Powell said in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain." Stocks plunged after his comments as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1,008 points, or 3%.

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Southern Democrats look to keep pressure on Republicans at events

Charlie Crist, the Florida Democrat who won his primary this week and is challenging Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, is expected to name the head of the largest teachers union in the Southeast as his lieutenant governor candidate at an event Saturday. Karla Hernández-Mats, president of United Teachers of Dade, will be introduced by Crist as his running mate at Hialeah Middle School, where she was named teacher of the year in 2010. A source told the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network, Hernández-Mats was chosen not solely to promote education issues. She will also be asked to step forward on defending abortion rights, voting access, and LBGTQ equity during the campaign. Georgia's top Democrats will gather at their convention in Columbus Saturday with plans to not only tout their candidates, which include gubernatorial contender Stacey Abrams and Sen. Raphael Warnock topping the ticket for the first time, but leverage President Joe Biden's recent policy wins and cast the Republican party as "extremist."

Little League World Series set to crown a new champ after US, World finals

Hawaii and Tennessee are set for a rematch Saturday to decide who will represent the U.S. in the championship of the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The team from Honolulu has been a juggernaut in the tournament, outscoring its opponents 42-1. Three of Hawaii's four matchups were won via the mercy rule, so they have only played one full game. The West region winner, which finished third in last year's event and won it in 2018, belted five homers in a 13-0 rout of Tennessee earlier this week. In the international bracket, Taiwan will play Curacao Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Taiwan has yet to lose a game in the tournament. Meanwhile, after an early loss, Curacao needed to win four consecutive games to get to the final. The winners of the Saturday games will face off Sunday for the title (3 p.m. ET, ABC). As always, the Little League World Series has provided fantastic moments from amazing young players that make it so much fun to watch every year.

Not 1, but 3 hosts: Rap stars set to anchor the MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards take place on Sunday night in Newark, New Jersey, (8 p.m. ET/PT, multiple networks) and will have three hosts as rap stars LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow are all set to anchor the ceremony. In addition to hosting, Harlow is tied for the most nominations this year with seven. That includes artist of the year and video of the year. Kendrick Lamar – nominated for the first time since 2018 – and Lil Nas X also are up for seven trophies. Harry Styles and Doja Cat received the second-most nominations with six. Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd each pulled in five. Harlow, Lil Nas X, Drake, Bad Bunny, Ed Sheeran, Styles and Lizzo will compete for artist of the year. Minaj will also get the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award this year, joining such previous winning music luminaries as Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott. Fellow host LL Cool J also won that award in 1997.

College football kickoff . . . in Ireland? It's part of 'Week 0'

Week 0 can be a confusing phrase if you're hearing it for the first time. But the term is fairly well known among college football aficionados. For most schools around the country, the start of the season arrives on Labor Day weekend, the traditional Week 1. In recent years, however, a handful of contests have been scheduled for the prior weekend. This preliminary launch date has come to be known as Week 0, and it has arrived. The headliner on Saturday is a Big Ten West showdown overseas in Dublin, between Nebraska and Northwestern (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX). While neither the Cornhuskers nor the Wildcats are expected to compete for the league title, it is, nonetheless, an important game for both programs coming off subpar seasons.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Federal Reserve, Little League titles: 5 things to know this weekend