spending. and let s begin in washington, d.c., where the federal reserve has just announced its latest decision on interest rates. economists predicted an eighth straight rate increase as the central bank tries to tamp down inflation without causing a recession. matt egan is inside the federal reserve. what s the decision? reporter: 25 basis points, the fed just delivered its eighth straight interest rate hike, lifting interest rates to the highest level since 2007, all part of the fed s quest to get inflation back down to healthy levels. but importantly, the fed is dialing back the pace of these interest rate hikes. going from 75 basis points this past summer and this past fall to 50 basis points in december, to this more traditional move of 25 basis points today. now, this was widely expected, widely telegraphed, and yet, it is a significant strategy shift, nonetheless. the fed is still trying to slow this economy to cool off inflation, but they ve gone from slamming the
katy tur. here we are again, another fed meeting and another expected rate hike. we re going to get to the number in just a second. it is expected to be a quarter of a point. we re going to see how the markets react to that because they have been on a relative upswing and we re wondering does that trend continue? we are also watching as you well know, memphis. the funeral for 29-year-old tyre nichols is today. and supposed to begin right about now. weather has been delaying it, so we ll go there as soon as it does start. but again, there is breaking news from the fed. just confirmed, they are raising it, interest rates, by a quarter point. joining me now is nbc news business and data reporter, brian cheung. a quarter point, what can you tell us? the nation s central bank, the steward of the u.s. economy raised interest rates by .25 percentage points in their meeting today, after some encouraging news we had gotten in previous weeks that inflation was coming down. was at 6.5
it would either take a coordinated lockdown to stem the spread or a mass vaccination as soon as possible because our leadership at the time was incapable of doing so. one year later, we mourn more than 530,000 americans who have lost their lives to this plague. but we can also take some heart from millions of american who s have been vaccinated. and president joe biden s promise to have a shot ready for every american in about seven weeks as the vaccine appears to have convinced much of our reeling nation that we re clearing all-clear. and the president s historic relief package offers a lifeline to americans of all walks of life. tonight we ll be talking about what it will do for millions of our neighbors facing hunger and for overlooked black farmers slated to receive more aid from the federal government than they ever have. all of this, of course, without any help from republican lawmakers and all of that tonight on politics nation. but first joining me now is white hous
the fighting congresswoman from houston, texas, sheila jackson lee is here. and my friend and brother, the congressman right here from tennessee, congressman steve corn is here. many years ago, there was a controversy in california and there was one that stood up for justice and i watched them grow as they fought and took a balanced and principled stand, supporting what was right, even when wasn t popular. and they grew from one office to
country. and we thank the white house, the president talked to the family but sent a delegation led by the former mayor of atlanta who now is running policy and social engagement in the white house, mayor keisha lance bottoms. the head of infrastructure, the infrastructure czar of the country, former mayor of new orleans, stand up, mitch landrieu is here. the fighting congresswoman from houston, texas, fighting for reparations in the congress, sheila jackson lee is here.