News – Page 16 – 105.7 WDNY

Uber ordered to pay $40M to parents of woman fatally struck after being left on freeway

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Uber ordered to pay M to parents of woman fatally struck after being left on freeway

Uber ordered to pay $40M to parents of woman fatally struck after being left on freeway — Emily Normandin-Parker is seen in this photo. Her parents Carol Normandin and Ken Parker were awarded $40 million in arbitration after their daughter was struck and killed after her Uber driver left her along a Southern California freeway. (Courtesy Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP)

(NEW YORK) — The parents of a 23-year-old woman who was struck and killed after her Uber driver left her along a Southern California freeway are speaking out after being awarded $40 million in an arbitration against Uber and the driver.

Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, sat down exclusively with “Good Morning America” in an interview aired on Thursday to discuss their daughter’s death and the arbitration award.

Asked if they believe Uber put profits over their daughter’s safety, Normandin responded, “Absolutely.”

Normandin-Parker, a 2022 UCLA graduate, was taking an Uber home with her friend Luna Moore after a night out when Moore became sick during the ride, according to the arbitration award.

The driver, Vu Tran, pulled over on State Route 73 in Orange County at a gore point — the triangular area by the off-ramp on the freeway, according to the arbitration.

“He chose to pull over there and demand money and kick them out of the car. All I can think that Emily was doing — her friend, the driver arguing — was to get help. They argue, Emily gets hit while they’re arguing,” Normandin told ABC News’ Trevor Ault in an interview that aired Thursday on “GMA.”

In his arbitration award, retired Judge Richard A. Stone, who served as the arbitrator, described the gore point as an “unsafe and illegal” area and found that Tran could have instead taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and stopped in a safe location.

Stone also wrote in the award that Tran knew Normandin-Parker and Moore were intoxicated and had argued with Moore over a cleaning fee before leaving the women at the location.

Normandin-Parker later entered the freeway and was struck and killed by a vehicle.

According to the arbitration award, GPS data showed Tran drove near Normandin-Parker’s body before taking the next exit and calling Uber to seek a cleaning fee.

Stone described Tran’s testimony as “largely — in fact, almost entirely — incredible and unbelievable.”

The arbitrator also found Tran showed “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers” and that he had options to get the women to a safe location.

According to attorneys representing Normandin-Parker’s parents, evidence presented during the arbitration showed Uber had received previous complaints about Tran’s driving. One rider described a trip with Tran as “the least safe” ride they had experienced, while another said “he cannot drive.”

Parker described the complaints to “GMA” as “driving the wrong way on a one-way, erratic driving, almost hitting pedestrians, very erratic behavior.”

Following the five-day arbitration, Stone awarded $20 million each to Normandin and Parker, finding Uber and Tran jointly and severally liable. Moore was separately awarded $300,000. The arbitrator did not award punitive damages.

Stone also found Uber vicariously liable for Tran’s negligence as a common carrier. In his decision, Stone rejected Uber’s argument that it is “merely a technology company” connecting riders with drivers, finding that Uber provides transportation services to the public through its app, sets prices and controls key aspects of the rider experience.

The arbitrator also rejected Uber’s argument that Proposition 22 — a California ballot measure approved by voters in 2020 that allows companies to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors instead of employees — prevented the company from being held liable for Tran’s conduct.

In a statement to “GMA,” an Uber spokesperson said, “No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family.”

“While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” the statement continued.

“We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years…including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations,” the statement said.

Normandin-Parker’s parents also spoke to “GMA” about Uber’s efforts to keep the arbitration award from being made public.

“We didn’t have much time to absorb the award before Uber almost immediately started contending that it could not be made public and then sent an agreement to us requiring non-disparagement, the $10 million penalty for saying anything bad about Uber,” Parker said.According to a press release from their attorneys, Normandin and Parker established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation following their daughter’s death to advocate for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability. Proceeds from the arbitration award will be used to fund the foundation, the release said.

Ian Samson, an attorney for the family, told “GMA,” “he said, I’m troubled by all this, and changing the policies and practices is something Uber should do. And since the arbitration award was issued, what I’ve seen is great urgency by Uber to try to keep it secret.”

According to a press release from their attorneys, Normandin and Parker established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation following their daughter’s death to advocate for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability. Proceeds from the arbitration award will be used to fund the foundation, the release said.

When asked what else they wanted people to know about their daughter, Normandin said, “Her laugh was contagious.”

“And she was funny. And she could sing. Oh my god, could she sing,” Normandin said.

Popular frozen dessert voluntarily recalled due to potential presence of stones

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — It might be time to check your freezer. Danone USA is voluntarily recalling one of its popular frozen dessert offerings due to what the company said is the potential presence of foreign objects.

The food company announced this week that it is recalling pints of So Delicious Dairy Free® Salted Caramel Cluster Frozen Dessert “out of an abundance of caution” because they may be contaminated with “small stones and other hard objects, within the cashew inclusions.”

Danone USA said it had received complaints from customers and notified the Food and Drug Administration of the recall.

Recalled frozen desserts bear the UPC number of 744473476138 and have best-by expiry dates on and before April 3, 2028.

Customers are being advised not to eat any recalled frozen desserts and to throw them away. Those affected by the recall can request a refund or a coupon for a replacement product from the So Delicious Dairy Free® Consumer Care Line at 1-833-367-8975, available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, or through the So Delicious website.

Other So Delicious frozen desserts and products are not impacted by the recall, the company said on its website.

“We know this is not the quality you expect from us,” the brand shared on its website. “So Delicious Dairy Free® is working swiftly with retail partners to remove the impacted product from shelves. In the meantime, we have identified and corrected this issue and will soon be able to bring the product back to market safely.”

Danone USA said recalled frozen desserts were distributed to retailers nationwide and that it is working with stores to remove recalled products.

ABC News has reached out to Danone USA for additional comment.

Prince Harry to hold 1st public engagement in UK, competing with Prince William, King Charles events

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Prince Harry is attending his first public engagement Thursday since moving back to the United Kingdom, the same day his father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William, also held engagements.

The busy day marks a new reality for Britain’s royal family as they continue on with their official royal engagements, while Harry builds his own calendar as a non-working member of the royal family.

Harry is scheduled to attend an event in London for the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style competition for wounded veterans he founded over a decade ago.

The event is already making headlines because it will be Harry’s first public appearance since he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, moved back to the U.K. with their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The family spent the past six years living in California after Harry and Meghan stepped away from their senior royal roles in 2020.

Earlier in the day Thursday, Harry’s father, King Charles III, delivered a speech on artificial intelligence at a conference in Scotland. The same day, also in Scotland, William stepped out with his wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, for a royal visit to the Isle of Bute.

Neither William nor Charles has commented publicly on Harry and Meghan’s return to the U.K.

Harry’s relations with some of his royal family members, particularly William, have been strained in the years since his departure from the U.K.

The only statement the royal family has given on the Sussexes’ return is a letter released on Sept. 8 under the direction of King Charles, advising that Harry and Meghan will remain “private citizens” and will not be working royals while living in the U.K.

Harry and Meghan were “surprised” by the letter, their spokesperson told ABC News at the time. The couple has not commented further.

When Harry and Meghan stepped away from their senior royal roles in 2020, it was agreed that they would no longer use their royal highness titles, would no longer represent the monarchy and would no longer receive public funds for royal duties, freeing them to earn money on their own.

In the years following, Harry and Meghan continued to attend public engagements on their own, though not in a royal capacity.

In addition to Thursday night’s Invictus event, Harry is expected to attend and speak next week at the WellChild Awards, an event in London for seriously ill children that both he and Meghan have attended on multiple occasions previously.

From there, Harry is scheduled to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, set to be held Sept. 22-23 in New York.

It’s not publicly known where the Sussexes are living in the U.K. The family plans to stay for an “extended period of time” in the U.K., where Archie and Lilibet will attend school, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Canada and Europe ‘stronger together,’ Carney says amid spat with US

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

LONDON — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday called for deeper transatlantic ties with the European Union amid an ongoing diplomatic and trade spat with President Donald Trump’s administration.

During an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Carney told lawmakers, “Canada and Europe are each strong. Canada and Europe are stronger together.”

“Where our strengths differ, they complement. Where they overlap, they create scale. We should build on each other’s strengths — deliberately, systematically and rapidly,” Carney added.

Carney called for Canada and Europe to work together on securing “strategic autonomy” in areas including critical minerals, defense-industrial capacity, AI and computing, energy security and space.

The prime minister also called for a move towards “seamless, digital trade in non-agricultural goods and a wide range of services,” plus deeper “people-to-people ties” allowing young people to “work, study and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic.”

“I’m not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival — only with better manners,” Carney said, to some laughter in the chamber. The prime minister did not explicitly mention the U.S. or Trump during his address.

“We do not seek power to dominate others,” he added. “On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so no one — no one — can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”

Carney’s visit to Europe this week came as the European Union offered to make Canada the bloc’s first-ever “associate member.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Strasbourg on Wednesday, “We want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible. We must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU.”

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

House passes Russia and Iran sanctions bill championed by Sen. Lindsey Graham

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House passed a Russia and Iran sanctions bill championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham Wednesday night — sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

The final tally was 262-159.

Seven Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Andy Harris of Maryland, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Keith Self of Texas, Tom McClintock of California, Chip Roy of Texas and Warren Davidson of Ohio — voted against the measure.

The bill’s passage comes about two months after Graham’s sudden death.

The package would impose primary and secondary sanctions on Russia and other countries that support Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions target Russian political officials and oligarchs, banks and financial institutions, and the Russian shadow fleet, according to the bill.

The legislation also allows for the president to impose tariffs but limits the scope of those tariffs to the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas and the top five countries that aid Russia’s energy sanctions evasion.

It also includes a provision to prevent a lapse in sanction authority that restricts funding for Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.

In a statement on social media, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who was appointed to fill her late brother’s Senate seat and is now running for a full term, celebrate the measure’s passage.

“Today is a monumental day for peace,” she wrote in the post on X. “This legislation was deeply important to my brother, Lindsey, and I’m grateful that it achieved such a wide coalition of support on the House floor. I am committed to achieving a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine, and I’m confident that this legislation will pave the way.”

The vote split Democrats — 58 voted in favor while 152 voted against.

Top House Democratic leaders including Leader Hakeem Jeffries explained why they voted against the sanctions bill, saying it “gives extraordinary power to Donald Trump.”

“It allows him to waive the sanctions contained in the bill, while giving him new, expansive tariff authority to continue his failed global trade war that is causing costs to skyrocket for working families across America,” they said. “Sadly, the White House is willing to risk Ukrainian lives and American livelihoods instead of working to actually hold this rogue Russian regime accountable for its illegal war.”

Earlier this week, several Democrats, including Reps. Gregory Meeks, Richard Neal and Don Beyer, voiced concerns with the bill but expressed their staunch support for Ukraine.

The Senate approved the measure last month with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 86-11.

Trump says Kennedy Center could be ‘ripped down’ if he doesn’t get ‘recognition’

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Kennedy Center could “close” or be “ripped down” if his administration doesn’t receive recognition on the performing arts center as tensions over his name being removed mount.

“I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down,” the president told reporters on the tarmac in North Carolina.

Trump claimed that the Kennedy Center was a “mess” without his intervention and “has lost 10s of millions of dollars, even hundreds of millions of dollars,” comparing it to New York’s Carnegie Hall.

The president’s comments come after a federal judge on Tuesday blocked the performing arts center’s board from adding a tribute to Trump on the building or site. He responded by saying he wouldn’t spend congressionally approved funding for the center’s renovation unless the building also bears his name.

Congress last year appropriated $257 million for the renovation.

About an hour after the judge’s ruling Tuesday, the board, which is controlled by Trump appointees, voted to close the center immediately for renovations, citing safety concerns after a piece of plaster from the ceiling of the grand foyer fell during a heavy rainstorm earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said Trump “threw a tantrum because he lost in court” when discussing the Kennedy Center meeting.

“He wasn’t pleased with it. He was very explicit with his words, and I responded equally as explicit. He is in contempt of court for what he’s doing now in trying to just simply go over and close the Kennedy Center and to have people leave the center,” Beatty told reporters on the House steps Tuesday night.

Beatty said “there was a heated debate” during the meeting.

On Wednesday, fencing was seen being installed around the main building’s entrance.

Democrats propose bill to strike down controversial Saudi nuclear deal

September 17, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Democratic lawmakers are pushing a bill to disapprove of a nuclear cooperation agreement struck between the United States and Saudi Arabia in a bid to strike down the proposal during a three-month period of congressional review.

Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, along with Brad Sherman, John Garamendi and Don Beyer introduced a Joint Resolution of Disapproval on Wednesday, shortly before lawmakers left Washington to return home ahead of midterm elections. A vote could come in November, after the midterms.

Without a two-thirds vote, President Donald Trump could veto Meeks’ bill and the nuclear deal would take effect as it is written.

The nuclear deal, known as a 123 agreement, paves the way for American industry to collaborate on tens of billions of dollars of nuclear energy projects in the kingdom in what the administration says is a sign of deepening ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

The agreement has raised concerns around the proliferation of technologies that could support a Saudi effort to weaponize nuclear energy, security experts and members of Congress have said.

The terms of the agreement break from the so-called “gold standard” for nuclear deals, by which countries allow international inspectors widespread access to facilities that could support nuclear development. Inspectors are also allowed access to undeclared sites — activities that could involve research that would contribute to nuclear energy.

The U.S.-Saudi deal instead includes a narrower agreement that would limit inspections, administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, to only declared nuclear sites.

The text of the agreement, which has been released publicly by the administration, establishes a joint study between the two countries on the feasibility of an enrichment facility on Saudi Arabian soil. An additional study could open the door to enrichment of uranium of up to 20%.

Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association who has reviewed the text, said that study was described “vaguely” in the signed agreement.

Enrichment to 20% “poses a more significant risk because enriching to that level constitutes the majority of work necessary to enrich to weapons-grade levels, or 90%,” Davenport said. “The United States has repeatedly, and rightly, raised concerns about Iran previously enriching to the 20 percent level.”

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, has in the past said his government would seek a nuclear weapon if Iran managed to acquire one.

In its communication to Congress on Aug. 27, the Trump administration acknowledged the Crown Prince’s “concerning public statements.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, defending the deal in July, said that Saudi Arabia could have turned to an American adversary, like China or Russia, had the U.S. not been prepared to sign the nuclear agreement.

“We live in a new era,” he said. “There are competitors that we face, so we’ll have to adjust individual deals to that reality. We’re not the only show in town but we’re the best show in town. But we want to be, we want to make sure that it’s our companies they’re picking.”

In a letter to Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright Wednesday, a group of lawmakers called for the administration to declassify two documents, or “side letters,” which the White House said were part of the deal but could not be released.

The lawmakers, which included Republican Sens. John Kennedy Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky, called for their release, adding they were “aware of no precedent for classifying and withholding the side letters, particularly when the stated purpose is peaceful nuclear cooperation.”

A bill to strike down the Saudi deal, requiring a supermajority in the Republican-controlled Congress, is exceedingly unlikely. But lawmakers could also opt to pass a law that applies certain conditions to the nuclear agreement.

House votes to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe

September 16, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution Wednesday to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying two subpoenas issued in the House Oversight Committee’s probe of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The resolution came a day after the Oversight Committee voted 41-0 to hold Black in contempt, teeing up the House vote.

Black bucked a committee subpoena calling on him to testify under oath at a closed-door deposition on Sept. 3, as well as turn over nondisclosure agreements that the committee is seeking under subpoena, as part of the panel’s ongoing probe into the government’s handling of the investigations into Epstein.

Black, who maintained a social relationship with Epstein since the mid-1990s and eventually paid him more than $170 million for “tax and estate planning advice,” according to the Senate Finance Committee, appeared voluntarily before the Oversight panel in June — before prematurely leaving the closed-door interview.

Black has denied wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, though his financial payments to the convicted sex offender served as a lifeline in the years following Epstein’s 2008 prison sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Moments before the House unanimously approved the measure, Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight panel, told reporters that the move to hold Black in contempt is “a very important step” in the committee’s Epstein probe.

“This is an important step towards justice, but there is just an enormous amount of work to be done,” Garcia said. “Our investigation is just getting started. There is a massive cover-up that’s happened at the White House from Day 1, and we need to have more actions like the one that’s going to happen today. So this is a really important day for us.”

Black’s attorneys called the move “outrageous” and said they will fight the resolution.

“The Committee has continued to insist on looking for information that does not exist,” said attorneys Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler. “They are looking to ask questions about every NDA Mr. Black ever signed, including with business partners over his 50 year career and also with individuals who he never met. This is absurd.”

“Mr. Black has repeatedly said that he feels terrible for Epstein’s victims and that he regrets ever doing business with Epstein,” Black’s lawyers said. “He never abused a woman. He never was with an underage woman. He never engaged in sex trafficking. He never paid Epstein for access to women. He was never blackmailed by Epstein. Mr. Black had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”

The contempt resolution must now be certified by House Speaker Mike Johnson before it is sent to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro.

Pirro could then bring the matter to a federal grand jury, which would have the power to hand up a criminal indictment that could ultimately culminate in fines and even imprisonment.

‘How are we gonna get through this?’ Americans face tough decisions as diesel and gas prices rise

September 16, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As diesel and gas prices soar in the United States amid the war with Iran, Americans across the country are making tough decisions as they continue to cope with the heavy strain of inflation.

“You have to manage your bills. You have to manage the food you bring in. You have to manage how you pay your bills … everything has to be budgeted,” said Betsy Rosado, a 47-year-old mother who lives with her husband and five of their children in Spring Hill, Florida.

Rosado said her business degree has helped her manage household finances. But for others, the budgeting agony “could bring somebody to the point of depression, and it could bring somebody to a mental collapse, especially when they have kids.”

Rosado said her toddler, who has significant developmental and respiratory issues, requires treatments multiple times a week. She has had to cut back on therapy sessions because of rising gas prices.

“We had to switch to, unfortunately, virtual therapies. And with my daughter with disabilities, we are stopping occupational therapies,” she said.

As of Wednesday, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.36, according to GasBuddy, up $1.42 since the U.S. war with Iran began on Feb. 28.

“The first thing that crosses your mind is, what is it going to be tomorrow? How are we gonna get through this, and then it’s the point of, do I need to move out of this state?” Rosado said. “You feel stuck … the system is not – it’s not made for us to succeed.”

Meanwhile, the cost of diesel has hit a record high at $6.30 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News on Wednesday that “a lot of states are seeing pretty monumental jumps” in both gas and diesel prices and “there’s really no signs of when this might start to slow down.”

“Until something happens to deescalate these geopolitical tensions, prices will keep going higher,” he added.

Truck drivers, who are feeling the financial strain at the pump, and farmers, who rely on diesel to power up agricultural machinery, told ABC News that the rise in diesel costs has put a strain on their businesses and their livelihoods.

Lewie Pugh, who has driven over 2 million miles for the past 25 years, is also the executive vice president of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents nearly 150,000 small business truckers.

Pugh told ABC News that every $1 increase in diesel prices costs truckers approximately $400 more per tank. Some weeks have cost an extra $800 to fill up, he added.

“Trucking has a very slim profit margin already. There’s just not a lot of profit in trucking. I’ve always said it was a penny saved business, not a penny made business,” Pugh said. “So when you’re already constrained and something like this happens to this magnitude, you just can’t absorb it as a motor carrier. They just can’t. There’s no way – they’ll be out of business tomorrow.”

Pugh said the higher prices truckers are paying are being passed down to the companies whose products are being shipped, causing the prices of everything from food to clothes to go up for Americans.

“This has huge rippling effects in the supply chain and in the economy because trucking and truckers haul so much stuff,” he said.

For John Bartman, a fifth-generation farmer on his family’s centuries-old farm in Marengo, Illinois, told ABC News that the rising costs of diesel has vastly impacted his agricultural production.

“People are just very frustrated right now,” Bartman said.

Bartman, who grows soybeans, said Illinois is the No. 1 soybean producer in the nation, but skyrocketing prices in diesel and fertilizer have hindered his ability to grow the major crop.

“The price of diesel today is over $6 a gallon, and we use 300 gallons of diesel a day. So now we’re talking $1,800 a day,” she said.

Additionally, he said that the cost of fertilizer was over $120 an acre this year.

“It just keeps on increasing all the time,” he said.

Bartman lamented the economic conditions and expressed concern about how this will impact the next generation of farmers.

“There’s some people that think things are going to get better, but I’ve seen too many good young farmers who had a full-time job besides farming, who’ve just decided I can’t do this anymore,” Bartman said. “We’re losing that next generation that’s coming into the business. So that is very destructive and very sad.”

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

Federal Reserve raises interest rates for the 1st time since 2023

September 16, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday in an effort to battle back a monthslong surge of inflation set off by the Iran war. The move marks the central bank’s first rate increase since July 2023.

The central bank hiked its benchmark rate a quarter of a percentage point, putting interest rates at a level between 3.75% and 4%.

That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 12-member policymaking board voted unanimously in favor of the rate increase.

“The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long,” Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “The committee’s unanimous vote shows our resolve to achieve price stability on a timelier basis.”

The move appears aimed at containing a recent bout of price increases. Global oil prices are hovering near a four-month high and the average price for a gallon of gasoline tops $4.30, according to AAA.

The U.S. economy has shown signs of additional strain in recent days, including a bond selloff that is pushing up borrowing costs for credit cards and mortgages.

The price woes previously divided central bankers eager to contain inflation but reluctant to cool off the economy and weaken the labor market.

The Fed opted to hold interest rates steady at its most recent meeting in July. Three of the 12 members on the Fed’s policymaking board, however, voted in favor of a rate hike, marking the largest number of dissenters casting ballots in the same direction in a decade.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who took the helm of the central bank in May, has vowed to cool off persistently elevated price increases.

“The Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices,” Warsh said in remarks last month at the Fed’s annual summer gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Prices rose 3.4% in August compared to a year earlier, maintaining the same level from the prior month, federal government data last week showed.

Inflation stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.

Despite a stubborn bout of inflation, the economy remains fairly robust by some measures.

A blockbuster jobs report earlier this month showed employers added 162,000 workers in August, demonstrating continued resilience for the nation’s labor market. The economy grew over three months ending in June, defying fear of a downturn triggered by the Iran war.

Fighting in the Middle East kept global crude prices above $105 a barrel as of Wednesday, which amounted to a rise of about 50% since the Iran war broke out in late February.

The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. stands at $4.36, putting it more than $1.30 higher than before the war, AAA data showed.

Record-high diesel prices have raised transport costs for many everyday products, including groceries, clothes and furniture.

The war in Iran, which began with a large-scale U.S.-Israeli attack in the winter, prompted Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which facilitates one-fifth of global crude supply. Saudi Arabia over the weekend shut down a key pipeline bypassing the strait, which further constrained oil delivery and put upward pressure on prices.

+ More