Tsunami waves reach U.S. after Russia quake and NYC shooting victims named: Morning Rundown

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific. The Federal Reserve is expected to leave key interest rates unchanged. And a Missouri furniture maker said his business is in jeopardy amid a yearslong legal battle with his insurance company.

Here’s what to know today.

Tsunami alerts issued across the Pacific after 8.8-magnitude quake strikes off Russia

One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations across the Pacific. In Hawaii, visitors and residents alike were forced to seek higher ground as powerful waves threatened the state.

But the alert level was downgraded to a tsunami advisory soon after the first waves hit after 7 p.m. local time, and evacuation orders were later canceled, allowing people to return to their homes. Tsunami waves up to a foot high reached the U.S. island territory of Guam, authorities said.

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The waves were triggered by a 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off Russia’s remote Far East. Eyewitness videos showed damage to buildings, and a tsunami hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake is tied for the sixth-largest on record, along with a 2010 earthquake off Chile.

Tsunami waves in Japan arrived Wednesday afternoon local time on the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, the country’s meteorological agency said. All workers were evacuated from the country’s Fukushima nuclear power plants, and the discharge of radioactive wastewater from the plant was suspended.

The National Weather Service said the first tsunami waves reached the California coast overnight at Crescent City and Humboldt Bay and were expected to build and become more dangerous during high tide.

Follow our live blog for updates.

Fed expected to keep interest rates unchanged

Despite ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to leave key interest rates unchanged, according to market projections and analysts. Powell is set to announce his decision today.

Most data indicates the economy is in good shape, with a relatively low 4.1% unemployment rate and relatively subdued inflation. But in June, the economy began to show prices for apparel, appliances and toys beginning to accelerate, and forecasters suggested tariffs would be likely to continue to drive up consumer prices. In a twist, Powell said the Fed might have already cut interest rates had it not been for Trump’s volatile tariff policy.

Last week, Trump made a rare visit to the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. That visit, as well as his administration’s calls for lower interest rates, has raised concerns about the central bank’s long-standing independence and immunity to political interference. Meanwhile, two Trump-appointed members of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets the rate, have openly called for lowering rates. But Powell, who was also appointed during Trump’s first presidential term, has shown no signs he would budge. Read the full story here.

Republicans split over Gaza hunger crisis

Mounting anger over the ongoing war in Gaza has prompted criticism toward Israel, with the U.K. saying it would recognize Palestine as a state unless the Israeli government agrees to an “immediate ceasefire” and President Donald Trump calling for more aid to be sent to the enclave.

Trump’s move, in particular, puts him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some fellow Republicans in Congress. But one of Trump’s top allies, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, has called the situation in Gaza a “genocide” even though she has advocated for an “America First” agenda.

Greene represents a small but growing faction of Republicans who are expressing outrage at the starvation in Gaza, though many still disagree. “If they would let the hostages go, they’d get a lot more food,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said “no,” he does not believe there is a genocide in Gaza and that Congress shouldn’t provide more relief. Democrats, however, are mostly unified on the issue. Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has privately discussed the idea of running for political office next year in Tennessee, sources said, potentially leading to a major shake-up at the Defense Department.

• The GOP-led Senate confirmed Emil Bove, Trump’s former personal lawyer and a DOJ employee, to a lifetime appeals court perch.

• The House Oversight Committee declined a request from Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers to grant her immunity in exchange for testifying to Congress.

• Trump said Jeffrey Epstein “stole” Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent survivors of Epstein’s abuse scandal, from his Mar-a-Lago club. The admission could increase scrutiny of his relationship with the late financier.

• Polls show the majority of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, but six months into his presidency, that support is slipping.

NYC shooting victims remembered as ‘brilliant’ and ‘dedicated’

A day after a gunman opened fire in midtown Manhattan, killing four people, officials revealed more details about the investigation and victims.

The gunman, identified as 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura of Nevada, had a “documented mental health history,” according to New York Police commissioner Jessica Tisch. Officials familiar with the investigation said the gunman left a note insinuating his mental illness may be linked to CTE, and he may have been targeting the NFL’s headquarters, which is in the building where he opened fire.

Meanwhile, the New York City chief medical examiner’s office released the names of the four people killed in the violence: Wesley LePatner, 43, an executive with the management company Blackstone; Didarul Islam, 36, a NYPD officer; Aland Etienne, 46, a security guard at the building; and Julia Hyman, an employee of the real estate firm Rudin Management. Those who knew the victims remembered them as “brilliant” and “dedicated” people. Here’s what else we know about the victims.

Read All About It

• The suspect alleged to have opened fire at a Nevada casino this week, killing three people, had no known connections to the victims.

• Three people who were inside a Nebraska manufacturing building when it collapsed in an explosion are missing.

• The FDA recommended classifying 7-OH, a compound with opioid-like effects found in products sold in gas stations and convenience stores, as an illicit substance.

• UCLA said it agreed to pay a $6 million settlement in a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish students and a faculty member over pro-Palestinian protests.

Staff Pick: Insurance fight weighs on ‘Made in America’ furniture business

Martin Goebel told me he was streaming “NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas” on his phone one evening while cooking dinner, his infant cradled in his arms. The show had just launched its new series, “The Cost of Denial,” which shines a light on the ways insurance companies often fail the very people they’re supposed to protect. He quickly jotted down the email address on screen and wrote to the team explaining his four-and-a-half-year-long insurance battle that he said has put his small business, Goebel Furniture, at risk of going under. He told me he never expected to hear from NBC.

NBC News senior business correspondent Christine Romans and I traveled to St. Louis with a crew to hear Goebel’s story firsthand. His small business was built on the promise of “Made in America” — the type of business that was expected to thrive under Trump-era tariffs — but he said it has instead been brought to its knees by its insurance provider after storms damaged his building. Since the piece aired, Goebel’s story has captured the attention of both St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Spencer spoke highly of Goebel’s work, reputation in the community and commitment to American manufacturing.

Industry experts told us Goebel’s case is emblematic of a much larger problem: insurance companies making it nearly impossible for policyholders to collect after disaster strikes. This story sheds light on what could happen to others who believe their insurance will be there when it matters most. — Emily Lorsch, business & economy producer

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

If you’re on the fence about whether to get a Whoop band or an Apple Watch, it’ll come down to what features you value most. One of NBC Select’s reporters tested both wearables side by side for a month and shared his experience. Plus, here are the best new product launches this month from Hoka, Dyson, Biodance, Saie and more.

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