US economy grows, but recession still looms

US GDP rebounds in the third quarter; Climate protesters try to deface the painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

US economic growth returns

Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress

• The US economy rebounded in the third quarter, but there are signs consumer demand is cooling, according to government data released Thursday. [Vox / Madeleine Ngo]
• GDP grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate from July to September, reversing six months of decline. [The Hill / Sylvan Lane]
• Most of the growth was driven by exports, as Americans spent less on imported goods while international demand for US-made products improved. [New York Times / Ben Casselman]
• However, housing investments and consumer spending slowed, suggesting overall demand is shrinking, something that could signal an economic slowdown. [CNN / Alicia Wallace]
• The latest data suggests a recession is probably not imminent; the Federal Reserve is still likely to continue hiking interest rates to cool inflation. [CBS News / Aimee Picchi]

Climate activists target another masterpiece

• Three climate protesters were arrested Thursday for attempting to deface Johannes Vermeer’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring" painting at a museum in the Hague. [Reuters / Toby Sterling and Charlotte Campenhout]
• Video shows one man trying to glue his head to the painting, and another pouring liquid over him. The glass-protected painting was not damaged. [Associated Press]
• It’s the latest climate protest involving a famous artwork: Sunday, an environmentalist threw mashed potatoes on a Monet. Two activists threw tomato soup at a van Gogh earlier this month. [Guardian / Jon Henley]
• After that first stunt, with Vincent van Gogh's famous "Sunflowers," the activists asked the crowd to consider “what is worth more, art or life?” [Vox / Aja Romano]

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US cases of RSV and influenza are up this year due to pandemic-related disruptions in normal seasonal patterns. [Vox / Dylan Scott]

• Over 400 literary figures, as of Thursday afternoon, signed an open letter criticizing Penguin Random House’s reported $2 million book deal with Justice Amy Coney Barrett because of the jurist’s abortion stance. [Daily Beast / Dan Ladden-Hall]
• Iranian security forces fired upon and tear-gassed mourners who gathered to mark the 40th day since 16-year-old Nika Shahkarami went missing at an anti-government protest. Shahkarami was later found dead. [CNN / Adam Pourahmadi, Mostafa Salem, and Celine Alkhaldi]
• The rioter who dragged DC police officer Michael Fanone into the crowd on January 6 was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison Thursday. [NBC News / Ryan J. Reilly and Daniel Barnes]

“I do think there’s roughly a 50-50 probability of recession in 2023.”

[Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services, on the GDP data / CNN]

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