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Yellowstone floods, Federal Reserve meeting, FDA vaccine panel: 5 things to know Wednesday

Editors
USA TODAY

Yellowstone to remain closed amid record flooding as landscape has 'dramatically changed'

Yellowstone National Park officials assessed damage Tuesday as the park remained closed amid dangerous floods, mudslides and rockslides that have eroded roads, ripped apart bridges and forced evacuations this week. The water started to slowly recede Tuesday, but the record-level floods left all five entrances to the park closed at least through Wednesday, and they could remain closed for as long as a week, said park Superintendent Cam Sholly. The park has seen multiple road and bridge failures and power outages, causing the evacuations of more than 10,000 visitors. In days, heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused a flood that may forever alter the human footprint on the park's terrain and the communities around it. The historic floodwaters pushed a popular fishing river off course – possibly permanently – and may force roadways to be rebuilt in new places. "The landscape literally and figuratively has changed dramatically in the last 36 hours," said Bill Berg, a commissioner in nearby Park County. 

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Wall Street on edge as Fed mulls stiffer rate hike

Investors will be listening closely Wednesday to learn if the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more sharply than previously expected. The Fed closes its two-day meeting Wednesday in the wake of a selloff in stocks triggered Friday when May's Consumer Price Index report revealed that inflation had not yet peaked. That news sparked fears that the Fed could raise interest rates by more than the widely expected 50 basis points (0.50%). Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said last month the Fed wasn't entertaining a 75-basis-point rate increase, but the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that one was now on the table. Interest rate hikes can have a domino effect on the economy, pushing up rates for credit cards, home equity lines of credit, adjustable-rate mortgages and other loans.

FDA meets to discuss vaccine for kids as young as 6 months

A federal advisory panel will meet Wednesday to discuss two COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months. According to a detailed review by Food and Drug Administration staff, trial data from both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna raised no new safety issues or concerns about the vaccines, which have been available for older children and adults. The panel will decide Wednesday whether to recommend Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccines for children as young as 6 months. Once authorized by the FDA and CDC, the Biden administration said it expects to have 5 million doses each of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines as soon as June 21 at pharmacies, pediatricians' offices, libraries, children's museums, health centers and other outlets. 

'End of an era': Microsoft to shut down Internet Explorer

Some 27 years after Microsoft first debuted Internet Explorer, the tech giant will retire the browser Wednesday. Those who try to open the application will be directed to the company's more recent browser Microsoft Edge. Last May, the company first announced the decision to retire the web browser for certain versions of Windows 10 on June 15, 2022. Microsoft introduced Edge in 2015 and it has gradually phased out Internet Explorer. In a statement on its website, Microsoft notes that Microsoft Edge has "Internet Explorer mode ('IE mode') built in, so you can access those legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications straight from Microsoft Edge." Previously, Internet Explorer was the go-to browser on Windows PCs for years before rivals such as Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome snagged users away.  

Stanley Cup Final gets underway in Denver

The Stanley Cup Final begins Wednesday, when the Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Ball Arena in Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 (8 p.m. ET, ABC).The Lightning, who are pursuing their third consecutive Stanley Cup, are coming off a 4-2 series win over the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, punctuated by four victories in a row. The Avalanche will be playing for a title after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. One of the major obstacles standing in the way of Colorado's championship hopes is the Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy, who will likely be the toughest goalie the Avalanche have faced this postseason. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay will likely shift a significant amount of focus toward Colorado stars defenseman Cale Makar, a Norris Trophy finalist, and center Nathan MacKinnon.  

Contributing: The Associated Press

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