• 2 Million Casualties in Russia's war on Ukraine
  • It's One Storm After Another For Much of US
  • The EU is Seeking New Trade Partnerships
  • Federal Reserve May Keep Rates Unchanged For Months
  • President Trump: The Latest Updates
US stocks hold near their all-time high

NEW YORK (AP) - Few ripples washed through Wall Street Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to hold its main interest rate steady, just like investors expected. The S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and inched down by less than 0.1% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

Rubio Defends Trump on Venezuela While Allaying Fears About NATO

WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a full-throated defense Wednesday of President Donald Trump’s military operation to oust and arrest then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while also using his wide-ranging congressional testimony to touch on Greenland, NATO, Iran and China.

Middle East Worries Over Possible US Strike on Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iranian officials reached out to the wider Middle East on Wednesday over the threat of a possible U.S. military strike on the country, while the value of Iran’s currency reached a new low a month since the start of protests that soon spread nationwide and sparked a bloody crackdown.

Amazon cuts about 16,000 corporate jobs in the latest round of layoffs

Amazon is slashing about 16,000 corporate jobs in the second round of mass layoffs for the ecommerce company in three months.  The tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemic.

 

Holidays and a viral bear cup drive strong quarterly sales at Starbucks

Starbucks reported strong fiscal first quarter as holiday drinks and a viral bear cup helped drive sales.  Same-store sales – or sales at locations open at least a year – rose 4% for the October-December period. That was higher than the 2.3% that Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Same-store sales in the U.S. were also up 4%.

UK proposes forcing Google to let publishers opt out of AI summaries

LONDON (AP) – Britain’s competition watchdog said Wednesday that Google should give news sites and content creators the choice to opt out of having their online content scraped to feed its AI overviews. It’s part of a set of proposals from the Competition and Markets Authority aimed at loosening the U.S. tech giant’s stranglehold on the U.K’s online search market.

The EU is Seeking New Trade Partnerships. Here's Why

BRUSSELS (AP) – The ambitious free trade agreement between the European Union and India underscores the EU’s efforts to ink new global partnerships at a time when the Trump administration has rattled a continent deeply tied to Washington on trade, defense and diplomacy.

Trump Wants 'Honest' Investigation Into 'Very Sad' Killing

President Donald Trump said Tuesday a “big investigation” was underway into the killing of protester and ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. “I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” the president said as he left the White House.

Federal Reserve May Keep Rates Unchanged For Months

WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve officials are expected to keep their short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday after three cuts last year, ignoring huge pressure for lower borrowing costs from the White House in favor of waiting to see how the economy evolves.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday a “big investigation” was underway into the killing of protester and ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. “I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” the president said as he left the White House.