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%.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Ask many Chileans how their country fared in the past several years and they’ll describe a descent into disaster: Venezuelan gangs surged across porous borders, bringing unprecedented kidnappings and contract killings to one of the region’s safest nations. A social uprising unleashed violent chaos on once-sleepy streets.

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.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Chile has passed a bill outlawing the use of mobile phones and other smart devices during classes at elementary and middle schools. The new law will take effect next year, making Chile the latest country to restrict smartphone use among young students to reduce its harmful effects and curb classroom distractions.

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.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the darkest spots on Earth, a crown jewel for astronomers who flock to study the origins of the universe in this inhospitable desert along the Pacific coast.

Jan. 19 – The Washington Post says Congress has dropped the ball regarding oversight of ICE, DHS. Geraldo Lunas Campos died at a Texas detention center on Jan. 3 while pleading for air as guards choked him, according to a fellow detainee. The local medical examiner’s office is considering classifying his death as a homicide, The Post reports.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly.