Nation
Powell’s tenure as Fed chair marked by fight for independence while trying to tame inflation
WASHINGTON | When Jerome Powell was sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve eight years ago, economists worried that inflation and interest rates were too low and that too few Americans had jobs. Now, as Powell steps down from the post after eight tumultuous years, the U.S. economy is transformed: Inflation soared after the […]
FBI offers $200,000 reward to catch ex-Air Force specialist wanted on espionage charges in Iran
WASHINGTON | The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to capture and prosecution of a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government. Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February […]
Separate and unequal: The ‘Whites Only’ sign was a visible reminder of American racism
“No dogs, no Negros, no Mexicans.” “Colored served in rear.” “For whites only.” It’s the type of signage that hung from the doors and windows of establishments across much of the American South for many years. The words, like screaming headlines from Page One of a broadsheet newspaper, were the most visible, daily reminder of […]
Muskets like those from 1776 are mostly exempt from today’s gun laws
HALIFAX, N.C. | With 165 grains of black powder in the barrel, a .75-caliber Brown Bess flintlock musket like the ones the redcoats carried in 1776 can hurl a lead ball at a velocity of around 1,000 feet (305 meters) per second. Imagine what that can do to a human body. Now, imagine that it’s […]
Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out
WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues. The court’s order allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the drug, mifepristone, at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Access […]
A Texas town may offer a preview of a Trump plan to force noncitizens from public housing
PORT ISABEL, Texas | Until recently, young children ran in and out of their public housing homes in this Gulf Coast town, playing on sun-dappled lawns as mothers looked over their shoulders for the school bus to drop off their older kids. Suddenly, couches, dressers and refrigerators started appearing curbside for movers or garbage collectors. […]
The world’s reaction to hantavirus is tinged by echoes of something else: COVID
NEW YORK | The lingering impact of COVID-19, a few years out from the declaration that the pandemic was over, is scattered across how we live today — the work-from-home jobs, the way some have decided wearing masks is their new normal, the hand sanitizer dispensers that remain ever present. Some of the other ripples, […]
FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial
WASHINGTON | When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement. Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he […]
Retail sales growth slowed in April from March as higher gas cost leaves less room for nonessentials
NEW YORK | Shoppers pulled back on spending in April as higher gas prices fueled by the Iran war meant less money left over for some nonessentials like clothing and furniture. But economists noted that consumer spending, propped up by generous income tax refunds, is still healthy. Still, they worry that spending will fall off […]
Trump’s talk of 51st US state met with near-silence in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela | Twice this week, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in turning Venezuela into his country’s 51st state. The latest came via a Truth Social post Tuesday with a map showing the South American country filled with the U.S. flag. Previous statements doubting Venezuela’s sovereignty over the past 25 years have been […]