Author: News Room

Elon Musk has made the maximum allowable donation to Republican members of Congress who support impeaching federal judges who are impeding actions taken by President Trump, according to five people with knowledge of the matter.Mr. Musk has given the maximum hard-dollar donations he could to the campaigns of seven Republicans who have either endorsed judicial impeachments or called for some form of “action” in response to recent rulings against the Trump administration, including a weekend decision by Judge James E. Boasberg of Federal District Court in Washington. The combined federal limit for primary and general elections is $6,600.On Saturday, Judge…

new video loaded: Federal Reserve Extends Pause on Rate CutstranscriptBacktranscriptFederal Reserve Extends Pause on Rate CutsThe Trump administration’s tariffs most likely mean “further progress may be delayed” on getting inflation back to the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, the central bank’s chair said.Labor market conditions are solid and inflation has moved closer to our 2 percent longer-run goal, though it remains somewhat elevated. In support of our goals, today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged. We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance, and we are well-positioned…

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday for a second straight meeting. The March meeting was the central bank’s most direct acknowledgment to date that President Trump’s policies are set to have a real impact on the economy, stoking significant uncertainty about where inflation, growth and — ultimately — interest rates are headed. Here are the takeaways:Tariffs took center stage during the news conference with Jerome H. Powell. The Fed chair went as far as saying that tariffs likely mean “further progress may be delayed” on getting inflation back to the central bank’s 2 percent target. That recognition…

K.W. Lee, a pioneering Asian American journalist whose reporting led to the release of a Korean immigrant on death row in California, and who covered the Koreatown community targeted in the Los Angeles riots of 1992, died on March 8 at his home in Sacramento. He was 96.His death was confirmed by his daughters, Sonia Cook and Diana Regan.Mr. Lee was an immigrant who found his way to West Virginia in the 1950s, beginning an extraordinarily broad journalism career by covering election fraud and poverty in Appalachia.His articles for The Sacramento Union in the 1970s about the death-row inmate Chol…

The Social Security Administration said on Tuesday that people who wanted to file for benefits or change the bank where their payments were deposited could no longer do so by phone and must first verify their identity online or go into a field office.The change, which takes effect on March 31, is expected to add stress to the agency’s already thinning work force, which is being significantly downsized as part of the broad effort to aggressively shrink the federal government. At the same time, the change would also make things more difficult for older and disabled beneficiaries who might have…

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key rate steady on Wednesday, after a series of cuts that lowered rates by a full percentage point last year.That means consumers looking to borrow are likely to have to wait a bit longer for better deals on many loans, but savers will benefit from steadier yields on savings accounts.Economists don’t expect another rate cut for a while, as the central bank waits for more clarity on an increasingly uncertain outlook given President Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration, widespread federal job cuts, among other things.The Fed’s benchmark rate is set at a…

The Trump administration quietly rescinded an order on Monday that had blocked a major Dominican sugar producer with political ties to President Trump from shipping sugar to the United States because of allegations of forced labor at the company.U.S. Customs and Border Protection modified a “withhold release order” that had been issued in 2022 for raw sugar and sugar products made by the Central Romana Corporation, blocking exports to the United States from the company. The Customs website now lists the order as “inactive.”Labor right groups expressed frustration at the change, saying that Central Romana, whose sugar had been sold…

Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever, its parent company, of firing its chief executive because he allowed the ice cream maker to speak out on political issues, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday.In the filing, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever had fired David Stever because of his commitment to the company’s social mission rather than his job performance. He had held the ice cream company’s top job since 2023.“Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including C.E.O. David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission,” Ben &…

Since taking office, President Trump and his advisers have explained the president’s aggressive economic approach to tariffs with a litany of conflicting ideas. Other countries are “ripping off” America and need to be stopped. The United States is fighting a drug war with Canada, Mexico and China. Tariffs will help pay down the nation’s $36 trillion debt load.The messaging hodgepodge comes as the U.S. economy shows signs of strain in response to Mr. Trump’s steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China and as he prepares to enact “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from around the world on April 2.The tariffs have…

In the last few years, foodborne pathogens have had devastating consequences that alarmed the public. Bacteria in infant formula sickened babies. Deli meat ridden with listeria killed 10 people and led to 60 hospitalizations in 19 states. Lead-laden applesauce pouches poisoned young children.In each outbreak, state and federal officials connected the dots from each sick person to a tainted product and ensured the recalled food was pulled off the shelves.Some of those employees and their specific roles in ending outbreaks are now threatened by Trump administration measures to increase government efficiency, which come on top of cuts already being made…