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The Federal Reserve held interbank lending rates steady on Wednesday at a range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent despite some signs that the economy may be heading for a slowdown. The decision to keep rates where they are was in line with market expectations. The CME FedWatch prediction algorithm based on futures contract prices registered Wednesday a 99 percent probability that the Fed would hold rates steady. The Fed has paused rate cuts for the second straight meeting since January. The central bank cut rates three times during the end of 2024 in response to weakening employment data and easing...

Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged in their first policy decision of 2025. “Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated,” the Fed said Wednesday in a statement released at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. The Fed said that it views the risks of inflation and a softer labor market to be roughly balanced. Language from past statements noting progress on bringing inflation down was dropped from the official statement....

Oct. 28 (UPI) — It’s been something of a mixed bag for prices at the pump this week with motor club AAA showing Friday the national average for a gallon of gasoline unchanged from a month ago. AAA shows a national average retail price of $3.76 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. That’s down from the $3.82 average at this time last week, but unchanged from one month ago.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has not changed her position on keeping the legislative filibuster intact, as her Democrat colleagues demand its abolition in the wake of a leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. On Monday night, Politico published a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion, concluding that Roe “must be overruled.”

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2007 – U.S. goals for progress in Iraq have not changed, but the timeline has been set back in order to achieve those goals, President Bush said here today. Bush said the original goal of turning security control over to Iraqis in all 18 of the country’s provinces by November has been delayed because progress has been slower than originally estimated. Still, he said, Iraqi control of the country’s provinces is an important step in denying al Qaeda and other extremist groups’ free movement in the region. “I believe it's worth it for the security of...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – The road has been rough in Iraq's journey toward becoming a responsible member of the world community, but the country will reach its destination, the senior U.S. diplomat to Iraq said today. Although Iraq is now experiencing a spasm of sectarian violence, “the ultimate goals that we have for Iraq have not changed,” U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters in Baghdad. U.S. officials envision a “multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian democratic Iraq that will be unique in this part of the world, where traditionally the dominant ethnic or sectarian group has sought to suppress others,” Khalilzad...

Courts may take over election if law unchanged, official warns By MARSHA SHULER Capitol news bureau Published: Feb 3, 2006 Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D-LA) testifies at a hearing on the response to Hurricane Katrina, on Capitol Hill in Washington February 2, 2006. Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee questioned the governor on her state's response to the disaster as well as her assessment of the federal government's response. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst There’s a danger the federal court will take over New Orleans elections if legislators don’t change a law so more people can absentee vote, Secretary of...