Hopes and fears for the struggling United States economy are focused on the country’s central bank, set to announce what it intends to do help spark a recovery. The U.S. Federal Reserve concludes its two-day meeting later Wednesday, with many economists predicting the bank’s policy board will move to further lower borrowing rates in order […]
US Central Bank Mulls Action as Lawmakers Weigh In
China Defends Chicken Tariffs Against US WTO Complaint
A dispute over chickens is the latest irritant in trade relations between the world’s two largest economies. Chinese officials Wednesday defended the legality of stiff tariffs on imports of American chickens, a day after the United States filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization in Geneva. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said there […]
Report: US Building Secret Drone Bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula
The United States is reported to be expanding a secret drone program in east Africa and the Arabian peninsula in order to gather intelligence and strike al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia and Yemen. Citing U.S. defense officials, The Washington Post reported that the U.S. is building a new military installation to host the unmanned aircraft in […]
Immigration Appeals Panel Upholds Deportation of Ex-Ukrainian Nazi
A U.S. immigration appeals panel has upheld the deportation order against a Ukrainian man accused of murdering Jews during World War II. A judge in January ordered 90-year-old John Kalymon to leave the country. The Justice Department says Kalymon rounded up and shot Jews when he volunteered for the Nazi-sponsored Ukrainian Auxiliary Police in L’viv […]
Top US Military Officials Say Budget Cuts ‘Tough’ but Doable
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says it will be “very difficult” to cut more than $450 billion over the next decade from the nation’s defense budget, but he says he also sees it as an opportunity to reshape U.S. armed forces for the future. Panetta told reporters Tuesday that defense spending has nearly doubled […]
US Challenges Chinese Tariffs on Chicken
The United States is accusing China of violating international trade rules by imposing hefty tariffs on American chicken exports. The U.S. government filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, seeking to overturn Beijing’s imposition of 50 to 100 percent levies against the exported chicken. China imposed the fees a year ago, apparently […]
US Military Repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy
After years of court battles and contentious debate, the U.S. military has formally ended its policy under which homosexuals could serve as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation. The policy known informally as “Don’t ask, Don’t tell,” ended Tuesday. A statement from U.S. President Barack Obama says “patriotic Americans will no longer […]
Senate Republican Leader to Step Down
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican, says he will step down from the number three minority position in the Senate in January, to do more to make the Senate more effective. Alexander, the Republican conference chairman, made the announcement Tuesday in remarks before his colleagues. Last week, a CBS/New York Times poll found congressional approval […]
IMF Downgrades US Economic Forecast, Urges ‘Credible Fiscal Policy’
The International Monetary Fund says the U.S. economy is struggling to overcome “sluggish” growth due to an unresolved government debt crisis and weaknesses in the housing market and household finances. In a report released Tuesday, the IMF downgraded its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year to 1.5 percent, one percentage point lower than its […]
Clemency Denied for US Death Row Inmate
A Georgia parole board has rejected a final appeal from U.S. death row inmate Troy Davis, whose case has drawn international attention because of claims he was wrongly convicted. Davis is set to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday in the southern state of Georgia for the 1989 shooting death of a police officer. This […]