Author: Reporter

It is a trend that has surprised many: Why, despite being squeezed by high prices, have Americans kept spending at retail stores and restaurants at a robust pace? One key reason is a relatively simple one: Wealthier consumers, boosted by strong gains in income, home equity, and stock market wealth, have increasingly driven the spending. That trend, documented by Federal Reserve research, represents something of a shift from the pre-pandemic period. And it suggests that consumer spending, the primary driver of the U.S. economy, could help sustain healthy growth this year and next. Lower-income consumers, by contrast, have been...

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said on January 21 that President Donald Trump’s executive order moving toward designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations would only impact Mexico if there is close coordination between the two governments. She said that Mexico would defend its sovereignty and independence while seeking coordination with the U.S. in the wake of the order signed on January 20. “We all want to fight the drug cartels,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press briefing. The U.S. “in their territory, us in our territory.” Trump’s order highlighted Mexican drug cartels and other Latin American criminal groups like...

“Donald Trump has vowed that the U.S. would ‘take over’ war-ravaged Gaza and ‘own it,’ effectively endorsing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, in an announcement shocking even by the standards of his norm-shattering presidency.” – David Smith, “The Guardian” According to Trump’s proposal, the U.S. would take “ownership” of the area encompassing Gazan and redevelop it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” He is also not ruling out deploying U.S. combat troops to Gaza. Trump’s brazen proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure...

A new year of lawmaking and politicking is underway in U.S. statehouses. Governors are acting quickly to outline their agendas. And in many cases, the influence of President Donald Trump already is rippling through states in both symbolic and substantive ways. Some state officials are trying to tackle concerns that propelled Trump to office such as the economy, affordable living, and immigration. Some are mimicking Trump’s government efficiency panel, though they lack a headlining billionaire like Elon Musk to lead it. And many waded into the debate about whether U.S. flags would fly high on Inauguration Day to honor...