Senate confirms Powell for 2nd term as Fed fights inflation
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as Federal Reserve chair, giving bipartisan backing to Powell’s high-stakes efforts to curb the highest inflation in four decades. The 80-19 vote reflected broad support in Congress for the Fed’s drive to combat surging prices through a series of sharp interest rate hikes that could extend well into next year. The Fed’s goal is to slow borrowing and spending enough to ease the inflation pressures.
Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 5 Republicans, including McCarthy
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol issued subpoenas Thursday to five Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, a significant escalation as it digs deeper into the role Republicans played in attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The panel’s move reflected the belief among investigators that a group of Republican members of Congress loyal to former President Donald Trump had played crucial roles in the events that led to the assault on their own institution, and may have hidden what they know about Trump’s intentions and actions before, during and after the attack.
Under pressure to act, White House says it’ll address formula shortage
The Biden administration said Thursday that it was working to address a worsening nationwide shortage of infant formula, announcing efforts to speed manufacturing and increase imports as pressure mounted to respond to a crisis that has desperate parents scouring empty store aisles to feed their children. Officials outlined the plan after President Joe Biden met with retailers and manufacturers about their efforts to increase production. They also discussed steps the federal government could take to help stock bare shelves, particularly in rural areas, according to senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the conversation.
Prosecutors pursue inquiry into Trump’s handling of classified material
Federal prosecutors have begun a grand jury investigation into whether classified White House documents that ended up at former President Donald Trump’s Florida home were mishandled, according to two people briefed on the matter. The intensifying inquiry suggests that the Justice Department is examining the role of Trump and other officials in his White House in their handling of sensitive materials during the final stages of his administration. The investigation is focused on the discovery by the National Archives in January that at the end of Trump’s term he had taken to his home 15 boxes from the White House that contained government documents, mementos, gifts and letters.
Biden administration cancels drilling sales in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico
The Biden administration is canceling oil drilling lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Cook Inlet, triggering furious responses from Republicans, who are blaming President Joe Biden’s energy policies for high gas prices. A spokesperson for the Interior Department, Melissa Schwartz, said in a statement that the Cook Inlet lease sale would not proceed because of a “lack of industry interest.” She said the planned sale of two leases in the Gulf of Mexico was being scrapped because of “conflicting court rulings,” which she said affected the agency’s ability to work on the leases.
Biden’s summit threatened by boycotts and confusion
A gathering of Western Hemisphere leaders next month hosted by the United States and meant to showcase America’s resurgent leadership in the region is at risk of becoming a public relations debacle. Less than three weeks before the Summit of the Americas, there are fears the event could expose America’s weakening ability to advance its agenda in the region. A growing number of Latin American and Caribbean heads of state, including the presidents of Mexico and Brazil — the region’s two largest nations — are considering not even showing up, threatening to deliver a humiliating blow to the White House.
North Korea says 6 dead as COVID-19 spreads
The coronavirus has been spreading across North Korea “at an explosive rate” since late last month, killing six people and leaving 187,800 people in quarantine, the country’s state media reported on Friday. The country’s health officials made the rare admission of an emerging public health crisis while its leader, Kim Jong Un, was visiting the national disease-control headquarters, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. The fact that the virus was spreading across the country meant that North Korea had “loopholes in its epidemiological system,” Kim was quoted as saying.
Thailand will give away 1 million weed plants
Thailand has said it plans to give away 1 million cannabis plants to households across the nation, in an effort to generate enthusiasm for a law taking effect next month that will allow residents to grow weed for their personal medicinal use or as a small-scale commercial enterprise. The project, announced by the country’s health minister this week, is the latest move in Thailand’s effort to position itself as a leader in Asia’s nascent cannabis industry. Industry analysts say the moves could help lure more international visitors to Thailand and strengthen medical tourism.
Biden calls to congratulate presumptive Philippine president
President Joe Biden has called Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to congratulate him on his apparent landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election. Biden is among the first world leaders to recognize the electoral triumph of the namesake son of an ousted dictator whose candidacy worried human rights and pro-democracy activists. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Thursday that Biden and Marcos Jr. spoke for more than 10 minutes on the call.
Civil rights enforcers warn employers against biased AI
The federal government said Thursday that artificial intelligence technology used to screen new job candidates or monitor worker productivity can unfairly discriminate against people with disabilities, sending a warning to employers that the commonly used hiring tools could violate civil rights laws. The U.S. Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission jointly issued guidance to employers to take care before using popular algorithmic tools meant to streamline the work of evaluating employees and job prospects but which could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.