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The Emirates accused Iran of its first attack during the cease-fire as the U.S. deployed warships and jets to protect vessels in the Strait of Hormuz
When pressed on timing, Jerome Powell said: “I will leave when I think it's appropriate to do so.”
The Federal Reserve left interest rates steady in what was almost certainly Jerome Powell's final meeting as its leader, but there were the most internal dissents at a Fed meeting in 34 years. The big picture: The surprising dissents show that Kevin Warsh, whose confirmation to lead the Fed is pending in the Senate, will face significant internal resistance to delivering the interest rate cuts that President Trump desires. Driving the news: The central bank's policy committee left its target interest rate in a range between 3.5% and 3.75% for the third straight meeting to start 2026 and made only small changes to its policy statement. Three reserve bank presidents — Beth Hammack (Cleveland), Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis) and Lorie Logan (Dallas) — dissented not against the rate decision, but because they "did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time."Governor Stephen Miran also dissented, but in the other direction, favoring an interest rate cut.The four total dissents were the most there have been at a Fed policy meeting since October 1992. State of play: There has been simmering resistance among Fed officials, especially at the reserve banks, to signaling that further interest rate cuts are anticipated, given five consecutive years of above-target inflation. Now, it has burst out into the open, in Powell's final meeting at the helm.Powell's term concludes May 15, and Warsh's nomination to be his successor advanced through the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday morning. Warsh appears on track to be confirmed by the full Senate well before the next Fed meeting in mid-June. Between the lines: The clause in the policy statement the three dissenting reserve bank presidents object to is language, repeated from recent statements, that in considering "the extent and timing of additional adjustments" to rates, the Fed will carefully assess data, the outlook and balance of risks. ·The phrase "additional adjustments" implies a continuation of the r
But U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argues that the cease-fire has paused the clock
The Supreme Court just narrowed a landmark voting law for a nation that has never been more diverse — or more divided over who gets political power. Why it matters: The latest ruling lands in a more multiracial, more mobile country that looks nothing like it did in 1965, raising fresh questions about how voting protections apply to a rapidly evolving electorate. Catch up quick: The court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling on Wednesday effectively narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racially-discriminatory gerrymandering. Section 2 helped end Jim Crow laws and expanded voting protections for people of color across the South, particularly for Black Americans.A weakened Section 2 means fewer federal guardrails as states redraw political power. Zoom in: In 1965, about 85% of Americans were white. Today that share is closer to 59%, according to Census data. The multiracial population is one of the fastest-growing groups, surging by 276% between 2010 and 2020.Latino and Asian American populations have driven much of the nation's growth, reshaping political maps in states like Texas, Georgia and Arizona. Zoom out: The American South has become the center of population growth, gaining millions of new residents from other regions. Metro areas in Sun Belt states are booming — often in places with histories of voting rights battles.That shift is increasing the political stakes of redistricting in exactly the regions where the Voting Rights Act once had its strongest bite. What they're saying: "This decision is a profound betrayal of the legacy of the civil rights movement," Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the ruling "a devastating blow" and "a license for corrupt politicians who want to rig the system."Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the majority opinion, wrote that lower courts have interpreted Section 2 in a way that "forces States to engage in the very race-ba
Data: Axios analysis of data from Dave's Redistricting and Redistricting Data Hub; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The redistricting war President Trump forced on his party appears to have backfired. With Virginia's vote Tuesday, Republicans are now favored in fewer House seats than if the war had never started. Why it matters: Trump bet his slim House majority on a mid-decade redrawing frenzy. It's increasingly looking like a self-inflicted wound, leaving Republicans with long-shot hopes of any major rewards. While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and his caucus celebrate their "[m]aximum warfare" win, a Florida showdown and pending Supreme Court decision give Republicans scant hopes to stanch the bleeding. The latest: A Virginia judge on the Tazewell Circuit Court temporarily blocked the state from certifying the referendum results in a decision the state's attorney general vowed to appeal. Between the lines: One way to measure the change is by overlaying the last two presidential elections on the old and new maps across the seven states that redrew lines. Using 2024 results, Kamala Harris would have carried six more seats than before redistricting, per an Axios analysis of data from Dave's Redistricting and the Redistricting Data Hub.Using 2020 results, Joe Biden would have carried two more. By the numbers: Virginia's new map could shift its delegation from 6–5 to 10–1 for Dems. The prospect of snagging up to four blue seats adds to redistricting pickups in California, where Dems could flip five, and Utah, now home to another more Democratic seat.Republican redistricting efforts, on the other hand, aim to grab up to five new seats in Texas, two in Ohio, one in North Carolina and one in Missouri.Sabato's Crystal Ball rates 217 districts as at least leaning Democratic, 205 as at least leaning Republican and 13 as toss-ups after Virginia's vote. What's next: Florida legislators will return to Tallahassee later this month for a delayed special session, ma
US president suggests attacking Iran was his own decision as war struggles to garner public support amid energy crisis
The DOJ dropped its criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, clearing the way for the Senate to confirm Kevin Warsh
Trump official Michael Kratsios says Chinese entities stealing from American labs
If approved, the redistricting effort could deliver Democrats a 10-to-1 seat advantage in Virginia, which amounts to a net pickup of as many as four House seats
By Humeyra Pamuk, Ariba Shahid and Asif Shahzad WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence that an agreement could soon be reached to end the Iran war and urged the Tehran-aligned Hezbollah group to hold its fire as a 10-day truce went in to effect between Lebanon and Israel. Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran could take place at the weekend and an extension of a two-week ceasefire was possible, but may not be needed as Tehran wanted a deal