Bank Robbery Ends with Quick Arrest
January 8, 2025AP-Newswatch
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January 8, 2025
Trump is heading to Capitol Hill as GOP struggles to agree on legislative strategy ahead
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans. His visit is the first inside the U.S. Capitol since he left office four years ago. It comes as GOP leaders are struggling to come up with a strategy for launching their ambitious legislative agenda. House Speaker Mike Johnson often says he sees himself as the quarterback and Trump as the coach calling plays. But Trump has given mixed signals on his preferred approach. At stake are tax cuts, border security, money to deport immigrants, and efforts to boost oil and gas energy production. With Trump taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, they have little time to waste.
Federal Reserve officials at December meeting expected slower pace of rate cuts ahead
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials at their meeting Dec. 17-18 expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs and other potential policy changes. Minutes from the meeting, released after the typical three-week lag, also showed clear division among the Fed’s 19 policymakers. Some officials expressed support for keeping the central bank’s key rate unchanged, the minutes said. And a majority of the officials said the decision to cut rates was a close call.
Top Fed official backs new rate cuts even if Trump tariffs materialize
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top policymaker at the US Federal Reserve says that he still supports reducing interest rates this year, despite elevated inflation and the prospect of widespread tariffs. Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed’s board of governors, said he expects inflation will still decline closer to the Fed’s 2% target in the coming months. And in some of the first specific comments about tariffs by a Fed official, he said that greater import duties likely won’t push up inflation in the coming year.
IRS has improved taxpayer services but is slow to resolve ID theft, an independent watchdog says
WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent watchdog finds the IRS has improved its overall taxpayer service through Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act but still faces delays processing claims from a coronavirus pandemic-era tax credit program and is slow to resolve certain identity theft cases. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins said Wednesday in her 2024 annual report to Congress that for the first time since she took the job in 2020, she can begin the report “with good news.” Collins says “the IRS has made major strides” through multiyear funding but service “remains far from perfect.” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel says “things are trending in a very positive direction” in terms of performance in taxpayer service.
Lawsuit alleges racial and gender discrimination led to an Air Force contractor’s death
NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a Air Force contractor who was killed when she walked into a rotating drone propeller has filed a lawsuit against her company, Sumaria Systems LLC, claiming her trainer subjected her to gender and racial discrimination that ultimately put her in harm’s way and led to her death. The lawsuit relies on extensive witness testimony released by Air Force investigative board that the trainer had been “hazing” Stephanie Cosme on the day of her death, and had previously faced workforce complaints of gender and racial discrimination.
From AI assistants to holographic displays, automakers showcase in-cabin experiences at CES
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Interior lighting aimed at reducing motion sickness. Shiny new dashboard and windshield displays. And AI-powered voice assistants paired with abundant infotainment systems to keep you company on long drives. Auto makers pulled out all the stops to showcase their latest advances for in-vehicle experiences at CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show of all-things tech, in Las Vegas this week. Hyundai Mobis unveiled a futuristic, full-windshield holographic technology — while BMW spotlighted its new “iDrive” panoramic display. And Honda and Honda Sony Mobility showed off all the bells and whistles consumers can expect in their upcoming electric vehicles.
Ski patrollers reach deal to end strike at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort
Ski patrollers at the biggest U.S. ski resort have reached a deal to end a strike that put a wrench in operations during the busy holiday season. A joint statement released from the ski patrollers’ union and Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort said a vote was scheduled Wednesday on an agreement “that addresses both parties’ interests and will end the current strike.” The deal would run through April 2027 but no other details about it have been released. About 200 ski patrollers went on strike on Dec. 27 over wages they said were too low for high living costs.
A new book alleges that someone at Fox News gave Trump’s team an early look at town hall questions
WASHINGTON (AP) — A forthcoming book alleges that someone inside Fox News gave Donald Trump’s presidential campaign the questions he would face ahead of a town hall the network produced in January 2024. That’s according to excerpts of the book that were obtained by CNN. The claim appears in “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power” by Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt. The book is set to be published in March. A Fox News spokesperson says the network has no evidence anything occcured but will investigate.
What this week’s winter wallop means for farmers across the U.S.
This week’s winter wallop across the U.S. means different things to farmers in different places. In Kansas, the biggest blizzard in more than a century had livestock producers scrambling to safeguard their herds. In Iowa and parts of Minnesota, farmers were relieved for a real cold snap that goes deeper in the soil to help kill future pests. Further north in the Midwest, though, growers of winter crops like alfalfa worry that a lack of adequate snow cover leaves their plants vulnerable to cold and ice.
ByteDance’s Lemon8 gains traction amid TikTok ban threat as creators push the app
Hearing a lot about Lemon8 lately? You’re not the only one. Amid a looming U.S. ban on TikTok, content creators have been pushing the platform’s sister app. Lemon8 resembles an amalgamation of the types of short-form videos found on TikTok and the picture-perfect aesthetic of Instagram and Pinterest. But there’s a hitch. The federal law that would wipe out TikTok’s U.S. operation if it’s not sold to an approved buyer states the requirement applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by TikTok, its China-based parent company or any of their subsidiaries. That means even though Lemon8 isn’t explicitly named in the statute, it’s future in the U.S. also is in jeopardy.