NEWS

Unbiased headline news for Thursday May 2, 2024- Federal Reserve officials announced they are keeping their benchmark rate steady, citing that the progress in controlling U.S. inflation has hit a roadblock. The Fed stated that it is maintaining the federal funds rate within the range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the same level it has held since the central bank’s July 2023 meeting, which is the highest it has been in more than two decades. Economists had largely anticipated this decision given the uptick in inflation during the first three months of 2024. — The United States imposed fresh sanctions targeting hundreds of entities and individuals linked to Russia’s weapons development program. The actions by the Treasury and State departments aim to disrupt Russia’s military-industrial base, chemical weapons programs, and companies and individuals in third countries that assist Russia in acquiring weapons components as its invasion of Ukraine enters its third year. — The British Home Office announced the initiation of efforts to detain migrants for relocation to Rwanda. The goal is to facilitate flights to Rwanda within 9 to 11 weeks, as promised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in an attempt to deter migrant boat crossings into Britain. The British government stated in a statement that Rwanda has a proven track record of successfully resettling more than 135,000 refugees and “stands ready to accept thousands more who cannot stay” in Britain. — Walmart officials revealed plans to close all 51 of its health centers across five states and discontinue its virtual care services. “The decision to shut down all 51 health centers in five states and terminate the virtual care offering was not an easy one,” Walmart officials said in a news release. “Through our experience operating Walmart Health centers and Walmart Health Virtual Care, we determined that a sustainable business model for us to continue does not exist.” — Harvey Weinstein is scheduled for a retrial “sometime after Labor Day,” a judge stated, as the disgraced film mogul appeared in a Manhattan courtroom for the first time since the New York Court of Appeals overturned his rape conviction. Court officers wheeled Weinstein’s wheelchair into and out of the courtroom in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon. He sat before Judge Curtis Farber in a dark suit and tie and made no statements during his 20-minute appearance. — Maryland officials approved more than $3 million in compensation for a Baltimore man who spent 31 years in prison due to a wrongful murder conviction. Governor Wes Moore apologized to Gary Washington during a Board of Public Works meeting where the compensation was approved. “On behalf of the entire state, I’m sorry for the failure of the justice system,” Moore said, adding that while no amount can make up for the injustice. — Ford is recalling nearly 243,000 Maverick small pickup trucks in the U.S. because the tail lights may not illuminate. The company says a computer can falsely detect excessive current on one or both of the tail lamps, causing them to remain dark while the trucks are being driven. This can increase the risk of a crash. The recall covers certain pickups from the 2022 through 2024 model years. — Martinelli’s has voluntarily recalled a single lot of its apple juice that was distributed to five major retailers after it tested for arsenic levels higher than U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards. S Martinelli and Company stated in a recall notice dated April 16, 2024, that the recall was initiated as “a result of sampling by the State of Maryland that found samples from one production lot of Martinelli’s apple juice, sold in one-liter glass bottles, tested above the guidance action level for inorganic arsenic in apple juice set by the FDA in June 2023.”

Unbiased headline news for Wednesday May 1, 2024 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it crystal clear on Tuesday that an invasion into Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, will proceed irrespective of any negotiations aimed at freeing hostages held captive by the terrorist group Hamas. Netanyahu affirmed that Israeli forces would enter Rafah and “eradicate the Hamas battalions there,” adding that this plan would be executed “with or without a deal, in order to achieve total victory.” However, Palestinians and the international community have continued to voice concerns that such a move would result in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. — In an effort to deliver substantial humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, the U.S. and its allies are scrambling to assemble an intricate system. Nearly two months after President Joe Biden gave the directive, U.S. Army and Navy troops are constructing a large floating platform several miles offshore from Gaza’s coast, intended to serve as a launching point for deliveries. However, any eventual aid distribution will hinge on a complex logistical and security plan with numerous moving parts and details that remain unfinalized. — Haiti’s newly established transitional council has made a surprising choice by selecting a relatively unknown former sports minister, Fritz Bélizaire, as the Caribbean nation’s prime minister, tasked with the monumental challenge of attempting to establish a stable new government amidst stifling violence. Bélizaire gained the support of four out of seven voting members on the nine-member panel, but with other panel members admitting they were unfamiliar with him, replacing the current interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert in an unexpected move. — New details have emerged a day after police reported that four law enforcement officers were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, while attempting to serve a warrant on Monday afternoon. When officers approached a house to arrest the suspect, they were immediately met with gunfire, and they returned fire, according to Jennings, who stated, “There’s indication that the suspect saw them coming to the house prior to them getting to the front door.” — One person died, and 13 others were injured after a sports utility vehicle crashed through the front glass wall of a thrift store in Las Cruces, New Mexico, authorities said. First responders stated that 10 of the injured in Tuesday’s crash were taken to hospitals for treatment, and a 67-year-old woman was critically injured and later died. The 69-year-old woman who was driving the SUV was not injured, according to Las Cruces police, who did not immediately release her name. — A teenager is dead, and a man has been arrested after driving a car into a home in east London before getting out and attacking members of the public with a sword, according to police. The incident occurred at approximately 7 a.m. local time when the Metropolitan Police in London were alerted to a “serious incident” taking place in Hainault, east London, involving reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in the Thurlow Gardens area and multiple people being stabbed, according to a police statement detailing the early morning incident. — In a historic shift, the Drug Enforcement Administration supports recommending the reclassification of marijuana as a less dangerous drug, moving it from a Schedule 1 classification, alongside drugs like heroin and ecstasy, to a Schedule 3 drug, like ketamine, steroids, and testosterone, sources stated. A source confirmed that the Department of Justice will send its recommendation to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which will review it, further solidifying a process that will then take several more months. — Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit their lowest level ever reported since the pandemic began, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 5,615 COVID hospitalizations in the most recent week of available data. In comparison, there were over 150,000 weekly admissions at the peak of the Omicron variant circulating in early 2022. Forecasts of new hospitalizations from the CDC indicate that admissions will likely remain stable for the next four weeks.

Unbiased headline news for Tuesday April 30, 2024 – An Israeli authority figure conveyed that the government is actively working to avert potential arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials. The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, affirmed that “an ongoing independent investigation in relation to the Situation in the State of Palestine” is underway, but the ICC would “have no further comment to make at this stage.” Reports suggest Israel is now pursuing diplomatic avenues in an effort to prevent the issuance of such warrants. — In a surprising visit to Kyiv on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reassured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that assistance was forthcoming, following a winter marred by incremental Russian advances in their invasion of the neighboring nation. Acknowledging delays by the United States and other allies in providing additional aid to Ukraine, Stoltenberg commended the country’s valiant defense in limiting Moscow’s successes and expressed confidence in their prospects for turning the tide. — A proposal championed by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to provide airport security escorts for lawmakers faced obstruction. The provision, part of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization, would have facilitated special security escorts at airports for legislators and judges facing credible threats. However, the plan encountered objections from House Homeland Security ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, resulting in its failure, according to The Hill. — The Biden administration announced substantial fines against four of the nation’s largest wireless carriers for illegally disseminating information about their customers’ locations. The fines, totaling nearly $200 million, were levied against AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon after an investigation revealed they had sold access to their customers’ location information to third-party aggregators and location-based service providers, the Federal Communications Commission stated in a statement. — An American tourist facing over a decade of imprisonment in the Turks and Caicos islands after ammunition was discovered in his luggage said he’s striving to FaceTime with his children back home as frequently as possible in case he ultimately ends up incarcerated. Watson is out on bail, but he said he can’t leave the country and has to check in at a local police station twice a week. He’s facing a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years behind bars. — The Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Elon Musk challenging a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to obtain prior approval for certain social media posts related to Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads. The justices did not provide commentary in upholding lower-court rulings against Musk, who argued that the requirement amounts to “prior restraint” on his speech in violation of the First Amendment. The case stems from messages Musk posted on Twitter in 2018 in which he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private. — It’s been nearly one month since California raised the minimum wage at certain restaurants, shedding light on a course correction that many view as long overdue. The newly elevated compensation benchmark marks a pivotal juncture for restaurants to remain competitive in an already challenging post-pandemic landscape. The industry, renowned for its thin margins, is once again being pushed to make monetary and operational adjustments to stay afloat, all without compromising consumer expectations. — In 2022, video footage of a great-grandmother thwarting a robbery outside her California home went viral. Now she’s running for City Council. Faye Taylor could be seen charging out of her home and throwing a cane at a man who was allegedly trying to steal an elderly woman’s purse. Now Taylor, 77, who works as a longshoreman at the Port of Oakland, says she’s running for Oakland City Council, District 3, after witnessing what she says is an uptick in crime in her community.

Unbiased headline news for Tuesday April 30, 2024 – World Central Kitchen has resumed its operations in Gaza, four weeks after a tragic incident where seven aid workers were killed by Israeli air strikes, as announced by the organization. The nonprofit, founded by renowned chef José Andrés, had temporarily suspended its vital food aid delivery operations in Gaza following the devastating killings. Prior to the April 1 strike that claimed the lives of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, the organization had been sending approximately two tons of food to Gaza. World Central Kitchen stated that they will now utilize every possible means, including land, air, and sea, to ensure the delivery of food aid to those in need. — Ohio State University has become the latest campus to witness protests against Israel’s ongoing military operations against Hamas in Gaza. Overnight clashes between protesters and police on the university grounds resulted in over a dozen arrests. According to university spokesperson Benjamin Johnson, those who refused to disperse after warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, citing rules prohibiting overnight events. A preliminary report indicated that a total of 36 arrests were made, including 16 students and 20 individuals unaffiliated with the university. — In a tragic incident in southern Germany, two Ukrainian men, aged 23 and 36, who resided in the county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, were stabbed to death on the premises of a shopping center in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria. Shortly after the killings on Saturday evening, police authorities arrested a 57-year-old Russian man as a possible suspect in the brutal slayings. The investigation into the motives behind the murders is ongoing. — Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in the Chinese capital on Sunday, coinciding with the nation’s carmakers exhibiting their latest electric vehicle models at the Beijing auto show. During the meeting, Premier Li Qiang expressed to Musk his hope that the U.S. will work more closely with China on “win-win” cooperation, citing Tesla’s operations in China as a successful example of economic collaboration, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV’s main evening news program. — Ireland’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Simon Harris, has instructed his government to formulate a plan to facilitate the return of asylum seekers to Britain. Harris has directed Justice Minister Helen McEntee to deliver proposals to the cabinet next week, addressing the issue after stating that a recently implemented British plan to deport asylum seekers who arrive in Britain to Rwanda has led to an 80% increase in recent asylum seekers entering Ireland through its land border with Northern Ireland. — In a concerning incident in Woodstock, northern Illinois, three children aged 12 and 13 were injured when the minivan they were in rolled down a hill and into a concrete baseball dugout on Saturday morning. The children, along with one other, were inside the parked minivan when it is believed to have accidentally slipped into drive while the radio was being adjusted. The three injured children were hospitalized with mild to moderate injuries. — The Massachusetts State Police have successfully dismantled a burglary ring that allegedly stole more than $4 million worth of jewelry, predominantly from the homes of South Asians across over two dozen communities. Four individuals, including two brothers, were indicted on April 18 after a nine-month investigation, facing 95 counts of unarmed burglary and breaking and entering a dwelling house in the daytime with intent to commit a felony. — Pope Francis embarked on his first trip outside Rome in seven months, visiting Venice for a packed itinerary that included an art exhibition, a stop at a prison, and a Mass celebrated in St. Mark’s Square. The dizzying morning visit, which culminated with the Mass, represented an increasingly rare outing for the 87-year-old pontiff, who has been hindered by health and mobility issues that have precluded any foreign trips so far this year. “Venice, which has always been a place of encounter and cultural exchange, is called to be a sign of beauty available to all,” Francis remarked during his visit.

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