The Pentagon is downplaying the arrival of four Russian Navy ships in Cuba on Wednesday.
U.S. officials acknowledged that U.S. Navy ships “actively monitored” the Russian ships as they approached Havana. At the Pentagon press briefing, spokesperson Sabrina Singh downplayed the naval flotilla’s arrival, noting it has occurred multiple times over the years but confirmed that U.S. military assets had tracked the ships on their way to Cuba.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Hungary will not block NATO’s support for Ukraine in exchange for opting out of the support.
Stoltenberg made the announcement at a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “I am glad that we have found a way to allow NATO Allies to agree while also accepting that Hungary will not participate,” Stoltenberg said.
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The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, with only one rate cut expected in 2024 as policymakers await more signs of cooling inflation.
The central bank maintained the federal funds rate, or what banks charge each other for short-term loans, in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%. It has stayed at that level, the highest in 23 years, since July 2023. However, the Fed’s quarterly projections for future rate cuts are not set in stone.
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The Port of Baltimore’s federal channel was safely reopened to its original dimensions of 700 feet wide by 500 feet deep without any major injuries, according to The White House.
Work continues to remove debris outside the McHenry Federal Channel, and a safety zone will be maintained to protect workers. Deep draft vessels will require a single escort tug until the work is complete. The preliminary cost to rebuild the bridge is estimated at $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, officials said.
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Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared a national epidemic of loneliness and social isolation across the country.
He warned that about half of U.S. adults are experiencing significant levels of loneliness, affecting physical, mental, and societal health. To mark Loneliness Awareness Week from June 10 to June 16, Murthy spoke to ABC News stations nationwide about the causes and solutions for combating feelings of isolation.
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Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, started hiding users’ “likes” from public view on Wednesday to protect privacy and reduce fears of retaliation for liking “edgy” content.
“Now you’re able to like without worrying who might see it,” Haofei Wang, director of engineering at X, wrote last month in a post. “Public Likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior,” he added. X owner Elon Musk confirmed the change Tuesday, saying it is “important to allow people to like posts without getting attacked for doing so!”
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The State Department has launched a beta program for passport renewal applications that will be open to the public, according to senior officials at the department.
Officials stated that the program will begin by accepting a small number of online applications each day, gradually increasing to ensure the State Department “can track any issues that arise and address them quickly and continuously improve the experience for the American people.”
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Orville Allen lived a lifetime of service, and at age 98, he had one last thing to give: his liver.
Allen, a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War and a longtime educator in rural southeastern Missouri, is the oldest American to ever donate an organ, transplant organizations said. He died on May 29, and his liver was successfully transplanted to a 72-year-old woman, according to Mid-America Transplant.
