Fact check: Biden tells three false personal anecdotes in economic speech
President Joe Biden made three false claims about his own past in a Tuesday speech in Milwaukee.
2023-08-17 07:22
Israeli tech startups flock to US amid uncertainty at home
By Steven Scheer and Emily Rose JERUSALEM A growing number of Israel's tech startups are incorporating in the
2023-08-16 15:17
Santiago Pena, Paraguay's new president, faces tricky balancing act
By Daniela Desantis and Lucinda Elliott ASUNCION Paraguay's new president Santiago Pena takes office on Tuesday, a clean-cut
2023-08-15 20:46
Nevada GOP Senate candidate raised money to help other candidates -- the funds mostly paid down his old campaign's debt instead
Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown created a political action committee to "help elect Republicans" but most of its funds were spent paying down debt from his failed previous campaign. The group donated less than 7% of its funds to the candidates it was set up to support, according to campaign finance records -- a move one campaign finance expert likened to using the PAC as a "slush fund."
2023-08-12 22:22
Argentines to vote in a primary election that's expected to set the stage for a rightward shift
Argentina's national primary election Sunday won’t just help determine which candidates will be running in the country's October presidential vote, but could impact the economy even before then. A strong showing by the opposition coalition would be cheered by markets in an election that will also test the national appeal of an eccentric right-wing anti-establishment candidate who is an admirer of former President Donald Trump. The primary is seen as a thermometer of voter preference ahead of the Oct. 6 election, which is expected to shift Argentina to the right with the current left-leaning government bottoming out in the polls amid rising poverty, a rapidly depreciating currency and galloping annual inflation that tops 100%. Sunday’s primary officially serves two purposes: determine the candidates that will run in the October election and weed out any candidates who don’t receive at least 1.5% of the vote. But it also serves as a massive, nationwide opinion poll in a country where pre-election polls have been notoriously wrong in the past. The primary can have an economic impact. Four years ago, an unexpectedly strong showing by now-President Alberto Fernández led to a sharp depreciation of the currency as markets saw the primary results indicating that business-friendly President Mauricio Macri was on his way out. The local currency, the Argentine peso, has seen its value plunge in parallel markets ahead of Sunday’s vote. Stringent capital controls mean that access to the official foreign exchange market is extremely limited, so parallel rates have flourished. Economists will be watching to see signs that the main center-right opposition could win the presidential election outright and avoid a second round runoff in November. “There is enthusiasm, especially outside of Argentina, about a profound regime change, but without going to the opposite extreme,” said Mariano Machado, principal analyst for the Americas at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence firm. The wildcard of the race is upstart populist candidate Javier Milei, who has gained popularity thanks to his angry screeds against the ruling class and has found followers among those who are tired of politics as usual. His unorthodox proposals that include dollarizing the economy and getting rid of the Central Bank have found particular backing among the young. “We’re fed up with the status quo, with the same old thing, with the same last names that are on the ballot, we want to change things up a bit, and give an opportunity to someone who nobody knows if he will do well, but we’re going to give him a chance,” Efraín Viveros, a 20-year-old nursing student said Monday at Milei’s closing campaign rally in Buenos Aires. A strong showing for the main center-right coalition could buoy the market, but a stronger-than-expected showing for Milei would likely send the local currency, the peso, tumbling and cause general disarray in the markets due to uncertainty over his policies. The main presidential contenders all represent a rightward shift away from Fernández, who is not seeking reelection and has been largely absent from the campaign. Also largely absent has been his vice president, Cristina Fernández, who was the country’s president from 2007 to 2015. In the currently ruling coalition, Union for the Homeland, there is little doubt that Economy Minister Sergio Massa, a market-friendly politician, will receive the nomination although he is facing a challenge from a leftist candidate, Juan Grabois. A key contest Sunday will play out in the center-right United for Change opposition coalition with Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta facing off against former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich to determine who will be its candidate. Pollsters say the winner of this race will have a strong chance of becoming president. Regardless of who comes out on top, analysts will be watching closely whether a strong showing by the opposition could suggest an outright victory in October without a runoff. “While we expect a volatile political transition given macroeconomic woes, the (primaries) outcome could improve market sentiment, supported by a likely policy shift next year,” said the Institute of International Finance, a Washington-based association of the financial services industry, in a recent report. Milei was the only major candidate who held his final campaign rally. Other called off what were supposed to be their final events before the vote following the killing of an 11-year-old girl during a snatch-and-grab robbery Wednesday. The death of Morena Domínguez in an attack by two motorcycle-riding thieves in the Buenos Aires province district of Lanús, left the country reeling and put crime at the forefront of a campaign that had been dominated by economic issues. Also likely to impact the final days before the vote was the Thursday death of a leftist political activist, who suffered a heart attack while being detained by police during a protest in downtown Buenos Aires. Besides presidential voting in October, about half of Argentina’s lower house of Congress and one-third of the Senate will be up for grabs. Voting is mandatory in Argentina but the fine for failing to cast a ballot is largely symbolic. Recent national elections have seen a participation rate of around 70%. ——— Associated Press journalists Débora Rey and Almudena Calatrava contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide They lost everything in the Paradise fire. Now they're reliving their grief as fires rage in Hawaii Doctors in England walk off job again as pay dispute with UK government shows no progress Italy gets back 266 antiquities from New York seizures and Houston museum
2023-08-12 01:46
Biden administration to invest $1.2 billion in projects to suck carbon out of the air
The Biden administration will announce on Friday its first major investment to kickstart the US carbon removal industry -- something energy experts say is key to getting the country's planet-warming emissions under control.
2023-08-11 17:26
Supreme Court blocks $6 billion Purdue Pharma opioid settlement and will hear case this fall
The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Purdue Pharma from going forward with bankruptcy proceedings, which the Biden administration has called an "unprecedented" arrangement that would ultimately offer the Sackler family broad protection from opioid-related civil claims.
2023-08-11 04:46
Fox Business to host second GOP primary debate
The second Republican presidential debate, which will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 27 in California, will air on Fox Business, according to news release from the Republican National Committee. Univision and Rumble will also partner with Fox Business on the debate.
2023-08-10 06:16
Biden administration to announce new bans on investments in China meant to protect national security
President Joe Biden's administration plans to detail new rules Wednesday limiting US investments in advanced technology industries in China, according to people familiar with the plans, in an effort to protect national security at a moment of heightened tension with Beijing.
2023-08-09 21:50
Singapore PM Lee reassures public amid political scandals, inflation
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday sought to reassure the public after a spate of political
2023-08-08 19:55
Biden's student loan policies continue to face legal challenges
Legal challenges are continuing to target some of President Joe Biden's student loan policies. While his major student loan forgiveness program was blocked by the Supreme Court, the Biden administration is also facing lawsuits over some of its other policy changes aimed at making it easier for borrowers to pay back their loans.
2023-08-08 04:48
Who's on strike and who's close? Labor unions are flexing
There are multiple stories involving strikes and unions in the news recently. Here's what's going on in this moment for American unions and how it could affect everyone's life.
2023-08-05 22:23