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WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, largely because of still-elevated inflation. The Fed’s 19 policymakers projected that they would cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point just twice in 2025, down from their estimate in September of four rate cuts. Their new projections suggest that consumers may not enjoy much lower rates next year for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other forms of borrowing. Fed officials have underscored that they are slowing their rate reductions as their benchmark rate nears a level that policymakers refer to as “neutral” — the level that is thought to neither spur nor hinder the economy. Wednesday’s projections suggest that the policymakers may think they are not very far from that level. Their benchmark rate stands at 4.3% after Wednesday’s move, which followed a steep half-point reduction in September and a quarter-point cut last month. This year’s Fed rate reductions have marked a reversal after more than two years of high rates, which largely helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers. Balancing inflation and unemployment But now, the Fed is facing a variety of challenges as it seeks to complete a “soft landing” for the economy, whereby high rates manage to curb inflation without causing a recession. Chief among them is that inflation remains sticky: According to the Fed’s preferred gauge, annual “core” inflation, which excludes the most volatile categories, was 2.8% in October. That is still persistently above the central bank’s 2% target. At the same time, the economy is growing briskly, which suggests that higher rates haven’t much restrained the economy. As a result, some economists — and some Fed officials — have argued that borrowing rates shouldn’t be reduced much more for fear of overheating the economy and re-igniting inflation. On the other hand, the pace of hiring has cooled significantly since 2024 began, a potential worry because one of the Fed’s mandates is to achieve maximum employment. The unemployment rate, while still low at 4.2%, has risen nearly a full percentage point in the past two years. Concern over rising unemployment contributed to the Fed’s decision in September to cut its key rate by a larger-than-usual half point. On top of that, President-elect Donald … “US Federal Reserve cuts key loan rate by quarter-point” →

WASHINGTON — The United States has transferred two Malaysian detainees at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military prison to their home country after they pleaded guilty to charges related to deadly 2002 bombings in Bali and agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader of that and other attacks, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Prosecutors say Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep worked for years with Encep Nurjaman, known as Hambali, an Indonesian leader of al-Qaida affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah. That includes helping Nurjaman escape after bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, killed 202 people at two nightspots in Bali, U.S. officials said. The two men entered guilty pleas to conspiracy and other charges in January. Their transfer comes after they provided testimony that prosecutors plan to use against Nurjaman, the alleged mastermind, the Pentagon said in a statement. Nurjaman is in custody in Guantanamo awaiting resumption of pretrial hearings in January involving the Bali bombings and other attacks. The two Malaysian men’s transfers leave 27 detainees in custody at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay. Then-President George W. Bush set up a military tribunal and prison after the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on the United States. At its peak, Guantanamo detained hundreds of men, most of them Muslim, in the U.S.-led global war on terrorism after the attacks. Just two of the men at Guantanamo are serving sentences. U.S. prosecution of seven others currently facing charges has been slowed by legal obstacles — including those presented by the torture of the men in their first years under CIA custody — and logistical difficulties. Kenyan held 17 years On Tuesday, U.S. authorities repatriated a Kenyan man, Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, after 17 years at Guantanamo without charge. His release leaves 15 other never-charged men awaiting release. The U.S. is searching for suitable and stable countries willing to take them. Many are from Yemen, a country split by war and dominated by an Iranian-allied militant group. Amnesty International urged President Joe Biden to end the detention of those never-charged men before he leaves office. If not, the rights group said in a statement, “he will continue to bear responsibility for the abhorrent practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial by the U.S. government.” …

With the incoming Trump administration’s pledge to begin mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in the United States, some mayors in Democratic states are taking steps to prepare for the new policies. Aron Ranen reports from New York City. …

A bipartisan effort to protect children from the harms of social media is running out of time in this session of the U.S. Congress. If passed, the Kids Online Safety Act would institute safeguards for minors’ personal data online. But free speech advocates and some Republicans are concerned the bill could lead to censorship. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. Kim Lewis contributed to this story. …

MADISON, Wis. — Community members in Wisconsin continued to wrestle with grief and called for change in the aftermath of a school shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others.  Several hundred people gathered outside the Wisconsin State Capitol for a vigil Tuesday night to honor those slain at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison the day before, with some passing candles to each other and standing close against the winter chill.  Among those in attendance was Naomi Allen, 16, who was in a nearby classroom Monday when a 15-year-old girl attacked people in a study hall before fatally shooting herself.  “It’s doesn’t matter who you are or where you are, something like this could happen. There’s nothing that is going to exempt someone,” Allen said at the vigil.  Allen’s father, Jay Allen, reflected on the dangers students face these days.  “When I was in school these things never happened,” he said. “This country at some point needs to take mental health seriously and we need to pour resources into it. We really need some changes in the way we handle that issue.”  The motive for the shooting appears to be a “combination of factors,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Tuesday as he appealed to the public to call in to a tip line and share what they might know about the shooter.  He offered no details about what that motive might be, though he said bullying at Abundant Life Christian School would be investigated. He also said police are investigating writings that may have been penned by the shooter, Natalie Rupnow, and could shed light on her actions.  “Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive is a combination of factors,” Barnes told reporters.  Two students among the six people wounded Monday remain in critical condition. Officials have declined to disclose the names of the victims.  “Leave them alone,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.  The school shooting was the latest among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas.  The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.  School shootings by teenage … “Community members wrestle with grief in aftermath of Wisconsin school shooting” →

CAPE CANAVERAL, florida — NASA’s two stuck astronauts just got their space mission extended again. That means they won’t be back on Earth until spring, 10 months after rocketing into orbit on Boeing’s Starliner capsule.  NASA on Tuesday announced the latest delay in the homecoming for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.  The two test pilots planned on being away just a week or so when they blasted off June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September.  Now the pair won’t return until the end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements, according to NASA.  A fresh crew needs to launch before Wilmore and Williams can return, and the next mission has been bumped more than a month, according to the space agency.  NASA’s next crew of four was supposed to launch in February, followed by Wilmore’s and Williams’ return home by the end of that month alongside two other astronauts. But SpaceX needs more time to prepare the new capsule for liftoff. That launch is now scheduled for no earlier than late March.  NASA said it considered using a different SpaceX capsule to fly up the replacement crew in order to keep the flights on schedule. But it decided the best option was to wait for the new capsule to transport the next crew.  NASA prefers to have overlapping crews at the space station for a smoother transition, according to officials.  Most space station missions last six months, with a few reaching a full year. …

Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said Tuesday that they were working to establish a motive for the shooting at a small, private Christian school that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six other people. “Identifying a motive is our top priority,” Police Chief Shon Barnes said of the shooting Monday that he called a “hurting and haunting situation.” Police were trying to verify a document posted online by the 15-year-old shooter, who apparently died of a self-inflicted wound.  Authorities said the shooter, Natalie Rupnow, was a student at the Abundant Life Christian School, which has an enrollment of just over 400 students from kindergarten to high school. She opened fire in a study hall late Monday morning.   “We don’t know nearly enough yet,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told reporters Tuesday about the shooting.   Rhodes-Conway also said it was too early to determine whether the shooter’s parents, who were cooperating with the police investigation, would face criminal charges.  “We have to allow law enforcement the time and space for a careful and methodical examination,” she said.  Barnes said Tuesday that several schools across the Madison metropolitan area “were targeted by false threats, often known as swatting.” He said police and the school district were working together to determine who initiated the scheme.  The mayor lashed out at reporters’ requests Tuesday for more information about the victims.  “I’m going to say this and then we’re done,” she said. “It is absolutely none of y’all’s business who was harmed in this incident. Please have some human decency and respect for the people who have lost loved ones or were injured themselves or whose children were injured. Just have some human decency, folks.”  Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking in Maryland, said, “Our nation mourns for those who were killed, and we pray for the recovery of those who were injured.”  The vice president said stronger gun controls were needed.   “Solutions are in hand,” she said, “but we need elected leaders to have the courage to step up and do the right thing.”  President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday that the shooting was “shocking and unconscionable.”  “Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom,” he said. “Students across our country should be learning how to read and write, not having to learn how to duck and cover.”  Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to … “Police look for motive in latest US school shooting” →

WASHINGTON — The 2025 defense spending authorization bill is coming up to a final vote in the U.S. Senate. As the American Northeast buzzes with drone sightings and fears of foreign surveillance, the bill moves to ban products from the world’s largest drone-maker: China. In a procedural vote on Monday, senators voted 83-12 in favor of moving to a full vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive piece of annual legislation that sets priorities and authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Defense. A provision within the 2025 NDAA aims to create mechanisms for further oversight and prohibition of the use of Chinese drones while working to increase drone supply chain resilience within the U.S. and partner countries. The bill mandates an investigation into two Chinese drone manufacturers, DJI and Autel Robotics, with the aim of placing them on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Covered List.” This would prevent their use in telecommunications industries. Another section calls for the Department of Defense to regularly disassemble and analyze the components of DJI drones. The provision on drones draws in part from earlier anti-Chinese drone legislation introduced by Republican Representative Elise Stefanik and Senator Rick Scott. These bills received bipartisan support, showing how concerns over the risk that Chinese drones pose to U.S. national security have united a politically divided Congress. “DJI drones pose the national security threat of TikTok, but with wings,” Stefanik said. “This Chinese-controlled company cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the U.S.” During an interview on Fox News, Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi described how he collaborated with Stefanik to draft legislation on Chinese drones to be included in the NDAA. “These Chinese-manufactured drones allow for the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to access data in a backdoor manner and ultimately surveil Americans,” Krishnamoorthi said. China’s DJI dominates the production and sale of household drones, with 2021 estimates suggesting that the company accounts for 76% of the worldwide consumer market and about 90% of the U.S. market. While more companies have emerged in past years, DJI still controls the largest share of the market. This gives the U.S. an increased imperative to diversify the domestic drone economy, Carlos Gimenez, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee, told VOA. “We have to go a little cold turkey on this one. To say, ‘No, we can’t buy that anymore,’” Gimenez said. “You have … “US Senate to vote on bill that fuels possibility of Chinese drone ban” →

WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders are nearing the unveiling of a spending agreement that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. The stopgap measure would prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday. It would kick final decisions on this budget year’s spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. The continuing resolution generally continues current spending levels for agencies. Passage of the measure is one of the final actions that lawmakers will consider this week before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress. It’s the second short-term funding measure the lawmakers have taken up this fall as they struggled to pass the dozen annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year began October 1, as they typically do. While text of the legislation was not yet available Tuesday, House Republican lawmakers emerged from a closed-door meeting saying that the disaster aid would come to about $100 billion, plus there’s $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers who have been struggling with drought in some regions of the country and flooding in others. “We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. Net farm income is projected to decline 4.1% this year after falling 19.4% the year before from the record highs reached in 2022. Johnson indicated more farm aid could be delivered in the next Congress, saying, “We can’t do all it right now.” “Congress is doing the best it can under difficult circumstances, and I think it will be a big boost for the industry,” Johnson said. Representative Glenn Thompson, the Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he was hoping for more economic relief for farmers, but “it’s a great start.” “I think it’s going to send the right signal to the markets that most farmers and ranchers are going to be able to get eligible for the credit they need to borrow in order to plant a crop or raise a herd,” Thompson said. President Joe Biden has sought about $114 billion in disaster aid, submitting a $99 billion request in November, telling lawmakers the funding was “urgently needed.” The administration subsequently updated its request to include funding … “Congress nears funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid” →

NEW YORK — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism, prosecutors said Tuesday as they worked to bring him to a New York court from a Pennsylvania jail. Luigi Mangione already was charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson, but the terror allegation is new. Under New York law, such a charge can be brought when an alleged crime is “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.” Mangione’s New York lawyer has not commented on the case. Thompson, 50, was shot dead as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare — the United States’ biggest medical insurer — was holding an investor conference. “This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference Tuesday. “It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatened the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and businesspeople just starting out on their day.” After days of intense police searches and publicity, Mangione was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and arrested. New York police officials have said Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport and various fake IDs, including one that the suspected shooter presented to check into a New York hostel. The 26-year-old was charged with Pennsylvania gun and forgery offenses and locked up there without bail. His Pennsylvania lawyer has questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal grounding for the gun charge. The attorney also has said Mangione would fight extradition to New York. Mangione has two court hearings scheduled for Thursday in Pennsylvania, including an extradition hearing, Bragg said. Hours after his arrest, the Manhattan district attorney’s office filed paperwork charging him with murder and other offenses. The indictment builds on that paperwork. Investigators’ working theory is that Mangione, an Ivy League computer science grad from a prominent Maryland family, was propelled by anger at the U.S. health care system. A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said that when arrested, he was carrying a handwritten letter that called health insurance companies “parasitic” and complained about corporate … “Suspect in killing of US insurance CEO charged with murder as act of terrorism” →

Washington — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two people and one entity based in the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of being involved in a network that launders millions of dollars generated by IT workers and cybercrimes to support the North Korean government.  The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the two people hit with sanctions worked through a UAE-based front company to facilitate money laundering and cryptocurrency conversion services that funneled the illicit proceeds back to Pyongyang.  North Korea’s mission to the United Nations didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.  Tuesday’s action comes as Washington seeks to cut off funding for North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, the Treasury said.   “As the DPRK continues to use complex criminal schemes to fund its WMD and ballistic missile programs — including through the exploitation of digital assets — Treasury remains focused on disrupting the networks that facilitate this flow of funds to the regime,” Treasury Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in the statement.  Tuesday’s move targeted UAE-based Chinese nationals Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian as well as UAE-based Green Alpine Trading LLC. It freezes any of their U.S. assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.  The Emirati embassy in Washington didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. Reuters could not immediately locate contact details for Green Alpine Trading, Lu or Zhang. …

NEW YORK — An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs.  Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as sick as prior recipients who died within two months of receiving a pig kidney or heart.  “It’s like a new beginning,” Looney, 53, told The Associated Press. Right away, “the energy I had was amazing. To have a working kidney — and to feel it — is unbelievable.”  Looney’s surgery marks an important step as scientists get ready for formal studies of xenotransplantation expected to begin next year, said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led the highly experimental procedure.  Looney is recuperating well after her transplant, which was announced Tuesday. She was discharged from the hospital 11 days after surgery to continue recovery in a nearby apartment although temporarily readmitted this week while her medications are adjusted. Doctors expect her to return home to Alabama in three months. If the pig kidney were to fail, she could begin dialysis again.  “To see hope restored to her and her family is extraordinary,” said Dr. Jayme Locke, Looney’s original surgeon who secured Food and Drug Administration permission for the Nov. 25 transplant.  More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, most who need a kidney. Thousands die waiting and many more who need a transplant never qualify. Now, searching for an alternate supply, scientists are genetically altering pigs so their organs are more humanlike.  Looney donated a kidney to her mother in 1999. Later a complication during pregnancy caused high blood pressure that damaged her remaining kidney, which eventually failed. It’s incredibly rare for living donors to develop kidney failure although those who do are given extra priority on the transplant list.  But Looney couldn’t get a match — she had developed antibodies abnormally primed to attack another human kidney. Tests showed she’d reject every kidney donors have offered.  Then Looney heard about pig kidney research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and told Locke, at the time a UAB transplant surgeon, she’d like to try one. In April 2023, Locke filed an FDA application seeking an emergency experiment, under rules for people like Looney who are out of options.  The FDA didn’t agree right away. … “Alabama woman doing well after latest experimental pig kidney transplant” →