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Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady as inflation remains above 2%
CBSN
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will leave its benchmark rate unchanged, hitting the brakes on lowering borrowing costs for individuals and businesses after a flurry of rate cuts starting last fall.
The Fed said it will maintain the federal funds rate at its current range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The decision comes after the central bank trimmed rates three times starting in September 2024, which has pushed down the federal funds rate — the rate banks charge each other for short-term loans — by one percentage point.
The pause, the Fed's first rate decision since President Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, comes as economists predict the central bank is likely to take a wait-and-see approach to the president's economic policies, given that some, such as higher tariffs, could prove inflationary.
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Washington — The Trump administration is reversing the Biden administration's decision to extend the Temporary Protected Status program for Venezuelans in the U.S., casting a cloud of uncertainty over the hundreds of thousands of migrants enrolled in the policy, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice obtained by CBS News.
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An inmate escaped over the weekend from a jail in North Carolina, fleeing through the building's ventilation system, authorities said. Law enforcement agencies across the state launched a manhunt once guards at the jail noticed the inmate's absence Sunday afternoon, according to the Craven County Sheriff's Office.
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Copenhagen — The vast majority of Greenland residents do not want their island to become part of the United States, as envisaged by President Trump, according to a poll published Wednesday. Mr. Trump, who returned to the White House in late January, has signaled that he wants the Arctic island — which is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves — to become part of the United States and has suggested the possible use of force or tariffs to annex the autonomous Danish territory.
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At Market Basket locations in some parts of Massachusetts, customers are being asked to limit their egg purchases to two cartons per family. Another shopper, this one in Las Vegas and also on the hunt for eggs, reported finding empty shelves at a local grocery store. On social media, a consumer accustomed to paying around $2 for a dozen eggs expressed shock over now having to pay more than double that amount.