Town Hall News

By Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signaled it may pause further increases, giving officials time to assess the fallout from recent bank failures, wait on the resolution of a political standoff over the U.S. debt ceiling, and monitor the course of inflation. The unanimous decision lifted the U.S. central bank’s benchmark […]

By Rich McKay ATLANTA (Reuters) -At least one person was killed in a shooting at a medical building in Atlanta on Wednesday, and three others were taken to hospitals, according to police, who said the suspect is still at large. Police responded to calls about an active shooter just after 12:30 p.m. local time in the midtown section of the city, the Atlanta Police Department said in a tweet. “Anyone […]

By Rich McKay ATLANTA (Reuters) -At least one person was killed in a shooting at a medical building in Atlanta on Wednesday, and three others were taken to hospitals, according to police, who said the suspect is still at large. Police responded to calls about an active shooter just after 12:30 p.m. local time in the midtown section of the city, the Atlanta Police Department said in a tweet. “Anyone […]

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain said the Detroit-based union is not yet endorsing President Joe Biden for a second term, citing concerns about electric vehicle policies. In a letter to members seen by Reuters on Wednesday, Fain noted several national unions were quick to endorse Biden but the UAW is not yet doing so. “The federal government is pouring billions into the electric […]

By Ivana Sekularac and Aleksandar Vasovic BELGRADE (Reuters) – A boy gunned down fellow pupils in a Belgrade school on Wednesday in a pre-planned attack, shooting dead eight plus a security guard, officials said, prompting Serbia’s president to announce tougher curbs on gun ownership. Using two handguns that belonged to his father, the 13-year-old fired first at the guard and three girls in a hallway and then shot his teacher […]

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s deeply unpopular pension law passed another hurdle on Wednesday when the Constitutional Council rejected a second bid by political opponents to hold a referendum against the reform. Macron defied fierce trade union opposition and weeks of sometimes violent protests against his plan to raise the retirement age by two years to 64, ramming the legislation through parliament without a final vote and signing […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday accused Meta’s Facebook of misleading parents about protections for children, in breach of a 2019 agreement on privacy, and proposed tightening the order. Specifically, the FTC said Facebook misled parents about how much control they had over who their children had contact with in the Messenger Kids app and was deceptive about how much access app developers had to users’ […]

By Patricia Zengerle and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Democrats launched a renewed effort to address competition with China on Wednesday, planning legislation to boost the country’s ability to face up to the Asian powerhouse on issues from technology to security and threats to Taiwan. After passing a bill last year to boost competition with Beijing in semiconductors and other technology, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic committee […]

By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) – Greater Toronto Area (GTA) home prices increased in April from March as new listings posted a steep annual decline, adding to evidence that the housing market has turned a corner after being buffeted by sharply higher borrowing costs. The average price of a GTA home rose to C$1.153 million ($846,425) in April, up 4% from March, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data showed […]