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Fed to deliver 25-basis-point hike in May, stay on hold rest of year: Poll

Nearly 90% - 94 of 105 - of the economists who participated in the latest poll, predicted the US central bank would hike its key policy rate by 25 basis points

Fox Corp expects no operational impact from defamation lawsuit settlement

Fox declined to say whether insurance would help offset the payment

Netflix sees stronger second half on password-sharing crackdown in US

The company, which reported a lower-than-expected subscriber gain for the first quarter, has been testing ways to reduce account sharing in Latin America, and rolled out a plan to charge such users

Joe Biden, wife paid 23.8% taxes on $579,514 earnings, returns show

President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, made $579,514 last year and paid $137,658 in federal income taxes. That works out to a 23.8 per cent tax rate, more than the average of roughly 14 per cent for all US households. The Bidens' earnings have trended slightly downward over the past three years, after averaging more than $600,000 in 2020 and 2021. The median US household income was $69,717 in 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. The White House on Tuesday released the tax returns of the Bidens and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. This once routine rite of passage for presidents and aspirants to the Oval Office became a source of controversy under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, who declined to release his taxes and ultimately had six years' worth of returns released last year by a House committee. The Bidens' income has dropped since 2019, when they earned nearly $1 million, primarily from book sales, speeches and their teaching positions at the ...

4 killed in US's Maine home; 3 wounded in linked highway shooting

Four people were fatally shot at a house in Maine on Tuesday shortly before gunfire wounded three others on a busy highway, in a pair of crimes that are linked, authorities said. Hours later, a man was charged with murder. Police closed a portion of the interstate highway and residents and businesses in the area were ordered to shelter in place for about 90 minutes before authorities determined there was no threat to the general public. The shootings are among a spate of recent mass killings that have shaken communities both large and small, including a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky and a Sweet 16 party in a small city in Alabama. In Maine, police charged Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, with four counts of murder Tuesday evening but declined to discuss a possible motive for the shootings or identify the shooting victims. Eaton was expected to appear in court later this week. The crimes began in rural Bowdoin, where the bodies were

LIVE: WTO panel rules against India in IT tariffs dispute with EU, others

Catch live updates from around the globe here

Low diesel demand in China, US, Europe triggers global recession fears

Diesel demand can act as a leading indicator for broader growth as an early sign that spending by households is waning," said Ben Ayers, a senior economist in the US with Nationwide Economics

4 killed, 15 injured in mass shooting during birthday party in Alabama

Four people were killed, and 15 others sustained bullet injuries in a mass shooting during a birthday party in the southern US state of Alabama on Saturday night, CNN reported

NPR stops using Twitter after Elon Musk's "state-affiliated media" remarks

"NPR's organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent"

Tension on Taiwan Strait: What is the dispute between China and Taiwan?

The tensions between the two states on either side of the Taiwan Strait have remained high since World War II. Here is a look at the brief history of the conflict

Oil steady after surprise build in US crude stocks offset supply concerns

Oil prices were little changed in early trading on Wednesday after industry data showed an unexpected build in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories, offsetting concerns about tightening supply

North Dakota Guv signs laws banning trans athletes from female sports teams

North Dakota's Republican Governor Doug Burgum on Tuesday evening signed two transgender athlete bans into law, effectively prohibiting transgender girls and women from joining female sports teams in K-12 and college. Lawmakers in the House and Senate passed the bills with veto-proof majorities this year. If the governor had vetoed the bills or refused to sign them, the bills likely would've still become law. At least 19 other states have imposed restrictions on transgender athletes. Republican lawmakers across the US have drafted hundreds of laws this year to push back on LGBTQ+ freedoms, especially targeting transgender people's everyday lives including sports, health care, bathrooms, workplaces and schools. The Biden administration this month proposed a rule, which still faces a lengthy approval process, to forbid outright bans on transgender athletes. In 2021, Burgum vetoed a nearly identical bill that would have banned transgender girls from playing on girls' teams in public

Sitharaman, Gita Gopinath meet in US, both discuss debt vulnerabilities

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday had a meeting with Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), during which they discussed debt vulnerabilities and other issues. Sitharaman is leading a high-powered Indian delegation to attend the annual Spring Meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. Sitharaman congratulated Gopinath for accelerating India's work on the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable along with the World Bank and reiterated India's commitment to foster efforts to address growing debt vulnerabilities, the finance ministry said in a tweet after the meeting. During the meeting, the finance minister noted IMF's concerns on key downside risks to the economy including financial sector stress, rising real interest rates, elevated debt, inflation, geo-political fragmentation, and faltering growth in China, as highlighted in World Economic Outlook World Economy Outlook. Gopinath congratulated the minister on the fruitful

Taiwan tracks 91 Chinese aircraft, 12 naval ships: Defense Ministry

China began three-day military drills around Taiwan called "Joint Sword" after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Rupee seen flat at 82 for $1; US yields, importers hedging in focus

The Indian rupee is likely to open little changed to the U.S. currency on Tuesday, with traders assessing the outlook for U.S. yields and keeping a watch on importers' demand for the greenback

Cryptocurrency to FTA: Nirmala Sitharaman discusses range of issues in US

Sitharaman said that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) needs to be more progressive and must give space to countries that have something different to say

5 people killed, 8 injured in shooting at Louisville in US' Kentucky

Five people were killed and eight others injured in a shooting that happened in downtown Louisville in the US' Kentucky state.

US finds WSJ reporter in Russia is wrongfully detained on espionage charges

The Biden administration formally determined Monday that a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia on espionage charges has been "wrongfully detained." The designation elevates the case of Evan Gershkovich in the US government hierarchy and means that a dedicated State Department office will take the lead on securing his release. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the determination on Monday, saying he condemned the arrest and Russia's repression of independent media. "Today, Secretary Blinken made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia," the department said in a statement. Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin's continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth." Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich, 31, in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, on March 29. He is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained for alleged spying. The Federal Security Serv

2 children killed in NYC lithium-ion battery bike fire; 4 survive blaze

An electric bicycle powered by a lithium ion battery is being blamed for a fatal fire on Monday in New York City that killed two children, marking the latest in a string of e-bike-related fires in the city. FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said it took his firefighters only three minutes to arrive at the Astoria, Queens home. However, with the fast-moving nature of e-bike fires and the fact the bike was being charged near the front entrance of the multi-family building, the victims "didn't have a chance to get out of the building" given the intense fire that quickly travelled up the stairs to a second-floor apartment. "So we got here very quickly. And if this was not a bike fire, most likely we would have been able to put this fire out without incident. But the way these fires occur, it's like an explosion of fire," he told reporters outside the burned home. "It's an ongoing problem. We implore everybody to please be very careful and aware of the danger of these devices." With

Who leaked the alleged classified US documents online & what do they tell?

Multiple tranches of documents have appeared on social media sites over recent weeks, some of them reportedly intended only for those with the highest levels of US security clearance