Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has downplayed the chances of a truce in Gaza after Hamas gave what it called a "comprehensive vision" to mediators. Mr Netanyahu's office said Hamas was still "holding to unrealistic demands". Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. On Thursday night Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 20 people had been killed as they waited for aid. Israel denies involvement and accuses armed Palestinians of firing at the crowds...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s warning that Israel risked becoming a “pariah” and his call for new elections marked a momentous moment in modern US-Israel relations. Schumer’s rebuke of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday contained extraordinarily strong language for a senior US politician criticizing the Israeli government. It was all the more remarkable coming from the New York Democrat who has a long record of staunch support for the Jewish state. The Senate floor...

Judge Scott McAfee has ruled in Georgia that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office can continue prosecuting Donald Trump and his co-defendants‚ but only if special prosecutor Nathan Wade steps down. In his Friday ruling‚ McAfee wrote that the defense had failed to meet its burden proving that Willis "acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor." But the judge...

A Georgia judge ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) or the prosecutor she had a romantic relationship with must step aside before the office can continue its election interference case against former President Trump and his allies.  Judge Scott McAfee ruled on Friday that Willis’s once-romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade constituted an appearance of conflict of interest in the racketeering case and...

A Georgia judge has ruled that embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must either step aside from the case against former President Donald Trump or fire special prosecutor Nathan Wade.  Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued the ruling after hearing evidence presented by lawyers for the co-defendants in the sweeping 2020 election interference case. Four co-defendants accused Willis of having an "improper" affair with Nathan Wade‚ whom she hired...

Wholesale prices accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in February‚ another reminder that inflation remains a troublesome issue for the U.S. economy. The producer price index‚ which measures pipeline costs for raw‚ intermediate and finished goods‚ jumped 0.6% on the month‚ the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. That was higher than the 0.3% forecast from Dow Jones and comes after a 0.3% increase in January. Excluding food and energy‚ the core PPI...

Wholesale inflation rose at double its expected rate in February‚ according to a government report released Thursday‚ the second report this week that could indicate a lack of progress on tempering inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI)‚ which tracks the cost of materials that producers and manufacturers buy from their suppliers‚ rose by 0.6 percent last month compared with January‚ a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That surge is double the expected 0.3 percent...

Rising energy prices are putting a damper on the slowing inflation narrative as wholesale costs rose 0.6% in February‚ double the expectation‚ the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.     On an annual basis‚ the producer price index increased by 1.6%‚ well above the 1.2% forecast and the largest year-over-year gain since September. “Nearly 70 percent of the broad-based rise in February can be attributed to the index for final demand energy‚ which...

Everyone knows the Trump-Biden election campaign is going to be nasty‚ brutish and not short enough‚ but the unknown is how much policy damage it will do. One unfolding example is the fiasco of self-destructive opposition to  Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel. The American political consensus used to be that foreign investment is a sign of U.S. economic strength and a source of good-paying jobs. Protectionists focused on blocking imported goods that compete with...

President Joe Biden came out forcefully against Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel on Thursday‚ stressing the importance of maintaining “strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.” Biden’s statement sent U.S. Steel shares X‚ 0.39% tumbling more than 6% as investors surmised that the deal — currently under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States‚ or CFIUS — is likely dead in the face of presidential opposition...