Pleasant but humid Saturday with little cloud coverImpressive or Terrifying?; Locals react to new technology, turning AI photos into videos
FILE- In this Feb. 26, 2019, file photo Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on monetary policy on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Wednesday, March 20, the Federal Reserve releases its latest monetary policy statement after a two-day meeting. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) The Federal Reserve is cutting its key interest rate for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook. The central bank cut its benchmark rate – which affects many loans for households and businesses – by a quarter-point to a range of 2% to 2.25%. It’s the first rate cut since December 2008 during the depths of the Great Recession, when the Fed slashed its rate to a record low near zero and kept it there until 2015. The economy is far healthier now despite risks to what’s become the longest expansion on record. The Fed repeats a pledge to “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” wording that markets have seen as a signal for possible future rate cuts.