Mostafa Askari, assistant parliamentary budget officer, discusses new report that has some controversial results
Missouri lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to significantly expand a low-interest loan program for farmers and small businesses, in a move that reflects strong consumer demand for such government aid amid persistently high borrowing costs. Higher interest rates have made virtually all loans more expensive, whether for farmers purchasing seed or businesses wanting to expand. Under so-called linked-deposit programs, states deposit money in banks at below-market interest rates.
The husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon was on Thursday re-arrested and charged over alleged embezzlement as part of a probe into the pro-independence Scottish National Party's finances, police said.Police Scotland said that "a 59-year-old man has today Thursday April 18 been charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National Party".
Indigenous representatives from 35 countries issued a declaration Thursday criticizing the fact that they are too rarely consulted about mining that takes place on or near their lands, an issue that has become more acute with increased demand for minerals needed in the transition to a cleaner energy system. “We recognize and support the need to end fossil fuel reliance and shift to renewable energy as critical in addressing the climate crisis,” the statement read. “However, the current trajectory of the energy transition fails to meet the criteria of justice, social equity, and environmental sustainability, particularly from the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples' rights and well-being.”
The stark warning from a top administration official comes as Kyiv worries about Russia’s looming summer offensive.
The World Bank Group on Thursday unveiled a new goal to help countries deliver affordable healthcare to 1.5 billion people by 2030 by expanding services to remote areas, cutting fees and other financial barriers and focusing on lifetime care. The development lender said it would deploy financing, its own health expertise and new partnerships with private-sector firms, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups in reaching the target, which it defines as a person receiving treatment by a health care worker through an in-person visit or a telehealth appointment. This is being exacerbated by climate change, pandemics, conflicts, societal aging, and a projected shortfall of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030, it said.
The rap artist known as GloRilla has been charged with drunken driving in Georgia, jail records show. GloRilla, whose real name is Gloria Woods, was charged Tuesday with first-offense driving under the influence of alcohol; having an open container of alcohol; and failing to obey a traffic control device, according to Gwinnett County Jail booking records. Woods, 24, of Memphis, Tennessee, was arrested by police in Suwanee, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.
NASA announced it will launch Dragonfly, a rotorcraft lander, to Saturn's 'organic-rich moon' Titan in July 2028.
A new poll found a full 54% of Americans now want Congress to pass “a law that keeps abortion as legal and accessible as it was nationwide under Roe v. Wade."
Some Democrats are entertaining the prospect of coming to House Speaker Mike Johnson's rescue should Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., force a vote seeking his ouster, though it will likely depend on his ability to deliver an emergency aid package focused on Ukraine and Israel. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has suggested that Democrats would help Johnson if the speaker faced retribution from within his own party for holding votes on the $95.3 billion package. But he's also encouraging his colleagues to take a wait-and-see approach to apply maximum leverage. “Do not box yourself in with a public statement,” Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2-ranking House Democratic leader, told colleagues in a closed-door session Thursday, according to a person familiar with the private remarks.
Charlotte, a California round stingray, self-impregnated according to the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Seven jurors were selected from 96; Thursday focuses on questioning another group about impartiality on Trump. Judge aims for 12 jurors and alternates by Friday.
The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Thursday on a resolution that would allow the state of Palestine to join the United Nations as a full member, a step the United States opposes and will veto if necessary. Malta, which holds the council presidency this month, announced that the vote will take place following a ministerial meeting on the Palestinians’ bid to raise their status from a non-member observer state to full membership. This is the second Palestinian attempt to become the 194th member of the United Nations, and it comes as the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month, has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.
With syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketing, a doctors group now recommends that all pregnant patients be screened three times for the sexually transmitted infection. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued new guidance on Thursday saying the screening should be done at the first prenatal visit, during the third trimester and at birth. Previously, the group recommended one test in the third trimester — but only for women considered at risk of getting syphilis during pregnancy or those living in communities with high rates of the disease.
Was Biden's uncle eaten by cannibals in New Guinea during World War II? The president's account differs from reporting by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency,
Israel's commitments to improve aid access in the Gaza Strip have had "limited and sometimes nil" impact, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday as he pushed for urgent, meaningful and measurable progress to avert famine. The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza during the six-month-old war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the enclave of 2.3 million people.
The third-party presidential candidate already qualified for Utah's ballot and collected enough signatures in seven other states.
Attack violent crime at its roots or go to war with powerful drug cartels?"Instead of declaring war (on drug cartels), we build peace.
CIA Director Bill Burns on Thursday warned that unless US sends more military support, Ukraine could “lose” the war against Russia by the end of the year.
Kenya’s military chief, Francis Ogolla, died in a helicopter crash in the western part of the country on Thursday, President William Ruto has announced.
The leader of Iraq will travel to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state's large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s weekend aerial assault on Israel. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's trip to both Washington and Michigan to discuss U.S.-Iraq relations had been planned well before Saturday's drone and missile launches from Iran-backed groups. The visit has been thrust into the spotlight as tensions in the region escalate following the strike, which included drone and missile launches that overflew Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed groups.
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