North America

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged after cutting rates at each of the last three meetings, as officials assessed the effect of rate cuts on the U.S. economy.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's policy-making committee, decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent after concluding a two-day policy meeting, in line with market expectations.

NEW YORK (AP) — A day after Fox News’ Tucker Carlson aired a segment describing her congressional district as “filled with garbage,” U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the network on Wednesday for airing “unmitigated racism” with no accountability.

She tweeted Wednesday that describing immigrants as dirty is a “lazy, tired, racist trope.”

The liberal New York Democrat’s popularity has made her a frequent target of Fox News Channel’s opinion hosts. Carlson, in particular, has targeted Ocasio-Cortez for supporting a “Green New Deal” of environmental legislation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday hit Iran with new sanctions that target several transportation firms as it continues its “maximum pressure campaign” against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas inmate was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening for killing a supervisor at a state prison shoe factory in Amarillo nearly 17 years ago.

Travis Runnels, 46, was convicted of slashing the throat of 38-year-old Stanley Wiley on Jan. 29, 2003. Runnels was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is considering several options to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan, including one that would shift to a narrower counterterrorism mission, the top U.S. military officer told Congress on Wednesday.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not disclose any potential troop totals, but he agreed that leaving a minimal U.S. footprint in Afghanistan to battle terrorists is a potential move.

HONOLULU (AP) — Officials will beef up security as usual for the ceremony to remember those lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor 78 years ago, with service members and dignitaries confronting a fresh tragedy after a U.S. sailor killed two civilians, wounded another and then turned the gun on himself at the storied military base.

The National Park Service, which is hosting the event with the Navy, would not give specifics on the heightened security measures, many of which aren’t readily apparent, Pearl Harbor National Memorial spokesman Jay Blount said.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Fears that a deadly shooting at a Jewish market in Jersey City was an anti-Semitic attack mounted on Wednesday as authorities recounted how a man and woman deliberately pulled up to the place in a stolen rental van with at least one rifle and got out firing.

A day after the gunbattle and standoff that left six people dead — the two killers, a police officer and three people who had been inside the store — state and federal law enforcement officials warned they have not established the motive for the attack.

Washington (AP) — Donald Trump wants more than acquittal. He wants vindication.

With impeachment by the House appearing certain, the president has made clear that he views the next step, a trial in the GOP-controlled Senate, as his focus. The president sees the senators not just as a jury deciding his fate, but as partners in a campaign to discredit and punish his Democratic opponents. His Senate allies aren’t so sure that’s a good idea.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog was caught in a political tug of war Wednesday as Republican and Democratic senators used his report on the origins of the Russia investigation involving Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign to support their views that it was a legitimate probe or a badly bungled farce.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee took the first steps Wednesday evening toward voting on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, beginning a marathon two-day session to consider the historic charges with a lively prime-time hearing at the Capitol.