Author: Scott Davidson

Yellen heads to Beijing this week in move one expert calls an attempt to ‘put some floor’ under strained economic ties US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will visit Beijing this week, marking the second trip by a cabinet official to China since ties between the world’s top two economies deteriorated earlier this year. Yellen is expected to discuss with her counterparts the importance for both countries “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges”, said the Treasury Department in a statement on Sunday. Yellen’s planned trip from 6-9 July comes just weeks…

American farmers planted 94.1 million acres of corn this year, up 6 percent from last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Friday. In Iowa — the No. 1 corn-producing state — farmers said in March they planned to plant 13.1 million acres of corn, about 1.5 percent more than in 2022. The USDA data released Friday comes from surveys of 9,100 segments of land and nearly 64,000 farm operations during the first week of June to gather information on what farmers actually planted. The new data isn’t broken down by state. Soybean acres planted across the U.S. in 2023…

The United States and the United Kingdom have warned their respective citizens to avoid certain cities in France over a series of protests plaguing the country. Civil unrest broke out in some parts of France following the shooting of a French teenager by a police officer on Tuesday. This has forced the authorities in the US and the UK to issue alerts regarding travel to France, according to The Local newspaper. Both governments have issued alerts warning travellers about ongoing protests across much of France, after the death of a 17-year-old French boy at the hands of police. On Friday,…

The US central bank has announced it will hold interest rates steady – the first time it has opted against a rise in more than a year. The Federal Reserve kept the target for its benchmark rate at 5%-5.25% saying it wanted time to assess the impact of rate hikes so far. The bank has already raised rates 10 times since March 2022 as it battles to bring inflation under control. Bank forecasts show most officials expect rates to rise further. A majority expect the Fed’s key rate to stand above 5.5% at the end of the year and one…

London, New York, Mexico City (11/3 – 18) PGA is looking gloomy – are the fat years over? The emergence in 2019 of LIV Golf has spectacularly upset the status quo, posing a threat as a rival to the PGA Tour monopoly, as the leading professional golf tour in the world. Newcomer LIV Golf brazenly hijacked a number of some of the most famous professional golfers from the PGA Tour, luring them away with more lucrative deals. Several major champions and former world numbers, including names like Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Patrick Reed are now…

The State Department is warning of a new type of malware it says a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has been trying to insert into the computer systems of critical infrastructure across the United States, including Guam. The presence of the suspicious computer code was announced Wednesday by Microsoft in a warning it issued to private sector users of its software. The U.S. territory of Guam is the location of a critical Marine base that would respond to China if it attacked Taiwan. The National Security Agency also issued an alert to electrical utilities, nuclear power stations, water systems, railways and other key sectors that could be vulnerable. “The U.S. intelligence community assesses that China almost certainly is capable of…

Experiencing Alaska Native cultures is high on the list for many Alaska visitors — and with more than 10,000 years of human history — Alaska offers endless options for learning about our traditional lands, languages, and ways of being. Hear stories passed down from Elders and feel the heartbeat of drums used in traditional dancing. Watch a blanket toss at a whaling celebration, learn about totem carving techniques passed down from generation to generation, and learn about regional and local Alaska Native functional and creative arts, ranging from carving and basket weaving to sewing and silversmithing. In general, there are…

Idaho is the top potato producing state in the United States. Almost one-third of the nation’s potatoes are grown in the Snake River Plain, a belt of low-lying land that extends across southern Idaho. The eastern part of the Snake River Plain likely formed when the North American tectonic plate drifted over a hot spot in Earth’s crust. Basaltic magma was injected into the crust, making it thicker and denser than surrounding areas. When the crust cooled and settled, the land sank. The same hotspot that created the plain now fuels the geysers in Yellowstone National Park, located just northeast of the…

Several rural counties are set to receive a total of $26.9 million from the federal Secure Rural Schools program. Idaho received the third-highest total in the U.S. BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Several rural counties in Idaho are set to receive a total of $26.9 million in funds from the federal Secure Rural Schools program, the Idaho congressional delegation and state treasurer Julie Ellsworth announced this week. Idaho received the third-highest total in the U.S., behind California and Oregon. “I appreciate our delegation and the work they do for Idaho to secure this appropriation,” Ellsworth said…

After flip-flopping on previous flip-flops, legislators late Friday night added back $8 million in spending to transfer 120 prisoners from Montana to a privately run CoreCivic operation in Arizona. The idea was first added to the state budget in March, but then 10 days ago the Senate Finance and Claims Committee removed that provision, saying that action taken elsewhere this legislative session should open up bed availability in the state prison system. Earlier Friday afternoon, however, the same committee attempted to add the spending back, this time to House Bill 817. But the proposal initially failed on a bipartisan 4-15 vote. The committee…