- Arizona Enacts Law Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote in Presidential Elections
By Mimi Nguyen Ly
Arizona’s governor on Thursday signed into law a bill that aims to strengthen election integrity with new requirements to ensure only U.S. ...
- Trump: Fines Paid by Clinton Campaign, DNC Show Corruption
By Zachary Stieber
The fines paid by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) show corruption, former President Donald Trump says.
Clinton’s campaign and the DNC agreed ...
- Clinton Campaign, DNC Agree to Pay Fines for Payments of Steele Dossier
By Zachary Stieber
Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) likely violated federal law by not accurately describing payments made to a ...
- Arizona Governor Signs Into Law Bills on Abortion, Transgender Issues
By Mimi Nguyen Ly
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law three bills on Wednesday to restrict abortions, restrict gender reassignment surgeries, and block transgender athletes from ...
- Election Watchdog Finds 137,500 Ballots Unlawfully Trafficked in Wisconsin
By Steven Kovac
At least 137,500 absentee ballots were cast through unlawful vote trafficking throughout several of Wisconsin’s largest cities in the 2020 election, according ...
- Manchin Stakes Position Against Biden’s Proposed Billionaire Tax
By Joseph Lord
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) on Tuesday decried President Joe Biden’s recently-unveiled proposal to increase taxation on billionaires, saying that the plan ...
- Senators Release Bank Records Showing Payments to Hunter Biden From China
By Zachary Stieber
Newly released bank records show that payments were made to President Joe Biden’s son from a Chinese Communist Party-linked company.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) ...
- Matt Gaetz Enters Hunter Biden Laptop Data Into Congressional Record
By Ken Silva
“I seek unanimous consent to enter into the record on this committee the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, which I am in ...
- Judge Blocks COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Entire Navy
By Zachary Stieber
The U.S. military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been blocked for all Navy members seeking religious exemptions.
A preliminary injunction that previously covered 35 Navy SEALs now covers some 4,000 others.
U.S. ...
- ‘100 Percent’ Vaccinated Cruise Ship Hit With COVID-19 Outbreak
By Jack Phillips
Princess Cruises confirmed that one of its cruise liners, the Ruby Princess, reported a COVID-19 outbreak before docking in San Francisco.
The cruise operator requires ...
- CIA Officer Who Signed Hunter Biden Laptop Letter Claims Credit for Trump Loss
By Zachary Stieber
One of the former CIA officers who signed a letter claiming stories about a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden were disinformation says he ...
- Alabama Wine Shop Owner Files Lawsuit Against State After Losing Business During COVID Lockdowns
By Matt McGregor
A former business owner in Alabama filed a lawsuit on March 19 against Republican Gov. Kay Ivey and state Health Director Scott Harris, alleging that the COVID-19 ...
![Strong labor data and positive expectations about the incoming Trump administration pushed the U.S. dollar to a two-year high on Thursday. The U.S. dollar iIndex hit a high of 109.53 on Jan. 2, the first trading day of the year, and the highest since November 2022. The jump came as data released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that initial jobless claims hit an eight-month low, suggesting a robust labor market, which is a positive sign for the overall economy. The dollar index was trading slightly lower on Friday at 108.96 as of 08:30 a.m. EST. The dollar index increase is also supported by investor confidence in the upcoming Trump administration, which assumes power this month. According to a recent survey by consulting company Teneo, “global CEOs and investors are optimistic about the economic impact of a second Trump administration, outweighing concerns about tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and trade barriers.” Story continues below advertisement In fact, “50 percent of global CEOs are accelerating activities in areas such as domestic and international investment and hiring based on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election,” it said. While the dollar strengthened, the euro and sterling declined on Thursday. The euro fell to its lowest level in more than two years while the sterling declined to its lowest in eight months. A Dec. 17 report from JP Morgan predicts the U.S. dollar to reach even new highs over the coming months. Related Stories How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 1/2/2025 How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup 1/2/2025 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup “November’s election outcome has given way to lower global growth expectations, wider growth gaps between the U.S. and the rest of the world, and higher terminal federal funds rate forecasts for 2025—the perfect trifecta of bullish U.S. dollar cyclical impulse,” said Meera Chandan, co-head of Global FX Strategy at the company. “These are early first-order reactions that may give way to deeper rethinks once the full set of Trump administration policies are known next year [2025], but for now, they constitute a solid economic rationale for carrying a long U.S. dollar stance into the first quarter of 2025.” JP Morgan sees the euro’s outlook as bearish, noting the eurozone is especially vulnerable to trade conflicts. And while sterling was the best-performing currency against the dollar last year, such an outperformance is not expected this year, it said. US Economy Performance in 2025 With President-elect Donald Trump set to take power in less than three weeks, there are mixed views about how things could shape up for the American economy. According to a Dec. 9 post by Morgan Stanley, markets are “bullish on Trump’s second term, hoping for tax cuts and better growth.” “We expect no net stimulus and a decent size hit from tariffs and immigration. This should be bullish for bonds as the Fed continues cutting, but could be a disappointment for frothy stocks,” it said. Regarding tariffs, the most likely outcome is a 20 percent hike on Chinese imports and on vehicles from Mexico and the European Union, Morgan Stanley said. Story continues below advertisement It predicts the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates to a range of 3 percent 3.5 percent by the end of 2025. S&P Global is forecasting the U.S. economy to grow by 2 percent in 2025 and 2026, following an estimated growth of 2.7 percent last year. The company sees inflation to likely remain above the 2 percent level for “longer than we previously thought.” Goldman Sachs predicts the U.S. economy to “beat expectations” this year. “The U.S. economy is in a good place,” said David Mericle, an economist with the company. “Recession fears have diminished, inflation is trending back toward 2 percent, and the labor market has rebalanced but remains strong.” While Trump’s policy changes are likely to be “significant,” Mericle does not see these actions changing the trajectory of the economy substantially. Goldman foresees the Fed reducing interest rates to a range of 3.25–3.50 percent, with the U.S. GDP predicted to grow by 2.5 percent. There have been three consecutive quarters of economic growth in the first nine months of 2024—1.6 percent in the first quarter, 3 percent in the second, and 3.1 percent in the third.](https://www.usnn.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/US-Dollar-Index-Hits-Highest-Level-in-2-Years-Euro-Falls-jpg.webp "US Dollar Index Hits Highest Level in 2 Years, Euro Falls | USNN World News")
