- Cross Examination Exposes Gaps in Impeachment Narrative
By Ivan Pentchoukov
Tough questions from lawmakers show hearsay, opinion, and presumptions underlie crucial claims by star witness
Republican lawmakers used the first public ...
- Name of DNC Operative Alexandra Chalupa Was Redacted in Impeachment Transcripts: Nunes
By Zachary Stieber
House Democrats redacted the name of Alexandra Chalupa,
the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) contractor who met with
Ukrainian officials to try to ...
- Trump vows new Ukraine transcript release in post-impeachment hearing press conference
By Gregg Re | Fox News
President Trump tore into House Democrats’ ongoing impeachment inquiry Wednesday during a press conference with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, decrying the hearsay-laden “witch hunt” and saying ...
- Rep. Jordan chides diplomat on quid pro quo claims: ‘Your clear understanding was obviously wrong’
By Ronn Blitzer | Fox News
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan led some of the toughest questioning during Wednesday’s impeachment hearing, challenging Ukraine ambassador William Taylor over his claims that he understood President ...
- Impeachment witness urges Burisma probe, testifies to concern of Hunter Biden ‘conflict’
By Brooke Singman | Fox News
State Department official George Kent testified Wednesday that he would “love” to see Ukraine look into the circumstances surrounding the closure ...
- Schiff Convicts Trump as Nunes Poses Three Key Impeachment Questions He Predicts Dems Will Ignore
By Mark Tapscott
WASHINGTON—Nothing more clearly illustrated the yawning gulf between Democrats and Republicans related to the potential impeachment
of President Donald Trump than the ...
- Schumer Blocks Measure That Would Lower Prescription Drug Prices
BY ZACHARY STIEBER
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked a bill that would lower prescription drug costs, arguing that a measure that addresses other healthcare ...
- DOJ’s Durham Interviewed Downer, Australia’s Russia Probe Figure, Reports Claim
BY PETR SVAB
The team of United States Attorney John Durham interviewed former Australian ambassador Alexander Downer, according to two Australian newspapers.
Both the papers are subsidiaries ...
- Trump impeachment inquiry hearings begin: live blog
By Adam Shaw | Fox News
Public hearings began Wednesday in the House impeachment inquiry, focusing on the circumstances surrounding President Trump’s July 25 phone call with ...
- Adam Schiff to Jim Jordan: ‘I don’t know the identity of the whistleblower’
By Nick Givas | Fox News
After House Democrats kicked off their impeachment hearings against President Trump on Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claimed he has no knowledge of the Ukraine whistleblower’s identity, despite reports ...
- DNC Opposition Researcher Working With Ukrainians Visited Obama White House Often
By Mark Tapscott
WASHINGTON—Alexandra Chalupa, a contracted opposition researcher
working in 2015 and 2016 for the Democratic National Committee (DNC)
with extensive Ukrainian sources, met with ...
- Schiff sets stage for impeachment hearings, warns GOP about going after Bidens
By Brooke Singman, Mike Emanuel | Fox News
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff set the stage for the first public hearings as part of the impeachment inquiry by ...
![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 5")
