Trump will likely fire Fed's Powell soon, Bloomberg reports
US President Donald Trump is likely to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell soon, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an unidentified White House official.
Separately, CBS News reported that Trump had asked Republican lawmakers if he should fire Powell, and several people in the room said he indicated he will do it.
The meeting with members of the House of Representatives took place in the White House's Oval Office on Tuesday night, CBS reported, citing multiple sources.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Federal Reserve monetary policy in recent months, angry over the central bank's refusal to cut interest rates. Fed officials have resisted cutting rates until there is clarity on whether Trump's tariffs on US trading partners reignite inflation.
Trump has called for Powell to resign, but the president does not have the power to fire him over a monetary policy dispute.
Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by Democratic President Joe Biden four years later, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chief, which ends on May 15, 2026.
Last week, the White House intensified its criticism of how the Fed is being run when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, sent Powell a letter saying Trump was "extremely troubled" by cost overruns in the $2.5-billion renovation of its historic headquarters in Washington.
Powell responded by asking the US central bank's inspector general to review the project. — Reuters
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GMA Network
8 hours ago
- GMA Network
Israel and US recall teams from Gaza truce talks
File photo shows an Israeli APC maneuvering in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen JERUSALEM/CAIRO — Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Gaza ceasefire talks for consultations on Thursday, with US envoy Steve Witkoff accusing the Palestinian militant group Hamas of failing to act in good faith in the talks. It marked the latest setback in efforts to secure a deal that would bring a ceasefire to Gaza, secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and bring respite to Palestinians suffering a sharply worsening humanitarian crisis. Witkoff said mediators had made a great effort but "Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith." "We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza," he wrote on X. Hamas said it was surprised by Witkoff's remarks, adding that the group's position had been welcomed by mediators and had opened the door to reaching a comprehensive agreement. "The movement affirms its keenness to continue negotiations and engage in them in a manner that helps overcome obstacles and leads to a permanent ceasefire agreement," Hamas added in a statement early on Friday. An Israeli official with knowledge of the talks said Hamas' response to the latest ceasefire proposal "does not allow for progress without a concession" by the group but that Israel intended to continue discussions. Both Israel and Hamas are facing pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal following almost two years of war, with the humanitarian situation inside Gaza deteriorating and Israelis worried about the conditions in which hostages are being held. Dozens of people have starved to death in Gaza the last few weeks as a wave of hunger crashes on the enclave, according to local health authorities. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the suffering and starvation in Gaza was an "unspeakable and indefensible" humanitarian catastrophe and called on Israel to urgently let in aid. "While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe," Starmer said in a statement. He will hold an emergency call with French and German partners on Friday to discuss what could be done to "stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need," he said. The Gaza health ministry said two more people had died of malnutrition. The head of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the two were patients suffering from other illnesses who died after going without food for several days. Earlier in the day, there had been some apparent signs of progress in the mediation. A senior Hamas official told Reuters that there was still a chance of reaching a ceasefire deal but it would take a few days because of what he called Israeli stalling. A senior Israeli official had been quoted by local media as saying the new text was something Israel could work with. But, Israel's Channel 12 said a rapid deal was not within reach, with gaps remaining between the two sides, including over where the Israeli military should withdraw to during any truce. Witkoff's team did not immediately respond to a request to explain the Hamas demands that led to his withdrawal of the US negotiators. The Hostages Families Forum, representing the family members of those held in Gaza, expressed concern at the recall of the Israeli team. "Each day that passes endangers the hostages' chances of recovery and risks losing the ability to locate the fallen or gain vital intelligence about them," it said. Pepper spray fired at aid site Women going to fetch aid for their families on Thursday said US contractors organizing distribution asked them to come to pick up goods and then fired tear gas and pepper spray at them. "The Americans said 'go, go', and then said no, get back. They sprayed us with pepper spray so we went away. Five minutes later they shot tear gas at us ... is this American humanitarian aid?" said Mervat al-Sakani. Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the aid organization - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - said a limited amount of pepper spray was used 'to prevent civilian injury due to overcrowding', adding that GHF 'didn't want people to get hurt.' The spokesperson said women-only aid distribution had been "a major success" overall. GHF, a US-and Israeli-backed organization, began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May. The UN has called the GHF's model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies. The UN rights office said on July 15 it had recorded at least 875 killings within the preceding six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza - the majority of them close to GHF distribution points. Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that civilians were harmed, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with "lessons learned." Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent Hamas diverting it. Israel says it has let in enough food for Gazans, and blames the United Nations for being slow to deliver it; the UN says it is operating as effectively as possible under conditions imposed by Israel. The war began when Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in its October 7 attacks on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has since killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza health authorities. — Reuters
GMA Network
a day ago
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No zero tariff for US agri products after Trump-Marcos meet — Go
US President Donald Trump welcomes President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 22, 2025. REUTERS/ Kent Nishimura Agricultural products, which are considered "sensitive" commodities for the Philippines' agri-fisheries sector, are not included in the zero tariff scheme for American exports entering the country following the recently concluded tariff talks between President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and United States President Donald Trump. "Rice, sugar, corn, fisheries, pork, chicken – hindi po natin tinanggal ang taripa ng mga iyan (we did not remove the tariffs for those)," Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs of the Philippines Frederick Go said at a Palace briefing on Thursday. "[These] are not included in the concessions that we gave out," he said. Early morning on Wednesday (Philippine time), Trump announced a new 19% tariff rate for Philippine goods entering America. This is lower than the 20% announced in a letter earlier this month, but higher than the 17% rate announced last April on what the US president referred to as Liberation Day. The US chief executive initially said the Philippines is going "open market" with the United States with zero tariffs, while the Philippines would pay a 19% tariff. Marcos, however, has since clarified that the zero tariffs on US products would only apply to certain markets such as automobiles. The President also committed to increase imports of soy, wheat, and pharmaceuticals from the US. Go said the Philippine government considered the type of goods, which the country is a "significant market producer," in the concessions it granted to negotiate a reduction on Trump's reciprocal tariff from 20% to 19% slapped on Philippine exports. "Talagang binusisi po namin iyan, ng DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), ano iyong mga produktong kailangan nating protektahan, ano iyong mga farmers natin na kailangan nating protektahan; at prinotektahan natin lahat po iyan," the special assistant to the President said. (Together with the DTI, we really studied carefully which products should be protected… what do our farmers need to protect. We made sure to protect those.) Automobiles, soy, wheat, pharmaceuticals On agreeing for zero tariff for American automobiles entering the country, Go said the Philippines is not a major producer of cars "so, by opening the automotive or car sector to the US, wala po tayong sinaktan dito sa atin (so, by opening the automotive or car sector to the US, we are not hurting the local industry)." With regard to concessions for pharmaceuticals, the investment czar said the main consideration of the government was to lower the price of medicines locally. "Kapag tariff-free po ang gamot, makakababa po iyan ng presyo ng gamot sa ating bansa (If the medicines are tariff-free, it will help in lower its price in our country)," Go said. For soy and wheat, Go said the Philippines only produces the commodities at a "very little quantity." "Iyong mga pinapapasok natin na walang taripa, ang purpose po noon ay ibaba ang presyo ng bilihin sa Pilipinas (Those that enter the country without tariff, the purpose of that is to lower the prices of goods in the Philippines)," he said. Talks not yet over Go also clarified that trade negotiations between the US and the Philippines are not yet over. He echoed Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez's announcement that bilateral talks will take place in Manila "in the next couple of days" to finalize a trade deal between the two nations. "Our technical working groups will continue to work with their counterparts from America to finalize the details of this arrangement," Go said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
Thailand F-16 jet bombs Cambodian targets as border clash escalates
People ride a two-wheeler past the Royal Embassy of Cambodia, after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia and said it would expel Cambodia's ambassador, following a landmine incident that injured Thai soldiers and recent clashes along the disputed border between the two countries, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 24, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH — A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least two civilians. Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday. "We have used air power against military targets as planned," Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia. Cambodia's defense ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it "strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia." The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia's envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area. Thailand's foreign ministry said Cambodian troops fired "heavy artillery" on a Thai military base on Thursday morning and also targeted civilian areas including a hospital, leading to civilian casualties. "The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defense measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand's sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement. Thai residents including children and the elderly ran to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires in the Surin border province. "How many rounds have been fired? It's countless," an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) while hiding in the shelter as gunfire and explosions were heard intermittently in the background. Cambodia's foreign ministry said Thailand's air strikes were "unprovoked" and called on its neighbor to withdraw its forces and "refrain from any further provocative actions that could escalate the situation." For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes. Landmines The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360 km from the Thai capital Bangkok. "Artillery shell fell on people's homes," Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told Reuters, describing the firing by the Cambodian side. "Two people have died," he said, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations. Thailand's military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple. Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defense ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defense. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. "We have to be careful," he told reporters. "We will follow international law." An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia's influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court. Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military. Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations. — Reuters
