↑ Trump, Donald J CPI Report Shows Food Prices Rose Sharply in December - Beef, coffee and produce are among the items that have gotten more expensive recently, inflation data on Tuesday showed.The Powell Defense Grows - Former Federal Reserve chiefs, Republican senators and — perhaps most important, many bond investors — raised concerns about an investigation into the bank’s leader.Global Central Bankers Express Support for Fed Chair After Criminal Investigation - The defense comes after Jerome Powell pushed back on what he described as pressure by the Trump administration to cut interest rates in the United States.Trump Explores Diplomacy With Iran While Weighing Strikes, Officials Say - The Pentagon is presenting a wider range of strike options to the president than previously reported. Targets could include Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile sites.Why China Is Suddenly Obsessed With American Poverty - State media, embracing the gaming phrase “kill line,” is asserting China’s political superiority over the United States, deflecting focus on China’s own economic challenges.Trump’s Plans for Venezuelan Oil Run Headlong Into Reality - President Trump’s fixation on Venezuela’s oil raises the question of how much “energy dominance” is really worth nowadays.Top Fed Official Conveys Little Urgency for Immediate Rate Cuts - The Federal Reserve is likely to hold interest rates steady when it meets at the end of the month, keeping tensions high with President Trump.U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane - Even accepting the Trump administration’s claim that there is an armed conflict with suspected drug runners, the laws of war bar “perfidy.”What to Know About the Criminal Investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell - The Justice Department’s probe into whether Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, lied about renovations to the central bank’s headquarters has raised alarms.Federal Prosecutor Is Fired Amid Further Turmoil in Comey Case - Robert K. McBride had been serving as the top deputy to Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.