President Donald Trump announced Wednesday afternoon from the Oval Office that he learned the killing in Iran has ended.  ‘We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and it’s stopped and stopping, and there’s no plan for executions or an execution,’ Trump said. ‘So, I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about.’ Trump made the ...

Senate Republicans successfully spiked a bipartisan attempt to curb President Donald Trump’s war powers authority after a pair of key GOP lawmakers reversed their positions.  Republicans turned to a rarely used Senate procedure previously used by Senate Democrats in a similar situation to nullify the Venezuela war powers resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. The successful effort came after five ...

The House of Representatives passed a roughly $80 billion spending package Wednesday evening, taking a significant step toward averting a government shutdown at the end of this month. The package combines two of Congress’ 12 annual appropriations bills in what’s called a ‘minibus.’ It covers funding for the State Department and related national security, as well as federal financial services ...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected claims of mass casualties amid a recent surge in protests within the Islamic country and blamed any killings that have taken place on an ‘Israeli plot’ intended to create a large number of casualties.  The claim came during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News’ ‘Special Report with Brett Baier’ Wednesday evening, during which Araghchi ...

The Iranian regime has allegedly broadcast at least 97 ‘coercive confessions’ from detained protesters on state television in just over two weeks, human rights groups say, as residents endure the longest internet blackout on record. The videos reportedly feature handcuffed detainees with blurred faces showing remorse for their actions since the protests began Dec. 28, according to a rights group ...

Several federal prosecutors in Minnesota were formally fired on Wednesday after they gave notice that they had resigned in the wake of internal disagreements over the Justice Department’s handling of a shooting investigation involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The DOJ, at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, terminated the employment of five prosecutors ...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve Parliament’s powerful lower house as early as this month, setting up a snap election aimed at securing voter backing for her agenda while her approval ratings remain high, a senior party official said. The Associated Press reported that the move would allow Takaichi to seek fresh support for her economic and security ...

S&P Global’s new report, Copper in the Age of AI: The Challenges of Electrification, warns that copper demand could surge 50 percent by 2040, reaching 42 million tonnes as the global push for electrification accelerates. Supply, however, is projected to fall short, creating a 10 million tonne deficit, roughly 25 percent below demand , even as production peaks at 33 ...

Lithium prices surged to their highest levels in more than two years this week, extending a sharp rally driven by tightening supply and rising demand. Benchmark prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide have jumped sharply, with Fastmarkets’ CIF China, Japan and South Korea assessments pushing above US$20,000 a ton. Spodumene, the lithium-bearing mineral produced by Australian miners, also climbed ...

The silver price hit a new all-time high on Wednesday (January 14), rising as high as US$92.20 per ounce. The white metal’s most recent rise continues a breakout that began on January 9 on a mixed bag of economic uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and Iran and underlying industrial demand strength. Adding fuel to the fire this week are ...