Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/news-wrap-federal-reserve-holds-the-line-on-interest-rates Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio In our news wrap Wednesday, the Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates, Israel's prime minister met with families of hostages held in Gaza, the U.N.'s top court rejected most of Ukraine's legal case against Russia, FBI Director Christopher Wray warns Chinese government hackers are going after infrastructure and House Republicans move to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas over border security. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Amna Nawaz: In the day's other headlines: The Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates, keeping them at a 22-year high. Policymakers hinted that cuts might be coming later this year,but not immediately. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he first wants further signs that inflation will keep falling to the Central Bank's target of 2 percent. Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman: We want to see more good data. It's not that we're looking for better data. It's — we're looking at continuation of the good data that we have been seeing. It's not that the six-month data isn't low enough. It is. It's just a question of, can we take that with confidence that we're moving sustainably down to 2 percent? That's really what we're thinking about. Amna Nawaz: Fed officials have indicated they could cut rates three times this year by a quarter-point each, but they have given no timetable.In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with families of hostages still held in Gaza. His office said he told them that efforts are under way to free the captives, but offered no details. In Gaza, Israeli military video showed continued heavy combat around Khan Yunis in the south. Gunfire reverberated outside hospitals.The U.N.'s International Court of Justice has rejected most of Ukraine's legal case against Russia. Today's ruling dismissed claims that Moscow bankrolled Ukrainian separatists and discriminated against annexed Crimeans. The court did find that Russia illegally invaded Ukraine two years ago, but the Russians are expected to ignore that ruling.At the same time, the two sides swapped some 400 prisoners of war today. That came a week after the downing of a Russian plane purportedly carrying Ukrainian POWs.In Pakistan, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to another 14 years in prison, this time on corruption charges. He's already serving three years for corruption, and yesterday he was sentenced to 10 years for revealing state secrets. All of this comes days before parliamentary elections.Back in this country, FBI Director Christopher Wray sounded a warning today that Chinese government hackers are going after critical infrastructure in the U.S. He told a House hearing that electrical grids, transportation and water treatment plants are targets. Christopher Wray, FBI Director: And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now. China's hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities if and when China decides the time has come to strike. Amna Nawaz: Also today, the FBI and Justice Department announced they disrupted a Chinese hacking operation that used hundreds of home and office routers in the U.S. to cover their tracks.House Republicans are pressing ahead to oust Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over border security. Early today, the House Homeland Security Committee approved two articles of impeachment in a party-line vote. The full House could vote next week.Republicans say Mayorkas has refused to enforce immigration laws. Democrats say it's all a political stunt.A major federal study has tied contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to sharply higher risk of various cancers. It finds the risk was at least 20 percent higher from Marines stationed there between 1975 and 1985 compared with other bases. It is the largest study of its kind ever done in the U.S.And on Wall Street, stocks sank as the Federal Reserve signaled that interest rate cuts won't come as soon as the market hoped. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 317 points to close at 38150. The Nasdaq fell nearly 346 points, 2 percent, and the S&P 500 was down 1.6 percent.Still to come on the "NewsHour": new reporting reveals former NFL players were denied compensation for brain trauma; drought lowers water levels in the Panama Canal, causing a major disruption to global trade; the exploding popularity of a new literary genre that mixes romance and fantasy; plus much more. Listen to this Segment Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Jan 31, 2024