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The US dollar sank to a four-and-a-half-year low against the euro this week after President Donald Trump said the weakened currency was doing “great.”While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed a strong dollar the very next day, market watchers viewed Trump’s remark as the latest sign the president sees a lower greenback as connected to goals of lowering the trade deficit and boosting US manufacturing.A lower dollar brings mixed effects, boosting the competitiveness of US exporters but inflicting higher prices on cash-strapped consumers for imported goods.- How weak is the US dollar? -The US currency has fallen about 12 percent since Trump took office in January 2025 based on the dollar index, which measures the greenback against the euro, the yen and four other currencies.But that pullback came after the US currency had rallied almost six percent between Trump’s Election Day win in November 2024 and his inauguration.Moreover, the US currency is not especially weak on an historic basis. The euro on Tuesday night breached $1.20 for the first time since 2021. But that is still well below the all-time of more than $1.60 in July 2008. – Why has the dollar declined under Trump? -The greenback moved sharply lower Tuesday after Trump was asked if he thought it had dropped too much.”No, I think it’s great,” Trump said in Iowa. “Look at the business we’re doing.”While the remark was somewhat impactful, it came after “the biggest move in the dollar had already happened,” said Francesco Pesole, a foreign exchange strategist at ING.Pesole ties the dollar’s recent bout of weakness to a renewal of the “sell America” trade following Trump’s threats of new tariffs on Europe over Greenland. Much as with the aggressive “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in April, Trump eventually backed off the Greenland-related levies.But the episode highlighted the unpredictability of US policy under the 79-year-old president.Another factor is the impending appointment of a new head of the Federal Reserve to replace Jerome Powell, whom Trump has lambasted for not cutting interest rates sufficiently.Powell’s replacement by a Fed chair who favors significantly lower interest rates would lend further downward pressure on the dollar.- How does a weaker dollar affect the US economy? -A cheaper dollar means US exports become more competitive in overseas markets. That dynamic can help boost US manufacturing production while reducing the country’s trade deficit — two Trump administration priorities.Other benefits include lifting the financial results for US companies that report profits overseas and incentivizing foreign tourism to the United States.While presidents from both parties say they want a strong dollar, “under the surface -– sometimes they say it outright, sometimes they don’t say it outright –- they’ll be looking for a weaker currency to help them achieve their economic agenda,” said Oren Klachkin, an economist at Nationwide.In a November 2024 paper, Stephan Miran, Trump’s Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and a Federal Reserve board member, argued that addressing the “persistent dollar overvaluation” was essential to revamping global trade.But a downside of a cheap dollar is to increase the prices US consumers face on imported goods, said ForexLive’s Adam Button, who argues the US is “playing with fire.””The risk of a falling dollar is that that inflation re-accelerates,” said Button, who sees a risk that investors will view a declining dollar as a sign other US assets should be avoided.”If you have the rest of the world investing trillions in the US bond market, that’s keeping borrowing rates in the US low,” said Button.”The rest of the world is subsidizing American deficits, and that is a tremendous benefit to everything in the US. But that is not a guarantee forever.”

Two Somali-American co-workers have created a network to provide medical house calls to community members afraid to go outside in the face of the massive immigration operation underway in Minnesota.The paranoia and fear fomented by the sweeping immigration crackdown in the Midwestern state has led many migrants — both those with legal status and those without — to shelter at home, campaigners say.Members of migrant communities have avoided medical treatment, been unable to purchase essentials, lost jobs and even taken their children out of school to avoid venturing outside where they are more vulnerable to immigration checks.Hafsa, a mental health student, was spurred to act after an acquaintance delayed seeking medical help for their child, meaning the youth’s condition deteriorated by the time they sought help. “I got a call from a mom that that’s a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit,” said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.Somalis have been at the forefront of Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-immigrant campaign, with the US president branding the community “garbage,” questioning its intelligence and calling for deportations to intensify.Immigration officers have been seen at hospitals and clinics, waiting for patients and questioning them about their legal status, according to a recent article in the American Journal of Managed Care.That has led to a surge in “healthcare avoidance” in the Somali and Hispanic communities, it reported.Beyond connecting people in St. Paul, which along with Minneapolis makes up the Twin Cities, to health care workers willing to make house calls, the volunteers also devote resources to vetting the medical staff themselves.”It is a lot of work because you want to make sure that whoever you’re sending to that person’s house is somebody who doesn’t have any ill intentions. So you’re making a lot of calls,” said Hafsa, 25.Care is taken to ensure the travelling health workers are not followed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as they drive to migrants’ homes.The small, informal team of volunteers spends upwards of 12 hours daily answering calls, matching community members to care, and onboarding the professionals.”You get their skills, and then… there might be an intake form where they can list all that and their availability,” said volunteer Cass, 43, a compliance officer in health care. “It’s project management 101,” she added.- ‘Word of mouth’ -Beyond the slick, computerized tools, the volunteers rely on community contacts to raise awareness and receive referrals.”It’s just word of mouth,” said Musab, 34, an entrepreneur. He pointed to one of the women supporting the service and said she was “locked in with every single community member.””We’re a very collective community, so we know about each other’s statuses. So somebody would just call and say ‘Hey, this person is sick or whatever’.”Hafsa likened the community response in the face of the unprecedented immigration crackdown to giving first aid to a wounded patient.”We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds,” she said.After receiving an urgent call, Musab rose and put on his heavy down coat to fend off the bitterly cold conditions.”This brother actually works with people in recovery… So I think one of the kids might be sick, so I’m about to just go see kind of what I can help them out with and what they need,” he said heading out.The volunteers’ staging space, an events center in St. Paul, has been volunteered by a Somali businesswoman who made sweetened tea for the team.A room set aside for brides-to-be has been converted into a storeroom for the medical supplies and cold weather gear being donated from across the United States.Hafsa said the well-wishes that have accompanied the donations arriving in Amazon packages were helping to keep her going.”I cry from gratitude,” she said.

A man dressed as Batman berated officials in the California city set to host the Super Bowl next month over claims they could let ICE officers patrol the NFL championship game.The Caped Crusader took to the mic during the public comments section of Santa Clara city’s council meeting on Tuesday.He kicked things off with a “Ker-pow!” any superhero would be proud of, dropping an f-bomb as he slammed his fist into the lectern and demanded “what… are we doing here?””You have had months to prepare for this upcoming event,” he said of the game that will see the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks battle it out for American football supremacy on February 8.”People are dying on our streets every single day in this country because we allow this federal government to walk all over you.”The outburst came with tensions running high in the United States over the deaths this month of two protesters in Minneapolis, both shot dead by federal agents in operations run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.”You need to affirm that no city resources will go to ICE, that no cooperation will be given to them.”The man’s real name was not known, but he was identifed as “Batman” on the clock counting down his speaking time.Santa Clara City did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.The involvement of ICE in Super Bowl 60 emerged as an issue when Corey Lewandowski, an adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, criticized the choice of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny — a US citizen — as the star of the halftime show.”It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much,” Lewandowski said in September.”There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally,” he added. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.”Tickets for the gridiron finale start at around $6,000, making them out of reach for the vast majority of undocumented people, who tend to work in low-paying jobs.

Weeks after toppling Venezuela’s leader, US President Donald Trump is turning to a similar playbook on Iran, sending what he calls an “armada” near its shores and warning an unpopular government.Trump has been emboldened on multiple fronts by the tactical success in Venezuela, but Iran presents far more complexities.- Nature of government -After US commandos snatched Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, Trump has leaned on his successor, vice president Delcy Rodriguez, threatening new attacks if she does not comply with his wishes, starting with access to the country’s oil.As with Maduro, a core principle of Tehran’s clerical leadership is resistance to the United States — but there are fewer signs of cracks in the state.The Islamic republic relies on the elite Revolutionary Guards, who in recent weeks have ruthlessly put down mass protests, killing thousands.The United States seized Maduro and his wife to face drug trafficking charges in New York — which they deny — after intermediaries for years quietly suggested a comfortable exile.Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 86, has not left the country since 1989. A Shiite cleric, he lives frugally and was brought up in a religious tradition that reveres martyrdom.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, testifying Wednesday to a Senate committee, said the Islamic republic was “weaker than it has ever been” since the 1979 revolution overthrew the pro-Western shah.But he said there was no “simple answer” on what, or who, would follow Khamenei if he falls.”I would imagine it would be even far more complex” than Venezuela, he said.- Military strength -Trump said on social media that the US fleet near Iran was larger than the one sent to Venezuela.”Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump wrote.Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Iran “is inordinately more complex than Venezuela,” with more diffuse centers of power.”I think this is the concern — that undertaking something like a ‘decapitation strike’ ends up in fact provoking all kinds of… very difficult to anticipate second- and third- and fourth-order effects and ends up really unleashing a mess inside of Iran,” she said.US forces rapidly went in and out of Caracas, which lies near the Caribbean coast and is in the same hemisphere as the United States.Tehran is much farther inland. The Islamic republic has weathered previous blistering attacks — by Iraq in the 1980s and Israel last June — and a 1980 US helicopter mission to free hostages ended disastrously.Iran’s leaders, however, have been weakened by the protests, the largest seen since the revolution.A number of protesters and exiled leaders have urged Trump to strike to help bring down the Islamic republic, although there are also plenty of skeptics who say either that it is too late or that Trump risks rallying the government’s supporters to its side.- What goal? -Trump has brashly vowed to intervene at will in Latin America and Rubio, in defending the Venezuela operation, earlier said: “This is not the Middle East.”Trump has long denounced previous US policymakers as ill-informed warmongers for the 2003 assault that overthrew Saddam Hussein in Iraq, a smaller country than Iran.Rather than vowing to topple the Islamic republic, Trump has urged it to end the standoff by accepting tough constraints on its nuclear program as well as missiles.Iran has fought hard against such concessions but observers say its leaders may prefer to turn the conversation to its weapons rather than face an existential threat.Kirsten Fontenrose, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, wrote that for Iran, the Maduro operation is “strategically relevant less as a template than as a signal.”Iranian policymakers have believed the United States would stop short of targeting leaders for fear of escalation but “the Maduro episode complicates that assumption,” she wrote.While Trump has brushed aside Latin American critics of his Venezuela operation, he enjoys close ties with Gulf Arab monarchies that have warned against intervention.The oil-rich US allies have little love for Iran but fear a spiraling regional conflict that would jeopardize their hard-earned image as stable havens for business.

After more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell over parts of New York during this past weekend’s historic winter storm, the city is working to melt away the remains before the next blizzard strikes.Though the storm has passed, temperatures remain below freezing, impeding natural snowmelt, with no relief in sight for the forecast.The snow has been shoveled to the side, but it remains hazardous for both pedestrians and drivers, and needs an extra boost to go away in a timely fashion. “The problem there is that if we don’t melt it, then it’ll sit there for a while,” said Javier Logan, who oversees New York’s sanitation department, at a Wednesday press conference. Their secret weapon? Giant snow “hot tubs” capable of melting between 60 and 120 tons of snow an hour.Trucks filled with excavated snow dump their trailers into the machines, filled with water, to rapidly melt it. Although the ensuing steam gives the machines a jacuzzi-like appearance, the water inside is heated only to 38F (3C). The water is then filtered and dumped into storm drains.More than 2,500 city workers are mobilized for the 24/7 operation. “Our priority right now is to get the bus roads open, because we want to make sure that people can get on and off the buses and get to work or school as needed,” Logan said. The snow melters, which are used at other cities and airports across North America, have not been used at such a high scale in New York since 2021.

Oil prices surged Thursday after US President Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran, while safe-haven gold fell back after hitting a fresh record near $5,600.”With the Middle East tinder box looking set to ignite again, oil prices have moved sharply higher, lifting shares in listed energy giants,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.Global stocks were mixed as markets pored over Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision and mixed tech industry earnings that sent Microsoft and Meta in opposite directions.Trump meanwhile warned that Tehran must negotiate a deal over its nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.”The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” he added, referring to US strikes against Iranian nuclear targets in June.An Iranian military spokesman warned Tehran’s response to any US action would be “delivered instantly.” International benchmark Brent crude oil topped $70 a barrel Thursday for the first time since September, a gain of five percent. Prices later eased somewhat, showing gains of more than three percent.”Strikes on Iran would risk causing oil prices to jump and threaten to boost inflation in much of the world, reducing the pace or number of interest rate cuts by major central banks,” said Jason Tuvey, an emerging markets economist at research group Capital Economics, in a note. – Gold falls back -Gold tumbled back after hitting a new record at $5,595.47 an ounce as investors rushed to assets deemed safe, including silver, which reached its own record of $120.44 an ounce.The dollar steadied after losing ground most of this week.Gold declined more than five percent and silver plunged more than eight percent, while copper and nickel prices also fell, as traders reassessed the market.”The parabolic rally had to come to an end,” as commodity prices had “gone up too far, too quickly”, Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, told AFP.Demand for the precious metals is also being spurred by worries about the weakening dollar, sparked by speculation that Trump is happy to see the world’s reserve currency weaken despite the potential risk of pushing up US inflation.An uneventful policy announcement by the Fed on Wednesday did little to inspire buying, though observers said traders were optimistic that US interest rates will come down as Trump prepares to name his pick as the next governor of the central bank.On stock markets, Meta rocketed by more than 10 percent after the US parent of Facebook and Instagram published quarterly earnings that topped expectations, as revenue grew along with huge investments in artificial intelligence.But Microsoft, whose earnings disappointed analysts, tumbled around 10 percent on concern for the return on investment for the software giant’s AI spending.”Companies are increasing AI infrastructure spending, but the market is differentiating now and rewarding those companies that can turn these investments into profits, while for others, there’s more scrutiny,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones.- Key figures at around 2110 GMT -Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.4 percent at $70.71 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 3.5 percent at $65.42 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 49,071.56 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,969.01 (close)New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,685.12 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,171.76 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,071.36 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 2.1 percent at 24,309.46 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 53,375.60 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 27,968.09 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 4,157.98 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1962 from $1.1954 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3800 from $1.3808Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.04 yen from 153.41 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.67 pence from 86.57 pence

Officials in the US state of Georgia on Thursday slammed the FBI’s search of a local election center at the heart of President Donald Trump’s unfounded allegations of election fraud in 2020, saying it amounted to intimidation.The FBI on Wednesday searched the main election facility in Fulton County, which includes the state capital Atlanta, seeking records related to the 2020 vote. Ballot boxes were seized.”As you all know by now, yesterday, shortly after noon, until around nine o’clock last night, the FBI made a surprise execution of a criminal search warrant at the Fulton County Elections hub,” County Chairman Rob Pitts told a press conference.”Fulton County has been targeted for years because I stood up to Donald Trump’s big lie, refused to bend to pressure,” Pitts said.”Every audit, every recount, every court ruling has confirmed what we the people of Fulton County already knew: our elections were fair and accurate, and every legal vote was counted,” the official added. “These ongoing efforts are about intimidation and distraction, not facts.”- 700 boxes -During the search, federal agents seized a total of 700 boxes, with officials unable to make copies, according to Sherry Allen, chairperson of Fulton County Elections Board.She said election officials themselves had been planning to provide the documents in the coming weeks as part of ongoing legal proceedings and thus saw no need for the raid.”I was allowed in to discuss with them and trying to negotiate a reasonable way to transfer documents and for us to maintain copies, but that wasn’t allowed,” she added.Both Allen and Pitts voiced concerns that the documents could expose personal information and leave election workers vulnerable to pressure.In 2020, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani accused two Fulton County election workers of rigging the vote, citing a video that showed them passing an object between them — later revealed to be a mint.Giuliani claimed the women, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, were exchanging a USB drive “as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine.”In December 2023, a court ordered him to pay $148 million in damages for defamation.Trump narrowly lost to Biden in Georgia in 2020 and he urged a state election official in a phone call before the tallies were finalized to help him “find 11,780 votes” he needed to win.Trump and 18 codefendants were charged with racketeering and other offenses in Georgia in 2023 over their alleged efforts to subvert the results of the vote in the southern state.A Georgia judge dismissed the election interference case in November 2025.Since taking office a year ago, Trump has taken several punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.Speaking in Davos last week, Trump said the 2020 vote was “a rigged election” and “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.”

Another blast of Arctic air was set to spread across much of the United States from Thursday night, even as local authorities struggled to dig out from mounds of snow and ice days after a giant storm passed. The National Weather Service said polar winds would surge down from the Northern Plains across the Midwest and through the Gulf Coast, with a significant storm set to bring more heavy snowfall to parts of the southeastern US by the weekend.Temperature lows could be broken, especially in Florida, the agency said, warning of statewide impacts on vulnerable populations as well as the crucial agriculture industry.Frigid temperatures in the largely subtropical state can “cold-stun” iguanas, causing them to fall off trees in what has been referred to as a “lizard blizzard.”The new cold front comes just days after a major winter storm, killing more than 100 people, according to tally of official figures and local media reports, as it blanketed a vast swath from New Mexico in the southwest to Maine in the northeast in snow, sleet and icy rain.In the southern United States, hundreds of thousands of customers remained without power Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, with Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana hardest hit. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said it had cleared more than 3,000 downed trees “because clearing trees is the gateway to recovery — protecting lives, restoring critical services, and helping power get back on.”Meanwhile millions were still digging out from hardened snow. In New York, excavators scooped piles of snow into steaming orange trailers known as “hot tubs,” which send the meltwater down into the city’s sewer system.New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was spotted traversing the city to shovel snow, earning praise but also criticism for not wearing a hat. In the capital Washington, authorities were dumping truckloads of ice and snow at the site of the demolished Robert F. Kennedy stadium. Washington residents have roundly criticized the official response, as numerous streets remained unplowed, snowbanks blocked road crossings and schools stayed shut for a full three days after the storm had passed.Some research suggests climate change could be playing a role in disruptions to the polar vortex — a vast region of cold, low-pressure air that normally circulates high above the Arctic.Scientists advancing this theory argue that uneven Arctic warming across Europe and Asia can amplify large atmospheric waves, making it more likely for the polar vortex to wobble and spill south over North America.

A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for the fatal shooting of a Black woman inside her home, a case that drew national attention and calls for police reform.Sean Grayson, 31, who is white, was found guilty in October of second-degree murder by a jury after two days of deliberations.Grayson was charged with first-degree murder, which carried a potential life sentence, and second-degree murder for the July 2024 shooting of Sonya Massey, 36, a mother of two.The jury opted to convict him only of the lesser charge and Judge Ryan Cadigan sentenced Grayson to the maximum 20 years in prison on Thursday at a hearing attended by members of the Massey family, including her children. Massey’s shooting drew attention to police violence against African-Americans and prompted then-US president Joe Biden to say she “should be alive today.”Massey, who had received treatment in the past for mental health issues, had called the 911 emergency line to report a possible intruder in her home. Two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after midnight.Police body camera footage showed Massey talking to the officers and searching through her purse after they asked her for identification.Grayson then asked her to check on a pot of boiling water on the stove, saying “we don’t need a fire while we’re here.”Holding the pot, Massey responded “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” — prompting the deputy to draw his weapon and say: “You better fucking not. I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you in your fucking face.”Apologizing, Massey crouched behind a counter as the officer screamed “drop the fucking pot” and fired three shots, killing Massey with a bullet to the face.Grayson took the stand during his one-week trial and testified that he had felt threatened by the pot of boiling water Massey was holding.The Sangamon County Board approved a $10 million settlement with Massey’s estate last year.The United States was rocked by protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minnesota.Floyd’s death revived scrutiny of race relations and sparked nationwide calls for police reform.

A contract with American Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has triggered a barrage of criticism of French IT services company Capgemini in the wake of killings and other incidents involving US border officials.The company was still scrambling Thursday to explain the deal for a tool to identify and track foreigners on US soil, which it says was signed by an arm’s-length subsidiary set up to bid on classified US government work, with limited oversight from HQ in France.Nevertheless, “according to the information made known to the group, that contract awarded in December 2025 is not currently being fulfilled”, Capgemini told AFP by email.An internal message sent to Capgemini staff Wednesday and seen by AFP said that the contract was “subject to legal challenge” without providing details, adding that the US arm had “launched a process of examining the contents of this contract”.The killings of two people — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — by ICE and border patrol (CBP) agents in Minneapolis have made world headlines in recent weeks, provoking widespread condemnation of the American agency.Capgemini, which operates in around 50 countries worldwide and belongs to the CAC40 group of France’s largest listed companies, has called an extraordinary board meeting for this weekend after being the subject of pointed questions in parliament and calls for transparency from the government.”I’ve been at Capgemini for 32 years and I’ve never seen a crisis situation like this one,” CFDT union delegate Frederic Bolore told AFP. “It’s a huge shock for employees”.Shares in the group fell 2.8 percent to 127.85 euros ($152.70), by close of trading in Paris Thursday, and are 10 percent lower than at the start of the year.- ‘Active accomplice’ -Campaign group Multinationals Observatory last week revealed the ICE contract, with further details reported by broadcaster France 2.Chief executive Aiman Ezzat wrote on LinkedIn Sunday that bosses “were recently made aware, through public sources” of the contract with Capgemini Government Solutions (CGS), the US subsidiary.At CGS, “decision making is separate, networks are firewalled, and the Capgemini group cannot access any classified information (or) classified contracts”, Ezzat added.Public US government documents show that the ICE-CGS contract signed on December 18 is worth $4.8 million.”I think the least we can expect of a French company… is to be transparent about the contracts it has with ICE, but perhaps also to call them into question,” Economy Minister Roland Lescure told journalists in Paris Thursday.Ezzat acknowledged in his LinkedIn message that “the nature and scope of this work has raised questions compared to what we typically do as a business and technology firm”.But CGT union representative Benjamin Girard said the ICE contract’s existence was not a “revelation” to him.”Capgemini works with government organisations playing a part in migration policies that are currently quite authoritarian,” he said.In a letter to CEO Ezzat, CGT representatives said that the ICE deal was “not only contrary to Capgemini’s stated values, but makes our company an active accomplice in serious human rights violations”.France 2 has reported that the company has other contracts in the US tied to surveillance of sites used for detention and transport of arrested foreigners.