USA OUTLOOK JANUARY 08 TO 12, 2024

USA OUTLOOK WEEKLY NEWSLETTER JANUARY 08 TO 12 10001111NOVEMB22222E R 00

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JANUARY 08, 2024

JANUARY 09, 2024

NASA delays astronaut moon landing to 2026 amid spacecraft 'challenges' NASA on Tuesday added more delays to its Artemis moon program, scheduling for 2026 its first astronaut lunar landing in half a century while spacecraft from Elon Musk's SpaceX, Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) and other contractors face development challenges.

Top US Congress Democrat, Republican reach spending deal, starting race to pass it The top Democrat and Republican in the U.S. Congress on Sunday agreed on a $1.59 trillion spending deal, setting up a race for bitterly divided lawmakers to pass the bills that would appropriate the money before the government begins to shut down this month.

The U.S. space agency's first two Artemis missions involving astronauts were each pushed back nearly a year in delays designed "to give the Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges," NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters in a news conference.

Artemis 3, the first crewed moon landing under the program using SpaceX's Starship, is now scheduled for September 2026, previously planned for late 2025, NASA said.

Since early last year, House of Representatives and Senate appropriations committees had been unable to agree on the 12 annual bills needed to fund the government for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 because of disagreements over the total amount of money to be spent.

When lawmakers return on Monday from a holiday break, those panels will launch intensive negotiations over how much various agencies, from the Agriculture and Transportation departments to Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, get to spend in the fiscal year that runs through Sept. 30.

Photo REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLicensing Rights Souce: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congressional-leaders-announce-top-linespending-deal-sunday-media-2024-01-07/

Souce: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/nasa-delays-astronaut-moonlanding-2026-amid-spacecraft-challenges-2024-01-09/

JANUARY 10, 2024

JANUARY 11, 2024

Millions of US women, children risk hunger without more aid funding, White House says

The U.S. Congress must raise spending on a food assistance program for low-income women and children or 2 million could be turned away this year, Biden administration officials said on Thursday.

A bitterly divided Congress has for months failed to reach agreement on 2024 government spending levels and is racing to avert a partial shutdown on Jan. 19.

Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

US FBI, SEC join probe of fake social media post from regulator

An eventual deal should include $1 billion more for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden on a call with reporters.

U.S. authorities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation are probing a fake post made on the Securities and Exchange Commission's account on X, an SEC spokesperson said on Wednesday after the incident roiled the already volatile bitcoin market.

The fake post on Tuesday said the SEC had approved trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sending industry executives scrambling. Bitcoin prices have whipsawed in recent days as expectations mounted the agency was poised to allow trading of the products.

The SEC quickly disavowed and deleted the post and X, formerly Twitter, later said the account was compromised because of an "unidentified individual" obtaining control of a phone number.

The SEC is coordinating with law enforcement entities including the FBI and the SEC's inspector general on an investigation into a fake post on its X social media account on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the agency said in an emailed statement.

Souce:

Photo REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights Souce: - https://www.reuters.com/world/us/millions-us-women-children-riskhunger-without-more-aid-funding-white-house-says-2024-01-11/

https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/us-sec-fbi-join-probe-intowatchdogs-fake-x-social-media-post-2024-01-10/ RightsAcquire Licensing Rights

JANUARY 12, 2024

Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

U.S. airlines cancel over 1,200 flights due to massive winter storm

Airlines in the United States canceled more than 1,200 flights on Friday after a massive winter storm knocked out power and affected businesses in 12 states, with forecast of a brutal freeze over the weekend.

A total of 1,243 flights were cancelled and 514 flights were delayed as of 7.14 a.m. ET, according to flighttracking website FlightAware.

"We expect some operational challenges due to the weather in the Midwest today and potentially tomorrow due to the winter weather in the region," Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) said.

The Federal Aviation Administration had on Thursday on Thursday warned that clouds, snow and windforce could delay flights at certain airports.

Souce: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-airlines-cancel-over-1200-flights-duemassive-winterstorm-2024-01-12/