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Episode Date: April 29, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattockley. The Federal Reserve is expected to leave U.S. interest rates unchanged when it wraps up its latest policy meeting today in Washington. NPR's Scott Horsleap says this will likely be the final rate-setting meeting for Fed Chair, Jerome Powell. Powell's term as Fed Chair is said to expire in mid-May, and it now looks as if President Trump's picture replaced Powell will win Senate confirmation in time to take over before the next rate. setting meeting in June. The Senate Banking Committee is set to vote this morning on Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next Fed chair. North Carolina Republican Tom Tillis dropped his opposition to that vote after the Justice Department agreed to end its criminal investigation of the Fed, which was widely seen as part of a White House pressure campaign. President Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed to lower interest rates. Many Fed policymakers are reluctant to do so, however, so long as inflation remains elevated, and the war with Iran is putting more upward pressure on prices.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla are scheduled to travel to New York City today as part of their ongoing state visit to the U.S. Their day will include a stop at the September 11th Memorial ahead of the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks. Yesterday, the king became only the second monarch to address Congress. His mother, Queen Elizabeth, did so back in 1991. Here's NPR's Lauren Freyer.

King Charles emphasized interfaith values, diversity, and checks on executive power. He called for more support for Ukraine and said the only time NATO's collective defense was triggered was for America after 9-11. And he called for collective strength. To support victims of some of the ills that so tragically exist in both our societies today. A royal aide tells NPR the king intended that line to be about Jeffrey Epstein's victims. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not allowed to speak publicly.

A member of Congress. asked Charles to meet some of those victims, but no such meeting is on his schedule. The King's own brother settled a lawsuit with one of the late sex offenders' victims, denies wrongdoing, but is still under police investigation. Lauren Freyer and Pierre News, London. Former FBI director James Comey is maintaining his innocence after being indicted on charges of threatening President Trump. The two counts stem from an image of seashells on a beach. Comey posted last year on his Instagram account, depicting the number of.

numbers 86-47. The number 86 is slang to mean dismiss or remove, while 47 is seen by some as a reference to Trump being the nation's 47th president. AAA says the cost of regular gasoline in the U.S. rose another five cents a gallon overnight after the United Arab Emirates announced it was leaving OPEC and OPEC Plus. It now averages $4.23 a gallon. This is NPR News from Washington. officials from dozens of countries are meeting in Colombia for an international conference examining efforts by governments to move away from the use of fossil fuels. NPR's Julius Simon reports. For 30 years, countries have come together for United Nations climate conferences,

but fossil fuel producers such as Saudi Arabia have historically held up conversations about transitioning away from oil, gas, and coal. Burning fossil fuels is the single biggest driver of climate change. This conference is explicitly dedicated to figuring out how to make the transition to technologies like renewable energy and batteries happen. The energy crisis brought on by the war in Iran gives even more motivation. Some participants tell NPR. The 55 countries here include oil and gas producers like Canada, Australia, and Nigeria. The world's largest oil and gas producer, the U.S. is not here.

Julia Simon, NPR News, Santa Marta, Colombia. At least two injuries are reported. in Texas after a severe storm, flattened buildings, and tore roofs off of others. Homes and businesses were damaged in mineral wells yesterday, about 45 miles west of Fort Worth. A new poll from Gallup finds more Americans say buying a home is increasingly out of reach. The share of non-homeowners who plan to purchase a house in the next five years has fallen to 25 percent. That's down from nearly 50 percent a decade ago. Gallup says it's the lowest number since it started tracking it. in 2013. Median home prices in the U.S. have risen to more than $400,000. I'm Dave Mattingly,

NPR News in Washington.