AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EST

The search at Fulton County’s main election facility in Union City sought records related to the 2020 election, county spokesperson Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez said. It appeared to be the most public step by law enforcement to pursue Trump’s claims of a stolen election, grievances rejected time and again by courts and state and federal officials, who found no evidence of fraud that would have altered the outcome.

It also unfolds against the backdrop of FBI and Justice Department efforts to investigate perceived political enemies of Trump, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump has for years focused on Fulton, Georgia’s most populous county and a Democratic stronghold, as a key example of what he claims went wrong in the 2020 election. His pressure campaign there culminated in a sweeping state indictment accusing him and 18 others of illegally trying to overturn the vote.

An FBI spokesperson said agents were “executing a court authorized law enforcement action” at the county’s main election office in Union City, just south of Atlanta. The spokesperson declined to provide any further information, citing an ongoing matter.

Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged even as Trump continues to insist they be lowered

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve pushed the pause button on its interest rate cuts Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6% after lowering it three times last year.

Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference after the central bank announced its decision that the economy's outlook “has clearly improved since the last meeting” in December, a development that he noted should boost hiring over time. The Fed also said in a statement that there were signs the job market is stabilizing.

With the economy growing at a healthy pace and the unemployment rate appearing to level off, Fed officials likely see little reason to rush any further rate cuts. While most policymakers do expect to reduce borrowing costs further this year, many want to see evidence that stubbornly-elevated inflation is moving closer to the central bank’s target of 2%. According to the Fed’s preferred measure, inflation was 2.8% in November, slightly higher than a year ago.

Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, said that Powell kept the door open for further rate cuts this year, “when they get enough evidence inflation is decelerating.” Powell suggested in his remarks that the impact of tariffs, which have pushed up the cost of many goods such as furniture, appliances and toys, will peak in the middle of this year and inflation will fall after that.

In a sign of the unprecedented situation in which the Fed finds itself in Trump’s second term, Powell was asked to address a number of issues not directly tied to monetary policy but that could very well decide how the Fed implements its policy going forward.

Rubio defends Trump on Venezuela while trying to allay fears about Greenland and NATO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a full-throated defense Wednesday of President Donald Trump's military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, while explaining to U.S. lawmakers the administration’s approach to Greenland, NATO, Iran and China.

As Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered starkly different readings of the administration's foreign policy, Rubio addressed Trump's intentions and his often bellicose rhetoric that has alarmed U.S. allies in Europe and elsewhere, including demands to take over Greenland.

In the first public hearing since the Jan. 3 raid to depose Maduro, Rubio said Trump had acted to take out a major U.S. national security threat in the Western Hemisphere. Trump's top diplomat said America was safer and more secure as a result and that the administration would work with interim authorities to stabilize the South American country.

“We’re not going to have this thing turn around overnight, but I think we’re making good and decent progress,” Rubio said. “We are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago, and I think and hope and expect that we’ll be better off in three months and six months and nine months than we would have been had Maduro still been there."

The former Florida senator said Venezuela's current leaders are cooperating and would soon begin to see benefits. But he backed away from remarks prepared for the hearing that Washington would not hesitate to take further military action should those leaders not fully accept Trump's demands.

Trump signals interest in easing tensions, but Minneapolis sees little change on the streets

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.

The strain was evident when Trump made a leadership change by sending his top border adviser to Minnesota to take charge of the immigration crackdown. That was followed by seemingly conciliatory remarks about the Democratic governor and mayor.

Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz, whom he criticized for weeks, were on “a similar wavelength” following a phone call. After a conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, the president praised the discussion and declared that “lots of progress is being made.”

But on city streets, there were few signs of a shift. Immigration enforcement operations and confrontations with activists continued Wednesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

A group of protesters blew whistles and pointed out federal officers in a vehicle on a north Minneapolis street. When the officers’ vehicle moved, a small convoy of activists followed in their cars for a few blocks until the officers stopped again.

Man arrested in the attack on Ilhan Omar has a criminal history and made pro-Trump posts

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man accused of squirting an unknown substance on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall in Minneapolis has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of President Donald Trump.

Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989, has been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence and has had numerous traffic citations, Minnesota court records show. There are also indications he has had significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings.

Police say Kazmierczak used a syringe to squirt liquid on Omar during Tuesday's event after she called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Officers immediately tackled and arrested Kazmierczak, who was jailed on a preliminary third-degree assault charge, police spokesperson Trevor Folke said.

Photos of the syringe, which fell when the man was tackled, show what appears to be a light-brown liquid inside. Authorities haven’t publicly identified the substance.

After the attack, there was a strong, vinegarlike smell in the room, according to an Associated Press journalist who was there. Forensic scientists were called in, but none of the roughly 100 people who were there had a noticeable physical reaction to the substance.

Mississippi sending 135 snowplows to help clear ice and snow from traffic-clogged highways

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi officials sent National Guard troops, tow trucks and 135 snowplows Wednesday to clear snow and ice from two interstate highways where massive traffic jams began piling up a day earlier on the frozen, slippery roadways.

No injuries were reported, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said. One traveler told The Associated Press she feared she might freeze to death on Interstate 22, where her car sat idle for 14 hours before she followed a pickup truck to get around the pileup and reach a gas station.

“I just thought that we were going to die there,” said Samantha Lewis, 78, who got stuck in Mississippi during a road trip with a friend. “There was nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to save us.”

The highway shutdowns in northern Mississippi upped the misery and anxiety in a Southern state still reeling from officials say is its worst winter storm in more than 30 years.

“Ice and snow is everywhere. Lots of downed trees. This storm was worse than 1994’s historic storm,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a social media post Wednesday as he visited hard-hit areas.

Partial federal shutdown seems increasingly likely as Democrats demand major changes to ICE

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a partial government shutdown looms at week’s end, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has laid out a list of demands for the Department of Homeland Security, including an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that they identify themselves to the public.

Republicans will need Democratic votes to keep the government open when funding runs at midnight Friday. But Democrats have pledged to block a spending bill for the department, hoping to pressure the GOP and President Donald Trump for major change at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies as the country reels from the deaths of two people at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.

Democratic senators met on Wednesday before a crucial Thursday vote on whether to move forward with the spending legislation that funds DHS and a swath of other government agencies. Schumer said Democrats are asking the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities, coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, spell out an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules, and require that agents have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in law enforcement.

The Democratic caucus is united in those “commonsense reforms” and that the burden is on Republicans to accept them, the New York senator said.

“This is not law and order,” Schumer said, referring to the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement surge across the country. "This is chaos.”

A father awaits Rafah crossing reopening after 2-year separation from family in Gaza

BADRASHIN, Egypt (AP) — Stranded in Egypt for the past two years, Raed Belal has had to watch helplessly as his wife and children in the Gaza Strip endured bombardment, displacement and hunger. Now he finally has hope he might return to them.

With Israel preparing to reopen the vital Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, Belal, 51, has packed his suitcases, bought gifts for his children, and is ready to go as soon as he is allowed.

“It’s the moment I have been waiting for,” he said, speaking at the rented apartment where he has been living in the Egyptian village of Badrashin. “The moment when I reunite with my children, when I return to my home and homeland, even if everything is destroyed.”

Belal, who left Gaza to get treated for back pain three months before the war broke out, is one of tens of thousands of Palestinians eager to return to the territory, despite the vast destruction wreaked by Israel’s military campaign against Hamas. The Rafah border crossing is expected to reopen within days, a process jump-started by Israel's recovery on Monday of the last hostage's remains in Gaza, where a ceasefire with Hamas has held for four months.

Gaza has been closed to entry for Palestinians since Israel launched its retaliatory campaign against Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. In the first months of the war, some 110,000 Palestinians were able to leave Gaza. The Rafah crossing was completely closed in May 2024 when Israeli troops took it over.

US stocks hold near their all-time high while the dollar’s value stabilizes

NEW YORK (AP) — Few ripples washed through Wall Street Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to hold its main interest rate steady, just like investors expected.

The U.S. stock and bond markets each remained at a virtual standstill, while the U.S. dollar stabilized following its sharp recent slide. Some of the strongest action remained in the gold market, where the metal’s price jumped to another record.

The S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and inched down by less than 0.1% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

Seagate Technology jumped 19.1% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the seller of hard drives and other data-storage products reported a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Dave Mosley cited demand driven by artificial-intelligence applications, among other things.

Nvidia, the stock that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, climbed 1.6% and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500. It also benefited from an encouraging report from ASML, whose machinery helps make chips.

Four big questions ahead of the 2026 Grammy Awards show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 68th annual Grammy Awards are Sunday, airing live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on CBS and Paramount+. What can viewers expect?

According to the Recording Academy: some new, some old and a lot of excitement. Executive producers Raj Kapoor, Ben Winston and Jesse Collins are returning for a different show from last year, when the event was completely transformed to help those affected by the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires.

Here are four big questions — and answers — ahead of the event.

A lot! A best album cover category is back for the first time in 53 years. Best country album has been renamed to best contemporary country album and a best traditional country album category has been added.

“In this case, we got a proposal that wanted an additional country category. It made its way through the proposal process — again, voted on by members, evaluated by members, submitted by members but ultimately voted on my members — and we deploy what the members ask for,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason jr. tells The Associated Press.