The US central bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year in a move consistently sought by President Trump.

Rates were brought down by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75%-4%. Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range to guide lenders rather than a single percentage.

The Federal Reserve, known as the Fed, has opted for the cut despite the absence of economic announcements due to the government shutdown.

Latest employment figures were not published, as all non-essential functions of government are frozen over the inability of Republican and Democratic legislators to agree on a spending package.

The absence of these figures makes it trickier for the Fed to assess the state of the economy and meet its dual mandate to keep inflation steady and maintain maximum employment.

Data on price rises, however, showed inflation hit 3% in September, one percentage point above the Fed’s 2% target but lower than anticipated by economists.

The fact that concerns over spiralling inflation, fuelled by Mr Trump’s tariff-induced trade war, have not materialised, has facilitated the cut.

Interest rates had been held amid warnings from Fed chair Jerome Powell that the US economy would grow less and goods would become more expensive due to hiked taxes on imports and the associated disruption in supply.

Mr Powell and the Fed in general have, as a result, been the subject of Mr Trump’s ire. The president sparked a crisis over the Fed’s independence when he moved to remove rate-setter Lisa Cook from her post at the Federal Reserve on alleged mortgage fraud grounds, which she denied.

Before the first interest rate drop of his term, in September, Mr Trump had threatened to remove Mr Powell, calling him a “stupid person” and saying he “should be ashamed”. The animosity comes despite Mr Trump appointing Mr Powell during his first presidential term.

What next?

The prospect of an interest rate cut was one of the factors boosting US and European stock markets in the days running up to the vote, with major stock indexes reaching record highs. Further increases are likely to be seen due to the decision.

OpenAI has completed its transition to a for-profit company, after court battles and public criticism from one of its founders, Elon Musk.

The company’s for-profit arm will become a public benefit corporation – a company type that must consider both the mission and shareholder interests.

But the non-profit arm will retain control over it to make sure OpenAI sticks to its mission of developing artificial intelligence to the “benefit of all humanity”.

The restructuring will make it easier for OpenAI to profit from its AI, which the company says will help it to realise its goal of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).

AGI would mean AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can. It is often seen as the holy grail for AI companies.

In a call on Tuesday, OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman said “the most likely path” for the newly formed business is that it becomes publicly traded on the stock market, “given the capital needs that we’ll have and sort of the size of the company”.

The company also announced that Microsoft, a long-time backer of OpenAI, will now hold a roughly 27% stake in its new for-profit corporation, a slightly bigger share than OpenAI’s own nonprofit.

“We will be keeping a close eye on OpenAI to ensure ongoing adherence to its charitable mission and the protection of the safety of all Californians,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

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OpenAI said it completed its restructuring “after nearly a year of engaging in constructive dialogue” with the offices in both states.

“OpenAI has completed its recapitalization, simplifying its corporate structure,” said a blog post Tuesday from Bret Taylor, the chair of OpenAI’s board of directors.

“The nonprofit remains in control of the for-profit, and now has a direct path to major resources before AGI arrives.”

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When OpenAI initially suggested restructuring, Mr Musk asked a judge to block this from happening.

He launched a legal case against the company in 2024, accusing it of a breach of contract.

Mr Musk accused the ChatGPT developer of transforming into “a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company, Microsoft”, according to a court filing.

“It is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI [artificial general intelligence] to maximise profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity,” the court filing said.

A legal battle ensued and earlier this year, Mr Musk offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4bn (£78.7bn) – an offer that was quickly rejected by Mr Altman, who told Sky News: “The company is not for sale.”

After announcing the changes on Tuesday, Mr Altman said:

“California is my home, and I love it here, and when I talked to Attorney General Bonta two weeks ago I made clear that we were not going to do what those other companies do and threaten to leave if sued.

“We really wanted to figure this out and are really happy about where it all landed – and very much appreciate the work of the Attorney General.”

Fourteen people have died after the US launched its latest attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which it says were transporting illegal drugs to the country.

It brings the total number of dead from 13 airstrikes to 57, amid increasing tensions between the US and the governments of both Colombia and Venezuela.

A 30-second video posted on X by the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, showed four vessels exploding on Monday on what he said were the orders of US President Donald Trump.

Analysis: Is Trump going to attack Venezuela?

One of the boats appears to be piled high with packages.

Mr Hegseth, who is with Mr Trump on a tour of Asia, said US forces carried out “three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations (DTO) trafficking narcotics”.

They were identified as drug boats by US intelligence, he said, travelling on “known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics”.

A total of 14 “male narco-terrorists” onboard were killed, he said, “with one survivor”, who was rescued by Mexican authorities.

Narco-terrorists “have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them,” he added.

The condition and whereabouts of the survivor are not known.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on boats the US says have been carrying drugs in both the Pacific and Caribbean, and comes as Washington continues its military build-up in the latter, deploying guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.

The administration has ordered the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier and its supporting strike group to the region, and it is expected to reach the Caribbean in the coming weeks.

Mr Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organisation, which he denies.

Mr Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the US wants to drive him from power, while some in Venezuela believe the military build-up is aimed at destabilising his government and ultimately forcing regime change in Caracas.

Mr Trump has also authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

The Pentagon has provided little information about any of the strikes, including the quantity of drugs the boats allegedly carried and the identities of those killed.

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Democrats in Washington have asked whether the attacks comply with the laws of war, while legal experts have asked why the US Coast Guard, the main US maritime law enforcement agency, hasn’t been involved and why other efforts to stop the shipments have not been tried first.

Venezuela’s government says the strikes are illegal, amount to murder, and are acts of aggression.

In August, the Trump administration doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million (£38m).