**自由派参议员桑德斯进入2016年总统竞选**
来自东北部佛蒙特州的美国联邦参议员伯尼·桑德斯宣布竞争2016年民主党总统候选人提名。
桑德斯在接受美联社和今日美国电视节目采访时透露了他的计划。他星期四举行记者会，进一步介绍他的计划。
73岁的桑德斯自称是社会主义者，是不正式加入民主共和两大政党的独立人士。不过，他2006年当选参议员以来，一直参加参议院民主党党团的活动。 桑德斯在一些问题的立场使他成为新兴民主党左翼的最爱。这些问题包括缩小收入差距，加强社会保障，对华尔街实行更严格的管理，以及反对自由贸易协定，其中 包括奥巴马总统正在谈判的跨太平洋伙伴关系。
此前民主党内只有前国务卿希拉里·克林顿宣布竞选民主党总统候选人提名。有人认为桑德斯不是克林顿的对手，但他的竞选可能会迫使克林顿靠近桑德斯的观点。
Liberal US Senator Enters 2016 Presidential Race
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of the northeastern state of Vermont says he will seek the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
Sanders revealed his plans in interviews with the Associated Press and USA Today. He will hold a press conference Thursday to further outline his plans.
The 73-year-old self-described socialist is a registered independent, but has been part of the Senate Democratic caucus since he was first elected in 2006. Along with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Sanders has become a favorite in the Democratic Party's emerging left wing for his stands on such issues as alleviating income inequality, strengthening Social Security, imposing tougher regulations on Wall Street and opposition to free trade deals, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership currently being negotiated by President Barack Obama.
Sanders is considered a longshot against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the only other declared candidate for the 2016 Democratic nomination, but his entry into the race could force Clinton to adopt views similar to those of Sanders.
**经济增速减慢美联储保持低利率不变**
美国联邦储备委员会表示，由于冬季气候异常寒冷以及出口放缓，美国经济的增长速度在过去几个月里减慢。
美联储在政策声明中说，美联储高级官员们投票决定，关键利率保持现有水平不变。自从2008年财政危机以来，美国利率一直保持在从未有过的低水平。
美联储官员在声明中写道，保持低利率有助于经济恢复“温和”增长。一旦就业市场进一步改善，通胀率稍有攀升，美联储将会提高利率。
在经济衰退期间，美联储把利率削减到几乎为零，以期促进经济的复苏。当历史性低利率未能刺激经济增长后，美联储实施了美国经济从未使用过的手段，那就是，数次实施巨额债券购买计划，迫使利率降低。
财政危机8年后的今天，美国的失业率从衰退高峰期2009年的10%下跌到5.5%，股票市场收回损失，并达到历史新高。
美联储专家认为，通胀率保持在2%以下对经济有利。
Fed Holds Interest Rate Steady as Economic Growth Slows
The U.S. central bank says economic growth slowed over the past few months as unusually bad winter weather and slack exports took a toll.
In a policy statement, the Fed said that top Federal Reserve officials have voted to keep the key interest rate steady at the record low level where it has been since the financial crisis in 2008.
Fed officials wrote that keeping the interest rate low will help the economy resume "moderate" growth. They said officials will watch for further improvements in the job market and slightly higher inflation before they raise rates.
During the recession, the Fed cut interest rates nearly to zero in hopes of bolstering recovery. When record low interest rates failed to spark economic growth, the Fed developed tools that had never been used before in the U.S. economy by implementing several massive bond-buying programs to push rates down.
Eight years after the financial crisis, unemployment has fallen from a recession high of 10 percent in 2009 to 5.5 percent now. The stock market recovered its losses and has been hitting new record highs.
Inflation remains below the 2 percent rate that Fed experts say would be healthy for the economy.