US Mint moves forward with plans to kill the penny
An immediate annual savings of $US56 million ($A87 million) in reduced material costs is expected by stopping penny production, according to the official who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the news.
In February, US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered his administration to cease production of the one cent coin.
Trump posted on his Truth Social site then: "For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!"
He said he had instructed his Treasury secretary to stop their production.
The secretary has the authority to mint and issue coins "in amounts the secretary decides are necessary to meet the needs of the United States".
Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost - almost four cents per penny now, according to the US Mint - and limited utility.
Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel, which costs almost 14 cents to mint.
Pennies are the most popular coin made by the US Mint, which reported making 3.2 billion of them last year - more than half of all the new coins it made last year.
Congress, which dictates currency specifications such as the size and metal content of coins, could make Trump's order permanent through law.
But past congressional efforts to ditch the penny have failed.
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It also may simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield. Putin said Russia and the US should "turn the page and go back to co-operation". He praised Trump as someone who "has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests". "I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the US," Putin said. Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Trump ended his remarks by thanking Putin and saying, "we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon". When Putin smiled and offered, "next time in Moscow", Trump said "that's an interesting one" and said he might face criticism but "I could see it possibly happening". When Trump and Putin arrived in Alaska, they greeted each other with a warm handshake, chatting almost like old friends, and gripped hands for an extended period on a red carpet rolled out at the military base. As they chatted, Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the US presidential limo for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as they rolled past the cameras. It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Putin started in Ukraine. Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness likely raised concerns from Zelenskiy and European leaders, who fear Trump is primarily focusing on furthering US interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine's. Donald Trump has failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin to end Russia's war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it. "There's no deal until there's a deal," the US president said, after Putin claimed they had hammered out an "understanding" on Ukraine and warned Europe not to "torpedo the nascent progress". Trump said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders to brief them on the talks. Trump, who for years has baulked at American support for Ukraine and expressed admiration for Putin, had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war on his first day back in the White House. Seven months later, after berating Zelenskiy in the Oval Office and staunching the flow of some US military assistance to Kyiv, Trump could not bring Putin even to pause the fighting, as his forces make gains on the battlefield. The US president had offered Putin both a carrot and a stick, issuing threats of punishing economic sanctions on Russia while also extending a warm welcome at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, but he appeared to walk away without any concrete progress on ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Instead, he handed Putin long-sought recognition on the international stage, after years of Western efforts to make him a pariah over the war and his crackdown on dissent, and forestalled the threat of additional US sanctions. In a sign that the conversations did not yield Trump's preferred result, the two leaders ended what was supposed to be a joint news conference without taking questions from reporters. During a subsequent interview with Fox News before leaving Alaska, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be somehow on Zelenskiy "to get it done", but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. That was notable since Zelenskiy was excluded from Trump and Putin's meeting. The US president had wanted to show off his deal-making skills, while Putin wanted to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit. "We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to," Trump said while standing next to Putin. "And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there." He continued: "We didn't get there." Putin says Trump 'shows understanding' that Russia has its own interests. For Putin, just being on US soil for the first time in more than a decade was validation after being ostracised following his invasion of Ukraine. His meeting with Trump may stall economic sanctions the US presiden promised unless Moscow worked harder to bring the fighting to a close. It also may simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield. Putin said Russia and the US should "turn the page and go back to co-operation". He praised Trump as someone who "has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests". "I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the US," Putin said. Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Trump ended his remarks by thanking Putin and saying, "we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon". When Putin smiled and offered, "next time in Moscow", Trump said "that's an interesting one" and said he might face criticism but "I could see it possibly happening". When Trump and Putin arrived in Alaska, they greeted each other with a warm handshake, chatting almost like old friends, and gripped hands for an extended period on a red carpet rolled out at the military base. As they chatted, Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the US presidential limo for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as they rolled past the cameras. It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Putin started in Ukraine. Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness likely raised concerns from Zelenskiy and European leaders, who fear Trump is primarily focusing on furthering US interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine's. Donald Trump has failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin to end Russia's war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it. "There's no deal until there's a deal," the US president said, after Putin claimed they had hammered out an "understanding" on Ukraine and warned Europe not to "torpedo the nascent progress". Trump said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders to brief them on the talks. Trump, who for years has baulked at American support for Ukraine and expressed admiration for Putin, had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war on his first day back in the White House. Seven months later, after berating Zelenskiy in the Oval Office and staunching the flow of some US military assistance to Kyiv, Trump could not bring Putin even to pause the fighting, as his forces make gains on the battlefield. The US president had offered Putin both a carrot and a stick, issuing threats of punishing economic sanctions on Russia while also extending a warm welcome at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, but he appeared to walk away without any concrete progress on ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Instead, he handed Putin long-sought recognition on the international stage, after years of Western efforts to make him a pariah over the war and his crackdown on dissent, and forestalled the threat of additional US sanctions. In a sign that the conversations did not yield Trump's preferred result, the two leaders ended what was supposed to be a joint news conference without taking questions from reporters. During a subsequent interview with Fox News before leaving Alaska, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be somehow on Zelenskiy "to get it done", but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. That was notable since Zelenskiy was excluded from Trump and Putin's meeting. The US president had wanted to show off his deal-making skills, while Putin wanted to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit. "We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to," Trump said while standing next to Putin. "And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there." He continued: "We didn't get there." Putin says Trump 'shows understanding' that Russia has its own interests. For Putin, just being on US soil for the first time in more than a decade was validation after being ostracised following his invasion of Ukraine. His meeting with Trump may stall economic sanctions the US presiden promised unless Moscow worked harder to bring the fighting to a close. It also may simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield. Putin said Russia and the US should "turn the page and go back to co-operation". He praised Trump as someone who "has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests". "I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the US," Putin said. Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Trump ended his remarks by thanking Putin and saying, "we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon". When Putin smiled and offered, "next time in Moscow", Trump said "that's an interesting one" and said he might face criticism but "I could see it possibly happening". When Trump and Putin arrived in Alaska, they greeted each other with a warm handshake, chatting almost like old friends, and gripped hands for an extended period on a red carpet rolled out at the military base. As they chatted, Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the US presidential limo for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as they rolled past the cameras. It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Putin started in Ukraine. Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness likely raised concerns from Zelenskiy and European leaders, who fear Trump is primarily focusing on furthering US interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine's.
