There is a petition being circulated to make R Kelly's song "Ignition" the U.S.'s new national anthem. The petition has been filed on the White House's website and contains over 2,000 signatures. The White House will not respond, however, to the request to drop the "Star Spangled Banner" unless the petition earns 100,000 signatures by April 2.
"We, the undersigned, would like the Obama administration to recognize the need for a new national anthem," says the form. "One that even a decade after its creation, is still hot and fresh out of the kitchen.
"America has changed since Francis Scott Key penned our current anthem in 1814," the petition continues. "President Obama: we ask you to recognize the evolution of this beautiful country and give us an anthem that better suits the glorious nation we have become."
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May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.