News - Friday, February 27, 2026

When BrendaJean Adamson was an education assistant at Normal Park, she would gather her students, lead them outside for recess and tell them to reach high, grab two fistfuls of sunshine and tuck them into their pockets. The day might be bright, she’d say, but darker ones would surely follow, and they would need the warmth and light to carry them through.

On Feb. 28 at The Signal, the lights will dim and Chattanooga’s version of “Dancing with the Stars” will begin.

Local business leaders, public figures and community members will step into choreography they’ve rehearsed for weeks. There will be competition and celebration.

For years, Mindy Benton joked about busting a hole in the wall.

Next door to Mindy B’s Deli, businesses came and went in a steady rotation. Two florists, a nutrition shop and, most recently, a dress boutique. The space turned over so often that Benton half-seriously told anyone who’d listen, “Just let me bust a hole in the wall.”

February is Black History Month. In past tributes to Black History Month, we have written on significant historical figures in the federal judiciary or important court cases that contributed to our understanding of Black history. This year, we will take a different tack. We will highlight the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and its role in the civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s.

As we step into the new year, many people are watching for signs of momentum in the housing market and for clues about what comes next for buyers and sellers.

The latest report from the National Association of Realtors points to renewed activity nationally, helped by shifting mortgage rates and a slower pace of price growth.

Downtown Chattanooga continues to post strong performance across office, retail, hospitality and residential sectors, with more than $523 million in active construction projects, according to River City Company’s January 2026 Semi-Annual Economic Conditions Report.

Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union has promoted Ryan Henn to vice president of business and commercial services, succeeding Tommy Nix, who will retire in March after 11 years with the credit union.

In his new role, Henn will provide strategic leadership for TVFCU’s business and commercial services division, overseeing all business and commercial functions as well as the organization’s signature “Idea Leap” grants and loans program.

Chattanooga-area entrepreneurs will soon have a new resource to help grow and sustain their businesses.

The Better Business Bureau serving Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia is launching the BBB Breakthrough Small Business Accelerator, a 12-week program designed to help local business owners strengthen operations and meet the organization’s Standards of Trust. The program begins April 9.

Your 401(k) is one of the most powerful tools for securing your financial future. The question is: Are you using it to its full potential?

Here are some strategies to help you maximize its benefits:

Earn your employer’s match: It’s a good idea to contribute as much as you can afford to your 401(k) plan. (In 2026, you can put in up to $24,500, or $32,500 if you’re 50 or older. If your plan allows, there’s also a “super catch-up” contribution of $11,250 for people aged 60 to 63, for a total contribution limit of $35,750). At least put in enough to earn a matching contribution if one is offered. Otherwise, you’re shortchanging yourself. For example: Your employer matches 50% of your contribution up to $5,000. If put in $8,000, your employer’s 50% match is $4,000, and you’re leaving $1,000 “on the table.”

Girls Preparatory School has announced plans to construct a new athletic field house on its lower campus, with work scheduled to begin in late summer.

School leaders said the project is part of the school’s long-term master planning efforts and aligns with its plan to invest in programs, faculty and campus facilities.

Each year, the Edmunds Top Rated Awards are bestowed on the best new cars, trucks and SUVs on sale. To win, a vehicle must rank at the top of its class based on Edmunds’ rigorous, independent testing and evaluation process. That means each winner has been tested at the Edmunds test track and thoroughly evaluated over many miles of real-world use.

The New York Jets have agreed to trade pass rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the player-for-player swap of starting players cannot become official until the start of the NFL's new league year on March 11.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton's name might inspire full-throated sing-a-longs to her working woman's anthem "9 to 5," or evoke memories of thrilling days spent at her Dollywood theme park.

Now, the Grammy-winning country music superstar is lending her name to a new cause: advancing pediatric health care in her home state. The East Tennessee Children's Hospital announced Thursday that it will now be known as Dolly Parton Children's Hospital.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told U.S. House lawmakers in New York on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's or Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is moving to sever a small Swiss bank from access to the U.S. financial system for its alleged support for Iranian and Russian actors, as U.S. and Iranian officials hold indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran's nuclear negotiations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is building up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades, including two aircraft carrier strike groups, as President Donald Trump warns of possible military action against Iran if talks over its nuclear program fall apart.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA football oversight committee is recommending emergency legislation to protect the transfer portal window by issuing penalties for schools and coaches who circumvent the rules.

The committee on Wednesday proposed the legislation to penalize schools who add players who did not make public their interest in transferring during the January transfer portal window.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Thursday that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information "approximately 42,695 times" to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security as part of the agencies' controversial agreement to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a preservationist group's request to block the Trump administration from continuing construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that The National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its bid to temporarily halt President Donald Trump's project.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A Homeland Security agent testified in federal court on Thursday that the human smuggling case she initiated against Kilmar Abrego Garcia was strong even as his attorneys tried to persuade a judge to throw out the charges.

Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation has galvanized both sides of the immigration debate, claims that the criminal prosecution is vindictive, pushed by officials from President Donald Trump's administration to punish him after they were forced to bring him back to the United States.

NEW YORK (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic an ultimatum this week: Open its artificial intelligence technology for unrestricted military use by Friday, or risk losing its government contract.

Defense officials in the Trump administration also warned they could designate Anthropic, which makes the AI chatbot Claude, as a supply chain risk — or invoke a Cold War-era law called the Defense Production Act to give the military more sweeping authority to use its products, even if the company doesn't approve.

NEW YORK (AP) — A Columbia University student was arrested Thursday by federal immigration agents who claimed to be searching for a "missing person" in order to gain access to a campus apartment, according to her attorneys and the school's president.

NEW YORK (AP) — Delivery company FedEx said in a statement on Thursday that it will return any tariff refund it might get to shippers and customers who paid them.

The statement came after FedEx filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade to request a refund on what it paid for tariffs set by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA tariffs are illegal.

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. has agreed to pay $100 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that the retailer caused its delivery drivers to lose tens of millions of dollars' worth of earnings by deceiving them about their pay and tips they could make, the commission said in a statement on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. and Iran head into their next round of nuclear talks in Geneva, a new AP-NORC poll finds that many U.S. adults continue to view Iran's nuclear program as a threat — but they also don't have high trust in President Donald Trump's judgment on the use of military force abroad.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 35 points as No. 5 Vanderbilt beat No. 24 Alabama 85-60 Thursday night.

The Commodores closed out their regular-season home schedule with a 16-0 home record for the first time in program history.

After a low-scoring second quarter in which Vanderbilt (26-3, 12-3 SEC) had just eight points and turned over the ball seven times, the Commodores broke the game open in the second half by outscoring Alabama (21-8, 7-8) 31-16.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Mikaylah Williams had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and No. 6 LSU pulled away in the second half for a 89-73 victory over Tennessee on Thursday night.

Williams' also became the 17th player in LSU history to score 1,500 career points when she hit a jumper about midway through the third quarter.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Ryan O'Reilly scored with 3:16 remaining and the Nashville Predators scored three times in the third period in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night in the teams' first game following the Olympic break.

Filip Forsberg and Matthew Wood also scored for Nashville. Steven Stamkos scored his 29th of the season into an empty net in the final minute for the Predators, who had lost two in a row and five of their last seven games heading into the break. Justus Annunen stopped 21 of 23 shots.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee law that threatens local officials with felony charges and possible imprisonment if they vote for so-called "sanctuary policies" on immigration has been ruled unconstitutional after the state declined to defend it in court.

NEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked a judge on Thursday to toss out the indictment against his client on the grounds that the United States has unconstitutionally violated his rights to defend himself by blocking Venezuelan funds to pay his legal costs.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Compass will allow its property listings that have yet to hit the broader market to appear immediately on fellow real estate brokerage Redfin's portal, part of three-year agreement announced Thursday.

The move could potentially bring more than 500,000 additional listings across Redfin's website and app, New York-based Compass and Detroit-based Rocket Cos., a mortgage lender and parent of Redfin, said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender youths, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has filed a complaint to legally take ownership of a sanctioned tanker and nearly 2 million barrels of petroleum seized off the coast of Venezuela in December, another step by President Donald Trump's administration to assert power over the country's oil sector after capturing leader Nicolás Maduro.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton is testifying Friday before members of Congress investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, answering for his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two decades ago.

The closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York, will mark the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. It comes a day after Clinton's wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat with lawmakers for her own deposition.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Their family spent years opposing Venezuela's socialist system.

The government retaliated by sending men to beat the father, a state oil company worker whom it accused of being uncooperative. Other relatives were threatened.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices came in hotter than expected last month.

The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index, which measures inflation before it hits consumers, rose 0.5% from December and 2.9% from January 2025. Economists had forecast a 0.3% increase for the month and 1.6% year over year, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's minister for U.S. trade said Thursday the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement could be subject to annual review and that uncertainty could be the objective of the Trump administration.

Dominic LeBlanc told a business audience in Toronto that he will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer late next week in Washington ahead of the mandatory review of the USMCA in July.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in the financial technology company Block soared more than 20% in premarket trading Friday after its CEO announced it was laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000 plus employees, reconfiguring to capitalize on its use of artificial intelligence.

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanian investigators carried documents Thursday out of offices belonging to a Hong Kong-owned company that operated ports at either end of the Panama Canal until its concession was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of speculating, pontificating and spinning, the midterm election season begins in earnest Tuesday. The primary results in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas will provide some of the first concrete evidence for what voters want as President Donald Trump's second term approaches the halfway mark.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Election-year legislation to impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements on voting appears stalled in the Senate, for now, despite President Donald Trump's call in his State of the Union speech that Republicans in Congress pass the bill "before anything else."

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented President Donald Trump with a mock newspaper front page during a visit to the White House on Thursday to discuss massive new housing investments in the city.

It's a tactic designed to appeal to Trump, who is keenly aware of his media coverage and, aside from being an avid viewer of cable news, is known to voraciously consume coverage in the local New York City publications. The Republican president and Democratic mayor have maintained a cordial relationship since their first meeting last fall.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Mumbai on Friday for his first official visit to India, seeking to reset relations and deepen trade cooperation with New Delhi after ties deteriorated in recent years under his predecessor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians, according to new Gallup polling, after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis.

That shift accelerated during the war in Gaza. Three years ago, 54% of Americans sympathized more with the Israelis, compared to 31% for the Palestinians.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Quarterback Diego Pavia, runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting, said Friday he will throw passes at the NFL scouting combine.

The quarterbacks are scheduled to go through drills on Saturday. Heisman winner and expected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza of Indiana said he would wait until his pro day on April 1 to throw passes.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two transgender men are suing Kansas over a new law that invalidated their driver's licenses and about 1,700 others for reflecting people's gender identities and not their sex assigned at birth, arguing that the measure is "dehumanizing."

WASHINGTON (AP) — A public showdown between the Trump administration and Anthropic is hitting an impasse as military officials demand the artificial intelligence company bend its ethical policies by Friday or risk damaging its business.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei drew a sharp red line 24 hours before the deadline, declaring his company "cannot in good conscience accede" to the Pentagon's final demand to allow unrestricted use of its technology.

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. civil rights agency has determined that the federal government can bar transgender employees from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, dismissing an appeal from a transgender woman who worked for the U.S. Army.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender youths, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he "did nothing wrong" in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein's sexual abuse as he faced hours of grilling from lawmakers over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two decades ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. is in talks with Havana and raised the possibility of a "friendly takeover of Cuba" without offering any details on what he meant.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House as he left for a trip to Texas, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in discussions with Cuban leaders "at a very high level."

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — Gathered at a resort in suburban Virginia, House Democrats this week were acting like a party on the verge of reclaiming power as they drafted policy blueprints and spoke confidently about election victories in November.

"We're here at this issues conference to talk amongst each other and with outside stakeholders and experts about a bold, meaningful, transformational path forward," said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 34 points to lead No. 5 Vanderbilt to a 87-77 victory over Tennessee on Sunday.

Blakes scored eight points in a 12-2 run late in the third quarter for the Commodores (27-3, 13-3 Southeastern Conference). Aubrey Galvan added 24 points and Sacha Washington had 16 points and eight rebounds.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Lindsey Heaps had a goal and an assist, and Jaedyn Shaw also scored to propel the United States to a sixth straight shutout victory, 2-0 over Argentina in the SheBelieves Cup on Sunday.

The U.S. has outscored opponents 27-1 over its past seven games. Coach Emma Hayes' squad hasn't lost since falling 2-1 to Portugal in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 23.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Odyssey Sims won the Athletes Unlimited championship Sunday after finishing second in each of the last two seasons of the four-week event.

"I'm just happy," Sims said with the winner's medal around her neck along with a "GOAT" necklace. "Like, I finally did it. This means more to me than anything else right now."

WASHINGTON (AP) — With hundreds of millions of people turning to chatbots for advice, it was only a matter of time before tech companies began offering programs specifically designed to answer health questions.

In January, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, a new version of its chatbot that the company says can analyze users' medical records, wellness apps and wearable device data to answer health and medical questions. Currently, there's a waiting list for the program. Anthropic, a rival AI company, offers similar features for some users of its Claude chatbot.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — To receive Medicaid health coverage, some adults will soon have to show they are working, volunteering or taking classes. But to gather that proof, many states first will have to spend millions of dollars improving their computer systems.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply Monday as disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz raised uncertainty about how U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran would affect supply to the world economy.

U.S. oil traded 7.6% higher at $72.12 per barrel, while international standard Brent was up 8.6% at $79.11 per barrel. Natural gas futures in Europe jumped more than 40% after Qatar, a major supplier, halted production due to the conflict.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and allied armed groups fired missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets around the region on Monday, while Israel and the United States pounded Iran as the war expanded to several fronts. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes over its skies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke on Monday to widening concerns that the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran could spiral into a protracted regional conflict by declaring, "This is not Iraq. This is not endless," even as he warned that more American casualties are likely in the weeks ahead.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Congress is about to launch a war powers debate over President Donald Trump's authority to bomb Iran under largely unusual circumstances — he has already done it, and the country is essentially already at war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three American service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded during the U.S. attacks on Iran, the military announced Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a major offensive that President Donald Trump said could likely lead to more losses in the coming weeks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has taken the United States into war with Iran despite decades of self-professed aversion to foreign entanglements, particularly in the Middle East, and repeated pledges to focus primarily on the Western Hemisphere with an "America first" agenda.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S., three people familiar with the briefings said.

LONDON (AP) — Governments scrambled Monday to help travelers get home after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down flights through the Middle East.

Tourists and business travelers found themselves stuck unexpectedly in hotels, airports and on cruise ships, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Governments told stranded citizens to shelter in place.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, his Treasury secretary and his choice to lead the Federal Reserve believe they can coax the U.S. economy into partying like it's 1999.

They are putting their faith in artificial intelligence to duplicate what happened when another technology arrived in the 1990s: the internet. Back then, the American economy surged as businesses became more productive, unemployment tumbled and inflation remained in check.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's government renewed Australian miner Lynas Rare Earths' operating license for 10 years but will require it to stop producing radioactive waste by 2031.

The Lynas refinery in Malaysia, its first outside China producing minerals that are crucial for high-tech manufacturing, has been operating in central Pahang state since 2012. The company has been e mbroiled in a dispute over radiation from waste that has accumulated at the plant.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Canada on Monday agreed to strengthen their economic partnership, in a move aimed at boosting ties after two years of strained relationship.

Speaking after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries would soon finalize a "comprehensive economic partnership" which is expected to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court on Monday rejected the Trump administration's attempt to slow the process of refunding billions of dollars' worth of tariffs the Supreme Court struck down as illegal last month.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit started the next phase in the refund process by sending it to a lower court to sort out.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to three U.S. Army soldiers at the White House on Monday, celebrating heroes of old wars as he defended his launch of a new one.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson was recognized for actions during the Vietnam War that were credited with saving the lives of 85 other service members.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Videos of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answering questions about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released Monday by a House committee investigating the late financier.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday attributed a large red spot on President Donald Trump's neck to a skin cream he is using, without elaborating on what condition it is treating.

The redness drew widespread attention Monday, when news photographers captured close-up images of the president's neck during a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee freshman Nate Ament won't play Tuesday at South Carolina because of a leg injury that knocked him out of the 23rd-ranked Volunteers' loss to Alabama on Saturday.

Ament's right knee bent awkwardly after he became tangled in a scrum of players in the first half.

COOKEVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Tech has fired John Pelphrey after his seventh straight losing season ended with the Golden Eagles failing to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Pelphrey, 55, posted a 79-138 record that included a 13-18 mark this season. Tennessee Tech's season ended Saturday with an 89-73 loss to Southeast Missouri State.

NEW YORK (AP) — This year's Love Rocks NYC benefit is as star-studded as ever, with headliners Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige and Elvis Costello, and hosts that include Whoopi Goldberg and Julianne Moore.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student's approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group.

The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday sided with Republicans in ruling that the boundaries of the only GOP-held congressional district in New York City do not not need to be redrawn for the 2026 elections, despite a court ruling that the district is unfair to Black and Hispanic residents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed likely Monday to loosen a federal law that bars marijuana users from owning guns in a case that crossed typical political lines.

A majority of justices appeared to lean toward a narrow ruling in favor of a Texas man who argued he shouldn't have been charged with a crime just because he owned a gun and smoked marijuana a few times a week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed on Monday to temporarily suspend the latest version of a Trump administration policy that requires members of Congress to provide a week's notice before they can visit immigration detention facilities.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington ruled that a group of Democratic lawmakers is likely to succeed in showing that the seven-day notice requirement is illegal and exceeds the government's statutory authority.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified in the Senate on Tuesday in her first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration was executing its mass deportation agenda.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein labored for six months to question former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but once they finally had a chance to sit down with some of the highest-ranked officials to ever be deposed by Congress, the sessions veered off track with a leaked photo, talk of the pizzagate conspiracy theory and questions about disclosing government information on UFOs.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel stepped up airstrikes against Iranian missile launchers and factories Tuesday, and Iran retaliated across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel. As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel said it struck Hezbollah militants — the American embassy in Saudi Arabia came under drone attack.

BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of people, from Romanian religious pilgrims to tourists and diplomats' family members, are stranded across the Middle East as the Iran war spreads.

Major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region, and airspace across the Gulf is closed. Some of those who are stuck have been forced to seek shelter because of airstrikes, while others are marooned on cruise ships, which currently can't sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

LONDON (AP) — Keir Starmer has never had a bad word to say in public about Donald Trump. That is not being reciprocated now as the American president lambasts the British prime minister over his reluctance to join the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday pushed back against mounting criticism that he hasn't done enough to explain why it was necessary to start a war with Iran now or to articulate his vision for an endgame to the escalating conflict.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and its allies in Congress presented a shifting new justification Monday for the U.S. attack on Iran, with House Speaker Mike Johnson suggesting that the White House believed Israel was determined to act on its own, leaving the president with a "very difficult decision."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran add yet more question marks around a U.S. economy already buffeted by on-and-off tariffs, weak hiring, and lingering inflationary pressures.

The war has already raised oil prices and could lift prices at the pump as early as this week, but the ultimate impact on the economy and inflation will depend on the length and severity of the conflict, economists say. Should it wind down in a week or two, its economic effects would be minor and short-lived.

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Treasury chief Rachel Reeves sought Tuesday to paint a rosy picture of the state of the U.K. economy even as oil and gas prices soared and shares tanked in the wake of the fast-evolving Iran war that has cast a pall over the global economic outlook.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target reported another quarter of declining sales and profits as it struggles to regain its footing with customers who are facing higher prices almost everywhere.

But the Minneapolis company on Tuesday offered a solid annual profit outlook that was better than Wall Street had been projecting. It also said it believes net sales will grow every quarter this year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Democrats demoralized at being shut out of power in Washington, the past several months have offered reason for optimism.

A party often beset by ideological division has largely been unified in opposition to President Donald Trump's hardline immigration tactics, particularly after two U.S. citizens were killed in Minneapolis. Heading into a midterm election year in which they are just a few seats shy of reclaiming the U.S. House majority, Democrats have also kept the White House on defense with criticism of Trump's economic policies and ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he'll attend this year's White House Correspondent Association dinner on April 25, marking the first time he's done so as commander-in-chief.

"The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year's Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge," Trump posted on his social media site on Monday evening.

The Associated Press national player of the week in women's basketball for Week 17 of the season:

Mikayla Blakes, Iowa

The sophomore guard led No. 5 Vanderbilt to wins over Alabama and Tennessee last week, averaging 34.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists. She is the first SEC player in the past 26 years to have scored 30 or more points in a dozen games. She had 34 points against Tennessee and 35 against Alabama.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Dawn Staley's third-ranked Gamecocks have been nearly unbeatable in Southeastern Conference Tournament games played in Greenville, South Carolina.

South Carolina has won six of seven SEC Tournaments — including five straight — played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which is about a 90-minute drive from the school's campus in Columbia.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Mitch Barnhart, the longest-serving athletic director in the Southeastern Conference, will retire in June and take on a new role with Kentucky, university President Eli Capilouto announced on Tuesday.

"Mitch Barnhart has led University of Kentucky athletics for nearly a quarter-century," Capilouto said in a statement released by the university. Capilouto said he had "a profound mix of emotions" to announce Barnhart's retirement.

NEW YORK (AP) — A high-stakes antitrust trial that could lead to the possible breakup of Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, got underway Tuesday in a case over whether the entertainment giant's dominance of the concert industry amounts to an illegal monopoly.

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man who gave his teenage son the gun he's accused of using to kill two students and two teachers at a high school was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.

Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray now joins a growing number of parents being held responsible in court after their children were accused in shootings.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's administration's efforts to halt New York's first-in-the-nation congestion fee meant to reduce traffic and pump revenue into the region's aging transit system.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman on Tuesday ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation lacked the authority to unilaterally rescind approval of the $9 toll, which former Democratic President Joe Biden initially green-lit.

NEW YORK (AP) — The average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 11 cents overnight in the U.S., and some drivers in Europe waited in line to fill their tanks with fuel, as war engulfed the Middle East and shipments of oil and gas were stranded in the Persian Gulf.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended her department's immigration enforcement tactics in front of a Senate committee on Tuesday and pushed back against criticism from Democrats who say she wrongly disparaged two protesters killed by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to end trade with Spain, citing a lack of support over the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and the European nation's resistance to increase its NATO spending.

"We're going to cut off all trade with Spain," Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "We don't want anything to do with Spain."

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target is investing another $2 billion in its business this year to spruce up its store experience, remodel stores and invest in its workers as it tries to turn around a persistent sales malaise and reclaim its authority on style.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into allegations that Rep. Nancy Mace overcharged a congressional program intended to help defray housing costs for lawmakers who have residences in Washington.

Mace, a South Carolina Republican now in her third House term, denies the allegations, decrying a "partisan" process and saying officials had "ignored" her rebuttal evidence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after abandoning its efforts to enforce executive orders that targeted some of the world's most elite law firms, President Donald Trump's administration abruptly reversed course on Tuesday and said it would proceed with the court fight.