News - Friday, February 6, 2026

Andy Witkowski has a question for pet owners – one that can break your heart even as he asks it.

He first invites you to imagine stepping outside with your dog for a routine walk. The sun is out, the air is fresh and your pet is happily working off some pent-up energy.

On Market Street, Smith + Howard’s Chattanooga office occupies a workspace that feels built for scale. From here, the independent CPA firm serves closely held businesses, nonprofit organizations and growing companies whose needs stretch beyond tax returns into advisory, transactions and strategy.

Chattanooga Airport recorded a new all-time passenger high in 2025, serving 632,384 travelers, a 14% increase over 2024, airport officials report.

The milestone continues a period of rapid growth since April Cameron became president and CEO in 2023. Passenger traffic has increased more than 41% over the past three years and nearly 68% over five years, placing Chattanooga among the fastest-growing small hub airports in the country.

A major new work is being added to the permanent collection at Sculpture Fields at Montague Park with the public unveiling of “Meridian Coda,” a sculpture by acclaimed artist Ed McCullough.

Scheduled for installation at the 33-acre outdoor art museum at noon Friday, Feb. 6, “Meridian Coda” represents the culmination of McCullough’s lifelong artistic practice. The work explores enduring themes of family, connection and loss – ideas that shaped his work for decades.

Two University of Tennessee at Chattanooga communication students have earned national recognition in the 2025 Hearst Awards, placing among the top student communicators in the country in competitive national contests.

Clara Paulson, a junior Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College, placed 12th nationally in the Hearst Photo One Competition. Emily Mitchell, a fall 2025 graduate with a degree in communication and a minor in rhetoric and professional writing, placed 13th nationally in the Hearst Multimedia Visual Storytelling Competition.

Have you ever had fast-food regret? I’m not talking about the regret that sets in when your digestive system files a formal complaint after you consume 1.2 pounds of greasy, processed substances masquerading as food. I mean the wave of horror that hits the moment you’re locked into a slow-moving drive-thru, boxed in by curbs and traffic, with no way out but through.

What began as a conversation in a living room in 1991 has grown into one of Tennessee’s oldest accredited land trusts, protecting more than 1,500 acres of land on Lookout Mountain and shaping generations of young conservation leaders.

Lookout Mountain Conservancy, known as LMC, is preparing to celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2026, a milestone leaders say reflects both long-term land preservation and an expanding focus on people, education and community engagement.

The Chattanooga Film Festival will return for its 13th year this summer with a mix of in-person and virtual programming.

The festival will take place June 18-21 at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, with a virtual component running June 19-27. Organizers also released a first wave of films and special events planned for the 2026 edition.

If you’re a local business owner, you’re juggling many priorities: growing revenue, managing expenses, supporting your team and planning for your own future. What if one tool could help with all these goals?

A workplace retirement plan might be that solution and can, directly or indirectly, offer benefits that extend beyond simple savings.

The folks who claim to want to Make America Great Again seem to have a pretty low opinion of some Americans. Guess which ones?

A House bill by Rep. Johnny Garrett, (R) Goodlettesville, would effectively bar from federal office anyone from Tennessee who is not a “natural-born citizen of the United States.” It defines that as someone “born in the United States or born abroad to parents who are United States citizens.”

With the average cost of a new vehicle hovering around $50,000, buying a new SUV might seem well out of reach if you’re on a tight budget. But automakers have increasingly been selling entry-level SUVs that are smaller and less expensive than all-star SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. 

That little star on your U.S. driver’s license is about to save you $45.

Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification, such as a passport, are subject to a new fee that began Feb. 1.

It isn’t a penalty or a fine – it’s payment for noncompliant travelers to use the Transportation Security Administration’s new alternate identity verification option called ConfirmID. But the process takes extra time, and paying the fee doesn’t guarantee you’ll make your flight.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday will launch TrumpRx, a website it says will help patients buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers at a discounted rate at a time when health care and the cost of living are growing concerns for Americans.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference is distributing more than $1 billion to its 16 universities for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which ended last August.

The total distribution jumped more than $200 million from the previous year. The current total includes $37.4 million retained by universities that participated in the College Football Playoff and bowl games.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Telehealth company Hims & Hers said Thursday it will launch a cheaper, off-brand version of the weight-loss pill Wegovy, just weeks after drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its highly anticipated reformulation of the blockbuster medication.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it would be "up to the president" to decide whether or not to sue Kevin Warsh, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, if he fails to lower interest rates.

During remarks at a private black-tie dinner of the elite Alfalfa Club on Saturday night, Trump said he might sue his newly selected Fed chair nominee if he didn't lower interest rates. Asked about it later that night by reporters, Trump said the remarks were made in jest. "It's a roast," Trump said. "It was all comedy."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are "unrealistic" and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in his first game since Halloween, Jakob Chychrun added a pair of goals and the Washington Capitals beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Thursday night.

Logan Thompson returned in goal from an injury of his own and made several sparkling saves, and the Capitals won for the fourth time in five games entering the Olympic break. Tom Wilson, who is on Canada's roster for those Olympics, also scored for the Caps.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 37 points, 19 in the fourth quarter, to rally No. 7 Vanderbilt to an 85-84 win over No. 16 Kentucky on Thursday night.

Blakes scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to give the Commodores (22-2, 8-2 SEC) a 59-58 lead and they stretched the lead to double figures with 6:15 left in the game. Four free throws from Aubrey Galvin in the final 19 seconds sealed the win.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Sandra Mosqueda watched with an amused smile as her 2-year-old son, Atreus, began sweeping the floor with a miniature mop.

Atreus is part of the inaugural class of infants and toddlers receiving free preschool in a citywide program in San Antonio, Texas. It's something his mother doesn't take for granted. As a child, she herself wasn't able to start preschool this young. In the case of her two older boys — now in first grade and kindergarten — the free preschool set them up for success in elementary school.

LONDON (AP) — The European Union on Friday accused TikTok of breaching the bloc's digital rules with "addictive design" features that lead to compulsive use by children, in preliminary charges that strike at the heart of the popular video sharing app's operating model.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A division of the U.S. Agency for International Development eliminated by Trump administration cuts last year was reborn Thursday as an independent nonprofit, allowing its international work to continue in a new form.

This reincarnation of USAID's Development Innovation Ventures as the nonprofit DIV Fund is thanks to $48 million raised from two private donors. It is a rare instance of continuation after the Trump administration froze all foreign funding last year and unleashed Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to tear down the agency that delivered U.S. foreign aid for 60 years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Looking back on the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump boasts that he has resurrected the American economy by imposing big import taxes on foreign products. He made his case in a recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, chiding the paper and critics, including mainstream economists, who predicted that tariffs would backfire, raising prices and threatening growth. "Instead,'' he wrote, "they have created an American economic miracle."

BOURJ HAMMOUD, Lebanon (AP) — Tiny Lebanon sits on one of the largest gold reserves in the Middle East and its government is weighing whether it can use that stockpile to restore a crippled economy while its citizens are looking at gold as a way to protect their battered assets.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina and the United States agreed Thursday to ease restrictions on each other's goods in an expansive trade deal that boosts a drive by President Javier Milei to open up Argentina's protectionist economy and a push by the Trump administration to reduce food prices for Americans.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon sales surged 14% during the fourth quarter, helped by strong holiday spending and a better-than-expected growth in its prominent cloud computing unit.

But shares fell 11% in after hours trading on Thursday as investors appeared to be spooked by the Seattle-based tech company's plans to increase capital spending by nearly 60% to $200 billion from last year's $128 billion as it sees opportunities in artificial intelligence, robots, semiconductors and satellites. The company's fourth-quarter profits also were slightly below analysts' projections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used his social media account to share a video about election conspiracy theories that includes a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle.

The Republican president's Thursday night post immediately drew backlash for its treatment of the nation's first Black president and first lady. It was part of a flurry of social media activity that amplified Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, despite courts around the country and a Trump attorney general from his first term finding no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston regularly games out responses to threats like destructive tornadoes or hazardous waste leaks. He's added a new potential menace: the federal government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees have rejected a top-secret complaint from an anonymous government insider alleging that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard withheld classified information for political reasons.

A federal jury this week found Uber to be legally responsible in a 2023 case of sexual assault — ordering the rideshare giant to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said one of its drivers raped her during a trip using the platform.

The verdict, reached Thursday in Arizona, follows years of criticism against Uber's safety record, much of which spans from thousands of incidents of sexual assault reported by both passengers and drivers. Because Uber drivers are categorized as gig workers — working as contractors, rather than company employees — the platform has long maintained it's not liable for their misconduct.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Elon Musk's "Vegas Loop," a network of underground tunnels to ferry passengers in Teslas, was under fresh scrutiny this week from Nevada lawmakers who raised concern about alleged workplace safety and environmental violations.

Lawmakers spent hours grilling state safety officials over alleged violations by the Boring Company, the Musk-owned venture with tunneling projects also planned in Nashville and Dubai. Company officials declined to attend but provided written answers defending the project.

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House border czar Tom Homan's announcement that enforcement in Minnesota was being unified under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement followed months of internal grumbling and infighting among agencies about how to carry out President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market roared back on Friday, as technology stocks recovered much of their losses from earlier in the week and bitcoin halted its plunge, at least for now.

The S&P 500 rallied 2% for its best day since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,206 points, or 2.5%, and topped the 50,000 level for the first time, while the Nasdaq composite leaped 2.2%.

Energy Star, the program that helps guide consumers to more energy-efficient appliances and electronics, has survived the Trump administration's plans to cut it.

The program received sufficient support in Congress that it was included in budget legislation signed this week by President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Friday requested records related to firms partially owned by the husband of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, taking the extraordinary step of scrutinizing the spouse of a sitting House member.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's racist social media post featuring former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle was deleted after a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats who criticized the video as offensive.

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Falcons rookie star James Pearce Jr. was arrested near Miami on Saturday night after fleeing officers and then crashing his car following what police said was a domestic dispute with WNBA player Rickea Jackson.

Pearce, the first-round pick who led the Falcons in sacks and was third in NFL defensive rookie of the year votingg, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after Doral police were summoned to investigate a reported domestic dispute between a man and a woman.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ta'Niya Latson scored 21 points, Joyce Edwards added 20 and No. 3 South Carolina ran past No. 19 Tennessee 93-50 on Sunday for its ninth straight victory over the Lady Vols.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The world's biggest social media companies face several landmark trials this year that seek to hold them responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Opening statements for the first, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, begin this week.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A trial focused on the dangers of child sexual exploitation on social media and whether Meta misrepresented the safety of its platforms is set to start in New Mexico with opening statements Monday.

It's the first stand-alone trial from state prosecutors in a stream of lawsuits against major social media companies, including Meta, over harm to children, and one that is likely to highlight explicit online content and its effects.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to keep home prices high, bypassing calls to ramp up construction so people can afford what has been a ticket to the middle class.

Trump has instead argued for protecting existing owners who have watched the values of their homes climb. It's a position that flies in the face of what many economists, the real estate industry, local officials and apartment dwellers say is needed to fix a big chunk of America's affordability problem.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading U.S. health official on Sunday urged people to get inoculated against the measles at a time of outbreaks across several states and as the United States is at risk of losing its measles elimination status.

"Take the vaccine, please," said Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator whose boss has raised suspicion about the safety and importance of vaccines. "We have a solution for our problem."

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Astin has taken on the presidency of the SAG-AFTRA at a particularly perilous time for the actors union, and for Hollywood. There's the threat of human actors being replaced by artificial intelligence. The ongoing upheavals of streaming. Studio consolidation and realignment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Beyond the car windows being smashed, people tackled on city streets — or even a little child with a floppy bunny ears snowcap detained — the images of masked federal officers has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations.

NEW YORK (AP) — The operator of roughly 180 Eddie Bauer stores across the U.S. and Canada has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming declining sales and a litany of other industry headwinds.

The bankruptcy filing marks the third time in a little over two decades for the storied-but-now-tired brand that began as a Seattle fishing shop, later outfitted the first American to climb Mount Everest and made thousands of newfangled down jackets and sleeping bags for the military during World War I.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers tried Monday to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, but the former girlfriend and confidant of Jeffrey Epstein invoked her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions that would be self-incriminating.

NEW YORK (AP) — One year after the Trump administration took control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the consumer watchdog has largely retreated from enforcement and regulatory work, changes that consumer advocates and Democrats now estimate have cost Americans at least $19 billion in financial relief.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there isn't enough fuel for airplanes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources.

TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada said Monday it is suspending service to Cuba because of a shortage of aviation fuel on the island.

Canada's largest airline said it took the decision after the Cuban government announced aviation fuel would not be available at Cuban airports as of Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, declined to answer questions from House lawmakers in a deposition Monday, but indicated that if President Donald Trump ended her prison sentence, she was willing to testify that neither he nor former President Bill Clinton had done anything wrong in their relationships with Epstein.

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is ready to "support'' UK police examining claims that the former Prince Andrew gave confidential information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Buckingham Palace said on Monday.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 34 points as No. 5 Vanderbilt beat No. 10 Oklahoma 102-86 on Monday night.

After getting outscored in the first half of their last four games, the Commodores (23-2, 9-2 Southeastern) scored 59 points on their way to a 19-point halftime lead.

It has been a rough few weeks for No. 22 Tennessee and coach Kim Caldwell, who have lost three of their last four games.

Losing is bad enough, but the Lady Vols (17-6) haven't been competitive in the defeats, including a record loss to No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked a California law from going into effect that would ban federal immigration agents from covering their faces, but they will still be required to wear clear identification showing their agency and badge number.

TOKYO (AP) — Honda reported Tuesday a 42% drop in profit for the nine months through December, compared to a year earlier, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs hurt the Japanese automaker's earnings.

Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co.'s profit over the three quarters totaled 465.4 billion yen ($3 billion), down from 805.2 billion yen.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is expected this week to revoke a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, according to a White House official.

VERNON, France (AP) — In a tightly controlled manufacturing hangar west of Paris, workers put the finishing touches on an enormous silver-colored engine. In just a few days, a similar machine will help propel the most powerful version of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket yet, flying for the first time with four boosters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' hope for their future has fallen to a new low, according to new polling.

In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave high ratings when asked to evaluate how good their life will be in about five years, the lowest annual measure since Gallup began asking this question almost 20 years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The heads of the agencies carrying out President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda will testify in Congress Tuesday and face questions over how they are prosecuting immigration enforcement inside American cities.

Trump's immigration campaign has been heavily scrutinized in recent weeks, after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two protesters at the hands of Homeland Security officers. The agencies have also faced criticism for a wave of policies that critics say trample on the rights of both immigrants facing arrest and Americans protesting the enforcement actions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under questioning from Democrats Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein twice after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child, reversing Lutnick's previous claim that he had cut ties with the late financier after 2005.

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers unexpectedly paused their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on a lackluster tone.

The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, surprised economists who were looking for growth despite mounting concerns about slowing job growth, uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariffs and other economic headwinds. And it raised questions about shoppers' ability to spend after they have remained resilient for months despite souring consumer confidence, economists said.

HONG KONG (AP) — In China, consumerism appears to outweigh nationalism regardless of how testy relations have become in recent diplomatic spats with countries like Japan and the United States.

It has been common practice for the ruling Communist Party to whip up nationalist sentiment and deploy propaganda condemning countries deemed to be violating China's stance on territorial issues as Taiwan and Tibet. At times, Beijing targets companies that make ideological missteps in their maps or advertising.

NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount is again sweetening its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, while again extending the deadline for its tender offer as it scrambles for more shareholder support.

On Tuesday, the Skydance-owned company said it would pay Warner shareholders an added "ticking fee" if its deal doesn't go through by the end of the year — amounting to 25 cents per share, or a total of $650 million, for every quarter after Dec. 31. Paramount also pledged to fund Warner's proposed $2.8 billion breakup payout to Netflix under its studio and streaming merger agreement.

NEW YORK (AP) — Target CEO Michael Fiddelke is reshuffling his leadership team and making other changes shortly after stepping into the top job at the retailer that has struggled operationally.

Rick Gomez, the 23-year Target veteran who oversees the chain's vast inventory of merchandise, will leave the company. And Jill Sando, the chief merchandising officer overseeing a handful of categories like apparel and home and who has been with the company since 1997, will retire.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Governors Association will no longer hold a formal meeting with President Donald Trump when the group of state leaders meet in Washington later this month after the White House planned to invite only Republicans.

"NGA staff was informed that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business meeting, scheduled for February 20, to Republican governors only," Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who is the chairman of the NGA, said in a Monday letter to fellow governors obtained by The Associated Press. "Because NGA's mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event, and it is no longer included in our official program."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders say a proposal from the White House is "incomplete and insufficient" as they are demanding new restrictions on President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and threatening a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department.

BERLIN (AP) — Established democracies' efforts against public-sector corruption appear to be flagging, according to a survey released Tuesday that serves as a barometer of perceived corruption worldwide. It raised concern about developments in the United States and the impact elsewhere of U.S. funding cuts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to block the opening of a new Canadian-built bridge across the Detroit River, demanding that Canada turn over at least half of the ownership of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands in his latest salvo over cross-border trade issues.

The Associated Press national player of the week in women's basketball for Week 14 of the season:

Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

The sophomore guard scored 37 points to go with four steals and four assists to help Vanderbilt edge then-No. 16 Kentucky 84-83. It was her second straight 30-plus point game and the NCAA-leading seventh time she's had over 30 points this season. She shot 52% from the field and hit six 3-pointers.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The nation's largest public utility says it now would prefer to keep operating two coal-fired power plants it had planned to shutter, changing course before a meeting of its board, which has a majority of members picked by the coal-friendly Trump administration.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday will revoke a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the White House announced.

The Environmental Protection Agency will issue a final rule rescinding a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment finding. That Obama-era policy determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Three Idaho families who are U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are suing after they and hundreds of others were detained for hours during an aggressive immigration raid at a rural horse racing track last year.

The families say state and federal law enforcement agencies conspired to use unconstitutional and illegal tactics during the raid, including detaining people because they appeared to be Latino; keeping adults and some children in zip ties for hours without access to food, water or bathrooms; and searching individuals without reasonable suspicion of a crime.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expects the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end in "days, not weeks and months," based on his recent conversations with top Trump administration officials.

The Democratic governor said at a news conference that he spoke Monday with border czar Tom Homan and with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday morning. Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal officers and amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Todd Lyons, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended his agency's officers before Congress on Tuesday, standing behind their tactics and saying they would not be intimidated as they carry out the president's mass deportation agenda.

ATLANTA (AP) — The FBI obtained a search warrant to seize hundreds of boxes of ballots from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a criminal investigation into possible "deficiencies or defects" in the vote count in the 2020 contest lost by President Donald Trump, according to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parents who owe a significant amount of child support soon could lose their ability to travel internationally as the Trump administration expands and steps up enforcement of a 30-year-old law that allows the federal government to revoke American passports until payments are made, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers decried Tuesday what they said were invasive tactics in the investigation of President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, pressing representatives from leading telecommunications companies about their role in providing prosecutors with phone records of certain sitting members of Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The general counsel for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Monday warned the attorney for an anonymous government employee not to directly share a top-secret complaint about Gabbard's handling of classified material with members of Congress.

Opposition to a deal that would allow U.S. companies access to critical minerals in Congo is growing after Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi returned from the U.S. minerals summit last week — with praises from U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. lawmakers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An annual meeting of the nation's governors that has long served as a rare bipartisan gathering is unraveling after President Donald Trump excluded Democratic governors from White House events.

The National Governors Association said it will no longer hold a formal meeting with Trump when governors are scheduled to convene in Washington later this month, after the White House planned to invite only Republican governors. On Tuesday, 18 Democratic governors also announced they would boycott a traditional dinner at the White House.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored 25 points, Jalen Washington added 22, and No. 19 Vanderbilt outlasted Auburn 84-76 on Tuesday night.

Washington hit 7 of 8 shots and knocked down both of his 3-point attempts as a 25% shooter beyond the arc. Devin McGlockton had 12 points and seven rebounds.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tony Vitello walked up the dugout stairs to meet with reporters about 15 minutes later than he was expecting because of a team meeting that went longer than planned.

The new San Francisco Giants manager had a lot to say on the first day of spring training.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury in Washington refused Tuesday to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with a video in which they urged U.S. military members to resist "illegal orders," according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department opened an investigation into the video featuring Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and four other Democratic lawmakers urging U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and reject orders they believe to be unlawful. All the lawmakers previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered a formal investigation into chipmaker Nexperia and upheld an earlier order suspending its Chinese CEO, citing doubts about the company's policies and conduct.

The written decision by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal is the latest step in a saga swirling around the Dutch-based semiconductor company that sent shock waves through the global auto industry.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is refusing to consider Moderna's application for a new flu vaccine made with Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology, the company announced Tuesday.

The news is the latest sign of the FDA's heightened scrutiny of vaccines under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., particularly those using mRNA technology, which he has criticized before and after becoming the nation's top health official.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Mexican cartel drone incursion prompted an hourslong closure of airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas that was lifted on Wednesday morning, the Trump administration said.

Just hours earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration had announced a 10-day closure grounding all flights to and from the airport.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The United States government on Wednesday further asserted its self-appointed role in turning around Venezuela's dilapidated oil industry with the arrival of Energy Secretary Chris Wright to the South American country for a firsthand assessment.

Investigators said one immigration enforcement official got away with physically assaulting his girlfriend for years. Another admitted he repeatedly sexually abused a woman in his custody. A third is charged with taking bribes to remove detention orders on people targeted for deportation.

GENEVA (AP) — The fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein saga is rippling through Europe.

Politicians, diplomats, officials and royals have seen reputations tarnished, investigations launched and jobs lost after a trove of more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Justice Department revealed their ties to the American financier and convicted sex offender who died behind bars in 2019.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's 10-year outlook projects worsening long-term federal deficits and rising debt, driven largely by increased spending, notably on Social Security, Medicare, and debt service payments.

Compared with the CBO's analysis this time last year, the fiscal outlook has deteriorated modestly.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 130,000 jobs last month, but government revisions cut 2024-2025 U.S. payrolls by hundreds of thousands.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is on a tear. So why is the American job market limping behind?

The Labor Department is expected to report Wednesday that companies, government agencies and nonprofits added 75,000 jobs last month, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. That would be an improvement over December's 50,000 – but it's inconsistent with strong economic growth and well short of the hiring boom of just a couple of years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday told victims of Jeffrey Epstein to come forward with information about their abuse as she sought to tamp down political turmoil over the Justice Department's handling of files related to the wealthy financier's sex trafficking investigation that has dogged her tenure.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of trying to hijack plans to celebrate America's 250th anniversary and using the nonprofit National Park Foundation to solicit money from private donors for some of the president's pet projects, including the massive arch he wants to build in the nation's capital.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump says he believes Iran wants to make a deal on its nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House on Wednesday with his own urgent message: Expand the talks further.

DETROIT (AP) — The build-out of electric vehicle charging in the U.S. has not stopped since President Donald Trump returned to office. But the administration and Congress are continuing to throw up new roadblocks.

Those include the administration withholding charger money to Democratic-controlled states and Congress slicing away at separate infrastructure funding across other states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are testing an entirely new way to fight heart disease: a gene-editing treatment that might offer a one-time fix for high cholesterol.

It's very early stage research, tried in only a few dozen people so far. But gene-editing approaches being developed by two companies show hints that switching off certain genes could dramatically lower artery-clogging cholesterol, raising hopes of one day being able to prevent heart attacks without having to take pills.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sudden and surprising airspace closure over El Paso, Texas, stemmed from the Pentagon's plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, according to three people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details.

CHICAGO (AP) — Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino praised a federal agent who shot a Chicago woman during an immigration crackdown last year, according to evidence released Wednesday by attorneys who accused the Trump administration of mishandling the investigation and spreading lies about the shooting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Governors Association said governors from both parties would be able to meet with President Donald Trump later this month after the White House initially extended invitations to a business meeting only to Republicans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are rushing ahead on Wednesday on legislation that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a longshot Trump administration priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A disruption in reimbursements to states for disaster relief costs. Delays in cybersecurity response and training. And missed paychecks for the agents who screen passengers and bags at the nation's airports, which could lead to unscheduled absences and longer wait times for travelers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a little less than a year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is ending the work of a task force she created to look at big changes to the U.S. intelligence community.

The panel known as the Director's Initiative Group was formed in April and charged with rooting out what Gabbard called the politicization of intelligence gathering. The group also studied ways to reduce spending on intelligence and whether reports on high-profile topics like COVID-19 should be declassified.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi launched into a passionate defense of President Donald Trump Wednesday as she tried to turn the page from relentless criticism of the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, repeatedly shouting at Democrats during a combative hearing in which she postured herself as the Republican president's chief protector.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and said he'd insisted that negotiations with Iran continue as the U.S. pushes for a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Netanyahu spent nearly three hours at the White House, but he entered and left out of the view of reporters and he and Trump didn't take questions. In a subsequent post on his social media site, however, the president called it "a very good meeting" and said "there was nothing definitive reached, other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated."

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 18 points, and Tennessee used a second-half rally to beat Mississippi State 73-64 on Wednesday.

Tennessee (17-7, 7-4 SEC) led 39-28 at halftime, overcoming a fast start from Josh Hubbard, who scored 14 of Mississippi State's first 16 points and finished with 20 in the opening half. Hubbard also tied the program record for career 3-pointers during the game. Gillespie opened the second half with seven straight points as the Volunteers extended the margin to 46-30.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from transferring 20 inmates with commuted death sentences to the nation's highest security federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled late Wednesday that the government cannot send the former death row inmates to the "Supermax" federal prison in Florence, Colorado, because it likely would violate their Fifth Amendment rights to due process.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The maker of a gun accessory tied to a racist shooting that killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo will pay $1.75 million to survivors and victims' families and stop selling the device in New York, state Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS 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, according to a new court filing.

NEW YORK (AP) — Since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services one year ago, he has defended his upending of federal health policy by saying the changes will restore trust in America's public health agencies.

NEW YORK (AP) — A year ago, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he wanted to rebuild trust in federal health agencies, and vowed to employ "radical transparency" to do it.

But many types of health information that steadily flowed from the government for years or decades has been delayed, deleted and in some cases stopped all together.

A little known security feature on iPhones is in the spotlight after it stymied efforts by U.S. federal authorities to search devices seized from a reporter.

Apple's Lockdown Mode recently prevented FBI agents from getting into Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson 's iPhone.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration is ending the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to thousands of arrests, violent protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens over the past two months, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has "gone too far" in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.

NEW YORK (AP) — Activists planned protests at more than two dozen Target stores around the United States on Wednesday to pressure the discount retailer into taking a public stand against the 5-week-old immigration crackdown in its home state of Minnesota.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Democrat is calling for a watchdog investigation after photographs emerged suggesting that the Justice Department has been tracking the search history of lawmakers who are reviewing files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining within the historically healthy range of the past few years.

Applications for jobless aid for the week ending Feb. 7 fell by 5,000 to 227,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's basically in line with the 226,000 new applications that analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had forecast.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — In Taipei, real estate agent Jason Sung is betting that home prices around a high-tech industrial park in the northern part of Taiwan's capital will soon take flight – because of computer chip maker Nvidia.

The area is where Nvidia plans to build its new Taiwan headquarters as it rapidly expands on the island, set to surpass Apple to become the biggest customer of Taiwan semiconductor maker TSMC, the biggest contract manufacturer of the advanced chips needed for artificial intelligence.

PARIS (AP) — As a French teetotaler, Justine Bobin knows how challenging it can be to not drink in a country where wine, beer and other boozy beverages still lubricate many social interactions, even if France is less hooked on alcohol than it used to be.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has invited Latin American leaders to take part in a summit in Florida next month, gathering the officials at a moment when the administration is spotlighting what it sees as concerning Chinese influence in the region.

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has "gone too far" in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a large U.S. delegation this week to the Munich Security Conference where increasingly nervous European leaders are hoping for at least a brief reprieve from President Donald Trump's often inconsistent policies and threats that have roiled transatlantic relations and the post-World War II international order.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats took to the Senate floor Wednesday to deliver impassioned speeches denouncing the Justice Department's attempt to indict a group of lawmakers who last year urged U.S. military members to resist "illegal orders," framing the episode as a dire test for their chamber and the rule of law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Wednesday to slap back President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, a rare if largely symbolic rebuke of the White House agenda as Republicans joined Democrats over the objections of GOP leadership.

The tally, 219-211, was among the first times the House, controlled by Republicans, has confronted the president over a signature policy, and drew instant recrimination from Trump himself. The resolution seeks to end the national emergency Trump declared to impose the tariffs, though actually undoing the policy would require support from the president, which is highly unlikely. It next goes to the Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Black Caucus and major civil rights groups on Tuesday marked Black History Month by relaunching a national plan to mobilize against what they say are the Trump administration's efforts to weaken legal protections for minority communities.