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.