News - Friday, January 31, 2025

Jay Clements has his aversion to the sight of blood – a repulsion that at one time nearly caused him to pass out – to thank for steering him toward the law.

“My family encouraged me to become a professional, whether it was a doctor or a lawyer,” the 61-year-old attorney recalls. “I sat in on a couple of surgical procedures that about made me faint – and that made the law a very nice alternative.”

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel attorney Rebecca Miller recently earned the Certified Elder Law Attorney designation from the National Elder Law Foundation, the only organization the American Bar Association has accredited to offer certification in elder law.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel is home to two newly hired paralegals who will support the firm’s estate planning and business practice areas.

Mark Cunningham, president and managing shareholder, says the firm is excited to have Chasity Jackson and Sage Sammeli join the team.

Someone once said a picture is worth a thousand words. Now photographer Jake Sherrill is sweetening the deal even further by offering members of the Chattanooga Bar Association 20% off the photography session of their choice.

But first, a little about Sherrill. Here, he discusses what inspired him to take photographs for a living, the essential elements of a good photograph and the details of his perks package for the CBA.

Greater Chattanooga Realtors celebrated the installation of its 2025 officers and directors on Jan. 16 during its installation and awards reception. The annual event marks a significant moment for the association as members honor incoming leadership and meditate on the collective mission of Realtors in serving the Chattanooga community.

Feb. 6-7

Women’s Policy Conference

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich will speak at the kickoff dinner for the annual statewide Women’s Policy Conference Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Westin Chattanooga. Known for inspiring the Oscar-winning film “Erin Brockovich,” she advocates for clean water and environmental equity.

Elisa Myzal has returned to the Chattanooga Police Department as its new public affairs director. Myzal left the department three years ago to pursue opportunities in the private sector. She now joins the public affairs unit alongside Sgt. Victor Miller, CPD’s public information officer, and Austin Riddle, the department’s social media coordinator. Myzal served as the CPD’s communications coordinator from August 2016 to December 2021.

The Chattanooga Housing Authority has temporarily frozen the funding for its Housing Choice Voucher program. The agency took this action to ensure the financial stability of the program, CHA officials say.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocates program funding based on congressional appropriations. For 2025, HUD has indicated funding proration percentages as low as 88.6%. This level of proration could limit CHA’s ability to meet its obligations and lead to a shortfall unless action is taken, CHA officials explain.

The Jewish Federation of Chattanooga has launched a new exhibit designed to inspire acts of compassion.

“Radical Kindness III” features 23 artists from the greater Chattanooga area, as well as Berlin, London, Israel and elsewhere in the U.S. The exhibit comes to the Jewish Federation from Vector Artist Initiative (VAI).

You often get second chances in life, and the same is true with investing.

To illustrate: You might not have been able to contribute to a Roth IRA during your working years due to your income level, but you may get that opportunity as you near retirement, or even when you are retired – through a Roth conversion.

The cheering started as soon as the fans saw University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell emerge from the locker room on the overhead scoreboard. By the time she reached midcourt at Food City Center, it had turned into a full-throttled standing ovation from nearly all 12,033 people in attendance.

After trying to remain competitive during a rebuild that failed miserably, the Tennessee Titans are now embracing a full rebuild.

That’s probably was what should have been followed all along rather than selling fans on the notion that a first-time head coach, a first-time play-caller, first-time coordinators and second-year quarterback in a new system with lots of new free agent pickups would work.

Once a year, Edmunds’ car experts gather to decide on the best new vehicles on sale. The annual Edmunds Top Rated Awards are given to the cars, trucks and SUVs that beat out the rest of the competition according to Edmunds’ rigorous vehicle testing program.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have given new general manager Mike Borgonzi more help, hiring Dave Ziegler as assistant general manager and Reggie McKenzie as vice president and football adviser.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The chairman of the NHL's Nashville Predators and his wife want to bring the WNBA to Music City and have teamed up with a star-filled investor group including Candace Parker, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and entertainers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation drastically expanding the number of families who can use taxpayer money on private schools regardless of income, a long-sought victory for Republican Gov. Bill Lee with some help from President Donald Trump to win over GOP holdouts.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When North Dakota's petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event — at the governor's mansion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are coming on Saturday, but he's still considering whether to include oil from those countries as part of his import taxes.

"We may or may not," Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office about tariffing oil from Canada and Mexico. "We're going to make that determination probably tonight."

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Civil rights activists gathered outside the headquarters of Target Corp. on Thursday to call for a national boycott of the retailing giant over its decision to phase out its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nation reeled from the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades, President Donald Trump on Thursday baselessly blamed diversity initiatives for undermining air safety and questioned the actions of a U.S. Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a commercial airliner.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to be the nation's top health official is uncertain after a key Republican joined Democrats to raise persistent concerns over the nominee's deep skepticism of routine childhood vaccinations that prevent deadly diseases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, faced sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike Thursday during a fiery confirmation hearing focused on her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting with Syria's now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI, insisted to deeply skeptical Democrats on Thursday that he did not have an "enemies list" and that the bureau under his leadership would not seek retribution against the president's adversaries or launch investigations for political purposes.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored a Southeastern Conference freshman record 53 points, making 16 field goals and 16 free throws to help No. 23 Vanderbilt beat Florida 99-86 on Thursday night.

Blakes fell one short of the NCAA Division I freshman record held by Delaware's Elena Delle Donne, who scored 54 in a loss to James Madison as a redshirt freshman in 2010. The previous high by a true freshman was 51 points by Southern California's JuJu Watkins last season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people brought renewed focus on the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Hommendy described the investigation into the crash Wednesday night as an "all-hands-on-deck event" for the agency during a news conference Thursday in which she appeared with members of the board and a senior investigator overseeing the probe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The airspace around Washington, D.C., is congested and complex — a combination aviation experts have long worried could lead to catastrophe.

Those fears materialized Wednesday night when an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter, taking the lives of 67 people, including three soldiers and more than a dozen figure skaters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Schools and universities responding to complaints of sexual misconduct must return to policies created during President Donald Trump's first term, with requirements for live hearings and more protections for accused students, according to new guidance issued Friday by the Education Department.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries.

In the first serious fallout from President Donald Trump's early actions against offshore wind power, oil and gas giant Shell is walking away from a major project off the coast of New Jersey.

Shell told The Associated Press it is writing off the project, citing increased competition, delays and a changing market.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 25% tax that President Donald Trump plans to slap on imports from Canada and Mexico as soon as Saturday could drive up the price of everything from gasoline and pickup trucks, to Super Bowl party guacamole dip.

The tariffs would also invite retaliation. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, has already vowed to counterpunch by pulling American alcohol off store shelves in the Canadian province – no idle threat; Canada is the world's No. 2 market for America's distilled spirits (behind the 27-nation European Union).

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve rose slightly last month, while some underlying prices pressures showed signs of easing.

The latest inflation figures arrive as President Donald Trump has threatened to impose big import taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico, potentially affecting everything from autos to avocados, which could push prices higher in the coming months.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple on Thursday disclosed its iPhone sales dipped slightly during the holiday-season quarter, signaling a sluggish start to the trendsetting company's effort to catch up to the rest of Big Tech in the race to bring artificial intelligence to the masses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Democratic National Committee prepares to elect a new chair, its departing leader says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in the 2024 race.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jaime Harrison reflected on why his party lost to Donald Trump and what might have happened had then-Vice President Kamala Harris had more time to campaign after Biden ended his reelection bid following a disastrous debate performance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who hopes to be President Donald Trump's health secretary repeatedly asked to see "data" or "science" showing vaccines are safe – but when an influential Republican senator did so, he dismissed it.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent two days this week insisting to senators that he's not anti-vaccine. He said that he instead supports vaccinations and will follow the science in overseeing the $1.7 trillion Department of Health and Human Services, which, among other duties, oversees vaccine research, approval and recommendations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration changes have upended the U.S. agency charged with providing humanitarian aid to countries overseas, with dozens of senior officials put on leave, thousands of contractors laid off, and a sweeping freeze imposed on billions of dollars in foreign assistance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conspiracy theories about vaccines. Secret meetings with dictators. An enemies list.

President Donald Trump' s most controversial Cabinet nominees — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel — flooded the zone Thursday in back-to-back-to-back confirmation hearings that were like nothing the Senate has seen in modern memory.

The NCAA has settled the lawsuit with the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia and other states over its rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation for recruits.

Notice that a settlement has been reached in principle with a term sheet signed was filed Friday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in Greeneville. A status report had been due Friday. The settlement will be finalized along with a request for a permanent injunction by March 17, according to the filing.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The CEO of the nation's largest public utility will retire no later than September after nearly six years in his position, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced Friday.

Jeff Lyash's departure as president and CEO of the federal utility follows a tenure with ups and downs in a seven-state service region growing in population.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rat infestation in many world cities appears to be soaring, especially in Washington, and a new study blames warming temperatures, urbanization and other human actions.

A first-of-its-kind examination of trends and reasons in hard-to-count rat populations uses rat sighting reports in 16 cities around the world. In 11 of those cities, rat complaints have increased, according to a study in Friday's journal Science Advances.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department will no longer reimburse service members for travel out of state to get reproductive health care, including abortions and fertility treatments, according to a new memo.

The directive signed this week eliminates a rarely used Biden administration policy enacted in October 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and more states began to impose increased abortion restrictions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will put in place 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on goods from China effective on Saturday, the White House said, but it provided no word on whether there would be any exemptions to the measures that could result in swift price increases to U.S. consumers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials are moving to fire FBI agents engaged in investigations involving President Donald Trump in the coming days, two people familiar with the plans said Friday.

It was not clear how many agents might be affected, but officials acting at the direction of the administration were working to identify individual agents who could be terminated, said the people who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing intense scrutiny from senators over his potential profit from vaccine lawsuits while serving as the nation's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that if he is confirmed he will not collect fees from litigation against the drugmakers of a cervical cancer vaccine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A planned Trump administration freeze on federal funding is heading back to a Washington courtroom on Monday.

A judge is expected to consider extending her temporary block on President Donald Trump's plan to halt federal grants and loans, which originally targeted a wide range of funding totaling potentially trillions of dollars.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of employees at the U.S. Education Department were put on paid administrative leave in response to President Donald Trump's order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, according to a labor union that represents hundreds of workers in the agency.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian government is in talks with local communities to restart oil production in a region that's previously suffered environmental damage after oil giant Shell's sale of its onshore business in the country.

Shell's $2.4 billion sale of its onshore business to a group of local companies was confirmed last week by Nigeria's special advisor to the president on energy, Olu Verheijen. It marks the end of the of the London-based energy giant's nearly century-long operations in the onshore Niger Delta region, where it faces long-running complaints of environmental pollution.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asia's only nuclear power plant, completed four decades ago in Bataan, about 40 miles from the Philippine capital Manila, was built in the 1970s but left idle due to safety concerns and corruption. It has never produced a single watt of energy.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel "some pain" from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would "cease to exist" without its trade surplus with the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — From an ice cream parlor in California to a medical supply business in North Carolina to a T-shirt vendor outside Detroit, U.S. businesses are bracing to take a hit from the taxes President Donald Trump imposed Saturday on imports from Canada, Mexico and China — America's three biggest trading partners.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada, Mexico and China is ramping up over the production and importation of the opiate fentanyl, along with trade surpluses and illegal border crossings by migrants from across the globe.

With his 70th birthday looming on this year's horizon, Microsoft founder Bill Gates looked inward to open a window into the man behind Windows and other seminal software that turned the personal computer into a household staple.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum put their planned tariffs on hold Monday for a month to give time for further negotiations, and Mexico said it planned to deploy 10,000 members of its national guard to address drug trafficking.

NEW YORK (AP) — For Elon Musk fans, it's the half a trillion-dollar bet. That is how much the stock market value of Tesla has rocketed since the presidential election, a vertiginous climb uninterrupted in recent days despite a disappointing financial report that would have sunk the stock of nearly any other company.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal disaster aid is nearly everywhere. About 94% of Americans live in a county that has gotten Federal Emergency Management Agency help for disasters since 2011.

But disaster aid — for decades a mostly bipartisan issue — is suddenly a political hot button after Hurricane Helene last year and this year's California wildfires. President Donald Trump and a conservative think have floated the possibility of shifting disaster response to the states, including eliminating FEMA or curtailing federal handouts.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will cut all funding to South Africa and has launched an investigation into the country's policies, claiming that a "massive" human rights violation against white people is happening over a new land expropriation law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development were instructed to stay out of the agency's Washington headquarters, and yellow police tape and officers blocked the agency's lobby on Monday, after billionaire Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut the agency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of FBI employees who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are being asked to complete in-depth questionnaires about their involvement in the inquiries as the Trump administration Justice Department weighs disciplinary actions that could result in firings.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's second week in office seemed to deliver a daily dose of deliberate jolts for the country.

There were chaotic reminders of his first term. The White House found itself backtracking on its directive to freeze federal spending on grants and loans. And the Republican president indulged unsupported accusations after a deadly plane crash near Washington.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida point guard Walter Clayton Jr. walked around campus Monday without a protective boot, a positive sign in his recovery from a sprained left ankle.

Clayton rolled his ankle late in the first half of a lopsided loss at then-No. 8 Tennessee on Saturday. He returned to start the second half but slipped in front of the bench to give coach Todd Golden and his teammates another scare.

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (AP) — In the rolling hills of Kentucky where most of the world's bourbon supply is crafted, the prospect of a new trade war feels like an aching hangover that won't go away.

Kentucky bourbon producers again find themselves in the crosshairs as a target for retaliation after President Donald Trump ordered new tariffs on U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico. On Monday, Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum put their planned tariffs on hold for a month to give time for further negotiations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge in the nation's capital will likely keep a temporary block on a Trump administration plan for a freeze on federal funding after lawyers for nonprofit groups said they're still struggling to get promised grants and loans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is ending protections that shielded roughly 350,000 Venezuelans from deportation, leaving them with two months before they lose their right to work in the U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's order affects 348,202 Venezuelans living in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status slated to expire in April. That's about half of the approximately 600,000 who have the protection. The remaining protections are set to expire at the end of September.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a government-owned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he's successful at finding it an American buyer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday indicated that he wants to reach an agreement with Ukraine to gain access to the country's rare earth materials as a condition for continuing U.S. support for its war against Russia.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump complained that the U.S. had sent more in military and economic assistance to Ukraine than its European partners, adding, "We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earth and other things."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk is working for President Donald Trump as a "special government employee," according to a White House official, solidifying his controversial role in the administration but sidestepping some disclosure rules that are typical of federal workers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have delivered a strong rebuke against the Trump administration's attempt to gut an agency that provides crucial aid overseas to fund education and fight starvation and disease, calling it illegal, vowing a court fight and lambasting billionaire Elon Musk for wielding so much power in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of senior officials put on leave. Thousands of contractors laid off. A freeze put on billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to other countries.

Over the last two weeks, President Donald Trump's administration has made significant changes to the U.S. agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas that has left aid organizations agonizing over whether they can continue with programs such as nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children.

It's a busy week for Tennessee. First up is a rivalry game against No. 5 UConn on Thursday and then Sunday is a rematch with sixth-ranked LSU, which beat the Lady Vols by two points last month.

A win over either opponent would be huge for Kim Caldwell, who is in her first year as the Lady Vols' coach.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Adam Gaudette and David Perron each scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.

Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig also scored and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves for Ottawa, winners of five straight.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Hockey League Players' Association and Professional Hockey Players' Association are affiliating with the AFL-CIO and joining the labor organization's sports council, they announced Monday.

Their membership brings the number of unions involved in the AFL-CIO, the biggest labor federation in the U.S., to 63, representing more than 15 million workers. It comes as collective bargaining talks are ongoing at multiple levels of the sport.

TOKYO (AP) — The conviction of a former American Nissan executive on charges of helping fugitive former Chairman Carlos Ghosn hide income was upheld by a Japanese appeals court Tuesday, which also rejected prosecutors' bid to overturn his acquittals on other counts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration advocacy groups on Monday sued the Trump administration over its ban on asylum access at the southern border, saying the sweeping restrictions illegally put people who are fleeing war and persecution in harm's way.

The decision outlined in one of President Donald Trump's immigration-related executive orders is "as unlawful as it is unprecedented," the groups — led by the American Civil Liberties Union — said in the complaint, filed in a Washington federal court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge in the nation's capital kept a temporary block on a Trump administration plan for a freeze on federal funding Monday after some nonprofit groups said they're still struggling to get promised grants and loans.

U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan extended an order she issued last week that paused a sweeping plan to freeze potentially trillions in federal spending. While the memo outlining it has since been rescinded, the Republican administration has said some kind of funding freeze is still planned as part of his blitz of executive orders.

LONDON (AP) — Apple has chided a newly available pornography app available in the European Union, and warned that the bloc's digital rules opening the way for third-party app store downloads undermines consumer confidence in the tech giant.

AltStore PAL, an alternative app marketplace made possible under Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA), unveiled the Hot Tub app this week, which is described as an adult content browser.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than former President Joe Biden's administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. The new investigations were opened the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Waffle House restaurant chain is putting a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place temporarily due to the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade.

The Georgia company said that the resulting egg shortage has led to a dramatic increase in its costs.

NEW YORK (AP) — Thinking about backyard chickens as egg prices soar? Think hard, especially in light of the bird flu outbreak.

Keeping home chickens as a pastime has continued to grow since the pandemic. But if eggs are the goal, remember that it takes planning and investment to raise the chickens and protect against bird flu. Costs might go well beyond the nationwide average of $4.15 a dozen that commercial eggs sold for in December.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America's two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days that put North America on the cusp of a trade war that risked crushing economic growth, causing prices to soar and ending two of the United States' most critical partnerships.

HONG KONG (AP) — China on Tuesday announced a flurry of retaliatory measures against the U.S., including tariffs on imports of products such as coal, liquefied natural gas products and crude oil, as well as an antitrust probe into Google. It also placed two other U.S. firms on an unreliable entity list that could bar them from investing in China.

TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo's profits tumbled as sales of its Switch console lost momentum, prompting the Japanese video-game maker to lower its full-year forecasts.

Kyoto-based Nintendo Co., which created the Super Mario franchise, reported Tuesday an April-December profit of 237 billion yen ($1.5 billion), down 42% from the same period the previous year.

Several businesses from day cares to grocery stores and hair salons closed Monday across the U.S. in a loosely organized day of protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

But participation in the "day without immigrants" faced headwinds from employees and business owners who said they need the income — especially as rumors of widespread raids, often false, are leaving many migrant communities afraid to venture outside, affecting even some schools. Monday's event also came on the heels of street protests Sunday in California and elsewhere.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet Tuesday as the Israeli prime minister faces competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and the 15-month conflict to end.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of senior officials put on leave. Thousands of contractors laid off. A freeze put on billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to other countries.

Over the last two weeks, President Donald Trump's administration has made significant changes to the U.S. agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas that has left aid organizations agonizing over whether they can continue with programs such as nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the controversial environmental lawyer turned public health critic, cleared his first hurdle on Tuesday to become the nation's top health official when the senate finance committee voted to advance his nomination for a floor vote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of the federal government with President Donald Trump 's blessing, sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and dismantling a leading source of humanitarian assistance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The association representing thousands of FBI agents urged congressional leaders Monday to protect the jobs of employees at risk of punishment or possibly termination over their participation in investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk posted Monday on his social media site that he had "deleted" 18F, a government agency that worked on technology projects such as the IRS' Direct File program. This led to some confusion about whether Direct File is still available to taxpayers, but the free filing program is still available, at least for the coming tax season.

The Associated Press national player of the week in women's college basketball for Week 13 of the season:

Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

The freshman guard set the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record with 53 points against Florida. It was also the SEC single-game scoring record that had stood for over 22 years. Blakes is the only NCAA Division I player — men's or women's — to score at least 50 points in a game this season. She averaged 34.5 points in her two games while shooting 63.6% from the field.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Elon Musk's lawyers faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its transition from a nonprofit research laboratory to a for-profit corporation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is expected to rule Tuesday on a request to temporarily block prison officials from transferring three incarcerated transgender women to men's facilities and terminating their access to hormone therapy under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI agents who participated in investigations related to President Donald Trump have sued over Justice Department efforts to develop a list of employees involved in those inquiries that agents fear could be a precursor to discipline or termination.

NEW YORK (AP) — Estee Lauder may trim as many as 7,000 jobs by fiscal 2026, more than 11% of its workforce, after the global beauty cosmetics maker lost money in its most recent quarter as reported a 6% sales slump.

The New York company behind such brands as MAC, La Mer and Aveda tempered its profit outlook as the economies of China and Korea slow, in addition to global geopolitical uncertainty.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him.

"If they did that they would be obliterated," Trump said in an exchange with reporters while signing an executive order calling for the U.S. government to impose maximum pressure on Tehran. "I've left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won't be anything left."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be President Donald Trump director of national intelligence cleared a key Senate committee Tuesday despite concerns raised about her past comments sympathetic to Russia and a meeting with Syria's now-deposed leader.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first U.S. military flight to deport migrants from the United States to Guantanamo Bay was set to depart Tuesday, a U.S. official said. It is the first step in what is expected to be a surge in the number of migrants held at the Navy base in Cuba, which for decades was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs, putting the former congressman and Iraq War veteran at the helm of a department that provides crucial care to America's veterans.

Collins, a former Air Force chaplain, was confirmed on a 77-23 vote, becoming the latest addition to President Donald Trump's Cabinet.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Will Richard scored 21 points, Alex Condon added 19 and No. 6 Florida beat Vanderbilt 86-75 on Tuesday despite playing without leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Alysha Clark wants to end the narrative that Athletes Unlimited and Unrivaled pits women's basketball players against one another. Or that having two pro leagues forces players into an either or decision.

Clark believes the leagues are simply providing more offseason opportunities to play basketball closer to home in order to supplement their WNBA salaries.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have hired Travis Smith as their defensive run game coordinator and promoted Lori Locust to a defensive assistant coach.

The Titans announced the moves Tuesday.

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a "most precious right."

NEW YORK (AP) — A new coalition of nonprofits came together overnight to challenge a seemingly sweeping order from the Trump administration last week pausing trillions of dollars in federal funding. They succeeded in blocking that order, at least for now.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is preparing to gut the U.S. Education Department to the full extent of his power, directing his administration to slash spending while pressuring employees to quit. Yet his promise to close the department is colliding with another reality: Most of its spending — and its very existence — is ordered by Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Head Start preschools serving thousands of children around the country could be at risk of closing because they remain locked out of their federal funding, a problem that first surfaced last week during President Donald Trump's aborted effort to freeze federal grants.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota is developing and making electric vehicles and EV batteries in China, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday, under a new partnership with the Shanghai government.

Toyota Motor Corp. also announced it will start producing batteries for EVs, hybrids and plug-ins at a new $14 billion facility in North Carolina, with shipping starting for North American models in April.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The website of the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, whose chatbot became the most downloaded app in the United States, has computer code that could send some user login information to a Chinese state-owned telecommunications company that has been barred from operating in the United States, security researchers say.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As part of the Trump administration's push to expand U.S. energy production, federal officials will review and consider redrawing the boundaries of national monuments created under previous presidents to protect unique landscapes and cultural resources.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday ordered the state-run oil company Ecopetrol to cancel a joint venture with a U.S.-owned company that was expected to produce around 90,000 barrels of oil per day, citing environmental concerns.

BENGALURU, India (AP) — For nearly four years, India's government pushed an initiative to get people to think about how to make lifestyle choices that pollute less, like cycling instead of driving or using less plastic.

But in the country's yearly budget announcement last weekend, the once-flagship program failed to get a mention — or any promise of future funding.

NEW YORK (AP) — Workday is cutting about 1,750 jobs, or 8.5% of its workforce.

In a Wednesday memo to employees, published in a securities filing, Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach said the layoffs were necessary for ongoing growth efforts at the company — including a particular focus on artificial intelligence investments.

NEW YORK (AP) — Disney easily topped first-quarter expectations thanks in part to the box office smash " Moana 2."

There were some oversized expectations for the animated film but "Moana 2", originally intended as a series for the company's streaming service before it was produced for the big screen — blew predictions out of the water. Its five-day opening set a new record for Thanksgiving moviegoing.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's digital ad sales continued to grow at a healthy clip during the holiday season, but that wasn't enough to offset investors' worries about whether its big bet on artificial intelligence will be lucrative as once envisioned.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Elon Musk debuted the Department of Government Efficiency recently at the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson enthusiastically predicted the coming Trump administration would bring "a lot of change around here."

Three weeks in, the change the Trump administration has brought is a disruption of the federal government on an unprecedented scale, dismantling longstanding programs, sparking widespread public outcry and challenging the very role of Congress to create the nation's laws and pay its bills.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job and out of the field worldwide, moving to all but end a six-decade mission to shore up American security by fighting starvation, funding education and working to end epidemics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. aid staffers around the world scrambled Wednesday for answers and started to pack up households or pull their children from school after a sudden Trump administration order that yanked almost all of them off the job and out of the field.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take "ownership" in redeveloping the area into "the Riviera of the Middle East."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offered a jaw-dropping performance during his joint news conference Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip could be permanently resettled elsewhere and that the U.S. might stage a long-term takeover of the vacated region — even leading redevelopment efforts to make it a seaside paradise in waiting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Donald Trump started the biggest trade war since the 1930s in his first term, his impulsive combination of threats and import taxes on U.S. trading partners created chaos, generated drama -- and drew criticism from mainstream economists who favor free trade.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Treasury Department official wrote a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers saying that a tech executive working with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency will have "read-only access" to the government's payment system.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general Tuesday evening, putting a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the Republican president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Outraged Democrats are testing the limits of their diminished power as they try to stop the stunning power grabs of President Donald Trump and his chief lieutenant, Elon Musk.

The tech billionaire's maneuvers, which include the hostile seizure of taxpayer data and the apparent closure of the government's leading international humanitarian aid agency, have riled many Democrats, who have been mired in a post-election funk and struggled to identify a cohesive strategy in the earliest days of Trump's presidency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, turning to the man who was his acting NOAA chief in 2019 when Trump altered an expected hurricane impact map in what became known as the "Sharpiegate" scandal.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports.

The order, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration's view, which interprets "sex" as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has awarded a historic Black church in Washington control over the Proud Boys trademark after the far-right group defaulted on a $2.8 million judgment.

The Monday ruling in D.C. Superior Court grants rights to the trademark of the group's name to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and bars the Proud Boys members from selling any merchandise with its name or symbols without the church's consent. The ruling also allows the church to try to seize any money made from selling the group's merchandise.

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meetings in the United States this week was not with American Jewish leaders but with evangelical ones.

The conservative Christians met with Netanyahu on Monday at Blair House, which is near the White House. The gathering came ahead of the Israeli leader's meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, which led to Trump's dramatic proposals about the future of Gaza.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Patients who use smartphone apps to manage their diabetes could face serious health problems if they miss notifications needed to control their blood sugar, U.S. health officials warned.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has received multiple reports of users missing or not hearing important medical alerts from their phones, leading to cases of dangerously low blood sugar and even death.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are demanding answers after they say President Donald Trump gave billionaire Elon Musk and his staff access to sensitive data and classified secrets as part of their work to overhaul the federal government.

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump's top diplomat and his main spokesperson on Wednesday walked back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after American allies and even Republican lawmakers rebuffed his suggestion that the U.S. take "ownership" of the territory.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Justice Department official accused the FBI's acting leaders of "insubordination" in a Wednesday memo in which he sought to soothe anxiety inside the bureau over the potential for a broad purge of agents involved in investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA confirmed on Wednesday that it has offered buyouts to employees who voluntarily resign, the latest group of workers targeted in President Donald Trump's push to transform the federal government.

A CIA spokesperson declined to say how many people received offers or whether they face any deadline to decide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pam Bondi was sworn in Wednesday as attorney general, taking charge of the Justice Department as it braces for upheaval with President Donald Trump aiming to exert his will over an agency that has long provoked his ire.

The ceremony took place in the Oval Office and it was the first time that the Republican president had participated in a second-term swearing-in of a Cabinet member. It was further evidence of Trump's intense personal interest in the operations of the department that investigated him during his first term and then brought two since-abandoned indictments after he left office in 2021.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scott Turner was confirmed Wednesday as the housing secretary, a role central to President Donald Trump's domestic agenda at a time when most Americans say the cost of living around necessities are a top concern.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Frustration boiled over Wednesday among supporters of the United States' lead aid agency at a Washington rally, and anxious aid workers abroad scrambled to pack up households after the Trump administration abruptly pulled almost all agency staffers off the job and out of the field.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic returned to Tennessee's lineup to each score 21 points in the No. 4 Volunteers' 85-81 victory over No. 15 Missouri on Wednesday night.

Zeigler also had eight assists, and Milicic added 10 rebounds. They both sat out Saturday in a victory over Florida — Zeigler because of a knee injury, and Milicic with an illness.

New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's coaching staff will have several familiar faces from his time with the Tennessee Titans.

Of the 26 members of the staff announced by New England on Wednesday, 11 worked with Vrabel during his six-year tenure in Tennessee from 2018 to 2023.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — As Angelenos reel from the devastating wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and killed at least 29 people, an LA-based nonprofit is handing out cash payments of as much as $5,000 to provide fast, unrestricted help to some of those impacted.

ANTRIM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — The heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania has become a whodunit that police have yet to crack.

Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus.

The surprising January heat record coincides with a new study by a climate science heavyweight, former top NASA scientist James Hansen, and others arguing that global warming is accelerating. It's a claim that's dividing the research community.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting privately with congressional Republicans at the White House on Thursday as his allies on Capitol Hill are arguing with themselves over the size, scope and details of his "big, beautiful bill" to cut taxes, regulations and government spending.

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England halved its growth projection for the British economy this year as it cut its main interest rate Thursday for the third time in six months.

In a statement, the bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee lowered its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.50%, taking it to its lowest level since mid-2023.

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico (AP) — As soon as the sun glints over miles of border fence dividing the United States and Mexico, the engines of cargo trucks packed with auto and computer parts roar to life along border bridges and bleary-eyed workers file into factories to assemble a multitude of products geared toward the U.S. market.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is scrapping some of its diversity hiring targets, joining a lengthening list of U.S. companies that have abandoned or scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The move, which was outlined in an email sent to Google employees on Wednesday, came in the wake of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that was aimed in part at pressuring government contractors to scrap their DEI initiatives.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The emergence of X owner Elon Musk as the most influential figure around President Donald Trump has created an extraordinary dynamic — a White House adviser who's using one of the world's most powerful information platforms to sell the government's talking points while intimidating its detractors.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on a network of more than a dozen people and firms that are accused of facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China.

The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than dozen people and companies in China, India and the United Arab Emirates. The targets include Iranian and Indian citizens, crew management firms and a collection of ships.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants to root out "anti-Christian bias" in the U.S., announcing that he was forming a task force led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the "targeting" of Christians.

Speaking at pair of events in Washington surrounding the the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump said the task force would be directed to "immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI — terrible — and other agencies."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump's choice to be the top U.S. trade negotiator, promised to pursue the president's hardline trade policies.

Trump's protectionist approach to trade — involving the heavy use of taxes on foreign goods — will give Americans "the opportunity to work in good-paying jobs producing goods and services they can sell in this market and abroad to earn an honest living,'' Greer said in remarks prepared ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of miles from Elon Musk's office in the White House complex, a federal worker based in the Pacific Northwest is wondering whether to quit.

Musk, one of President Donald Trump's most powerful advisers, has orchestrated an unprecedented financial incentive for people to leave their government jobs, promising several months of pay in return for their resignation. The worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, wants to take the money and move overseas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season will not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent Wednesday to IRS employees.

The letter says that "critical filing season positions in Taxpayer Services, Information Technology and the Taxpayer Advocate Service are exempt" from the administration's buyout plan until May 15. Taxpayers have until April 15 to file their taxes unless they are granted an extension.

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS' "60 Minutes" posted online Wednesday the unedited transcripts of its October interview with Kamala Harris that sparked a lawsuit by Donald Trump, saying that they proved its broadcast was not "doctored or deceitful."

That's what Trump contended in a $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the network in November, reportedly the subject of ongoing settlement talks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump promised voters an administration that wouldn't waste precious American lives and taxpayer treasure on far-off wars and nation building.

But just weeks into his second go-around in the White House, the Republican leader laid out plans to use American might to "take over" and reconstruct Gaza, threatened to reclaim U.S. control of the Panama Canal and floated the idea that the U.S. could buy Greenland from Denmark, which has shown no interest in parting with the island.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Trump administration voices on Wednesday contradicted some of the comments the president made a day earlier about the U.S. taking long-term control of war-shattered Gaza, the possibility of sending in American troops and the area's residents being permanently resettled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday ordered a review of the federal prosecution of Donald Trump as she unveiled a series of directives designed to overhaul a Justice Department the president claims is biased against conservatives.