News - Saturday, October 25, 2025

Inside a sleek new arena on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus, the pulse of competition beats strong.

Two squads enter, charged with tension – every movement calculated, every decision carrying the weight of victory or defeat. As they collide, bursts of chaos give way to brief silence. Precision, instinct and trust converge as teammates call out coordinates, cover angles and fight to seize even the smallest advantage.

Inside a sleek new arena on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus, the pulse of competition beats strong.

Two squads enter, charged with tension – every movement calculated, every decision carrying the weight of victory or defeat. As they collide, bursts of chaos give way to brief silence. Precision, instinct and trust converge as teammates call out coordinates, cover angles and fight to seize even the smallest advantage.

When University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Nate Bayes sat down at his computer as a freshman to broadcast his friends’ esports matches “just for fun,” he couldn’t have imagined that four years later he’d be running livestream productions for an entire university program – or getting paid to call professional tournaments.

The latest housing data for September shows a market that remains steady overall, with year-over-year gains in inventory and home prices continuing across the Chattanooga region.

Most national transactions last month reflect contracts signed earlier in the summer when mortgage rates were slightly higher, the National Association of Realtors reports. Locally, we saw a slight dip in closed and pending sales, along with a slightly longer time of homes on the market – signs of a market adjusting to seasonal trends. Still, strong price growth and rising inventory suggest continued opportunities for both buyers and sellers this fall.

Two closely related words that animated the call for independence from Great Britian were liberty and freedom. Those two words called not only for independence from the then-governing power but also for individual liberty and freedom for the colonists. And by that, they meant the liberty and freedom to live their lives without undue government intrusion or interference.

The Chattanooga City Council has confirmed Cedric Henson as administrator of the Department of Community Development. Henson has served as interim administrator since July and previously worked as deputy administrator for the Department of Public Works. 

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library’s Special Collections has received a $1,900 State Board Programming Regrant from the Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board to digitize materials from the United Hosiery Mills records – a project powered by student research. The funding is provided through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

The Chattanooga Zoo’s annual event returns Oct. 24-25 and 31 with trick-or-treating, character meet-and-greets, a bounce house, a scavenger hunt and festive decorations. Popular characters like Elsa, Spider-Man and Moana will be on hand for photos, courtesy of Magic Lamp Entertainment. Boo in the Zoo runs 4-8 p.m. each night. Tickets

The latest statistics on gun fatalities in Tennessee are in, and the adjectives that come to mind include alarming, depressing and frustrating. What they are not is surprising.

Without diving too deep into the figures, the results show:

• From 2013 to 2023, the last year for which full figures are available, the rate of overall firearm fatalities increased 41%, and the rate of overall firearm fatalities for children through age 17 increased 128%.

More than 7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, according to a 2025 report from the Alzheimer’s Association. The emotional toll of watching a loved one struggle with the memory loss, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline is already overwhelming — but the financial burden can be significant too. Hopefully this disease will never touch your family, but it’s important to be financially prepared just in case. By planning to cover long-term care costs and creating a financial strategy for caregivers, you can help protect your family’s financial well-being.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell remarked recently that NFL organizations fail young quarterbacks more than young quarterbacks fail organizations.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Exhibit A of that statement, the Tennessee Titans.

What does the Mike McCoy era seem to hold for the Titans?

Sunday’s early returns were promising as McCoy centered the offense on the strengths of Cam Ward, with some play-action, some rollouts and even one play that looked like a run-pass option.

Welcome back to Flick Picks, your twice-monthly movie fix. From a true-crime oddity to a nostalgic throwback, this week’s lineup serves up a mix of fresh releases, streaming gems and one delicious fall treat.

Now playing

“Roofman,” starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, opens with a title card that declares, “This is a true story.” Not “Based on a true story” or “Inspired by a true story,” but “This IS a true story.”

The calendar is running out and you want to make the best of what’s left of the year. 

You have a small to-do list, and one thing on it is to grow. So why not check out these new business books about growth, knowing your strengths, finding your best spot, and knowing history…

If you’re considering buying a new small SUV, there’s a good chance you’ll consider the Honda CR-V. The CR-V is among the most popular-selling models in the United States, and there are good reasons why. It’s practical, comfortable and quite good at getting you where you need to go with minimal fuss. 

NEW YORK (AP) — If someone left a government job with a black eye, literally, ran a company with shrinking profits, and suddenly had federal investigators crawling over their business, you might say they're having a bad year.

But most people are not Elon Musk.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some politicians carry threats to their livelihood in the palms of their hands.

News stories in recent weeks about offensive or ill-advised text messages have blown up the careers of several young Republicans in a chat group, led a nominee for a White House job to drop out, threatened the campaign of a Democrat running for Virginia attorney general and embarrassed a federal prosecutor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The calm following the Sept. 19 phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had barely ended when strong undercurrents surged, threatening to rock the entire ship.

First, the U.S. government widened sanction rules on Chinese companies. Beijing retaliated by expanding permitting requirements on rare earth materials needed in everything from smartphones to fighter jets. Trump hit back with threats to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods, clouding any prospect for a trade deal ahead of a possible summit in South Korea between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Donald Trump moves forward with construction of a ballroom, Associated Press photos on Thursday showed.

The East Wing, where first ladies created history, planned state dinners and promoted causes, is now history itself. The two-story structure of drawing rooms and offices, including workspace for first ladies and their staffs, has been turned into rubble, demolished as part of the Republican president's plan to build what he said is now a $300 million ballroom nearly twice the size of the White House.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans placed cornerback L'Jarius Sneed on injured reserve Thursday with a quadricep injury.

This is the second straight season the Titans have put Sneed on injured reserve. He played only five games in 2024 after Tennessee traded with Kansas City for the two-time Super Bowl champ and gave him a contract that made Sneed the NFL's fifth-highest paid cornerback at the time.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Cole Smith scored at 5:09 of the third period to lead the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

Ryan O'Reilly also scored and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for the Predators, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Authorities plan to give an update Friday on the massive blast at a Tennessee explosives plant that killed 16 people.

The delicate investigation at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant hasn't determined the cause of the Oct. 10 explosion, which killed people ages 21 to 60. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has positively identified 14 of the 16 victims using rapid DNA testing, authorities said.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges accusing her of lying on mortgage papers to secure favorable loan terms in a case pushed by President Donald Trump.

James' first court appearance in Virginia sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle between the Republican administration and a Democratic longtime Trump adversary who angered him with a major civil fraud case she brought against him.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal jury found a private company running a Louisiana jail liable for the 2015 death of a man who died of head injuries he received while in custody, and awarded the family more than $40 million in damages.

Attorneys representing Erie Moore Sr.'s family say they believe the verdict handed down this week in the Western District of Louisiana is among the highest ever jury awards for an in-custody death in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader's theme song from "Star Wars" on his phone sued the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the officers violated his constitutional rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration's annual cost-of-living adjustment will go up by 2.8% in 2026, translating to an average increase of more than $56 for retirees every month, agency officials said Friday.

The benefits increase for nearly 71 million Social Security recipients will go into effect beginning in January. And increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income will begin on Dec. 31.

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian government is limiting how many vehicles Stellantis and GM can import tariff free after the automakers ended some production in Canada, a government official said Thursday.

The official said the companies will no longer be eligible to get the full break on Canadian countertariff duties on autos and auto parts. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Friday said Meta and TitTok had breached their transparency obligations after an investigation that could result in billions of dollars in fines.

The inquiry found both companies had violated the Digital Services Act, the EU's trailblazing digital rule book that imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online, including making it easier to report counterfeit or unsafe goods or flag harmful or illegal content like hate speech, as well as a ban on ads targeted at children.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A 2018 Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates to legalized sports-betting industry, now worth billions of dollars a year, even as it recognized that the decision was controversial.

That high-court ruling is back in the spotlight after the arrests on Thursday of more than 30 people, including an NBA player and coach, in two cases alleging sprawling criminal schemes to rake in millions by rigging sports bets and poker games involving Mafia families.

NEW YORK (AP) — The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures, on charges of illegal sports betting has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of professional sports gambling across the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation remained elevated last month as gas prices jumped while the cost of rents cooled, painting a mixed picture of the expenses consumers are facing in a murky economy where growth appears steady but hiring slow.

Consumer prices increased 3% in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, the highest since January and up from 2.9% in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also rose 3%, down from 3.1% in the previous month.

TORONTO (AP) — The leader of Canada's most populous province posted remarks by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan on social media on Friday showing Reagan opposed tariffs, hours after President Donald Trump announced he's ending "all trade negotiations" with Canada because of a television ad that Trump said misstates Reagan's opposition to tariffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced he's ending "all trade negotiations" with Canada because of a television ad opposing U.S. tariffs that he said misstated the facts and called "egregious behavior" aimed at influencing U.S. court decisions.

HONG KONG (AP) — China's leaders are vowing to reduce its reliance on foreign advanced technology and spur stronger domestic demand as it weathers "high winds" amid elevated trade tensions with the U.S.

An outline of the ruling Communist Party's blueprint for the next five years was laid out in a 5,000-word communique released Thursday after a four-day top level meeting in Beijing, just days ahead of planned talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Google to acquire more of the computing power needed for the startup's chatbot, Claude.

Anthropic said Thursday the deal will give it access to up to 1 million of Google's AI computer chips and is "worth tens of billions of dollars and is expected to bring well over a gigawatt of capacity online in 2026."

NEW YORK (AP) — Intel has posted a profit in its first quarterly report since the U.S. government became a major shareholder in the struggling chipmaker.

The one-time American tech icon reported a net income of $4.1 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the three months ending in September, up from a loss of $17 billion, or $3.88 per share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 3% from last year to $13.7 billion.

President Donald Trump's favorability has fallen among Hispanic adults since the beginning of the year, a new AP-NORC poll shows, a potential warning sign from a key constituency that helped secure his victory in the 2024 election.

The October survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 25% of Hispanic adults have a "somewhat" or "very" favorable view of Trump, down from 44% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just before the Republican took office for the second time. The percentage of Hispanic adults who say the country is going in the wrong direction has also increased slightly over the past few months, from 63% in March to 73% now.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Donald Trump was geared up for a show of federal force in San Francisco, a city he's blasted as everything wrong with liberal governance. Then conversations with some of the Bay Area's most prominent tech leaders and the mayor changed his mind.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is going to Japan and South Korea next week to promote an epic financial windfall — at least $900 billion in investments for U.S. factories, a natural gas pipeline and other projects.

Japan and South Korea made those financial commitments in August to try to get Trump to ratchet down his planned tariff rates from 25% to 15%. But as the U.S. president is set to depart Friday night for Asia, the pledges are more of a loose end than money in the bank for American industry.

NASHVILLE (AP) — An electrocardiogram monitoring the heart of a Tennessee inmate executed by lethal injection in August showed "sustained cardiac activity" nearly two minutes after Byron Black was pronounced dead, his attorney told a judge on Friday.

McEWEN (AP) — A massive blast at a Tennessee explosives plant that killed 16 people, leveled the building and was felt more than 20 miles away began in an area where workers used kettles to produce a mixture of explosives and set off other explosives stored nearby, authorities said Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced he's ending "all trade negotiations" with Canada because of a television ad sponsored by one of its provinces that used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs — prompting the province's leader to later pull the ad.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump pulled out of trade talks with Canada Thursday night, furious over what he called a "fake'' television ad from Ontario's provincial government that quoted former U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 38 years ago criticizing tariffs -- Trump's favorite economic tool.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's barrage of tariffs has quickly strained the United States' longstanding relationship with Canada over the last year.

Since taking office in January, Trump has threatened Canada's economy and sovereignty with steep import taxes on its goods. He's even claimed that America's neighbor to the north could be "the 51st state." That rhetoric — paired with volleys of on-again, off-again new tariffs — has outraged Canadians, and created wider uncertainty for businesses and consumers across both countries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown now in its fourth week likely means there won't be an inflation report next month for the first time in more than seven decades, the White House said Friday, leaving Wall Street and the Federal Reserve without crucial information about consumer prices.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it has accepted an anonymous $130 million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown, raising ethical questions after President Donald Trump had announced that a friend had offered the gift to defray any shortfalls.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade, sharply escalating tensions with the leftist leader of one of the closest U.S. allies in South America.

The Big 12 has five teams in the Top 25 for the first time this season, Vanderbilt earned its highest ranking in 88 years and LSU dropped out of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday following its third loss in four games.

The top six was unchanged, with Ohio State holding the No. 1 spot for a ninth straight week followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Oregon.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jonathan Taylor is just seeing things differently on the field this season.

He's finding holes more quickly, hitting them harder and ripping off one long run after another. On Sunday, that game-changing combination helped the 2021 NFL rushing champ make history.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, and the Dallas Stars rallied to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Sunday night.

Oskar Bäck and Wyatt Johnston also scored and Jason Robertson had two assists for Dallas, which won its second straight after losing four in a row (0-3-1). Casey DeSmith had 23 saves.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A former state lawmaker whose testimony under a plea deal about a taxpayer-funded mail business scheme helped prosecutors land the conviction of a former Tennessee House speaker has been sentenced to eight months in prison.

Former state Rep. Robin Smith, a Republican who had pleaded guilty to one count of honest services wire fraud more than 3 1/2 years ago, said during her sentencing hearing that she had "failed the trust of the public," the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

Plan on a glorious extra hour of sleep as most of America "falls back" into standard time. But make sure to get outside for some morning sun, too — it'll help your body clock reset faster.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 8 when we will again "spring forward" with the return of daylight saving time.

NEW YORK (AP) — When the Trump administration froze foreign assistance overnight, urgent efforts began to figure out how to continue critical aid programs that could be funded by private donors.

Multiple groups launched fundraisers in February and eventually, these emergency funds mobilized more than $125 million within eight months, a sum that while not nearly enough, was more than the organizers had ever imagined possible.

Jonathan Reckford jokes that before he became CEO of Habitat for Humanity International he couldn't really keep a job.

In the two decades after he graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Reckford had been a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, coach of the Korean rowing team for the 1988 Olympics, and held executive and managerial positions at Marriott, Disney and Best Buy. He was executive pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church near Minneapolis, when he was recruited to lead Habitat in 2005.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hormel Foods is recalling nearly 4.9 million pounds of frozen boneless chicken products it sold to restaurants, cafeterias and other outlets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The imposing Shrine of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic church a short drive from the White House, was intended to be a sanctuary for worshippers. Now, its mostly immigrant congregation is steeped in fear.

Church leaders say more than 40 members of their parish have been detained, deported or both since federal law enforcement stepped up their deployment in August.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fighter jet and a helicopter based off the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz both crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other, the Navy's Pacific Fleet said.

The three crew members of the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were rescued on Sunday afternoon, and the two aviators in the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet ejected and were recovered safely, and all five "are safe and in stable condition," the fleet said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first caller on a telephone town hall with Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, leader of the House's conservative Freedom Caucus, came ready with a question about the Affordable Care Act. Her cousin's disabled son is at risk of losing the insurance he gained under that law, the caller said.

TOKYO (AP) — President Donald Trump opened his visit to Japan on Monday with greetings from the emperor a day before he meets new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the U.S. leader to ease trade tensions.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas quarterback Arch Manning was in concussion protocol and did not practice Monday ahead of the No. 20 Longhorns' game against No. 9 Vanderbilt.

Coach Steve Sarkisian said the team would get an update on Manning's injury later in the week.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have made it clear a week ahead of the NFL trade deadline that they're open for business after the latest loss in an ugly season.

The Titans sent cornerback Roger McCreary with his expiring rookie contract to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, their second trade involving a cornerback so far this season.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans traded cornerback Roger McCreary and a sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday for a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2026 draft.

McCreary was the 35th pick overall in the second round out of Auburn in 2022. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback has started 38 of 55 games, and he has three interceptions and four sacks for his career. McCreary just got his first sack this season in Sunday's loss at Indianapolis.

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland on Monday sought assurances that the government will not deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia before she has lifted an injunction barring his removal from the U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a notice late last week of their plan to deport him to the West African nation of Liberia as early as Friday. It's the latest in a series of African countries the agency has designated as possible destinations for the Salvadoran national.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to fire the director of the U.S. Copyright Office.

The administration's newest emergency appeal to the high court was filed a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington held that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resumed scheduling abortions on Monday after a nearly monthlong pause due to federal Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill that took effect at the beginning of October.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed to more records on Monday ahead of a week packed with potentially market-moving events for Wall Street.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 337 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.9%. Each of the trio set an all-time high for a second straight day.

Congress has the constitutional power of the purse, but President Donald Trump's robust assertion of executive authority is testing even that basic tenet of U.S. democracy.

His administration has already canceled or threatened to cancel billions of dollars of previously approved federal spending and now wants to go after even more funding during the government shutdown.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Two decades after a Republican-controlled Congress gave gun manufacturers immunity from being sued over crimes committed with their firearms, blue state Democrats upset about gun violence think they've found a way to penetrate that legal shield.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's lawyers have asked a New York state appeals court to toss out his hush money criminal conviction, saying federal law preempts state law and there was no intent to commit a crime.

The lawyers filed their written arguments with the state's mid-level appeals court just before midnight Monday.

The Trump administration must release millions of dollars in grants meant to address the shortage of mental health workers in schools, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Congress funded the mental health program after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were intended to help schools hire more counselors, psychologists and social workers, with a focus on rural and underserved areas of the country. But President Donald Trump's administration opposed diversity considerations used to award the grants and told recipients they wouldn't receive funding past December 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Gates thinks climate change is a serious problem but it won't be the end of civilization. He thinks scientific innovation will curb it, and it's instead time for a "strategic pivot" in the global climate fight: from focusing on limiting rising temperatures to fighting poverty and preventing disease.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sherry Jenkins is a Halloween person by default. She lives in Blairstown, New Jersey, a rural town where much of the original "Friday the 13th" horror movie was filmed.

NEW YORK (AP) — Citing a chronic shortage of financial backing for independent publishers and nonprofits dedicated to writing and reading, a coalition of seven charitable foundations has established a Literary Arts Fund that will distribute a minimum of $50 million over the next five years.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Russian oil major Lukoil says it is selling its international assets in response to sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that aim to push Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine.

The company said in a statement that it was already talking with potential purchasers. The transactions would be carried out under a sanctions grace period that allows transactions with Lukoil until Nov. 21, and the company said it would seek an extension if necessary to complete the transactions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer confidence weakened slightly in October as Americans remain anxious about their future financial prospects.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell by 1 point to 94.6 in October from an upwardly revised September reading of 95.6. Economists were expecting the reading to come in unchanged from the previous month. One year ago, the reading was 109.5.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will almost certainly cut its key interest rate on Wednesday and could signal it expects another cut in December as the central bank seeks to bolster hiring.

A cut Wednesday would be the second this year and could benefit consumers by bringing down borrowing costs for mortgages and auto loans. Since Fed chair Jerome Powell strongly signaled in late August that rate cuts were likely this year, the average 30-year mortgage rate has fallen to about 6.2% from 6.6%, providing a boost to the otherwise-sluggish housing market.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — China signed an expanded version of a free trade agreement Tuesday with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with Premier Li Qiang pitching expanded economic ties with Beijing as an alternative to the protectionist policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday confirmed the names of five candidates to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the powerful Federal Reserve next year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and China are not going to resolve all the issues that divide them before presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet Thursday in Busan, South Korea.

But they are likely to make enough progress on China's stranglehold on strategic minerals, American export controls and other nettlesome problems to calm financial markets and prevent their rivalry from doing much more economic damage for now.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pressure to end the second-longest federal government shutdown is gaining new urgency this week as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports snarl travel plans.

Food banks and pantries were already struggling after federal program cuts this year, but now they're bracing for a tsunami of hungry people if a pause in federal food aid to low-income people kicks in this weekend as the federal government shutdown persists.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Mike Waltz is approaching his new role as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a mandate from President Donald Trump to cut funding for what were once longtime American priorities the same way he set about representing Florida in Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled their long-promised report on former President Joe Biden's use of the autopen, delivering a blistering critique of his time in office and inner circle that largely rehashes public information while making sweeping accusations about the workings of his White House.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Not even a year out from the last presidential election, the Democratic National Committee has begun setting up a framework for the party's next round of presidential primary elections, which could upend the early-voting calendar yet again.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Oregon has blocked President Donald Trump's administration from pulling sexual education funding over curricula mentioning diverse gender identities.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken issued the preliminary injunction Monday as part of a lawsuit filed against the Health and Human Services Department by 16 states and the District of Columbia, which argued that pulling such money violated the separation of powers and federal law.

NEW YORK (AP) — It's a tough time for the job market. Amid wider economic uncertainty, some analysts have said that businesses are at a "no-hire, no fire" standstill. That's caused many to limit new work to only a few specific roles, if not pause openings entirely.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is reassigning at least half the top leadership at Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices around the country in a major shake-up of the agency responsible for carrying out the president's vision for mass deportations, according to one current and one former U.S. government official.

Battling through the Southeastern Conference turned out to be tougher than anyone could've imagined last year.

The league routinely had half or more of its 16 teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and ended up claiming a record 14 bids to March Madness. And it certainly had Florida prepared for its run to the program's third NCAA championship.

Mark Byington debuted as Vanderbilt's new coach by guiding the Commodores (20-13, 8-10 SEC) to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017. They won 20 games for the first time since 2011-12 and had 11 more victories than the season before. Byington filled up his roster with 11 transfers. Byington has gone back to the portal for more help after point guard and leading scorer Jason Edwards left for Providence.

The Volunteers – No. 18 Tennessee (30-8, 12-6 SEC) – have coach Rick Barnes back with contract extension after 10 seasons and a 232-109 record that allows him to stay as long as he wants. Barnes also has the top recruit in the 2025 class in Nate Ament joining Felix Okpara, the only starter back from an Elite Eight squad. The Vols have additions through the portal ready to pitch in for a program that has made seven straight NCAA Tournaments and one of only two teams to reach the last three Sweet 16s and past two Elite Eights.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Zemgus Girgensons scored two goals to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov and Charl-Edouard D'Astous also scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves. After winning just one of their first seven games of the season, the Lightning have won three straight.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge disqualified acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law.

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli from supervising the criminal prosecutions in three cases, siding with defense lawyers. Essayli has been unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California since July 29, Seabright wrote. But he may continue to serve as a First Assistant United States Attorney, Seabright ruled, effectively leaving him as the office's top prosecutor.

Higher prices, less help and a government shutdown all hang over health insurance markets as shoppers start looking for coverage this week.

The annual enrollment window for millions of people to pick an individual plan opens Saturday in nearly all states, and a heavy dose of politics weighs on this year's search.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration is moving to overrule any state laws that may protect consumers' credit reports from medical debt and other debt issues.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has drafted what's known as an interpretative rule related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, interpreting the law in a way that says the FCRA should preempt any state laws or regulations when it comes to how debt should be reported to the credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's decision to shift the nation's most advanced aircraft carrier to South America in his campaign against drug cartels is pulling the ship out of the Mediterranean Sea at a time when a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been threatened by new strikes in Gaza.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday he believes U.S. military members will be paid at the end of the week, though he did not specify how the Trump administration will reconfigure funding as pain from the second-longest shutdown spreads nationwide.

U.S. lawmakers have tried four times since September last year to close what they called a glaring loophole: China is getting around export bans on the sale of powerful American AI chips by renting them through U.S. cloud services instead.

But the proposals prompted a flurry of activity from more than 100 lobbyists from tech companies and their trade associations trying to weigh in, according to disclosure reports.

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AP) — Carbon tax concessions granted to global oil giants may undermine incentives to shift to cleaner energy, environmentalists fear.

So conservation groups in Singapore are seeking more transparency over what discounts the city-state of 6 million giving polluters for taxes on their climate-changing emissions. Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country to have imposed a carbon tax so far. Most of the European Union, California, South Korea and Japan also do so.

MacKenzie Scott, one of the world's richest women and most influential philanthropists, has donated $60 million to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, according to a Tuesday announcement from the nonprofit.

The donation is among the largest single gifts Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has made to a nonprofit, and the largest the Center for Disaster Philanthropy has ever received.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is expected to cut its short-term rate Wednesday for the second time this year despite an increasingly cloudy view of the economy it is trying to influence.

The government shutdown has cut off the flow of data that the Fed relies on to track employment, inflation, and the broader economy. September's jobs report, scheduled for release three weeks ago, is still postponed. This month's hiring figures, to be released Nov. 7, will likely be delayed and may be less comprehensive when they are finally released. And the White House said last week that October's inflation report may never be issued at all.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved a resolution Tuesday evening that would nullify President Donald Trump's tariffs on Brazil, including oil, coffee and orange juice, as Democrats tested GOP senators' support for Trump's trade policy.

The legislation from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, passed on a 52-48 tally.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fiserv shares careened to their lowest level in more than five years Wednesday after the fintech payment company badly missed Wall Street's profit targets, lowered its forecast and announced a shake-up in leadership.

The company, which owns the point-of-sale business management platform Clover, cut its full-year revenue growth outlook to between 3.5% and 4%, down from the 10% it projected just three months ago. The company now expects 2025 profit-per-share to come in between $8.50 and $8.60 per share, down from previous guidance of $10.15 to $10.30 per share.

GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea advanced trade talks on Wednesday, addressing details of $350 billion that would be invested in the American economy, after negotiations and ceremonies that included the presentation of a gold medal and crown to President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stewart McLaurin knew it was coming.

An entire wing of the White House, a building he calls "the most special, important building on the planet," was going to be replaced to make way for a ballroom that President Donald Trump wants to add to the building.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When he was elected the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in June, Rep. Robert Garcia at once gained a powerful perch and a pressing problem.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the tumultuous political climate marked by this year's assassinations of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah and Democratic legislators in Minnesota, younger adults are less worried about political violence than older adults, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

Federal regulators are trying to make it easier to develop cheaper alternatives to powerful drugs that many Americans depend on to treat autoimmune diseases or cancers.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has released guidance to simplify studies for biologic drugs and cut unnecessary testing.

NEW YORK (AP) — General Motors is laying off about 1,700 workers across manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio, as the auto giant adjusts to slowing demand for electric vehicles.

The Detroit News first reported the cuts on Wednesday — covering about 1,200 jobs at an all-electric plant in the Detroit area and 550 workers at Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Ohio, in addition to hundreds of other employees slated for temporary layoffs. GM later confirmed the news to The Associated Press.

DETROIT (AP) — Making electric vehicles and their batteries is a dirty process that uses a lot of energy. But a new study says that EVs quickly make up for that with less overall emissions through two years of use than a gas-powered vehicle.

The study also estimated that gas-powered vehicles cause at least twice as much environmental damage over their lifetimes as EVs, and said the benefits of EVs can be expected to increase in coming decades as clean sources of power, such as solar and wind, are brought onto the grid.

NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft has deployed a fix to address an outage of their Azure cloud portal that left users unable to access Office 365, Minecraft and other services.

The tech company wrote on its to its Azure status page that a configuration change to its Azure infrastructure caused the outage, and that its fix is being rolled out.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated.

"Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August," the Fed said in a statement issued Wednesday. "More recent indicators are consistent with these developments." The government hasn't issued unemployment data after August because of the shutdown. The Fed is watching private-sector figures instead.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point Wednesday for the second time since September. Before that, it had gone nine months without a cut.

The federal funds rate is the rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another. While the rates consumers pay to borrow money aren't directly linked to this rate, shifts affect what you pay for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and other financial products.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump isn't curtailing travel. He's not avoiding golf or making do with a skeleton staff in the West Wing. Even hamburgers served at the White House aren't from McDonalds, this time.

In shutdowns past — including during Trump's first term — presidents normally scaled back their schedules. With staffers deemed "non-essential" sent home, the White House often sought to appear sympathetic to Americans affected by disruptions to health care, veterans benefits and other key services.