News - Friday, October 3, 2025

Some journeys feel like a stroll through a park. Others are more like a trek through the wilderness. That’s not to say the park doesn’t require intention and effort – it does. But the terrain gentler and the obstacles fewer.

Writing “Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen” (2008) was a stroll through a park, metaphorically speaking, for first-time fiction writer Susan Gregg Gilmore. Centered on young Catherine Grace Cline, who longs to escape her small hometown of Ringgold, Georgia, the novel blends humor, drama and wit with lively, poignant storytelling rooted in Gilmore’s Southern heritage – an approach that would become a hallmark of her writing.

On a Monday afternoon in downtown Ringgold, the streets are quiet. Many of the smaller restaurants and shops are shuttered and waiting until Tuesday to stir. But inside Book & Barrel, energy builds as the day wanes. While the mornings drag, the evenings crackle with conversation: book clubs crowd around tables, aspiring poets test their lines before strangers and someone strums a guitar at an open mic.

Some Barnes & Nobles have escalators. Amazon has drones. Miranda Atkins had a potato chip truck and a community that still wanted to read. That was enough.

Before the truck, there was a small retail space in Ooltewah and a simple idea: give people a place to find good books and talk about them. Atkins opened A Little Bookish in 2018 after leaving her job in an elementary school. The timing lined up with a personal crossroads and a well-timed novel.

As we close out Realtor Safety Month and head into Halloween, it’s a great time to think not just about costumes and candy, but also about keeping our homes and neighborhoods safe. Whether you’re expecting a crowd of trick-or-treaters or simply want to protect your property from seasonal hazards, safety should always be part of your Halloween checklist.

The city of Chattanooga is expanding safety measures with new school zone traffic cameras and smart streetlights. Cameras have been installed near Orchard Knob Elementary and Brainerd High to enforce the 15-mph speed limit during school hours. Beginning Monday, Oct. 6, a 30-day warning period will start, after which violators will face $50 fines.

WTCI PBS will present a series of free preview screenings of the latest documentary from filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. In partnership with local libraries and community organizations, the events will give audiences an early look ahead of the film’s national broadcast premiere Nov. 16. Screenings are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Cleveland Bradley County Public Library, Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Chattanooga Public Library downtown branch, Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Chickamauga Public Library and Monday, Nov. 3, at WTCI PBS Studios. The final event will include live Revolutionary War-era music performed by Tom and Fran Morley, along with presentations by the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center.

Xavier Cotto, recipient of the Latino Leader of the Year Award at the 2025 Latino Leadership Awards, hosted by La Paz Chattanooga at The Westin Chattanooga on Sept. 19. The event drew hundreds of community members, leaders and supporters to honor Latino achievement, culture and collective impact. In addition to Cotto, this year’s honorees included: Ensamble de México (Chattanooga’s Choice); The Pop-Up Project (Latino Community Champion); Steisy Vasquez, Jennifer Velasquez and Alex De La Cruz (Emerging Latino Leaders); Brittany Faith of Abbott, Weiss, Faith & Darnell (Volunteer of the Year); Sign Revolution (Latino Business of the Year); and Radio Fiesta Latina (Latino New Business of the Year).

SCUBA divers at the Tennessee Aquarium display carved jack-o’-lanterns underwater in the River Journey exhibit to launch ODDtober 2025. The unusual tradition kicks off a monthlong celebration of nature’s weird and wonderful side, featuring eyeball art, seasonal animal enrichment and weekly underwater pumpkin carving demonstrations on Saturdays at 2 p.m. ODDtober, presented by Food City, runs throughout October.

No hype is necessary for Saturday’s showdown between No. 10 Alabama and unbeaten No. 16 Vanderbilt, but a week’s worth of hot takes from players on both sides has the college football world salivating for this rejuvenated Southeastern Conference rivalry.

2026 SEC Opponents

Home (5): Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Texas

Away (4): Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

2027 SEC Opponents

Home (4): Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

No hype is necessary for Saturday’s showdown between No. 10 Alabama and unbeaten No. 16 Vanderbilt, but a week’s worth of hot takes from players on both sides has the college football world salivating for this rejuvenated Southeastern Conference rivalry.

Sat., Oct. 4 | 2:30 p.m.

Bryant-Denny Stadium

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

TV: ABC Radio: 102.5 The Game

• All-time record versus Alabama: 20-62-4

• The Commodores are 1-10 versus AP No. 1 teams, getting their first win last season with a 40-35 win against Alabama in Nashville.

The stages of grief are well-known and reflect where a person’s mindset is in coping with tragedy.

It only took four games for Cam Ward’s demeanor to move from denial to anger, which was on display after Sunday’s embarrassing 26-0 loss in Houston.

So now what? The Titans are 0-4 and going nowhere with two more road games at Arizona and Las Vegas before old friend Mike Vrabel comes to town Oct. 19.

By that time, who knows what type of fragile state the franchise could be in?

The shutout in Houston left many players grasping to find a reason why things have been so bad.

The Titans continue to meander West on the schedule, heading to Arizona as the middle game of a three-game road swing. The Cardinals will be on extra rest after losing Thursday night on a last-second field goal to Seattle.

First down

Take the training wheels off. Cam Ward has been trying for a month now to operate within the scope of Brian Callahan’s offense. Changing the play-caller hasn’t worked, and trying to be patient in the pocket to make plays hasn’t either. It may be time to let Ward do more of what he did in college. Freewheeling and shooting from the hip works in college and often bites you in the NFL. But the Titans are desperate to find some big plays, even if they are off-schedule ones. What can it hurt at this point?

One of the hottest topics this year is artificial intelligence. Companies are desperate to find ways to use AI in all aspects of their business, hoping it will produce better, faster results that will ultimately increase quality and decrease costs. Many companies look at AI as the key to their future success.

In recent years, more vehicles at all manner of price points have come equipped with an array of advanced driver assistance systems as standard equipment. Studies from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and other organizations have shown that these features can help you keep your attention on the road and even help avoid or reduce the seriousness of a collision.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court on Tuesday set execution dates for four people, including the only woman in the state on death row.

Christa Pike received the death sentence at age 18 for the 1995 torture slaying of Colleen Slemmer, who was a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student. Slemmer, 18, was stabbed and beaten by Pike and Tadaryl Shipp, Pike's boyfriend at the time, on the University of Tennessee's Agricultural campus.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City rapper who joined then-former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year has been sentenced to five years behind bars after he admitted he used earnings from his music career to fuel gang violence in Brooklyn.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's time to get a flu vaccine, and pediatricians are urging people to get them after last winter, when the U.S. saw the most flu-related child deaths in 15 years.

October is the ideal month to get protected, experts say, because flu cases typically begin climbing in November.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown that began Wednesday will deprive policymakers and investors of economic data vital to their decision-making at a time of unusual uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy.

The absence will be felt almost immediately, as the government's monthly jobs report scheduled for release Friday will likely be delayed. A weekly report on the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs that is typically published on Thursdays — will also be postponed.

NEW YORK (AP) — As uncertainty deepens amid the U.S. government's first shutdown in almost seven years, the gold frenzy continues to climb to new heights.

The going price for New York spot gold hit a record $3,858.45 per troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — as of market close Tuesday, ahead of the shutdown beginning overnight. And futures continued to climb on Wednesday, dancing with the $3,900 mark as of midday trading.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked up for the second straight week following a string of declines that had brought down home borrowing costs to their lowest level in nearly a year.

The average long-term mortgage rate rose this week to 6.34% from 6.3% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.12%.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal appeals panel on Wednesday dismissed the NCAA's eligibility case against Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who is playing this season under a preliminary injunction.

All three judges agreed with the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction in a quick ruling returned after hearing only oral arguments Sept. 16 in Nashville. Judge Amul R. Thapar noted Pavia won the preliminary injunction before the NCAA hurt its appeal by granting a waiver to athletes in his position.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sam Surridge converted a penalty in the 60th minute and Nashville SC won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday night.

Hany Mukhtar also scored for Nashville, which secured a spot in the 2026 CONCACF Champions Cup with the victory. It was the first major trophy for the club, which joined Major League Soccer in 2020.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is asking nine major universities to commit to President Donald Trump's political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money.

Universities were asked to sign a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" committing them to adopt the White House's vision for America's campuses. It asks the schools to accept the government's priorities on admissions, women's sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A U.S. immigration judge has denied a bid for asylum from Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has become a proxy for the partisan power struggle over immigration policy.

The judge in Baltimore on Wednesday rejected an application to reopen Abrego Garcia's 2019 asylum case, but that is not the final word. Abrego Garcia has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The federal government is expected to again accept new applications for a program that grants some people without legal immigration status the ability to live and work in the United States.

Lawyers for the federal government and immigrant advocates have presented plans before a federal judge that would open the door again to accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA.

VALHALLA, New York (AP) — Pepsi has a new challenge: keeping products like Gatorade and Cheetos vivid and colorful without the artificial dyes that U.S. consumers are increasingly rejecting.

PepsiCo, which also makes Doritos, Cap'n Crunch cereal, Funyuns and Mountain Dew, announced in April that it would accelerate a planned shift to using natural colors in its foods and beverages. Around 40% of its U.S. products now contain synthetic dyes, according to the company.

MEMPHIS (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Wednesday rallied members of a federal law enforcement task force that has begun operating in Memphis as part of President Donald Trump's crime-fighting plan for the city.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third-quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30.

The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk's foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company's cars and even protested at some dealerships.

As the founding global opinion editor for The Washington Post, Karen Attiah believed her job had always been about assessing world affairs in a way that elevated a diverse range of perspectives.

"I'm not just a columnist," she recently said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown that began Wednesday will deprive policymakers and investors of economic data vital to their decision-making at a time of unusual uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy.

The absence will be felt almost immediately, as the government's monthly jobs report scheduled for release Friday will likely be delayed. A weekly report on the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs that is typically published on Thursdays — will also be postponed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — DoorDash has finalized its acquisition of the U.K. food delivery company Deliveroo, saying Thursday that the boards of both companies approved the nearly $4 billion deal announced earlier this year.

Word of DoorDash's interest in Deliveroo began to circulate in April and the San Francisco company quickly confirmed that it had agreed to buy Deliveroo for $3.9 billion in cash. The deal, which was approved by a British court, will help DoorDash to expand its business in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway is buying Occidental Petroleum's chemical division for $9.7 billion in what may be the last big acquisition involving the consummate dealmaker, Warren Buffett.

Buffett wasn't mentioned anywhere in materials released by Berkshire Hathaway discussing the deal Thursday, potentially signaling a passing of the torch to Vice Chair Greg Abel, to whom Buffet will hand the CEO title in January.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Europe must take a more aggressive approach with Russia by shooting down drones that enter European airspace and boarding shadow fleet ships illicitly transporting oil to deprive Moscow of war revenue, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government had shut down, and Donald Trump was calling on Democrats and Republicans to work together to get out of the mess.

"You have to get people in a room, and you have to just make deals for the good of the country," Trump remarked.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, by threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting "irreversible" cuts to programs important to Democrats.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A week after her decisive win in an Arizona special election, Adelita Grijalva arrived at the U.S. Capitol, where her father had served for decades.

But as she roamed the familiar halls, she said she could not help but feel like a tourist. With the House out of session, her swearing in has been delayed. That left her without an office, a desk, staff — something of an unofficial new member of Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats spent the first day of the federal government shutdown blaming each other for the dysfunction, as iconic sites representing the nation's core identity — from the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii — were temporarily closed.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged up to more records. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.4%. All three set all-time highs.

Technology stocks helped lead the way after OpenAI announced partnerships with South Korean companies for its Stargate artificial-intelligence infrastructure project.

OpenAI could now be the world's most valuable startup, ahead of Elon Musk's SpaceX and TikTok's parent company ByteDance, after a secondary stock sale designed to retain employees at the ChatGPT maker.

Current and former OpenAI employees sold $6.6 billion in shares to a group of investors, pushing the privately held artificial intelligence company's valuation to $500 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the deal who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals are struggling a bit these days, losing consecutive games in gut-wrenching fashion on a pair of last-season field goals.

The Tennessee Titans are in even worse shape.

The woeful Titans (0-4) travel to face the Cardinals (2-2) on Sunday having lost 10 straight games dating to last season. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward — who was the No. 1 overall pick back in April — has taken his lumps. Tennessee is coming off a 26-0 loss to Houston and the Titans are averaging less than 13 points per game.

NEW YORK (AP) — The curtain has been drawn. The stage lights are on. It's time for "The Life of a Showgirl."

For Taylor Swift's most dedicated audience, a new album means new opportunities to decode Easter eggs in her lyrics and music videos. The pop superstar's 12th studio album has no shortage of clever clues and references to her public life and discography. Many are opaque, revealing just enough to inspire a myriad of fan theories. Others are concrete – explicit names and places worth exploring. Below, you will find a guide to those instances, and how they relate to Swift.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a dozen candidates will compete for their parties' nominations Tuesday to fill a vacant Tennessee congressional seat in the closely divided U.S. House.

The winners will face off in a Dec. 2 special election to replace Republican former U.S. Rep. Mark Green, who resigned in July to work in the private sector. The contest in the state's reliably Republican 7th Congressional District will likely temporarily pad the House GOP's narrow advantage in the chamber. A vacant seat in a heavily Democratic Houston-area district in Texas will be filled in November.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will take up its latest gun rights case and consider striking down strict regulations on where people can carry firearms in Hawaii.

President Donald Trump's Republican administration had urged the justices to take the case, arguing the law violates the court's 2022 ruling that expanded gun rights by finding the Second Amendment generally gives people the right to carry firearms.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration is tapping National Guard and Army Reserve lawyers to be temporary immigration judges after firing dozens of existing judges, the latest step in a broader plan that experts warn could harm immigration courts and the military justice system.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials have approved another generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone, a regulatory formality that quickly triggered pushback from anti-abortion groups and politicians aligned with the Trump administration.

Drugmaker Evita Solutions announced on its website that the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its low-cost form of the pill, which is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks.

NEW YORK (AP) — Months after Elon Musk left the Trump administration to the relief of Tesla investors worried about boycotts, the world's richest man has announced some good news: Sales of Tesla cars are back.

Well, maybe.

The electric vehicle maker run by Musk reported Thursday that car sales jumped 7% in the three months through September after plunging for most of the year as people turned off by his embrace of President Donald Trump and far-right politicians in Europe balked at buying his cars.

DENVER (AP) — When the government shut down in 2018, a Mississippi nonprofit interceded to fund a bare-bones crew to keep one of the state's most-visited cultural attractions operating. Now, the group is committed to doing that for Vicksburg National Military Park once again.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election.

The move comes as President Donald Trump threatens deep cuts in his fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration will withhold $2.1 billion for Chicago infrastructure projects, the White House budget director said Friday, expanding funding fights that have targeted Democratic areas during the government shutdown.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology's volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet's early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that Hamas must agree to a proposed peace deal for Gaza by Sunday evening and threatened that the group will face more attacks if it doesn't.

"An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time," Trump wrote Friday on social media. "Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown were fading Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.

Senators were headed back to the Capitol for another vote on government funding on the third day of the shutdown, but there has been no sign of any real progress toward ending their standoff. Democrats are demanding that Congress extend health care benefits, while Republicans are trying to wear them down with day after day of voting on a House-passed bill that would reopen the government temporarily, mostly at current spending levels.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Zohran Mamdani 's swift rise in New York City's mayoral race has made him into a national symbol — both as a point of pride among many Muslim Americans and a political foil for the right.

His campaign has been met by a surge in anti-Muslim language directed at the Democratic nominee, who would become the city's first Muslim mayor if elected in November.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in an "armed conflict" with them, according to a Trump administration memo obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday, following recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is asking nine major universities to commit to President Donald Trump's political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money.

Universities were asked to sign a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" committing them to adopt the White House's vision for America's campuses. It asks the schools to accept the government's priorities on admissions, women's sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics.

ATLANTA (AP) — Real estate giant Greystar and 25 other property management companies have agreed to collectively pay more than $141 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing landlords of driving up housing costs by using rent-setting algorithms offered by the software company RealPage.

NEW YORK (AP) — Most Americans want Congress to extend tax credits that, if left to expire at the end of the year, could raise health insurance costs for millions of Americans, according to a new poll released Friday from the health care research nonprofit KFF.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accused the independent watchdog for the Pentagon of being "weaponized" and says he's overhauling the inspector general's office, upending the way that service members report abuse and other problems in the ranks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is cutting ties with two organizations that for decades have tracked domestic extremism and racial and religious bias, a move that follows complaints about the groups from some conservatives and prominent allies of President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown faded Friday as Democrats refused to budge in a Senate vote and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.

On the third day of the shutdown, a Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would reopen the government failed on a 54-44 tally — well short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and pass the legislation. Senators headed for the exits of the Capitol, expecting no more votes over the weekend and showing few signs of any real progress towards ending the congressional standoff.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he has personally reversed $187 million in funding cuts made by his administration for New York's law enforcement and counterterrorism operations, following bipartisan outcry from New York officials.

President Donald Trump and other high-ranking Republicans claim Democrats forced the government shutdown fight because they want to give free health care to immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

Democrats are trying to extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable on marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, and reverse Medicaid cuts in Trump's big bill passed this summer. But immigrants who entered the country illegally are not eligible for either program.

Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Memphis are no strangers to The Associated Press college football poll. Until now, the three schools from the Volunteer State had never been ranked in the Top 25 together.

Memphis is the first Bowl Subdivision team to go 6-0 and achieve bowl eligibility, and Sunday the Tigers received their first ranking of the season at No. 23.

Miami moved back to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday, Texas Tech has its highest ranking since 2008 and Penn State and Texas fell all the way out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2022 after the two top-10 teams lost to unranked opponents.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Coach Brian Callahan has been adamant over the past few weeks that his Tennessee Titans could be a good team if the football started bouncing their way.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Emari Demercado committed a cardinal football sin by dropping the ball before crossing the goal line.

His inexcusable gaffe sparked a monumental collapse by the Arizona Cardinals.

Demercado had a 72-yard touchdown wiped away early in the fourth quarter and the Cardinals proceeded to blow a 15-point lead on Sunday, losing to the Tennessee Titans 22-21 on Joey Slye's last-second field goal.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — This weekend's box office belonged to two undeniable draws: Taylor Swift and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

It might have looked like a heavyweight matchup, but Swift's devoted fanbase once again proved unstoppable with her film "The Official Release Party of a Show Girl," which debuted at No. 1 with $33 million in North America, according to Sunday estimates from Comscore. The AMC Theatres release -- announced only two weeks ago with minimal promotion -- served as a companion piece to Swift's 12th studio album, packaging music videos, behind-the-scenes footage and profanity-free lyric visuals into an 89-minute experience.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court refused Monday to revive a controversial Missouri gun law that bans police from enforcing some federal firearm laws.

The high court rejected a push to hear arguments over whether the state can block police from enforcing federal gun laws that don't have an equivalent state law.

President Donald Trump has tapped a career government attorney who worked behind the scenes for years to root out misconduct in federal law enforcement to serve as the Justice Department's next internal watchdog.

The White House on Friday named Don R. Berthiaume to serve as the department's acting inspector general, a high-profile position that oversees internal investigations into fraud, waste and abuse in the department and its component agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein.

On the first day of their new term, the justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sordid sexual-abuse saga after President Donald Trump's administration sought to tamp down criticism over its refusal to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein's case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is beginning a new term with a sharp focus on President Donald Trump's robust assertion of executive power.

Pivotal cases on voting and the rights of LGBTQ people also are on the agenda. On Tuesday, the justices will hear arguments over bans passed by nearly half of U.S. states on therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity.

NEW YORK (AP) — A group of countries that are part of the OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has agreed to a small boost in oil production, citing a steady global economic outlook.

The group said after a virtual meeting on Sunday that it will raise oil production by 137,000 barrels per day in November, they same amount it announced for October. The group has been raising output slightly in a series of boosts all year, after announcing cuts in 2023 and 2024.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chicken product maker Foster Poultry Farms is recalling more than 3.8 million pounds of chicken corn dog products after wood was found in the batter, resulting in injuries.

According to a notice posted Saturday on the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service site, the company, based in Livingston, California, received numerous complaints about finding wood in the batter of the products, including reports of at least five injuries.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

Brunkow, 64, is a senior program manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle. Ramsdell, 64, is a scientific adviser for Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco. Sakaguchi, 74, is a distinguished professor at the Immunology Frontier Research Center at Osaka University in Japan.

NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount said Monday that it has bought the news and commentary website The Free Press and installed its founder, Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News, saying it believes the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based.

BEIRUT (AP) — Minutes after journalists gathered outside a Gaza hospital to survey the damage of an Israeli strike, Ibrahim Qannan pointed his camera up at the battered building as the others climbed its external stairs. Then Qannan watched in horror — while broadcasting live — as a second strike killed the friends and colleagues he knew so well.

NEW YORK (AP) — If the U.S. government's latest shutdown can't stop the stock market, what can?

Stock prices keep rising, even as the shutdown delays important economic reports that usually steer trading. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average set all-time highs Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano was named to the newly created position of CEO of the IRS on Monday, making him the latest member of the Trump administration to be put in charge of multiple federal agencies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economic boom promised by President Donald Trump centers on a single number: $17 trillion.

That's the sum of new investments that Trump claims to have generated with his tariffs, income tax cuts and aggressive salesmanship of CEOs, financiers, tech titans, prime ministers, presidents and other rulers. The $17 trillion is supposed to fund new factories, new technologies, more jobs, higher incomes and faster economic growth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic lawmakers have provided few public signs of meaningful negotiations to break an impasse on reopening the federal government as the shutdown entered its sixth day on Monday.

President Donald Trump, when asked on Sunday night when federal workers would be fired as he has threatened, told reporters: "It's taking place right now, and it's all because of the Democrats." He declined to answer a question about which agencies are subject to the cuts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A food aid program that helps more than 6 million low-income mothers and young children will run out of federal money within two weeks unless the government shutdown ends, forcing states to use their own money to keep it afloat or risk it shutting down, experts say.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is spending millions of dollars on television advertising in select metro areas around the country, an Associated Press tally found, aimed at recruiting local officers frustrated with their cities' restrictions on immigration enforcement into President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava is The Associated Press national player of the week in college football. The transfer from Tennessee was responsible for all five UCLA touchdowns in the 42-37 upset of Penn State.

With tight ends and wide receivers coach Jerry Neuheisel calling the plays for the first time, Iamaleava completed 17 of 24 passes for 166 yards and two TDs and ran for 128 yards and three scores on 16 carries.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans bought themselves a break from the questions about losing and whether coach Brian Callahan should be fired.

Arizona certainly helped with two costly turnovers.

NEW YORK (AP) — It's the life of a saleswoman. Taylor Swift's 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," sold 2.7 million copies in traditional album sales — which include physical and digital formats — in its first day in the U.S. That's according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company.

The Associated Press is objecting to Donald Trump's false claims about its ongoing legal dispute over access after the president incorrectly characterized the case in a public forum — a situation that goes back to the news service's decision last winter not to follow the president's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's latest bid to deploy the military on U.S. soil over local opposition is triggering a new conflict with blue state governors that is playing out in the courts as Trump envisages a country where armed soldiers patrol U.S. streets.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The immigration detainees sent to a notorious Louisiana prison last month are being punished for crimes for which they have already served time, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday in a lawsuit challenging the government's decision to hold what it calls the "worst of the worst" there.

Several groups and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency over the canceling of a $7 billion Solar for All program intended to make solar power accessible to more than 900,000 lower-income Americans.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted recommendations by a new group of vaccine advisers, and stopped recommending COVID-19 shots for anyone — leaving the choice up to patients.

The government health agency on Monday announced it had adopted recommendations made last month by advisers picked by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is considering admitting far fewer refugees into the U.S. this year — as few as 7,500, and mostly white South Africans, officials say — a dramatic new low as the administration is conducting sweeping immigration raids as part of its mass deportation agenda.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers provided few public signs of meaningful negotiations to break an impasse on reopening the federal government as the shutdown entered its sixth day. House Speaker Mike Johnson said "there's nothing for us to negotiate" while House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries declared the "time is now" to work out a deal on health care.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Democratic and Republican ballots aren't short on candidates in Tuesday's Tennessee primary special election to replace a GOP congressman who stepped aside this summer, including one who landed President Donald Trump's endorsement last week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear arguments in its latest LGBTQ+ rights case Tuesday, weighing the constitutionality of bans passed by nearly half of U.S. states on the practice known as conversion therapy for children.

The justices are hearing a lawsuit from a Christian counselor challenging a Colorado law that prohibits therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity. Kaley Chiles, with support from President Donald Trump's Republican administration, argues the law violates her freedom of speech by barring her from offering voluntary, faith-based therapy for kids.

Every night some 74,000 gallons (280,000 liters) of water are frozen at Norton Audubon Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. The hospital used to get all of its air conditioning from a conventional system found in most U.S. buildings, but now 27 tanks of ice sustain a network of cold-water pipes keeping operating rooms at safe temperatures and patients comfortable.

Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, according to a new analysis.

Global solar generation grew by a record 31% in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew by 7.7%, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight Tuesday London time. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than overall global demand increased in the same period, it found.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis won the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for research on the weird world of sub-atomic quantum tunneling that advances the power of everyday digital communications and computing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Toyota is recalling nearly 400,000 vehicles because the rearview camera may not display when backing up, increasing the risk of a crash, federal traffic safety regulators said.

Included in the recall are 2022-2025 Toyota Tundras and Tundra hybrids and 2023-2025 Sequoia hybrids. The number of automobiles in the recall total 393,838, with the non-hybrid Tundra making up more than half of them.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization is sharply raising its forecast for trade growth in goods this year after an unexpectedly strong first half due to rising AI-related purchases, front-loaded imports in the U.S. over tariff fears and robust developing-world trade.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government shutdown is waving a caution flag at private companies racing to make the move to the public market.

The market for initial public offerings has been on a years-long recovery after spiking inflation slammed the brakes on activity in 2022. The IPO market is already on track for its best year since 2021 with 163 deals and $31 billion in proceeds raised so far, according to Renaissance Capital.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gold futures rose above $4,000 per ounce for the first time on Tuesday as many investors seek a "safe haven" for to park their money as the U.S. government shutdown continues.

Gold futures in New York briefly jumped above the $4,000 mark just after 9 a.m. ET, a record high. The going price for New York spot gold had previously closed at $3,960.60 per troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — Monday.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Deloitte Australia will partially refund the 440,000 Australian dollars ($290,000) paid by the Australian government for a report that was littered with apparent AI-generated errors, including a fabricated quote from a federal court judgment and references to nonexistent academic research papers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is warning Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats believe health care is an issue that resonates with a majority of Americans as they demand an extension of subsidies for their votes to reopen the shuttered U.S. government. But it is also one of the most intractable issues in Congress — and a real compromise is unlikely to be easy, or quick.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump cracked the door slightly to negotiations with Democrats on the health care subsidies they've made central to the shutdown fight, then abruptly closed it Monday, leaving the two sides once again at a seemingly intractable impasse.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi defended herself against Democratic criticism that she had weaponized the Justice Department at a Tuesday congressional hearing where she was set to face tough questions over the political pressure on the law enforcement agency to pursue President Donald Trump's perceived foes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday at a time when one of the world's most durable and amicable alliances has been fractured by Trump's trade war and annexation threats.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States under the Biden and Trump administrations has provided at least $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel since the start of the Gaza war two years ago, according to a new academic study published Tuesday, the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel that provoked the conflict.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI in 2023 analyzed phone records of more than a half dozen Republican lawmakers as part of an investigation into efforts by President Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to information released Monday by GOP senators.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday ordered approval of a proposed 211-mile road through an Alaska wilderness to allow mining of copper, cobalt, gold and other minerals.

The long-debated Ambler Road project was approved in Trump's first term, but was later blocked by the Biden administration after an analysis determined the project would threaten caribou and other wildlife and harm Alaska Native tribes that rely on hunting and fishing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Supreme Court justices on Tuesday seemed likely to side with a Christian counselor challenging bans on LGBTQ+ "conversion therapy" for kids as a violation of her First Amendment rights.

Kaley Chiles, with support from President Donald Trump's administration, argues the laws passed by about half of U.S. states wrongly bar her from offering voluntary, faith-based therapy for kids.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla rolled out new, cheaper versions of two of its electric car models on Tuesday in hopes the offerings will help revive flagging sales.

The new Model Y, costing just under $40,000 with a stripped-down interior, follows a slump in Tesla sales covering most of the past year due to anti-Elon Musk boycotts targeting the company. The company is also offering a cheaper version of its Model 3 for under $35,000.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street's record-breaking rally ran out of momentum on Tuesday after the price of gold topped $4,000 per ounce for the first time.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.4% from its latest all-time high and broke a seven-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly deflected questions as she sought during a combative congressional hearing on Tuesday to defend herself against growing criticism that she's turning the law enforcement agency into a weapon to seek vengeance against President Donald Trump's political opponents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was open to extending the free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada through a renegotiation or seeking "different deals" as he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner in Gov. Bill Lee's administration who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn won their crowded primary races Tuesday and will face off in December in a special election to replace a GOP congressman who left office this summer.

MEMPHIS (AP) — One of three Tennessee lawmakers who drew national attention in 2023 when Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature moved to expel them following a gun control protest is running for Congress, he announced Wednesday.

Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson went to a Memphis park near the neighborhood where he grew up to announce that he will challenge longtime Democratic congressman Steve Cohen to represent the majority-Black city in 2026. The winner likely would have a clear path to represent the state's 9th Congressional District, the state's only jurisdiction that leans Democratic under congressional lines drawn by Republicans.

ELWOOD, Ill. (AP) — National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and could be in Memphis by Friday, as President Donald Trump's administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy toward big-city crime — whether local leaders support it or not.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — James Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department's efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump, with lawyers for the former FBI director saying that they plan to argue the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A partisan battle is playing out in a Washington courtroom that could decide the fate of President Donald Trump's federal law enforcement intervention in the nation's capital.

Dozens of states have taken sides in a lawsuit challenging the open-ended National Guard deployment in Washington, with their support falling along party lines. It shows how the law enforcement operation in the nation's capital remains a flashpoint in the Republican president's broadening campaign to send the military to cities across the country and underscores the deepening divisions over the move.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's attorney general claimed Tuesday that the online gaming platform Roblox has become a "playground for predators" as he announced a lawsuit accusing the company of lax child safety measures.

The Kentucky suit, filed by his office Monday in a state court, is the latest action alleging that the wildly popular site isn't doing enough to protect children on its gaming services.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for their development of metal–organic frameworks that could play a part in solving some of humanity's greatest challenges. An expert likened the discovery to Hermione Granger's enchanted handbag in the fictional "Harry Potter" series.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive arm on Wednesday unveiled detailed proposals to protect farmers from being undercut by imports from South America as it seeks to build support for its deal with the Mercosur trade alliance.

The deal between the EU and the five Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia — would progressively remove duties on almost all goods traded between the two blocs over the next 15 years. Provided it is ratified by both blocs, the accord would create one of the world's largest free trade zones, covering a market of 780 million people that represents nearly a quarter of global gross domestic product.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Lawmakers in the European Parliament on Wednesday voted to ban the labelling of vegetarian protein with terms such as "steak" or "meat."

The lawmakers voted 532 to 78 to define meat as "edible parts of animals" and to curtail the use of words like steak, escalope, sausage or burger for animal and not plant-based products. The proposal will go to a parliamentary committee to be clarified, before going back to the EU executive arm and then to the bloc's 27 member states for further negotiations.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — When Rob Coverdale started his job in 2023 as superintendent of the K-12 Crow Creek Tribal School in South Dakota, there were 15 unfilled teaching positions.

Within nine months, he had filled those vacancies with Filipino teachers, the majority of whom arrived on the H-1B, a visa for skilled workers in specialty occupations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy is holding up better than expected despite major shocks such as President Donald Trump's tariffs, but the head of the International Monetary Fund says that resilience may not last.

"Buckle up," Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech at a think tank Wednesday. "Uncertainty is the new normal and it is here to stay."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation's third-largest city. The officials said they would not be deterred.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tours at the Capitol have come to a standstill. The House is keeping its doors closed, while the Senate is stuck in a loop of failed votes on a rejected plan to reopen the government. President Donald Trump is threatening to mass fire federal workers and refuse back pay for the rest.

WASHINGTON (AP) — To hear party leaders talk, the seventh day of the government shutdown sounded a lot like the first. Democrats are seeking negotiations on expiring health care subsidies while Republicans say they won't discuss it, or any other policy, until the government reopens.

The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's pick to fill a critical vacancy at the top agency for worker rights, restoring it to the full power needed to deepen his overhaul of civil rights enforcement.

The confirmation of Brittany Panuccio as a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Tuesday established a Republican majority at the agency and restored the quorum needed to make major policy and enforcement decisions in pursuit of Trump's civil rights priorities, including stamping out diversity and inclusion programs and rolling back protections for transgender workers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump predicted that Canadians will travel to the United States once again after a trade deal is reached.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday that he understands why many Canadians are refusing to visit.

The NCAA moved a step closer Wednesday to allowing athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports.

The Division I Administrative Committee approved the change, which must still be approved by Division II and III for it to go into effect.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton "ain't dead yet," the country superstar said on social media Wednesday following public speculation about her health.

"There are just a lot of rumors flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you'd know that I was okay," the 79-year-old singer said in a new two-minute video posted on Instagram. "I'm not ready to die yet. I don't think God is through with me. And I ain't done working."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed ready Wednesday to revive a Republican challenge to an Illinois law that allows the counting of late-arriving mail ballots, which have been a target of President Donald Trump.

The justices are considering the narrower issue of whether a GOP congressman has the legal right, or standing, to challenge the law that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received up to two weeks later.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department's efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump, with lawyers for the former FBI director saying they plan to argue the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed.

The number of international student arrivals in the U.S. dropped by nearly a fifth in August as American universities started the new academic year, according to federal data.

The dip is the latest sign of a hit to colleges' international enrollment as the Trump administration ratchets up scrutiny of foreign students.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bari Weiss has made a name for herself as an unflinching critic of mainstream news outlets. Now, she's set to run one.

The announcement this week of Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News has been met with a response the 41-year-old has grown accustomed to in her years as a polarizing voice in the public eye.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most members of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, according to minutes from last month's meeting released Wednesday.

A majority of Fed officials felt that the risk unemployment would rise had worsened since their previous meeting in July, while the risk of rising inflation "had either diminished or not increased," the minutes said. As a result, the central bank decided at its Sept. 16-17 meeting to reduce its key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.1%, its first cut this year.

NEW YORK (AP) — A resurgence of meme stock interest has prompted the return of a one-stop fund for the volatile and quirky investments.

Roundhill Investments is launching a meme ETF, which is an exchange-traded fund consisting solely of meme stocks. Several of those stocks have ridden a wave of meme investment sentiment this year. The move comes two years after the provider of ETFs closed the fund because of slumping interest. The new fund trades under the "MEME" symbol.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first week is the easy one. The pressure to resolve the federal shutdown will gradually build as the shutdown enters its second week — and as government workers miss paychecks and important programs run out of money.

Here are some pressure points ahead that could have a big influence on resolving the shutdown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate was voting Wednesday on legislation to put a check on President Donald Trump's ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels, as Democrats and at least one Republican tried to counter the administration's extraordinary assertion of presidential war power to destroy vessels in the Caribbean.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS will furlough nearly half of its workforce on Wednesday as part of the ongoing government shutdown, according to an updated contingency plan posted to its website. Most IRS operations are closed, the agency said in a separate letter to its workers.

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge says that the agency tasked with finding a prosecutor to take over the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others can have a little more time, but not as much time as it wanted.

What will happen to the case has been uncertain since Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from continuing the prosecution over an "appearance of impropriety" caused by a romantic relationship she had with a prosecutor she hired.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said Wednesday he was troubled that partisanship seemed to be "creeping its way into the court," and that the state of political discourse in the country has gotten so vulgar and vile that he worries for the country.

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors told a judge Wednesday that no harm was done to prospects for a fair trial after two U.S. Justice Department officials reposted potentially inflammatory comments President Donald Trump made about Luigi Mangione after he was charged with assassinating UnitedHealthcare's CEO.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal auto safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into Tesla's so-called full-self driving technology after dozens of incidents in which its vehicles ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and injuring people.

MILAN (AP) — Italian luxury sports carmaker Ferrari raised its 2025 guidance on Thursday, despite global 15% tariffs on foreign car imports to the United States, as the company unveiled the new powertrain and chassis of its first fully electric production vehicle.

LONDON (AP) — iPhone users have a new tool to combat the scourge of nuisance phone calls: a virtual gatekeeper that can screen incoming calls from unknown numbers.

It's among the bevy of new features that Apple rolled out with last month's release of iOS 26. The screening feature has been getting attention because of the ever-increasing amount of robocalls and spam calls that leave many phone users feeling harassed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on a group of 50 people, companies and ships largely out of the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and China, alleging they were facilitating the shipment of Iranian oil and sales of liquefied petroleum gas.

HONG KONG (AP) — China outlined new curbs on exports of rare earths and related technologies on Thursday, extending controls over use of the elements critical for many products ahead of a meeting later this month between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A president looking to seize power beyond the executive branch. A Congress controlled by Republican lawmakers unwilling to directly defy him. And a minority party looking for any way to fight back.

The dynamic left Washington in a stalemate Thursday — the ninth day of the government shutdown — and lawmakers openly venting their frustration as they tried to gain traction without the trust that is typically the foundation of any bipartisan deal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voted down legislation Wednesday that would have put a check on President Donald Trump's ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels after Democrats tried to counter the administration's extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers to destroy vessels in the Caribbean.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Wednesday that it has fired a U.S. diplomat over a romantic relationship he admitted having with a Chinese woman alleged to have ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The dismissal is believed to be the first of its kind for violating a ban on such relationships that was introduced late last year under the Biden administration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that alleged drug-smuggling boats targeted by the U.S. military in a series of fatal strikes were in fact carrying narcotics, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.