News - Friday, March 7, 2025

It’s Wednesday evening at Barking Legs Theater, which means someone is playing jazz. On this drizzly Feb. 12, it’s the Alex Keiss Quartet with guitarist Keiss, bassist Tony Tortora, drummer Spencer West and saxophonist Austin Petitt.

There’s room for more bodies in the small lobby that’s pulling double duty as the stage and listening space, but wet and chilly weather kept attendance down to a couple dozen. To fill the gaps in the seating and warm up listeners, Keiss and his bandmates are packing the venue with quick flurries of notes and the friction heat of rapid guitar play.

One month of live jazz in Chattanooga

March 7

• Friday Jazz

The Greenhouse at Oddstory Brewing

6-9 p.m.

• Live Jazz & Wine Tasting

Forge Restaurant

6-9 p.m.

March 8

• The Jay Stanfil Trio

This is the first installment of “My Favorite Thing,” a regular feature in which Chattanoogans from all walks of life write about the one thing they enjoy the most in the Scenic City. Future installments will unearth hidden gems, offer a fresh perspective of a local mainstay and reveal the rich diversity of Chattanooga.

Property taxes – which fund essential community services such as schools, emergency services and infrastructure – are a fundamental part of homeownership. However, understanding how property taxes are assessed, paid and even challenged can sometimes feel overwhelming. With tax season in full swing, homeowners and potential buyers need to be informed about their property tax obligations.

The Past Our Prime Players will present classic skits and comedy routines March 11, 2-4 p.m. at the Jewish Cultural Center at 5461 North Terrace Road. Volunteers over the age of 70 will perform material originally seen on Carol Burnett’s and Alan King’s variety shows, as well as scenes from “I Love Lucy,” “Laugh-In” and more. The POPP began as way to counter the effects of isolation. Register

Kevin Wade is the new director of sales at homebuilder RP Communities. Wade brings more than 20 years of experience in real estate to bear on developing and executing sales strategies, managing the RP sales team and fostering relationships with brokers, agents and homebuyers.

A 32% drop in overdoses and a 24% reduction in traffic crashes in 2024 are two of the success stories detailed in the Chattanooga Police Department’s 2024 annual report. The report also touts the professionalism of its officers and the department’s new approaches to law enforcement and community safety.

Your Social Security benefits can be an important part of your retirement income. But when should you start collecting them? It’s a big decision, so you’ll want to consider your options carefully.

Essentially, you’ll need to decide whether you’re going to take your benefits as early as possible – age 62 – or if you should wait until your “full retirement age” or even longer. If you begin accepting benefits at 62, they’ll be about 30% lower than if you waited until your full retirement age, which is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. And if you wait until 70, your benefits will be about 24% higher than at your full retirement age.

Looking for a job can be a difficult process. This is especially true if you haven’t looked in a few years. In fact, if you’re been working at your company since 2002, your job there is officially older than LinkedIn.

And as you’ll see, the job search process has completely changed since then.

Americans love trucks, and not just for towing and hauling. As go-to family vehicles, we use them for everything from commuting to people moving to adventuring.

Fortunately, for $25,000 or less, you can find excellent options in the used market that balance performance, features, utility and durability. Edmunds editors selected five standout trucks in different sizes and personalities and with different strengths. There’s something here for everyone who needs a truck.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Freshman Mikayla Blakes scored 24 points, Iyana Moore had 23 points and four 3-pointers, and Vanderbilt beat No. 18 Tennessee 84-76 on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Vanderbilt beat Tennessee twice in a single season for the first time in series history, including a 71-70 victory on Jan. 19 when Blakes made a putback with 0.8 seconds left.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed Thursday to reinstate a board member whom President Donald Trump removed from an independent labor agency.

National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox sued Trump after he fired her and the agency's general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, on Jan. 27.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fired head of a federal watchdog agency said Thursday that he's abandoning his legal battle against the Trump administration to get his job back, acknowledging he was likely facing a tough road before the U.S. Supreme Court.

NEW YORK (AP) — Much like all the upheaval shaking the world, the huge swings rocking Wall Street may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, all this is typical.

Sharp moves for the U.S. stock market, like its recent 6% drop in just a couple of weeks, happen regularly. Stomaching them is the price investors have to pay for the bigger returns that stocks can offer over other investments in the long term.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America's butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new study finds.

The first countrywide systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been falling on average 1.3% a year since the turn of the century, with 114 species showing significant declines and only nine increasing, according to a study in Thursday's journal Science.

DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump's short reprieve for U.S. automakers from stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada isn't likely to allow enough time for those companies to make the changes necessary to minimize the damage from Trump's intensifying trade war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump launched a trade war Tuesday against America's three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin as the U.S. faced the threat of rekindled inflation and paralyzing uncertainty for business.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war.

The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, but the taxes proposed by Trump have caused a gaping wound in the decades-old North American trade partnership, and Canada has felt compelled to quickly take aggressive countermeasures. Trump's tariff plans have also caused the stock market to sink and alarmed U.S. consumers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street's sell-off kicked back into gear on Thursday, and a U.S. stock market rattled by the whiplash created by President Donald Trump's tariffs and uncertainty about the economy fell sharply.

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.8% to resume its slide after a mini-recovery from the prior day clawed back some of its sharp drop over recent weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 427 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.6% to finish more than 10% below its record set in December.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marc Rosenberg, founder and CEO of The Edge Desk in Deerfield, Illinois is getting ready to introduce a fancy ergonomic chair designed to reduce customers' back pain and boost their productivity. He figures the most expensive one will sell for more than $1,000. But he can't settle on a price, and he is reluctantly reducing the shipment he's bringing to the United States from China.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rural cancer patients may miss out on cutting-edge treatments in Utah. Therapies for intellectual disorders could stall in Maryland. Red states and blue states alike are poised to lose jobs in research labs and the local businesses serving them.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not his fault. Billionaire Elon Musk is telling Republican lawmakers that he is not to blame for the firings of thousands of federal workers, including veterans, as pushes to downsize the government. Instead, he said in private talks this week that those decisions are left to the various federal agencies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine was given "fair warning" by the White House before President Donald Trump this week ordered a pause on U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, a senior administration official said Thursday.

The Republican administration announced the pauses this week after Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy'sOval Office meeting devolved into a shouting match, with the U.S. president and Vice President JD Vance excoriating the Ukrainian leader for being insufficiently grateful for the tens of billions of dollars in U.S. assistance sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday voted to censure an unrepentant Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for disrupting President Donald Trump's address to Congress.

Green was joined in the well of the House by more than 20 fellow Democrats as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., read the censure resolution. Green and some of his colleagues began singing "We Shall Overcome," an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, as Johnson spoke. Republicans in the chamber yelled "order" as the singing continued. Eventually, Johnson declared the House in recess.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Central Intelligence Agency will fire an unreleased number of junior officers as President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize and reshape the federal government reverberate through America's intelligence community.

The agency will review personnel hired within the past two years, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, and those officers with behavioral issues or who are deemed a poor fit for intelligence work will be laid off. The spokesperson said not everyone proves to be able to handle the pressures of the job.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton has released a breathtaking new ballad in tribute to her late husband, Carl Dean.

Dean, who was Parton's devoted husband of nearly 60 years, died Monday. He avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless hit "Jolene." He was 82.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored two goals and the Nashville Predators beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 on Thursday night.

Brady Skjei scored the first of the Predators' three second-period goals. Forsberg and Michael McCarron also scored in the period, with McCarron's wrap-around goal making it 4-1 with 9 seconds remaining.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan has finished making changes to his coaching staff by hiring former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as a senior offensive assistant.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington refused Friday to block employees of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury systems containing sensitive personal data for millions of Americans.

She acknowledged, however, privacy concerns about their work. DOGE is still limited by a different court order in New York.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to speed up its payment on some of nearly $2 billion in debts to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, giving it a Monday deadline to repay the nonprofit groups and businesses in a lawsuit over the administration's abrupt shutdown of foreign assistance funding.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole and its mission is over, officials said Friday.

The news came less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt by Texas-based Intuitive Machines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.

NEW YORK (AP) — As their party struggles to navigate the early days of Donald Trump's second presidency, some Democrats are convinced that their road to recovery lies in the price of eggs.

Instead of leaning into Trump's teardown of the federal government or his alliance with billionaire lieutenant Elon Musk, they're steering to what they perceive as the everyday concerns of Americans — none more important than grocery prices and eggs in particular.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police in Oregon said Thursday they are working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership overnight in the latest instance of vandalism at one of the company's retail stores.

No one was injured in the shooting in the town of Tigard outside Portland. Surveillance video indicated the shots were fired at around 1:46 a.m. when the building wasn't occupied.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Georgetown Law School's dean on Thursday rebuffed an unusual warning from the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., that his office won't hire the private school's students if it doesn't eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

PORT SULPHUR, La. (AP) — The planned expansion of a massive liquified natural gas facility in southeast Louisiana is a beacon for a U.S. energy policy that doubles down on oil and gas exports under President Donald Trump, two members of his Cabinet told a crowd of cheering workers Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration, marking a major attack on worker rights under the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added solid 151,000 jobs last month, but the outlook is cloudy as President Donald threatens a trade war, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants.

The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring was up from a revised 125,000 in January. Economists had expected 160,000 new jobs last month.

NEW YORK (AP) — A 40-day boycott of Target that calls for supporters to give up shopping at the company's stores during the Lenten period kicked off this week, to protest the discount retailer's decision to end some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

NEW YORK (AP) — Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing.

The country's bitterly tribal politics are spilling into text chains, social media posts and heated conversations as Americans absorb the reality of the government's cost-cutting measures. Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government's waste.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he was moving to suspend the security clearances of attorneys at a prominent law firm linked to Democratic-funded opposition research during the 2016 presidential campaign into ties between the Republican candidate and Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed uncertainty that NATO would come to the United States' defense if the country were attacked, though the alliance did just that after Sept. 11 — the only time in its history that the defense guarantee has been invoked.

Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders will be the first two quarterbacks selected in next month's NFL draft.

Where they go is still uncertain.

The first three teams — Titans, Browns and Giants — each need a quarterback but Ward and Sanders aren't locked in at 1-2 like Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels in 2024 and Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud in 2023.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts had 25 points and 10 rebounds and No. 5 South Carolina held off a furious second-half rally from Vanderbilt to win 84-63 on Friday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 off the bench and Sania Feagin added 13 points for South Carolina (28-3), which has won five straight.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee will hold its spring game in the usual scrimmage format on April 12, with coach Josh Heupel saying Friday that creating a big stage for the players this time of year benefits their development.

The Volunteers' spring game attracted more than 58,000 fans in 2023. Neyland Stadium's spring-game capacity was reduced to 10,000 last year because of a renovation project, and the limit will be about 45,000 this year.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland and 19 other states are suing multiple federal agencies, contending President Donald Trump's administration has illegally fired thousands of federal probationary workers.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is leading the coalition of attorneys general in the federal lawsuit that was filed late Thursday in Maryland, where the state estimates about 10% of households receive wages from the federal government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ordering changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that would disqualify workers of nonprofit groups deemed to have engaged in "improper" activities.

An executive order being signed Friday directs the Education Department to modify the program to deny loan relief to some borrowers. It would exclude loan forgiveness to people whose work is tied to illegal immigration, foreign terrorist groups or other illegal activity, White House officials said.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday that it's pulling $400 million from Columbia University, canceling grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school's failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to stand up to what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration.

In the nation's capital, a couple thousand gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar rallies were planned in more than 30 U.S. cities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration, marking a major effort to dismantle union protections under the Trump administration. The TSA union called it on "unprovoked attack" and vowed to fight it.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve is likely to keep its key interest rate unchanged in the coming months as it waits for widespread "uncertainty" stemming from President Donald Trump's policies to resolve, Chair Jerome Powell said Friday at a conference in New York.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he is "strongly considering" levying new sanctions and tariffs on Russia for its war against Ukraine, floating the possibility of new pressure on Moscow just days after he ordered a pause on U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

The Trump administration has stalled at least $60 million in funding intended largely for affordable housing developments nationwide, throwing hundreds of projects into a precarious limbo, according to information and documents obtained by The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration said it will relocate six of its regional offices in so-called "sanctuary cities," part of a broader Trump administration effort to crack down on cities that it deems have immigrant-friendly policies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has issued new guidance directing that spending items greater than $50,000 now require approval from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

The guidance, issued this week, escalates the role that the new efficiency group, known as DOGE, plays in EPA operations.

With perhaps as many as 14 of the league’s 16 teams potentially headed to the 68-team NCAA Tournament that begins March 19, it’s easy to understand why so much attention is focused on this year’s SEC tourney. Some analysts have suggested winning the NCAA crown will be easier to win than the SEC championship, and it’s hard to argue.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — Bowling Green hired former NFL running back and Tennessee State coach Eddie George on Sunday as the Falcons' head coach.

George was a four-time NFL Pro Bowl running back and an All-Pro, and was the 1996 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after winning the 1995 Heisman Trophy at Ohio State.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in 19 states aimed at blocking climate change suits against the oil and gas industry from Democratic-led states.

The justices acted on an unusual Republican effort to file suit in the Supreme Court over the Democratic states' use of their own state courts to sue fossil fuel companies for deceiving the public about the risks of their products contributing to climate change.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.

The conservative-led court is taking up the case amid actions by President Donald Trump targeting transgender people, including a ban on military service and an end to federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — The van makes its way slowly but surely through the city streets, braking gently when a car swerves into its lane. But its steering wheel is turning on its own, and there's no one in the driver's seat.

The driverless technology from Nissan Motor Corp., which uses 14 cameras, nine radars and six LiDar sensors installed in and around the vehicle, highlights Japan's eagerness to catch up with players like Google's Waymo that have taken the lead in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the 80,000 federal workers responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food and administering Medicare and Medicaid under the auspices of the Health and Human Services Department were emailed an offer to leave their job for as much as a $25,000 payment as part of President Donald Trump's government cuts.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When artificial intelligence-backed tractors became available to vineyards, Tom Gamble wanted to be an early adopter. He knew there would be a learning curve, but Gamble decided the technology was worth figuring out.

NEW YORK (AP) — At Fishtown Seafood, owner Bryan Szeliga is worried about the oysters.

Szeliga, who operates three retail and wholesale locations in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, N.J., sells a range of seafood. But briny, slurpable oysters are the biggest part of his overall business. And 60% to 70% come from Canada.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Donald Trump's idealized framing, the United States was at its zenith in the 1890s, when top hats and shirtwaists were fashionable and typhoid fever often killed more soldiers than combat.

It was a time of rapid population growth and transformation from an agricultural economy toward a sprawling industrial system, in which poverty was widespread while barons of phenomenal wealth held tremendous sway over politicians who often helped further grow their financial empires.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of both Canada and Mexico got on the phone with President Donald Trump this past week to seek solutions after he slapped tariffs on their countries, but China's president appears unlikely to make a similar call soon.

Beijing, which unlike America's close partners and neighbors has been locked in a trade and tech war with the U.S. for years, is taking a different approach to Trump in his second term, making it clear that any negotiations should be conducted on equal footing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, and said he would move the 18% of aid and development programs that survived under the State Department.

NEW YORK (AP) — To billionaire Elon Musk and his cost-cutting team at the Department of Government Efficiency, Karen Ortiz may just be one of many faceless bureaucrats. But to some of her colleagues, she is giving a voice to those who feel they can't speak out.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A young economist who had uprooted her life for civil service. A fierce housing advocate terminated just before buying her first home. A semifinalist whose dreams were dashed before they materialized.

For decades, the Presidential Management Fellows program was seen as a building block for the civil service with the expectation that the few who earned the position would one day become leaders in the federal workforce. Now the road ahead is uncertain. Hundreds of the fellows have been terminated or placed on administrative leave amid a nationwide slashing of the federal workforce.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, the real estate developer turned commander in chief, is laying bare his style of diplomacy in the early weeks of his new term: It's a whole lot like a high-stakes business deal, and his No. 1 goal is to come out of the transaction on top.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are making their first big move in free agency trying to fix a porous offensive line by bringing in Pittsburgh left tackle Dan Moore, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.

A columnist who has worked at The Washington Post for four decades resigned on Monday after the newspaper's management decided not to run her commentary critical of owner Jeff Bezos' new editorial policy.

Ruth Marcus, who has worked at the newspaper since 1984, wrote that "it breaks my heart to conclude that I must leave." Her resignation letter was first reported by The New York Times.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday rescinded Biden-era memos that he said called on state agencies to factor a "social justice and environmental agenda" into infrastructure project decisions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A nonprofit that was awarded nearly $7 billion by the Biden administration to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects has sued President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of improperly freezing a legally awarded grant.

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle fire officials said a late Sunday fire that damaged four Tesla Cybertrucks is under investigation.

The four Cybertrucks were parked in a Tesla lot in Seattle's industrial district.

No one was injured, and the four trucks were the only property damaged. The first call came at 11:13 p.m. Sunday, said David Cuerpo, Seattle Fire spokesperson.

NEW YORK (AP) — Long-threatened tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into a trade war abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.

Since taking office less than two months ago, Trump has rolled out hefty import taxes on goods coming from America's three biggest trading partners — Mexico, Canada and China — and promises that more targets are on the horizon.

TORONTO (AP) — Ontario's premier, the leader of Canada's most populous province, announced that effective Monday it is charging 25% more for electricity to 1.5 million Americans in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.

Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — China retaliated against President Donald Trump's tariffs with an additional 15% tax on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef.

The escalating trade tensions punished U.S. markets Monday as investors fearful of the damage from from Trump's trade wars put their money elsewhere.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market's sell-off cut deeper on Monday as Wall Street questioned how much pain President Donald Trump will let the economy endure through tariffs and other policies in order to get what he wants.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% to drag it close to 9% below its all-time high, which was set just last month. At one point, the S&P 500 was down 3.6% and on track for its worst day since 2022. That's when the highest inflation in generations was shredding budgets and raising worries about a possible recession that ultimately never came.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development and he would move the 18% of aid and development programs that survived under the State Department.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida center Micah Handlogten might bring a box of thank-you cards to the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Or flowers. Or candy. Or some other token of appreciation.

After all, Handlogten owes so much to so many who helped him in the minutes, hours and days after he gruesomely broke his left leg in the SEC tourney finale a year ago.

Auburn star Johni Broome, who leads the league in rebounding and ranks third in scoring, is The Associated Press Southeastern Conference player of the year.

With Broome leading the way, the third-ranked Tigers (27-4, 15-3 SEC) earned the top seed in this week's league tournament in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tigers appear to be a lock for a No. 1 seed in next week's NCAA Tournament.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in freezing almost all spending on U.S. humanitarian and development work abroad, a federal judge ruled, saying the administration could no longer simply sit on the tens of billions of dollars that Congress has appropriated for foreign aid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In fewer than 500 carefully chosen and somewhat opaque words, the Supreme Court has now weighed in twice on President Donald Trump's rapid-fire efforts to remake the federal government.

The justices did not give Trump's administration what it sought. The court rejected the Republican administration's position that it had the immediate power to fire the head of a watchdog office. In the other, the court slowed the effort to block the release of up to $2 billion in foreign aid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The arrest of a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests of the war in Gaza has sparked questions about whether foreign students and green card holders are protected against being deported from the U.S.

Mahmoud Khalil was arrested Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Homeland Security officials and President Donald Trump have indicated that the arrest was directly tied to his role in the protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Elon Musk facing escalating political blowback and financial troubles, President Donald Trump said he would buy a Tesla vehicle from his company, an unusual show of support from the president to his most powerful adviser.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In only two decades, China has grown to be the dominant player in shipbuilding, claiming more than half of the world's commercial shipbuilding market, while the U.S. share has fallen to just 0.1%, posing serious economic and national security challenges for the U.S. and its allies, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, escalating a trade war with the United States' northern neighbor and showing an indifference to recent stock market turmoil and rising recession risks.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — With a new distillery set to open soon, the makers of Brough Brothers bourbon in Kentucky were ready to put their business plan into action. They were looking to ramp up whiskey production to break into lucrative new markets in Canada and Europe.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's trade minister said this week that he has failed to win assurances from U.S. officials that the key U.S. ally will be exempt from tariffs, some of which take effect on Wednesday.

Yoji Muto was in Washington for last ditch negotiations over the tariffs on a range of Japanese exports including cars, steel and aluminum.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have not determined who was behind an apparent cyber attack on the social media site X that limited access to the platform for thousands of users, according to a Trump administration official familiar with the ongoing investigation into the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security on Monday while describing federal benefit programs as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste needed to be cut.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will face a critical test of their unity when a spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September comes up for a vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is teeing up the bill for a vote as soon as Tuesday despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers fail to act.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau heard testimony Monday about the chaos that erupted inside the agency last month after government employees were ordered to stop working.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starlette Thomas remembers coming down almost daily to the intersection of 16th and H streets, to protest police brutality and systemic racial iniquities during the summer of 2020.

On Monday, the 45-year old Bowie, Maryland resident returned to the site of those protests to mourn the end of Black Lives Matter Plaza.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A small U.S. federal agency that invests in African small businesses is expected in court on Tuesday to fight for control over its operations and existence.

The U.S. African Development Foundation last week tried to keep staff from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from entering their offices in Washington. DOGE staff managed to gain entry after returning with U.S. Marshals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, who's buying a Tesla to show loyalty to company CEO Elon Musk, has had plenty to say about electric vehicles over the years. Most of it is not good.

Of course, Trump was once a sharp critic of Musk, too, which is especially notable given how tight the pair are now.

Southwest Airlines will begin charging customers a fee to check bags, abandoning a decades-long practice that executives had described last fall as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals.

Southwest, which built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free, said Tuesday that people who haven't either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, bought a business class ticket or hold the airline's credit card will have to pay for checked bags.

TORONTO (AP) — Ontario's premier said Tuesday he was suspending the 25% surcharge on electricity exports after speaking with the U.S. Commerce Secretary and agreeing to meet with him in Washington this week.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have agreed to meet on Thursday to "discuss a renewed" United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, a retaliation that prompted the provincial government of Ontario to back down on its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stock markets are plunging, consumers and businesses have started to sour on the economy, and economists are marking down their estimates for growth this year, with some even seeing rising odds of a recession.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index slipped into a correction last week, defined as a 10% drop from its most recent peak. The broader S&P 500 neared that level Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street ended lower after careening from a small gain to 10% below its record. The whipsaw trading followed the latest escalation in President Donald Trump's trade war. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% Tuesday, after falling as much as 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 478 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. Gains for Tesla and other influential stocks muted the losses. Trump said he would double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum for Canada, a retaliation that prompted the provincial government of Ontario to back down on its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans passed a critical test of their unity Tuesday on legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown, teeing up a final vote in the afternoon for a measure that keeps federal agencies funded through September.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is starting another round of job cuts — this one more than 1,000 — at the nation's weather, ocean and fisheries agency, four people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday began plans to lay off 10% of its current workforce, people inside and outside the agency said, with some of them requesting anonymity due to fear of retribution. The numbers were presented to NOAA employees and managers were asked to submit names of positions for layoffs to agency headquarters, which will then go to NOAA's parent agency, the Department of Commerce, on Wednesday, the people said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is known best for enforcing the right to disability services across America's schools. But under President Donald Trump, it's taking a frontline role in his political battles.

Trump appointees have halted thousands of pending cases while they open new investigations aligned with the president's campaign promises. Career staffers have been sidelined and pressured to quit, and those who remain are being ordered to refocus priorities on antisemitism, transgender issues and anti-DEI complaints.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Kieffer Bellows scored his first NHL goal in nearly two years, and the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and Steven Stamkos also scored for Nashville, which won its fourth straight. Juuse Saros stopped 25 shots.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A former Republican Tennessee lawmaker says President Donald Trump has pardoned him two weeks into his 21-month prison sentence for an illegal campaign finance scheme that he pleaded guilty to in 2022, before he tried unsuccessfully to take back his plea.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A law firm targeted by President Donald Trump over its legal services during the 2016 presidential campaign sued the federal government Tuesday over an executive order that seeks to strip its attorneys of security clearances.

The order, which Trump signed last week, was designed to punish Perkins Coie by suspending the security clearances of the firm's lawyers as well as denying firm employees access to federal buildings and terminating their federal contracts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senior federal judges, both appointed by Republican presidents, spoke out Tuesday against threats of violence and impeachment against their colleagues in the judiciary.

"Threats against judges are threats against constitutional government. Everyone should be taking this seriously," said Judge Richard Sullivan, whom President Donald Trump appointed to the federal appeals court in New York.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prosecutors in the Justice Department section that handles public corruption cases have been told the unit will be significantly reduced in size, and its cases will be transferred to U.S. attorney's offices around the country, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday found that removing most grants and most staff from a U.S. federal agency that invests in African small businesses would be legal.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon also refused to extend an order blocking the Trump administration from removing the leaders of the U.S. African Development Foundation, which invests millions of dollars in African small businesses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A union for U.S. Agency for International Development contractors asked a federal judge Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records.

Judge Carl Nichols set a Wednesday morning deadline for the plaintiffs and the government to brief him on the issue. A person familiar with the email who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal verified that it was sent to at least some essential personnel.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Elon Musk's Starlink signed an agreement with India's top telecom operator on Wednesday to bring the U.S. satellite internet giant's services to the world's most populous country, a day after announcing a similar agreement with the country's second-largest provider.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is canceling studies about ways to improve vaccine trust and access, a move that comes in the midst of a large measles outbreak fueled by unvaccinated children.

Researchers with grants from the National Institutes of Health to study why some people have questions or fears about vaccines and how to help those who want to be vaccinated overcome barriers are getting letters canceling their projects.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization's staff -- a prelude to President Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the agency.

Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency's ability to continue usual operations.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration's increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada will announce Canadian $29.8 billion ($20.7 billion) in retaliatory tariffs in response to the 25% steel and aluminum tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has leveled, a senior Canadian government official said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as widespread tariffs threaten to send prices higher.

The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday's report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core figure is the lowest since April 2021.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that U.S. tariffs on Australian steel and aluminum were unjustified, but his government would not retaliate with its own tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last month he was considering a tariff exemption for Australia, a free trade treaty partner that has traded with the United States at a deficit for decades.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday, promising that the taxes would help create U.S. factory jobs at a time when his seesawing tariff threats are jolting the stock market and raising fears of an economic slowdown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump 's threat Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada led the provincial government of Ontario to suspend its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is again lashing out at three of his biggest irritants: foreign steel, foreign aluminum and Canada.

The Trump administration on Wednesday will effectively plaster 25% taxes – tariffs – on all steel and aluminum imports. The president said on Tuesday that the U.S. would double the forthcoming levy on the two metals to 50% if they come from Canada — but pulled back on the threat by the afternoon after the province of Ontario suspended its plans for retaliatory tariffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump in recent days has dismissed fears of a recession and brushed aside the stock market sell-off, going so far as to say, "You can't really watch the stock market." That's a new message from a leader who has frequently pointed to the market's ups and downs as a reflection of himself and his activities, even when he was not in power.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders do not agree with the strategy of putting entire federal agencies on the chopping block, nor are they broadly on board with mass layoffs of federal workers, according to a new poll.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Tuesday to avert a partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies through September, providing critical momentum as the measure now moves to the Senate, where bipartisan support will be needed to get it over the finish line.

NASHVILLE (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Republican Tennessee lawmaker who was two weeks into a 21-month prison sentence for an illegal campaign finance scheme that he pleaded guilty to in 2022, before he tried unsuccessfully to take back his plea.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In what he called the "most consequential day of deregulation in American history," the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of actions Wednesday to roll back landmark environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump openly challenged U.S. allies on Wednesday by increasing tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% as he vowed to take back wealth "stolen" by other countries, drawing quick retaliation from Europe and Canada.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A familiar scene has played out over and over in the U.S. House: Republicans, unable to approve federal funding legislation on their own, edge toward a risky government shutdown, until Democrats swoop in with the votes needed to prevent catastrophic disruptions.