News - Friday, April 4, 2025

Generational wealth in the U.S. begins with home ownership, says Jenny Hill, board member at Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise.

“It’s how we’ve shaped our economy,” says Hill, who also sits on the Chattanooga City Council. “Homeownership is the foundation of building equity and creating prosperity in America.”

“My Favorite Thing” is a regular feature in which Chattanoogans from all walks of life write about the one thing they enjoy the most in the Scenic City. Installments unearth hidden gems, offer fresh perspectives of local mainstays and reveal the rich diversity of Chattanooga.

By David Laprad

If home is where the heart is, then a nonprofit theater company named Noogavision resides in Chattanooga’s economically distressed areas, as that is where its heart lies.

Unlike the Chattanooga Theater Centre, which enjoys a permanent stage in a building on the city’s North Shore, Noogavision (noogavisiontheater.org) has no space of its own. Rather, in the grand tradition of touring theaters, the members of Noogavision have become adept at activating what founder Fallon Clark calls Chattanooga’s “opportunity zones” for its performances.

A warning for those of you who are seeing the shift to warmer weather as an opportunity to lose some of your winter inches*: Nothing Bundt Cakes is not playing fair.

*Doesn’t “inches” sound less daunting than “pounds?”

At Greater Chattanooga Realtors, our commitment to fair housing is not just a once-a-year acknowledgment – it’s a dedication we uphold every day. As we reflect on the importance of equitable access to housing, Fair Housing Month serves as a powerful reminder of the progress we’ve made and the work that still lies ahead. From supporting inclusive communities to educating our members, we remain steadfast in our advocacy for housing opportunities for all.

The second annual festival will take place from 11 a.m-7 p.m. at the Historic Chattanooga Choo Choo Gardens. Hosted by Outshine Adventures and Nomad Be Happy, the festival will showcase local businesses, nonprofits and conservation organizations during a day of workshops, vendor sales, demos, live music and food. The event is free and open to the public.

Katrina Craven is serving as the new vice president of marketing and communications for the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. Craven brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing, communications and public relations to the role.

Craven previously served as director of marketing and communications at the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she led branding, strategic communications, and public engagement efforts for over a decade. Before her tenure at UTC, Craven held key roles at the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Tennessee Aquarium.

The Steiner family has committed to a seven-figure contribution to explore a women’s athletics complex at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The complex will include new competition and practice facilities for women’s soccer, new locker rooms for women’s beach volleyball and new practice facilities and locker rooms for women’s softball.

It might not be on your calendar, but America Saves Week is observed from April 7–11. Are you saving enough? If not, how can you save more?

If you don’t think you’re saving enough, you’re not alone. Just 22% of Americans are completely satisfied with the amount of money they’ve saved, a recent Yahoo Finance/Marist Poll survey reveals. And the same survey showed that a third of households couldn’t cover one month’s worth of bills if they lost a job or other source of income.

Firefighters in Chattanooga and across the local region now have access to a state-of-the-art training facility.

“Our department deserves a modern, cutting-edge training facility that raises the bar for our firefighters,” says Chattanooga Fire Department Chief Phil Hyman. “We appreciate everyone who had a hand in taking our training capabilities to the ultimate level.”

Few players in the nation have ever represented their college teams better than Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack. From their all-out effort on the court to their generosity off the court, the beloved duo will go down as two of the best in the University of Tennessee men’s basketball history.

A three-row crossover SUV can be a great choice for car shoppers who need extra room to shuttle plenty of people and cargo. The latest models are impressively capable and come loaded with up-to-date technology features.

But they’re also expensive and potentially out of reach for many shoppers. You’re looking at spending approximately $50,000 to get a well-equipped new three-row SUV.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Workers at an East Tennessee plastics company who died in flooding from last year's Hurricane Helene had time to evacuate, albeit by "makeshift routes," according to an investigation from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration released on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered no new details Wednesday about his massive restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the day after thousands of layoffs ricocheted through its agencies, hollowing out entire offices around the country in some cases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump promised tariffs that would raise U.S. import taxes high enough to mirror what other assess as trade penalties on American goods.

What he's actually imposing is based on far more complicated math.

Here's a look at how the White House got its numbers:

NEW YORK (AP) — Financial markets around the world reeled following President Donald Trump's latest and most severe set of tariffs, and the U.S. stock market took the worst of it.

The S&P 500 fell 4.8% Thursday, more than other major stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,679 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 6%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The trade war President Donald Trump promised has begun, threatening the world economy and straining the United States' longstanding alliances in Europe and Asia.

Goods imported from dozens of countries and territories are now going to be taxed at sharply higher rates, and that is expected to drive up the costs of everything from cars to clothes to computers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon's acting inspector general announced Thursday that he would review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal messaging app to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.

The review will also look at other defense officials' use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not able to handle classified material and is not part of the Defense Department's secure communications network.

DALLAS (AP) — Jake Oettinger made 28 saves and the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night for their seventh straight victory.

Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, Roope Hintz and defenseman Lian Bichsel scored for Dallas. The Stars are second in the NHL behind Western Conference and Central Division rival Winnipeg.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic officials in 19 states filed a lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump's attempt to reshape elections across the U.S., calling it an unconstitutional invasion of states' clear authority to run their own elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Thursday that the Trump administration may have "acted in bad faith" by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country before a court could block their deportations to El Salvador.

U.S. District Judge James "Jeb" Boasberg in Washington pressed a Justice Department lawyer to explain the government's actions in a high-stakes court hearing to determine whether the administration ignored his orders to turn around planes that were carrying deportees to El Salvador.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has issued a list of demands Harvard University must meet as a condition for receiving almost $9 billion in grants and contracts, federal money that is being threatened during an investigation into campus antisemitism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A crackdown on foreign students is alarming colleges, who say the Trump administration is using new tactics and vague justifications to push some students out of the country.

College officials worry the new approach will keep foreigners from wanting to study in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is planning to halt more than half a billion dollars in contracts and grants awarded to Brown University, adding to a list of Ivy League colleges that have had their federal money threatened as a result of their responses to antisemitism, a White House official said Thursday.

DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump's tariff blitz has sent shock waves throughout every aspect of the global economy, including the auto sector, where multi-billion-dollar plans to electrify in the United States are especially at risk.

Here's what consumers should know about the impact of tariffs on electric vehicles.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Two days after sending the economy reeling by announcing widespread tariffs, President Donald Trump insisted his trade policies will never change as he remained ensconced in a bubble of wealth and power in Florida.

He woke up on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and headed to his nearby golf course a few miles away after writing on social media that "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH."

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The Trump administration's expansive new tariffs will likely lead to higher inflation and slower growth, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday.

Powell said that the tariffs, and their likely impacts on the economy and inflation, are "significantly larger than expected." He also said that the import taxes are "highly likely" to lead to "at least a temporary rise in inflation," but added that "it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent."

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a surprising 228,000 jobs last month, showing that the American labor market was in solid shape as President Donald Trump embarked on a risky trade war with the rest of the world. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offered a rosy assessment after the stock market dropped sharply Thursday over his tariffs, saying, "I think it's going very well."

"The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom," he said when asked about the market as he left the White House to fly to one of his Florida golf clubs.

BANGKOK (AP) — China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" slate of double-digit tariffs.

CHABLIS, France (AP) — France's wine producers are deeply concerned that the 20% tariff slapped by President Donald Trump will deal a severe blow to the sector that relies on the U.S. as its top market.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday warned of "massive" impact as he met with representatives of the most affected industries, including wine and spirits.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico celebrated Thursday having dodged the latest round of tariffs from the White House taking aim at dozens of U.S. trading partners around the world, but was also quickly reminded that in a global economy the effects of uncertainty can't be entirely avoided.

NEW YORK (AP) — Most of the numbers on Wall Street this week were red, but not all of them.

Companies that focus on food, health care and other necessities gained ground, despite a slump in the broader stock market over worries about an escalating trade war that erased trillions of dollars in value for the biggest U.S. companies. Big Tech stocks, specialty retailers, travel and energy companies took sizeable losses.

A notice to customers dazzled by the low-priced products on Chinese shopping apps: the days of getting trendy clothing, tools and gag gifts that cost less than lunch delivered to your door in 10 days are probably numbered.

President Donald Trump is ending a little-known but widely used exemption that has allowed as many as 4 million low-value parcels — most of them originating in China — to arrive in the U.S. every day tax-free.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's expansive new tariffs reverse a decades-long global trend of lower trade barriers and are likely, economists say, to raise prices for Americans by thousands of dollars each year while sharply slowing the U.S. economy.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European NATO allies and Canada on Friday said they are willing to ramp up defense spending but are cool on American demands for the size of their military budgets, particularly given U.S. President Donald Trump's readiness to draw closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a long wait, the Senate is launching action on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" of tax breaks and spending cuts at a risky moment for the U.S. and global economy.

More than a month after House Republicans surprised Washington by advancing their framework for Trump's $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts, Senate Republicans voted Thursday to start working on their version. The largely party-line vote, 52-48, sets the stage for a potential Senate all-nighter Friday spilling into the weekend.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top congressional Democrats on Thursday protested the reported firing of Gen. Tim Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, with one lawmaker saying the decision "makes all of us less safe."

The Washington Post reported late Thursday that Haugh and his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, had been dismissed from those roles. Haugh also headed U.S. Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon's cybersecurity operations. The Post report cited two current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official who requested anonymity.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's fired "some" White House National Security Council officials, a move that comes a day after far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty.

Trump downplayed Loomer's influence on the firings. But Loomer during her Oval Office conversation with Trump urged the president to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his "Make America Great Again" agenda, according to several people familiar with the matter. They all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel manner.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former heart surgeon and TV pitchman Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed Thursday to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Oz became the agency's administrator in a party line 53-45 vote.

The 64-year-old will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage. He steps into the new role as Congress is debating cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides coverage to millions of poor and disabled Americans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed on Friday to block the Trump administration from dismantling an independent agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the administration doesn't have the authority to remove the head of the Inter-American Foundation, which is governed by a bipartisan nine-member board.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Industry groups representing hundreds of chemical and petrochemical manufacturers are seeking blanket exemptions from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

The request by the American Chemistry Council and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers comes as the Trump administration offers industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from rules imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has set up an electronic mailbox to allow regulated companies to request a two-year presidential exemption under the Clean Air Act to a host of Biden-era rules.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration acted to roll back environmental protections around future logging projects on more than half of U.S. national forests under an emergency designation Friday that cites the dangers of wildfires.

POINTE À LA HACHE, La. (AP) — Oil company Chevron must pay at least $740 million to restore damage it caused to southeast Louisiana's coastal wetlands, a jury ruled on Friday following a landmark trial more than a decade in the making.

The case was the first of dozens of pending lawsuits to reach trial in Louisiana against the world's leading oil companies for their role in accelerating land loss along the state's rapidly disappearing coast. The verdict – which Chevron says it will appeal – could set a precedent leaving other oil and gas firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages tied to land loss and environmental degradation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Energy Department has identified thousands of federal workers it deems "nonessential" and would not be protected if there is another round of large-scale firings, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The jobs at risk include more than 8,500 positions across the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration — which upgrades and maintains the nation's nuclear warheads. The department identified them as eligible to be cut to meet the goals of President Donald Trump's executive order for mass reductions in federal employees.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership.

TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) — Auto workers voiced uncertainty and hope outside a Stellantis assembly plant in central Mexico that was scheduled to begin a month-long pause in production Friday as the maker of brands including Jeep and Ram assesses the potential impact of the latest U.S. tariffs on its operations.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Two days after sending the economy reeling by announcing widespread tariffs, President Donald Trump insisted his trade policies will never change as he remained ensconced in a bubble of wealth and power in Florida.

NEW YORK (AP) — The trade wars launched by U.S. President Donald Trump have escalated to new heights.

Just days after Trump unveiled sweeping new "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from around the world, China on Friday levied a retaliatory 34% tariff on all U.S. products starting April 10. Stock markets worldwide plummeted, as the S&P 500 came off its worst day since COVID-19 upended the global economy in 2020.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — If you have ever bought a pair of jeans from an American brand like Levi's or Wrangler, chances are they were manufactured at a factory in the small southern African nation of Lesotho.

Textile manufacturing is one of Lesotho's key industries, exporting some 75% of its output to the United States.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street's worst crisis since COVID slammed into a higher, scarier gear Friday.

The S&P 500 lost 6% after China matched President Donald Trump's big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week. The move increased the stakes in a trade war that could end with a recession that hurts everyone. Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has abruptly fired the director of the National Security Agency, according to U.S. officials and members of Congress, but the White House and the Pentagon have provided no reasons for the move.

Senior military leaders were informed Thursday of the firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, who also oversaw the Pentagon's Cyber Command, the officials said. They received no advance notice about the decision to remove a four-star general with a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As stock markets tumble in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, Republicans in Congress were watching with unease and talking of clawing back their power to levy tariffs — but almost none seemed ready to turn their words into action.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate dived into contentious debate Friday on a budget plan critical to Republican efforts to pass trillions of dollars in tax cuts and boost border security and defense spending through what President Donald Trump calls "one big beautiful bill."

Hours before college basketball crowns its next champion, the future of college sports will be hanging in the balance in a California courtroom.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's scheduled hearing Monday in a courtroom in Oakland is expected to be the last one before the changes will truly begin under an industry-changing, $2.8 billion settlement of a 5-year-old lawsuit against the NCAA and the nation's largest conferences. Among other things, it will clear the way for schools to share up to $20.5 million each with their athletes.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Cole Caufield and Patrik Laine scored in the second period to rally the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night.

Jakub Dobes turned back 36 shots for the Canadiens, who extended their winning streak to five games after a five-game skid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to block a court order requiring it to return a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The Justice Department argued in an emergency appeal to the justices that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis overstepped her authority when she ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two board members fired by President Donald Trump can go back to their jobs for now, a split appeals court ruled Monday ahead of a likely Supreme Court showdown on the president's power over independent agencies.

An appeals court in the nation's capital handed down the 7-4 decision in lawsuits brought by two women separately fired from agencies that both deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for a federal workforce Trump is aiming to drastically downsize.

LONDON (AP) — The maker of Jaguar and Land Rover cars is pausing shipments to the U.S. as Britain's struggling auto industry begins to respond to the 25% tax on vehicle imports imposed by President Donald Trump.

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, one of Britain's biggest carmakers, said Saturday that the pause would take place this month.

Nations are trying to reach an agreement to charge commercial vessels a fee for their emissions in what would effectively be the world's first global carbon tax.

The International Maritime Organization, which regulates international shipping, set a target for the sector to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by about 2050, and committed to ensuring that fuels with zero or near-zero emissions are used more widely. Its Marine Environment Protection Committee meets Monday through Friday in London.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery players are going to have a shot at more billion-dollar jackpots and slightly better odds under new Mega Millions rules that go into effect with Tuesday's drawing.

But the improvements come at a cost — literally: Players will have to shell out $5 per ticket, more than double the previous price. On the other hand, the jackpots are expected to grow much bigger — and at a faster rate — and officials believe sales will rise as people are stopped in their tracks by massive prizes.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia plans to clear forests about the size of Belgium to produce sugarcane-derived bioethanol, rice and other food crops, potentially displacing Indigenous groups who rely on the land to survive.

Local communities say they're already experiencing harm from the government-backed project, which environmental watchdogs say is the largest current planned deforestation operation in the world.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that he won't back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S., digging in on his plans to implement the taxes that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system.

BANGKOK (AP) — China on Monday accused the U.S. of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying with tariffs, while calling on representatives of American companies, including Tesla, to "take concrete actions" to resolve the issue.

Putting "America First" over international rules harms the stability of global production and the supply chain and seriously impacts the world's economic recovery, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.

BRUSSELS (AP) — America's trading partners wrestled with responses to U.S. President Donald Trump's blast of tariff hikes and some planned to send negotiators to Washington, while the head of the European Union's executive commission offered mutual reduction of tariffs - while warning that retaliation was an option too.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of anticipation and speculation, President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats this week by declaring a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling in a manic Monday after President Donald Trump doubled down on his tariffs, despite seeing how much financial markets would love to see him do the opposite.

The S&P 500 was down 1.4% in midday trading, coming off its worst week since COVID began crashing the global economy in March 2020. The index, which sits at the heart of many investors' 401(k) accounts, has lost nearly 20% since setting a record less than two months ago.

GENEVA (AP) — With the normally brisk Easter season around the corner, the mood in Switzerland's chocolate business is bittersweet, thanks to high cacao prices and — now — the newly added U.S. tariffs on imports.

Many Swiss, from the government to chocolatiers to watchmakers and other businesses, are sensing "shock" over the tougher American position on trade, but many are also taking a wait-and-see stance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on China on Monday, raising fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could lead to a trade war.

Trump's threat, which he delivered on social media, came after China said it would retaliate against U.S. tariffs announced last week.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Middle East stock markets tumbled Monday as they struggled with the dual hit of the United States' new tariff policy and a sharp decline in oil prices, squeezing energy-producing nations that rely on those sales to power their economies and government spending.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has notified the World Food Program and other partners that it has terminated some of the last remaining lifesaving humanitarian programs across the Middle East, a U.S. official and a U.N. official told The Associated Press on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shortly before he was forced to resign, the nation's top vaccine regulator says he refused to grant Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s team unrestricted access to a tightly held vaccine safety database, fearing that the information might be manipulated or even deleted.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A tentative deal has been reached with the Florida Republican leading a bipartisan push to allow proxy voting in the U.S. House for new parents, potentially ending a standoff that halted legislative work for days and threatened to delay a vote this week to advance President Donald Trump's agenda.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge opened the final hearing for a landmark $2.8 billion settlement that will impact every corner of college athletics by saying she will not be granting formal approval on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken said she would hear from attorneys and some of those objecting to the plan before adjourning.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is attempting to use executive privilege to prevent its fired pardon attorney from telling Congress about the circumstances of her departure, and dispatched armed deputy U.S. marshals to her home to deliver restrictions on her testimony, according to letters made public on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts agreed Monday to pause a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The temporary order comes hours after a Justice Department emergency appeal to the Supreme Court arguing U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis overstepped her authority when she ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — This spring homebuying season is shaping up to be more favorable for home shoppers than it's been in recent years — as long as they can afford to buy.

Home prices are rising more slowly. Mortgage rates remain elevated, but have been mostly easing and could be headed lower if the U.S. economic outlook continues to darken over the Trump administration's widespread tariffs, which have rattled financial markets and stoked fears of a recession.

Microsoft has fired two employees who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration to protest its work supplying artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military, according to a group representing the workers.

Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Stocks ended another tumultuous day lower as markets reel from President Donald Trump's latest threats to escalate his tariff fight.

The S&P 500 sank 0.2% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 349 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. is holding direct talks with Iran about its nuclear program.

The president, in comments to reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the talks with Tehran would start Saturday. He insisted Tehran can't get nuclear weapons.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit Trump since he unleashed tariffs on countries around the world.

Whether Netanyahu's visit succeeds in bringing down or eliminating Israel's tariffs remains to be seen, but how it plays out could set the stage for how other world leaders try to address the new tariffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked an order for the Trump administration to return to work thousands of federal employees who were let go in mass firings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government.

The justices acted in the administration's emergency appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in California ordering that 16,000 probationary employees be reinstated while a lawsuit plays out because their firings didn't follow federal law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's recently fired pardon attorney accused the leadership of the law enforcement agency of "ongoing corruption," testifying Monday at a congressional hearing meant to showcase concerns that the Trump administration is assaulting the rule of law, abusing its power and forcing out career civil servants.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to use an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants, but said they must get a court hearing before they are taken from the United States.

In a bitterly divided decision, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members "reasonable time" to go to court.

A day care facility in a Texas county that's part of the measles outbreak has multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated, public health officials say.

West Texas is in the middle of a still-growing measles outbreak with 505 cases reported on Tuesday. The state expanded the number of counties in the outbreak area this week to 10. The highly contagious virus began to spread in late January and health officials say it has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Democratic-led states and cities are pushing back on a Trump administration threat to cut education funding over diversity, equity and inclusion programs, creating a standoff that could test how far the White House is willing to go to press its demands on the nation's schools.

Olja Ivanic looked forward to welcoming some cousins from Sweden to her Denver home in June. Ivanic and the four travelers were planning to go hiking in Colorado and then visit Los Angeles and San Francisco.

But then President Donald Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a February meeting at the White House. Ivanic's four relatives immediately canceled their scheduled trip and decided to vacation in Europe instead.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders Tuesday aimed at boosting coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that's long been in decline.

According to two senior White House officials, Trump will use his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue before the president's announcement, expected Tuesday afternoon.

PHOENIX (AP) — For parents who need to work but can't afford the steep cost of child care, federally funded scholarships can be a lifeline. Delivered through state child care assistance programs, the scholarships can mean the difference between a parent working full time — or not at all.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee voiced sharp bipartisan criticism Tuesday about reports the Trump administration is eyeing a reduction of U.S. forces in Europe, saying America must stick with its NATO allies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the only woman on NATO's military committee, was fired over the weekend by the Trump administration, U.S. officials said Monday.

Although no reason was given, officials said it was apparently tied to comments she has made that supported diversity in the force.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army has reenlisted more than 23 soldiers who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, officials said Monday, rushing to implement President Donald Trump's order that troops be rehired and given back pay.

Three people rejoined active duty Army service, and more than 20 came back either to the National Guard or the Reserve, the Army said. The soldiers have signed their contracts and were sworn in, and the active duty troops were reporting to their units, the Army said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than one hour before the stock market closed on Monday, journalists gathered in the Oval Office for their only chance of the day to ask President Donald Trump about the turmoil caused by his tariff plans.

Are the new tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, a bargaining chip to reach better trade deals? Or are they etched in stone in a mission to revamp the global economy?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's top trade representative said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs are already getting results, bringing other countries to the negotiating table to discuss reducing their trade barriers.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer addressed the Senate Finance Committee a day after global markets swung wildly and some business leaders lambasted the president's aggressive bid to raise tariffs on almost every nation on earth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the early days of the Great Depression, Rep. Willis Hawley, a Republican from Oregon, and Utah Republican Sen. Reed Smoot thought they had landed on a way to protect American farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition: tariffs.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jesse Schiller and Rachel Evans are likely the only business owners on Australia's Norfolk Island to be directly affected by the Trump administration's tariffs, as the South Pacific outpost they call home exports nothing to the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is disbanding a team of prosecutors who targeted cryptocurrency crimes and is shifting its focus away from complex crypto-related cases involving banking and securities law, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service has reversed edits and restored content to its webpage about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in the wake of news reports and public backlash over the changes.

"Changes to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service's website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor Department leadership," NPS spokeswoman Rachel Pawlitz said late Monday in an email. "The webpage was immediately restored to its original content."

ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration withdrew 11 pieces of guidance last month related to the Americans with Disabilities Act that helped stores, hotels and other businesses understand their obligation to the law.

The guidance included tips on how to create accessible parking and fitting rooms, talk to hotel guests about accessible features and decide when a person with a disability could be assisted by a family member during hospitals' COVID-19 no-visitor bans. Five pieces of guidance were from the pandemic, while the oldest two were issued in 1999.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has ended funding to U.N. World Food Program emergency programs helping keep millions alive in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and 11 other impoverished countries, many of them struggling with conflict, according to the organization and officials who spoke to The Associated Press.

With most programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development cut and the agency's remaining staff told their jobs will end by September, the reality of the Trump administration's sudden halt to more than 60 years of international development work has sunk in.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administrated has canceled millions of dollars in international grants that a Department of Labor division administered to combat child labor and slave labor around the world.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs helped reduce the number of child laborers worldwide by 78 million over the last two decades, including by issuing grants to international organizations, according to the Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. will hold direct talks with Iran about its nuclear program, while warning the Iranians they would be in "great danger" if the talks don't succeed in persuading them to abandon their nuclear weapons program. For its part, Tehran confirmed talks would happen but insisted they would be indirect discussions through a mediator.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is having early discussions about a grand military parade in the nation's capital this summer, something that is a long-held dream of President Donald Trump.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that the administration had reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14 that would stretch from Arlington, Virginia, where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located, across the Potomac River and into Washington, D.C.

The Tennessee Volunteers have added forward Jaylen Carey from Vanderbilt through the transfer portal for their second new player in as many days.

Coach Rick Barnes announced Carey's arrival Tuesday with two seasons of eligibility left. Carey spent this past season at Vanderbilt after following coach Mark Byington from James Madison to the Southeastern Conference. Carey helped Vanderbilt make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants communities to stop fluoridating water, and he is setting the gears of government in motion to help make that happen.

Kennedy this week said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. And he said he's assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump's tariffs roil global markets, some of the thought leaders and influential podcasters who backed the Republican's campaign are voicing doubts.

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and even Elon Musk are adding their voices to a number of congressional Republicans who have weighed in against the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than one hour before the stock market closed on Monday, journalists gathered in the Oval Office for their only chance of the day to ask President Donald Trump about the turmoil caused by his tariff plans.

Are the new tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, a bargaining chip to reach better trade deals? Or are they etched in stone in a mission to revamp the global economy?

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks dove Tuesday following another stunning reversal, with Wall Street veering from a huge gain at the opening of trading to more losses at the close, because investors still have no idea what to make of President Donald Trump's trade war, which is scheduled to kick into a higher gear after midnight.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security is offering buyouts and early retirement options to staffers, as the Trump administration pushes forward with efforts to reduce and reshape the federal workforce, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A waiver issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allows the federal government to bypass environmental regulations and begin construction immediately on stretches of the border wall in Southern California.

Homeland Security said in a statement that the waiver signed by Secretary Kristi Noem will "cut through bureaucratic delays" and forego dozens of laws including the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to evaluate the effects of their actions on the environment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is touting a Supreme Court ruling allowing it to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act as a major victory, but the immigration fight is far from over.

The divided court found that President Donald Trump can use the 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, a finding Trump called a "GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA!" in a social media post.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson found himself in a familiar jam on Tuesday: Conservative Republican holdouts are stalling action on President Donald Trump's "big" bill of tax breaks and spending reductions, refusing to accept a Senate GOP budget framework approved over the weekend because it doesn't cut enough.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's top trade negotiator came under fire Tuesday from senators unnerved by the president's sweeping global tariffs, a market meltdown and the heightened risk of recession from an upended global trading order.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Fedor Svechkov scored 1:56 into overtime and the Nashville Predators rallied from two goals down late in the third period to beat the New York Islanders 7-6 on Tuesday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

Steven Stamkos had two goals and two assists, Filip Forsberg added a goal and an assist, and Ryan O'Reilly and Michael McCarron also scored for Nashville. Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei each had three assists. and Justus Annunen finished with 16 saves.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and around $790 million for Northwestern University has been frozen while the government investigates alleged civil rights violations at the schools, the White House said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Pentagon official said Tuesday that special operations forces do not have the authority to launch drone attacks at drug cartels in Mexico, even though President Donald Trump has designated them foreign terrorist organizations.

BINH DUONG, Vietnam (AP) — Lego opened a $1 billion factory in Vietnam on Wednesday that it says will make toys without adding planet-warming gas to the atmosphere by relying entirely on clean energy.

The factory in the industrial area of Binh Duong, close to Ho Chi Minh City, is the first in Vietnam that aims to run entirely on clean energy. Lego says it will do that by early 2026.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The nearly 2,700-mile Keystone oil pipeline was shut down Tuesday morning after it ruptured in North Dakota, halting the flow of millions of gallons of crude oil from Canada to refineries in the U.S. and potentially leading to higher gasoline prices.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy appeared to be in open rebellion against President Donald Trump's tariffs as they took effect Wednesday.

Business executives are warning of a potential recession caused by his policies, some of the top U.S. trading partners are retaliating with their own import taxes and the stock market is quivering after days of decline.

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

Trump is no stranger to tariffs. He launched a trade war during his first term, taking particular aim at China by putting taxes on most of its goods. Beijing responded with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from fruit to automotive imports. Meanwhile, Trump also used the threat of more tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2020.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union member states voted Wednesday to approve retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in goods in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, as the largest U.S. trading partner described them as "unjustified and damaging."

BANGKOK (AP) — China again vowed to "fight to the end" Wednesday in an escalating trade war with the U.S. as it announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84% from Thursday.

Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104%. Beijing said it was launching an additional suit against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization and placed further restrictions on American companies' trade with Chinese companies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Manufacturers struggling to make long-term plans. Farmers facing retaliation from Chinese buyers. U.S. households burdened with higher prices.

Republican senators are confronting the Trump administration with those worries and many more as they fret about the economic impact of the president's sweeping tariff strategy that went into effect Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has launched tariff wars with nearly all of America's trading partners. And there's no end in sight.

A number of sweeping new taxes on goods from other countries are already here — and more took effect on Wednesday. Trump implemented higher rates for his latest and most severe volley of duties, which he calls "reciprocal" tariffs. Further escalation is set to soon follow. China has vowed to roll out a heightened set of counter tariffs on U.S. goods starting Thursday and, separately, E.U. member states voted to approve their own retaliatory levies in response to previously-imposed steel and aluminum taxes.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said it has reached a preliminary agreement with Argentina on a $20 billion bailout, providing a welcome reprieve to President Javier Milei as he seeks to overturn the country's old economic order.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump's tariffs roil global markets, some of the thought leaders and influential podcasters who backed the Republican's campaign are voicing doubts.

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and even Elon Musk are adding their voices to a number of congressional Republicans who have weighed in against the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson found himself in a familiar jam on Tuesday: Conservative Republican holdouts are stalling action on President Donald Trump's "big" bill of tax breaks and spending reductions, refusing to accept a Senate GOP budget framework approved over the weekend because it doesn't cut enough.

WASHINGTON (AP) — By declaring a trade war on the rest of the world, President Donald Trump has panicked global financial markets, raised the risk of a recession and broken the political and economic alliances that made much of the world stable for business after World War II.

WASHINGTON (AP) — There are sharp generational disagreements among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders when it comes to how the U.S. should handle mass deportations, with older AAPI adults — many of whom are themselves immigrants — taking a much tougher stance on unlawful border crossers, according to a new poll.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is resigning over a deal to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S., according to two people familiar with the decision.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to oust board members who oversee independent agencies, as a constitutional fight about presidential power plays out.

The quick appeal to the high court follows a ruling two days earlier in which a divided appeals court in Washington restored two board members to their jobs for now. They were separately fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as Republican President Donald Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court cleared the way Wednesday for President Donald Trump's administration to fire thousands of probationary workers, halting a judge's order requiring them to be reinstated in a legal win for Trump's effort to downsize the federal workforce.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has suggested to federal agencies that they are free to blacklist a law firm targeted by President Donald Trump despite a judge's ruling that halted enforcement of a White House executive order that was meant to punish it.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks soared to one of their best days in history on a euphoric Wall Street Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he would back off on most of his tariffs temporarily, as investors had so desperately hoped he would.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The prospect of high inflation stemming from widespread tariffs along with weaker hiring could put the Federal Reserve in a difficult spot, Fed policymakers said in minutes from last month's meeting.

The minutes, released Wednesday, said that the Fed could keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged if inflation remained stubbornly elevated. And they said it could cut its rate if growth slowed and unemployment rose. The minutes were for the Fed's March 18-19 meeting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil prices swung wildly on Wednesday, sinking to a four-year low in anticipation of slowing economic growth due to a burgeoning trade war, before jumping 2% after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of his tariffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days even as he further jacked up the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to a showdown between the U.S. and China. The S&P 500 stock index jumped more than 9.5% after the announcement, but the drama over Trump's tariffs is far from over as the administration prepares to engage in country-by-country negotiations. In the meantime, countries subject to the pause will now be tariffed at 10%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel was quietly removed weeks ago as the acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and has been replaced with the Army secretary, three people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as the Trump administration's ambassador to Israel, two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House visit.

The 53-46 vote installs a vehement supporter of Israel in the key Mideast post, which may prove critical to Trump's unsuccessful efforts so far to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and threats posed to Israel by Iran.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S Treasury Department on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear program, just days before senior American and Iranian officials are expected to hold talks in the Middle East sultanate of Oman.

Five entities and one person based in Iran are cited in the new sanctions for their support of Iran's nuclear program. The designated groups include the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and subordinates Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, Thorium Power Company, Pars Reactors Construction and Development Company and Azarab Industries Co.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette has rejoined the team after missing the past two games while attending to a personal matter.

The 51-year-old Brunette said in a statement that he had rejoined the team in advance of its game at Utah on Thursday night.

NEW YORK (AP) — Excuse me, you look like you might want to see the next generation of country music acts clean up at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards.

Fans of the genre have long committed Ella Langley and Riley Green's throwback duet, "You Look Like You Love Me" to memory, and soon, they'll get to celebrate them and many others at the awards show.

WASHINGTON (AP) — While a federal judge considers whether to approve a massive NCAA settlement that would pay athletes over $2 billion and pave the way for even more spending, a large group of industry officials returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers on legislation to land some antitrust protection for some of the final vestiges of college athletics' amateurism model.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Lennie Acuff, who coached Lipscomb to three straight 20-win seasons and an appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, has been named successor to Bucky McMillan at Samford, athletic director Martin Newton announced Wednesday.

OpenAI is suing Elon Musk for unfair competition and interfering with its business relationships with investors and customers, escalating a legal battle between the ChatGPT maker and the billionaire who helped bankroll the artificial intelligence startup a decade ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Wednesday mostly along party lines that limits the authority of federal district judges to issue nationwide orders, as Republicans react to several court rulings against the Trump administration.

In many cases, the courts are questioning whether the firings of federal workers, freezing of federal funds and shuttering of long-running federal offices are unlawful actions by the executive branch and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

During a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1995, Don Barger climbed Chilhowee Mountain hoping to gaze across the valley below. All he saw was a wall of gray haze.

WASHINGTON (AP) — See you later La Nina, we hardly knew you.

La Nina, the natural cooling flip side of the better known and warmer El Nino climate phenomenon, has dwindled away after just three months. The La Nina that appeared in January, months later than forecast, was a weak one, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department has withdrawn from an agreement to address disparities in discipline for Native American students at a South Dakota school system, saying it was wrongly rooted in efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the aftermath of this week's tariff whiplash, President Donald Trump is deciding exactly what he wants out of trade talks with as many as 75 nations in the coming weeks.

Trump is also figuring out next steps with China. He upped his tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% after China placed retaliatory taxes of 84% on imports from the U.S. While his 90-day pause on other tariffs caused the stock market to rally on Wednesday, countries still face a baseline 10% import tax instead of the higher rates announced on April 2.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The stock market was soaring and the sun was shining when President Donald Trump stepped out of the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon. Less than two hours earlier, he had retreated from his plans to increase tariffs on many U.S. trading partners, and investors were rejoicing after bracing for a global economic meltdown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump delivered another jarring reversal in American trade policy Wednesday, suspending for 90 days import taxes he'd imposed barely 13 hours earlier on dozens of countries while escalating his trade war with China. The moves triggered a powerful stock market rally on Wall Street but left businesses, investors and America's trading partners bewildered about what the president is attempting to achieve.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation declined last month as the cost of gas, airline fares, and hotel rooms fell, a sign that price growth was cooling even as President Donald Trump ramped up his tariff threats.

Consumer prices rose just 2.4% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday, down from 2.8% in February. That is the lowest inflation figure since September.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive commission said Thursday it will put trade retaliation measures on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump's pause on his sweeping new tariffs and leave room for a negotiated solution.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission, which handles trade for the bloc's 27 member countries, "took note of the announcement by President Trump."

NEW YORK (AP) — Bulls, bears and dead cats are lurking in the background of President Donald Trump's trade war. As the effects of the administration's latest tariffs unfold, news consumers may confront unfamiliar terms related to investments or financial markets. Here is a guide to some of the most common words:

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's economy is likely to stagnate at best in 2025 after shrinking for two years and the impact of U.S. tariffs could weigh down an already unimpressive showing, leading think tanks forecast Thursday.

Germany has Europe's biggest economy and is the 27-nation European Union's most populous member. Five economic institutes said in a regular update that they expect minimal growth of 0.1% this year — down from the 0.8% they forecast in September. They predicted growth of 1.3% in 2026.

ROME (AP) — The Prada Group announced a deal Thursday to buy Italy's Versace from the U.S. luxury group Capri Holdings under terms that value the fashion house at 1.25 billion euros ($1.4 billion).

Prada said the addition of Versace's "highly recognizable aesthetic … constitutes a strongly complementary addition" to its portfolio, which includes the Prada and Miu Miu fashion brands. It said Milan-based Versace offered "significant untapped growth potential.''

NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump offered some financial advice Wednesday morning, stocks were wavering between gains and losses.

But that was about to change.

"THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT," he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social at 9:37 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is seeking a rate increase this summer that includes hiking the cost of a first-class stamp from 73 cents to 78 cents.

The request was made Wednesday to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must OK the proposal. If approved, the 5-cent increase for a "forever" stamp and similar increases for postcards, metered letters and international mail would take effect July 13.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed one of Republicans' signature issues for the year on Thursday, approving legislation to require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections, one of President Donald Trump's top election-related priorities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans narrowly approved their budget framework Thursday, a political turnaround after Speaker Mike Johnson worked into the night to satisfy GOP holdouts who had refused to advance trillions of dollars in tax breaks without deeper spending cuts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Weeks after ordering Food and Drug Administration employees back into the office, the agency is reversing course, allowing some of its most prized staffers to work remotely amid worries that recent layoffs and resignations could jeopardize basic functions, like approving new medicines.

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Democratic commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging her dismissal by President Donald Trump, arguing her removal was a violation of the Civil Rights Act that created the agency to be an independent and bipartisan protector of the rights of workers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump intensified his efforts to punish his critics by signing a pair of memoranda directing the Justice Department to investigate two officials from his first administration and stripping them of any security clearances they may have.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump 's administration will immediately start considering "antisemitic activity" on social media and physical harassment of Jewish people as grounds for denying immigration benefits, according to a federal agency announcement on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has long complained about modern rules that limit water flow for showerheads, making it harder for him to wash his "beautiful hair.''

In his first term, Trump directed that restrictions on showerheads be loosened, an action that former President Joe Biden reversed.