News - Friday, June 28, 2024

Very few things chronicle the passage of time better than technology. When attorney Wayne Peters got his first computer, he knew that it needed one specific characteristic: it had to be portable.

“It weighed 36 pounds, had a built-in keyboard and printer, and had to be plugged in, but it was portable,” Peters remembers. “One floppy disk with 56k of memory, and I expanded it to two floppy disks. Then I added a 10 megabyte hard disk. They said, ‘you could save all the information you’ll ever need on this 10 megabyte hard disk.’”

Cameron S. Hill Sr. has two seemingly opposite occupations: attorney and cattle farmer. His leisurely Southern drawl and clear, concise diction are instantly soothing, which explains how Hill can assist clients and wrangle cattle on the same day.

Hill, along with his brother Cooper and sister Ashley, own and operate Hill-Vue Farm in Blairsville, Georgia. They are the fourth generation to own the cattle farm after inheriting it from their father, Bud.

Justin Tate plays to win. Driven to provide a stress-free life for his family, Tate channels his competitive spirit into the real estate game. A game, he says, that requires full-time dedication.

“You can’t be part-time,” he says. “Nobody wants a part-time knee surgeon to do knee surgery on them. I want the doctor that eats, sleeps and breathes knee surgery.”

Realtors strive to make your homebuying journey seamless, well-informed and ultimately successful. The complexities of the real estate market can be challenging to navigate, but having a professional guide can significantly ease the process.

This week, let’s focus on the buyer’s perspective and draw from the National Association of Realtors’ “179 Ways Agents Who are Realtors Are Worth Every Penny of Their Compensation.”

If you’ve retired, you might have thought you closed the book on one chapter of your life. But what happens if you need to “reverse” your retirement?

Due to higher inflation and rising interest rates, many retirees are taking out more money from their retirement accounts than they had originally anticipated. As a result, some are headed back to the workforce. If you’re thinking of joining them, you’ll need to consider some factors that may affect your finances.

The University of Tennessee board of trustees has voted to extend the employment of UT System President Randy Boyd through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2030.

Since his appointment in 2018, Boyd has spearheaded numerous initiatives designed to move the UT System forward. Since fall 2019, total enrollment has increased 13.8%, while six-year and four-year graduation rates have increased 3.8% and 3.0%, respectively. Bachelor’s degrees awarded grew 9.3%, while graduate and professional degrees increased 17.1%.

Racing fans, start your engines … then point them toward Wilson County. In what seems a win-win for NASCAR and IndyCar fans alike, the green flag is about to drop on the biggest summer of motor sports ever at Nashville Superspeedway.

NASCAR returns to the 1.33-mile oval this weekend in Gladeville for the fourth running of the Cup Series Ally 400 Sunday at 2:30 p.m., on NBC, topping off three full days of racing with the Rackley Roofing 200 Truck Series set for Friday night and the Tennessee Lottery 250 Xfinity Series Saturday afternoon.

The resurrection was a long time coming, yet remarkably swift. After years of apathy, losing and empty stands, the University of Tennessee baseball program began a climb back to respectability once head coach Tony Vitello was hired in 2017.

The Vols earned No. 1 rankings, won SEC titles, set numerous records, accumulated individual accolades and sent numerous players to Major League Baseball. There was just one giant piece missing.

The ballots have been counted, and the winner of the award for Best Republican Legislator, 113th Tennessee General Assembly, is Rep. Iris Rudder of Winchester.

Never heard of her? Neither had I. But a low profile is part of her winning formula. That, and the fact that she doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of legislation.

The $65,000 milestone might seem like an arbitrary price cap for a list of excellent performance cars, but look carefully and you’ll discover that it’s a sweet spot for some of today’s most compelling performance offerings.

Look upmarket from here and you’ll quickly be shopping in six figures without a meaningful gain in performance. And below this cost benchmark are some solid entry-level cars, but they offer far less performance.

Do you remember the dot-com crash in 2000? How about the mortgage crisis in 2008? It felt like things might never turn around when those devastating events occurred.

Finding a job felt impossible. And those who had one might have felt stuck since there weren’t many options. I remember friends who could neither find a job nor sell their home. The stress was high all the way around.

Zach Edey is taking his 7-foot-4 frame to Memphis to start his NBA career.

Edey, the former Purdue center who became the first player in more than 40 years to win The Associated Press' men's college basketball player of the year award in back-to-back seasons, was taken by the Grizzlies with the ninth pick Wednesday night in the NBA draft.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A solid majority of Americans say Supreme Court justices are more likely to be guided by their own ideology rather than serving as neutral arbiters of government authority, a new poll finds, as the high court is poised to rule on major cases involving former President Donald Trump and other divisive issues.

ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, will meet for a debate on Thursday that offers an unparalleled opportunity for both candidates to try to reshape the political narrative.

Biden, the Democratic incumbent, gets the chance to reassure voters that, at 81, he's capable of guiding the U.S. through a range of challenges. The 78-year-old Trump, meanwhile, could use the moment to try to move past his felony conviction in New York and convince an audience of tens of millions that he's temperamentally suited to return to the Oval Office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most U.S. adults plan to watch some element of Thursday's presidential debate and many think the event will be important for the campaigns of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

WASHINGTON (AP) — What people remember from Joe Biden and Donald Trump's first debate four years ago are likely the interruptions, the shouting and the "will you shut up, man?"

Then-President Trump arrived at that first matchup in Cleveland seemingly determined to steamroll Biden at every turn, leaving the Democratic candidate exasperated and moderator Chris Wallace scrambling to regain control.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a scenario that terrifies America's auto industry.

Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States.

FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — Tesla must fix air quality problems at its electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area after racking up more than 100 violations for allegedly releasing toxic emissions into the atmosphere over the last five years, an air quality board said Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and the travel rush is already heating up.

Millions of Americans are preparing to get out of town sometime in the coming holiday week. That will likely mean busy roads, as well as packed airports and train stations.

LONDON (AP) — Everyone has too many passwords. The credentials we need to remember to navigate online life keep multiplying, not just for frequently used email, banking, social media, Netflix and Spotify logins, but also, say, the little-known e-commerce site you're not sure you'll buy from again.

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to build the vehicle that will bring the International Space Station out of its longtime orbit of Earth when its operating lifespan ends in a few more years.

SpaceX, a privately held company controlled by technology mogul Elon Musk, will build the vehicle that will bring down the space station, but NASA will still oversee the eventual mission.

NEW YORK (AP) — With graduation season over, many college grads are embarking on summer internships or their first full-time jobs. Navigating your finances when you start adult life can be challenging, from understanding your health insurance and benefits to managing a budget.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For more than a year and a half, leaders of Hollywood's actors union have been negotiating with video game companies over a new contract that covers the performers who bring their titles to life.

But while negotiators with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have made gains in bargaining over wages and job safety in their video game contract, or interactive media agreement, leaders say talks have stalled over a key issue: protections over the use of artificial intelligence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy expanded at a 1.4% annual pace from January through March, the slowest quarterly growth since spring 2022, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade from its previous estimate. Consumer spending grew just 1.5%, down from an initial estimate of 2% in a sign that high interest rates may be taking a toll on the economy.

NASHVILLE (AP) — After June temperatures started reaching into the high 90s Fahrenheit, Alexandra Mistekevic's two-bedroom apartment in Nashville, Tennessee, became so sweltering that the air conditioning unit was only able to cool the shared living and kitchen areas.

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A former Chattanooga police chief has been indicted on charges that she illegally registered to vote in Tennessee and falsely filled out government documents, state investigators announced Thursday.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, a grand jury in Hamilton County, which encompasses Chattanooga, handed down a 17-count indictment against Celeste Murphy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a major tool in fighting securities fraud in a decision that also could have far-reaching effects on other regulatory agencies.

The justices ruled in a 6-3 vote that people accused of fraud by the SEC, which regulates securities markets, have the right to a jury trial in federal court. The in-house proceedings the SEC has used in some civil fraud complaints violate the Constitution, the court said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for Idaho hospitals to provide emergency abortions, for now, in a procedural ruling that left key questions unanswered and could mean the issue ends up before the conservative-majority court again soon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution-fighting "good neighbor" plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court's latest blow to federal regulations.

The justices in a 5-4 vote on Thursday rejected arguments by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states that the plan was cutting air pollution and saving lives in 11 states where it was being enforced and that the high court's intervention was unwarranted.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency will not be able to enforce a key rule limiting air pollution in nearly a dozen states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country, under a Supreme Court decision Thursday.

The EPA's "good neighbor" rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has a dozen cases still undecided, including ones that could reshape the law on everything from abortion to social media. The justices are also still weighing whether former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution in the election interference case against him, roughly two months after hearing arguments. Though the justices typically issue all of their rulings by the end of June, this term they are expected to continue into early July.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have shielded members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids but also would have provided billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of former president Donald Trump granted a defense request for a hearing on whether prosecutors improperly breached attorney-client privilege when they obtained crucial evidence from of his ex-lawyers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homebuilders who bucked the worst of last year's housing slump may be seeing their luck run out.

After showing signs of strengthening early this year, sales of new U.S. homes fell in April and May from a year earlier by 7.7% and 16.5%, respectively.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 200 people have been charged in a sweeping nationwide crackdown on health care fraud schemes with false claims topping $2.7 billion, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges against doctors, nurse practitioners and others across the U.S. accused of a variety of scams, including a $900 million scheme in Arizona targeting dying patients.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Center for Investigative Reporting said Thursday it has sued ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its closest business partner, Microsoft, marking a new front in the news industry's fight against unauthorized use of its content on artificial intelligence platforms.

The Nashville Predators have agreed to terms on the framework of an eight-year contract extension with franchise goaltender Juuse Saros, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal cannot be signed until Monday.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was the big winner at Thursday's NHL awards show, taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player as decided by the NHL Players Association.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Veteran NFL wide receiver Randall Cobb is thanking Nashville firefighters for saving his family after a house fire.

Cobb shared a statement and video on social media Wednesday that his family is safe and healthy along with their dog. Cobb said he couldn't thank the fire department enough for their quick action.

ATLANTA (AP) — A raspy and sometimes halting President Joe Biden tried repeatedly to confront Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the November election, as his Republican rival countered Biden's criticism by leaning into falsehoods about the economy, illegal immigration and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's halting debate performance has led some in his own party to begin questioning whether he should be replaced on the ballot before November.

There is no evidence Biden is willing to end his campaign. And it would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace him unless he chooses to step aside.

ATLANTA (AP) — Above all, Joe Biden's allies wanted him to demonstrate strength and energy on the debate stage to help put to rest questions about the 81-year-old Democrat's physical and mental acuity.

But on the biggest stage in U.S. politics on Thursday night, Biden did not meet their modest expectations.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump traded barbs and a variety of false and misleading information as they faced off in their first debate of the 2024 election.

Trump falsely represented the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as a relatively small number of people who were ushered in by police and misstated the strength of the economy during his administration.

NEW YORK (AP) — To a large extent, it almost didn't matter that Dana Bash and Jake Tapper were on stage.

The two CNN journalists prepared meticulously to moderate Thursday's presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the first ever between a sitting president and his predecessor, and asked several sharp questions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — "Oh, Joe." That gasp, from patrons at a Chicago bar when President Joe Biden first stumbled verbally in his debate with Donald Trump, spoke for a lot of Americans on Thursday night.

In watch parties, bars, a bowling alley and other venues where people across the country gathered to tune in, Trump supporters, happily, and Biden supporters, in their angst if not dread, seemed to largely agree they had witnessed a lopsided showdown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thursday's presidential debate was a re-run that featured two candidates with a combined age of 159, but it went especially poorly for one of them, President Joe Biden.

Already fighting voter concerns about his age, Biden, 81, was halting and seemed to lose his train of thought, sparking quick concerns among Democrats about the man they hope will keep former President Donald Trump from returning to office. For his part, Trump made repeated false claims and provocative statements. But Trump seemed smoother and more vigorous than Biden, who is only three years older than the Republican ex-president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court did not settle the debate over whether federal law requires hospitals to stabilize pregnant patients with emergency abortions on Wednesday, despite saying Idaho hospitals can provide abortions in medical emergencies even with the state's restrictions.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California law that bans drilling new oil wells near places like homes and schools will take effect after the oil industry on Thursday withdrew a referendum from the November ballot asking voters to overturn it.

The law, first passed in 2022, had been delayed because the California Independent Petroleum Association gathered enough signatures for the referendum.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of prices that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve suggests that inflation pressures in the U.S. economy are continuing to ease.

Friday's Commerce Department report showed that consumer prices were flat from April to May, the mildest such performance in more than four years. Measured from a year earlier, prices rose 2.6% last month, slightly less than in April.

BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour under a settlement announced Thursday by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, in a deal that also includes a suite of benefits and protections.

NASHVILLE (AP) — After Tennessee lawmakers spent months debating a slew of new laws during their legislative session, many of those statutes will go into effect Monday — ranging from abortion travel restrictions for minors, allowing the death penalty for child rape convictions and many more.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden strained to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in his debate with former President Donald Trump, as elected members of his party closed ranks around him in an effort to shut down talk of replacing him atop the ticket.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday upended a 40-year-old decision that made it easier for the federal government to regulate the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections, delivering a far-reaching and potentially lucrative victory to business interests.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday allowed cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places, ruling along ideological lines that such laws don't amount to cruel and unusual punishment, even in West Coast areas where shelter space is lacking.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for resuming production of intermediate-range missiles that were banned under a now-scrapped treaty with the United States.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which banned ground-based nuclear and conventional missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers (310-3,410 miles), was regarded as an arms control landmark when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed it in 1988.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court said Friday the state's strict abortion law is legal, telling a lower court to dissolve a temporary block on the law and allowing Iowa to ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy — before many women know they are pregnant.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youths Friday, rejecting pleas from parents that it violates their right to seek medical care for their children.

The 8-1 ruling from the all-Republican court leaves in place a law that has been in effect since Sept. 1, 2023. Texas is the largest of at least 25 states that have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Executive branch agencies will likely have more difficulty regulating the environment, public health, workplace safety and other issues under a far-reaching decision by the Supreme Court.

The court's 6-3 ruling on Friday overturned a 1984 decision colloquially known as Chevron that has instructed lower courts to defer to federal agencies when laws passed by Congress are not crystal clear.

NASHVILLE (AP) — After Tennessee lawmakers spent months debating a slew of new laws during their legislative session, many of those statutes will go into effect Monday — ranging from abortion travel restrictions for minors, allowing the death penalty for child rape convictions and many more.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid to delay a prison sentence for longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon as he appeals his conviction for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday made it harder to charge Capitol riot defendants with obstruction, a charge used in hundreds of prosecutions and also faced by former President Donald Trump.

The justices ruled 6-3 that the charge of obstructing an official proceeding, enacted in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron Corp., must include proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents. Only some of the people who violently attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, fall into that category.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday upended a 40-year-old decision that made it easier for the federal government to regulate the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections, delivering a far-reaching and potentially lucrative victory to business interests.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places on Friday, overturning a California appeals court ruling that found such laws amount to cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will issue the final opinions of its terms on Monday.

Chief Justice John Roberts made the courtroom announcement on Friday. Four cases remain to be decided, including whether former President Trump has immunity from prosecution.

NEW YORK (AP) — There were some exhaustive, independent fact checks of claims made during the CNN debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Trouble was, none of them were available to the millions of people watching the two presidents in real time.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden forcefully tried on Friday to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in his debate with former President Donald Trump, as elected members of his party closed ranks around him in an effort to shut down talk of replacing him atop the ticket.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tractor Supply is ending an array of corporate diversity and climate efforts, a move coming after weeks of online conservative backlash against the rural retailer.

Tractor Supply said it would be eliminating all of its diversity, equity and inclusion roles while retiring current DEI goals. It did not elaborate on what was entailed in eliminating DEI roles.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett announced another $5.3 billion in charitable gifts Friday, but in a major shift of his longtime giving plan he said he plans to cut off donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation after his death and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his $128 billion fortune.

LEBANON (AP) — Back-to-back Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden has a driving dream he still harbors, even knowing that challenges with schedules and sponsors make it likely impossible to ever achieve.

Newgarden not only wants to drive a stock car someday, he wants to do The Double.

LEBANON (AP) — Joey Logano felt he couldn't get to the finish line fast enough with his No. 22 Ford sputtering and nearly out of gas.

First, he had to hold off the driver with the fastest car to win the rain-delayed race that seemingly wouldn't end Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway in a NASCAR Cup Series-record fifth overtime.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for the first time that former presidents have some immunity from prosecution, extending the delay in the Washington criminal case against Donald Trump on charges he plotted to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss and all but ending prospects the former president could be tried before the November election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday kept a hold on efforts in Texas and Florida to limit how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users.

The justices returned the cases to lower courts in challenges from trade associations for the companies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court opened the door Monday to new, broad challenges to regulations long after they take effect, the third blow in a week to federal agencies.

The justices ruled 6-3 in favor of a truck stop in North Dakota that wants to sue over a regulation on debit card swipe fees that the federal appeals court in Washington upheld 10 years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court extended the delay in the criminal case against Donald Trump on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election, reducing the chance that Trump could be tried before the November election.

In a historic ruling, the justices said Monday for the first time that former presidents can be shielded from prosecution for at least some of what they do in the Oval Office. But rather than do it themselves, the justices ordered lower courts to figure out precisely how to apply the decision to Trump's case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon is scheduled to report to a federal prison in Connecticut on Monday to serve a four-month sentence on contempt charges for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack.

WASHINGTON (AP) — About a year and a half ago, a lawyer for Julian Assange presented federal prosecutors in Virginia with a longshot request: Dismiss the case against the WikiLeaks founder.

It was a bold ask given that Assange had published hundreds of thousands of secret documents and was arguably the highest-profile detainee in the world facing a U.S. government extradition request. By that point, the Justice Department had been engaged in a protracted fight in British courts to send him to the United States for trial.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's hard to refer to someone as "Hitler" and end up in their good graces, let alone potentially become the person they choose to help lead the country.

But Ohio Sen. JD Vance's shifting position on Donald Trump over the years from onetime critic of the former president to staunch ally is a metamorphosis shared by many of Trump's potential running mates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's family used a Sunday gathering at Camp David to urge him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite his dreadful debate performance, and some members criticized how his staff prepared him for the faceoff, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has raised the security protection measures it is taking at its bases throughout Europe, asking service members to be more vigilant and keep a lower profile due to a combination of threats it is seeing across the region.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's second largest airline, WestJet, has reached a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers over the Canada Day long weekend.

WestJet said late Sunday there will still be flight disruptions in the week ahead as its planes are brought back into service.

BANGKOK (AP) — Surveys of Chinese factory managers showed a mixed outlook for the world's second-largest economy in June, with growth steady but not picking up much steam.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing's official purchasing managers index, or PMI, remained at 49.5, the same as in May, on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cut off for expansion.

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Chewy were volatile at the opening bell Monday after a regulatory filing revealed that Roaring Kitty, an investor at the center of the meme stock craze, has taken a 6.6% stake in the online pet retailer.

Roaring Kitty, whose legal name is Keith Gill, bought more than 9 million shares of Chewy last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows. Based on Friday's $29.05 closing price, that amounts to a value of over $261 million — making him the company's third-largest shareholder.

NEW YORK (AP) — With summer having gotten off to a scorching start, workers across the country may be dreaming of a seaside escape or cutting out early to watch a movie in an air-conditioned theater.

For some, that can be a reality. Business owners have found that offering summer hours – a reduced schedule on Fridays, usually between Memorial Day and Labor Day — can be a way to boost employee morale. Workers are able to deal with summer childcare gaps, return to the office refreshed and feel like their job values them, owners say.

PARIS (AP) — France's National Rally surged into the lead in the first round of legislative elections, according to results released early Monday, bringing the far-right party to the brink of power and dealing a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron's centrists in an election that could set the country, and Europe, on a starkly different course.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Monday filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Merrick Garland for the audio recording of President Joe Biden's interview with a special counsel, asking the courts to enforce their subpoena and reject the White House's effort to withhold the materials from Congress.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's lawyers have asked the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial to set aside his conviction and delay his sentencing, scheduled for next week.

The letter to Judge Juan M. Merchan cited the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling earlier Monday and asked the judge to delay Trump's sentencing while he weighs the high court's decision and how it could influence the New York case, according to the letter obtained by The Associated Press.