News - Friday, August 23, 2024

The large ditch outside Neyland Stadium has been filled, and Phillip Fulmer Way has been reopened. Crews are putting the finishing touches on the new entryway. A similar construction process is ongoing for the team playing inside the stadium.

The University of Tennessee football team will return to the field this season with some intriguing changes surrounding some of the main pillars. The Vols have a new starting quarterback, a revamped secondary and some freshmen and transfers expected to shine early.

Signs of improvement are everywhere. Going into the 2024 football season, Vanderbilt’s mammoth $300 million renovation of FirstBank Stadium is about half finished, with the impressive transformation of the north end zone ready to make its gleaming debut on ESPN Aug. 31 with the home opener against Virginia Tech (11 a.m. CDT).

After getting the admittedly bad pun about his surname out of the way, WTVF-5 sportscaster Steve Layman turns serious and explains how his excellent, seven-part “Paid to Play” series came about. That report, which aired in early August, examines all aspects of name, image and likeness and its unprecedented growth over the past three years.

Best Lawyers, the world’s oldest peer-review research and marketing company in the legal profession, has released the 31st edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” and fifth edition of “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.”

Impending fatherhood seems like the last scenario in which one would want to make a career change.

That life change didn’t faze Chattanooga native Bobby Ankar, who made the leap from a stable career in finance to one of uncertainty in real estate while awaiting the birth of his first child.

As Realtors, we understand that selling your home can be both an exciting and daunting process. It’s a significant financial decision, and you deserve to have all the information you need to navigate it with confidence.

Earlier this year, the National Association of Realtors reached a settlement agreement that would end litigation of claims brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. Not only do the settlement terms confirm transparency and the ability to negotiate, they also introduce some changes related to broker commissions.

Hamilton County Schools in partnership with the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation has announced the launch of a Book Bus that will bring books and literacy resources to neighborhoods in Hamilton County.

Hamilton County Schools is one of 12 local partners in Tennessee that was awarded Book Bus grant funding from GELF in 2023. The bus had a soft launch before the bus was fully wrapped to deliver books and literacy activities to students at Summer Reach 2024 sites.

As we transition from summer to autumn, change is all around us. Leaves are taking on new colors, temperatures are dropping and the days are getting shorter. But you can also experience different seasons in various aspects of your life, including when you invest. What are the seasons of an investor’s life? And how should you respond to them?

More than one quarter of Americans have no emergency savings, the highest level since 2020, a June Bankrate report reveals. But do Americans with substantial income or savings need a rainy-day fund?

Financial advisers answer with a resounding ‘Yes.’

You would think that in a state overwhelmingly run by conservatives, conservatives would feel pretty upbeat. Not necessarily so.

The Tennessee Conservative, a website that purports to speak for the right, seems perpetually aggrieved. Whether it’s complaints about illegal immigration, insufficiently conservative RINOs or gender issues, it delivers unabated criticism of the status quo.

If you’re ready to move on from a purely gasoline-fueled vehicle but you’re not ready to go fully electric, you have two choices: a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid vehicle. But which one is best? The experts at Edmunds will help you decide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that Democratic President Joe Biden won by less than 11,000 votes four years ago.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An unexpected highlight of the Democratic National Convention on Night Three was an outburst of pride from the son of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

"That's my dad!" 17-year-old Gus Walz could be seen exclaiming Wednesday night. He stood, tears streaming down his face, and pointed to his father, the governor of Minnesota, who accepted the party nomination for vice president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains -- and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too.

With the Food and Drug Administration's clearance, Pfizer and Moderna are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified vaccine version to be available a little later.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks weakened Thursday in the run-up to Wall Street's main event for the week, a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell coming on Friday.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judicial panel has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Tennessee's U.S. House maps and those for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

"In sum, the complaint alleges facts that are consistent with a racial gerrymander," stated the ruling, which was issued Wednesday. "But the facts are also consistent with a political gerrymander."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit Friday against real estate software company RealPage Inc., accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices.

CHICAGO (AP) — Kamala Harris summoned Americans on Thursday to reject political division and instead chart what she called a "new way forward," as she accepted her party's nomination while blending biography with warnings about electing Donald Trump again to the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — "Electric." "Joyful." The kinetic energy powering Kamala Harris ' whirlwind presidential campaign carries the hopeful aspirations of history and the almost quaint idea of electing the first woman to the White House. But inside it, too, is the urgent and determined refusal of many Democratic female voters to accept the alternative — again.

CHICAGO (AP) — Over and over, from the massive stage in the electric convention hall, the Democrats this week predicted that Kamala Harris would defeat Donald Trump. They described her as a historic figure, the embodiment of hope, "the president of joy."

Kamala Harris introduced herself to the country she hopes to lead in the climactic moment of the Democratic national convention on Thursday — and despite chatter about potential mystery guests, Beyoncé's only appearance was over the loudspeakers.

In the end, it was the most traditional of convention moments coming through television screens: the candidate, her running mate and their families bathed in the cheers of supporters, with balloons floating from the rafters.

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the ballot in Arizona late Thursday, a day before he and Donald Trump were set to appear miles apart in the Phoenix area as speculation grows that Kennedy could drop his independent presidential bid and endorse the Republican nominee.

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump is changing his tune on Georgia's Republican governor after delivering a series of blistering attacks at a rally just weeks ago.

In a social media post, Trump thanked Gov. Brian Kemp "for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country."

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate next month from its 23-year high, with consequences for consumers when it comes to debt, savings, auto loans and mortgages. Right now, most experts envision three quarter-point Fed cuts — in September, November and December — though even steeper rate cuts are possible.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — With inflation nearly defeated and the job market cooling, the Federal Reserve is prepared to start cutting its key interest rate from its current 23-year high, Chair Jerome Powell said Friday.

Powell did not say when rate cuts would begin or how large they might be, but the Fed is widely expected to announce a modest quarter-point cut in its benchmark rate when it meets in mid-September.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — With the Federal Reserve considered certain to start cutting its benchmark interest rate next month, Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech Friday morning at an economic conference will be closely watched for any hints about how many additional rate cuts might be in the pipeline.

TORONTO (AP) — One of Canada's two major freight railroads has resumed operating, bringing an end to the stoppage that threatened the economy across North America. A rail spokesperson says Canadian National trains began moving Friday morning.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua's government closed another 151 nongovernmental organizations Thursday, among them some of the most important trade organizations, including the American Chamber of Commerce, coming just days after the government shuttered some 1,500 nongovernmental organizations, many of them religious in nature.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit Friday against real estate software company RealPage Inc., accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices.

The lawsuit, filed alongside attorneys general in states including North Carolina and California, alleges the company is violating antitrust laws through its algorithm that landlords use to get recommended rental prices for millions of apartments across the country.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge has sided with the state of Alabama in narrowing the scope of a lawsuit challenging a new law that criminalizes some ways of helping other people to apply for an absentee ballot.

Chief U.S. District Judge David Proctor ruled Wednesday that civic groups can pursue just one of their claims: that the law's ban on gifts or payment for application assistance violates the Voting Rights Act's assurances that blind, disabled or low-literacy voters can get help from a person of their choice. The judge granted the state's request to dismiss the other claims raised in the lawsuit.

NEW YORK (AP) — In a close election campaign with both sides looking for an edge, the party with more people watching their midsummer convention would seem to have an important sign of success.

Yet historically speaking, that measurement means next to nothing.

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for president Friday and endorsed Donald Trump, a late-stage shakeup of the presidential race that could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedy's supporters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Recent polls show that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his presidential campaign on Friday and gave his support to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the heels of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September.

U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the website, COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Health and Human Services agency that oversees the testing has not announced an exact date for ordering to begin.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell all but proclaimed victory in the fight against inflation and signaled that interest rate cuts are coming in a much-anticipated speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied close to their records Friday after the head of the Federal Reserve finally said out loud what Wall Street has been expecting for a while: Cuts to interest rates are coming soon to help the economy.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1% after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a highly anticipated speech that the time has come to lower its main interest rate from a two-decade high. The index pulled within 0.6% of its all-time high set last month and has clawed back virtually all of its losses from a brief but scary summertime swoon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions Friday on hundreds of firms in Russia and across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, accusing them of providing products and services that enable Russia's war effort and aiding its ability to evade sanctions.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints rookie Spencer Rattler made a case for the backup quarterback job behind veteran Derek Carr.

Receiver Samson Nacua made a stirring special teams play that improved his stock, but ended in a manner he'll long regret.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Osman Bukari and Jon Gallagher each scored a goal and Austin FC beat Nashville SC 2-0 Saturday night to snap a three-game winless streak.

Gallagher ran onto a ball played by Alexander Ring and beat goalkeeper Joe Willis to give Austin (9-10-7) a 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination "on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth." America, Barack Obama thundered, "is ready for a better story." JD Vance insisted that the Biden administration "is not the end of our story," and Donald Trump called on fellow Republicans to "write our own thrilling chapter of the American story."

WASHINGTON (AP) — She's the sitting vice president who has been in office for 3 1/2 years. She's also the presidential candidate of just five weeks promising a "new way forward."

Kamala Harris is having it both ways as she hits the campaign trail after the Democratic National Convention, taking credit for parts of President Joe Biden's record in rallies staged in front of Air Force Two while casting herself as a new leader who rails against "the politics of the past."

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance says Donald Trump would not support a national abortion ban if elected president and would veto such legislation if it landed on his desk.

"I can absolutely commit that," Vance said when asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" whether he could commit to Trump not imposing such a ban. "Donald Trump's view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions because we don't want to have a nonstop federal conflict over this issue."

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Kolb, a retired Minnesota National Guard colonel, knew Tim Walz by reputation as an "excellent leader" who adroitly guided the enlisted troops in his field artillery battalion. But Kolb was stunned by what he saw when Walz left the military and entered politics.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's government on Monday announced it is imposing a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles that matches U.S. tariffs and follows similar plans announced by the European Commission.

The announcement came after encouragement by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and cabinet ministers on Sunday. Sullivan is making his first visit to Beijing on Tuesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A body camera captured every word and bark uttered as police Sgt. Matt Gilmore and his K-9 dog, Gunner, searched for a group of suspects for nearly an hour.

Normally, the Oklahoma City police sergeant would grab his laptop and spend another 30 to 45 minutes writing up a report about the search. But this time he had artificial intelligence write the first draft.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch data protection watchdog slapped a 290 million euro ($324 million) fine Monday on ride-hailing service Uber for allegedly transferring personal details of European drivers to the United States without adequate protection. Uber called the decision flawed and unjustified and said it would appeal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are arguing in advance of their high-stakes Sept. 10 debate over whether microphones should be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee coach Brian Callahan said Monday that linebacker Chance Campbell will miss this season after an MRI exam confirmed a torn ACL.

Campbell played 19 snaps on defense with another seven on special teams Sunday in a win over New Orleans to wrap up the preseason. Campbell was hurt on an incomplete pass late in the second quarter and walked to the locker room.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's top Republican leaders on Monday threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding from left-leaning Memphis should leaders continue with plans to place three local gun control initiatives on the November ballot.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appeals court Monday to reinstate the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump after it was dismissed by a judge last month.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will remain on the ballot in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin after the state Supreme Court decided on Monday not to hear a Democratic challenge seeking to oust her.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Independent presidential candidate Cornel West must appear on the ballot in the battleground state of Michigan, a judge ruled about a week after West was disqualified.

Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford wrote in a decision released Saturday that West's campaign submitted the proper number of signatures to qualify for the ballot and that presidential candidates are not required to file affidavits of identity. The ruling came after the Michigan Bureau of Elections informed West on Aug. 16 that he would not be certified because the affidavit of identity he submitted was not properly notarized.

DETROIT (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Monday tied Vice President Kamala Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members, calling the attack a "humiliation."

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kroger and Albertsons defended their plan to merge – and tried to overcome the U.S. government's objections – in a federal court hearing that began Monday in Oregon.

The two companies proposed what would be the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in October 2022. They say joining together would help them rein in costs and better compete with big rivals like Walmart and Costco.

The Green Bay Packers have acquired quarterback Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal hasn't been announced. ESPN first reported the trade.

NEW YORK (AP) — Does American tennis have a pickleball problem?

Even as the U.S. Open opened this week with more than a million fans expected for the sport's biggest showcase, the game's leaders are being forced to confront a devastating fact — the nation's fastest-growing racket sport (or sport of any kind) is not tennis but pickleball, which has seen participation boom 223% in the past three years.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The mother of a touted high school football player who has committed to play in college at Tennessee is suing the state of North Carolina over its restrictions for public-school athletes to cash in on their athletic fame.

Rolanda Brandon filed the complaint last week in Wake County Superior Court. Her son is Greensboro Grimsley quarterback Faizon Brandon, who is the nation's top-ranked recruit in the class of 2026, according to 247Sports, while ranking No. 5 for On3.com and No. 6 for Rivals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army private who fled to North Korea just over a year ago will plead guilty to desertion and four other charges and take responsibility for his conduct, his lawyer said Monday.

Travis King's attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press that King intends to admit guilt to a total of five military offenses, including desertion and assaulting an officer. Nine other offenses, including possession of sexual images of a child, will be withdrawn and dismissed under the terms of the deal.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Both sides of the debate over whether to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri's constitution have filed last-minute legal challenges hoping to influence how, and if, the proposal goes before voters.

Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. In response, a campaign to restore abortion access in the state is pushing a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a right to abortion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has a new advertising push to draw attention to her plan to build 3 million new homes over four years, a move designed to contain inflationary pressures that also draws a sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump's approach.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration offered federal resources to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris for presidential transition planning for the first time Tuesday, with experts suggesting both are behind in preparing for their potential administrations.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has collected enough signatures to be on the Maryland ballot as a presidential candidate, state election officials said Tuesday.

The announcement comes after Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign Friday and endorsed former President Donald Trump, who is the Republican nominee for president.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday accused Canada of protectionism after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government imposed a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, matching U.S. duties on Chinese-made EVs.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement the tariffs would disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains, severely impact China-Canada economic and trade ties and damage the interests of enterprises in both countries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to "censor" some COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed that the social media giant would push back if it faced such demands again.

NEW YORK (AP) — The notion that online gaming could help players develop charitable habits seemed bold when the anti-poverty nonprofit Comic Relief US tested its own multiverse on the popular world-building app Roblox last year.

As philanthropy wrestles with how to authentically engage new generations of digitally savvy donors, Comic Relief US CEO Alison Moore said it was "audacious" to design an experience that still maintained the "twinkle" of the organization that's behind entertainment-driven fundraisers like Red Nose Day.

NEW YORK (AP) — The merger between entertainment giant Paramount and media company Skydance is set to go ahead after Edgar Bronfman Jr. withdrew a competing offer.

Bronfman, executive chairman of streaming service Fubo, told Paramount's special committee of directors Monday night that he would not proceed with his bid.

CHICAGO (AP) — The social media platform X has made a change to its AI chatbot after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election misinformation.

Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter this month to Elon Musk complaining that the platform's AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

NEW YORK (AP) — Online reviews and testimonials are a key way that small businesses can attract new customers and boost sales of products.

But fake reviews and testimonials have been a persistent problem for small businesses, many of whom rely on recommendations for business. Fake reviews can make it harder for people to trust what they read online and ultimately hurt businesses. In addition, small businesses can find themselves targeted by bad actors who leave negative reviews.

NEW YORK (AP) — While many costs have come down for small business, rents remain high and in some cases are still rising, forcing many owners into some uncomfortable decisions.

"Every time the rent goes up, we have to raise prices, to keep up with the cost," said Adelita Valentine, owner of HairFreek Barbers in Los Angeles. "But with the cost of living, it makes it difficult on our customers."

BEIJING (AP) — The United States and China are working to ensure the competition between them does not veer into conflict, a top White House official said Tuesday as the two sides started talks on a relationship that has been severely tested during President Joe Biden's term in office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob's attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.

A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has a new advertising push to draw attention to her plan to build 3 million new homes over four years, a move designed to contain inflationary pressures that also draws a sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump's approach.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted Tuesday to keep independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the ballot, rejecting a challenge filed by an employee of the Democratic National Committee.

The commission ousted one presidential candidate — independent Shiva Ayyadurai — an anti-vaccine activist who was born in India to parents who weren't United States citizens. The U.S. Constitution requires presidential candidates to be natural born U.S. citizens.

Wall Street notched another record high Tuesday, even as major stock indexes barely budged after a listless day of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9 points, or less than 0.1%, which was good enough for its second all-time high in two days. The index is on an eight-day winning streak.

NEW YORK (AP) — Leonard Riggio, a brash, self-styled underdog who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble into the country's most powerful bookseller before his company was overtaken by the rise of Amazon.com, has died at age 83.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal appeals court has shot down Tennessee's attempt to collect millions of dollars in family planning funds without complying with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure.

Tennessee cornerback Caleb Farley and Kansas City receiver Kadarius Toney, both first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft, were among the cuts Tuesday as teams trimmed their rosters for the regular season.

Toney, who figured to be on the roster bubble, was on his second team since the New York Giants drafted him 20th overall three years ago. The Titans took Farley two picks later.

MEMPHIS (AP) — Election officials in Memphis decided Tuesday to leave three gun control questions off the November ballot after top Republican state leaders threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding.

On Monday, Tennessee's election coordinator, Mark Goins, sent a letter to the Shelby County Election Commission warning that the gun control measures violated several of Tennessee's laws, making them void and ineligible to be placed on the ballot. The letter was sent hours after House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally issued their state funding ultimatum.

PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors on Wednesday freed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov from police custody after four days of questioning over allegations that the messaging app is being used for illegal activities.

Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment Tuesday against Donald Trump over his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election that keeps the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are kicking off a two-day bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday that will snake through rural areas in the southern part of the state before culminating in a big rally in the coastal city of Savannah.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The high cost of caring for children and the elderly has forced women out of the workforce, devastated family finances and left professional caretakers in low-wage jobs — all while slowing economic growth.

That families are suffering is not up for debate. As the economy emerges as a theme in this presidential election, the Democratic and Republican candidates have sketched out ideas for easing costs that reveal their divergent views about family.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2016 presidential campaign was entering its final months and seemingly all of Washington was abuzz with talk about how Russian hackers had penetrated the email accounts of Democrats, triggering the release of internal communications that seemed designed to boost Donald Trump's campaign and hurt Hillary Clinton's.

NEW YORK (AP) — As Vice President Kamala Harris begins her fall campaign for the White House, she can look to history and hope for better luck than others in her position who have tried the same.

Since 1836, only one sitting vice president, George H.W. Bush in 1988, has been elected to the White House. Among those who tried and failed were Richard Nixon in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and Al Gore in 2000. All three lost in narrow elections shaped by issues ranging from war and scandal to crime and the subtleties of televised debates. But two other factors proved crucial for each vice president: whether the incumbent president was well-liked and whether the president and vice president enjoyed a productive relationship.

DETROIT (AP) — Three times in the past four months, William Stein, a technology analyst at Truist Securities, has taken Elon Musk up on his invitation to try the latest versions of Tesla's vaunted "Full Self-Driving" system.

A Tesla equipped with the technology, the company says, can travel from point to point with little human intervention. Yet each time Stein drove one of the cars, he said, the vehicle made unsafe or illegal maneuvers. His most recent test-drive earlier this month, Stein said, left his 16-year-old son, who accompanied him, "terrified."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy will meet its goal to sign up 40,600 recruits by the end of September thanks to several new recruiting programs, but the crush of last-minute enlistments means it won't be able to get them all through boot camp by next month.

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Austal USA, an Alabama-based shipbuilder that makes vessels for the U.S. Navy, has admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay a $24 million fine to settle an accounting fraud investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Home improvement chain Lowe's is scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, joining the ranks of several other companies that altered their programs since the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in college admissions or after facing a conservative backlash online.

JENA, Germany (AP) — When electrical engineer Preetam Gaikwad first moved to Jena in 2013, she was smitten by what the eastern German city had to offer: a prestigious university, top research institutions, and cutting-edge technology companies, global leaders in their field.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's top Middle East adviser on Tuesday held talks in Doha with senior Qatari leaders on the efforts to complete a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, as well as on the Qatari prime minister's meeting this week with Iran's president, according to a U.S. official.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday kept on hold the latest multibillion-dollar plan from the Biden administration that would have lowered payments for millions of borrowers, while lawsuits make their way through lower courts.

The justices rejected an administration request to put most of it back into effect. It was blocked by 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith is pressing forward with his 2020 election inference case against Donald Trump, with a new indictment that aims to salvage the prosecution after the Supreme Court slammed the door on the possibility of a trial before the November election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A militia group member who communicated with other far-right extremists while they stormed the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison.

For weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, Kentucky electrician Dan Edwin Wilson planned with others to attack the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, according to federal prosecutors.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court revived Sarah Palin's libel case against The New York Times on Wednesday, citing errors by a lower court judge, particularly his decision to dismiss the lawsuit while a jury was deliberating.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan wrote that Judge Jed S. Rakoff's decision in February 2022 to dismiss the lawsuit mid-deliberations improperly intruded on the jury's work.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump searched online for events of both Trump and President Joe Biden, repeatedly looked up information about explosives and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a "target of opportunity," a senior FBI official said Wednesday.

PARIS (AP) — French authorities handed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov preliminary charges Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app, and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.

Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a sweeping judicial inquiry opened last month, and released earlier Wednesday after four days of questioning. Investigative judges filed the preliminary charges Wednsday night and ordered him to pay 5 million euros bail and to report to a police station twice a week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two men from Europe are charged in a plot to call in bogus reports of police emergencies to harass and threaten members of Congress, senior U.S. government officials and dozens of other people, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, kicked off a two-day bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday that snakes through rural areas in the southern part of the state before culminating in a big rally in the coastal city of Savannah.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump shared more than a dozen posts on his social media network Wednesday that call for the trial or jailing of House lawmakers who investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol, special counsel Jack Smith and others, along with images that reference the QAnon conspiracy theory.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — The Treasury Department has issued regulations aimed at making it harder for criminals to launder money by paying cash for residential real estate.

Under rules finalized Wednesday, investment advisers and real estate professionals will be required to report cash sales of residential real estate sold to legal entities, trusts and shell companies. The requirements won't apply to sales to individuals or purchases involving mortgages or other financing.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett's company has unloaded more of its Bank of America stake, selling nearly 25 million shares worth almost $1 billion over the past week.

Berkshire Hathaway has steadily sold off 116 million Bank of America shares since July. But it still controls nearly 12% of the stock in the bank based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to travel to southwest Wisconsin on Sept. 5, using a visit focused on small towns and rural areas to highlight his policies to lower costs and encourage renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

That's according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's schedule.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Looking at the recent history of the AFC South makes it easy to envision the Tennessee Titans winning the division, if only because they have Brian Callahan as their new coach.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White has a new contract extension bumping his pay to $2.75 million a year and extending his deal into 2030 with incentives included if the Vols reach the new College Football Playoffs along with rewards for teams winning Southeastern Conference titles and reaching the NCAA Tournament.

BERLIN (AP) — The suspects in the foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna earlier this month sought to kill "tens of thousands" of fans before the CIA discovered intelligence that disrupted the planning and led to arrests, the agency's deputy director said.

PARIS (AP) — French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.

Both free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken in Durov's defense since his weekend arrest. The case has also called attention to the challenges of policing illegal activity online, and to the Russia-born Durov's own unusual biography and multiple passports.

PHOENIX (AP) — Michael Lacey, a founder of the lucrative classified site Backpage.com, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison and fined $3 million for a single money laundering count in a sprawling case involving allegations of a yearslong scheme to promote and profit from prostitution through classified ads.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's campaign was warned about not taking photographs before an altercation at Arlington National Cemetery during a wreath-laying ceremony earlier this week to honor service members killed in the Afghanistan War withdrawal, a defense official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will sit down Thursday for their first major television interview of their presidential campaign as the duo travels in southeast Georgia on a bus tour.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump is scheduled to campaign Thursday in Michigan and Wisconsin as the former president ramps up battleground state travel heading into the traditional Labor Day turn toward the fall election.

Trump's intense focus on recapturing states he won in 2016 but lost narrowly in 2020 continues with stops in the middle of Michigan and western Wisconsin.

HINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, dropped in on a high school band practice Wednesday as part of a two-day bus tour through southeast Georgia, a critical battleground state that Democrats just narrowly won four years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a long summer of technical glitches, most of America's prospective college students finally applied for federal financial aid — an annual process upended by a redesign-gone-bad.

The number of high school seniors who have completed their Free Application for Federal Student Aid is down 9% compared with this time last year, according to the National College Attainment Network. That number was as high as 40% in the spring, when students usually must submit their forms to give schools enough time to assemble an aid package.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday threatened to shut down the local operations of X, formerly Twitter, unless its billionaire owner Elon Musk names a legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours.

The order from Justice Alexandre de Moraes is the latest development in an ongoing feud with Musk's platform. The company clashed with de Moraes earlier this year over free speech, accounts associated with the far-right and misinformation on the platform, and it claims to be a victim of censorship.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is failing to report all suspected child sexual abuse cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies, according to a Justice Department watchdog report released Thursday. The review found no evidence that the FBI complied with mandatory reporting requirements in about 50 percent of the cases examined by the inspector general.

DETROIT (AP) — Jaguar is telling owners of about 3,000 electric SUVs to park them outdoors and away from structures due to the risk of battery fires.

The British automaker is recalling I-Pace SUVs from the 2019 model year, but has not yet developed a final remedy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew last quarter at a healthy 3% annual pace, fueled by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday in an upgrade of its initial assessment.

The Commerce Department had previously estimated that the nation's gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — expanded at a 2.8% rate from April through June.

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, on Thursday reported another quarterly drop in sales due to Americans pulling back on purchases of appliances and consumer-electronics gadgets to focus on essentials.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday in Beijing, on a visit with the stated aim of keeping communications open between the two powers, as the relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly tense in recent years.