News - Friday, August 9, 2024

The vacation suitcases are packed away. The commute is just a little bit more crowded. The kids are decidedly more grumpy since they have to, you know, get up in the morning now.

School’s back in session (say it with us now…“It’s too early!”), so summer’s over, right?

Baker Donelson attorney Ashley Gibson has been named a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder for 2024.

The seven-month Pathfinder program provides participants from LCLD Member organizations with the opportunity to learn from top leaders in the legal profession as well as career development experts and is designed to connect and train high-potential, early-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds with foundational leadership skills and relationship-building resources.

The Chattanooga Bar Association’s list of continuing legal education seminars for the fall has been announced, with an October session sure to generate discussion, brother.

On Oct. 16, Alex Long, the Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Law is scheduled to present “Professional Wrestling and the Law: All I Really Need to Know About Legal Ethics I Learned from Watching Hulk Hogan,” a session looking at the case that brought down the online media conglomerate known as Gawker.

A federal judge has branded Google as a ruthless monopolist bent on suffocating its competitors. But how do you go about creating alternatives to a search engine that’s synonymous with internet exploration?

It’s a process that may take years to unfold as Google appeals the landmark decision issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.

When diving into the inspiring stories of our board of directors, it becomes evident that each member brings a unique and rich background to our association. This diversity fuels our strength and fosters an environment of continuous growth and innovation.

In the past couple of years, Detroit, Michigan has edged its way into the top five major cities where first time homeowners can afford to put down roots. Despite significant changes in the real estate industry, Detroit also is the best place for Realtors.

Chattanooga Zoo has announced that their entirely new Cape of Africa section will be open to the public Aug. 31.

The $3.9 million development, located at the front of the Zoo, will include warthogs, servals, Cape porcupines, an enlarged giraffe yard, waterfalls, a group entrance and other new features.

Do you worry about running out of money during your retirement years? If so, how can you help prevent this from happening?

In the first place, if you have this type of fear, you’re far from alone. Consider this:

58% of retirement savers from all age groups, including current retirees, say that outliving their assets is their greatest retirement fear, according to a study by Cerulli Associates, a financial services research organization.

After returning from Tennessee’s Citrus Bowl victory versus Iowa last season, Nico Iamaleava was ready to get right back to work.

The former five-star quarterback made his first start for the Vols in the win against the Hawkeyes, running for three touchdowns and passing for 151 yards and another TD to earn MVP honors.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is like that extra car that sits in the driveway.

There are newer, flashier and more powerful models available. But when needed because one of the other models is in the shop, NWI is ready to go – as reliable as ever.

With DeAndre Hopkins sidelined for the remainder of training camp with a knee injury, all eyes once again are focused on Treylon Burks.

Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd were imported as free agents in the offseason to start with Hopkins in the Titans new offense. That left the 2022 first-round pick as a backup after two injury-plagued seasons.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is the only rookie from 2020 Tennessee Titans still with the club five years later. It was the failure of that draft class and the one after that led to the downfall of then-general manager Jon Robinson and also played a part in the departure of Mike Vrabel after a second consecutive losing season last year.

Much like film cameras losing out to digitals, the disappearance of the manual transmission from cars seems inevitable. Modern automatic transmissions are better for quick and efficient shifting, and automakers have largely switched to them entirely for their vehicles.

The winner of the Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee contest has been announced, and it is (imagine a drumroll here) the Nissan Rogue.

It’s an SUV, made at the Nissan plant in Smyrna. Which leaves me thinking that my definition of “coolest” must be different from some other folks’.

ATLANTA (AP) — The most turbulent presidential campaign in generations is now set to play out as a 90-day sprint across two fronts: the Rust Belt and the Sun Belt.

With her choice of a Midwestern governor as a running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris pushed to shore up "Blue Wall" states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that Democrats need to win 270 electoral votes and keep the White House. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had already signaled that she would also contend in Sun Belt states that increasingly seemed out of reach for President Joe Biden.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are spending their first full day as running mates on Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House in less than three months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ocean temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef hit their highest level in 400 years over the past decade, according to researchers who warned that the reef likely won't survive if planetary warming isn't stopped.

During that time, between 2016 and 2024, the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef ecosystem and one of the most biodiverse, suffered mass coral bleaching events. That's when water temperatures get too hot and coral expel the algae that provide them with color and food, and sometimes die. Earlier this year, aerial surveys of over 300 reefs in the system off Australia's northeast coast found bleaching in shallow water areas spanning two-thirds of the reef, according to Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The debate about whether the NFL will expand the regular season once again seems to have been resolved and now it's a matter of how soon the league adds an 18th game.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has talked openly about it, union chief Lloyd Howell recently told the Washington Post that the NFLPA is open to doing it before the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season and players seem resigned to the inevitability no matter how they might personally feel.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Safety Quandre Diggs says he knew for a while the Tennessee Titans would probably be the next stop of his NFL career.

Diggs announced on social media Monday he had agreed to a deal with the Titans, and the club made it official Tuesday. The process of luring Diggs to Tennessee had been brewing for weeks with ongoing talks with general manager Ran Carthon.

BRISTOL (AP) — Bristol Motor Speedway is gearing up for Major League Baseball next season.

A person with knowledge of the schedule told The Associated Press that the longtime NASCAR track will host a game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds next season on Aug. 2, 2025. The person spoke Wednesday to the AP on condition of anonymity because the game has not been publicly announced.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Project 2025 hits turmoil, the head of the influential, far-right Heritage Foundation is postponing the release of his potentially fiery new book until after the November presidential election.

Kevin Roberts, who took over Project 2025 as part of a leadership shake-up amid blowback over its recommendations for a potential Donald Trump White House, said Wednesday he is focused on defeating presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Trump's running mate JD Vancepenned the forward to Roberts' book.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted he plans to return to live in New York, as the independent presidential candidate was grilled for a second day Wednesday about his actual residency and whether he should be kept off the Empire State's ballot in November.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn't violate New Jersey's "sore loser" law, a judge ruled on Tuesday, potentially clearing the way for Kennedy to appear on the presidential ballot as an independent.

Administrative Law Judge Ernest Bongiovanni rejected the petition by Scott Salmon, an election law attorney in the state, who challenged Kennedy's independent bid for the White House.

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are spending their first full day as running mates Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House in less than three months.

DETROIT (AP) — Federal safety authorities say they are seeking information on a crash and fire involving a Tesla Cybertruck that killed a driver of the futuristic new pickup.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it is gathering information from Tesla. The agency did not send crash investigators, nor has it opened a formal investigation into the crash. It did not say if it is investigating the cause of the fire or whether the driver was using a partially automated driving system.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slumped after a morning rally evaporated, but the losses weren't as bad as the manic moves that wracked markets worldwide over the last week.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1%.

VIENNA (AP) — Pricey tickets for three sold-out Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. Hundreds of euros, if not more, dropped on flights and hotels in one of Europe's most expensive capital cities. Tens of thousands of Swifties, bedecked in homemade friendship bracelets, devastated by the cancellations of three sold-out Eras Tour shows in Austria after authorities foiled an apparent attack plot.

VIENNA (AP) — Both suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, Austrian authorities said Thursday, and investigators found bomb-making materials at one of their homes. Officials said one of the two confessed to planning to "kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue."

NEW YORK (AP) — Roughly 3 in 4 American adults believe the upcoming presidential election is vital to the future of U.S. democracy, although which candidate they think poses the greater threat depends on their political leanings, according to a poll.

DETROIT (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are set to play up their support for organized labor during an appearance at a Detroit-area union hall as the new Democratic ticket lavishes attention on a crucial base of support.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — While former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance have been hammering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the violence that erupted after George Floyd's murder, Trump told the governor at the time that he fully agreed with how Walz handled it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The makings of a presidential ticket began in an unusual spot six months ago: a Minnesota abortion clinic.

At the time, it was a historic visit for Vice President Kamala Harris — no president or vice president had ever made a public stop at one. But the visit laid the groundwork for Harris to connect with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and learn about his interest in reproductive health, an issue Harris has taken the lead on during her White House term.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz and his fellow Democrats have enacted big changes in the two years that they've had full control of the Minnesota Legislature, from expansions of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights to tax credits and other initiatives aimed at making life easier for families.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi's influence can be seen all across the Democratic Party shakeup that in a few short, agonizing weeks has reengineered the 2024 presidential ticket and the race for the White House.

It was Pelosi who publicly encouraged President Joe Biden to make a decision about his reelection campaign when he had already insisted he had no plans to step aside. Once he exited and endorsed Kamala Harris atop the ticket, it was Pelosi who was a big fan of her future running mate, Tim Walz.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says he will hold a news conference Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida beachside compound, making his first public appearance since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee and selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

The world is falling well short of a promise made at global climate talks last year to triple the amount of wind power, according to a report by an energy think tank released Thursday.

Last December, countries at the U.N. COP28 climate conference committed to tripling all renewable electricity by 2030. Wind power specifically must triple to achieve that, according to the International Energy Agency and others.

Earth's string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Nino climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Wednesday.

But July 2024 's average heat just missed surpassing the July of a year ago, and scientists said the end of the record-breaking streak changes nothing about the threat posed by climate change.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A recent pullback in mortgage rates is spurring more homeowners to refinance their home loan and lower their monthly payments.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's refinance index, which tracks home loan application volume, surged 16% last week from the previous week to its highest level in two years, the association said Wednesday.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee coach Brian Callahan said Thursday that Titans cornerback Caleb Farley will miss several weeks with a hamstring injury.

The No. 22 pick overall in the 2021 draft left practices during the weekend early after feeling tightness in his hamstring. Farley left Wednesday's practice after one-on-one drills and wasn't on the practice field Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kelsea Ballerini is beaming. It's not a nervous smile, though she admits to feeling scared. She's been hard at work at her fifth full-length album, "Patterns," and on Oct. 25 the world is finally going to hear it — hear her, in a collection of songs she describes as an "accurate snapshot" of her life. And lately, people have been curious. The story they're going to get, she assures, is not the one they're anticipating.

VIENNA (AP) — Both suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, Austrian authorities said Thursday, and investigators found bomb-making materials at one of their homes. Officials said one of the two confessed to planning to "kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue."

ABC News says that both Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart, Kamala Harris, have agreed to meet in a debate on Sept. 10.

The network's announcement on Thursday came shortly after Trump told a news conference that he had agreed to three debates with Harris in September on separate networks. The Harris campaign had no immediate comment.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump recommitted to debating Vice President Kamala Harris after recently backing out, holding a lengthy news conference Thursday in which he taunted his new rival, boasted of his crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, and lashed out at questions about the enthusiasm her campaign has been generating.

WAYNE, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, played up their support for organized labor at a Detroit-area union hall on Thursday, with the Democratic nominee saying "we're all in this together" as the new ticket lavishes attention on a crucial base of support.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied Thursday in Wall Street's latest sharp swerve after a better-than-expected report on unemployment eased worries about the slowing economy.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.3% for its best day since 2022 and shaved off all but 0.5% of its loss from what was a brutal start to the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 683 points, or 1.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2.9% as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks helped lead the way.

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian authorities on Friday announced a third arrest in connection with the foiled conspiracy to attack three now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts, even as disappointed fans charmed Vienna by trading friendship bracelets and singing the pop star's songs in the streets.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Kristian Fulton entered his first training camp with the Los Angeles Chargers looking to regain his confidence and prove he could be a starting cornerback.

Two weeks into practices, it's safe to say that the cornerback has his mojo back.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fifteen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Biden administration over a rule that is expected to allow 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to enroll next year in the federal Affordable Care Act's health insurance.

NEW YORK (AP) — Iran is accelerating online activity that appears intended to influence the U.S. election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said Friday.

Iranian actors also have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists, laying the groundwork to stoke division and potentially sway American voters this fall, especially in swing states, the technology giant found.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris next week will make their first trip together since Biden ended his candidacy and Harris took over as the Democratic standard-bearer.

The White House announced Friday morning that Biden and Harris will head to Maryland on Aug. 15 for an event to "discuss the progress they are making to lower costs for the American people." They did not disclose the location or more specifics.

PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate will hold a rally in Arizona on Friday as part of their tour of electoral battlegrounds, visiting a state where Harris passed over a prominent Democrat in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

In his first news conference since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, former President Donald Trump said he would debate her on Sept. 10 and pushed for two more debates. The Republican presidential nominee spoke for more than an hour, discussing a number of issues facing the country and then taking questions from reporters. He made a number of false and misleading claims. Many of them have been made before.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — With control of the Senate potentially at stake, Donald Trump is visiting Montana on Friday hoping to remedy some unfinished business from 2018, when he campaigned repeatedly in Big Sky Country in a failed bid to oust incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota promised Friday to strengthen oversight of its vehicle certification so the scandal that surfaced recently over improper tests will never recur.

Japan's top automaker outlined in detail the measures it will take, including greater managerial involvement, assigning more staff to certification tasks and clarifying responsibilities of specific posts, such as the chief engineer.

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government said Friday it has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over European Union tariffs on electric vehicles made in China.

The Commerce Ministry said that China had resorted to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism "to safeguard the development rights and interests of the electric vehicle industry and cooperation on the global green transformation."

BANGKOK (AP) — Auto sales in China faltered in July, falling 5% from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Friday, although exports jumped about 20% as makers of electric vehicles expanded into global markets.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mortgage rates haven't been this attractive in more than a year, good news for homeowners eager to refinance.

Many homeowners have already jumped at the opportunity to lower their monthly payment, spurring a surge in mortgage refinancing applications.

NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast has ordered a full assessment of the internal culture in his YouTube empire as well as an investigation into "allegations of inappropriate behavior by people in the company," according to a confidential memo obtained by The Associated Press.

U.S. health officials on Friday approved a nasal spray to treat severe allergic reactions, the first needle-free alternative to shots like EpiPen.

The Food and Drug Administration said it approved the spray from drugmaker ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. as an emergency treatment for adults and older children experiencing life-threatening allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A California man with a history of political violence was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

David Nicholas Dempsey's sentence is among the longest among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. Prosecutors described him as one of the most violent members of the mob of Donald Trump supporters that attacked the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump mixed up two prominent politicians from California when he told a harrowing tale of almost crashing in a helicopter.

During a meandering press conference Thursday riddled with false and misleading statements, Trump recalled riding as a passenger in the chopper with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown when it was forced to make an emergency landing. The comments were in response to a question about a relationship between Brown and Vice President Kamala Harris three decades ago.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is partnering with tech giant Nvidia to help train the state's students, college faculty, developers and data scientists in artificial intelligence, officials announced Friday.

The initiative is part of an effort to expand resources so students, educators and workers – particularly in community colleges – can learn new skills in generative AI and advance their careers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said. The partnership aims to add new curriculum and certifications, hardware and software, and AI labs and workshops.

NEW YORK (AP) — A small brand safety initiative is ceasing operations — days after being targeted by social media platform X in a lawsuit alleging the group helped coordinate a "massive advertiser boycott" after billionaire Elon Musk bought the company in 2022.

NEW YORK (AP) — Current and former Cash App users could be eligible for a hefty piece of a proposed class-action settlement from the popular online payment service.

Earlier this year, Cash App Investing and its parent company Block Inc. agreed to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged a "failure to exercise reasonable care" in protecting user information leading up to and after recent data breaches. The class-action complaint cited two incidents where access to some account data was compromised, saying this resulted in numerous unauthorized charges impacting Cash App customers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing a wild, whipsaw week for Wall Street with modest gains.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% Friday, coming off its best day since 2022, trimming its loss for the week down to 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.5%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden's lawyers say prosecutors are inappropriately trying to insert "politically-charged" allegations about his foreign business dealings into the upcoming federal tax trial against the president's son.

Special counsel David Weiss' team told the judge last week that they plan to call to the witness stand a business associate of Hunter Biden's to testify about an arrangement with a Romanian businessman who was trying to "influence U.S. government policy" during Joe Biden's term as vice president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the top of his first speech as her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz turned to Vice President Kamala Harris and declared, "Thank you for bringing back the joy." The next day, Harris took the theme a step further, branding the Democratic ticket "joyful warriors."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly taunted her opponent's seeming reluctance to debate, telling a series of raucous audiences about Donald Trump's criticisms of her: "As the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face."

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Jacob Reitan said he told Gwen Walz he was gay before he told his parents.

Reitan was a student in 1999 at Mankato West High School in Minnesota, where Walz and her husband, Tim, were teachers. In her classroom, Gwen Walz had announced at the start of his sophomore year that her class was a safe place for gay students.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bleeding and in pain, Kyleigh Thurman didn't know her doomed pregnancy could kill her.

Emergency room doctors at Ascension Seton Williamson in Texas handed her a pamphlet on miscarriage and told her to "let nature take its course" before discharging her without treatment for her ectopic pregnancy.

NEW YORK (AP) — Unexpectedly high medical bills are common in the United States, but there are ways to get relief. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one in five Americans are affected by outstanding medical debt, for a total cost of $88 billion.

NEW YORK (AP) — They're adorable. They require less food and space. And without much coaxing, they might help cut the grass.

Americans are showing more interest in owning miniature cows, goats, donkeys and other diminutive farm animals, a trend driven by hobby farmers looking for easy-to-manage livestock and homesteaders who like the idea of having a petite pig or a scaled-down sheep as a pet.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the name of consumer protection, a slew of U.S. federal agencies are working to make it easier for Americans to click the unsubscribe button for unwanted memberships and recurring payment services.

A broad new government initiative, dubbed "Time Is Money," includes a rollout of new regulations and the promise of more for industries spanning from healthcare and fitness memberships to media subscriptions.

Christina Westman dreamed of working with Parkinson's disease and stroke patients as a music therapist when she started studying at St. Cloud State University.

But her schooling was upended in May when administrators at the Minnesota college announced a plan to eliminate its music department as it slashes 42 degree programs and 50 minors.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The great inflation spike of the past three years is nearly spent — and economists credit American consumers for helping slay it.

Some of America's largest companies, from Amazon to Disney to Yum Brands, say their customers are increasingly seeking cheaper alternative products and services, searching for bargains or just avoiding items they deem too expensive. Consumers aren't cutting back enough to cause an economic downturn. Rather, economists say, they appear to be returning to pre-pandemic norms, when most companies felt they couldn't raise prices very much without losing business.

Georgia is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for the second straight year as the superconference era begins with the SEC and Big Ten dominating the top 10 of the rankings.

The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes and 1,532 points in the Top 25 released Monday and the SEC powerhouse finished comfortably ahead of No. 2 Ohio State (15 first-place votes and 1,490 points) of the Big Ten.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is branching out this week and holding his first solo events as Vice President Kamala Harris ' running mate, making a five-state dash for campaign cash and addressing a key union gathering.

Walz will speak Tuesday at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees convention in Los Angeles before headlining a campaign fundraiser in Newport Beach, California. The 1.4-million-member union has endorsed Harris and says its members "are ready to mobilize to get out the vote in November."

WASHINGTON (AP) — JD Vance has endorsed former President Donald Trump's call for the White House to have "a say" over the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies — a view that runs counter to decades of economic research suggesting that politically independent central banks are essential to controlling inflation and maintaining confidence in the global financial system.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can remain on North Carolina's presidential ballots after a state judge on Monday refused to block printing his name and those of other candidates of the "We the People" party that was recently certified by the State Board of Elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bleeding and in pain, Kyleigh Thurman didn't know her doomed pregnancy could kill her.

Emergency room doctors at Ascension Seton Williamson in Texas handed her a pamphlet on miscarriage and told her to "let nature take its course" before discharging her without treatment for her ectopic pregnancy.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted through a quiet Monday to finish mixed, as markets around the world stabilized following a wild week of extreme swings.

The S&P 500 finished little changed, edging up by less than 0.01%, after flipping between small gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 140 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gym operator Blink Fitness has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Blink, an Equinox-owned chain with more than 100 locations, said Monday that it was filing for bankruptcy to help facilitate a sale of the business. The New York-based company added that its gyms remain open — with Blink telling its members that it anticipates "limited impact on day-to-day operations" through the process.

Tennessee announced on Tuesday a long-term deal with travel-center giant Pilot that will preserve the names of Neyland Stadium and Shields-Watkins Field while giving the Knoxville-based company prominent signage throughout the stadium, including on the playing surface.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Millions of dollars are being spent this year to steer voters toward candidates for Republican-led Legislatures who not only support school vouchers, but will become key figures in implementing school choice programs in states across the U.S.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former central Kansas police chief who led a raid last year on a weekly newspaper has been charged with felony obstruction of justice and is accused of persuading a potential witness for an investigation into his conduct of withholding information from authorities.

ATLANTA (AP) — A year after a Georgia grand jury accused Donald Trump and others of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state, the case has stalled with no chance of going to trial before the end of this year.

When Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis secured the indictment a year ago Thursday, it was the fourth and most sprawling of the criminal cases against the former president. Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden, and Willis used Georgia's anti-racketeering law to allege that he and 18 others had participated in a wide-ranging scheme to subvert the will of the state's voters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Colorado bed-and-breakfast operator who promotes herself online as the "J6 praying grandma" was sentenced on Monday to six months of home confinement in her Capitol riot case after the judge railed against "offensive" comments she has made about the criminal justice system.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to outmaneuver former President Donald Trump and address old vulnerabilities on her policy positions as she starts to fill in how she would govern if elected in November.

Vice presidents rarely have policy portfolios of their own — and almost always set aside any views that differ from those of the Oval Office occupant. Now, after four years of following President Joe Biden's lead, Harris is taking a cautious approach to unveiling a policy vision in her own right.

At least three news outlets were leaked confidential material from inside the Donald Trump campaign, including its report vetting JD Vance as a vice presidential candidate. So far, each has refused to reveal any details about what they received.

Instead, Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post have written about a potential hack of the campaign and described what they had in broad terms.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — A burglary was reported over the weekend at a Virginia campaign office for former President Donald Trump, and authorities are investigating whether anything was stolen.

It happened Sunday at an office in Ashburn being leased by the Trump for President 2024 campaign that also serves as the headquarters of the Virginia 10th District Republican Committee, according to a news release from Northern Virginia's Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump recounted his assassination attempt in vivid detail and promised the largest deportation in U.S. history during a high-profile return to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches.

ATLANTA (AP) — At the Republican National Convention and multiple rallies since, former President Donald Trump has been greeted as a hero who narrowly escaped assassination and is destined to lead a new American golden age.

At a recent conservative conference in Georgia, there was a different vibe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In some corners of the Democratic Party, last week felt like déjà vu.

The party's vice-presidential nominee's military record was under assault from Republicans — attacks reminiscent of those leveled two decades earlier on Sen. John Kerry during his run for the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is investigating allegations that sensitive documents from Donald Trump's presidential campaign were stolen in a cyber intrusion, as well as attempts to gain access to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, days after the Trump campaign declared it had been hacked by Iran.

As X's owner and most followed user, Elon Musk has increasingly used the social media platform as a microphone to amplify his political views and, lately, those of right-wing figures he's aligned with. There are few modern parallels to his antics, but then again there are few modern parallels to Elon Musk himself.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford and Mazda are warning the owners of more than 475,000 older vehicles in the U.S. not to drive them because they have dangerous Takata air bag inflators that have not been replaced.

The warning issued Tuesday covers more than 374,000 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles from the 2004 through 2014 model years and nearly 83,000 Mazdas from the 2003 through 2015 model years.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In April 2016, Elon Musk invited Indians to preorder the upcoming Tesla Model 3. Vishal Gondal was one of the first to sign up, paying a $1,000 deposit for a car that never arrived.

The founder and CEO of a health-tech startup called GOQii in India's financial capital Mumbai, Gondal wasn't sure when the automaker would launch in India or how much the car would eventually cost. But the Elon Musk fan was excited about the Model 3 and willing to wait.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is zeroing in on the policy goals closest to his heart now that he's no longer seeking a second term and will visit New Orleans on Tuesday to promote his administration's "moonshot" initiative aiming at dramatically reducing cancer deaths.

The unprecedented mental health crisis for children in the United States often surfaces where they spend much of their days: school. With that in mind, Google's philanthropic arm is directly financing high school wellbeing projects on a classroom crowdfunding platform.

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers spent more at small businesses in July, a rebound fueled by strong sales of general merchandise and health and personal care products.

The Fiserv Small Business Index rose 1 point to 141 after a 4 point decline in June. The figure is derived from point-of-sale transaction data, including card, cash, and check transactions in-store and online across about 2 million U.S. small businesses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale price increases in the United States eased in July, suggesting that inflation pressures are further cooling as the Federal Reserve moves closer to cutting interest rates, likely beginning next month.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.1% from June to July. That was down from a 0.2% rise a month earlier. And compared with a year earlier, prices were up 2.2% in July. That was the smallest such rise since March and was down from a 2.7% year-over-year increase in June.

The Payne Stewart Award has become one of the most cherished honors on the PGA Tour, and it took on special meaning for Nashville's Brandt Snedeker when he was announced as this year's recipient.

Snedeker was still at Vanderbilt when Stewart died in an October 1999 plane crash, so he never met him. That was case for Zach Johnson and Justin Rose in recent years, and it will continue as time goes on.

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the two discussed on social media about Musk supposedly firing striking workers.

BOSTON (AP) — Steward Health Care said it has reached an agreement to sell its nationwide physicians network to a private equity firm.

The deal comes as Steward is scheduled to go before a bankruptcy court judge Friday on its plan to sell six hospitals in Massachusetts. The Dallas-based company announced its bankruptcy May 6.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal safety agency is recommending that air tours and other commercial aircraft operators be required to have certificated dispatchers to help pilots plan their flights.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that and other recommendations are based on a study of more than 500 accidents, some of them fatal.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday to one of their best days of the year after the first of several highly anticipated reports on the economy this week came in better than expected.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.7% for its third-best day of 2024 after the U.S. government reported inflation at the wholesale level slowed last month by more than economists expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite clambered 2.3% higher.

Goodbye, Nick Saban. Hello, Oklahoma and Texas. For the first time in 17 years, Alabama's iconic coach won't be prowling the sidelines in the Southeastern Conference. With one longtime juggernaut headed to an ESPN gig and semi-retirement, two others enter the fray.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his hush money case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.

Judge Juan M. Merchan on Wednesday declined to step aside, rejecting the third such request from lawyers for the Republican presidential nominee.

NASHVILLE (AP) — An Army soldier has pleaded guilty to charges that accuse him of selling sensitive information related to U.S. military capabilities, including dozens of documents addressing topics ranging from rocket systems to Chinese military tactics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is launching a $90 million advertising effort over the next three weeks to introduce the Democrat to voters and sharpen the contrast with Republican Donald Trump.

The media buy marks her campaign's largest-yet investment in messaging to voters with just 2 1/2 months until Election Day in November. It comes on the heels of a $50 million worth of ads booked last month shortly after Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the party's ticket.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, watching tens of thousands of migrants from Central America reach the U.S.-Mexico border just a few months into his administration, tapped his second-in-command to help address the influx — a decision that has exposed Vice President Kamala Harris to one of her biggest political liabilities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As thousands of immigrants approached the U.S. border in early 2021, President Joe Biden tapped his second-in-command to address the influx. The decision has exposed Vice President Kamala Harris to one of her biggest political liabilities.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump will have another opportunity Wednesday to recalibrate his presidential comeback bid, this time with a rally and speech in North Carolina that his campaign is billing as a significant economic address.

Set in a Democratic city surrounded by staunchly Republican mountain counties, the event carries both national and local implications for the former president.

NEW YORK (AP) — If you've noticed that you're paying more than before for the same amount of groceries, you're not the only one. Inflation is easing, but grocery prices are still high — up 21%, on average, since inflation started to surge more than three years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading and setting up the Federal Reserve for an interest rate cut in September.

DALLAS (AP) — Elliott Investment Management is launching a proxy fight with Southwest Airlines and plans to nominate 10 candidates for the 15-member board of an the airline where performance has lagged behind competitors.

The hedge fund said late Tuesday CQ that naming a slate of director candidates marks "a key step toward implementing the urgent changes needed at Southwest."

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A top Democrat in the U.S. House says it will take a shift of power in Congress to ensure that legislation is finally passed to extend and expand a compensation program for people exposed to radiation following uranium mining and nuclear testing carried out by the federal government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the State Department announced Tuesday.

Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120 mm tank ammunition and high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles and comes at a time of intense concern that Israel may become involved in a wider Middle East war.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.

In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump's demand was a rehash "rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims" about his ability to remain impartial.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent presidential campaign suffered a blow this week when a judge in New York invalidated his petition to put his name on the state ballot, a ruling that could potentially create problems for the candidate as he faces challenges elsewhere.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official warned Wednesday that the Fed needs to cut its key interest rate before the job market weakened further or it would risk moving too late and potentially imperil the economy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said that because the Fed's rate decisions typically affect the economy only after an extended time lag, it must avoid waiting too long before reducing rates.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street ticked higher after the latest update on inflation came in almost exactly as economists expected.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Wednesday, coming off one of its best days of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite ended basically flat.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Will Levis turned into a fragrance salesman Wednesday after Tennessee's first joint practice with the Seattle Seahawks, spritzing reporters' wrists with the new scent developed with his new endorsement deal with a mayonnaise company.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has selected Scarlett Singleton Nokes as leader of the firm’s government enforcement and investigations practice group and John P. Rodgers as leader of the firm’s labor & employment practice group. Both are partners in the firm’s Nashville office.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday indicated he will order major changes in Google's Android app store to punish the company for engineering a system that a jury declared an illegal monopoly that has hurt millions of consumers and app developers.

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government wants to make it easier for employees to quit a job and work for a competitor. But some companies say a new rule created by the Federal Trade Commission will make it hard to protect trade secrets and investments they make in their employees.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is zeroing in on high food prices as her campaign previews an economic policy speech that she will give in North Carolina on Friday, promising to push for a federal ban on price gouging on groceries.

Harris is putting particular emphasis on rising meat prices, which she says account for a large part of rising grocery bills.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on Oct. 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents as early voting in some states gets underway for the general election.

CBS News on Wednesday posted on its X feed that the network had invited both Vance and Walz to debate in New York City, presenting four possible dates — Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 — as options.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Democratic National Convention approaches, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Democrats have slightly higher trust in Vice President Kamala Harris' ability to address the issue of climate change than President Joe Biden.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump made little effort to stay on message Wednesday at a rally in North Carolina that his campaign billed as a big economic address, mixing pledges to slash energy prices and "unleash economic abundance" with familiar off-script tangents on Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' laugh, the mechanics of wind energy and President Joe Biden's son.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Police in northern Virginia said Wednesday they were looking for a homeless man they suspect broke into an office of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said it has issued an arrest warrant for Toby Shane Kessler, 39, of no fixed address, on a burglary charge in connection with the break-in.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With less than three months before the U.S. election, Iran is intensifying its efforts to meddle in American politics, U.S. officials and private cybersecurity firms say, with the suspected hack of Donald Trump's campaign being only the latest and most brazen example.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday that drug price negotiations will knock hundreds of dollars — in some cases thousands — off the list prices of 10 of Medicare's most popular and costliest drugs.

The discounts, agreed to after months of negotiations with drug manufacturers, range between 38% and 79% on the medication's list price, which is the cost of medication before discounts or rebates are applied — not the price people actually pay for prescriptions.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As wildfires scorched swaths of land in the wine country of Sonoma County in 2020, sending ash flying and choking the air with smoke, Maria Salinas harvested grapes.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has shut down CrowdTangle, a tool widely used by researchers, watchdog organizations and journalists to monitor social media posts, notably to track how misinformation spreads on the company's platforms.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Social media influencers got the royal treatment at the White House on Wednesday as President Joe Biden gave a nod to their ability to hold sway with millions of loyal followers.

The White House played host to a group of more than 100 influencers, also known as content creators, across a range of media platforms — from chefs and makeup artists to fitness gurus and medical students — to talk about issues including mental health, pay equity and the abuse of artificial intelligence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans stepped up their spending at retailers last month by the most in a year and a half, easing concerns that the economy might be weakening under the pressure of higher prices and elevated interest rates.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that retail sales jumped 1% from June to July, the biggest such increase since January 2023, after having declined slightly the previous month. Auto dealers, electronics and appliance stores and grocery stores all reported strong sales gains.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, another sign that the job market remains resilient in the face of high interest rates.

Jobless claims dropped by 7,000 to 227,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 4,500 to 236,500.

LONDON (AP) — Britain's economy continued its recovery from recession at the end of last year, with its GDP increasing by 0.6% between April and June, official figures showed Thursday.

The second-quarter growth in economic activity, as measured by gross domestic product, followed a 0.7% increase in the first quarter and was in line with economists' predictions. It was a welcome boost for the U.K.'s new Labour government, which has pledged to rebuild Britain's economy after years of sluggish growth.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1% in the April-June period, rebounding from the contraction in the previous quarter, government data showed Thursday.

The world's fourth largest economy grew 0.8% in the fiscal first quarter, according to the Cabinet Office.

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart had another quarter of strong sales that topped almost all expectations with its comparatively low prices proving a powerful draw for millions who have struggled with rising costs for housing, groceries and almost everything else.

BEIJING (AP) — China's Commerce Ministry announced Thursday that it will restrict exports of a mineral used in a wide range of products from batteries to weapons.

Export controls will be placed on antimony starting Sept. 15 to safeguard China's security and interests and fulfill its international non-proliferation obligations, the ministry said. Anyone wishing to export the mineral in various forms will have to apply for a license.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett offered more details Wednesday about the stocks he has been selling lately, including confirming that he sold more than 389 million Apple shares during the second quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway still owns 400 million shares of the iPhone maker, so it remains the biggest position in the conglomerate's stock portfolio, according to the company's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The news that Buffett had unloaded a huge chunk of Apple came out in Berkshire's earnings report earlier this month, but the exact number of shares he sold wasn't clear until Wednesday.