News - Friday, September 27, 2024

Realtors Susan Gilmore and Melissa Hennessy each contribute vital skills to their collaboration as Gilmore Hennessy, a partnership that serves residential buyers and sellers throughout greater Chattanooga.

Gilmore, for example, is a wordsmith whose fingers can tap out a listing description suitable for a pleasurable afternoon read. As a published novelist, she says she “loves to tell the story of a home.”

Tori Smith was in Florida during spring break from law school in 2012 when a phone call from the U.S. Army changed her life.

After the voice on the other end confirmed Smith’s identity, it conveyed devastating news: “I’m sorry to inform you that your husband stepped on a bomb while on patrol in Afghanistan.”

We have witnessed firsthand how technology has revolutionized how we conduct real estate transactions. While these advancements have made the buying and selling process more efficient, they’ve also created new opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit. Phishing scams have become a major threat, putting both Realtors and their clients at risk.

John Chambers will serve as the new chief of the Chattanooga Police Department.

Chambers has served over 20 years with the CPD. The confirmation caps a two-month selection process that whittled down a field of applicants for a job that drew national interest and a pool of external and internal candidates. Chambers emerged with unanimous support from Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s advisory committee.

Comedy has always been a serious business for James Austin Johnson.

“I would always run into the room when I heard people laughing as I grew up,” says the Nashville native who begins his fourth year as a featured player on “Saturday Night Live” with the Sept. 28 season-opener.

The six teammates from the Michigan Hawks club soccer program in Livonia, Michigan, didn’t want their relationships to end once they all departed for college. They turned to modern technology to keep their bond strong over the last five years.

If you’re planning to retire in a few years, are you looking forward to it or are you somewhat apprehensive? Are you asking yourself: “What sort of retirement can I afford?”

It’s a good question because the answer can make a big difference in your ability to enjoy life as a retiree.

Two-thirds of Americans would rather work a job they love with a lower-paying salary than work a job they hate with a higher-paying salary. Further, 72% say they would rather define success based on a “soft-life culture” – happiness, contentment and fulfillment – than a “hustle culture” focused on wealth, status and achievement.

Numbers tell a big part of the story as to why the Tennessee Titans are struggling at the bottom of the NFL after three games.

It is easy to put all the blame at the feet of quarterback Will Levis, whose play at critical times this year can certainly be called into question.

They say the bye week never comes at a bad time in the NFL.

The Titans heading into an off week after Monday night’s game in Miami, which when the schedule was released looked too early to provide much benefit.

Wrong. Win or lose on South Beach Monday night, that off week might be coming at the perfect time for a team that needs to find some sort of confidence again after a terrible start to the season.

The Titans head to Miami for their only prime-time appearance Monday night to face a beat-up Dolphins team that has nearly as many problems as Tennessee.

First, the Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is on injured reserve, and backup Skylar Thompson exited Sunday’s loss to Seattle with an injury. Here is a look at what the Titans need to do Monday night.

Donald Trump: “I do the weave. I’ll talk about, like, nine different things that they all come back brilliantly together. And it’s like friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’”

Vehicle recalls are an important part of automotive safety. But they can also be quite a hassle for owners.

Taking your vehicle to the dealership for an unexpected repair or fix is just one more thing you have to plan for. Pleasingly, things are changing. With many of the newest vehicles, some recalls can be taken care of simply by turning your car on.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Mike McDaniel has an idea of who will start at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. For now, he's keeping it to himself.

MEMPHIS (AP) — Justin Johnson was found guilty of murder in the death of rapper Young Dolph on Thursday after the jury heard testimony from a co-defendant that the killing was part of a feud between rival record labels.

MEMPHIS (AP) — A judge has denied a petition for a new trial in the kidnapping and killing of a Tennessee nursing student, knocking down an attempt by a key witness to recant his testimony that helped lead to a man's conviction in 2017.

Hardin County Circuit Judge J. Brent Bradberry granted a state motion to dismiss a petition for a new trial for Zachary Adams, who was convicted of raping and killing Holly Bobo after kidnapping her from her West Tennessee home in 2011. The body of Bobo, 20, was found more than three years later, ending a massive search by authorities and her family.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday filed, under seal, a legal brief that prosecutors have said would contain sensitive and previously unseen evidence in the case charging former President Donald Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election he lost.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge this week tossed a lawsuit against a Tennessee congressman who falsely accused a Kansas man of being involved in a deadly shooting at a rally celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory this year.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Federal regulators who say Google holds an illegal monopoly over the technology that matches online advertisers to publishers are vastly underestimating the competition the tech giant faces, an expert hired by Google testified Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With American support for Ukraine at a partisan crossroads, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday slammed suggestions that Kyiv should cede territory for the sake of peace with Moscow as "dangerous and unacceptable."

The Democratic presidential nominee spoke alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as she unleashed the veiled criticism of Republican candidate Donald Trump's push for Ukraine to quickly cut a deal to end the war.

PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday will make her first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee to confront head-on one of her biggest vulnerabilities ahead of the November election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has identified what he sees as an all-purpose fix for what ails America: Slap huge new tariffs on foreign goods entering the United States.

The former president and current Republican nominee asserts that tariffs — basically import taxes — will create more factory jobs, shrink the federal deficit, lower food prices and allow the government to subsidize childcare.

Former President Donald Trump recently reissued his loyalty test to religious Americans, declaring that he can best protect their freedoms while preemptively blaming members of certain faiths should he lose the presidential election in November.

Jews and Catholics can vote for him and ace the test, but those who don't, he says, "need their head examined." If he loses, Trump added, "Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss."

NEW YORK (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met face-to-face with Donald Trump on Friday with public tensions rising between the two over Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion and in the midst of the U.S. presidential election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats looking to preserve their Senate majority in the face of a difficult election cycle announced Thursday they were making a "multi-million dollar investment" in television advertising in Texas and Florida races with the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee saying he's "very confident there's going to be more coming."

PHOENIX (AP) — When Lesley Chavez found out she was pregnant at age 16, she saw her daughter as a blessing from God and never considered an abortion, a view reinforced by her devout Christian mother. If she could have voted at the time, Chavez would have opposed expanding abortion access.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Republican-led group is challenging Georgia's new requirement that poll workers count the total number of ballots by hand, saying it's another example of the State Election Board overstepping its legal authority.

Eternal Vigilance Action amended its existing lawsuit on Wednesday to also challenge that rule adopted Friday by the board.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Safety investigators are making "urgent" recommendations to Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration after determining pedals that pilots use to steer 737 Max jetliners on runways can become jammed because moisture can leak into a rudder assembly and freeze.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure on Friday provided the latest sign that price pressures are easing, a trend that is expected to fuel further Fed interest rate cuts this year and next.

Prices rose just 0.1% from July to August, the Commerce Department said, down from the previous month's 0.2% increase. Compared with a year earlier, inflation fell to 2.2%, down from 2.5% in July and barely above the Fed's 2% inflation target.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Federal Reserve's Richmond branch says he supports reducing the central bank's key interest rate "somewhat" from its current level but isn't yet ready for the Fed to fully take its foot off the economy's brakes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a temporary government spending bill that keeps agencies operating into December, after Congress punted key spending decisions until after the November election.

The bill generally funds agencies at current levels through Dec. 20, setting up the prospect of a government shutdown fight just before the holiday season. Lawmakers did agree to add $231 million to bolster the Secret Service after the two assassination attempts against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Money was also added to aid with the presidential transition.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump's presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.

The three accused hackers were employed by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and their operation also targeted a broad swath of targets, including government officials, members of the media and non-governmental organizations, the Justice Department said.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee law that bans transgender students and staff from using school bathrooms or locker rooms that match their gender identities.

A transgender student, identified only as D.H., filed the lawsuit nearly two years ago, saying her school stopped supporting her social transition after the Republican-dominant Statehouse and GOP Gov. Bill Lee enacted several policies targeting accommodations for transgender people.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A group of Tennessee voting and civil rights advocates says it won't refile a federal lawsuit alleging the state's U.S. House map and boundaries for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

In a news release Friday, the plaintiffs whose lawsuit was dismissed last month said their efforts in court were facing "new, substantial and unjust standards to prove racial gerrymandering" under a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that involved South Carolina's political maps.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday refused an emergency appeal from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign seeking to have his name added to New York's ballot.

Kennedy has been trying to get his name off ballots in key battleground states since he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks closed another record-setting week with a muted performance Friday, as hope built on Wall Street that the U.S. economy can manage the rare feat of suppressing high inflation without causing a recession.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high set the day before, its 42nd of the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 137 points, or 0.3%, to set its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Biden administration officials were meeting Friday with port operators ahead of a possible strike at East and Gulf coast ports, with a union contract expiring after Monday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, told members of the United States Maritime Alliance that they should be at the table with the union and negotiating ahead of the contract expiring. That's according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing meeting.

Alabama returned to No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in two years on Sunday following its dizzying victory over Georgia, making this 16 of 17 seasons the Crimson Tide has held the top spot at some point.

UNLV, unbeaten through four games for the first time in its Division I history, cracked the rankings for the first time ever just days after losing its starting quarterback over a NIL dispute. The Rebels are tied for No. 25 with Texas A&M.

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction to the death of Kris Kristofferson. The singer-songwriter and actor died Saturday at his home in Hawaii surrounded by family at age 88.

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"The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special." — Barbra Streisand, Kristofferson's co-star in "A Star is Born," on X and Instagram.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, has died.

Kristofferson died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email. He was 88.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A crisis unfolded in western North Carolina as officials rushed to get more water, food and other supplies to flood-stricken areas without power and cellular service Monday, three days after Hurricane Helene ripped across the U.S. Southeast. The death toll from the storm reached the triple digits.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he will visit Hurricane Helene-impacted areas this week as long as it does not disrupt rescue and recovery operations.

Biden was briefed again on Sunday evening about the impact of the devastating storm on an enormous swath of the Southeast. In a brief exchange with reporters, he described the impact of the storm as "stunning" and said that the administration is giving states "everything we have" to help with their response to the storm.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course will appear in court on Monday after being indicted on additional charges.

Ryan Wesley Routh is expected to be arraigned in federal court in West Palm Beach on an indictment brought last week charging him with attempted assassination and gun offenses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has agreed to pay more than $22 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging female recruits were singled out for dismissal in training and routinely harassed by instructors with sexually charged comments about their breast size, false allegations of infidelity and the need to take contraception "to control their moods."

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump has suggested that "one rough hour" of law enforcement action would tamp down retail theft, an echo of his longstanding support for more aggressive and potentially violent policing.

"One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately," Trump said Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurricane Helene's deadly devastation has scrambled the presidential candidates' campaign plans, with Kamala Harris returning early from a campaign visit to Las Vegas to attend briefings and Donald Trump heading to Georgia to see the storm's impact.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his personal attacks on his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, on Sunday by repeating an insult that she was "mentally impaired" while also saying she should be "impeached and prosecuted."

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris poked at Donald Trump over crowd sizes, his refusal to debate again and his privileged background on Sunday as she hauled in campaign cash in California and held a raucous rally at the same Nevada venue where the Republican nominee had appeared just two weeks ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are pointing to newly released immigration enforcement data to bolster their argument that the Biden administration is letting migrants who have committed serious crimes go free in the U.S. But the numbers have been misconstrued without key context.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tim Walz and JD Vance might have the chance to reshape the political landscape Tuesday in their first and only debate.

Vice presidential picks have traditionally taken on the role of political attack dog, laying into opponents so that their running mate can appear above the political fray. That's generally been less true since former President Donald Trump scrambled political norms.

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As he campaigned for the Senate two years ago, JD Vance harshly criticized a bipartisan 2021 law to invest more than $1 trillion in America's crumbling infrastructure, calling it a "huge mistake" shaped by Democrats who want to spend big taxpayer dollars on "really crazy stuff."

ATLANTA (AP) — Two controversial new rules passed by Georgia's State Election Board concerning the certification of vote tallies are set to face their first test in court this week.

The Republican majority on the State Election Board — made up of three members praised by former President Donald Trump praised by name at a recent rally — voted to approve the rules last month. Democrats filed a legal challenge and argue the rules could be used "to upend the statutorily required process for certifying election results in Georgia."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is off for the campaign season, as lawmakers from one of the most chaotic and unproductive legislative sessions in modern times try to persuade voters to keep them on the job.

The House Republicans led the tumult — painstakingly electing their speaker in a bitter public feud then swiftly booting him from office, something never before seen. But the deeply divided Senate was not immune from the inaction, lumbering through a modest agenda.

MILAN (AP) — Carmaker Stellantis, the world's fourth largest carmaker, slashed its earnings forecast on Monday, citing investments to turn around its U.S. operations amid a wider industry slump and increased Chinese competition.

Stellantis said it was accelerating efforts to turn around North America, including bringing dealer inventory levels to no more than 300,000 vehicles by the end of the year, instead of the first quarter of 2025 as previously planned.

NEW YORK (AP) — The music streaming service Spotify was down temporarily on Sunday, leaving thousands of listeners without access to tunes and podcasts.

More than 40,000 people reported outages with the music platform on downdetector.com, a website that allows users to report problems with popular apps and services.

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — More than 90,000 residents in a county east of Atlanta were told to keep sheltering in place Monday and businesses were told to stay closed a day after a chemical plant fire sent a massive plume of dark smoke high into the sky that could been seen from miles away.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. ports from Maine to Texas could shut down Tuesday if a union representing about 45,000 dockworkers carries through with a threatened strike.

A lengthy shutdown could raise prices on goods around the country and potentially cause shortages and price increases at big and small retailers alike as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending an additional "few thousand" troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to be prepared to defend Israel if necessary, the Pentagon said Monday.

The increased presence will come from multiple fighter jet squadrons, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.

Josh Heupel made his coaching reputation as a guru running offenses so fast that defenders were left gasping for air, unable to substitute fresh players.

Through three seasons, that was enough to get Tennessee back in the AP Top 25 rankings.

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction to the death of Kris Kristofferson. The singer-songwriter and actor died Saturday at his home in Hawaii surrounded by family at age 88.

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"The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special." — Barbra Streisand, Kristofferson's co-star in "A Star is Born," on X and Instagram.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Widespread devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene came into light Monday across the South, revealing a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways in one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The death toll rose to 121.

MEMPHIS (AP) — Lawyers for two former Memphis officers rested their cases Monday without calling them to testify in their own defense against charges that they violated Tyre Nichols' civil rights in a beating that proved fatal following a 2023 traffic stop.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge on Monday struck down the state's abortion law, which took effect in 2022 and effectively prohibited abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his order that "liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices."

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Video game maker Epic Games sued Google and Samsung on Monday, accusing the tech companies of coordinating to block third-party competition in application distribution on Samsung devices.

At issue is Samsung's "Auto Blocker" feature, which only allows for apps from authorized sources, such as the Samsung Galaxy Store or Google Play Store, to be installed. The feature is turned on by default but can be changed in a phone's settings. The tool prevents the installation of applications from unauthorized sources and blocks "malicious activity," according to Samsung.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A man who authorities say spent 12 hours camped outside Donald Trump's golf course before Secret Service spotted him with a rifle pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges including attempted assassination.

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.

The former president and Republican nominee claimed upon landing in Valdosta that President Joe Biden was "sleeping" and not responding to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who he said was "calling the president and hasn't been able to get him." He repeated the claim at an event with reporters after being told Kemp said he had spoken to Biden.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration's response to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, even as his supporters call for cuts to federal agencies that warn of weather disasters and deliver relief to hard-hit communities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurricane Helene's deadly devastation has scrambled the presidential candidates' campaign plans, with Kamala Harris returning early from a campaign visit to Las Vegas to attend briefings and Donald Trump heading to Georgia to see the storm's impact.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some Verizon customers across the U.S. were hit by a service outage Monday.

The issue appeared to knock out cellphone service for tens of thousands of Verizon users. Data from outage tracker DownDetector shows that reports topped 100,000 shortly after 11 a.m. ET — and while that number dropped significantly, nearly 48,000 were still facing issues closer to 4 p.m. ET.

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — A weekend fire that sent a massive plume of dark smoke into the Georgia sky has led to complaints about a strong chemical smell and haze several miles away across metro Atlanta, where some schools canceled outdoor activities and others closer to the fire remained stuck at home sheltering from the outdoor air.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline but suggested they would occur at a measured pace intended to support a still-healthy economy.

His comments, at a conference of the National Association for Business Economics in Nashville, Tennessee, disappointed the hopes of many investors that the Fed would implement another steep half-point reduction in its key rate before the end of the year. The Fed cut its rate by a larger-than-usual half point earlier this month as it has moved past its inflation fight and pivoted toward supporting the job market.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed its latest winning month and quarter with more records on Monday. The drift higher for U.S. stocks followed a wild start to the week for financial markets in Asia, where Japanese stocks tumbled and Chinese indexes soared.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has increased its military presence in the Middle East by several thousand troops, sending an array of fighter jets and other aircraft to bolster the protection of U.S. forces and allies.

The decision brings the total number of American troops in the region to as many as 43,000, including more than a dozen warships.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday it is making asylum restrictions at the southern border even tougher, as it's increasingly eager to show voters uneasy over immigration that it is taking a hard stance on border security.

The new rules, which toughen restrictions announced in June, bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed.

NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing U.S. dockworkers has signaled that 45,000 of its members will walk off the job at midnight, kicking off a strike likely to shut down ports across the East and Gulf coasts.

The coming work stoppage threatens to significantly snarl the nation's supply chain, potentially leading to higher prices and delays in goods reaching households and businesses if it drags on for weeks. That's because the strike by members of the International Longshoremen's Association could cause 36 ports — which handle roughly half of the goods shipped into and out of the U.S. — to shutter operations.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced Tuesday its 2024 class of fellows, often known as recipients of the "genius grant."

Among the 22 fellows, who will each receive a grant of $800,000 over five years to spend however they want, is Keivan G. Stassun, 52, of Nashville, a science educator and astronomer at Vanderbilt University who has championed the recruitment of science students from diverse backgrounds, including neurodiverse students, in addition to his research on star evolution.

NEW YORK (AP) — The 2024 class of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellows includes more writers, artists and storytellers than in years past, though the so-called "genius grants" list also includes multiple scientists.

The interdisciplinary awards announced Tuesday come with a $800,000 grant over five years that the 22 recipients — including fiction writer Ling Ma, poet and writer Juan Felipe Herrera, cabaret performer Justin Vivian Bond and visual artist Ebony G. Patterson — may use however they want.

More than 40 trillion gallons of rain drenched the Southeast United States in the last week from Hurricane Helene and a run-of-the-mill rainstorm that sloshed in ahead of it — an unheard of amount of water that has stunned experts.

That's enough to fill the Dallas Cowboys' stadium 51,000 times, or Lake Tahoe just once. If it was concentrated just on the state of North Carolina that much water would be 3.5 feet deep (more than 1 meter). It's enough to fill more than 60 million Olympic-size swimming pools.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Rescuers fanned out across the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday in search of anyone still unaccounted for since Hurricane Helene's remnants caused catastrophic damage to the Southeast, with the death toll nearing 140 people.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Widespread devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene came to light Monday across the South, revealing a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways in one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The death toll topped 130.

MEMPHIS (AP) — Closing arguments were expected Tuesday in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols' civil rights in a beating that proved fatal following a 2023 traffic stop.

Attorneys for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith rested their cases Monday after each had called experts during previous days of testimony in an attempt to combat prosecutors' arguments that the officers used excessive force against Nichols, didn't intervene, and failed to tell their supervisors and medical personnel about the extent of the beating.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Mason Rudolph was happy to help lead the Tennessee Titans to their first win of the season on Monday, even though he felt like he didn't have to do much.

Nick Folk helped him with five field goals, and Rudolph led seven scoring drives after starter Will Levis left with a shoulder injury in the 31-12 win.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis left Monday's 31-12 win over the Miami Dolphins in the first quarter with a shoulder injury.

Levis dove for a first down on Tennessee's second drive of the game and came down hard on his right throwing shoulder. Backup Mason Rudolph replaced Levis, who did not return.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet for their first and possibly only vice presidential debate Tuesday, in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before the election.

The debate in New York hosted by CBS News will give Vance, a Republican freshman senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, the chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mates, and go on the attack against the opposing ticket.

WAUNAKEE, Wis. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to spend the hours ahead of Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate campaigning in Wisconsin, stopping in a critical Democratic county that is crucial to Democrat Kamala Harris ' hopes for winning the key battleground state.

ATLANTA (AP) — A trial is set to get underway Tuesday on a lawsuit filed by Democrats challenging two new rules passed by the Georgia State Election Board that have to do with county certification of election results.

Supporters of the rules say they are necessary to ensure the accuracy of the vote totals before county election officials sign off on them. But critics say they worry that supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump could use the rules to delay or deny certification if the former president loses the state to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, causing confusion and casting doubt on the results.

WASHINGTON (AP) — David Steinglass, a wealthy donor, has supported scores of Democrats running for office and calls himself an activist for transgender rights.

So his donation earlier this year to a far-right candidate in Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race seemed wildly out of character. He gave the maximum $3,300 to help get a man on the ballot who had these items in his background: He was investigated in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, he is a gun rights activist and he has called for banning some gender-affirming treatments for minors.

LONDON (AP) — Sony's PlayStation Network went down for hours on Tuesday, frustrating gamers around the world who complained they weren't able to sign in to their accounts.

PlayStation Network said on its website that "some services are experiencing issues," and that players "might have difficulty" logging in, creating accounts, launching games or getting video content.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in August as the American labor market continued to show resilience.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 8 million vacancies in August, up from 7.7 million in July. Economists had expected openings to be virtually unchanged. Openings were up in construction and in state and local government.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro fell to 1.8% in September, below the European Central Bank's target of 2% for the first time in more than three years as falling energy prices give consumers relief from a burst of inflation that at one point reached into double digits.

TOKYO (AP) — Business sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers stood unchanged in the latest quarter from the previous quarter, according to a closely watched survey called "tankan" released Tuesday.

The Bank of Japan survey put the benchmark index at plus-13 for the July-September quarter, the same from the previous survey conducted for April-June.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down Tuesday when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.

A lengthy shutdown could raise prices on goods around the country and potentially cause shortages and price increases at big and small retailers alike as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday that Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens sounded across the country as residents were ordered to remain close to bomb shelters.

Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences if Iran attacks.

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter is preparing to celebrate his 100th birthday on Tuesday, the first time an American president has lived a full century and the latest milestone in a life that took the son of a Depression-era farmer to the White House and across the world as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian and advocate for democracy.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday looking for victims of Hurricane Helene, days after the storm carved a deadly and destructive path through the Southeast.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will tour damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Georgia and North Carolina as the deadly storm roils the political calendar just over a month from Election Day.

The Democratic nominee plans to visit Georgia on Wednesday and survey the devastation in North Carolina in the coming days, according to aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the travel plans. Harris' team has been working to coordinate her plans to avoid impacting local disaster response efforts.

MEMPHIS (AP) — A judge was considering arguments Tuesday related to instructions that will be given to jurors in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols' civil rights in a beating that proved fatal following a 2023 traffic stop.

HOUSTON (AP) — An attorney said Tuesday he is representing 120 accusers who have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs, the hip-hop mogul who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said he expects lawsuits to be filed within the next month. Buzbee described the victims as 60 males and 60 females, and that 25 were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — When a Georgia judge overturned the state's abortion ban this week, abortion rights advocates praised the ruling and opponents denounced it — all knowing the state's top court could put it on hold in coming days or weeks.

Any changes to abortion policy in Southern states could have an impact that resonates beyond their borders. Most states in the region have bans in place, forcing women who are seeking abortion procedures to travel to obtain them.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election officials say they will do everything in their power to ensure that voters in the crucial presidential swing state will be able to cast their ballots despite the devastation of Hurricane Helene and the destruction of basic infrastructure only about a month before the November election.

NEW YORK (AP) — The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on Sept. 30. The "on-ramp" period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score.

"The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are not able to make payments," said Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks retreated from their records Tuesday after Iran fired missiles into Israel, a sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East that investors fear could lead to disruptions in the flow of oil.

The S&P 500 pulled 0.9% lower, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 173 points, or 0.4%, after both had set all-time highs the day before. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.5% after paring a bigger loss from earlier in the day, like other indexes.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office Tuesday as Mexico's first female president in more than 200 years of independence, promising to protect an expanded social safety net and other popular policies put in place by her predecessor, but facing pressing problems.

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Longtime friends, family and fans of Jimmy Carter milled around his hometown of Plains to celebrate his 100th birthday on Tuesday, the first time an American president has lived a full century and the latest milestone in a life that took the Depression-era farmer's son to the White House and across the world as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian and advocate for democracy.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan is doing his best to nip any talk of a quarterback controversy, saying he can't wait to see Will Levis continue to grow in his second NFL season.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge in North Carolina has cleared the way for the state's public-school athletes to profit off their fame in a court case involving a high school football player who has committed to play at Tennessee.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit challenging the state's restrictions on athletes cashing in on use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). Rolanda Brandon filed the complaint on behalf of her son, Greensboro Grimsley quarterback Faizon Brandon, who is the nation's top-ranked recruit in the class of 2026, according to 247Sports.

Hurricanes in the United States end up hundreds of times deadlier than the government calculates, contributing to more American deaths than car accidents or all the nation's wars, a new study said.

The average storm hitting the U.S. contributes to the early deaths of 7,000 to 11,000 people over a 15-year period, which dwarfs the average of 24 immediate and direct deaths that the government counts in a hurricane's aftermath, the study in Wednesday's journal Nature concluded. Study authors said even with Hurricane Helene's growing triple digit direct death count, many more people will die partly because of that storm in future years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past four years, President Joe Biden has jetted off to survey damage and console victims after tornadoes, wildfires and tropical storms. It's not a role that Kamala Harris has played as vice president.

But on Wednesday, they will both fan out across the Southeast to grapple with the damage from Hurricane Helene, seeking to demonstrate commitment and competence in helping devastated communities after Donald Trump's false claims about their administration's response. Biden is heading to North Carolina and South Carolina, while Harris is going to Georgia.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Many residents of the Carolinas still lacked running water, cellphone service and electricity Wednesday as rescuers searched for people unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast and killed at least 166 people.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee state authorities said Wednesday they are investigating the company behind a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

As the nearby Nolichucky River swelled from rainfall, employees in the Impact Plastics factory in Erwin, a small community in rural Tennessee, kept working. Several asserted that they weren't allowed to leave in time to avoid the storm's impact. It wasn't until water flooded into the parking lot and the power went out that the plant shut down and sent workers home.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday looking for more victims of Hurricane Helene days after the storm carved a deadly and destructive path through the Southeast.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A trio of new trials — a devastating hurricane, expanding conflict in the Mideast and a dockworkers strike that threatens the U.S. economy — are looming over the final weeks of the presidential campaign and could help shape the public mood as voters decide between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice presidential hopefuls Tim Walz and JD Vance focused their criticism on the top of the ticket on Tuesday as they engaged in a policy-heavy discussion that may be the last debate of the 2024 presidential campaign.

It was the first encounter between Minnesota's Democratic governor and Ohio's Republican senator, following last month's debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. It comes just five weeks before Election Day and as millions of voters are now able to cast early ballots.

FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims during the vice presidential debate

The Associated Press undefined

The vice presidential candidates, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, on Tuesday engaged in a fast-moving, largely civil debate on a wide range of issues. Here's a look at some false and misleading claims from the debate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first and only vice presidential debate between Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz featured an often orderly, policy-focused and even civil dialogue between the two men seeking to serve as the next president's second in command.

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS News said Tuesday that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has declined to participate in an interview with "60 Minutes" for its election special, which will go forward next Monday with Democratic opponent Kamala Harris alone.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A growing number of governments, international trade organizations and businesses are urging the European Union to reconsider a deforestation regulation set to take effect in December.

Critics of the regulation say it will discriminate against countries with forest resources and hurt their exports. Supporters of the EU Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR for short, say it will help combat forest degradation on a global scale.

CORTELEONA E GENZONE, Italy (AP) — One of Giovanni Airoli's sows tested positive for African swine fever in late August. Within a week, all 6,200 sows, piglets and fattening pigs on his farm south of Milan were slaughtered under strict protocols to halt the disease threatening Italy's 20 billion euro prosciutto, cured sausage and pork industry.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nike sales and profits slumped in its fiscal first quarter as the sportswear giant wrestles with shoppers' sluggish demand for new sneaker models and other products.

The lackluster results Tuesday came after Nike announced last month that its CEO, John Donahoe, is stepping down on Oct. 13. Company veteran Elliott Hill is coming out of retirement to head up the company.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says there is a significant difference between Israeli actions that have expanded its war against the Iranian-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran's retaliatory missile attack against Israel, which it condemned as escalatory.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson laid out on Tuesday a policy agenda should Republicans take the majority next year that extends the tax cuts approved when Donald Trump was president, reduces the size of the federal workforce and gives parents more choice on where they can send their children to school.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a year of war between Israel and Hamas, U.S. public opinion on the conflict remains polarized, a new survey by the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, with Democrats more likely to be critical of Israel, while Republicans remain more supportive.

While hospitals and health care organizations in the Southeast largely stayed open and functioning during Hurricane Helene to provide essential care for their communities, they were not unscathed.

The massive system battered the region's health centers, causing blackouts, wind damage, supply issues and flooding — leading to a dramatic rescue of patients and workers at the Unicoi County Hospital in eastern Tennessee.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — President Joe Biden flew over toppled trees, twisted metal and towering piles of debris in the normally tourist friendly downtown of Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, as he took a tour by helicopter of Hurricane Helene 's path of destruction. At the same time, Vice President Kamala Harris was getting her own look at the storm's damage in Georgia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and "resorted to crimes" in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a newly unsealed court filing from prosecutors that offers new evidence from the landmark criminal case against the former president.

CHICAGO (AP) — Anti-abortion leaders said Wednesday that they're undeterred after Donald Trump said he would veto a federal abortion ban, the first time he has explicitly said so after previously refusing to answer questions on the subject.

During Tuesday night's vice presidential debate, the Republican presidential nominee posted on his social media platform Truth Social that "everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Security for America's election systems has become so robust that Russia, Iran or any other foreign adversary will not be able to alter the outcome of this year's presidential race, the head of the nation's cybersecurity agency said Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged higher in a quiet Wednesday, and Treasury yields rose following an encouraging update on the job market's strength.

The S&P 500 finished virtually unchanged, a day after sliding from its record on worries about a possible widening of the fighting in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 39 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%.

OpenAI said Wednesday it has raised $6.6 billion in venture capital investments as part of a broader shift by the ChatGPT maker away from its nonprofit roots.

Led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, the funding round was backed by tech giants Microsoft, Nvidia and SoftBank, according to a source familiar with the funding who was not authorized to speak about it publicly.

NEW YORK (AP) — The massive port workers' strike that has crippled all the major dockyards on the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. is highlighting a fear held by many workers: Eventually, we will all be replaced by machines.

The International Longshoremen's Association, which represents the approximately 45,000 dock workers who walked off the job Tuesday, is testing whether it's possible to fight back.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some manufacturers and retailers are urging President Joe Biden to invoke a 1947 law as a way to suspend a strike by 45,000 dockworkers that has shut down 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas.

At issue is Section 206 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft-Hartley Act. The law authorizes a president to seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period for companies and unions to try to resolve their differences.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it would ban the import of goods from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a Chinese maker of artificial sweetener, accusing both of being involved in the use of forced labor from China's far-west region of Xinjiang.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA wants to make it easier — and safer — for people in Iran, China and North Korea to share information with America's premier spy agency.

The agency on Wednesday posted online instructions in Korean, Mandarin and Farsi detailing steps that potential informants can take to contact U.S. intelligence officials without putting themselves in danger.