News - Friday, March 6, 2026

On a February evening at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Fine Arts Center filled with students, business leaders and community members who had come to hear a familiar name deliver a familiar argument – and to explain how it still applies in an unfamiliar world.

Along Rossville Boulevard, where aging storefronts still hint at another era, a sandstone bank building crowned with a brass clock has begun a new life.

The former Rossville Branch Bank, with its tall ceilings, large front windows and original vault, is now home to Tile Gallery, a new specialty showroom opened by Jordan and Florina Parker. The store sits directly across the street from Direct Flooring, the Parkers’ flagship business, which has operated on the Boulevard for more than 15 years.

One year ago, this newspaper posed a simple question: “Where are musicians playing jazz in Chattanooga?”

Today, the answer is equally simple: “Everywhere.”

Jazz has settled comfortably into the city’s restaurants, bars, lounges, speakeasies, breweries, small performing venues and anywhere else with a corner large enough for a drum kit and a couple of amplifiers.

By David Laprad

Welcome to Food FAQ, a new feature serving up capsule reviews of independent, locally owned restaurants in the Chattanooga area. This week, we head to North Shore and zero in on Keystone Breakfast & Lunch, a Philly-rooted sandwich shop with serious swagger and ambition.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has graduated the first seven inmates from its new Medication-Assisted Treatment program at the Hamilton County Jail & Detention Center, marking a milestone just months after the initiative launched in December.

The Chattanooga chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women will host “Civic Conversations: Power, Policy and Our Collective Voice,” a community dialogue on leadership and accountability, March 12, 6-8 p.m. at Orchard Knob Missionary Baptist Church. Invited public officials include representatives from County Commission District 4 and the county mayor’s, sheriff’s and trustee’s offices. Residents are encouraged to attend and join the conversation.

Erlanger Health announced the retirement of Lynn DeJaco, executive vice president and chief financial officer, who stepped down Feb. 28 after nearly five years with the organization and a 35-year career in health care leadership.

During her tenure, DeJaco provided financial oversight and strategic leadership, serving as a mentor and advocate for Erlanger’s mission and for the health care industry in Tennessee and nationally.

The Chattanooga Police Department has graduated 32 cadets from its 22-week police academy, marking the largest class in more than a decade.

By operating its own academy, CPD tailors portions of its training to meet the needs of the Chattanooga community while ensuring recruits are prepared to uphold Tennessee law. The program exceeds Tennessee Police Officer Standards and Training requirements and meets Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies standards.

This past October at Southern Adventist University, the Student Managed Asset Risk and Return Training (SMARRT) Fund surpassed a major milestone of $1 million in stocks.

The initial $500,000 investment, entrusted to a group of School of Business students in 2019, is part of the university’s endowment. Earnings are used to continually support scholarships and student programs across the campus.

The Collegedale Police Department held its annual awards banquet Feb. 19, recognizing officers whose service over the past year exemplified professionalism, compassion and a commitment to public safety.

The event was attended by local and state elected officials.

The Senate recently took up what seemed to me like one of its exceedingly rare common-sense bills, the barring of anyone from holding more than one elected office at a time. Double-dipping, as it were.

“There’s an inherent conflict when people hold multiple offices,” as state Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), the sponsor, told the body. I fully agree. And yet Democrats – every last one of the measly six in the 33-member body – voted against it.

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate everything women have achieved and to honor their strength and resilience. It’s also a chance to have honest conversations about real-life challenges many women face.

One of these is the growing trend of divorce among those ages 50 and older, often called “gray divorce.” While being in this situation can feel overwhelming, it also can be an opportunity to reclaim independence and create a life that reflects dreams and values.

There are seemingly countless options for a new SUV these days, but less so if you’re looking for one that’s comfortable, roomy, and able to tackle snowy roads in the winter and outdoor adventures in the summer. Thankfully, a pair of SUVs are up for the challenge: the 2026 Honda Passport and 2026 Subaru Outback.

Maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s nothing. But for those with even the mildest case of Triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13 – keep watchful eyes on the March 11-15 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration's immigration crackdown and disaster response.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans invoked the war in Iran and the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they made another unsuccessful effort Thursday to pass a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security.

Democrats are insisting on changes to immigration enforcement operations as part of the measure and blocked it from advancing. The procedural vote was 51-45, falling well short of the 60 that Republicans needed to proceed with the measure. While the House will also take up the bill Thursday, that outcome will be more about putting lawmakers on the record about where they stand.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI said this week that it is investigating "suspicious activities" on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations.

The bureau is working to determine the scope and impact of the problem, according to a notification sent to members of Congress that says the unnamed culprit is using sophisticated techniques to exploit FBI network security controls.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The NCAA has filed an appeal in the eligibility case of Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

In the appeal, filed Thursday with the Mississippi Supreme Court, the NCAA argues that Chambliss has "exhausted his eligibility" to play Division I football because he has already played four seasons in a five-year period, the maximum allowed under NCAA rules.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Tennessee has never failed to qualify for the women's NCAA Tournament.

Whether the Lady Vols make a 43rd consecutive appearance remains to be seen.

The program that coach Pat Summitt built into a national powerhouse has fallen on tough times, culminating in Thursday night's 76-64 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Tournament — Tennessee's seventh straight defeat.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Matthew Wood scored twice to lead the Nashville Predators to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists, Nicolas Hague, Erik Haula and Luke Evangelista also scored for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 20 saves for Nashville, which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Predators trail the Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference's second wild card by three points.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Bernard LaFayette, the advance man who did the risky groundwork for the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has died.

Bernard LaFayette, III, said his father died Thursday morning of a heart attack. He was 85.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide for President Donald Trump who as a top federal prosecutor in Virginia pursued cases against the president's opponents but ultimately left the job after her appointment was deemed unlawful, is facing an investigation by the Florida Bar.

LONDON (AP) — German media group Axel Springer has agreed to buy the owner of Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper for 575 million pounds ($766 million), the companies announced Friday.

The agreement ends a long saga over ownership of the Telegraph Media Group, which publishes the 171-year-old, conservative-leaning Daily Telegraph, its Sunday sister paper and the Telegraph news website.

KUNSHAN, China (AP) — A glimpse of what the future of flying taxis might look like can be seen in this southeastern Chinese city.

In a hangar in Kunshan, more than 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) west of the port of Shanghai, a sort of gigantic drone was preparing for a demonstration. Called the Matrix, it's a 5-ton electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, or eVTOL, considered the largest electric aircraft built so far, at least in China.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's campaign to end "wokeness" in the military is reshaping its relationship with U.S. higher education, breaking off longstanding ties with prestigious universities that have trained generals and admirals while building new bonds with Christian schools and public universities.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The calls to 911 poured in from staff at Camp East Montana in Texas, the nation's largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, at a rate of nearly one a day for five months, each its own tale of pain and despair.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday released additional Jeffrey Epstein files involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump that the department said had been mistakenly withheld during an earlier review.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its "unconditional surrender." Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched more retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war.

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — Midway through Ramadan, Muslims across the United States are striving to maintain the holy month's traditional mix of prayers and festive spirit under a cloud of worrisome events.

The federal government's immigration crackdown has affected many of their communities. Virulent anti-Muslim rhetoric is surging. And now the Middle East — where many have loved ones — is buffeted by the Iran war.

Remarks by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the American press emphasizes U.S. casualties in the Iran war because it "wants to make the president look bad" are a reminder of something that has endured across many decades and conflicts: the tension and trepidation about news that reminds Americans of the human cost of war.

CAIRO (AP) — The Trump administration is confronting mounting discontent from allies in the Persian Gulf who have complained they were not given adequate time to prepare for the torrent of Iranian drones and missiles bombarding their countries in retaliation for strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House narrowly rejected a resolution Thursday to curb President Donald Trump's powers in the Iran war, an early sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering U.S. priorities at home and abroad.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%.

Hiring deteriorated from January, when companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a healthy 126,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February.

CHICAGO (AP) — Political printing presses at their busiest in decades. Debate organizers limiting participation due to so many candidates. Constant political ads on television and social media.

The signs that Illinois is having one of its most frenzied primary elections in years are everywhere.

MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida university has launched an investigation into a group chat started by an official with the Miami-Dade chapter of the Republican Party that included violently racist slurs, antisemitic comments and misogynistic language.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed travel bans on three Chilean officials over the possible construction of a submarine fiber optic cable with China, while warning Peru against ceding control over a Chinese-built mega port.

Under pressure from President Donald Trump, who had threatened to take the Panama Canal back under U.S. control, the Panamanian government seized two ports at either end of the canal that had been run by a Hong Kong company.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's proposed White House ballroom is "ugly," "grossly out of scale" and a "gold gilded edifice to one man's ego," according to members of the public who oppose the project and got a chance to speak their minds Thursday to a federal panel that's reviewing it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said late Thursday he was withdrawing from his reelection race, after having admitted an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide, but he vowed to finish out his term in Congress.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump's plan to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as Homeland Security secretary will leave an unexpected Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma.

Under a new Oklahoma law, Gov. Kevin Stitt will get to pick Mullin's replacement if he does indeed leave his Senate seat. Stitt said in a statement Thursday he will look to appoint "a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump."

NASHVILLE (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet in Tennessee but agents didn't have a warrant, according to court documents filed by this week her lawyer.

A court filing Friday by ICE disputes the assertion that the reporter was arrested without a warrant.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon policy limiting journalists' access to the building is depriving Americans of vital information about U.S. military operations while the country is at war, a New York Times attorney argued Friday in urging a judge to block the new rules.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Bar on Friday walked back what it said was an erroneous earlier statement its representatives had made indicating that it had an open investigation into Lindsey Halligan, a former top federal prosecutor in Virginia.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid that NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun, findings that could help divert a future incoming killer space rock, scientists reported Friday.

It's the first time that a celestial body's orbit around the sun was deliberately changed. The asteroid that NASA's Dart spacecraft slammed into was never a threat to Earth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.

The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information as the U.S. and Israel continue their bombardment and Iran fires retaliatory salvos at American assets and allies in the Persian Gulf.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. submarine's deadly attack on an Iranian warship does not appear to have violated international or American military law, though it's not yet clear whether the sub took sufficient measures to rescue nearly three dozen survivors, legal experts said.

ATLANTA (AP) — Battery company SK Battery America Inc. laid off nearly 1,000 workers at a manufacturing plant northeast of Atlanta on Friday amid automakers' changing electrification plans and uncertain consumer demand for EVs.

The company said Friday marked the last working day for 958 plant employees, about 37% of its workforce, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notice filed by human resources chief Chuck Moore. Impacted workers will be paid through May 6. The plant will continue to employ about 1,600 workers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. issued a license Friday that authorizes dealings with Minerven, Venezuela's state-owned gold mining company, in the latest sign of the Trump administration's intent to exercise more control over that country's natural resources.

NEW YORK (AP) — "Country" Joe McDonald, a hippie rock star of the 1960s whose "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" was a four-lettered rebuke to the Vietnam War that became an anthem for protesters and a highlight of the Woodstock music festival, died Sunday. He was 84.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department reached a settlement in its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, on Monday in a case that alleged an illegal monopoly over live events in America.

The settlement was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter who could not publicly discuss details of the agreement publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The terms of the deal were not immediately clear, and the Department of Justice and Live Nation didn't immediately respond to the AP's requests for comment.

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the U.S. to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its riding-hailing platform.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — When his parents were about his age, they bought their first home. But for 27-year-old Brian Torres Suazo, that milestone feels like a distant dream, despite a secure job with union wages and down payment assistance.

Torres Suazo expects to continue sharing an apartment with roommates for the foreseeable future, kept on the sidelines of homeownership by stubbornly high costs, even in cities once known for their affordability, such as his native Las Vegas.

Fox News apologized for airing old video of a hatless President Donald Trump during coverage Sunday of his attendance at the dignified transfer ceremony for U.S. soldiers killed in the Middle East war, insisting it was an honest mistake.

In a polarized time, some online critics suggested without evidence that it wasn't an error — that the network was trying to make Trump look better by not showing him wearing a baseball cap during what is considered one of the most solemn duties of a commander in chief. The return of the bodies of six soldiers took place Saturday at Dover Air Force Base.

World leaders have tried and failed to curb climate change by appealing to nations to act for the common good. Now, the Iran war and its costly energy crunch have some experts wondering if selfishness and nationalism may be a more likely way to save the planet, by boosting support for homegrown renewables over imported fossil fuels.

CHICAGO (AP) — Oil prices eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years Sunday as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was at $107.97 after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 16.5% from its Friday closing price of $92.69.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Surging oil prices triggered by the war with Iran are rippling across African economies, threatening higher fuel costs, rising inflation and renewed pressure on currencies across the continent.

Africa imports most of the petroleum products it consumes, leaving many economies highly vulnerable to supply disruptions tied to tensions in the Middle East, a region central to global oil flows.

NEW YORK (AP) — Questions about younger generations' community service habits abound for nonprofits, which are contending with an aging volunteer base whose participation levels are still rebounding from pandemic drop-offs.

There are some signs, however, that young people are giving back — though their charitable works might happen less formally and more sporadically.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — By age 23, Emma MacTaggart was already noticing how rare her free time was — and how it was seldom screen-free.

She was working long hours in investment banking and once she was finally able to log off after work, she would turn to her phone. Along with her roommates, she decided to hunt for a hobby that would replace that habit. They became "hooked" on needlepoint, she said, a practice she had briefly learned from relatives as a child, but one that she hadn't picked up in years. And she hasn't turned back since.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran named the hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as supreme leader on Monday, signaling no letup in the war launched by the United States and Israel. Oil prices surged as Iran attacked regional energy infrastructure and the U.S. and Israel bombed targets across Iran.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump promised that 2026 would be a bumper year for economic growth, but instead it has kicked off with job losses, rising gasoline prices and more uncertainty about America's future.

In his State of the Union address less than two weeks ago, the Republican president confidently told the country: "The roaring economy is roaring like never before." The latest batch of data on jobs, pump prices and the stock market suggests that Trump's roar has started to sound far more like a whimper.

BEIJING (AP) — Two major economic plans unveiled at the annual meeting of China's legislature outline top priorities that have different ramifications for the global economy.

In the government plan for 2026, the No. 1 task is "building a robust domestic market." Then comes accelerating technological progress. But longer-term, a plan for the next five years gives more prominence to achieving advances in tech.

WASHINGTON (AP) — All political roads lead to Rome. Rome, Georgia, that is.

Or at least they will on Tuesday, when voters in Georgia's 14th Congressional District will elect a replacement for former Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned in January following a public rift with President Donald Trump.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's police commissioner said Monday that authorities are investigating whether men who brought improvised explosive devices to a protest outside New York City's mayoral residence were inspired by ISIS.

The devices, which did not explode, were hurled during raucous counterprotests Saturday near Gracie Mansion during a "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City" event led by the far right activist Jake Lang. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the explosives could have caused serious injury or death.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A National Transportation Safety Board member who was a public face of the investigation into last year's deadly collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter near the nation's capital said Sunday that he had been fired by the Trump administration without explanation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said it killed six men Sunday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration's campaign against alleged traffickers.

Sunday's attack brought the death toll to at least 157 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in small vessels in early September.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Monday that it has tentatively settled its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, striking a deal to ultimately lower ticket prices for consumers and end an illegal monopoly over live events in America.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is criticizing lower court judges who have slowed its efforts to strip legal protections from a broad swath of migrants living in the U.S. It's asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for moves that could expose thousands more people to deportation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unprecedented effort to reverse the effects of a racially biased medical test that blocked or delayed Black people from getting kidney transplants seems to be working.

Researchers reported Monday that thousands of Black transplant candidates have been given credit on the transplant waiting list for time they lost because of that misguided test, moving up their priority in an attempt at restorative justice.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State President Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. resigned on Monday after disclosing "an inappropriate relationship" with a woman seeking public resources for her private business.

Carter, 66, said in a statement that he had resigned voluntarily after informing the university's board of trustees of his error. He did not elaborate on the nature of the relationship and said he was leaving with his wife, Lynda.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran had determined that American military intervention was not likely to lead to regime change in the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil prices surged and stock markets slid Monday after hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed his late father as Iran's supreme leader. His appointment, and new strikes on regional oil infrastructure, signaled that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are spending big in free agency for the second time in three years hoping more money and more talent helps their latest new coach turn around a struggling franchise.

The Titans opened the NFL negotiating window Monday by agreeing to terms with eight new players led by wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, cornerback Alontae Taylor and defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers in a spending spree worth at least a reported $270 million.

Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is the new running back for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Miami settled on Malik Willis for a reset at quarterback and receiver Mike Evans is headed to San Francisco after 12 years in Tampa Bay.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sharing a stage, Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh sparred Monday over the many emergency orders the court has issued allowing President Donald Trump to move ahead with key parts of his agenda.

The setting was extraordinary, a federal courtroom filled with legal luminaries, including the federal judge singled out by Trump after blocking part of the president's immigration crackdown.

For the third consecutive year, Michael Bloomberg landed the No. 1 spot on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's exclusive ranking of the 50 biggest donors of 2025. The founder of the Bloomberg financial-news empire and former New York mayor gave $4.3 billion to support arts, education, the environment, public health, and programs to improve city governments.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back suggestions by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When COVID-19 wrought havoc on society in early 2020, today's youngest schoolchildren were infants or yet to be born. Now in their early school years, researchers are beginning to see how the pandemic years have shaped their education, even though many had yet to set foot in a classroom when it began.

DE SOTO, Iowa (AP) — Standing alongside his son's Ford pickup truck at a central Iowa gas station off Interstate 80, Francisco Castillo was not happy.

He had voted for President Donald Trump in the last election. He believed Trump had strengthened the economy in his first term, and he wanted more of that.

NEW YORK (AP) — A widening war in Iran has halted oil tankers, made targets of refineries and spooked investors worried about the cascading impact of spiking energy prices.

If it might seem like the ideal time to dip into the world's emergency oil stockpiles, global leaders have so far responded with reluctance.

BEIRUT (AP) — Terrified by explosions shaking their homes in Tehran and other cities, tens of thousands of Iranians have packed up and left, finding refuge in small, remote towns to wait out massive bombardment by Israel and the United States.

Pouya Akhgari, 22, is holed up in a family house with aunts and cousins in a village 200 kilometers (120 miles) from his home in the capital, Tehran. As snow falls in the mountainous countryside of Zanjan province, he mostly spends his days watching movies and TV shows and sometimes ventures out to the nearest main town.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The war with Iran is doing collateral damage to the world economy.

The conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer prices; threatening food shortages in poor countries; destabilizing fragile states such as Pakistan; and complicating options for the inflation fighters at central banks like the Federal Reserve.

HONG KONG (AP) — China's exports jumped nearly 22% in the first two months of the year from a year earlier, powered by a surge in shipments of computer chips, autos and electronics.

The export figures released by China's customs agency on Tuesday were much better than economists had forecast. They far exceeded the 6.6% annual pace of growth recorded in December.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he won't sign any other legislation into law until Congress passes a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill that he says also must end Americans' ability to vote by mail, a startling demand months before the midterm elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said Monday that he's dropping his Republican Party affiliation and will serve as an independent, a change he said will take place immediately.

The two-term congressman faces a tough reelection battle following the redrawing of the state's congressional boundaries. On Friday, he announced he would be running in a Democratic-leaning district without listing a party affiliation next to his name.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide who inadvertently hastened Richard Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal when he revealed that the president had bugged the Oval Office and Cabinet Room and routinely recorded his conversations, has died. He was 99.

PHOENIX (AP) — The Republican leader of Arizona's state Senate said Monday he has handed over records related to the 2020 presidential election to the FBI in the latest sign that the Trump administration is acting on the president's longstanding falsehoods about a race he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

SEATTLE (AP) — Ryan Ufko scored his first NHL goal with 5:35 to play in the second period to put the Nashville Predators ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

The rookie skated in from the right of the goal, dodged between two defenders and tucked the puck past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord to give the Predators a 3-2 lead and two critical points in their chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Right now the team is on the outside of the playoff picture.

Darius Acuff Jr., who is on pace to become the first since Pete Maravich in 1970 to lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring and assists in the same season, is The Associated Press player of the year in the league.

With Acuff averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists, the 17th-ranked Razorbacks earned the No. 3 seed in this week's SEC tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The fourth-ranked Florida Gators head into the Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament knowing exactly what they want.

The defending national champions also know how quickly everything can slip away.

"As long as we maintain the mindset that as great as it is right now, it could be gone tomorrow if we don't take care of business or play the way we believe we're capable of," Florida coach Todd Golden said Tuesday. "And I think our guys have a good grasp on that."

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is throwing its weight behind Anthropic in asking a federal court to block the Trump administration's designation of the artificial intelligence company as a supply chain risk.

Microsoft, in a legal filing, is challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's action last week to shut Anthropic out of military work by labeling its AI products as posing a threat to national security.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge on Tuesday urged over two dozen states to settle their antitrust claims against Ticketmaster and its parent company this week after the U.S. Justice Department reached a deal and dropped out of an ongoing trial.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Nearly two decades ago, Virginia gave tech companies a tax break on equipment and software, and they began to build. The state became a data center hub, and they kept building. Residents bemoaned the noise while they built some more. Artificial intelligence boomed, and the power grid strained — still, more building.

NEW YORK (AP) — As the war in Iran ratchets up, the price of crude oil has been swinging sharply. Consumers are already feeling the effects of the war and its destabilizing effect on worldwide energy production.

Gasoline prices are climbing, and many people will find some of the most immediate economic pain at the pump.

PARIS (AP) — Gasoline prices are rising largely because of the Iran war's impact on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for oil and gas from the Persian Gulf. The waterway off Iran's coast, now effectively closed, is so vital for the global economy that governments are working on blueprints to speedily reopen it to shipping when the shooting stops.

PARIS (AP) — The International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects on energy markets of the war in the Middle East.

The Paris-based organization said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members' emergency reserves. It's a larger stock than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by the IEA's 32 member countries in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing jittery global markets and drooping poll numbers since launching a war on Iran, President Donald Trump has cycled from calls for "unconditional surrender" to sounding amenable to an end state in which Iran trades one hard-line ayatollah for another.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Iran war quickly tested America's ability to combat the swarms of cheap drones that have become a staple of the modern battlefield after Ukraine and Russia demonstrated how effective they could be.

The Islamic Republic launched so many drones across the region at once that some slipped through the defenses, including a strike that killed six U.S. soldiers at an operations center in Kuwait.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Inflation stayed stubbornly elevated last month as gas prices rose in a snapshot of what consumer prices looked like before the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran sent energy costs soaring.

Consumer prices rose 2.4% in February compared with a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, matching January's 2.4% increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices climbed 2.5% from a year ago, also matching January's level, which was the lowest in five years. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Meta said Tuesday it is acquiring Moltbook, a social network built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents to make posts and interact with each other.

A takeover of the AI experiment by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram comes weeks after Moltbook attracted viral attention as an unusual Reddit-like hub for AI systems trading gossip.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Chuck Collins figures he won life's lottery by inheriting vast sums of money through his great-grandfather Oscar Mayer's processed meat company, but rather than fight to protect every dime Collins has helped push to hike taxes on the ultrarich like himself.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden is breaking her silence about Joe Biden's decision to abruptly end his 2024 presidential reelection bid under pressure from Democrats concerned about his age, health and viability against Republican Donald Trump in a rematch of their 2020 campaign.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to visit Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to argue that his policies can steady an economy facing shock waves from the war on Iran and to try to defeat one of the few congressional Republicans who has dared to defy him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the Senate will consider a bill to impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements in elections, but says "the votes aren't there" to pass it through a marathon talking filibuster sought by President Donald Trump.

BOSTON (AP) — A coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they aren't considering race in admissions.

President Donald Trump ordered the new policy in August after he raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he views as illegal discrimination.

Microsoft and a group of retired military leaders are throwing their weight behind Anthropic in asking a federal court to block the Trump administration's designation of the artificial intelligence company as a supply chain risk.

Microsoft, in a legal filing, is challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's action last week to shut Anthropic out of military work by labeling its AI products as posing a threat to national security.

PORTAGE, Mich. (AP) — Stryker, a major U.S. medical equipment company, said a cyberattack disrupted its global networks Wednesday.

"We have no indication of ransomware or malware and believe the incident is contained. Our teams are working rapidly to understand the impact of the attack on our systems," Stryker said in a statement on its website.

NEW YORK (AP) — There will be a new leader at billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's philanthropic group that aims to expand access to the digital revolution's economic opportunities.

Omidyar Network President Michele Jawando takes over as CEO next month, according to a Wednesday announcement from the left-leaning organization that blends charitable grantmaking with for-profit impact investments. A civil rights lawyer and former Google executive who managed the company's public policy partnerships, Jawando will helm one of the best-financed technology organizations looking to loosen Silicon Valley's grip on artificial intelligence's development, deployment and regulation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein's sprawling financial portfolio Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world's wealthiest men.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas town known for its prisons is allowing a shuttered private prison to reopen and house immigrants detained for living in the U.S. illegally after a nearly yearlong legal fight amid a massive national push for new detention centers.

PARIS (AP) — A group representing many of the world's wealthiest countries agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects of the Iran war on energy markets and the halt of cargo shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic-led states alarmed by the prospect of federal immigration officers patrolling the polls during this year's midterm elections are taking steps to counter what they see as a potential tactic to intimidate voters.

New Mexico this week became the first state to bar armed agents from polling locations in response to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, a step being considered in at least a half dozen other Democratic-led states.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Chuck Collins figures he won life's lottery by inheriting vast sums of money through his great-grandfather Oscar Mayer's processed meat company, but rather than fight to protect every dime Collins has helped push to hike taxes on the ultrarich like himself.

PARIS (AP) — A group representing many of the world's wealthiest countries agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects of the Iran war on energy markets and the halt of cargo shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.