News - Friday, July 10, 2026

“At this point in my life, I want to help people who remind me of the young man I once was.”

A. Hamid Andalib leans forward for emphasis before finishing the thought that has come to define the next chapter of his life.

“I want to multiply myself in the lives of others.”

A. Hamid Andalib was recently awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions celebrating the contributions of immigrants and other Americans who have made a lasting impact on the country through professional achievement, community service and patriotism.

When Gary Starnes first took the bench in August 2012, he brought with him nearly three decades of legal experience, a tireless work ethic and a promise to treat every person who entered his courtroom with dignity and respect.

Fourteen years later, those qualities have become the hallmarks of his judicial career – and they were the very traits colleagues celebrated Monday as dozens of attorneys and judges gathered outside the Hamilton County Courthouse to send him a message of encouragement as he faces the battle of his life: cancer.

With flames racing across the roof of an apartment building in Hixson, firefighters faced a problem that had nothing to do with fire.

They needed water.

Hydrants inside the Integra Vistas apartment complex could only provide so much. The nearest city hydrants capable of supplying the volume firefighters needed were about a mile away on Highway 153.

Moving into a new home is exciting, but the unpacking can feel like its own full-time job. After the paperwork, packing, closing and moving day, it’s easy to look around at all those boxes and wonder where to start.

The National Association of Realtors offers a helpful guide with practical unpacking tips to make settling in feel more manageable. We’re sharing that guidance here to help homeowners tackle the process, one realistic goal at a time.

Dr. Elizabeth O’Brien, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s vice provost for faculty affairs, has been selected for the 2026-27 Becoming a Provost Academy, a national leadership program offered by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Hamilton County recorded more than $511.7 million in property sales during June 2026, the monthly sales and mortgages report released by Register of Deeds Marc Gravitt reveals. The office also recorded more than $574.7 million in mortgage activity during the month.

Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services, in partnership with Blood Assurance and local public safety agencies, will host the Scenic City Saves Lives Community Blood Drive July 11, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Miller Park, 928 Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. The event aims to raise awareness about the ongoing need for blood donations while supporting HCEMS’s recently launched prehospital whole blood program, which enables specially trained crews to administer whole blood to patients suffering severe trauma and life-threatening hemorrhaging before reaching the hospital. In addition to donating blood, attendees can meet representatives from public safety agencies, view emergency vehicles and equipment, and learn more about emergency preparedness, trauma care and the lifesaving role blood donors play in supporting emergency medical services.

Visitors to the Tennessee Aquarium Plaza this summer will discover a new way to experience the state’s rivers.

As part of the nationwide celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Tennessee Aquarium installed a series of outdoor signs highlighting 10 remarkable Tennessee rivers and the roles they’ve played in shaping the state’s history, ecology and identity.

From the moment Candace Parker left the University of Tennessee campus it was almost assured she would return to Knoxville one day to be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

That time arrived last month as Parker was part of the eight-member Class of 2026 that was honored for their outstanding contributions to the sport. Parker was the final speaker of the night, and arrived on stage at the Tennessee Theatre wearing an outfit that honored the late legendary Lady Vols head coach Pat Summitt.

The United States is out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. Men’s National Team lost 4-1 to Belgium in Seattle Monday night, crashing out in a dismal showing after beginning to feel hope following their impressive group showing. 

From before the match ever began, the good vibes that had surrounded this team had started to wane, and ultimately, off-pitch controversy seemed to suck the energy out of what had been a vibrant team.

Years and years ago, in response to a book titled “Real Texans Don’t Drink Scotch in Their Dr Pepper,” I wrote a column suggesting what “Real Missipians” do and don’t do.

(And yes, that’s how I spelled it, to align with proper Magnolia State pronunciation. Who needs every one of those syllables?)

Financial security doesn’t have to come from a big salary, a lucky investment or some dramatic turning point. For most people, wealth is built more simply, through small habits repeated many times over. 

If you’re like many young people, you may feel you don’t have enough money to start investing. The reality is that you’re in a great position to build the small habits that will help you create lasting wealth. Here are five tips to help you get started.

Many new electric vehicles are prohibitively expensive for car shoppers. But there are a few relatively low-cost options that provide plenty of usable range and utility. 

One great example is the Nissan Leaf. Originally debuting for 2011, it’s today’s longest-tenured EV and remains among the most affordable ways to go electric. The 2026 Leaf has been fully redesigned and features sleeker styling and a maximum estimated range of more than 300 miles.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times, the Daily News and other media outlets are asking a federal judge to impose sanctions on OpenAI, escalating a fight over artificial intelligence and copyright that could shape the future of a struggling news industry.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty on Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an abuse of prosecutorial power.

NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo reported stronger-than-expected revenue in the second quarter despite weaker demand in North America, where it said consumers tightened their budgets as the Iran war caused gas prices to spike.

"I think the consumer is worse than what we had anticipated, and it's driven mainly by gas prices," PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said Thursday during a conference call with investors.

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio judge has granted a preliminary injunction for 24 men's and women's college basketball players suing the NCAA for eligibility, claiming the new age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition.

Judge Christopher Wagner said Thursday the NCAA eligibility rules have been applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's attorney general sued several large chemical and agricultural companies on Thursday, alleging they knowingly sold harmful so-called forever chemicals used in cosmetics, non-stick cookware and other products.

The lawsuit against 3M, DuPont de Nemours, The Chemours Company and Corteva and other manufacturers is the latest legal action over PFAS, which have been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers and developmental delays in children.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he's not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should "finish the job." But he also insists that continued attacks do not mean a return to war or long-term action.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Mideast countries in an exchange of fire that threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Middle East.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, economist Raj Chetty and former Bank of England governor Mervyn King are among a slate of names released by the Federal Reserve Thursday that will help develop recommended changes to the central bank's operations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's plans to build a skyline-altering arch in the nation's capital is getting another review from the federal commission whose approval he needs, but the agency's staff says the project should be revised before it gets the go-ahead.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose, and oil prices eased Thursday as financial markets calmed in the wait to see what will come next after President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and more than recovered its loss from the day before, even though the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran, which responded by targeting U.S. allies in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.3%.

NEW YORK (AP) — The former chief financial officer of The Epoch Times, a conservative multinational media company, interrupted jury selection at his money laundering trial on Thursday to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in a $67 million fraud scheme.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will let the bipartisan housing bill approved by Congress become law without his signature, saying Friday that he was refusing to put his name on it because of the little progress made in passing a strict voter ID bill that he has been pushing.

NEW YORK (AP) — When two steel columns buckled this week inside the former Pfizer headquarters in midtown Manhattan, the scare prompted evacuations and halted work on one of the nation's largest office-to-apartment conversions.

It also highlighted the complex engineering behind adaptive reuse projects, which have become increasingly popular as officials try to tackle a nationwide housing shortage by transforming offices that have sat underused since the COVID-19 pandemic.

BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen reported weak sales numbers on Friday, a day after the giant German automaker announced plans to slash the number of models by nearly half as sales plunged, particularly in China.

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said group sales fell 8.6% in the second quarter to just under 2.1 million vehicles, with sales in China alone plummeted by more than one-third.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kia America has issued a new recall for nearly 463,000 of its Telluride SUVs, urging owners to again park their vehicles outside and away from buildings after several customers reported fires following previous repairs.

The recall, announced this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, replaces a prior one Kia initiated in 2024. Certain Tellurides from the 2020-2024 model years are affected, with the NHTSA warning that the front power seat motor of these vehicles may overheat due to a stuck slide knob.

Most of America's Lower 48 states are about to swelter under an unusually large, strong and long-lasting heat dome that will spike temperatures in a way that the National Weather Service calls "significant and dangerous."

The heat wave will start this weekend and last at least a week, with some areas feeling its effects until the end of the month, meteorologists said. Temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night, they said. Hotter nighttime temperatures are especially bad for both human health and efforts to tamp down an already active wildfire season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last December, after Make America Healthy Again activists drew up a petition to get him fired, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin pledged to release a formal agenda of MAHA priorities that his agency would pursue, including protections against harmful chemicals and other health concerns.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African countries have secured $900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels with cleaner alternatives, the International Energy Agency, IEA, said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Jewish adults feel unsafe in the United States, a new AP-NORC poll finds, with a majority saying they feel less safe than they did before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research points to how Jewish adults' attitudes toward their own personal safety have changed over a relatively short period as more Americans became critical of the United States' close alliance with Israel. The war in Gaza sparked U.S. protests over Israel's military actions against the Palestinians in Gaza, and coincided with an increase in violent attacks against U.S. Jewish communities.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Mideast countries in an exchange of fire that threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Middle East.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mysterious, unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country's theocracy hasn't directly blamed anyone, though one lawmaker warned the United Arab Emirates about allegedly providing support to the U.S. campaign against Iran.

President Donald Trump has ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.

The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration forms.

HOUSTON (AP) — Three men inside a van who witnessed the fatal shooting of the driver by an immigration officer in Houston said the Mexican man was shot through a passenger window and that the officer was never threatened, a lawyer who has spoken with them said Friday.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks ticked higher Friday after Wall Street showed its appetite is still big for winners of the artificial-intelligence boom.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to close out its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 149 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3%.

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix rose 13.1% as they made their debut on Wall Street, at a time when demand for chips is surging thanks to the frenzy around artificial intelligence.

The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is a member of the Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the country's Kospi index is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as President Donald Trump's problem-plagued efforts to revamp the waterway pushes well past his initial goal of having it ready by July 4 to mark the nation's 250th birthday.

SAWYER, Mich. (AP) — A completed bridge linking Detroit and Canada is expected to open by the end of the month after U.S. and Canadian officials reached an agreement to resolve the dispute that delayed its debut, according to two people directly involved in the negotiations.

Dickson County Mayoral Forum. Hear directly from mayoral candidates Ben Shepard, Reggie Weaver, Danny Williams and Caleb Wray as they discuss important issues facing Dickson County. The forum will be moderated by Alex Denis and provides an opportunity for community members to learn more about each candidate before Election Day. Monday, 7-8:30 p.m., Dickson County Fairgrounds, Pageant Building, Dickson. Information

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns was filed for an "improper purpose," a judge said Monday in a scathing decision that recommended attorney sanctions and disciplinary action.

NEW YORK (AP) — Twelve states challenged Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, filing a lawsuit that argues the $81 billion mega merger would "extinguish competition" in Hollywood and threaten jobs across the industry.

The office of California's attorney general, who is leading the case, said the states are asking Warner Bros. and Paramount to not close their merger "until after the judicial process concludes" — and if the companies do not agree, the coalition will then file a temporary restraining order.

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man was found guilty Monday of conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who worked at the global electronics company Analog Devices, was accused of helping an Iranian business associate get around American export control laws. U.S. prosecutors say the business associate's Tehran-based company makes navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Authorities say the scheme included the creation of a front company in Switzerland.

BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen's CEO indicated in comments published Sunday that he's trying to avoid closing plants as he seeks to turn around the automaker's performance.

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company faces pressure to cut costs at home and increasingly intense competition in the lucrative Chinese market, in particular.

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official on Monday called for limits to be placed on children using social media as a special EU panel looking into the challenge recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech companies can prove their platforms are safe.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa's biggest clean energy challenge is shifting from building projects to building the institutions, markets and regulatory systems needed to deliver them at scale, experts say.

That challenge is emerging even as clean energy reaches a historic milestone globally. Renewables generated 34% of the world's electricity in 2025, overtaking coal's 33% share. Together with nuclear power, renewables are expected to provide half of global electricity by 2030.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is "reinstating" a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and will charge other ships for safe passage. Iran has insisted it controls the critical waterway, as another exchange of fire threatened a return to all-out war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is taking additional steps to prevent people living in the U.S. illegally from using the nation's banking system, cracking down on financial institutions that are lending money to them.

On Monday, a group of financial regulators is set to issue guidance intended to remind banks and other financial institutions of their know-your-customer requirements with respect to credit risk management, particularly as it relates to borrowers who are not authorized to work in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers — and the Federal Reserve — are being hit with another high-cost headache.

The gusher of investment in data centers — likely topping $700 billion this year — to power artificial intelligence has made memory chips, computer processors and other equipment, as well as electricity, more expensive. Economists expect it will continue to push up inflation at least through the end of this year.

PARIS (AP) — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv's experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.

"Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe," the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he's recommended that Lindsey Graham's sister be named as his temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate.

Support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many Jewish adults ages 45 and older in the United States, but younger Jewish adults are more likely to prioritize other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans will return to Washington on Monday with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey Graham, a committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally with President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting he has left standing orders for the U.S. military to destroy Iran " at levels they've never seen before " if Tehran follows through on its long-standing threats to kill him.

But the U.S. government has no way to create an automatic, preauthorized "dead man's switch" that would prompt immediate retaliation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner finding shared by his office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Mitch McConnell on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of mounting speculation about the Kentucky Republican's health.

McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he was "briefly unconscious" around the time he was first taken to the hospital and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.