News - Friday, June 19, 2026

Ford has tapped two technology platforms created by Vehlo, a Knoxville-based producer of software and financial tools for auto dealers’ service departments and independent repair shops, for use in its Preferred Partner program.

The fixed-operations software and communications solutions, Total Customer Connect and Dealerlogix, will be integrated into the Ford Commitment Program to support Video Multi-Point Inspections, or MPI. As such, they will be used to facilitate digital inspections, text-based communications and service-lane efficiency for Ford dealers. This is the second major OEM deal in a year for Dealerlogix was approved as a certified provider in Volkswagen’s eConnect Program in June 2025.

Tennessee’s auto industry sector currently employs more than 144,700 Tennesseans across 900+ automotive companies in 88 of the state’s 95 counties. These are composed of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) assembly plants, EV/battery campuses, a network of Tier 1 and 2 parts suppliers and mobility/logistics hubs.

• Approved Platforms: Total Customer Connect and Dealerlogix are officially recognized for Ford’s video MPI requirements.

• Service Tools: Provides Ford dealers with digital inspections, mobile/contactless payments, automated SMS status updates, and e-approvals.

Capitalization and investment milestones

• 2019: Launched by Knoxville-based Greater Sum Ventures (GSV) via the acquisitions of ShopBoss and Text2Drive.

• 2022: Secured a strategic growth investment (totaling approximately $289 million in historical funding) led by Lightyear Capital and existing investors, including Greater Sum Ventures and PSG. 

The rain fell slowly at first, tapping the surface of South Chickamauga Creek in widening circles.

N’nako Kande sat alone on Resurrection Rock at Audubon Acres, watching the ripples spread through the water. She’d come to the preserve on an October morning in 2023 carrying more than she could explain.

At one end of Gunbarrel Road is one of Chattanooga’s most recognizable markers of growth.

What once was a quiet rural route has become the city’s premier commercial corridor, lined with shopping centers, restaurants, hotels and the sprawling Hamilton Place district. Cars stream through the area at all hours and new development seems perpetually underway.

The Chattanooga Audubon Society has announced the remaining schedule for its 2026 Little Owl Lecture Series, held at Little Owl Village. Each event includes a guided history hike 2-4 p.m., followed by a 4:30-6 p.m. lecture.

The series continues June 20 with historian Watson Harlan presenting “Centering the Nation: Establishing Autonomous Narratives in 18th Century Cherokee History.”

June is National Homeownership Month, making this a good time to discuss what it takes to help more people become homeowners.

For many families, the biggest barrier isn’t desire, it’s supply. Limited inventory keeps prices high and choices tight. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has outlined several federal policy solutions aimed at increasing housing supply, supporting first-time buyers, strengthening communities, and expanding fair access to homeownership.

Saving for retirement is important, but it’s only part of the picture. If you’re within five to 10 years of your target retirement date, it’s time to start thinking about what you actually want your retirement to look like. After all, getting to retirement isn’t the end goal – it’s what you want to do once you’re there that matters.

Amazon plans to build a new delivery station in Chattanooga that is expected to create more than 300 jobs and expand the company’s logistics network across Southeast Tennessee.

The company announced plans to develop a 200,000-square-foot facility at 3400 Cummings Road. The delivery station is expected to begin operations in 2028 and will support local package processing and last-mile delivery services throughout the region.

An exhibit celebrating both the nation’s natural landscapes and the ideals of freedom and democracy is on display at the Jewish Cultural Center through Aug. 14.

“America the Beautiful” features works by 23 artists from across the United States. The exhibit includes paintings, photographs and mixed-media pieces that explore the country’s physical beauty while also examining contemporary themes related to freedom of expression and democratic values.

If you like the idea of owning a car that’s fun to drive but can’t afford a new one, this summer is an ideal time to consider buying used, as several performance cars that might have been out of your reach when new can be had for less than $25,000 on the used market.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill that top lawmakers and athletic leaders have described as the best chance to stabilize college sports cleared a key vote in the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support after weeks of input from schools, conferences and athletes.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Trump administration can replace a slavery exhibit at George Washington's home in Philadelphia, a federal appeals court panel said Thursday, striking down a lower court's injunction that required the National Park Service to reinstall the interpretive panels.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new kind of flu vaccine moved a step closer to the U.S. market Thursday as federal health advisers recommended approval of the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating Moderna's new shot, dubbed mFlusiva, for older Americans ahead of the winter flu season. Moderna is seeking full approval for the vaccine's use in people ages 50 to 64 — along with authorization for use in those 65 and older while it conducts additional testing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday ordered regional grid operators to help large energy users connect more quickly to the nation's inefficient and aging electric transmission system, a step they said is needed to accommodate surging demand from power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Thursday lifted its blockade of Iran, and oil tankers began freely moving through the Strait of Hormuz after months of being unable to use the critical channel, as the tentative agreement to end the war took effect.

WASHINGTON (AP) — JD Vance was supposed to be spending the week promoting his new book, the kind of event a potential presidential candidate like the vice president typically uses to speak to a wide audience about his life and values ahead of a campaign.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than $350 million from President Donald Trump's " big, beautiful bill " has been quietly directed to White House security, an allotment that Democrats warn appears to be helping fund his new ballroom project — despite the president's insistence that no taxpayer dollars would be used.

The Protect College Sports Act took a step forward Thursday with a Senate committee approval. Plenty of potential pitfalls remain ahead, including opposition from the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences.

The two most powerful conferences in college sports made clear that "revisions are needed to secure our support" for a bill designed to stabilize college sports. The opposition has renewed speculation that the two leagues and their 34 schools stretching from coast to coast will split from the NCAA and form a super league.

ATLANTA (AP) — Bina Ramroop broke down in tears when she realized she wasn't going to get the World Cup tickets she had bought for her grandson's 13th birthday.

As thousands poured into Atlanta Stadium on Monday to see Spain face Cape Verde in what turned out to be a remarkable scoreless draw, Ramroop stood outside, increasingly stressed as she went back and forth for hours between StubHub representatives on the phone and FIFA representatives in the ticket booth. Each blamed the other.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's law requiring children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps must be restored, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

The decision comes as a blow to NetChoice, which has won court victories against identical digital identification laws in other states, including Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia. The trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies said the Ohio decision went against "clear national consensus" and that it intended to keep fighting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department on Thursday announced a reduction in interest rates for federal student loans, describing it as part of a plan to make higher education more affordable.

With growing numbers of borrowers in default, the Trump administration pitched the temporary, 1% reduction in student loan interest rates as a salve for those struggling with repayment.

One of the few Black-owned banks in the United States is introducing a debit card aimed at helping single mothers who live in government-subsidized housing escape poverty.

The Bank King Card debit card will be offered beginning Friday in honor of Juneteenth by Redemption Bank, which will make a donation from every account opened to nonprofits that will steer the funding to needy families.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump gave the Medal of Honor to three veterans on Thursday, honoring acts of heroism that saved lives and repelled enemy forces in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Trump bestowed the military's highest honor on Marine Corps Maj. James Capers Jr. and Army Maj. Nicholas Dockery. He also awarded it posthumously to Marine Corps Col. John W. Ripley, who died in 2008.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off Friday after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, officials said, raising questions about an initial agreement to end the war in Iran.

Israel and the militant group later agreed to a ceasefire, three officials said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans continue to disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling Iran, while his overall presidential approval holds steady, according to a new AP-NORC poll that was conducted as Trump suggested a deal with Iran had been reached.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday night that Vice President JD Vance was delaying a trip to Switzerland, where he'd been set to lead a new round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program — raising questions about what's next for the tentative agreement to end the war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, including top national security figures, were voicing strong reservations Thursday —- and some outright condemnation — of the Trump administration's agreement to end the fighting in Iran.

The memorandum of understanding signed by President Donald Trump started a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran's nuclear program. While Trump allies noted the agreement is not final, the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran's sale of oil and the plan for a $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran and its economy were met with criticism from Republican leaders and conservative influencers, including some close Trump supporters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The relationship between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans neared a breaking point this week as he upended their efforts to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agree to new terms.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are seeking to block Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel funds until the Pentagon submits several overdue reports to lawmakers, including its investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Showing off towering new flagpoles he had erected on the White House North and South Lawns last summer, President Donald Trump suggested that he wanted to make similar renovations in his first term but was worried about the negative press.

ROME (AP) — The Italian government on Friday slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had "begged" for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested the longtime U.S. ally had had enough of Trump's boasting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Janeese Lewis George paves a path to the mayor's office in Washington, D.C., she's told voters they could have it all.

Her unapologetically expansive, left-wing agenda includes subsidized or even free childcare, increased down payment assistance for homebuyers and community resources to reduce crime, plus a promise to aggressively confront President Donald Trump's attempts to reshape the nation's capital.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As Iranian media boast of the "magnificent defeat" of the United States, Tehran is pressing its advantage, racing to sell oil under the interim peace agreement signed this week and trying to halt Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group agreed Friday to halt the heavy fighting in southern Lebanon that had threatened to unravel an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end their war, officials said. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah immediately confirmed the truce.

ZURICH (AP) — The American push to quickly begin high-stakes talks with Iran hit a snag Friday, just days after the signing of an agreement that opens a two-month window for negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program and returning oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to prewar levels.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.

The justices, by a 6-3 vote, granted an appeal from New York prosecutors who had urged them to undo a federal appeals court decision that overturned the verdict. The three liberal justices dissented.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Even as it battled the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of New Mexico between 2023 and 2025, according to three current and former DEA agents and government records reviewed by The Associated Press.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Jim Mustian reported and co-wrote an Associated Press story that revealed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to be distributed in New Mexico as part of an effort to build bigger federal prosecutions.

PRAGUE (AP) — Thousands of Czechs rallied in the capital on Sunday to condemn a plan by the government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to overhaul funding for public broadcasters that is considered dangerous for their independence.

The protesters gathered in front of the Czech public television offices in Prague to voice their support for the media a day before their staffers plan to go on a warning strike, and after recent protest marches in the regional capitals and Prague.

OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Monday said his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a "good foundation for a successful final deal" as they seek a permanent end to the war that the U.S. and Israel began in late February.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has for decades moved steadily from a remote, opaque government agency that shared little about what it did or why to a more transparent institution willing to explain how it makes decisions and what it thinks about the economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alan Greenspan, the jazz-playing U.S. Federal Reserve chair who was celebrated for engineering a decade of prosperity but later shared the blame for a devastating financial crisis, died Monday. He was 100.

Greenspan died from complications of Parkinson's disease, said his wife of 29 years, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Monday that it intends to take a 40% stake in defense contractor KNDS, whose products include Leopard and Leclerc tanks, as it tries to strengthen European production along with NATO ally France.

The French state already has a 50% stake in KNDS, which was formed in 2015 with the merger of Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter. The other half is held by the German family behind Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he will resign, forced out by his own party after missteps and mistakes soured voters' goodwill following a landslide election victory two years ago on a promise of steady leadership and economic growth.

LONDON (AP) — Dutiful rather than dynamic, Keir Starmer was elected Britain's prime minister to be a safe pair of hands who would end years of political chaos under the Conservatives.

Less than two years later, his term is ending after missteps, party infighting and one colossal error of judgment that indirectly ensnared him in the scandals surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, a man he had never met and in whose sexual crimes he was not complicit.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer conceded Monday that he had lost the support of his rank and file Labour party members in Parliament and that he will be stepping down as soon as his successor as party leader is chosen, possibly as soon as the middle of July.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that federal authorities had made "multiple arrests" of people he said were vandalizing the Reflecting Pool as he struggled to explain why the $14-million-plus rehabilitation project he launched for the nation's 250th anniversary seemingly backfired.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, insisting that she asked "over and over" for a photo with him at the recent Group of Seven summit and criticizing what he said was Italy's lack of cooperation during the Iran war.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia and Canada signed a $1.75 billion export agreement on Monday to build an Australian-designed long-range radar system in Canada.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Canadian Secretary of State (Defense Procurement) Stephen Fuhr signed the first phase of a pact to provide early warning radar coverage from the Canada-United States border into the Arctic.

NEW YORK (AP) — Clive Davis, the record company lawyer who became one of the music industry's most powerful figures, launching or resurrecting the careers of such superstars as Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys, has died, his family confirmed. He was 94.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday denied a request to disqualify top Justice Department officials from supervising the prosecution of the man charged with trying to kill President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her country seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba soon, a move that could provide much-needed relief as the island's crises deepen given a lack of petroleum.

Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil via commercial and privately owned firms instead of state-owned companies as it has done in the past.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday announced sanctions on 10 American military-related companies in response to a recent U.S. move that bars some leading Chinese tech companies from defense contracts.

The Commerce Ministry said that Chinese companies would be blocked from exporting "dual-use" items to the 10 companies, which include military drone makers and some involved in rare earth mining. Dual use refers to goods that can have military as well as non-military applications.

WASHINGTON (AP) — National Guard service members and U.S. Park Police were patrolling the deck around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, as Donald Trump's administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix a botched renovation and cleaning efforts ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.

Throughout the lead-up to the NBA draft, the No. 5 spot has been where it becomes difficult to project picks.

BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson of Kansas, college player of the year Cameron Boozer of Duke and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson have been locked into the top four spots in each version of the AP's mock draft. The Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls hold the first four selections Tuesday night in Brooklyn.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department issued and then withdrew subpoenas that sought to compel reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal to testify before a grand jury, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Washington Post confirmed that one of its reporters received a subpoena from the Trump administration as part of a broader and aggressive crackdown on media leaks that in January also included the extraordinary step of an FBI search of a Washington Post reporter's home and the seizure of her devices. Journalists at The Wall Street Journal also received grand jury subpoenas, according to people familiar with the matter, a rare and unusual move that critics said was a threat against press freedom.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Tuesday in an immigration case dealing with the government's power over green card holders.

The 6-3 decision centers on an immigration officers' 2012 decision to put green-card holder Muk Choi Lau on immigration parole when he returned from a short trip abroad because he had been accused of a counterfeiting crime.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that ExxonMobil can sue Cuban state-owned companies in American courts over property on the island nation that was seized after Fidel Castro took power.

The 6-3 decision was the second in as many months in favor of U.S. owners of Cuban property that was confiscated by the Communist government more than 65 years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted tech giant Cisco's bid to shut down a lawsuit claiming that the company's technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China.

The justices ruled that American courts are the wrong forum for the suits, rejecting arguments made by the plaintiffs that the suits should go forward under the 18th-century Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), first enacted in 1991.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs.

The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages even when rights are violated.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an effort to change tax foreclosure sales to let homeowners to keep more money when their property is sold to recoup unpaid taxes.

The high court ruled against a Michigan family whose house was sold for less than half its open-market value to cover an unpaid tax bill of just over $2,000. They argued the foreclosure violated their rights because the house would have fetched a higher price of nearly $200,000 if sold through typical real-estate channels.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ruled that a recently revamped version of a federal tool central to the Trump administration's efforts to nationalize elections can no longer be used.

U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan sided with advocacy groups that argued the recent upgrades to the program, called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, aggregated Americans' sensitive personal data in a way that could result in voters being wrongly purged from voter rolls.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has charged a Texas doctor in an $89 million healthcare fraud scheme, accusing him of billing insurers for medically unnecessary cardiovascular screening tests for college student-athletes and then rubber-stamping the results as normal without reviewing them.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a bipartisan housing bill on Monday that aims to reduce federal regulations and expand local control, one of the most sweeping efforts in recent decades to increase supply and bring down prices.

The bill, which passed 85-5 and now heads to the House, has been the focus of intense negotiations in recent weeks as lawmakers in both parties try to address housing costs in an election year. The final version of the legislation bans corporate investors from buying single-family homes but doesn't include a Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years.

Forty mayors from around the world have signed onto a pact announced Tuesday to try to shape how urban data centers are built and operated.

It's their vision for how urban data center development can be done sustainably — and not at the expense of their cities' natural resources, energy prices or climate targets. C40 Cities, an alliance of nearly 100 cities seeking to impact climate change, launched it during London Climate Action Week.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called on artificial intelligence companies to release information about the carbon pollution they create, along with the water and land used to power their operations.

While urging action in an address at London Climate Action Week, Guterres proposed the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, arguing AI companies should measure and disclose the impact of their increasingly in-demand technology — impact which has been cited by opponents as reasons to curb the rapid growth of data centers. These companies have faced mounting pressure, both from governments and locally in areas with data centers that support AI, for increased transparency and more standardized reporting across the industry.

NEW YORK (AP) — The top U.S. auto regulator opened an investigation Monday after a Tesla using an automated driving feature slammed into a Texas home at high speed and killed a 76-year-old woman standing inside.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it's opening a special investigation into the Tesla Model 3 crash on Friday near Houston, a significant probe because the car was using technology that Elon Musk considers key to the company's future.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two more people in Missouri and Washington state have been arrested in connection with what authorities say was a planned attack targeting President Donald Trump's UFC cage-fighting show at the White House earlier this month.

Law enforcement officials disrupted the plan a few days before the June 14 White House event, according to court documents.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. and Iran were in dispute Tuesday over whether Tehran had agreed to allow U.N. inspectors to view bombed Iranian nuclear sites, as officials mediated talks on a permanent end to their war and violence broke out again in Lebanon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defense secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham, Britain's newest lawmaker and likely its next prime minister, was meeting Labour Party colleagues on Tuesday, in preparation for a leadership contest in which he may be the only contender.

Burnham is the strong front-runner to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced Monday that he would step down within weeks after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

LONDON (AP) — Brexit fractured the European Union, and broke British politics.

The U.K. is about to get its seventh prime minister since June 23, 2016, a decade ago Tuesday, when the country voted 52%-48% to leave the EU after more than four decades of membership. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum but campaigned for the U.K. to stay in the bloc, quit the next day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The complexities of the American story aren't hard to miss.

Just steps into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, the gavel used by Nancy Pelosi when she became the first female speaker of the U.S. House sits next to a red "Make America Great Again" cap. A shirt emblazoned with a pink triangle and "Silence = Death" protesting the government's inaction during the AIDS crisis hangs alongside a campaign shirt for President Ronald Reagan, whose administration was blamed for ignoring the epidemic.

Eager to lessen the chaos of the transfer portal era, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes on Tuesday that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

Tyler Shough needed seven years of college football to become a starting NFL quarterback.

Under the new eligibility model model approved Tuesday, athletes will no longer have that option.

Athletes in Division I, the top level of competition, will have five years to complete five seasons of competition, a move the NCAA hopes will add structure to a system stretched into chaos and courtrooms by countless transfers, redshirt decisions, injuries, players seeking more seasons to cash in on NIL opportunities and even pandemic-era complexities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Tuesday announced criminal charges against 455 people as part of a two-week healthcare fraud crackdown that officials say involved more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to insurers.

Among those charged is a nurse practitioner accused in Texas of billing Medicaid for medically unnecessary wound-care procedures and using the proceeds for fancy jewelry and luxury cars; a mental health company owner who prosecutors say exploited the homeless by billing for crisis stabilization services they did not need; and a hospice owner alleged to have paid kickbacks to a funeral home employee for information about Medicare beneficiaries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is providing $17.5 billion to speed the development of 10 new large nuclear reactors to meet the skyrocketing power demand from massive data centers.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited "tremendous interest" among developers of data centers that would buy the power, as well as utilities and energy companies. The nuclear plants could begin construction by 2030 and become operational in the mid-2030s, Wright and other officials said Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. and Iran were in dispute Tuesday over whether Tehran had agreed to allow U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites. As officials negotiated over how to permanently end the war in Iran, a separate plan emerged to break the shipping bottleneck through the Strait of Hormuz.

Wall Street gave up more of its recent gains Tuesday after a sell-off in big technology stocks spread from Asia back to the U.S. over worries about potentially higher interest rates by the end of the year.

The S&P fell 1.4%. The benchmark index is coming off 11 weekly gains out of the last 12, led largely by technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less influenced by tech stocks, gave up an early gain and closed just 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators who have been at odds with President Donald Trump in recent weeks will have a chance to confront him face-to-face when he attends a party luncheon in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Senators said Tuesday that they hope the closed-door meeting will focus on unity, not disagreement. Yet it comes at a time when Trump appears to have lost interest in much of their agenda ahead of the midterm elections, pushing his proof-of-citizenship voting bill instead even though it doesn't have the votes to pass.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the iconic Washington, D.C. site increasingly becomes a flashpoint over the president's $14-million-plus rehabilitation project gone awry.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the 10th time, the Senate will vote on a war powers resolution to block U.S. military action against Iran as lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump's efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.