News - Friday, July 25, 2025

Wesley Pitts remembers the first time he saw a robotic mower in a friend’s yard in Budapest, where he lived for most of his childhood. “I was stunned. This family never mowed their grass. And on top of that, they spent $2,000 and they never had to worry about their lawn again.”

When Johann Tremor first arrived in Chattanooga, he was greeted by a familiar sight: the Eiffel Tower. Only this one wasn’t soaring 1,000 feet above the Champ de Mars in Paris; it was a scaled-down version standing outside a little crêperie on East Main Street.

When Lori Bruce, Ph.D., took over as chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she brought with her not only a background in engineering and academic leadership but also a guiding philosophy shaped by one of her favorite pastimes: intricate embroidery.

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously, but the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” – Kurt Vonnegut

With those words echoing in the air, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Student Government Association Vice President Bridgette Greene captured the spirit of a milestone moment for the campus: the official groundbreaking of the Oak Street Residence Hall, a transformative new student housing project set to open in 2027.

Each month, housing data offers a snapshot of how our market is evolving – both here in the Chattanooga region and across the country. These insights not only help Realtors guide their clients but also give homeowners and potential buyers a clearer picture of the current landscape. 

In the age of social media, it’s easy to find advice on just about anything, including how to manage your money. Content creators known as “finfluencers” – short for financial influencers – use platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram to share their takes on investing, budgeting and building wealth. Many of them are charismatic and relatable, and they often speak from personal experience. 

Practically all citizens agree that the federal judiciary is critically important to our democracy. For citizens to have confidence in and respect for the judiciary, it must be above suspicion. To retain the public’s confidence and respect, the judiciary must not only deliver justice, but also be perceived as doing so. The perception that justice is being done is as important to the public’s confidence in the courts as is the actual occurrence of justice.

The INCubator at Chattanooga’s Hamilton County Business Development Center has launched INC Connect, a new makerspace initiative created in partnership with Proof Programs to support early-stage manufacturing and product startups.

Designed for entrepreneurs in the ideation and prototyping phases, INC Connect offers affordable workspace, light production capacity, mentorship and training inside the INCubator’s 127,000-square-foot, mixed-use facility. The program provides coworking space, peer accountability and a supportive community for founders who need room to safely test and build products but don’t require full-scale industrial setups.

Focus Treatment Centers and the MCR Foundation are teaming up to raise awareness about eating disorders in Chattanooga with their annual benefit. Held at The Westin, the event will celebrate 20 years of recovery and healing work, with proceeds supporting eating disorder education, prevention and awareness across Tennessee. The evening kicks off with a VIP reception Saturday at 6 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. seated dinner, cocktails and live music from The Malemen. Guests are invited to wear cocktail attire with floral or bow tie accents. Purchase tickets

Terry Knowles has been named the next chief of the Chattanooga Fire Department.

Knowles, who has served as CFD’s assistant chief of special operations since 2022, joined the department as a firefighter in 2005. Over the years, he’s risen through the ranks as lieutenant, captain, battalion chief and Urban Search & Rescue instructor.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library’s Special Collections has completed a major grant-funded project to digitize the records of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Chattanooga, making them freely available online to researchers and the public worldwide.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel knew exactly what was coming when he stepped to the podium last week at SEC Football Media Day in Atlanta. He was prepared to be asked about UT’s quarterback situation and addressed it before taking any questions.

The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid and 2025 Toyota Highlander Hybrid are two three-row SUVs with compelling attributes if you’re shopping for a family-oriented vehicle.

First, they’re both hybrids and get excellent fuel economy. They’re also smaller and less expensive than many other three-row SUVs such as the Kia Telluride and Toyota Grand Highlander. Not everyone needs a giant vehicle with a third-row seat that can fit full-size adults.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials were set to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday morning to support Elon Musk's car company, a startling development given their bitter public feud.

"I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The revelation that Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump that his name was in the Jeffrey Epstein files has focused fresh attention on the president's relationship with the wealthy financier and the Justice Department's announcement this month that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard this month declassified material she claimed proved a "treasonous conspiracy" by the Obama administration in 2016 to politicize U.S. intelligence in service of casting doubt on the legitimacy of Donald Trump's presidential election victory.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a lower-court ruling in a redistricting dispute in North Dakota that would gut a landmark federal civil rights law for millions of people.

The justices indicated in an unsigned order that they are likely to take up a federal appeals court ruling that would eliminate the most common path people and civil rights groups use to sue under a key provision of the 60-year-old Voting Rights Act.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A judge's order to take a Tennessee death row inmate to the hospital on the morning of his execution so doctors can deactivate his heart-regulating implant would cause "chaos," state attorneys said in an appeal.

The argument was one of several in a filing Wednesday that seeks to overturn an order to deactivate Byron Black's implanted cardioverter-defibrillator, including when and where to do it. Black is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials were set to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.

Three years after the Supreme Court opened the door to state abortion bans, most U.S. adults say abortion should be legal — views that look similar to before the landmark ruling.

The new findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that about two-thirds of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's milestone settlement with Columbia promises to bring stability to a university in crisis. It also delivers a crucial win to President Donald Trump in his campaign to reshape higher education.

And at colleges around the country, the deal clarifies the stakes for anyone weighing whether to fight the administration's demands or concede.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve, known for its tight lips, structured formality and extraordinary power to shape the global economy, finds itself putting out the welcome mat on Thursday for President Donald Trump.

Trump and his allies say a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed headquarters and a neighboring building reflects an institution run amok — a belief they hope to verify in an afternoon tour of the construction site. The Fed allowed reporters to tour the building before the visit by Trump, who, in his real estate career, has bragged about his lavish spending on architectural accoutrements that gave a Versailles-like golden flair to his buildings.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — College football's future wore a baby blue suit, a gold pin that said "UCLA" and a pair of diamond-encrusted hoop earrings.

He glided toward the mic, sat down, then prepared for the grilling about how much money he makes, why he left Tennessee, who betrayed who when he departed, and what it all means for the college football world that his story now defines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA's name, image and likeness era.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A December special election in Tennessee will take place to fill an opening left by Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green's retirement, putting the focus on a district that has reliably favored the GOP in recent elections but includes a chunk of Democratic-voting Nashville.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' views of the Supreme Court have moderated somewhat since the court's standing dropped sharply after its ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to a new poll. But concern that the court has too much power is rising, fueled largely by Democrats.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The Justice Department argued a federal judge in Massachusetts was wrong to block the National Institutes of Health from making $783 million worth of cuts to align with President Donald Trump's priorities.

President Donald Trump's plan to boost artificial intelligence and build data centers across the U.S. could speed up a building boom that was already expected to strain the nation's ability to power it.

The White House released the "AI Action Plan" Wednesday, vowing to expedite permitting for construction of energy-intensive data centers as it looks to make the country a leader in a business that tech companies and others are pouring billions of dollars into.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed allowing the weed killer dicamba for genetically engineered soybeans and cotton, two crops that are grown extensively in the United States.

This week's recommendation comes after the first Trump administration made the same move, only to have courts block it in 2020 and 2024. This is the first year since 2016 that dicamba has not been allowed to be used on crops, according to Nathan Donley, the environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation nonprofit.

LONDON (AP) — Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said Friday that it will stop all political advertising in the European Union by October, blaming legal uncertainty over new rules designed to increase transparency in election campaigns.

The social media giant said in a blog post that it will no longer allow ads for political, electoral and social issues on its platforms, which also include Threads, starting in early October.

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance, clearing the way to close a deal that combined Hollywood glitz with political intrigue.

The stamp of approval from the Federal Communications Commission comes after months of turmoil revolving around President Donald Trump's legal battle with "60 Minutes," the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast network CBS. With the specter of the Trump administration potentially blocking the hard-fought deal with Skydance, Paramount earlier this month agreed to pay a $16 million settlement with the president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is eyeing redistricting efforts beyond Texas to help Republicans hold the U.S. House in 2026 — and Democrats are preparing to escalate in response, with one senator vowing to go "nuclear" if needed.

What's shaping up to be a multistate redistricting battle could mark the opening round for House control ahead of next year's midterms, when Democrats see retaking the House as the party's best chance to break Republicans' hold on Congress and President Donald Trump is determined to keep the GOP's majority. Democrats, under pressure from their base to match GOP tactics, have grown more forceful in their messaging and are taking concrete steps to push back, even as the party enters at a disadvantage.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's No. 2 official met Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump took the fight to the Fed's front door on Thursday, publicly scorning the central bank chief over the ballooning costs of a long-planned building project. Powell pushed back, challenging the president's latest price tag as incorrect.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump rattled off a number to shame Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the renovation costs of the Fed's headquarters — and America's central banker dared to correct him. Live on video.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may have found a way to achieve his goal of removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: by accusing him of mismanaging the U.S. central bank's $2.5 billion building renovation project.

NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos is expected to begin serving a seven-year prison sentence on Friday for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' views of the Supreme Court have moderated somewhat since the court's standing dropped sharply after its ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to a new poll. But concern that the court has too much power is rising, fueled largely by Democrats.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks this week plunges one of President Donald Trump's pushes to solve global conflicts into new uncertainty.

The derailing of talks to solve the 21-month Israel-Hamas war is the latest blow to Trump as several of his efforts to broker agreements for fraught conflicts and complex global threats have stalled.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Lashed by cold winds and overlooking choppy, steel-gray North Sea waters, the breathtaking sand dunes of Scotland's northeastern coast rank among Donald Trump's favorite spots on earth.

"At some point, maybe in my very old age, I'll go there and do the most beautiful thing you've ever seen," Trump said in 2023, during his New York civil fraud trial, talking about his plans for future developments on his property in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.

The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to fizzle out for a bit.

With fall football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the field may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won't help them compete again.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A district court judge in New York issued a preliminary injunction Friday night stopping the mass cancellation of National Endowment for the Humanities grants to members of the Authors Guild on the grounds that their First Amendment rights were violated.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The phone rings. It's the secretary of state calling. Or is it?

For Washington insiders, seeing and hearing is no longer believing, thanks to a spate of recent incidents involving deepfakes impersonating top officials in President Donald Trump's administration.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — The United States and the European Union agreed on Sunday to a trade framework setting a 15% tariff on most goods, staving off — at least for now — far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, warding off Trump's threat of a 30% rate if no deal had been reached by Aug. 1.

LONDON (AP) — Chinese online retailer Temu was accused by European Union watchdogs on Monday of failing to prevent the sale of illegal products on its platform.

The preliminary findings follow an investigation opened last year under the bloc's Digital Services Act. It's a wide-ranging rulebook that requires online platforms to do more to keep internet users safe, with the threat of hefty fines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A chief architect of Project 2025, Paul Dans, is launching a Republican primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, joining a crowded field that will test the loyalties of President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement in next year's midterm election.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he intends to shorten the 50-day deadline he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a deal that ends the three-year war in Ukraine, after Russia continued to bombard Ukrainian cities.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Top trade officials from China and the United States arrived for a new round of talks in Stockholm on Monday in a bid to ease tensions over tariffs between the world's two biggest national economies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting at the offices of Sweden's prime minister for two days of talks that Bessent has said will likely to lead to an extension of current tariff levels.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eric Hildenbrand has noticed prices continue to rise this year, even with President Donald Trump in the White House. He doesn't blame Trump, his choice for president in 2024, but says Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats who control his home state, California, are at fault.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans waived injured receiver Treylon Burks on Monday, two days after the former first-round draft pick injured his right shoulder while making a diving catch in practice.

Burks was the Titans' first-round draft pick at No. 18 overall in 2022, a selection acquired by trading Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown to Philadelphia. Burks was hurt more often than not in his first three seasons out of Arkansas.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Marshall named Gerald Harrison as its athletic director on Monday.

Harrison spent the past seven years as AD at Austin Peay and replaces Christian Spears, whose contract with the Thundering Herd was not renewed.

BRISTOL (AP) — The Speedway Classic will break Major League Baseball's single-game, regular-season attendance record.

The game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves, which will be played Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, already has sold more than 85,000 tickets. The first American or National League game ever played in Tennessee will eclipse the previous paid attendance record of 84,587, set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wallis Annenberg, the billionaire philanthropist who supported the arts, science, education and animal welfare causes over decades in Los Angeles, died Monday, her family said.

She was 86.

Annenberg died at home from complications related to lung cancer, the family said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is getting his way with the world economy.

Trading partners from the European Union to Japan to Vietnam appear to be acceding to the president's demands to accept higher costs — in the form of high tariffs — for the privilege of selling their wares to the United States. For Trump, the agreements driven by a mix of threats and cajoling, are a fulfillment of a decades-long belief in protectionism and a massive gamble that it will pay off politically and economically with American consumers.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Union's trade agreement with the Trump administration is getting mixed reviews. EU officials say they warded off a total economic disaster. But French officials in particular say the EU punched below its weight while economists say the deal is dangerously vague.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

MILAN (AP) — Stellantis hopes to counteract some of the expected 1.5 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) cost of tariffs this year by boosting North American profitability with new model launches like the discontinued Jeep Cherokee, the carmaker's new CEO said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials are warning Americans about the risks of an opioid-related ingredient increasingly added to energy drinks, gummies and supplements sold at gas stations and convenience stores, recommending a nationwide ban.

The chemical, known as 7- hydroxymitragynine, is a component of kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia that has gained popularity in the U.S. as an unapproved treatment for pain, anxiety and drug dependence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule rescinds a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.

When President Donald Trump rolled out a plan to boost artificial intelligence and data centers, a key goal was wiping away barriers to rapid growth.

And that meant taking aim at the National Environmental Policy Act — a 55-year-old, bedrock law aimed at protecting the environment though a process that requires agencies to consider a project's possible impacts and allows the public to be heard before a project is approved. Data centers, demanding vast amounts of energy and water, have aroused strong opposition in some communities.

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping.

Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — An artificial intelligence data center that would use more electricity than every home in Wyoming combined before expanding to as much as five times that size will be built soon near Cheyenne, according to the city's mayor.

"It's a game changer. It's huge," Mayor Patrick Collins said Monday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific is seeking to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the country.

The proposed merger, announced Tuesday, would marry Union Pacific's rail network in the West with Norfolk's rails that snake across Eastern states.

NEW YORK (AP) — As a child, Heidi Barley watched her family pay for groceries with food stamps. As a college student, she dropped out because she couldn't afford tuition. In her twenties, already scraping by, she was forced to take a pay cut that shrunk her salary to just $34,000 a year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted 7.4 million job vacancies last month, a sign that the American job market continues to cool.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that job openings in June were down from 7.7 million in May and were about what forecasters had expected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' view of the U.S. economy improved this month, but Americans remain concerned about the impact of tariffs on their economic futures.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose two points to 97.2 in July, up from 95.2 the previous month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund is upgrading the economic outlook for the United States and the world this year and next because President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies have so far proven less damaging than expected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump prepares to announce new tariff increases, the costs of his policies are starting to come into focus for a domestic manufacturing sector that depends on global supply chains, with a new analysis suggesting factory costs could increase by roughly 2% to 4.5%.

BRUSSELS (AP) — France's prime minister described it as a "dark day" for the European Union, a "submission" to U.S. tariff demands. Commentators said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's handshake with President Donald Trump amounted to capitulation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is expected to leave its short-term interest rate unchanged on Wednesday for the fifth straight meeting, a move that will likely underscore the deep divide between how Chair Jerome Powell and his chief critic, President Donald Trump, see the economy.

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble offered an annual earnings outlook that was below analysts' projections and said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the U.S. in part due to higher costs from President Donald Trump's tariffs.

SMIMOU, Morocco (AP) — Argan oil runs through your fingers like liquid gold — hydrating, luscious, and restorative. Prized worldwide as a miracle cosmetic, it's more than that in Morocco. It's a lifeline for rural women and a byproduct of a forest slowly buckling under the weight of growing demand.

MONTREAL (AP) — Throughout his new term, starting with his inaugural address, President Donald Trump has said he was "saved by God" to make America great again. In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney rarely evokes religion in public; his victory speech in April never used the word God. "Canada forever. Vive le Canada," he ended.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's become tradition. Congressional leaders from both major political parties blame each other for a potential government shutdown as the budget year draws to a close.

But this year, the posturing is starting extraordinarily early.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Chinese and U.S. trade officials arrived for a second day of meetings in the Swedish capital Tuesday to try to break a logjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world's two largest economies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng made no public comments to reporters after the first day of talks that lasted nearly five hours behind closed doors at the Swedish prime minister's office Monday.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Tuesday that sophomore defensive back Boo Carter is with the Volunteers as they start preseason practice.

When Carter gets back on the field, however, remains to be seen after he reportedly missed workouts this summer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is pressing for a deal with Harvard University that would require the Ivy League school to pay far more than the $200 million fine agreed to by Columbia University to resolve multiple federal investigations, according to two people familiar with the matter.

NEW YORK (AP) — If you're a Microsoft Authenticator user, like me, you've probably received at least one notice that the app's password management features are no longer usable and that your stored passwords will be deleted on Aug. 1. Yes, you read right, your passwords will be DELETED this Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board will hold three days of hearings starting Wednesday on January's midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter over the nation's capital that killed 67 people.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is set to vote as soon as Tuesday evening to confirm former Trump lawyer Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge despite vocal Democratic opposition and a new whistleblower complaint against him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will partner with Israel to run new food centers in Gaza to address the worsening humanitarian crisis there, but he and U.S. officials offered few additional details about the plan or how it would differ from existing food distribution centers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, is open to answering questions from Congress — but only if she is granted immunity from future prosecution for her testimony, her lawyers said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are imploring President Donald Trump's administration to step up its role in addressing suffering and starvation in Gaza, with more than 40 senators signing onto a letter Tuesday urging the resumption of ceasefire talks and sharply criticizing an Israeli-backed American organization that had been created to distribute food aid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove 50-49 for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge Tuesday as Republicans dismissed whistleblower complaints about his conduct at the Justice Department.

A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Bove was on Trump's legal team during his New York hush money trial and defended Trump in the two federal criminal cases. He will serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Monday ruled that private individuals and organizations cannot bring voting rights cases under a section of the law that allows others to assist voters who are blind, have disabilities or are unable to read.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration's polarizing vaccine chief is leaving the agency after a brief tenure that drew the ire of biotech executives, patient groups and conservative allies of President Donald Trump.

Dr. Vinay Prasad "did not want to be a distraction" and was stepping down from his role as the FDA's top vaccine regulator "to spend more time with his family," a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement late Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation into law that launched Medicaid, creating a U.S. health care safety net for millions of low-income Americans in what would become one of the crowning achievements of his domestic legacy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Susan Monarez to be President Donald Trump's director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Monarez, 50, was named acting director in January and then tapped as the nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David Weldon.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government announced YouTube will be among the social media platforms that must ensure account holders are at least 16-years-old from December, reversing a position taken months ago on the popular video-sharing service.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has acknowledged that President Donald Trump now meets with candidates for promotion to the rank of four-star general, in a break with past practice.

A White House spokesperson said the Republican president has the meetings because he wants to make sure the U.S. military retains its superiority and its leaders focus on fighting wars.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two top Federal Reserve officials could dissent from the central bank's likely decision Wednesday to hold its key interest rate steady, a sign of division at the Fed that reflects the economy's muddy outlook and possibly the jockeying to replace Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends in May 2026.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy expanded at a surprising 3% annual pace from April through June, bouncing back at least temporarily from a first-quarter drop that reflected disruptions from President Donald Trump's trade wars.

America gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — rebounded after falling at a 0.5% clip from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The first-quarter drop was mainly caused by a surge in imports — which are subtracted from GDP — as businesses scrambled to bring in foreign goods ahead of Trump's tariffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he'll impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India's purchasing of Russian oil.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that India "is our friend" but its "Tariffs are far too high" on U.S. goods.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe's economy barely grew in the April-June quarter as frantic earlier efforts to ship goods ahead of new U.S. tariffs went into reverse and output fell for the continent's biggest economy, Germany.

Gross domestic product grew an anemic 0.1% compared to the previous quarter in the 20 countries that use the euro currency, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Wednesday. Growth was 1.4% over the same quarter a year ago.

NEW YORK (AP) — The clock is ticking closer to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline of Aug 1. And while several more deals — or at least frameworks for deals — have been reached since his last tariff deadline of July 9 came and went, trade talks with many countries are still in flux.

BANGKOK (AP) — China's top leaders have pledged to help companies slammed by higher U.S. tariffs but held back on major moves after trade talks with the U.S. this week kept businesses and planners in limbo.

At their summer economic planning meeting, the powerful Politburo of the ruling Communist Party pledged to stabilize foreign trade and investment.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a new congressional map that creates five additional GOP-leaning districts, bolstering their chances of maintaining control as they brace for a challenging midterm election.

The redrawn map comes during a special legislative session called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, as President Donald Trump urges Texas Republicans to reshape districts in the party's favor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare public outburst on the Senate floor Tuesday, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took his Democratic colleagues to task, declaring his party "needs a wake-up call!"

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein "stole" young women who worked for the spa at Mar-a-Lago, the latest evolution in his description of how their highly scrutinized relationship ended years ago.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Cam Ward has thrown some very nice passes in his first full week of NFL training camp with the Tennessee Titans.

With the Titans in pads back-to-back days, there've been interceptions, tipped balls and dropped passes.

Or as the rookie graded the offensive performance: "Very mid."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's planned announcement Wednesday of a new private health tracking system that would make it easier for patients to access their health records and monitor their wellness is raising a host of privacy concerns.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is freezing $108 million in research funding to Duke University as the federal government accuses the school of racial discrimination in the form of affirmative action, according to a person familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its key short-term interest rate unchanged for the fifth time this year, brushing off repeated calls from President Donald Trump for a cut.

The Fed's decision Wednesday leaves its key short-term rate at about 4.3%, where it has stood after the central bank made three cuts last year. Chair Jerome Powell has said the Fed would likely have cut rates already if not for Trump's sweeping tariffs. Powell and other Fed officials say they want to see how Trump's duties on imports will impact inflation and the broader economy. So far the duties have lifted costs of some goods, such as appliances, furniture, and toys, and overall inflation has risen a bit, though less than many economists had expected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose his threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil, setting a legal rationale that Brazil's policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law.

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors occasionally scoop up shares of companies whose financial prospects appear dim. The consensus around such companies is that the shares should, if anything, fall further. But they suddenly get touted in online forums and take off for no fundamental reason. Wall Street has dubbed them "meme stocks."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The children's savings program included in President Donald Trump's tax break-and-spending cut law "is a back door for privatizing Social Security," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.

Bessent's remark, which he made at a forum hosted by Breitbart News, was striking after Trump's repeated promises that he would not cut Social Security. Democrats quickly seized on the comment as a sign the GOP wants to revive a dormant but unpopular push to privatize the long-running retirement program.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are considering changing Senate rules to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump's executive branch nominees, forcing a possible clash with Democrats as Trump pressures them to fill dozens of administration posts before they leave town for the monthlong August recess.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The agency responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump's mass deportations is launching a recruiting campaign to entice "brave and heroic Americans" to serve as new deportation officers, lawyers and investigators as the government gears up for a major expansion of immigration enforcement thanks to a recent infusion of money from Congress.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris will not run for California governor next year, leaving open the possibility that she could mount a third run for the White House in 2028.

"Over the past six months, I have spent time reflecting on this moment in our nation's history and the best way for me to continue fighting for the American people and advancing the values and ideals I hold dear," Harris said in a statement released by her office Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Senate committee voted Wednesday to advance President Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency that secures the nation's critical infrastructure, including election systems.

Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 9-6 to recommend Sean Plankey 's nomination for director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, which sits under the Department of Homeland Security.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is set to headline the latest iteration of an event previously billed as the largest annual gathering of Republicans in South Carolina, a state traditionally key to picking the GOP's presidential nominees, and one in which she already has deep relationships.