News - Friday, August 7, 2026

The blueprint for an American bachelor’s degree has remained essentially unchanged for more than a century. Ironically, one of its defining features – the college credit hour – wasn’t originally designed to measure learning at all.

Chattanooga’s riverfront has undergone dramatic transformations over the past several decades, but city leaders say its next evolution depends on something that has become almost as much a part of the city’s identity as the Tennessee River itself: public-private collaboration.

Within the span of two weeks, two Chattanooga families lost family members in separate pedestrian crashes.

Shortly after 11 p.m. on July 12, a 38-year-old man was struck while crossing Lee Highway. He later died at a local hospital.

Then, just before 10 p.m. on July 26, a 60-year-old man walking along Highway 58 was struck by a southbound vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has hired Ivan Brown as a community financial adviser in Chattanooga.

Brown joins the firm with experience in commercial banking, commercial lending and Community Reinvestment Act initiatives. Most recently, he served as vice president and relationship manager at Cadence Bank, where he managed a commercial real estate loan portfolio, underwrote development and construction loans and led commercial loan underwriting efforts.

Every solid house starts with a good blueprint and a strong foundation. Saving for a child’s education is very similar.

College costs can seem daunting. In addition to tuition, you’ll need to account for housing and food, books and supplies, transportation and other expenses. The average annual budget at an instate public university runs around $30,990, and a private school is $65,470 the College Board reports. 

In an era when some college athletes are earning millions of dollars, Tennessee star senior linebacker Arion Carter has been suspended for a $427 plane flight.

The NCAA has sidelined Carter for the first two games of the 2026 season for accepting money from an agent to fly to a training facility after he declared for the NFL Draft. Carter declared for the draft but decided to return to college after aggravating a foot injury and having surgery. Although Carter paid the $427 back to the agent, the NCAA still levied the suspension for a Level III violation.

Will Levis’ start-and-stop journey as a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans could be seen as having parallels with an Eagles’ hit from 1977.

Two years ago, Levis was the “New Kid in Town,” expected to lead the Titans to success. Instead, he and the Titans endured a 3-14 season, which led to another new kid coming to town in Cam Ward. 

 Will Levis was the easy scapegoat for the Tennessee Titans’ failures in 2024.

The images of two costly plays that led to losses in the first two games of his tenure with Brian Callahan, and then his benching later against Cincinnati, are forever etched in the minds of Titans fans.

By Dan Frio | Edmunds

Size, space and utility have made the three-row SUV a mainstay of American family life. But with more than a dozen models on the market, choosing one can feel daunting. Edmunds has tested them all and identified the five best midsize three-row SUVs. 

It’s sometimes said that bonds are a better investment than cash because bonds have the potential for underlying capital appreciation in addition to their regular yields. But what does the historical record say about that? Do bonds appreciate over time? And if so, how much? And how has this differed historically among different types of bonds?

Many aspects of retirement planning are the subject of hot debate, even among experts. Here are three tricky decisions that confront people planning retirement.

Decision 1: How much to withdraw each year in retirement

It’s impossible to say at the outset of retirement what the “right” withdrawal rate is. You don’t know what the major asset classes will return or how high (or low) inflation will run during your retirement. Nor do you know how long you’ll live.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans got starting left tackle Dan Moore Jr. back in practice Thursday after he left the last session early. Unfortunately, wide receiver Elic Ayomanor hurt a shoulder that ended his practice early.

"Feels stable, but we'll get more information later," coach Robert Saleh said of Ayomanor. "And then JFM's (defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers) dealing with a low back. Doesn't seem concerning."

An offshore wind company said Thursday that it reached a $1.2 billion settlement with the Trump administration to walk away from projects under development off New York, California and Louisiana. This latest agreement brings the total amount spent on such settlements to nearly $4 billion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Joe Shearer was a Marine fighting in Iraq, a blast from an enemy mortar round knocked him down and made him vomit. He got up and kept going despite a searing headache.

When a roadside bomb struck his Humvee convoy months later, the explosion's shock wave swept through his body before headaches and sleeplessness set in for days.

President Donald Trump has been extolling his economic accomplishments on social media and at events like a rally at a Las Vegas resort Wednesday. He touts recent record stock market highs and claims a boom in hiring, manufacturing and investment. Some of the claims are clearly true, some exaggerated, some unclear.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted called on Rep. Max Miller of Ohio Thursday to resign his House seat and abandon his fall reelection bid.

In a post on X, Husted said he knows both Miller, his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, and their daughter, and "I do not see how a campaign for Congress benefits any of them."

MEMPHIS (AP) — Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher defeated U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles in a Republican primary Thursday for a significantly reshaped congressional district — marking a rare rejection of a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of its $400 million ballroom at the White House without congressional approval.

President Donald Trump doesn't have the unilateral authority to construct a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom where the White House's East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition, according to the decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The labor union representing Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service workers asked a judge Thursday to block a sweeping tax audit immunity agreement for President Donald Trump, arguing it would force career employees to choose between following a political order and abiding by the law.

ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta-area woman alleges that she was wrongly diagnosed with cancer and underwent an unneeded hysterectomy because of a labeling error.

Cassandra Barksdale and her attorneys filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Kaiser Permanente alleging the mix-up led to the surgery and months of physical and emotional pain.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some U.S. adults are using artificial intelligence for financial guidance, but it's far from the most trusted source of advice, according to a new Gallup survey conducted in partnership with Edward Jones, a financial services firm.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday accused Duke University's law school of unlawfully considering race in admissions in the latest Trump administration action against higher education institutions.

In a findings letter to the school, the department said that while administrators paid lip service to being race-neutral in admissions, they used other factors as stand-ins for race, including personal essays and whether someone was a first-generation college student.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico began sending 1,500 more troops to the western state of Michoacan on Thursday, a day after the U.S. announced the suspension of government operations in that region — including halting avocado inspections required for their export — because of a non-specific threat to U.S. interests.

CAIRO (AP) — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks this week, escalating the conflict between them and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and raising fears of a wider regional conflagration.

The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and troops and also targeted Saudi tankers in transit from Red Sea ports through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait out to the Gulf of Aden and the rest of the world.

WASHINGTON (AP) — To reach a deal with Iran that reopens the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump may need to do something out of character — compromise.

Any concession would be tough for the Republican president, who has insisted there is no truth to his sagging poll numbers, the sluggish economy and the U.S. military's dwindling stockpiles of key weapons following the Iran war he launched with Israel more than five months ago.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip officers with body cameras in the next two months but the agency's policy gives it broad control over what footage will be made public by specifying any releases must be in its "best interests."

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month, and Labor Department revisions shaved 103,000 jobs off payrolls in May and June. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% only because Americans left the job market.

The June jobs numbers from the Labor Department Friday marked a sharp reversal for the American labor market and a political setback for President Donald Trump less than three months before his Republican party seeks to keep full control of Congress in the midterm election.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that trade negotiations with the United States had turned "nasty" after President Donald Trump derided America's neighbor and its leadership while threatening to expand tariffs.

BANGKOK (AP) — China's exports slowed slightly in July from the month before but still were higher than forecast thanks to strong demand for high-tech electronics and vehicles.

Customs data released Friday showed China's trade surplus narrowed to $112.5 billion from $125.6 billion in June.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said on Friday that he will back Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney general, likely paving the way for Blanche's confirmation to lead President Donald Trump's Justice Department.

The Louisiana senator announced his support on the Senate floor after Blanche's confirmation was thrown into doubt over opposition from two other Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will tell you: The grass is always greener on his side of the fence.

And tell you. And tell you.

Trump has spoken repeatedly of his prowess with green lawns since returning to the White House — at some events even spending more time talking about it than the war in Iran, the economy or November's midterm elections.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration this week ordered inspections for hundreds of Boeing planes, following reports of cracks in some older models.

The now-finalized rule, which was unveiled Thursday and kicks in Sept. 10, applies to certain aircraft under three Boeing 737 Max models: the 737-8, 737-9 and 737-8200. The FAA estimates this covers 471 planes — and said it is using this directive to address "the unsafe condition" tied to prior reports.

President Donald J. Trump, Plaintiff, got a welcome break this week in one of his battles with the media — but for the moment, only a temporary one.

As his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC proceeds, a federal judge in Florida granted the president a temporary reprieve on Thursday from an order that he begin divulging details of his business empire's financial performance — something he is clearly loath to do.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal prosecutor fired last year over critical comments he had written as a private citizen about President Donald Trump sued the Justice Department on Friday, saying his termination violated his First Amendment rights.

Will Rosenzweig was two weeks away from trying a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud case when a blog he had written years earlier covering a broad range of topics was publicized online by a conservative political commentator who also included a screenshot of Rosenzweig's LinkedIn account and tagged senior Justice Department officials for their awareness.

CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Army said Friday that it is opening up test ranges to private companies developing missiles, drones and other weapons in hopes of buying them more quickly for use on the battlefield.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told reporters at a military testing range in Michigan that the effort will cut months and sometimes years of the red tape that typically stifles military contractors. He pledged to grant companies access to ranges in the U.S. or those belonging to allies abroad within 30 days of them making a request through an online marketplace that went live Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is moving ahead with its efforts to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, two months after the Supreme Court allowed her to retain her job while she fights the president's effort to terminate her over mortgage fraud allegations that she has denied.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market stalled unexpectedly last month, delivering a political blow to President Donald Trump three months ahead of midterm elections and complicating decision-making for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street and Treasury yields fell after the government reported that employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Friday, topping the all-time high it set on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.3%. The weaker signal on the job market raised hopes that the Federal Reserve can wait longer before raising interest rates to fight inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.64%. The price of Brent crude rose 1.3%. European markets rose and Asian markets ended mixed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly approved a punishing Russian sanctions package Friday, the result of a year-long campaign by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to reinforce U.S. support for Ukraine and try to force President Vladimir Putin's hand as the grinding war drags on.

Gallatin Area Chamber August Membership Luncheon. Chris Bacon and Will General of the Nashville Stars will discuss momentum in bringing Major League Baseball to Middle Tennessee. Monday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 149 W Main Street, Gallatin. Information

NASHVILLE (AP) — Look for Tennessee wide receiver Carnell Tate during practice and the rookie can be found kneeling or standing next to veteran Calvin Ridley, listening intently.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two drivers of Mercedes AMG cars have filed a class action lawsuit against the luxury car company, claiming that the AMG logo on their driver's seat gets so hot that it literally brands them and causes burns.

Gabriel Lahijani and Karendeep "Karina" Bath allege the front seats of certain Mercedes AMG vehicles have a design defect where the raised metallic AMG logo is "reasonably expected to contact an occupant's upper back, neck, or shoulder," according to the court document filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court of California's Western division.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials on Monday proposed a rule change that would require food manufacturers to notify regulators before introducing new ingredients or additives into processed or packaged foods.

The proposal would change a decades-old policy that advocates have called a regulatory loophole, blaming it for allowing thousands of unvetted ingredients into the U.S. food supply.

WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — At a Massachusetts lab, pebble-sized pellets are transformed into forks and films that won't leave persistent microplastics in the environment.

These are bioplastic pellets. CJ Biomaterials ferments sugar to make plant-based polymers that microbes will consume. These alternatives to traditional plastics made of fossil fuels are seen by some as one of many solutions needed to confront global plastic pollution.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel spent a significant chunk of the company's massive pile of cash as it invested $10 billion in Google's parent company and repurchased about $4.5 billion of its shares.

NEW YORK (AP) — Encouraging customers to mend worn clothes instead of buying new ones might seem like a self-defeating sales strategy. But in-store repairs and sewing workshops are becoming essential retail services for clothing brands as they try to appeal to young consumers who want to save money and the planet.

Congressional Democrats said they are investigating the Trump administration's efforts to deport military service members and their families after The Associated Press found more than 50 active-duty troops' spouses and parents have been detained by immigration authorities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the $400 million ballroom project.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's been 12 months since President Donald Trump announced a crime emergency in Washington, pledging to make the city "safe and beautiful" and deploying the National Guard.

But a mission that seemed temporary has been extended through January 2029. Residents and a new cadre of local officials see in it an unacceptable attempt by the federal government to restrict the heavily Democratic city's autonomy and, a year in, still question why having troops on the streets of the nation's capital is necessary.

Sumner Women in Business. Sales coach Nicole Cramer will lead an interactive session that helps attendees spot the limiting stories they’ve been “buying” from themselves and walk away with a plan to sell themselves something better. Equal parts talk, self-reflection and practical takeaway. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Holiday Inn Express, 615 East Main Street, Hendersonville. Information

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday announced he was signing an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held belief that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market slipped below its all-time high, while oil prices rose on uncertainty about when the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and get the global flow of crude going again.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.3%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was sworn in Monday as attorney general after a bruising confirmation fight that exposed bipartisan concerns about the Justice Department's direction under the Republican president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday extended a waiver for 90 days for foreign ships to transport goods, including oil, fertilizers and other fossil fuel products, among U.S. ports.

The president first waived the Jones Act on March 17 so that it would be easier to transport oil and refined fuels among ports, reducing price pressures after the start of the war with Iran.

Sumner Women in Business. Sales coach Nicole Cramer will lead an interactive session that helps attendees spot the limiting stories they’ve been “buying” from themselves and walk away with a plan to sell themselves something better. Equal parts talk, self-reflection and practical takeaway. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Holiday Inn Express, 615 East Main Street, Hendersonville. Information

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Human Rights Watch and three other advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to challenge its campaign against the International Criminal Court, arguing that sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors are undermining the ability to prosecute people responsible for humanity's worst crimes.

MIAMI (AP) — Prosecutors want social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate to remain in federal custody, arguing Monday that the brothers are a flight risk and a danger to the community, as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking.

CHICAGO (AP) — Toyota is recalling about 655,000 of its Camry vehicles globally, the automaker confirmed Tuesday, due to a display error that may deactivate safety indicators like turn signals and hazard lights during startup.

Most of the now-recalled cars were sold in the U.S. — where more than 508,000 model year 2025-2026 Camry Hybrids are affected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed again in July as record prices and the highest mortgage rates in a year prove to be an insurmountable hurdle for many prospective buyers.

Existing home sales fell 1.7% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That's slightly above the 4.05 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet, and up 0.7% compared with last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.

NEW YORK (AP) — The president's media company posted a massive loss in the second quarter and announced plans to ditch new business lines and refocus as a forum for users to post their views.

Trump Media & Technology, the company behind the Truth Social platform, said Monday that it lost $238 million in the three months through June as it branched into businesses unrelated to media, including crypto. That was more than 10 times the loss from a year earlier. The per-share loss widened to 86 cents from 8 cents.

NEW YORK (AP) — The president's media company has tried its hand at a half-dozen new lines of business to lift its stock, but nothing has worked.

Now it's getting back to its roots.

In a conference call with investors Monday, the company behind Truth Social said it will be unwinding much of its expansion and doubling down on its original media business by selling a form of White House access, a move that has raised big ethical questions among Democrats and government watchdogs.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese aerospace company VinSpace said Tuesday it has signed a contract with SpaceX to send its first satellites into orbit aboard a SpaceX rideshare mission in 2027, as the Southeast Asian nation moves to develop its nascent space industry.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump likes to say that he started his war with Iran after 50 years of economic pressure had failed to stop its nuclear weapons ambitions — but he's now betting that another financial squeeze can bring an end to that war.

PARIS (AP) — France has banned unsolicited telemarketing calls under a new law aimed at protecting consumers from intrusive sales pitches and shielding vulnerable people from fraudulent commercial practices.

The law backed by President Emmanuel Macron's government entered into force Tuesday.

CORTE FRANCA, Italy (AP) — Workers fan out before dawn to clip clusters of grapes destined to be transformed into Italy's prized Franciacorta sparkling wine a full 10 days earlier than anticipated, as scorching temperatures brought the fruit to maturation earlier than ever.

President Donald Trump secretly flew out of last month's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear that the Republican president was flying on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has released an American military veteran who spent more than four years in prison under abusive conditions and was said to be gravely ill and at risk of dying, a group advocating for him said Tuesday. Robert Gilman is on his way to a U.S. military hospital in Texas, where he will be medically and psychologically assessed and treated, said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, a group that's been working to free him and other American detainees abroad. Gilman's family has flown to Texas to be with him, including his mother, who was in Russia attempting to see him at the hospital. Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher detained since 2022, was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence in 2022 when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance. He later was convicted of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator and assaulting a guard, and he was sentenced in October 2024 to eight years and one month. His sentence was extended last year to 10 years after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards. Before he was flown out of Russia, he had been in "a dissociative stupor" for 47 days due to the abuse he has suffered in prison, Lebson said. Gilman had been moved from a prison to a civilian hospital, where he was hooked up to a feeding tube and handcuffed to a bed. U.S. Sen. Edward Markey had called on Russia and the U.S. to work together to get the Massachusetts resident released. Gilman was one of at least 8 Americans who remain in Russian custody after a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges with the U.S. in recent years.

Sumner Women in Business. Sales coach Nicole Cramer will lead an interactive session that helps attendees spot the limiting stories they’ve been “buying” from themselves and walk away with a plan to sell themselves something better. Equal parts talk, self-reflection and practical takeaway. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Holiday Inn Express, 615 East Main Street, Hendersonville. Information

While issuing an executive order on Monday aimed at getting states to revise childhood vaccine recommendations, President Donald Trump and others in his administration repeated several false claims about those vaccines, as well as their relationship to autism.

Middle Tennessee Apprenticeship Networking Meeting: Pilots and Partnerships. Charity Walker, director of apprenticeships, will be featured in a conversation about Ascension Saint Thomas’ work at the intersection of workforce innovation and community investment. Ascension Saint Thomas will share how its pilot programs in workforce development and apprenticeship are opening doors to healthcare careers and how deep community partnerships have strengthened their talent pipeline in ways that traditional recruiting never could. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., 500 11th Ave N, Ste 650, Nashville. Information

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans didn't take long to get on each other's nerves at a joint practice.

A scuffle broke following the first play of 11-on-11 drills on Tuesday with the physical play and animosity only amping up from there.

Targeting penalties assessed in the second half of a game will no longer require the offending player to sit out the first half of his team's next game, offensive pass interference will become a 10-yard penalty and the little-used fair catch kick will be introduced to college football.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma plan to execute inmates Thursday in what would be the first time in nearly 16 years that three people are put to death on the same day in the United States.

The executions come as a small number of states, including the three with scheduled lethal injections Thursday, drive execution numbers in the United States.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Chinese automakers are increasingly shifting from exporting vehicles to building them in Africa, betting that rapid urbanization, a growing middle class and supportive government policies will make the continent one of the industry's last major growth markets.

TOKYO (AP) — Hiroshi Okuda, the former chief executive of Toyota, who led the Japanese automaker's stellar rise in global markets, has died. He was 93.

Company spokeswoman Shino Yamada confirmed Wednesday that Okuda had died but said the date and cause of his death were not immediately available. Major Japanese companies are on summer break this week.

Doctors say President Donald Trump's new executive order on vaccines is misguided and likely to stoke fear and confusion among parents at a time when measles is raging, immunization rates are falling and children are heading back to school.

"Many families are finishing up that back-to-school checklist, and among those things is the medical checkup and assuring that their kids have their vaccines," Michigan pediatrician Dr. Molly O'Shea said. "To put into question the safety or efficacy of these vaccines right now is really unfortunate and ill-conceived."

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Smaller steel companies responsible for nearly 40% of India's crude steel production could cut their electricity bills by about a third while sharply reducing carbon emissions by switching to renewable energy, according to a report released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation declined slightly last month as the cost of gas and groceries slipped, though prices are still rising more quickly than before the Iran war, posing challenges for the White House as the midterm elections near.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold for the second time in a year, going to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking price.

This sale agreement is $12.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the terms who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because neither side revealed specific details of the latest stunning development with one of North America's marquee sports teams.

Civil rights groups and researchers at a public hearing Tuesday called on a federal agency to continue its annual collection of workplace demographic data, arguing that a proposal to end the practice will undermine efforts to fight discrimination.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats remain mixed over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party's path forward: They want change.

In marquee Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, progressive candidates defeated two members of Congress with significant backing from party leaders. Wisconsin voters narrowly rejected a democratic socialist but still chose a 40-year-old county executive who is seeking to become the state's first Black governor. And in Connecticut, voters ousted one of the longest-serving Democrats in Congress for a challenger who campaigned on generational change.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump pivoted the nation's attention back to vaccines this week with an executive order that aims to scale back the childhood immunization schedule and space out shots into separate visits.

After acting to overhaul the nation's vaccine policy and guidance, the Trump administration had recently largely stepped back from additional changes to focus on less controversial subjects, raising questions over the political impetus behind and implications of the Republican president's renewed focus on vaccines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he slipped away from Air Force One after a trip last month in Turkey because the Secret Service and military wanted him on a "different plane" due to a threat that he insisted didn't scare him.

BEIJING (AP) — Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, the impatient, sharp-tongued reformer who helped ignite China's explosive economic boom by forcing wrenching change on state industry in the 1990s and leading the country into the World Trade Organization, has died of illness, state media reported Wednesday. He was 97.

Middle Tennessee Apprenticeship Networking Meeting: Pilots and Partnerships. Charity Walker, director of apprenticeships, will be featured in a conversation about Ascension Saint Thomas’ work at the intersection of workforce innovation and community investment. Ascension Saint Thomas will share how its pilot programs in workforce development and apprenticeship are opening doors to healthcare careers and how deep community partnerships have strengthened their talent pipeline in ways that traditional recruiting never could. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., 500 11th Ave N, Ste 650, Nashville. Information

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump was sued in federal court Wednesday to stop him from making money off a new, paid service at his Truth Social company offering early, exclusive access to his posts on U.S. policy.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump's deal to post first on his own company's site about U.S. policy decisions on war, tariffs and other issues violates the Constitution and that official announcements should be made available to everyone at the same time. The suit comes after his media company, Trump Media & Technology, rolled out a new subscription service earlier this month charging Wall Street firms as much as $100,000 a month to get his posts faster so they can trade off them.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Southern Poverty Law Center official has been charged in the Department of Justice's broader criminal case against the Alabama-based civil rights group, a lawyer for the ex-official said Wednesday.

Heidi Beirich, a political extremism expert who served as the law center's chief financial officer, was expected to make her initial court appearance in Riverside, California, later in the day.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jury selection began Wednesday in Meta's federal trial over claims its platforms have harmed youth mental health and also track children in violation of federal law.

The trial scheduled to begin next week is expected to last six to eight weeks. Meta faces 29 states in the federal multidistrict lawsuit filed in 2023, but the Oakland trial will only include the first four — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street edged near its record after several AI stocks reported better growth for the spring than analysts expected, while a report showed inflation across the United States was slightly less bad last month.

The S&P 500 added 0.3% Wednesday and marked its first gain since setting its all-time high on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave at month's end, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.

Leavitt, 28, just recently returned to the White House after taking a brief leave for the birth of her second child in May.

CHICAGO (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell slightly for the first time in six weeks on Thursday, marking a glimpse of relief for prospective homebuyers — although borrowing costs remain steeper than they were a year ago.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate tumbled to 6.67%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday, down from 6.69% reported last week. Still, by comparison, the average rate was 6.58% at this time in 2025.

Wilson County – Tennessee State Fair. The event features live entertainment on 15 stages, more than 150 livestock shows, nightly motor sports events, more than 60 rides and more than 100 concessionaires through Aug. 22. Monday-Thursday 4-9 p.m. (4-11 p.m. carnival), Fridays 4-10 p.m. (4 p.m.-midnight), Saturdays 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (10 a.m.-midnight), Sunday noon-9 p.m. (noon-11 p.m.). 945 E. Baddour Parkway, Lebanon. Information

Commissioner Greg Sankey wants everyone in the Southeastern Conference to move carefully when adding players suddenly allowed by court rulings to seek a fifth year of eligibility.

Sankey sent a memo to league members on the landscape created by court filings and rulings being "highly dynamic," a person familiar with the memo told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because of the volume of lawsuits, motions and courts involved.

Latin music stars Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Chayanne, Feid, Jay Wheeler and many more will perform at an international benefit concert livestreamed from Miami on Sunday to raise money for those impacted by devastating earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ms. Lauryn Hill and her Fugees' bandmate Wyclef Jean will bring their pointed and political music to Global Citizen Festival this fall.

The headliners, announced Thursday, are a fitting choice. The annual gathering in New York's Central Park rallies attendees to pressure world leaders to fund a range of antipoverty initiatives at the end of the United Nations General Assembly 's yearly high-level meetings. Joining them on Sept. 26 are rocker Lenny Kravitz, R&B-pop singer John Legend, country music star Lainey Wilson, chart-topping Grammy winner Shaboozey and K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER.

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge in Miami has postponed a hearing over whether social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate should remain in custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A small law firm with ties to the Trump administration declined a $150 million contract to represent migrant children who traveled alone to the U.S., authorities said Wednesday, while another group whose former chief executive was dogged by allegations of misconduct was awarded work worth up to $244 million to advocate for them.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Flock Safety, the surveillance technology company increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the U.S., announced Thursday it is making changes to its platform intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses of its system by some members of law enforcement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Public health experts have been quick to condemn an executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at upending childhood vaccinations in the U.S., but the biggest obstacles may be the unprecedented financial and logistical challenges it would impose on parents, health providers and drugmakers.

NEW YORK (AP) — When Jonah Seidenberg found out about Nike Minds, a futuristic-looking sneaker that claims to improve concentration by stimulating the soles of the feet, he had to have them.

On a recent Saturday, the 12-year-old from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook and his mother searched StockX, an online sneaker marketplace, and other sites looking for a discount but struck out. They eventually found the last available pair in his size on Dick's Sporting Goods' website, but for the full price of $145. They grabbed it anyway.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly see major benefits to children playing organized sports, a new poll finds, but higher-income families are more likely to participate.

Learning teamwork and reducing screen time are among the perceived benefits of youth sports, according to the AP-Ipsos survey.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday dealt a major blow to the future of the country's soy moratorium, upholding state laws that deny tax incentives to farmers who complied with the agreement barring the purchase of soy grown on deforested Amazon land. At the same time, the court affirmed the constitutionality of the voluntary pact.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation dropped last month as gas prices reversed some of their Iran war spike and other costs also cooled, a sign that consumer inflation could grind lower in the months ahead.

The Labor Department's producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 4.7% in July from a year ago, down from a much larger 5.5% increase in June. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices were unchanged from June to July, after they ticked down 0.1% the previous month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, but layoffs remain at historically healthy levels.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before and higher than the 205,000 forecasters had expected. The four-week average of applications, which smooths out week-to-week-volatitlity, was unchanged at 199,000.

NEW YORK (AP) — If you bought something from an overseas vendor last year, it might be time to check your bank account.

Shippers including FedEx and UPS that acted as customs brokers for imported packages and received tariff refunds from the U.S. government have started to pass on those refunds to the customers that originally paid the tariffs.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal civil rights agency is dropping a subpoena enforcement action against Nike, saying the company has complied with requests for information as part of an investigation into the sportswear giant's diversity and inclusion policies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have landed the National Park Service in a political predicament.

The beloved federal agency, its iconic park rangers and other employees have been serving the public while managing controversial demands by the Republican president — from revising exhibits at parks and other sites to the demolition of important structures under its stewardship, such as the White House's East Wing, to arresting visitors for alleged vandalism at the pool.

Abdul El-Sayed made history this month in Michigan by becoming the first Muslim nominated by the Democratic Party to run for the U.S. Senate. But elation among many of his fellow Muslim Americans was tempered by awareness of persisting and widespread anti-Muslim sentiment across much of the nation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center's board is expected to meet Thursday to consider plans for the performing arts venue's future after a federal judge blocked an earlier move for a two-year closure that would allow for substantial renovations.

Ahead of the meeting, the Kennedy Center's management said it would present the board with three approaches for consideration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The two most senior members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, flew out of last month's NATO summit in Turkey on what was effectively a decoy plane following an Iranian threat, while Trump was secretly moved to a smaller military jet, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.