VOL. 46 | NO. 49 | Friday, December 9, 2022
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
New trends develop every year in the residential real estate market, both in the Nashville area and nationwide. Often an architect will create a new style or include a feature in a home that is discovered by the masses. It is soon mandatory in new builds and remodels.
REAL ESTATE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homebuilders have pumped the brakes on new single-family home construction this year, a trend that's likely to extend into 2023, according to several forecasts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fourth consecutive week and have dropped more than three-quarters of a point since hitting a 20-year high last month.
TENNESSEE TITANS
The good news for the Tennessee Titans is they are going to win the AFC South for the third consecutive season.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but this measure is one the Tennessee Titans probably should have made weeks ago. Now, they might not have another choice.
The Titans – battered and beaten by upper-echelon teams the past two weeks – should get a reprieve of sorts when the Jacksonville Jaguars come calling at Nissan Stadium.
UT SPORTS
There will be a lot of orange at the Orange Bowl this season.
NEWSMAKERS
Bass, Berry & Sims has hired 17 new associates in Nashville. The firm has now added 55 new attorneys in 2022.
BRIEFS
Gov. Bill Lee is considering allowing express toll lanes on highways and tripling a fee for electric car owners as he targets his first big push after winning reelection – paying for tens of billions of dollars in roadway projects.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Since its debut for the 2021 model year, the Toyota RAV4 Prime has served as a benchmark for what a small SUV with a plug-in hybrid powertrain can be. It’s efficient, fast and nearly as practical as a regular RAV4.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Most people no longer get a tax deduction when they donate to charity. That shouldn’t keep you from making donations, but you may want to change your approach.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Order’s up. And there it is, brought to your table and presented with a magnificent flourish. You dig in, only to find that the Entrecôte is overcooked, the coq au vin is too spicy and the magret de canard is too oily. What do you do?
MILLENNIAL MONEY
At first glance, a “buy-now, pay-later” plan’s promise of no interest or upfront fees can seem more appealing than a credit card’s terms. Dividing a transaction into, say, a pay-in-four-installment plan sounds straightforward and manageable.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Zach Hyman had a hat trick, Leon Draisaitl scored twice and added three assists and Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
UT SPORTS
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Marta Suarez stepped in front of the white backdrop, rotated the basketball to put the logo forward and propped it against her hip. She looked into the camera and smiled, her head tilting slightly to the right.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Cade Klubnik looked poised and confident in his new role as the No. 1 quarterback at Clemson. The only difference is he didn't have experienced teammate DJ Uiagalelei alongside to help guide him.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nine years after the EPA first found Tennessee's Eastman Chemical Company was polluting the air with unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide from its coal-burning power plants, the state is still working to bring the company into compliance with national air quality standards.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Most registered voters in Tennessee want exceptions for rape or incest in the state's sweeping abortion ban, but they largely don't know the specifics of what's in the law as it stands today, according to new Vanderbilt University polling.
Tennessee Republicans favor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump to be the party’s presidential nominee in 2024 by double digits, the latest statewide Vanderbilt Poll reports.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee has repeatedly failed to thoroughly investigate sexual abuse allegations in the facilities that house the state's most vulnerable children, according to a sweeping audit released Tuesday that outlines multiple deficiencies inside the Department of Children's Services.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government on Wednesday charged eight men of earning more than $100 million in stock market profits by manipulating their novice-investor followers on social media.
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's company impeded a grand jury investigation last year by repeatedly failing to turn over evidence in a timely fashion, leading to a secret contempt finding and a $4,000 fine, according to court records made public Tuesday.
ENERGY
A California law that prohibits new oil and gas wells from being drilled near homes, schools and hospitals could face a referendum in the 2024 election.
MEDIA
Twitter has suspended an account that used publicly available flight data to track Elon Musk's private jet, despite a pledge by the social media platform's new owner to keep it up because of his free speech principles.
What you're seeing in your feed on Twitter is changing. But how?
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Three reporters from a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in West Virginia say they have been fired after publicly criticizing an interview conducted by their company president with a former coal executive who was convicted of a safety violation in connection with the worst U.S. mine disaster in decades.
ENVIRONMENT
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The company operating a pipeline that spilled about 14,000 bathtubs' worth of oil into a Kansas creek during a test for potential problems is recovering at least a small portion of the crude.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks ended lower in bumpy trading on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate in its fight against inflation and signaled that more hikes lay ahead.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reinforced its inflation fight Wednesday by raising its key interest rate for the seventh time this year and signaling more hikes to come. But it announced a smaller hike than it had in its past four meetings at a time when inflation is showing signs of easing.
NEW YORK (AP) — A unit of American International Group that played an outsized role in the 2008 global financial crises is nearing its official end.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Disappointment has set in two years after the election of U.S. President Joe Biden was supposed to reset trans-Atlantic relations with the European Union. EU leaders are openly talking about fights, not only friendship.
More than half of U.S. adults say it's harder to afford the holiday gifts they want to give this year.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, announced Wednesday it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields as part of its updated climate strategy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After four straight three-quarter-point interest rate hikes, the Federal Reserve is set to announce a smaller half-point increase in its key rate Wednesday, a first step toward dialing back its efforts to combat inflation.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Whether increased regulation would have prevented the spectacular collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX was fiercely debated at a hearing of the Senate's banking committee Wednesday. However, new legislation is potentially on the way.
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's top elections official urged lawmakers on Wednesday to end general election runoffs — this month's bitter Senate contest was the latest example — but offered no specific proposals, saying there is a "wide range of options."
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told dozens of African leaders gathered in Washington that the United States is "all in on Africa's future," laying out billions in promised government funding and private investment Wednesday to help the growing continent in health, infrastructure, business and technology.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. "should have societal guilt" for the slow pace of action on restricting access to firearms as he marked the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The late congressman and civil rights giant John Lewis will be honored with a postage stamp in 2023, the U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers leading the negotiations on a bill to fund the federal government for the current fiscal year announced late Tuesday they've reached agreement on a "framework" that should allow them to complete work on the bill over the next week and avoid a government shutdown.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A celebratory crowd of thousands bundled up on a chilly Tuesday afternoon to watch President Joe Biden sign gay marriage legislation into law, a joyful ceremony that was tempered by the backdrop of an ongoing conservative backlash over gender issues.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hate crimes in the U.S. remained relatively high last year after a surge not seen in nearly two decades, according to a new FBI report. But experts say it is actually an undercount because thousands of police departments, including some of the country's largest, didn't report their data.
UKRAINE
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities said they thwarted a Russian attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region Wednesday as their air defense system intercepted and destroyed 13 explosive-laden drones, although wreckage from some of them damaged five buildings. No casualties were reported.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two-time NFL rushing champ Derrick Henry absolutely believes his position coach Tony Dews would make a great head coach in the NFL.
All wins count the same in the standings.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brayden Schenn had an eventful overtime period.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Five people have applied for a Tennessee Supreme Court seat that will open up in the summer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal arising from a murder-for-hire ordered by the onetime leader of a violent international crime ring.
ENERGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists announced Tuesday that they have for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union energy ministers failed yet again to overcome their deep differences Tuesday on a natural gas price cap that many hope would make utility bills cheaper so people can stay a little warmer during harsh winter days — if not this year, then later.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — A large study by U.S. highway safety regulators found that more than half the people injured or killed in traffic crashes had one or more drugs, or alcohol, in their bloodstreams.
DETROIT (AP) — Most small SUVs flunked the latest frontal crash tests done by the insurance industry, but oddly enough, they're just as safe as they were before.
TRANSPORTATION
United Airlines said Tuesday that it ordered 100 new Boeing 787s, a large, twin-aisle jetliner, to replace planes that are nearing retirement age and allow United to expand its international flying.
HEALTH CARE
Moderna's stock soared Tuesday after the COVID-19 vaccine maker detailed progress in developing a preventive shot for a deadly form of skin cancer.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street after the government reported that inflation cooled more than expected last month, cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve is about to dial down the size of its interest rate hikes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation in the United States slowed again last month in the latest sign that price increases are cooling despite the pressures they continue to inflict on American households.
NEW YORK (AP) — After reaching 40-year highs over the summer, price increases in the U.S. are now steadily easing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new CEO of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX is appearing before a House committee Tuesday, detailing for lawmakers the lack of oversight and financial controls that he discovered since taking over the company a month ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With dozens of African leaders descending on Washington this week, the Biden administration is offering a not-so-subtle pitch in its economic competition with China on the continent: The U.S. offers a better option to African partners.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is considering running for president, on Tuesday called a third Donald Trump White House bid the "worst scenario" for Republicans and said his call for terminating parts of the Constitution hurts the country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is inviting thousands to celebrate at the White House on Tuesday as he signs into law gay marriage legislation before a bipartisan crowd that reflects growing acceptance of same-sex unions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers should be prepared to act quickly to pass a resolution funding the federal government for one week as negotiators continue to work on a longer-term spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday.
UKRAINE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian attacks, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
PARIS (AP) — Dozens of countries and international organizations threw their weight and hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) behind a fresh and urgent push Tuesday to keep Ukraine powered, fed, warm and moving amid the onset of winter, responding defiantly to sustained Russian aerial bombardments that have plunged millions into the deepening cold and dark by targeting critical infrastructure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be holding his annual year-end marathon news conference this month amid the war in Ukraine, a break in the long-held tradition that observers have attributed to the Kremlin's uneasiness about a string of battlefield setbacks.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union reached a deal in principle to send an 18 billion euro ($18.93 billion) financial aid package to Ukraine and approve a minimum tax on major corporations in a big move that narrowed a rift between the bloc and recalcitrant member Hungary.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12
UT SPORTS
Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams was one of three Southern California players selected to The Associated Press All-America team released Monday, while Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was one of six Southeastern Conference to make the list.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Derrick Henry had his best game in weeks by the end of the first quarter, and the Tennessee Titans led 14-7.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron has entered the player assistance program of the NHL and NHL Players' Association.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee has received $6 million in federal grants to plan for the expansion of access to high-speed internet networks.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Monday put on hold a case from a death row inmate alleging mistreatment by prison officials.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four Oath Keepers charged with plotting to stop the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden accepted an "invitation to sedition" issued by the far-right extremist group's founder, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of a second trial for group leaders and members.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida man who posted a Facebook video of himself during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol faces more than two decades in prison following a felony conviction.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man was sentenced Monday to 14 months in prison on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is restoring another pre-pandemic tradition, announcing decisions in a public session in the courtroom.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday refused a request from tobacco companies to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavored tobacco products that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November.
CVS and Walgreens have agreed to pay state and local governments a combined total of more than $10 billion to settle lawsuits over the toll of opioids and now want to know by Dec. 31 whether states are accepting the deals.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 in an international act of terrorism is to appear Monday in federal court in Washington to face charges.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it won't take the plunge into a dispute over Michigan State University's decision to end its swimming-and-diving teams, a decision female athletes sued over.
HEALTH CARE
Amgen is spending more than $26 billion to dive deeper into rare disease treatments with a deal for drugmaker Horizon Therapeutics.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Fuel economy for 2021 model year vehicles in the U.S. stayed flat with 2020 as people continued to buy less-efficient trucks and SUVs, according to an annual government report published Monday.
NEW YORK (AP) — A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution has closed on a $2.5 billion federal loan to help finance three lithium-ion battery cell plants in Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — USA Today's weekly chart of top-selling books is on indefinite hiatus after the newspaper's parent company, Gannett, laid off the editor in charge of compiling the list that's closely followed in the publishing industry.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Dave Chappelle asked the crowd at his comedy show to "make some noise for the world's richest man."
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter is once again attempting to launch its premium service, a month after a previous attempt failed.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street at the start of a busy week where central banks are likely to unload the year's final barrage of interest rate hikes.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency firm FTX will testify before a Congressional committee Tuesday, his first appearance under oath since FTX filed for bankruptcy roughly a month ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Still eager to hire, America's employers are posting more job openings than they did before the pandemic struck 2½ years ago. Problem is, there aren't enough applicants. The nation's labor force is smaller than when the pandemic struck.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's economy shrank in the three months through October, confirming the toll that rampant inflation and rising interest rates are having on business and industry.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is reinstating a task force that is aimed at helping immigrants and refugees integrate into the United States.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November's midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning, a potential warning sign for a party that will need their strong backing heading into the 2024 presidential race.
UKRAINE
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's prime minister is appealing for Patriot missile batteries and other hi-tech air defense systems to counter Russian attacks, as more Russian shelling was reported on Monday in the eastern regions of Ukraine where Moscow is trying to make battlefield gains.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — NFL players know better than anyone this game really is a business with how new faces rotate in and out of locker rooms day to day and week to week throughout the season.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is listed as questionable to play at Tennessee despite returning to practice Friday.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point had two goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored three times in the third period to beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Thursday night.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's lead investigative agency is seeking $2 million in contracts with outside labs to process 1,000 rape kits it says need to be tested before the end of June.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a former Tennessee state senator who pleaded guilty last month to violating federal campaign finance laws.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Health officials say seven Tennessee counties will receive a total of $1.8 million for projects to improve mental and physical health in distressed and underserved communities.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's attorney general says the state will get $13 million from a nearly $440 million settlement with electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs spread among 33 states and Puerto Rico.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump were in court Friday for sealed arguments as part of the ongoing investigation into the presence of classified information at the former president's Florida estate.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators and Honda Motor Co. are urging drivers once again to make sure their vehicles haven't been recalled after another person was killed by an exploding Takata air bag.
DETROIT (AP) — Workers at a General Motors joint venture electric vehicle battery factory in Ohio have voted to join the United Auto Workers union.
TRANSPORTATION
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are pushing ahead with an expansion of their partnership in the Northeast, even as a federal judge considers the government's attempt to kill the deal.
TECHNOLOGY
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said Friday that K-Pop star T.O.P. will be among the eight people who will join him on a flyby around the moon on a SpaceX spaceship next year.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched internet satellites for a competitor Thursday, stepping in to help after the London-based OneWeb company halted its flights with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
ENVIRONMENT
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise Thursday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street after a report showed inflation is slowing, though not by as much as hoped. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% Friday, marking its first losing week in the last three. The weakness came after the U.S. government reported that prices at the wholesale level were 7.4% higher in November than a year earlier. That's a slowdown from October but worse than economists expected. High inflation, along with the Federal Reserve's economy-crunching response to it, have been the main reasons for the stock market's painful tumble this year. Treasury yields rose.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Trade Organization has rejected the 2018 import taxes that then-President Donald Trump imposed on foreign steel and aluminum, saying they violated global trade rules.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Production of oranges in Florida this season is forecast to be down 36% from earlier estimates, in part a reflection of twin hurricanes that battered growing regions, according to U.S. Agriculture Department figures released Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices in the United States rose 7.4% in November from a year earlier, a fifth straight slowdown and a hopeful sign that inflation pressures across the economy are continuing to cool.
The former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX said in a tweet Friday that he is willing to testify to Congress next week, but that he will be limited in what he can say and that he "won't be as helpful" as he'd like to be.
LONDON (AP) — Britain announced plans Friday to ease banking rules brought in after the 2008 global financial crisis in a bid to attract investment and secure London's status as Europe's leading finance center.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Taliban drug lord convicted in a vast heroin trafficking conspiracy. A Russian pilot imprisoned for a scheme to distribute cocaine across the world. And a Russian arms dealer so infamous that he earned the nickname "Merchant of Death."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep.-elect Maxwell Frost of Florida, the first member of Generation Z elected to Congress, says he is struggling to get an apartment in Washington and lost an application fee because his credit is "really bad."
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to announce at next week's U.S.-Africa summit that his administration supports adding the African Union as a permanent member of the Group of 20 nations, according to the White House.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is accusing Russia of moving to provide advanced military assistance to Iran, including air defense systems, helicopters and fighter jets, part of deepening cooperation between the two nations as Tehran provides drones to support Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin was on the Senate floor, but her mind was on the other side of the Capitol.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House gave final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition that reflects a stark turnaround in societal attitudes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday she has registered as an independent, a renegade move that could bolster her political brand but won't upend the Democrats' narrow Senate majority. She says she will not caucus with Republicans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's switch from Democrat to independent won't change the balance of power in the Senate. But it could affect her political fortunes back home.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken's surprise announcement last July lacked any detail, but its meaning was crystal clear.
UKRAINE
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ukraine's finance minister says crucial Western financial support is "not charity" but "self-preservation" in the fight to defend democracy as his country deals with growing costs to repair electrical and heating infrastructure wrecked by Russian attacks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending an additional $275 million in military aid to Ukraine, including large amounts of ammunition and high-tech systems that can be used to detect and counter drones in its ongoing war with Russia, according to U.S. officials.its ongoing war with Russia, according to U.S. officials.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk left coach Mike Vrabel to explain her decision to fire the team's general manager during one of the best stretches in franchise history.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee senior center Tamari Key will miss the rest of this season because of blood clots in her lungs, coach Kellie Harper said Thursday.
STATEWIDE
Gov. Bill Lee has picked Brigadier General Warner A. Ross II to lead the Tennessee National Guard.
WEST TENNESSEE
MEMPHIS (AP) — Tanita Hilliard made a wish the night a shooter livestreamed himself driving around Memphis, firing at people: "I hope it isn't one of my babies."
EAST TENNESSEE
GATLINBURG (AP) — Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials say they have finished a plan that establishes rules for touring the park by air.
COURTS
ATLANTA (AP) — Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was at a downtown Atlanta courthouse Thursday to testify before a special grand jury that's investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's attorney general on Wednesday sued Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, claiming the video-sharing platform misleads its users, particularly children, about the level of inappropriate content and security of consumer information.
WASHINGTON (AP) — At least two items marked as classified were found in a storage unit in West Palm Beach, Florida, after lawyers for former President Donald Trump arranged for a firm to search for additional classified material, according to a published report Wednesday. The items were provided to the FBI.
BERLIN (AP) — The former chief executive of financial services company Wirecard and two other ex-managers went on trial Thursday over the firm's collapse in what has been described as the biggest case of fraud in post-war Germany.
ENERGY
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The first-ever U.S. auction of leases to develop commercial-scale floating wind farms in the deep waters off the West Coast attracted $757 million in winning bids Wednesday from mostly European companies, in a project watched by other regions and countries just getting their own plans for floating offshore wind started.
AUTO INDUSTRY
ATLANTA (AP) — Hyundai Motor Group and a South Korean battery maker say they will jointly invest $4 billion to $5 billion in Georgia to build a new plant northwest of Atlanta that would supply electric batteries for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles assembled in the United States.
TECHNOLOGY
BOSTON (AP) — As part of an ongoing privacy push, Apple said Wednesday it will now offer full end-to-encryption for nearly all the data its users store in its global cloud-based storage system. That will make it more difficult for hackers, spies and law enforcement agencies to access sensitive user information.
MEDIA
Two women who lost their jobs at Twitter when billionaire Elon Musk took over are suing the company in federal court, claiming that last month's abrupt mass layoffs disproportionately affected female employees.
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Microsoft's planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying it could suppress competitors to Microsoft's Xbox game console and its growing games subscription business.
LONDON (AP) — Google has to delete search results about people in Europe if they can prove that the information is clearly wrong, the European Union's top court said Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet is urging Georgia officials to deny permits for a proposed mine near the edge of the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge, saying the plan poses "unacceptable risk" to the swamp's fragile ecology.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Technology companies helped lift stocks Thursday, ending a five-day losing streak for the S&P 500, though the major indexes remain on pace for a weekly loss.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly more Americans filed for jobless claims last week but the labor market remains one of strongest parts of the U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday announced the infusion of nearly $36 billion to shore up a financially troubled union pension plan, preventing severe cuts to the retirement incomes of about 350,000 Teamster workers and retirees across the United States.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon will share in the Pentagon's $9 billion contract to build its cloud computing network, a year after accusations of politicization over the previously announced contract and a protracted legal battle resulted in the military starting over in its award process.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday helped mark a milestone in U.S. history when she held up a newly minted $5 bill signed for the first time ever by two women.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House gave final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition that reflects a stark turnaround in societal attitudes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on Thursday as lawmakers scratch off one of the final items on their yearly to-do list.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Chuck Schumer was unanimously elected Thursday for another term as Senate Democratic leader, helming a bolstered 51-seat majority for a new era of divided government in Congress but intent on "getting things done" for the country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange, as the U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. But the U.S. failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off his party's better-than-anticipated performance in the midterm elections, President Joe Biden is facing consistent but critical assessments of his leadership and the national economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris needed to get to the U.S. Senate to break a tie. But first she had to avoid causing a traffic jam.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called again Wednesday for a ban on so-called assault weapons as he spoke at a vigil honoring victims of gun violence, an event taking place nearly 10 years since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that spurred a new generation of advocacy for tougher firearms restrictions.