VOL. 46 | NO. 6 | Friday, February 11, 2022
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped last week to their highest level in more than two years, potentially bumping some homebuyers out of the market with Americans getting squeezed by higher costs for just about everything.
TENNESSEE TITANS
And, no, Aaron Rodgers isn’t the answer
The offseason has already begun for the Tennessee Titans, and with it comes plenty of questions that must be answered in the coming months.
No one expected the Cincinnati Bengals to be in the Super Bowl this year. Heck, very few expected them to even make the playoffs. Vegas had them open at 200:1 to reach Super Bowl LVI.
There are a few players with Tennessee ties who will suit up in Super Bowl LVI for the Bengals and Rams.
NEWSMAKERS
Doug Sloan, Jon Cooper and Quan Poole have joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP’s Nashville office. The three attorneys join Waller with nearly 45 years of combined experience in legal and leadership roles in the government of Nashville and Davidson County.
BRIEFS
The Summer Summit of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials will be held July 21-25 in Nashville, with hundreds of local elected officials from around the country in attendance.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Ford’s F-150 has been the bestselling truck in America for more than four decades and it will likely continue that trend in 2022. But there’s another full-size truck that’s also garnering a lot of attention, the 2022 Toyota Tundra.
CAREER CORNER
Over the course of my career, I’ve had the privilege of being both a full-time salaried employee and a self-employed business owner. There are pros and cons that come with each.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Social media is where you watch cooking videos, gaze at photos of dreamy travel destinations and doomscroll through endless news headlines. Now, sites like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter could also be where debt collectors slide into your DMs.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals, including his 30th of the season, to lead the Washington Capitals in their 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Help wanted: Well-respected liberal jurist. Black. Female. Seniors need not apply.
BANKING
NEW YORK (AP) — A former top banker at Goldman Sachs testified Wednesday that he and other corrupt executives at the firm built a "house of cards" that was doomed to fall to try to conceal an audacious scheme to ransack a Malaysian state investment fund.
ENVIRONMENT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Oil refineries, utilities and other companies that must pay to emit greenhouse gases in California have saved up so many credits allowing them to pollute that it may jeopardize the state's ability to reach its ambitious climate goals, according to a report by a panel that advises state officials.
TRANSPORTATION
With a surge in guns being discovered at airport checkpoints, some security experts are suggesting higher fines and even putting violators on a no-fly list to prevent firearms from getting on planes.
Federal safety regulators say they will retain power to approve Boeing 787 airliners for flight rather than return that authority to the aircraft maker, which hasn't been able to deliver any new Dreamliner planes since last May because of production flaws.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in two years for many people, the American workplace is transforming into something that resembles pre-pandemic days.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's leaders on Wednesday announced plans to end most of the country's coronavirus restrictions by March 20, a decision that coincided with moves by neighboring Austria and Switzerland to drop many of their curbs sooner.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is telling Congress that it needs an additional $30 billion to press ahead with the fight against COVID-19, officials said.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant.
HONG KONG (AP) — Hospitals in Hong Kong were struggling Wednesday to keep up with an influx of new coronavirus patients amid record numbers of new infections as the city doggedly adheres to its "zero-COVID" strategy, and China's leader Xi Jinping said the local government's "overriding task" was to control the situation.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policymakers concluded last month that they would accelerate their tightening of credit if inflation failed to slow in the coming months.
Stocks shook off an early slump and ended mixed on Wall Street Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed policymakers still leaning toward moving decisively to fight inflation.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fueled by pay gains, solid hiring and enhanced savings, Americans sharply ramped up their spending at retail stores last month in a sign that many consumers remain unfazed by rising inflation.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is contemplating sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine — and the work is far from simple.
Airbnb reported a $55 million profit for the fourth quarter, reversing a huge loss a year earlier, as its revenue soared above pre-pandemic levels.
LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the United Kingdom has risen at the fastest rate in almost 30 years as increased costs for energy, housing and transportation squeezed household budgets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has accused China of failing to meet its commitments to the World Trade Organization and says it is exploring new ways to combat aggressive Chinese trade practices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tobacco giant Altria said Tuesday that an administrative law judge has dismissed a federal lawsuit alleging the company's partnership with e-cigarette maker Juul Labs amounted to an anticompetitive agreement that hurt consumers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is replacing a top science adviser who resigned under a cloud with two individuals who will split his duties on an interim basis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ordering the release of Trump White House visitor logs to the House committee investigating the riot of Jan. 6, 2021, once more rejecting former President Donald Trump's claims of executive privilege.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian invasion of Ukraine would be devastating, and a wider European war even worse. Whether a larger war happens would depend partly on President Vladimir Putin's ambitions, partly on the West's military response, and partly on plain luck.
Newer strains of far-right movements fueled by conspiracy theories, misogyny and anti-vaccine proponents contributed to a modest rise in killings by domestic extremists in the United States last year, according to a report released Tuesday by a Jewish civil rights group.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest filing from special counsel John Durham in his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe has been seized on by the conservative media and Donald Trump himself as vindication of the former president's oft-repeated claims that he was "spied" on.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders want to re-engage with African nations and counter the growing influence from China and Russia across the continent during a two-day summit in Brussels.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection subpoenaed six more people Tuesday, including former Trump campaign members and state lawmakers, as it further expands its review into efforts to falsely declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 election in several swing states.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Black college students once marched downtown from the north Nashville neighborhood where Aaron Marble preaches, sitting at whites-only lunch counters to fight for civil rights. Soon, his historically Black community will fold into a mostly rural, white 14-county territory, and he'll likely have a Republican congressman.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers passed a ban Monday against instant runoff voting in elections, a move that seeks to end a long-running legal dispute between state election officials and the city of Memphis.
REGION
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farms that raise turkeys and chickens for meat and eggs are on high alert and taking steps to increase biosecurity, fearing a repeat of a widespread bird flu outbreak in 2015 that killed 50 million birds across 15 states and cost the federal government nearly $1 billion.
HICKMAN, Ky. (AP) — A case of avian influenza has been detected in a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Kentucky near the Tennessee border, according to a joint news release from the states' agriculture departments.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. has settled a decade-old class action lawsuit over the company's use of "cookies" in 2010 and 2011 that tracked people online even after they logged off the Facebook platform.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Lee Enterprises effort to repel a hostile takeover got a boost this week when a judge ruled the newspaper publisher could ignore two board nominations from the hedge fund Alden Global Capital .
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting announced Tuesday they have agreed to a $73 million settlement of a lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 20 first graders and six educators in 2012.
PERSONAL FINANCE
WASHINGTON (AP) — If there's one thing that pains everyone trying to reach the IRS at tax time, it's being stuck on endless hold.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Anyone who has ever been temporarily blinded by high-beam headlights from an oncoming car will be happy to hear this.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager to show benefits from his policies, President Joe Biden is overstating the number of electric vehicle charging stations that would be built with his infrastructure law and claiming a speedy shift to electric in the federal fleet that isn't so.
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated about 5 million shares of company stock worth roughly $5.7 billion to an unidentified charity in November, according to a regulatory filing.
ENVIRONMENT
NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press said Tuesday that it is assigning more than two dozen journalists across the world to cover climate issues, in the news organization's largest single expansion paid for through philanthropic grants.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — As telecom companies rev up the newest generation of mobile service, called 5G, they're shutting down old networks — a costly, years-in-the-works process that's now prompting calls for a delay because many products out there still rely on the old standard, 3G.
MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday accused a conservative financial news website with a significant American readership of amplifying Kremlin propaganda and alleged five media outlets targeting Ukrainians have taken direction from Russian spies.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
When nurse Julia Buffo was told by her Montana hospital that she had to be vaccinated against COVID-19, she responded by filling out paperwork declaring that the shots run afoul of her religious beliefs.
LONDON (AP) — If forced to choose, Novak Djokovic said he would skip the French Open and Wimbledon, foregoing the chance to overtake Rafael Nadal's record haul of 21 Grand Slams titles, rather than get vaccinated against COVID-19.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers Monday to quell the paralyzing protests by truckers and others angry over Canada's COVID-19 restrictions, outlining plans not only to tow away their rigs but to strike at their bank accounts and their livelihoods.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea reported its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a month Tuesday as U.S. health authorities advised Americans to avoid traveling to the country grappling with a fast-developing omicron surge.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks ended broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed signs that tensions might ease in Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation in the United States surged again last month, rising 9.7% from a year earlier in a sign that price pressures remain high at all levels of the economy.
The Defense Department on Tuesday released a report that says mergers and consolidation among its contractors pose risks to the U.S. economy and national security.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economy grew at an annual pace of 5.4% in October-December, boosted by improved consumer spending and exports, the government said Tuesday.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett's company placed a rare bet on a technology company late last year and it has already paid off in a big way.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee boycotted a vote Tuesday on President Joe Biden's five nominees to the Federal Reserve, delaying indefinitely the confirmation of Chair Jerome Powell to a second four-year term.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate narrowly confirmed President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday pushing past a thicket of political controversies that threatened to derail what was initially expected to be an easy confirmation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As president, Donald Trump never liked to leave a paper trail. He avoided email, admonished aides to stop taking notes during meetings and ripped up documents when he was finished with them.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Stopping short of legislation to impose sanctions on Russia, the U.S. Senate is considering a resolution in support of Ukraine as senators are eager to respond to Russian President Vladimir Vladimir Putin's aggression but deferential to the White House's strategy to avert a crisis in Europe.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid a steady drip of damaging headlines, pressure is building for Congress to pass legislation that would curtail lawmakers' ability to speculate on the stock market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — No, the word "Senate" is not Latin for "It's never easy." But sometimes it seems that way.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee has posted another round of positive state tax revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge said Monday he'll dismiss a libel lawsuit that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin filed against The New York Times, claiming the newspaper damaged her reputation with an editorial falsely linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who is recovering from a stroke in January, says he plans to be back at work in "just a few short weeks" to vote on President Joe Biden's forthcoming Supreme Court nominee.
MEMPHIS (AP) — A Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to a multi-million dollar fraud scheme targeting a federal program that gives money to rural schools for internet access, prosecutors in Tennessee said.
MEDIA
The Texas Attorney General is suing Facebook parent Meta, saying the company has unlawfully collected biometric data on Texans for commercial purposes, without their informed consent.
NEW YORK (AP) — On the field, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals played a nail biter during Super Bowl 56, with the Rams emerging victorious.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — As few as three major criminal groups are responsible for smuggling the vast majority of elephant ivory tusks out of Africa, according to a new study.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden is recommending a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to people over age 80 and those living in nursing homes or getting home care, authorities said Monday, adding it must be administered no earlier than four months after the previous shot.
WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing reopened late Sunday after protests against COVID-19 restrictions closed it for almost a week, while Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks closed lower on Wall Street Monday as the U.S. moved to close its embassy in Ukraine amid heightened geopolitical tensions over the thousands of Russian troops that have been amassing on the border.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A worsening inflation picture has touched off a range of opinions from the Federal Reserve's policymakers about just how fast they should raise interest rates beginning at their next meeting in March.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden came into office with a plan to fix inflation — just not the particular inflationary problem that the country now faces.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A prominent Democratic mayoral candidate in Louisville was shot at in his campaign office Monday but he was not struck, though a bullet grazed a piece of his clothing, police said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some airlines canceled flights to the Ukrainian capital and troops there unloaded fresh shipments of weapons from NATO members Sunday, as its president sought to project confidence in the face of U.S. warnings of possible invasion within days by a growing number of Russian forces.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even if a Russian invasion of Ukraine doesn't happen in the next few days, the crisis is reaching a critical inflection point with European stability and the future of East-West relations hanging in the balance.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four years after 17 people were gunned down at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, families and gun control advocates are pressing President Joe Biden to do more to address gun violence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trevor Noah, the host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, will be the featured entertainer for the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 30.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11
TENNESSEE TITANS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A four-time MVP, three Super Bowl players and the beginning of a brother act.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
MEMPHIS (AP) — Tommy Castro, Chris Cain and Tom Hambridge have earned the most nominations for this year's Blues Music Awards in Memphis.
Sting is selling his music catalog, including hits he made with the Police and as a solo artist, joining a chorus of stars who are cashing in with investors who see value in licensing their songs.
EAST TENNESSEE
ATHENS (AP) — Growing up in rural East Tennessee, James Cockrum hadn't given much thought to the possibility that one day he might find himself speaking about his Jewish heritage in front of a packed school board meeting.
WALLAND (AP) — Great Smoky Mountains National Park is using $31 million in Great American Outdoor Act funding to rehabilitate a portion of the Foothills Parkway, according to a news release from the park.
WEST TENNESSEE
The charitable sector should hope that billionaire Jared Isaacman keeps seeking new adventures.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three former executives of a Hawaii-based defense contractor have been indicted on charges of funneling more than $200,000 in illegal donations to aid the reelection campaign of Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden appears to be narrowing his list of candidates for the Supreme Court, saying he's looking at "about four people" as Democrats who met with him Thursday say he wants a "persuasive" nominee in the mold of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers have confirmed a Shelby County judge for an opening on the state Court of Criminal Appeals.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BUFFALO, W.Va. (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. announced Friday that it will further expand production of electric vehicle parts at plants in Jackson, Tennessee, and Buffalo, West Virginia, in a $90 million investment.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Traffic deaths decreased in Utah after the state enacted the strictest drunken driving laws in the nation five years ago, new research published Friday by a U.S. government agency shows.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency -- and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of '90s movies like "Austin Powers" and "The Cable Guy."
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Friday put the brakes on their push to speed Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to children under 5, creating major uncertainty about how soon the shots could become available.
As the omicron wave of the coronavirus subsides, several U.S. states including Nevada, New York and Illinois ended mask mandates this week for indoor settings, while others lifted requirements at schools. The White House says talks are underway about how and when to move the country out of the emergency phase of the pandemic, but in the meantime people are advised to keep following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending mask use in indoor settings in places with high transmission rates.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Constitutional Court has refused to temporarily block the implementation of a coronavirus vaccine mandate for care and health workers that is due to come into force in mid-March.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Health authorities in Denmark said Friday that they were considering "winding down" the country's coronavirus vaccination program in the spring and see no reason now to administer a booster dose to children or a fourth shot to anymore residents at risk of severe COVID-19.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks tumbled again Friday, and this time bond yields joined in the swoon as worries about an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine piled onto Wall Street's already heavy list of concerns about inflation and interest rates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Since the pandemic erupted two years ago, Forest Ramsey and his wife, Kelly, have held the line on prices at their gourmet chocolate shop in Louisville, Kentucky. Now, they're about to throw in the towel.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Without much fuss and even less public attention, the nation's egg producers are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar shift to cage-free eggs that is dramatically changing the lives of millions of hens in response to new laws and demands from restaurant chains.
WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border to end the 5-day-old blockade that has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production.
NEW YORK (AP) — Several conservative media figures in the U.S. have taken up the cause of Canadian truckers who have occupied parts of Ottawa and blocked border crossings to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday escalated its dire warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could take place within days, even as emergency diplomatic efforts continued. Adding to the sense of crisis, officials said Biden ordered another 3,000 U.S. troops to Poland.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Revelations that Donald Trump took government records with him to Mar-a-Lago are creating a political headache for the former president — and a potential legal one, too.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee said. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would disclose specifics about the data, the senators alleged the CIA had long hidden details about the program from the public and Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee is investigating whether former President Donald Trump violated the Presidential Records Act, after boxes of presidential records were discovered at his Florida estate and a news report surfaced of him destroying documents while in office.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an order Friday to free $7 billion in Afghan assets frozen in the U.S., splitting the money between humanitarian relief for poverty-stricken Afghanistan and a fund for Sept. 11 victims still seeking relief from the terror attacks that shocked America and killed thousands.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10
PREDATORS
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson tipped in shots from John Klingberg twice on the power play, Luke Glendening scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Wednesday night.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has picked his finance commissioner to become his top deputy.
MEMPHIS (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee asked federal emergency management officials on Wednesday to help assess whether counties affected by last week's icy winter storm can receive funds to assist with power restoration.
REGION
The largest public power company in the U.S. is launching a program to develop and fund new small modular nuclear reactors as part of its strategy to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
PIGEON FORGE(AP) — Dollywood and Kentucky Kingdom are offering a new program that will pay for tuition, books and other fees for workers who want to further their education, officials said.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday confirmed one of the top lawyers from the attorney general's office to the state Supreme Court, solidifying what will likely be a shift even further right for the court.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spent a recent flight aboard Air Force One reminiscing with lawmakers and aides about his start as a young lawyer in Delaware working as a public defender in the late 1960s.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A lawsuit over high health care bills filed on behalf of more than 3 million employers and people seeks as much as $1.2 billion from a large Northern California health systems in an antitrust class-action trial getting underway Thursday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly 579,000 vehicles in the U.S. because a "Boombox" function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians.
WASHINGTON (AP) — States are getting the go-ahead to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations that would place new or upgraded ones every 50 miles (80 kilometers) along interstate highways as part of the Biden administration's plan to spur widespread adoption of the zero-emission cars.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California sued Tesla Inc. on Wednesday over allegations of discrimination and harassment of Black employees at its San Francisco Bay area factory.
TORONTO (AP) — A blockade of the bridge between Canada and Detroit by protesters demanding an end to Canada's COVID-19 restrictions forced the shutdown Wednesday of a Ford plant and began to have broader implications for the North American auto industry.
MEDIA
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter's shares jumped in early trading Thursday after it posted strong revenue growth last year and announced a $4 billion share buyback program. That's despite losing money in 2021 and falling short of Wall Street's expectations for user growth in the final quarter of the year.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country star Chris Young combined his skills as an artist and a producer to earn seven nominations at the Academy of Country Music Awards, including album of the year and single of the year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Snoop Dogg has taken over a popular record label that launched his stellar career.
ENVIRONMENT
BELFORT, France (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to unveil France's plans to build new nuclear reactors as part of the country's strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
HEALTH CARE
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency on Thursday proposed changing — and in some instances, softening — guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trying to jump-start progress on his stalled domestic agenda by refocusing attention on one of his most popular proposals, limiting the cost of prescription drugs.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
Novavax announced Thursday that its COVID-19 vaccine proved safe and effective in a study of 12- to 17-year-olds.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing growing pressure to ease up on pandemic restrictions, the White House insisted Wednesday it is making plans for a less-disruptive phase of the national virus response. But impatient states, including Democratic New York, made clear they aren't waiting for Washington as public frustration grows.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slumped and bond yields moved sharply higher after a hot reading on inflation led to greater expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to move forcefully to cool down the economy by raising interest rates.
Even coming off its fastest annual growth in 37 years, the U.S. economy is still bogged down by a persistent shortage of the computer chips essential to the technology that connects, transports and entertains us.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation soared over the past year at its highest rate in four decades, hammering America's consumers, wiping out pay raises and reinforcing the Federal Reserve's decision to begin raising borrowing rates across the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year, it was a nasty surprise. And it wasn't supposed to last. But now, inflation has become an ongoing financial strain for millions of Americans filling up at the gas station, lined up at a grocery checkout lane, shopping for clothes, bargaining for a car or paying monthly rent.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits declined for the third straight week.
A theme-park comeback continued to boost Disney's results in the most recent quarter. The company also added more subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service than analysts expected.
LONDON (AP) — AstraZeneca recorded a big jump in revenue on Thursday as it begins to take a profit from its coronavirus vaccine for the first time.
Coca-Cola's revenue rose 10% to $9.5 billion in the fourth quarter as coffee shops, movie theaters and other venues continued to reopen.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is seeing its economic emergence from the unprecedented COVID-19 slowdown hampered by coronavirus-induced staff shortages, supply bottlenecks, runaway energy prices and subsequent inflation surges.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday approved a nearly $14 billion arms sale to Indonesia, as the U.S. presses ahead with steps it believes will help counter China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House call logs obtained so far by the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol do not list calls made by then-President Donald Trump as he watched the violence unfold on television, nor do they list calls made directly to the president, according to two people familiar with the probe.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One warm fall evening in 2001, police in Irving, Texas, received an alarming call from Herschel Walker's therapist. The football legend and current Republican Senate candidate in Georgia was "volatile," armed and scaring his estranged wife at the suburban Dallas home they no longer shared.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spent a recent flight aboard Air Force One reminiscing with lawmakers and aides about his start as a young lawyer in Delaware working as a public defender in the late 1960s.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a proposal Wednesday to reauthorize the 1990s-era law that extends protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence after it lapsed in 2019 because of Republican opposition.