VOL. 43 | NO. 13 | Friday, March 29, 2019
STATE GOVERNMENT
There’s an old saying that laws are like sausages and it’s better not to see them made. That may be so, but Tennessee legislators seem to be taking a little extra care this session.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
Spring break is over. It ended for Metro schools a couple of weeks ago, most of the private schools returned to the classrooms Monday and all the surrounding counties have their students back in school.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Purchasing a home just became a lot cheaper, thanks mostly to the Federal Reserve's decision to put its interest rate hikes on hold for now.
JIM MYERS: CULINARITY
In this current world of deep divides, I’m going to try to bridge the gap a little bit. I’m not getting into politics, but I will admit that this is a little bit of an “us and them” proposition.
NEWSMAKERS
Leadership Nashville has named local entrepreneur and civic leader Evette White as its next executive director. White will succeed Jerry Williams, who is retiring effective June 30 after 25 years of service.
BRIEFS
Brentwood-based Churchill Mortgage has announced a partnership with American Home Title to found a new firm, Churchill Title Solutions.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Chevrolet and Honda make popular small and large crossover SUVs but have long lacked a choice in the middle. Interestingly, both companies decided to fill that gap this year with new models that revive nameplates of the past: the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer and the 2019 Honda Passport.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Some people are much better savers than spenders. That can become a problem.
CAREER CORNER
If you’re like most people, there was a time when you were underqualified for a job. This is typically the case when you apply for your first job or when you make a big career change midstream.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
One of the most cost-effective strategies for driving web traffic and generating online leads is email marketing. For every $1 spent on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $32. Unfortunately, most small and midsized companies have an email database filled mostly with current clients, business partners and other friends of the firm.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Legislation backed by Tennessee Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett has been amended to provide for fines or misdemeanors only if voter registration groups violating the proposal's new restrictions pay their workers.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A proposal that would allow teachers and others in public schools to carry concealed firearms is receiving tepid support from Tennessee lawmakers.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo prosecutors arrested Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn on Thursday for a fourth time, on fresh allegations that cut short his brief time outside detention.
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge will hear oral arguments Thursday about whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk should be held in contempt of court for violating an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A sheriff's deputy of Davidson County, Tennessee, has been charged with assaulting a restrained inmate who hit him with a bag of laundry.
TECHNOLOGY
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's telecommunications carriers turned on super-fast 5G mobile internet networks abruptly ahead of schedule in an attempt to ensure the country becomes the first in the world to launch the services.
BERLIN (AP) — German chemicals company Bayer says it detected and averted a cyberattack last year by a hacking group that's been traced to China.
PARIS (AP) — Twitter said Thursday it has stopped blocking French government ads calling on people to vote after it came under fire from authorities for being overzealous in applying a law aimed at banning fake news.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's Parliament passed legislation on Thursday that could imprison social media executives if their platforms stream real violence such as the New Zealand mosque shootings.
TRANSPORTATION
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The pilots of a doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet followed all of Boeing's recommended procedures when the plane started to nose dive but still couldn't save it, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ethiopian government. The plane crashed just six minutes after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. corporations spent a record amount buying back their own shares last year, using 2017's tax-cut windfall to reward shareholders rather than to invest or expand their businesses.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level since late 1969, a sign that employers are holding onto their workers despite signs of a slowing economy.
We use Uber to go places, Slack to chat with co-workers and Pinterest to save our favorite ideas. Why not own a piece of these companies that increasingly dominate our daily lives?
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is raising the minimum hourly wage for its workers for the third time in less than two years.
NEW YORK (AP) — After its journey through bankruptcy, Sears is getting ready to open its first batch of smaller stores focusing on appliances, mattresses and home services.
LONDON (AP) — The British government and senior opposition figures were meeting Thursday in search of a new plan on how the country leaves the European Union, as Prime Minister Theresa May tried to stop her shift toward compromise from splitting her Conservative Party.
NATIONAL POLITICS
PARIS (AP) — Foreign and interior ministers from the Group of Seven countries are gathering in France this week to try to find ambitious solutions to world security challenges. Putting a dampener on that are two glaring American absences: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country star Brad Paisley took the controls of a backhoe to dig up the first pile of dirt in the space that will become a free grocery store to support needy families in Nashville.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Democrats are remaining mum on their involvement in the ousting of a Republican lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct from leading a legislative education panel.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A proposal to let Tennessee's four biggest cities decide whether to allow instant runoff voting in local nonpartisan contests is advancing.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee push to outlaw childlike sex dolls has advanced in the Legislature.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers have spiked a proposal that would ban shackling pregnant women in detention, particularly during childbirth.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill authorizing the Tennessee attorney general to defend a public school's transgender bathroom and locker room policy is advancing in the GOP-dominant Statehouse.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Keeping neglected and abused children in family settings and out of institutions is a goal of child welfare systems nationwide, but it's an area where Tennessee has been losing ground.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee guard Jordan Bone says he's entering the NBA draft, but he isn't ruling out the possibility of returning to school.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt freshman Simisola Shittu is entering the NBA draft.
PREDATORS
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne prefers the excitement of a tightly contested race for the Central Division title during the final week of the season.
SPORTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander walked off the Madison Square Garden court a winner in perhaps the biggest postseason win for the tiny school in program history.
NEW YORK (AP) — Garrison Mathews is the kind of player only the most die-hard basketball fans would know, his prolific scoring seldom on any sports highlight clips. With the college basketball spotlight blasted on Madison Square Garden, Mathews put the sport on notice and buried a shot in the clutch that sparked madness for tiny Lipscomb.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Automobile sales in the U.S. fell 2% in the first quarter, another sign the nation's economy is starting to slow.
TOKYO (AP) — Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, facing financial misconduct charges in Japan, says he will hold a news conference on April 11.
PARIS (AP) — Legal troubles are piling up for Carlos Ghosn after French carmaker Renault said Wednesday it had flagged to judicial authorities serious problems with his expenses during his time as chairman of the company.
ENVIRONMENT
Securities regulators will let Exxon Mobil block shareholders from voting on a proposal that the company disclose goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks recovered from a late-afternoon bout of selling on Wall Street to finish modestly higher Wednesday, giving the benchmark S&P 500 its fifth straight gain.
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business hiring weakened further in March, a sign that owners are becoming more anxious about forecasts for a slower economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is "fully behind" Stephen Moore, his choice to help lead the Federal Reserve, despite unflattering details that have come to light about Moore's personal life, a top White House official said Wednesday while also complaining about Washington's "toxic" environment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies added the fewest jobs in 18 months in March, a private survey found, suggesting employers may have grown more cautious as signs of slower economic growth have emerged.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service companies grew at a slower pace in March, as business activity and new orders slipped from strong levels in February.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Brexit drama entered a dramatic overtime period Wednesday, as Prime Minister Theresa May and the country's main opposition sought a compromise deal to prevent an abrupt British departure from the European Union at the end of next week.
DETROIT (AP) — Kibbles for Fido? Nope. These days he's getting diced chicken with sweet potatoes and spinach.
LONDON (AP) — A closely monitored survey shows that the 19-country eurozone ended the first quarter of the year on a sluggish but positive note, largely because a resilient performance by the services sector helped offset a downturn in manufacturing.
BANGKOK (AP) — Trade tensions between China and the United States are putting a drag on economies in the region, with growth likely to continue to slow in the coming two years, the Asian Development Bank says in a report released Wednesday.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's Senate GOP allies, frustrated by delays in confirming dozens of lower-profile nominees, are forcing through a rules change to cut back debate on most of his picks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the first address to Congress by a NATO head, Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday acknowledged serious divisions within the alliance and called for bigger defense budgets to cope with global challenges such as Russian assertiveness, the core reason NATO was created in Washington 70 years ago this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee approved subpoenas Wednesday for special counsel Robert Mueller's full Russia report as Democrats pressure the Justice Department to release the document without redactions.
A handful of Democratic presidential candidates are touting the amount of money they've raised in the first fundraising period of a 2020 primary fight that will last into next spring. The totals for the first quarter, which ran through March 31, are the first measure of how candidates are faring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — His border shutdown went from imminent to uncertain. A major health care push was declared and then delayed. Funding cuts were inserted in his proposed budget and just as quickly taken out.
TUESDAY, APRIL 2
EDUCATION
NASHVILLE (AP) — Citing health challenges, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos announced Tuesday he plans to resign on Aug. 15 after more than a decade in the role.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Groups that help register Tennessee voters could face fines or misdemeanors under new restrictions in a bill advancing through the Legislature.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday he's working to ensure his proposed $125 million school voucher program will be provided only to "legal residents" of Tennessee — a plan that some critics say could be illegal.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Senate has advanced a proposal to loosen state regulations surrounding African-style hair braiding.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers are working to become the latest state to ensure faith-based adoption agencies can refuse to place children with gay parents and other families because of their religious beliefs with facing any penalties.
STATEWIDE
NEW MARKET (AP) — Representatives for a social justice center that trained the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders said Tuesday that a white power symbol was spray painted near the site of a fire that destroyed a building there.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton and Old Dominion will perform at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Loretta Lynn was honored like country music royalty by country and rock stars alike with gifts of flowers and songs during a concert Monday night celebrating her upcoming 87th birthday.
PREDATORS
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson is returning to the lineup for the first time since he was suspended by the NHL more than two months ago for alcohol abuse.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned President Donald Trump to hold off action in Congress to replace the Affordable Care Act, telling him to instead take it on the road as a 2020 campaign issue.
NASHVILLE (AP) — At least 128,000 children in Tennessee have been cut from the state's low-income health insurance programs over the past two years.
AUTO INDUSTRY
HALFWEG, Netherlands (AP) — Ford warned Tuesday that it will reconsider its investments in Britain if the country cannot work out a deal to leave the European Union that guarantees smooth trading with the bloc.
PARIS (AP) — French carmaker Renault's board will hold a special meeting to discuss recent results of its internal investigation of its former boss Carlos Ghosn, amid reports of suspicious payments under his watch.
TOKYO (AP) — The lawyer for the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn says his client would not get a fair trial under the same judge as the Japanese automaker, which is a co-defendant in a financial misconduct case.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration viewed one drug-producing company as the "kingpin within a drug cartel," according to a Tennessee lawsuit over the opioid epidemic.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Michael Avenatti is insistent that "justice will be done" after facing fraud charges Monday in federal court in California, a week after the attorney famous for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in legal battles against President Donald Trump was arrested in New York.
TRANSPORTATION
Boeing and U.S. aviation regulators say the company needs more time to finish changes in a flight-control system suspected of playing a role in two deadly crashes.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — News industry leaders are fighting back against the charge by President Donald Trump and his supporters that the administration's summation of special counsel Robert Mueller's report proved that journalists were "so wrong for so long" in their coverage of the Russia investigation.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shook off an early slump and wound up little changed on Wall Street as gains for some big tech companies were offset by losses in other sectors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund said Tuesday the global economy is at a "delicate moment" with a hoped-for rebound in growth later this year being threatened by a variety of factors such as rising trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell 1.6% in February, the biggest drop in four months, reflecting a plunge in the volatile commercial aircraft category. Demand in a key sector used to track business investment decisions also declined in February.
GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization has cut its forecast for trade growth this year by more than a percentage point, to 2.6%, due to an economic slowdown and amid a trade conflict between the United States and China.
LONDON (AP) — With Britain racing toward a chaotic exit from the European Union within days, Prime Minister Theresa May veered away from the cliff-edge Tuesday, saying Britain would seek a further delay to Brexit as its politicians sought a compromise solution to the crisis.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he's taking a wait-and-see approach on his threat to close the southern border as soon as this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As former Vice President Joe Biden's camp scrambles to contain any political damage over his past behavior with women, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has some words of advice: Keep your distance.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A career official in the White House security office says dozens of people in President Donald Trump's administration were granted security clearances despite "disqualifying issues" in their backgrounds, including concerns about foreign influence, drug use and criminal conduct.
MONDAY, APRIL 1
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Rockabilly Hall of Famer Billy Adams, who wrote and recorded the rockabilly staple "Rock, Pretty Mama," has died. He was 79.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Monday that she's encouraged by Tennessee's latest push to expand school vouchers throughout the state, adding that she's cheering on lawmakers to make the right choice.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says the state has a duty to protect the environment, but held off from agreeing humans are the reason behind climate change.
NASHVILLE AREA
Belmont University men's basketball head coach Rick Byrd has announced his retirement after 33 years with the program.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The leader of a Nashville organizing group for this month's NFL draft has apologized about initial plans to cut 21 ornamental cherry trees to make room for the event, which caused an uproar before it was modified.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in on whether a Georgia city's practice of jailing people accused of low-level crimes who can't afford to pay bail is constitutional.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A week after Michael Avenatti's shocking arrest in New York, the attorney famous for representing porn star Stormy Daniels in legal battles against President Donald Trump will be back in federal court Monday to face fraud charges in California.
TRANSPORTATION
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer wants Boeing to be removed from a Federal Aviation Administration rulemaking committee as investigations deepen into both the company and regulator's role in two deadline airline crashes.
AUTO INDUSTRY
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — In a symbolic first, electric cars outsold fossil fuel-powered ones in Norway last month.
LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Attorneys for General Motors have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the automaker sidestepped an agreement with union workers through its plans to idle three plants, including one in Ohio.
ENVIRONMENT
MILAN (AP) — A 26-foot sperm whale was found dead off Sardinia with 48.5 pounds of plastic in its belly, prompting the World Wildlife Foundation to sound an alarm Monday over the dangers of plastic waste in the Mediterranean Sea.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks closed solidly higher on Wall Street Monday after a batch of encouraging global economic data kept investors in a buying mood.
NEW YORK (AP) — Lyft's shares have slumped almost 12% in their first full day of trading following the ride-hailing company's initial public offering of stock.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending rose a solid 1 percent in February, led by a strong gain in spending on government projects, which hit an all-time high.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturers grew at a faster pace in March, as the pace of employment jumped and new orders and production improved.
LONDON (AP) — Discount airline easyJet warned Monday that the U.K.'s pending withdrawal from the European Union is causing travelers to hold back on booking tickets amid doubts over what Britain's future relations with the bloc will be.
LONDON (AP) — A leading credit ratings agency has reiterated the array of economic difficulties it foresees Britain encountering if the country crashes out of the European Union without an exit deal.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales fell in February, as consumers pulled back their spending on building materials, groceries, furniture, electronics and clothing amid signs of a slowing economy.
LONDON (AP) — The eurozone economy received a double dose of bad news Monday as inflation fell further away from the European Central Bank's target and a closely monitored survey showed the crucial manufacturing sector shrinking at its fastest rate in six years.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Aramco's net profits reached $111 billion last year, according to an assessment published Monday by Moody's Investors Services that offered a rare glimpse into the state-owned oil firm's finances before it issues its first bonds in international markets.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Parliament sought a way out of the country's Brexit morass on Monday, voting on a series of measures that could soften or reverse the U.K.'s departure from the European Union — if a majority of lawmakers can agree.
LONDON (AP) — Britain is running out of time and options for Brexit.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is considering bringing on a "border" or "immigration czar" to coordinate the president's immigration policies across various federal agencies, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One year out from the start of the 2020 census, Census Bureau officials set out Monday to demonstrate the importance of the head count for all Americans. President Donald Trump offered a different message, saying the count will be "meaningless" if it doesn't include a citizenship question.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee will prepare subpoenas this week seeking special counsel Robert Mueller's full Russia report as the Justice Department appears likely to miss an April 2 deadline set by Democrats for the report's release.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at where investigations related to President Donald Trump stand and what may lie ahead for him:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking his interpretation of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation well beyond the facts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barbara Bush didn't bite her tongue in recent years when it came to Donald Trump: She just didn't like him. But a new biography of the former first lady finds that her disdain for the Republican president, who transformed the party her own family had embodied for generations into his likeness, dates as least as far back as a 1990s diary entry.
FRIDAY, MARCH 29
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — At 5 a.m. on a cold Sunday morning in Nashville, Tennessee, filmmaker Ken Burns climbed aboard a spacious, rumbling tour bus that that would become his home on wheels for the next four days, as well as a rolling advertisement for his upcoming PBS documentary "Country Music."
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville election panel has given approval to buy voting machines that create a paper trail of votes.
STATEWIDE
MADISONVILLE (AP) — Officials at a private Tennessee college have voted to close the school at the end of its spring semester.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee official say 80 of the state's 95 counties have an unemployment rate less than 5 percent.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee plans to sign a bill that would ban local governments from regulating certain plastic bags and utensils.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is continuing to seek work requirements for Medicaid recipients despite a recent federal court ruling blocking such rules from being enforced in two other states.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct has stepped down as chairman of an education subcommittee after facing months of protests from victim advocates calling for his resignation.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's push to repeal an amusement tax on gym memberships is awaiting his signature to become law.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers are sending Republican Gov. Bill Lee a bill that would ban local governments from regulating certain plastic bags and utensils.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A watered-down Tennessee bill spelling out that the state's public indecency law applies to bathrooms and changing rooms for single-sex, multi-person use is heading toward floor votes.
UT SPORTS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Down two to Tennessee with 2.7 seconds left, Purdue narrowly avoided a 5-second call before Carsen Edwards took a pass in the corner and heaved up a 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans signed contracts to purchase homes in February after a big gain the previous month.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Prosecutors say a Tennessee nurse made multiple mistakes before fatally injecting a patient with the wrong drug.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won't stop the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on bump stock devices, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York on Thursday sued the billionaire family behind the company that created OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments alleging the drugmaker sparked the nation's opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new U.S. homes climbed 4.9 percent in February, an indication that falling mortgage rates have given a boost to demand from buyers.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — German automaker Daimler and China's Geely, its largest single shareholder, said Thursday that they are setting up a joint venture to develop and operate Daimler's Smart compact car brand worldwide as an all-electric car.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has struck down a small-business health insurance plan widely touted by President Donald Trump, the second setback in a week for the administration's health care initiatives.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Republicans will be "the party of health care." So far there's no real plan behind that promise.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks finished broadly higher on Friday as Wall Street closed out the first quarter with the market's biggest gain in nearly a decade.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Trump administration official on Friday called on the Federal Reserve to cut its key interest rate by a half-percentage point.
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The head of the Small Business Administration, Linda McMahon, is stepping down from the role and will help President Donald Trump's re-election effort, he said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's latest pick to help lead the Federal Reserve has received a rocky reception — with top economists raising several red flags about whether Stephen Moore is qualified to be a governor of the world's most influential central bank.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer spending edged up a tiny 0.1 percent in January, while incomes advanced a modest 0.2 percent in February, further evidence that economic activity may have decelerated after strong growth for most of last year.
LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers on Friday rejected the government's Brexit deal for a third time, leaving the U.K. facing the stark prospect of a chaotic departure from the European Union in just two weeks, with political leaders in turmoil and the country ill-prepared for the shock.
LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal is all but dead, after lawmakers voted to reject it for a third time Friday — the day Britain had long been scheduled to leave the European Union.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lyft's shares soared as the company went public Friday, giving investors their first chance to bet on the future of the ride-hailing industry.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese and U.S. negotiators adjourned trade talks in Beijing on Friday with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying they had been "constructive."
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street as bond yields rose off their recent lows, easing concerns about a troubling drop in long-term yields over the past week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter last year to an annual rate of just 2.2 percent. There are concerns that growth has slowed even more in the first quarter this year as global weakness, fading government stimulus and rising trade tensions take a toll on the economy.
NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government charged Facebook with high-tech housing discrimination Thursday for allegedly misusing its vaunted ability to deliver ads with surgical precision to certain groups of people and not others.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft have redefined what we expect from transportation, hooking customers on the immediacy of on-demand rides with a few clicks on a smartphone.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — An all-time high of 84 percent of Americans believe women are just as suited emotionally for politics as men, according to a new survey that comes as the largest-ever field of women are running for president and with a record number serving in Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to close the nation's southern border, or large sections of it, next week if Mexico does not halt illegal immigration at once.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats intensified their demands for Robert Mueller's full report after learning the special counsel's findings from his Trump-Russia investigation run to more than 300 pages, while President Donald Trump boasted of total exoneration based on a four-page summary by his attorney general.
LONDON (AP) — Facebook said Friday it is further tightening requirements for European Union political advertising, in its latest efforts to prevent foreign interference and increase transparency ahead of the bloc's parliamentary elections.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rallying in Michigan, President Donald Trump bragged about a surging auto industry that isn't surging, a Republican rescue for health care that has yet to take shape, a "total" exoneration in the Russia investigation that was not offered.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has approved six applications for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told lawmakers Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a GOP budget plan that would curb federal benefit programs by $551 billion over the next five years and rejects President Donald Trump's plan to use budget tricks to pad the Pentagon budget.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation report is more than 300 pages long.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ex-oil and gas lobbyist nominated to head the Interior Department faced tough questioning Thursday from Senate Democrats about whether he suppressed staff warnings about the impact of agency decision-making on endangered species.
NEW YORK (AP) — The end of the special counsel's investigation sparked fresh speculation that President Donald Trump might pardon some of those charged in the probe. It's also spawned a don't-go-there chorus from some of Trump's closest advisers and GOP allies.