VOL. 45 | NO. 17 | Friday, April 23, 2021
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
Timing is everything, as Tennessee legislators learned recently. They might also have felt chastened, if they possessed that capacity, which they do not.
NEWSMAKERS
Ascension Saint Thomas has concluded a national search with the selection of Shubhada Jagasia, M.D., MMHC, as president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Midtown and West campuses, effective May 1.
BRIEFS
The American Bar Association Health Law Section has ranked Stites & Harbison, PLLC sixth in its eighth annual Regional Law Firm Recognition List for the South region for 2020.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
New vehicles are brimming with technology that can enhance convenience, connectivity and driver safety. But the tech can also be unfamiliar to car shoppers, especially those who haven’t purchased a vehicle in the past five years or more. This poses a problem when it comes to the traditional test drive.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Pandemic-related job losses forced many older Americans out of the workplace in the past year, perhaps permanently. But the COVID-19 crisis also seems to have delayed some retirements.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Cannabis businesses have transformed from clandestine ventures to glossy lifestyle brands in a matter of years, thanks to an evolving regulatory and business landscape.
CAREER CORNER
The numbers are staggering: Several recent surveys are showing that 35% and 65% of all employees plan to find a new job soon.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A wild third-period comeback sent the Panthers back to the playoffs.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Dr. Michael Cackovic has treated his share of pregnant women. So when Republican lawmakers across the U.S. began passing bans on abortion at what they term "the first detectable fetal heartbeat," he was exasperated.
COURTS
The U.S. government will pay nearly $44 million to settle an age-discrimination case filed 16 years ago on behalf of hundreds of workers who missed out on federal pensions after their jobs were outsourced.
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal agents on Wednesday raided Rudy Giuliani's Manhattan home and office, seizing computers and cell phones in a major escalation of the Justice Department's investigation into the business dealings of former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee man arrested over a social media post sued law enforcement officers Tuesday, claiming they violated his First Amendment rights, the Tennessean reported.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A wary Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed whether public schools can discipline students for things they say off campus, worrying about overly restricting speech on the one hand and leaving educators powerless to deal with bullying on the other.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ketanji Brown Jackson is heading to Capitol Hill for an audition of sorts. Lawmakers will be grilling her about her nomination to become a federal appeals court judge. But if the hearing goes well, the 50-year-old could someday get a callback for an even bigger role: Supreme Court justice.
TOKYO (AP) — The trial of two Americans accused of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan while out on bail will open on June 14, the Tokyo District Court said Wednesday.
REAL ESTATE
The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday announced a new refinance option for certain low-income borrowers, helping them take advantage of low interest rates and save money each month.
TOURISM
GATLINBURG (AP) — Great Smoky Mountains National Park has announced June 1-8 as the dates for its annual synchronous firefly viewing opportunity.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are moving to reinstate regulations designed to limit potent greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields, part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to combat climate change.
TECHNOLOGY
Missing out on Thin Mints in the pandemic? A Google affiliate is using drones to deliver Girl Scout cookies to people's doorsteps in a Virginia community.
RELIGION
When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they'll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don't receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
A new mass fundraising campaign aims to inspire 50 million people around the world to make small donations to Covax, the international effort to push for equitable global distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes ended slightly lower on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged near zero, even as it noted recent improvement in the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is keeping its ultra-low interest rate policies in place, a sign that it wants to see more evidence of a strengthening economic recovery before it would consider easing its support.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Below is the statement the Fed released Wednesday after its policy meeting ended:
NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government said Tuesday it is making more than $8 billion available to build and improve the nation's transmission lines as part of its efforts to improve America's aging electric grid and meet President Joe Biden's ambitious clean-energy goals.
Boeing Co. reported a wider than expected first-quarter loss on Wednesday, although revenue met Wall Street forecasts as the company generated cash by delivering more new airliners than it did a year ago.
BEIJING (AP) — China suspended some import taxes on steel Wednesday as part of a multiyear campaign to use market pressures to force Chinese producers to shrink and become more energy efficient and profitable.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders, their British counterparts and European businesses expressed hope Wednesday that the final ratification of the post-Brexit trade deal will open a new, positive era of cooperation despite the many divisive topics remaining between the former partners.
BEIJING (AP) — Embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei said Wednesday first-quarter revenue fell after it sold its lower-priced Honor smartphone brand, but profitability improved.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Deutsche Bank saw its strongest quarterly profits in seven years as the bank's long-running restructuring achieved lower costs and as the bank suffered fewer loan losses in an economy that is rebounding from the worst of the pandemic recession.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
NEW YORK (AP) — After massive U.S. government spending helped send the stock market back to record heights, with even more potentially on the way, the bill may be coming due for the nation's wealthiest investors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Marking his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden will use his first joint address to Congress to pitch a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform the role government plays in American life.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration wants to make a $1.8 trillion down payment on the future of children, families and higher education, saying it would produce lasting benefits for the economy. Paying for it would be $1.5 trillion of tax hikes over the next decade on the wealthiest households.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is putting the finishing touches on his first address to a joint session of Congress, a prime-time speech on Wednesday night on the eve of his 100th day in office. Biden will use the speech before lawmakers and a broader viewing audience to talk about what he's accomplished in the opening months of his presidency and to lay out his other domestic and foreign policy priorities.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden named Kamala Harris as his running mate, there were whispers about her ambition — would a former rival be a loyal soldier to a president she so sharply criticized on the campaign trail?
WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of immigration advocacy groups is launching a $50 million effort aimed at defending President Joe Biden on immigration and pressuring lawmakers from both parties to pass a pathway to citizenship.
TUESDAY, APRIL 27
NASHVILLE AREA
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball would consider expansion fees in the range of $2.2 billion for new franchises, though there are no current plans to add teams.
UT SPORTS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — West Virginia and Tennessee will meet in their 2028 season opener in Charlotte, North Carolina.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Juuse Saros is developing into the goaltender that Nashville, and the young Finn is doing his best to carry the Predators into the playoffs.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declared Tuesday that COVID-19 is no longer a statewide public health crisis, saying he is removing the option for most local governments to mandate masks in public and urging a few big counties with restrictions like mask requirements to remove them on their own by Memorial Day.
Five states have passed laws or implemented executive orders this year limiting the ability of transgender youths to play sports or receive certain medical treatment. There's been a vehement outcry from supporters of transgender rights – but little in the way of tangible repercussions for those states.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers on Monday passed legislation designed to prevent death row inmates with an intellectual disability from being executed.
MIDSTATE
FRANKLIN (AP) — The CEO of a Tennessee telemedicine company has been fired after being captured on video making disparaging remarks to a male high school student in a prom dress.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Six people have applied for a vacant circuit court judgeship in Tennessee.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in February at the fastest pace in nearly seven years as strong demand for housing collided with a tight supply of homes on the market.
A new generation of startups wants to disrupt the way houses are built by automating production with industrial 3D printers.
TRANSPORTATION
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that it is seeking fines of up to $31,750 for three more passengers who allegedly disrupted flights by disobeying or interfering with flight attendants.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans will have more time to get the Real ID that they will need to board a flight or enter federal facilities.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Saying that it wants to control the key technology for electric vehicles, Ford plans to open a battery development center near Detroit by the end of next year.
DETROIT (AP) — The trade association representing most major automakers is offering guidelines for manufacturers to advertise partially automated driving systems and to make sure drivers are paying attention while using them.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. has acquired the self-driving division of American ride-hailing company Lyft for $550 million, in a move that highlights the Japanese automaker's ambitions in that technology.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spent his first 100 days in office encouraging Americans to mask up and stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. His task for the next 100 days will be to lay out the path back to normal.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes ended a wobbly day mixed on Wall Street, keeping the S&P 500 near the record high it set a day earlier.
MADRID, Iowa (AP) — In 43 years of farming, Morey Hill had seen crop-destroying weather, rock-bottom prices, trade fights and surges in government aid, but not until last year had he endured it all in one season.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer confidence rose sharply for a second straight month, hitting the highest level since the pandemic began, as the rapid rollout of vaccines and another round of U.S. financial support for Americans boosts optimism.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. population growth has slowed to the lowest rate since the Great Depression, the Census Bureau said, as Americans continued their march to the South and West and one-time engines of growth, New York and California, lost political influence.
The first batch of once-every-decade data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a United States that is growing less quickly but still seeing its population shift to the South and the West.
DoorDash is launching lower-priced delivery options for U.S. restaurants, responding to criticism that the commissions it charges are too high for the beleaguered industry.
NEW YORK (AP) — Small businesses in the U.S. fueled demand for delivery, helping UPS post better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter of the year.
LONDON (AP) — BP said Tuesday that it would be returning around a half-billion dollars to shareholders after "significantly" higher oil prices contributed to a big rise in profits and a reduction in debt levels.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany is raising its economic growth forecast for the year on the expectation of the gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions and an anticipated rise in domestic spending, the economy minister said Tuesday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
More than 400 companies – including Tesla, Pfizer, Delta Air Lines and Amazon – have signed on to support civil rights legislation for LGBTQ people that is moving through Congress, advocates said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors, providing a pay bump to hundreds of thousands of workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Can lawmakers all just listen to the president — even for one night?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of President Joe Biden's address to Congress on Wednesday, lawmakers are intensifying the push to make sure key priorities are included in the next phase of his massive infrastructure reinvestment program, the American Families Plan.
MONDAY, APRIL 26
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee will keep its nine U.S. House seats after its population grew nearly 9% from 2010 to 2020.
WHITLEY CITY, Ky. (AP) — A small but important tract of land has been added to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area with help from a conservation organization.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider Texas' challenge to California's ban on state-funded business trips to Texas and other states deemed to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an appeal to expand gun rights in the United States in a New York case over the right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide whether a Palestinian man captured in the wake of 9/11 and detained at the prison on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay can get access to information the government classifies as state secrets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fourteen-year-old Brandi Levy was having that kind of day where she just wanted to scream. So she did, in a profanity-laced posting on Snapchat that has, improbably, ended up before the Supreme Court in the most significant case on student speech in more than 50 years.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Apple is following through on its pledge to crack down Facebook and other snoopy apps that secretly shadow people on their iPhones to help sell more advertising.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — The Academy Awards television audience on ABC plunged to 9.85 million viewers, less than half of Oscars' previous low and continuing the startling trend of viewer tune out for awards shows.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Charged up by strong sales of its electric cars and SUVs, Tesla on Monday posted its seventh-straight profitable quarter.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
BRUSSELS (AP) — American tourists could soon be visiting continental Europe again, more than a year after the European Union restricted travel to the 27-nation bloc to a bare minimum to contain the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will begin sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca once the COVID-19 vaccine clears federal safety reviews, the White House told The Associated Press on Monday, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will make the case before United Nations members on Monday that now is the time for global leaders to begin putting the serious work into how they will respond to the next global pandemic.
PARIS (AP) — Nursery and primary schools reopened on Monday across France after a three-week closure in the first step out of the country's partial lockdown, despite numbers of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units reaching their highest level since last spring.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Modest gains for stocks nudged the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to more record highs on Wall Street as investors brace for a deluge of earnings reports from big U.S. companies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will chair a new White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, the Biden administration announced Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring is accelerating as Americans increasingly venture out to shop, eat at restaurants and travel, and inflation pressures are even picking up after lying dormant for years. Yet this week, the Federal Reserve is all but sure to reiterate its commitment to ultra-low interest rates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods rebounded 0.5% in March as U.S. factories recovered from February weather disruptions. However, the recovery was not as strong as most had expected due to ongoing supply chain disruptions that continue to ensnare U.S. manufacturers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The accelerated rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, along with the Biden administration's rescue aid policies, have brightened the outlook for the U.S. economy as it extends its recovery from the pandemic recession.
Apple announced plans on Monday to invest more than $1 billion in North Carolina to build the company's first East Coast campus, a move expected to bring at least 3,000 new jobs to the state.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A closely watched indicator of German business outlooks barely rose in April as the third wave of coronavirus infections held back optimism about the pace of post-pandemic recovery.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's political center of gravity shifted further to the Republican-led South and West on Monday, with Texas, Florida and other Sun Belt states gaining congressional seats while chillier climes like New York and Ohio lost them.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday that it will establish a new center responding to what the U.S. intelligence community has assessed as attempts by Russia and other adversaries to interfere with American elections.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The card tucked in President Joe Biden's right jacket pocket must weigh a ton. You can see the weight of it on his face when he digs it out, squints and ever-so-slowly reads aloud the latest tally of COVID-19 dead.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As he rounds out his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden's focus on reining in the coronavirus during the early months of his administration seems to have paid off: He can check off nearly all his campaign promises centered on the pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is expanding a program to feed as many as 34 million schoolchildren during the summer months, using funds from the coronavirus relief package approved in March.
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Federal officials have approved a major disaster declaration for Tennessee's winter storms in February.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A group of Tennessee Medicaid recipients has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt a plan that would make contentious changes to the state's program designed to provide medical coverage to the poor.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On one side of an upcoming Supreme Court case over a proposed natural gas pipeline in New Jersey are two lawyers with more than 250 arguments between them. On the other is Jeremy Feigenbaum, a lawyer for New Jersey who will be making his first Supreme Court appearance.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon panel is recommending that decisions to prosecute service members for sexual assault be made by independent authorities, not commanders, in what would be a major reversal of military practice and a change long sought by Congress members, The Associated Press has learned.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes surged 20.7% in March, rebounding from the previous month when severe winter storms wreaked havoc in many parts of the country.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda said Friday that it plans to phase out all of its gasoline-powered vehicles in North America by 2040, making it the latest major automaker with a goal of becoming carbon neutral.
DETROIT (AP) — For President Joe Biden to reach his ambitious goal of slashing America's greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, huge reductions would have to come from somewhere other than one of the worst culprits: Auto tailpipes.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German car and truck maker Daimler AG says net profit rebounded strongly to 4.4 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in the first three months of the year, as the global economic recovery and demand for the company's lineup of luxury vehicles in China fattened the bottom line.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
U.S. health advisers on Friday urged resuming COVID-19 vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson's single-dose shot, saying its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clots — in line with Europe's rollout.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Louisiana has stopped asking the federal government for its full allotment of COVID-19 vaccine. About three-quarters of Kansas counties have turned down new shipments of the vaccine at least once over the past month. And in Mississippi, officials asked the federal government to ship vials in smaller packages so they don't go to waste.
TOKYO (AP) — Only three months before the postponed Olympics are set to open, Tokyo and Japan's second largest metropolitan area of Osaka have been placed under emergency orders aimed at stemming surging cases of the coronavirus.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — What did the world learn at Joe Biden's global summit about his vision of the battle to save the world's climate?
WASHINGTON (AP) — World leaders shared tales of climate-friendly breakthroughs — and feverish quests for more — to close President Joe Biden's virtual global climate summit on Friday, from Kenyans abandoning kerosene lanterns for solar to Israeli start-ups straining for more efficient storage batteries.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is bringing out the billionaires, the CEOs and the union executives Friday to help sell President Joe Biden's climate-friendly transformation of the U.S. economy at his virtual summit of world leaders.
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Transportation Department is moving to reverse former President Donald Trump's bid to end California's ability to set its own automobile tailpipe pollution standards.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks closed out a choppy week of trading with a broad rally, though the gains were not enough to keep the S&P 500 from its first weekly loss in the last five.
NEW YORK (AP) — American Express saw its first-quarter profits rise sharply, but the company saw a significant drop in revenue as fewer customers used their credit cards and those with balances paid down debt.
An estimated 8.8 million Americans are behind on their rent, according the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While relief efforts have staved off some of the housing crisis, rent is still going to come due.
LONDON (AP) — Britain has seen its budget deficit rise during the coronavirus pandemic to its highest level since the year after the end of World War II, official figures showed Friday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden has nominated a longtime environmental advocate and Democratic aide to oversee the vast expanses of federally owned land in Western states — the latest political appointment raising concerns among Republicans as Biden moves to curtail energy production from public reserves.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats were on a roll. The House voted along party lines to make the nation's capital the 51st state, and two hours later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to address violence against Asian Americans.
THURSDAY, APRIL 22
PREDATORS
CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Hagel scored 3:00 into overtime, and the Chicago Blackhawks rallied to beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 on Wednesday night.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Former Tennessee Sen. Thelma Harper, who became the first African-American woman elected to the state Senate, died Thursday. She was 80.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is now offering a series of bonuses in an effort to try to recruit and keep more correctional officers in its prison system.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday cut back the Federal Trade Commission's authority to recover ill-gotten gains, overturning a nearly $1.3 billion award against a professional race car driver who was convicted of cheating consumers through his payday loan businesses.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After more than a decade in which the Supreme Court moved gradually toward more leniency for minors convicted of murder, the justices on Thursday moved the other way.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The police officer who shot and killed a student in a Tennessee high school will not face criminal charges, a district attorney announced Wednesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State and federal authorities announced Wednesday that they have reached a $4.1 million settlement in a civil case that made claims of Medicaid and Medicare fraud against a now-shuttered pain clinic company and several of its owners, including a former state senator.
REAL ESTATE
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the second consecutive month in March because there are so few on the market, and the fierce competition for those that do exist is pushing prices to new highs.
TRANSPORTATION
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to report a profit since the pandemic started, as federal payroll aid helped boost the company to net income of $116 million in the first quarter.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines said Thursday that it lost $1.25 billion in the first quarter and continued to slash costs, including delaying delivery of new jets as it waits for air travel to recover from the pandemic.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Consumer Reports said Thursday it was able to easily trick a Tesla into driving in the car's Autopilot mode with no one at the wheel.
LONDON (AP) — Jaguar Land Rover said Thursday it's suspending production at two U.K. factories, becoming the latest automaker to fall victim to a global shortage of microchips.
DETROIT (AP) — A driver in South Carolina is the latest person to be killed by an exploding Takata air bag inflator.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America's return to the fight against global warming.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged more than 70% since the start of the year, and deaths among them appear to have tumbled as well, dramatic evidence the vaccination campaign is working.
NEW YORK (AP) — How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday defended his decision to ease his country's lockdown next week even after the Netherlands recorded 9,648 new coronavirus infections— the highest daily increase since January.
One of the largest reports on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy bolsters evidence that it is safe although the authors say more comprehensive research is needed.
NEW DELHI (AP) — India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world's second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen.
NEW DELHI (AP) — The world's fastest pace of spreading infections and the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases are pushing India further into a deepening and deadly health care crisis.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
A report that President Biden will propose a hefty tax increase on the gains wealthy individuals reap from investments triggered a stock market sell-off Thursday afternoon that left indexes broadly lower.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, the lowest point since the pandemic struck and an encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank left its key stimulus programs unchanged with almost 900 billion euros of support still in the pipeline as the economy lags the U.S. and China in a drawn-out struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. Interior Department is cancelling oil and gas lease sales from public lands through June amid an ongoing review of how the program contributes to climate change, officials said Wednesday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would help combat the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a bipartisan denunciation of such violence during the coronavirus pandemic and a modest step toward legislating in a chamber where most of President Joe Biden's agenda has stalled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a public works proposal with a much smaller price tag and a narrower definition of infrastructure than what President Joe Biden has proposed, highlighting the stark differences between the two sides that will be difficult to bridge in coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bolstered with new momentum, Congress is ready to try again to change the nation's policing laws, heeding President Joe Biden's admonition that the guilty verdict in George Floyd's death is "not enough" for a country confronting a legacy of police violence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A decades-long movement to reshape the American political map took a further step Thursday as the House of Representatives approved a bill to make the nation's capital the 51st state.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-led House passed legislation Wednesday designed to constrain a president's power to limit entry to the U.S., a response to former President Donald Trump's travel ban covering five Muslim-majority countries.