VOL. 47 | NO. 19 | Friday, May 5, 2023
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
If the intent of state legislators this past session was to raise Tennessee’s profile on the national stage while simultaneously lowering its stature, it’s hard to imagine how they could have been more successful.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
The building known as Icon in the Gulch has been a favorite among condominium buyers since it went into a pre-sale mode in 2006. Buyers flocked to the sales office, a full-scale model of one of the units, which was helpful since construction would not be complete until 2008.
REAL ESTATE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homebuyers should get used to painfully high mortgage rates, despite this week's signal from the Federal Reserve that it could finally pause its yearlong campaign of rate hikes.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged lower this week, a modest boost for homebuyers looking for relief as a stubbornly low inventory of properties for sale fuels bidding wars in many markets.
TENNESSEE TITANS
The Tennessee Titans needed to find two to three plug-and-play starters in the 2023 NFL Draft to shore up the roster for the coming season.
The Titans waited until their very last pick to select a receiver in last weekend’s draft, and when they did it was a local player who was a two-star recruit from Wilson Central who made good on his opportunity at UT Martin.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A three-time Pro Bowl left tackle released by the Tennessee Titans in February over a failed physical issue is suing renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for medical malpractice for the October 2020 surgery repairing his torn right ACL leaving him with "severe and permanent" damage.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The final year of his current NFL contract is not a topic Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill will discuss.
Darnell Wright began steadily moving up several mock projections as the 2023 NFL Draft approached. The Tennessee offensive tackle impressed many with his size and skill and was forecast as a potential top 10 pick.
NEWSMAKERS
A.J. Bahou and Blake Bernard have joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as partners in its intellectual property practice group.
BRIEFS
The Tennessee General Assembly approved more than $400 million in tax cuts for Tennessee families and businesses through the Tennessee Works Tax Act, marking one of the largest tax cuts in Tennessee history and supporting future economic growth.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The arrival of warmer weather across the U.S. will soon have a number of shoppers considering a wind-in-the-hair convertible. That’s because, for many people, having limitless headroom and a mobile means of sunbathing is automobile nirvana – though perhaps not for drivers who prefer loose-fitting hats.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Credit card rewards help our family save money on groceries, gas and other necessities. We also use rewards for airline tickets, hotel rooms and airport lounge access.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
More than 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder during their lifetime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Chances are, some of these individuals will be inheriting wealth at some point.
TENNESSEE TITANS
The Tennessee Titans will "host" the Baltimore Ravens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Oct. 15, while Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars will become the first NFL team to play two international games in the same season when they spend back-to-back weeks in London this year.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday signed into law legislation designed to place more school resource officers in Tennessee public and private schools, funnel additional money into school security upgrades, and require every school to submit annual safety plans to the state.
COURTS
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican infamous for fabricating his life story, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didn't deserve.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A former Tennessee nurse who was convicted of homicide last year after a medication error killed a patient argued Tuesday that the state Board of Nursing acted improperly when it revoked her license.
NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's January-March profit edged up 3% from the previous year on robust sales as a chips supply crunch gradually eased.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers said Wednesday that a decades-old birth control pill should be sold without a prescription, paving the way for a likely U.S. approval of the first over-the-counter contraceptive medication.
TECHNOLOGY
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google on Wednesday disclosed plans to infuse its dominant search engine with more advanced artificial-intelligence technology, a drive that's in response to one of the biggest threats to its long-established position as the internet's main gateway.
MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Misleading claims about the neo-Nazi gunman responsible for Saturday's mass shooting at a Dallas-area shopping center are reverberating across Twitter, in large part because of Twitter owner Elon Musk.
ENERGY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An energy company should be fined nearly $3.4 million for safety violations involving a 2021 oil pipeline spill that fouled Southern California beaches, a federal regulator said.
When Joe Seaman-Graves, the city planner for the working class town of Cohoes, New York, Googled the term "floating solar," he didn't even know it was a thing.
EDUCATION
The U.S. has approved more than $42 billion in federal student loan debt forgiveness for more than 615,000 borrowers in the past 18 months as part of a program aimed at getting more people to work in public service jobs, the U.S. Department of Education said this week.
ECONOMY
Inflation remains "stubbornly high" and is no longer making much progress toward the Federal Reserve's 2% target, a top Fed official said Wednesday, hours after price data for April were released.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United States rose again in April, and measures of underlying inflation stayed high, a sign that further declines in inflation are likely to be slow and bumpy.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A mixed day of trading left Wall Street slightly higher on Wednesday after a report showed inflation is making strides toward easing, even if it remains too high.
Ongoing strength at its theme parks and an improving streaming business propelled The Walt Disney Co. to higher profits and revenue in its fiscal second quarter.
Ryanair said Tuesday it agreed to buy 150 Boeing 737 Max planes with an option for 150 more, marking the biggest aircraft purchase in the Irish airline's history and a boost for Boeing.
Airbnb said Tuesday that it earned $117 million in the first quarter as revenue rose during the ongoing recovery in travel, but the company's outlook for late spring and early summer disappointed investors.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Before allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis took over, Disney World's governing district, which at the time was controlled by Disney supporters, reached an agreement in February with the company to prohibit a long list of businesses from ever being operated on its property.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — California Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate on Wednesday after a two-and-a-half-month absence due to illness, giving majority Democrats a much-needed final vote as they seek to confirm President Joe Biden's nominees and raise the nation's debt ceiling in the coming weeks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to a series of intelligence breaches over the last year, senators on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require the National Archives to screen documents leaving the White House for classified material.
VALHALLA, New York (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday blasted Republican-demanded spending cuts as "devastating," making his case in a campaign-style speech to voters as lawmakers met in Washington on raising the government's borrowing limit to avoid a potentially catastrophic U.S. default.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House next month, courting an Indo-Pacific leader with whom he has sought stronger ties as the United States looks to blunt China's growing assertiveness in the region.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is aiming to showcase the Democratic coalition rallying around his reelection bid as he announces on Wednesday his campaign's national advisory board of prominent elected officials who will assist his 2024 campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through , according to a new rule released Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing growing pressure to show progress in their investigations, House Republicans on Wednesday detailed what they say are concerning new findings about President Joe Biden's family and their finances.
Former President Donald Trump will return to CNN on Wednesday night, joining the network for a two-hour town hall event in early-voting New Hampshire a day after a civil jury found him liable for sexually assaulting a woman nearly three decades ago.
TUESDAY, MAY 9
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Monday announced that he would call lawmakers back to the state's Capitol on Aug. 21 for a special session after the Republican-led Legislature adjourned earlier this year without taking on gun control.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.
NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sought a dismissal of criminal charges against him in a court filing late Monday, saying prosecutors have improperly made federal crimes out of civil and regulatory issues that resulted from an industrywide collapse of cryptocurrency markets dubbed the "crypto winter."
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Women should start getting every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of waiting until 50, according to a draft recommendation from a federal task force.
TECHNOLOGY
LONDON (AP) — The breathtaking development of artificial intelligence has dazzled users by composing music, creating images and writing essays, while also raising fears about its implications. Even European Union officials working on groundbreaking rules to govern the emerging technology were caught off guard by AI's rapid rise.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News paid $787 million to settle a recent lawsuit on its reporting after the 2020 election to avoid a divisive trial and lengthy appeals process, its parent company's chief executive said on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's town hall forum on CNN on Wednesday is the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign — and a gigantic test for the chosen moderator, Kaitlan Collins.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Monday it will distribute its original films and TV shows, like "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," to media outlets outside its Prime Video service for the first time.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called for a "fair deal" for Hollywood's striking writers on Monday as he hosted a White House screening of the the upcoming streaming series "American Born Chinese" to mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Nearly three months ago, Hyundai and Kia unveiled software that was designed to thwart an epidemic of thefts of their vehicles, caused by a security flaw that was exposed on TikTok and other social media sites.
BANKING
GENEVA (AP) — UBS said Tuesday it's bringing the CEO of Credit Suisse on to its executive board and will keep the two banks operating separately "for the foreseeable future" as it moves forward with a high-profile merger expected to close within two weeks.
NEW YORK (AP) — California's bank regulator said Monday that it was too slow to see the growing risks at Silicon Valley Bank and did not act forcefully enough to get the bank to fix its problems.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street edged lower following some mixed earnings reports, as stocks remain roughly where they've been stuck for more than a month. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Tuesday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 56 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq fell 0.6%. The next big milestone for the market will be Wednesday's report on inflation, which has come down but remains high. It could dictate the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. Political leaders are also meeting in Washington Tuesday to try to avoid a default on the U.S. government's debt.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon wants you to buy something while you're having fun.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox Corp. swung to a third quarter loss, weighed down by Fox News' nearly $800 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bedding provider Tempur Sealy has agreed to acquire Mattress Firm in a cash-and stock-transaction valued at about $4 billion, the companies said Tuesday.
BEIJING (AP) — China's chief foreign intelligence agency has raided the offices of business consulting firm Capvision in Beijing and other Chinese cities as part of an ongoing crackdown on foreign businesses that provide sensitive economic data.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office disclosed Tuesday that she is returning to Washington, following an absence of more than two months in which the oldest member of Congress faced calls from within her own party to resign.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Tuesday that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that stole sensitive information from computer networks in dozens of countries, including the U.S. and other NATO members.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that a federal debt deal with President Joe Biden is needed by next week if Washington hopes to avert a catastrophic national default as a June 1 deadline nears when money could run short for paying America's bills.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just how does this debt limit standoff end?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will provide $1.2 billion more in long-term military aid to Ukraine to further bolster its air defenses as Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones, rockets and surface-to-air missiles, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Brussels (AP) — A top European Union official on Tuesday urged the 27 member nations to take trade measures against countries that help the Kremlin to circumvent the bloc's sanctions against Russia.
HOUSTON (AP) — The leader of a major anti-abortion group met with former President Donald Trump on the issue, just weeks after raising questions about his commitment to restricting access to the procedure.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government forecast the nation's first balanced annual budget in 15 years but warned Tuesday that economic pressures such as persistent inflation, elevated interest rates, rising unemployment and slowing growth would sink the country into deeper debt.
MONDAY, MAY 8
SPORTS
Alabama fired its baseball coach this week amid an investigation into suspicious bets involving a Crimson Tide game at LSU.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump should be held accountable for sexually attacking an advice columnist in 1996 because even a former president is not above the law, a lawyer for the columnist told a jury Monday in closing arguments in the lawsuit that accuses Trump of rape.
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump rejected his last chance Sunday to testify at a civil trial where a longtime advice columnist has accused him of raping her in a luxury department store dressing room in 1996.
TRAVEL
The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline's control.
MEDIA
Facebook says it is not dead. Facebook also wants you to know that it is not just for "old people," as young people have been saying for years.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Pulitzer Prizes will be awarded Monday to honor outstanding journalism during a violent year that included Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, mass shootings that targeted an elementary school and supermarket, and communities beset with floods and flames fueled by climate change.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tracking down accurate information about Philadelphia's elections on Twitter used to be easy. The account for the city commissioners who run elections, @phillyvotes, was the only one carrying a blue check mark, a sign of authenticity.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Democrats and Republicans agree that the federal government should better regulate the biggest technology companies, particularly social media platforms. But there is very little consensus on how it should be done.
BANKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Federal Reserve report Monday showed that banks raised their lending standards for business and consumer loans in the aftermath of three large bank failures and expect to lift them more this year, a trend that could slow the economy in coming months and increases the risk of a recession.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street drifted to a mixed close ahead of a week full of reports on some of the market's biggest worries, including how stubbornly high inflation remains across the economy.
It's been six months since Bob Iger canceled his retirement and stepped back into the top role at Disney to right a number of perceived wrongs under his handpicked successor, with one hovering right near the top: reconnecting with the Disney theme park die-hards and restoring their faith in the brand.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — An investigation into Donald Trump's handling of classified documents has intensified in recent weeks, with prosecutors summoning a broad range of witnesses before a federal grand jury and zeroing in on questions of whether the former president or others obstructed government efforts to recover the records.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and Congress could strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for budget cuts. Or they could agree to a stopgap measure to keep paying the nation's bills while negotiations continue. They also could let the negotiations unravel, sending the economy into a chaos.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A union of government employees on Monday sued Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and President Joe Biden to try to stop them from complying with the law that limits the government's total debt, which the lawsuit contends is unconstitutional.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that there are "no good options" for the United States to avoid an economic "calamity" if Congress fails to raise the nation's borrowing limit of $31.381 trillion in the coming weeks. She did not rule out President Joe Biden bypassing lawmakers and acting on his own to try to avert a first-ever federal default.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden would veto a House GOP bill that aims to restrict asylum, build more border wall and cut a program that allows migrants a chance to stay in the U.S., including Ukrainian refugees, the White House said Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, the longtime consumer advocate expected to face criticism over her desire to expand free internet access and improve competition among broadband providers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if the State Department does not turn over classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden served in the Senate for 270 years. He used to be three years older than his sister Valerie, but now has 20 years on her. And the fourth U.S. president — whom Biden affectionally calls "Jimmy" Madison — is a good friend.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three progressive groups are spending more than $20 million in a new national ad campaign to promote President Joe Biden's record as he begins his 2024 reelection race.
FRIDAY, MAY 5
STATE GOVERNMENT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Tennessee organizers booked more than 50 drag entertainers for next month's Midsouth Pride festival in Memphis now that the state's new law placing strict limits on cabaret shows is temporarily on hold.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio wasn't even in Washington when members of his extremist group, angry over Donald Trump 's election loss, stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Yet, federal prosecutors, using his words, won a conviction on the most serious charge levied in the insurrection.
DETROIT (AP) — Nine lawyers who were found to have abused the court system by filing a lawsuit that challenged Michigan's 2020 election results in favor of President Joe Biden committed misconduct and should be disciplined, a watchdog agency said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump hinted Thursday that he might show up soon at the New York City trial where a jury is hearing allegations that he raped a woman in the mid-1990s.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The former chief security officer for Uber was sentenced to probation Thursday for trying to cover up a 2016 data breach in which hackers accessed tens of millions of customer records from the ride-hailing service.
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump 's lawyers have asked a federal court to take control of his New York City criminal case. They argued Thursday that the former president can't be tried in the state court where his historic indictment was brought because the alleged conduct occurred while he was in office.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators are weighing the first-ever request to make a birth control pill available without a prescription.
MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — China was the biggest global jailer of journalists last year with more than 100 behind bars, according to a press freedom group, as President Xi Jinping's government tightened control over society.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are investigating possible electrical problems in older Dodge Journeys after a woman was trapped and died when her SUV caught fire in December.
ENVIRONMENT
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's energy minister announced plans Friday to ease bureaucratic hurdles for solar power as the country set a new record for photovoltaic installations during the first quarter.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers added a healthy 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market that still shows surprising resilience despite rising interest rates, chronically high inflation and a banking crisis that could weaken the economy.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple was at the head of a widespread rally on Wall Street Friday after the market's most influential company reported a better profit than expected. Stocks of beaten-down banks also leapt to recover a smidgen of their sharp losses from a brutal week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans who qualified for free tax services — but were instead deceived into paying TurboTax for their returns — will soon get settlement checks in the mail.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investors shouldn't expect a change of leadership at the top of Berkshire Hathaway anytime soon, even though Chairman Warren Buffett is 92 and his partner Charlie Munger is 99, one longtime board member said Thursday.
Apple once again posted an, until now, rare revenue decline in its latest fiscal quarter, but said its overall business improved from the December quarter and sales of its iPhones were solid.
Lyft began the year mired in the same ditch it ended in last year, with its ride-hailing service struggling to recover from a pandemic-driven downturn that triggered a change in leadership and layoffs that wiped out a quarter of its workforce.
DoorDash posted stronger-than-expected results in the first quarter as it expanded into new markets overseas and new delivery categories at home.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Britain's free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia will come into force by the end of this month, the leaders from the three nations said Friday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to nominate a history-making Air Force fighter pilot with years of experience in shaping U.S. defenses to meet China's rise to serve as the nation's next top military officer, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the decision.
E. Jean Carroll testified in sometimes searing detail about the day she says Donald Trump raped her in a department store dressing room two decades before he became president, allegations the Republican has repeatedly and vehemently denied.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats pressured Republicans on the increasingly menacing debt ceiling impasse Thursday, focusing on what they say will be painful reductions in government services if a bill the GOP recently pushed through the House becomes law.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is dispatching one his top advisers to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom, later this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — That big infusion of cash that Congress approved last year to shape up the beleaguered IRS is having an unexpected side benefit.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden has celebrated the athletic grit of wounded service members with Prince Harry, discussed the value of early childhood education with Princess Kate and sipped tea poured by Queen Elizabeth II.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign citizens and companies would need U.S. government approval to buy property within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of eight military bases, under a proposed rule change that follows a Chinese firm's attempt to build a plant near an Air Force base in North Dakota.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party endured big losses Friday in results from local elections being viewed as a test of support for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's government as a national election approaches.
THURSDAY, MAY 4
WEST TENNESSEE
MEMPHIS (AP) — Tyre Nichols died of blunt force injuries to the head after he was beaten by Memphis police during a January arrest, an autopsy report released Thursday showed.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is firing baseball coach Brad Bohannon after a report of suspicious bets involving his team, with the school saying he violated "the standards, duties and responsibilities expected of university employees."
SPORTS
NEW YORK (AP) — The attorneys general of New York and California announced Thursday that they are investigating allegations of workplace discrimination at the NFL, citing lawsuits filed by employees that describe sex, racial and age bias, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted Thursday of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The seditious conspiracy convictions of leaders of the Proud Boys extremist group mark another major victory for the Justice Department in its massive prosecution of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican megadonor paid two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who did not disclose the payments, a lawyer who has represented Thomas and his wife acknowledged Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times over a 2018 investigative series into his family's wealth and tax practices was dismissed by a state judge Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors heard former President Donald Trump blast a woman who accused him of rape as a "nut job" and "mentally sick" in a video recording that was shown Thursday during the trial of her federal lawsuit.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen profits fell 30% in the first three months of the year despite booming business in Europe and North America because sales dropped in China, where the German automaker is facing increasing competition from homegrown models.
Self-driving car pioneer Waymo announced Thursday that its robotaxis will be able to carry passengers through most of the Phoenix area for the first time.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris met on Thursday with the heads of Google, Microsoft and two other companies developing artificial intelligence as the Biden administration rolls out initiatives meant to ensure the rapidly evolving technology improves lives without putting people's rights and safety at risk.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday that it's opening a review of the artificial intelligence market, focusing on the technology underpinning chatbots like ChatGPT.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News is opposing a renewed effort by three news organizations to unseal documents related to its recently settled defamation lawsuit, saying it would do nothing but "gratify private spite or promote public scandal."
NEW YORK (AP) — Simon & Schuster is again up for sale. Months after a federal judge halted Penguin Random House's plan to purchase its longtime rival, Simon & Schuster's CEO and parent company, Paramount Global, have confirmed that the publisher is back on the market, with a sale possible by the end of the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Katie Britt says she hears about it constantly when she is at home in Alabama — at school track meets, basketball tournaments and on her regular morning walks with friends. And when she was running for the Senate last year, Britt says, "parent after parent" came up to her wanting to discuss the way social media was harming their kids.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama announced Wednesday that she has co-founded a new company to make and sell healthier food and drinks for kids, products that she says will be less detrimental to their long-term health because of their lower sugar and higher nutrient content.
ENVIRONMENT
An influential shipping industry group has quietly warned shippers to think carefully before they sign up for a new plan to reduce pollution and eventually eliminate their contribution to climate change.
BANKING
NEW YORK (AP) — Uncertainty continues to pummel the banking industry, despite assurances from financial regulators and bankers such as Jamie Dimon this week that the worst of the recent crisis is over and the health of the banking system remains strong.
ECONOMY
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week but remain low overall, even as the Federal Reserve has furiously raised interest rates to beat down inflation and cool the labor market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House economists on Wednesday warned of "severe damage" to the U.S. economy in the event of a debt default, warning that a prolonged default could cause 8.3 million job losses and the stock market to tumble 45%.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank slowed the pace of its interest rate increases Thursday, stepping back like the U.S. Federal Reserve from a string of jumbo hikes aimed at snuffing out inflation. But the ECB also said it was "not pausing" even as its efforts have worked by making mortgages and business loans harder to get.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause its streak of 10 rate hikes, which have made borrowing for consumers and businesses steadily more expensive.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed lower as Wall Street's worries about the U.S. banking system cranked even higher.
LONDON (AP) — Global energy giant Shell said Thursday that it earned nearly $10 billion in the first quarter, becoming the latest fossil fuel company to post strong financial results despite sliding oil and natural gas prices.
Bud Light's parent company said Thursday it will triple its marketing spending in the U.S. this summer as it tries to boost sales that plummeted after the brand partnered with a transgender influencer.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shopify, the e-commerce company viewed as a growing competitor to Amazon, is selling the two biggest pieces of its fulfillment network and abandoning its logistics ambitions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved a measure Wednesday that would reinstate tariffs on solar panel imports from several Southeast Asian countries after President Joe Biden paused them in a bid to boost solar installations in the U.S.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday setting the path to sanction individuals involved in the recent violence in Sudan that's left hundreds dead and thrown the African nation into chaos.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House Republican subpoenaed FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday for what he claimed are bureau records related to President Joe Biden and his family, basing the demand on newly surfaced allegations he said an unnamed whistleblower made to Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats launched a new legislative effort Wednesday in one of the few areas that appears to be generating bipartisanship in Congress — taking on China.