News - Friday, January 10, 2025

The attorney who was interviewing Lydia Boydston for a front desk position at his small firm wanted to be certain she could handle the most unpleasant things the job could throw at her, so he didn’t mince words.

“People don’t come to us when life is going well,” he warned. “They come to us when life is at its worst. They’re going to be angry and crying and sometimes scream at you.

Jessica Hayes is a different breed of paralegal. When her colleagues at law firms are seated at their desks, their attorneys are usually within arm’s length, or at least eyeshot, and beyond that space, more lawyers and legal staff can be found engaged in their labors. Within this setting, the quiet tapping of fingers on keyboards provides a rhythmic soundscape for the passing hours.

“A pat on the back is only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants but is miles ahead in results,” mused American author and poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Here, attorneys with the Chattanooga Bar Association give some well-deserved pats on the back to the hardworking souls that keep the legal world turning in Chattanooga – their paralegals.

When Chattanoogan Kelly Howe decided to become a paralegal, she had several local options for preparing for her chosen career.

Unlike attorneys, who must graduate law school and pass the bar exam to become licensed, paralegals can qualify themselves through either education, training or on-the-job experience.

The Hon. Michael Dumitru began 2025 not with a resolution but with an oath.

During a private ceremony Jan. 1 in the Joel W. Solomon U.S. Courthouse in Chattanooga, Dumitru pledged to “administer justice without respect to persons,” to “do equal right to the poor and to the rich” and to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform” his duties.

The new year is here, bringing with it a chance for fresh starts and new opportunities. It’s the perfect time to tackle those untouched corners of your home, reorganize and set the tone for a more peaceful and productive year.

Melissa Dittman Tracey’s HouseLogic.com article, “How Clutter Creates Stress and Anxiety: Strategies for Decluttering,” is sheds light on how our living spaces affect our mental health and offers practical strategies to take back control of our homes – and our minds.

The Chattanooga Fire Department is beginning 2025 with new technologies, trucks and facilities.

But before the department leaps into the year to come, Fire Chief Phil Hyman and public information officer Lindsey Rogers are offering a look at its achievements in 2024 and how they will impact what the CFD accomplishes in 2025.

Now that the calendar has flipped, it’s time for some new year’s resolutions. You could decide you’re going to exercise more, lose weight, learn a new skill, reconnect with old friends. The possibilities are almost limitless. This year, why not add a few financial resolutions to your list?

As Coronation Day approaches, I’m trying to identify anything positive to look for from the coming reign of King Donald, in keeping with my resolution to preserve and protect my mental health in 2025.

This could be it: daylight saving time.

The Tennessee Titans have done it again, managing to be really bad in a draft year that might not fully reward the awful season they completed Sunday.

Thanks to former Tennessee Vol Joe Milton showing out for New England, the Patriots defeated Buffalo, allowing the Titans to move up for the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

It was a bold move when the current-generation Toyota Sienna debuted five years ago exclusively as a hybrid. It might have sacrificed acceleration bragging rights to its V6-powered minivan competitors, but its fuel economy smoked them with a 13- to 14-mpg advantage that could translate to nearly $1,000 in annual fuel savings.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday said she will push for new laws to make it harder for hedge funds to purchase large numbers of single-family homes in the state.

In a statement, Hochul said she would propose legislation this year that would require a 75 day waiting period before large investment firms could place bids on new homes hitting the market and limit certain tax benefits when the firms purchase homes.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee on Thursday released a redacted version of its newly completed execution manual, blacking out sporadic titles and team names throughout the notably trimmed-down document that now provides vague guidelines and omits previously detailed steps on carrying out the death penalty.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration's Title IX rules expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students have been struck down nationwide after a federal judge in Kentucky found they overstepped the president's authority.

In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves scrapped the entire 1,500-page regulation after deciding it was "fatally" tainted by legal shortcomings. The rule had already been halted in 26 states after a wave of legal challenges by Republican states.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk livestreamed his chat with a leader of Germany's far-right party on Thursday, using the power of his social media platform, X, to amplify the party's message ahead of an upcoming national election — and raising concerns across Europe about the world's richest man trying to influence foreign politics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Carter was celebrated Thursday for his personal humility and public service before, during and after his presidency during a funeral at Washington National Cathedral featuring the kind of pageantry the 39th U.S. president typically eschewed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Here is the text of the eulogy President Joe Biden delivered Thursday during the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As they filed into the front pews at Washington National Cathedral, wearing dark suits and mostly solemn faces, five current and former presidents came together for Jimmy Carter's funeral. For a service that stretched more than an hour, the feuding, grievances and enmity that had marked their rival campaigns and divergent politics gave way to a reverential moment for one of their own.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly in the minority, Democrats say they will vote with Republicans to advance legislation that would require federal authorities to detain unauthorized immigrants who have been accused of certain crimes — one of President-elect Donald Trump's priorities as he assumes office later this month.

DALLAS (AP) — A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma lumbered eastward into southern U.S. states Friday, prompting governors to declare states of emergency and shuttering schools across the region.

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment, an outcome that cements his conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump doesn't have to go to jail, pay a fine or perform community service as a result of his New York hush money conviction. A judge ended the case Friday with a sentence of an unconditional discharge, closing the case with no punishment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday denied a bid to block the public release of special counsel Jack Smith's report on President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The law that could ban TikTok is coming before the Supreme Court on Friday, with the justices largely holding the app's fate in their hands.

The popular social media platform says the law violates the First Amendment and should be struck down.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is set to hear arguments Friday on whether to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for continuing to spread lies about two Georgia election workers after they secured a $148 million defamation judgment against him.

DETROIT (AP) — The Honda Civic hybrid won the 2025 North American Car of the Year award, while the Ford Ranger took the crown for the truck honors, and Volkswagen ID. Buzz won the utility award.

The honors, announced Friday morning during an Automotive Press Association event kicking off the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, are decided by a group of 50 journalists from the U.S. and Canada. They evaluate factors such as innovation, design, performance, driver satisfaction and value, according to the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards organization.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job growth surged and unemployment fell last month, an unexpected show of strength that may prove costly to homebuyers and businesses who were counting sharply lower interest rates that would lower the cost of buying everything from refrigerators to homes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence has found no evidence linking a foreign power to the mysterious "Havana syndrome" injuries reported by some U.S. diplomats and other government personnel, though two agencies now say it remains a possibility.

The conclusion comes from a review conducted by seven different intelligence agencies who examined cases of brain injuries and other symptoms reported by American diplomats and other government personnel who have raised questions about the involvement of a foreign adversary.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration announced Friday that it's expanding sanctions against Russia's critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict.

MIAMI (AP) — More than 200,000 Salvadorans who have lived more than two decades in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Homeland Security Department said Friday in one of the Biden administration's final acts on immigration policy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the very top of Republicans' 100-day agenda with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House and GOP lawmakers in a majority is the plan to renew some $4 trillion in expiring tax cuts.

On Friday, the U.S. Treasury released a new analysis of the various ways that extending the expiring individual and estate tax provisions of Trump's 2017 tax overhaul — known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — could cost the government, and who would directly benefit the most from the legislation's permanent extension.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Joe Biden prepares to leave office, Americans have a dimmer view of his presidency than they did at the end of Donald Trump's first term or Barack Obama's second, a new poll finds.

Around one-quarter of U.S. adults said Biden was a "good" or "great" president, with less than 1 in 10 saying he was "great," according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to deliver a capstone address Monday on his foreign policy legacy, according to the White House.

The outgoing president is expected to use his address at the State Department to highlight his administration's efforts to expand NATO, rally dozens of allies to provide Ukraine with a steady stream of military aid to fight Russia, forge a historic agreement between Japan and South Korea to expand security and economic cooperation and more, according to a senior administration official who requested anonymity to preview plans for the address.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday seemed likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company.

Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company's connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kohl's said Friday it was closing 27 underperforming locations in 15 states by April — a fraction of its 1,150 store base — as the struggling department store chain aims to boost profitability and improve sagging sales.

The announcement comes as the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based chain has posted 11 consecutive quarters of sales declines. Michaels CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan is set to take over as the chief executive of Kohl's next week.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans wrapped up a third straight day of searching for a new general manager Sunday with virtual interviews with Chicago assistant general manager Ian Cunningham and Kansas City assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi.

The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach.

The team announced the hiring Sunday morning, a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo following the team's season-ending victory over the Buffalo Bills. Mayo finished 4-13 in his lone season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it won't hear an appeal from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change.

The order allows the city of Honolulu's lawsuit against oil and gas companies to proceed. The city's chief resilience officer, Ben Sullivan, said it's a significant decision that will protect "taxpayers and communities from the immense costs and consequences of the climate crisis caused by the defendants' misconduct."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday turned back a challenge to a strict gun licensing law in Maryland.

The high court declined to hear the case in a brief order handed down without elaboration, as is typical.

The challengers argued that the handgun law violates the Second Amendment by making it too hard for people to get guns. The law, passed after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, requires people to get safety training, submit fingerprints and pass a background check before buying a handgun. The state says those are reasonable safety measures.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court turned back a push by the state of Utah to wrest control of vast areas of public land from the federal government on Monday.

The high court refused to let the GOP-controlled state file a lawsuit seeking to bring the land and its resources under state control. The decision came in a brief order in which the court did not explain its reasoning, as is typical.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a North Dakota state House district on an American Indian reservation, rejecting a challenge by local Republican officials.

The Republicans' lawsuit had previously been rejected by a three-judge court that found North Dakota lawmakers had good reason to create the district to give Native Americans a better chance to elect their candidate of choice, under the federal Voting Rights Act.

BEIJING (AP) — Sales of all types of electric vehicles rose more than 40% in China last year, while those of gasoline-powered automobiles plunged, industry data showed Monday.

A total of 31.4 million vehicles including buses and trucks were sold last year in the world's biggest market by sales, up 4.5% compared to a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported. Growth in sales outpaced production, which rose 3.7%.

BANGKOK (AP) — Auto industry newcomers like Taiwan-based iPhone maker Foxconn and China's Huawei Technologies are maneuvering to gain an edge in the electric vehicle sector, prompting automakers like Japan's Nissan and Honda to announce plans to join forces against a flood of ambitious competitors.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Blue Origin called off the debut launch of its massive new rocket early Monday because of technical trouble.

The 320-foot (98-meter) New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn with a prototype satellite from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But launch controllers had to deal with an unspecified rocket issue in the final minutes of the countdown and ran out of time. Once the countdown clock was halted, they immediately began draining all the fuel from the rocket.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing a new framework for the exporting of the advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence, an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The bid by Japan's Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel may have a new lease on life after the Biden Administration extended a deadline for the Japanese steelmaker to abandon plans to acquire the storied Pittsburgh company after President Joe Biden blocked the deal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite failing to deliver his promise for broad student loan forgiveness, President Joe Biden has now overseen the cancellation of student loans for more than 5 million Americans — more than any other president in U.S. history.

In a last-minute action on Monday, the Education Department canceled loans for 150,000 borrowers through programs that existed before Biden took office. His administration expanded those programs and used them to their fullest extent, pressing on with cancellation even after the Supreme Court rejected Biden's plan for a new forgiveness policy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — If Pete Hegseth were still in uniform, his extramarital affairs and a decision to flatly ignore a combat commander's directive would not just be drawing the attention of senators — they could have run afoul of military law.

That is raising questions among current and former defense leaders and veterans about whether Hegseth would be able to enforce discipline in the ranks if confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump's defense secretary. Hegseth would oversee more than 2 million troops who could be disciplined or kicked out of the service for the same behavior he has acknowledged or been accused of in the past.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth will try to convince members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he should be the next secretary of defense, following weeks of meetings with lawmakers who peppered him with questions about his character and views on a range of military issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by President-elect Donald Trump's team, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President-elect JD Vance says people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot "obviously" should not be pardoned, as President-elect Donald Trump is promising to use his clemency power on behalf of many of those who tried on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the results of the election that Trump lost.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden strode into the White House four years ago with a foreign policy agenda that put repairing alliances strained by four years of Republican Donald Trump's "America First" worldview front and center.

The one-term Democrat took office in the throes of the worst global pandemic in a century and his plans were quickly stress-tested by a series of complicated international crises: the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Hamas' brutal 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press men's basketball poll for its second stint at the top in program history, while fellow Southeastern Conference program Georgia is in the rankings for the first time in 14 years.

Bruce Pearl's Tigers (15-1) claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes to rise one spot Monday after previous No. 1 Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Florida, to end a five-week reign at the top. Auburn has been No. 1 only once before in the AP Top 25, during a three-week stint in January and February of 2022, and is the third team to sit atop the poll this season.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans wrapped up the first round of their search for a new general manager Monday with Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan the 10th candidate interviewed.

The Titans' next round of interviews will take place "in the coming days" as they replace Ran Carthon, who was fired last week after the franchise went 9-25 in his two seasons as general manager.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department can publicly release special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case, a federal judge said Monday in the latest ruling in a court dispute over the highly anticipated document days before Trump is set to reclaim the White House.

The IRS it's distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who didn't receive their COVID stimulus payments. By the end of January, approximately 1 million taxpayers will receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS.

The IRS said it's distributing these payments to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. The Recovery Rebate Credit is a refundable credit for individuals who did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments (EIP), also known as stimulus payments.

Elon Musk said a third person has received an implant from his brain-computer interface company Neuralink, one of many groups working to connect the nervous system to machines.

"We've got ... three humans with Neuralinks and all are working well," he said during a wide-ranging interview at a Las Vegas event streamed on his social media platform X.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that his stewardship of American foreign policy has left the U.S. safer and economically more secure, arguing that President-elect Donald Trump will inherit a nation viewed as stronger and more reliable than it was four years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the waning days of the Biden administration, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended his agency's work to tamp down border-crossing numbers and argued against breaking apart the sprawling department in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — U.S. flags at President-elect Donald Trump 's private Mar-a-Lago club are back to flying at full height.

Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29. A large flag on Trump's property was initially lowered to half-staff according to protocol but has since been raised in the days after Carter was buried Thursday in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by President-elect Donald Trump's team, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith said his team "stood up for the rule of law" as it investigated President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, writing in a much-anticipated report released Tuesday that he stands fully behind his decision to bring criminal charges that he believes would have resulted in a conviction had voters not returned Trump to the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The criminal charges against Hunter Biden "were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics," the prosecutor who led the probes said in a report that sharply criticized President Joe Biden for having maligned the Justice Department when he pardoned his son.

MADRID (AP) — Spain is planning a raft of measures to address its brewing housing crisis, including an up to 100% tax on properties bought by people who are neither citizens nor residents of the European Union.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the plan this week to tackle housing affordability and high rents in the Southern European nation. He said that the overall goal was to provide "more housing, better regulation and greater aid."

WASHINGTON (AP) — About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today's toll, researchers reported Monday.

That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia -- if they live long enough.

HONG KONG (AP) — As the threat of a TikTok ban looms, U.S. TikTok users are flocking to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu – making it the top downloaded app in the U.S.

Some of the "TikTok refugees," as they call themselves, say the TikTok alternative, a Chinese app, is being chosen in protest of the TikTok ban.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence that seeks to ensure the infrastructure needed for advanced AI operations, such as large-scale data centers and new clean power facilities, can be built quickly and at scale in the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale inflation rose last month on higher energy prices.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.2% last month from November, down from a 0.4% gain the month before. Compared to a year earlier, producer prices rose 3.3%, biggest jump since February 2023 and up from a 3% gain in November.

LONDON (AP) — Britain's competition watchdog flexed new digital market powers on Monday for the first time with an investigation into Google's search and search ad businesses.

Under beefed-up rules that took effect this month designed to protect consumers and businesses from unfair practices by Big Tech companies, the Competition and Markets Authority said it would determine whether Google should be given "strategic market status" that would require imposing changes to the company's behavior. The investigation adds to global scrutiny that the U.S. tech giant is facing.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The premier of Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta said Monday she would not support any move to stop energy shipments to the United States as a way to combat U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threats to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian products.

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Canada's ambassador to Washington said Monday that Canada is prepared to buy more from the United States, including its next fleet of submarines, to appease President-elect Donald Trump's concerns about the U.S.-Canada trade deficit.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is saying goodbye to "Try Before You Buy."

The service, which allowed Amazon's Prime members to try on select clothing items, shoes and accessories at home before completing a purchase, is set to wind down in the coming weeks. The last day eligible customers can place orders using the subscriber benefit is Jan. 31, the company confirmed.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The bid by Japan's Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel may have a new lease on life, even as the potential for a new bid for the storied Pittsburgh steelmaker began to emerge Monday.

Lourenco Goncalves, the CEO of Ohio-based steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs, said in a news conference Monday that he wanted to make a new bid for U.S. Steel, which accepted the buyout offer from Nippon in 2023 after it rejected an offer by Cleveland-Cliffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed Tuesday to foster a "warrior culture" at the Pentagon, portraying himself as a "change agent" during a testy Senate confirmation hearing that drew protesters but also veterans in support.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will publicly face senators for the first time Tuesday after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism over his qualifications and personal past.

Hegseth, a 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News Channel weekend host, has faced strong criticism from Democrats over his thin resume compared to previous defense secretaries, along with allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and mismanagement of veterans organization finances — all of which he denies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to make a last-minute case Tuesday for a plan for the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears tantalizingly close to completion.

Blinken will tout the proposal, which has been in the works for a year, and discuss the importance of ensuring its success after the Biden administration leaves office in a speech to the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the speech.

CAIRO (AP) — Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations were at the "closest point" yet to sealing a deal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court turned back a push by the state of Utah to wrest control of vast areas of public land from the federal government, marking a small victory for land conservation advocates who worry that similar efforts may escalate in a Republican-controlled Washington.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Spirits giant Brown-Forman Corp. said Tuesday it's reducing its global workforce by about 12% and closing its hometown barrel-making plant in Louisville. The cost-cutting moves come as American whiskey producers face stiff challenges from changing consumer trends and renewed tariff threats.

HARRSIBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission needs to better explain why it turned down a request from Coinbase to develop regulations to cover the booming crypto asset sector — although the judges stopped short of reversing the agency's decision.

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. watchdog is suing Capital One for allegedly misleading consumers about its offerings for high-interest savings accounts — and "cheating" customers out of more than $2 billion in lost interest payments as a result.

In a complaint filed Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took aim at Capital One's promises and handling of its "360 Savings" accounts. Despite promoting 360 Savings as an account that provides one of nation's highest interest rates, the CFPB alleges that Capital One froze its rate at a low level for at least several years, even as rates rose nationally.

Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar's Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show.

Newly released reports from Boar's Head plants in New Castle, Indiana; Forrest City, Arkansas; and Petersburg, Virginia, described multiple instances of meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, dripping condensation falling on food, mold, insects and other problems dating back roughly six years. Last May, one inspector documented "general filth" in a room at the Indiana plant.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The officials were not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity to discuss the yet to be publicly announced move. White House National Security Council officials declined to comment on the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ends his term with a gulf between his policy record and his public reputation.

The Democrat spent so much of his time addressing long-term priorities that many voters felt he did not adequately deal with more immediate problems like high inflation that peaked in 2022 and illegal crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to create a new agency called the External Revenue Service to collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations.

"We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying," Trump said Tuesday on his social media site, Truth Social. He compared his planned creation to the Internal Revenue Service, which is the nation's domestic tax collector.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed Tuesday to foster a "warrior culture" at the Pentagon and confronted allegations of his misconduct during a testy Senate confirmation hearing that drew protesters but also veterans in support.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Defense secretary is publicly facing senators for the first time after weeks of questions from Democrats — and praise from Republicans — about his "unconventional" resume.

CAIRO (AP) — Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Stressing his own organization's ability to pay out $1.2 billion over 10 years to help settle an industry-changing lawsuit, NCAA President Charlie Baker also urged Congress to pass legislation that could put college sports on a better path.

NASHVILLE (AP) — NCAA President Charlie Baker said Tuesday night there's plenty of time to figure out the best window for the transfer portal, hours after Football Bowl Subdivision coaches voted unanimously in favor of replacing the current two portal periods with one 10-day stretch in January starting in 2026.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans started their second round of interviews for a new general manager Tuesday, meeting with Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds and Buffalo director of player personnel Terrance Gray.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Nashville Predators past the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, Justin Barron and Ryan O'Reilly also scored and Justus Annunen made 19 saves for the Predators, who snapped a two-game skid.

Being a private person from a small town, Kim Caldwell keeps her business to herself.

That's why she ducked and dodged questions for months about her first pregnancy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Texas anti-pornography law is going before the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a collision of free speech rights, regulation of online content and the protection of children.

Texas is among more than a dozen states with similar laws aimed at blocking young children and teenagers from viewing pornography. The adult-content site Pornhub has stopped operating altogether in several of those states, citing the technical and privacy hurdles in complying with the laws.

NEW YORK (AP) — The tax deadline for some small businesses affected by severe weather in 2024 is drawing near, the IRS is reminding owners.

Small businesses in all or parts of 14 states and 2 territories that received extensions to file their 2023 returns due to natural disasters will need to file in 2025. Depending on their location, some have a Feb. 3 deadline. For others, it's May 1.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials on Wednesday released a far-reaching proposal to make cigarettes less addictive by capping their nicotine content, a goal long sought by antismoking advocates that is unlikely to go into effect anytime soon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sweeping 2022 law, touted by President Joe Biden as a way to revive U.S. manufacturing of semiconductors and reduce the country's reliance on foreign-made computer chips, will "sharply increase production'' of semiconductors in the United States. But it will do so at a high cost and might not deliver the best bang for the buck, concludes a report out Wednesday by an economic think tank in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation picked up last month as prices rose for gas, eggs, and used cars, yet underlying price pressures also showed signs of easing a bit.

Wednesday's report from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price index rose 2.9% in December from a year ago, the highest since July, up from 2.7% in November. It was the third straight increase after inflation fell to a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4% in September.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's economy shrank for the second straight year in 2024 as worried consumers held back on spending and Chinese competition ate into the country's traditional exports of cars and industrial machinery.

The year's weak performance underlines Germany's status as Europe's worst performing major economy and shows the country as having no meaningful growth in the past four years as it has struggled to deal with major shifts in the global economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pam Bondi, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, insisted at her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that the president-elect had been targeted by years of investigations and pledged that she would not "politicize" the Justice Department if confirmed as the country's chief federal law enforcement officer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the CIA told senators during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that the nation's premier spy agency must do a better job of staying ahead of global threats posed by Russia, China and other adversaries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio received a warm welcome from Senate colleagues Wednesday as he sketched out his plans for implementing President-elect Donald Trump's"America First" vision as secretary of state.

"I hope I can earn your support, whether it's because you believe I would do a good job, or because you want to get rid of me," Rubio joked in testimony the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he served for 14 years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is cohosting a reception with billionaire Republican donors next week for Donald Trump's inauguration, the latest sign of the Facebook founder's embrace of the president-elect.

The reception cohosted by Zuckerberg is set for Monday evening, shortly before the inaugural balls, according to two people familiar with the private plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, prepares for questioning from senators on Wednesday, only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults are "extremely" or "very" confident that the Department of Justice will act in a fair and nonpartisan manner during his second term, a poll finds.

BANGKOK (AP) — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, grilling President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary over whether he had the "breadth and depth of knowledge" needed to lead international negotiations, asked Pete Hegseth if could name one member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, describe what type of agreement the U.S. had with the countries and how many nations were in the bloc.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday that it's expanding the web of sanctions on companies and institutions supporting Russia's war efforts in Ukraine, re-designating about 100 entities for sanctions and placing sanctions on 15 new entities.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Women's basketball teams finally will be paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament each March just like the men have for years under a plan approved Wednesday at the NCAA convention.

The unanimous vote by NCAA membership was the final step toward a pay structure for women playing in March Madness after the Division I Board of Governors voted unanimously for the proposal in August.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday doubled down on his efforts to enact universal school vouchers throughout Tennessee by ordering the GOP-dominant Statehouse to pause their regular legislative duties and focus on passing a bill that would allow families to use public dollars for private school tuition.

MIAMI (AP) — Attorneys for the state of Florida argued before a federal appeals court Wednesday that a lower-court judge was wrong to block a law last year that bans gender-affirming care for minors and restricts similar care for adults, though a pending U.S. Supreme Court case creates uncertainty.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed open to a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography, though the justices could still send it back to a lower court for more consideration of how the age verification measure affects adults' free-speech rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government clawed back more than $31 million in Social Security payments that improperly went to dead people, a recovery that one official said Wednesday was "just the tip of the iceberg."

The money was reclaimed as part of a five-month pilot program after Congress gave the Department of Treasury temporary access to the Social Security Administration 's "Full Death Master File" for three years as part of the omnibus appropriations bill in 2021. The SSA maintains the most complete federal database of individuals who have died, and the file contains more than 142 million records, which go back to 1899, according to the Treasury.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 260,000 former students of the now-defunct for-profit Ashford University are getting their student loans erased as the Biden administration presses ahead with debt forgiveness in its final days.

Ashford was once one of the nation's largest for-profit college companies, with more than 100,000 students. It was owned by the company Zovio until the University of Arizona bought the online college in 2020.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for White House budget director, declined Wednesday to fully commit to doling out congressionally approved funds, specifically U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Vought faced questions at his confirmation hearing over his tenure as director of the Office and Management and Budget during Trump's first term. He stressed that he would follow the law, even as he emphasized Trump's desire to overturn the 1974 Impoundment Control Act that requires congressional approval to rescind spending.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's pick to head the Transportation Department promised Wednesday to scrutinize Boeing's safety issues, streamline regulations and not interfere in ongoing agency investigations into Elon Musk's electric car company if confirmed as secretary.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are both claiming credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza after the White House brought Trump's Middle East envoy into negotiations that have dragged on for months.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, mediators announced Wednesday, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip and raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pam Bondi, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, sought to reassure Democratic senators Wednesday that her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political purposes but also refused to rule out the potential for investigations into adversaries of the Republican president-elect.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday painted a dark vision of the consequences of America's "unbalanced relationship" with China, echoing President-elect Donald Trump's anti-globalist rhetoric as he vies to be confirmed as his secretary of state.