WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's decision to form a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain to counter China is angering France and the European Union. They're feeling left out and seeing it as a return to the Trump era.

2. Organizer of Saturday rally looks to rewrite Jan. 6 history - Friday, September 17, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The architect of a Washington protest planned for Saturday that aims to rewrite history about the violent January assault on the U.S. Capitol is hardly a household name.

Matt Braynard worked as an analyst for the Republican Party, crunched data for a small election firm and later started a consulting business that attracted few federal clients, records show. He started a nonprofit after he was dismissed by Donald Trump's 2016 campaign following several months on the job, but struggled to raise money. The group's tax-exempt status was revoked last year.

3. Ford adding 450 jobs to meet demand for new electric truck - Friday, September 17, 2021

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to spend $250 million and add 450 jobs at three Michigan plants to meet demand for the new F-150 Lightning.

4. Biden's 'summer of love' with Europe hits an abrupt break-up - Friday, September 17, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's summer of love with Europe appears to have come to an abrupt end.

After promising European leaders that "America is back" and that multilateral diplomacy would guide U.S. foreign policy, Biden has angered numerous allies with a go-it-alone approach on key issues, the latest being a new security initiative for the Indo-Pacific that notably excluded France and the European Union.

5. Small agency, big job: Biden tasks OSHA with vaccine mandate - Friday, September 17, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration doesn't make many headlines. Charged with keeping America's workplaces safe, it usually busies itself with tasks such as setting and enforcing standards for goggles, hardhats and ladders.

6. Democrats call oil giants to testify on climate campaign - Friday, September 17, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are calling top executives at ExxonMobil and other oil giants to testify at a House hearing as lawmakers investigate what they say is a long-running, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming.

7. Tesla builds 1st store on tribal land, dodges state car laws - Friday, September 17, 2021

NAMBÉ, N.M. (AP) — Carmaker Tesla has opened a store and repair shop on Native American land for the first time, marking a new approach to its yearslong fight to sell cars directly to consumers and cut car dealerships out of the process.

8. House panel rejects drug pricing plan in setback to Biden - Friday, September 17, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee dealt an ominous if tentative blow Wednesday to President Joe Biden's huge social and environment package, derailing a money-saving plan to let Medicare negotiate the price it pays for prescription drugs.

9. Nashville health group pushes vaccines for all - Friday, September 17, 2021

The Nashville Health Care Council board of directors has issued a statement urging every person to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and it invited top executives of health care companies nationwide to sign on to the statement.

10. Events - Friday, September 17, 2021

Full Moon Pickin’ Party. Bluegrass music performed by attendees and main acts. Bring your acoustic instrument to participate in the final party this year. Percy Warner Park Equestrian Center. Fee: $25 adults, $10 youth (7-17), children 6 and younger free. Proceeds benefit Warner Parks. Friday, 6-10 p.m. Food Trucks on-site. Information

11. Biden, CEOs, biz leaders meet on COVID-19 vaccine mandates - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden met Wednesday with the CEOs of Walt Disney and Columbia Sportswear, and other business executives and leaders, to discuss  his recently announced vaccine requirement for companies  that employ at least 100 people.

12. Trump aides aim to build GOP opposition to Afghan refugees - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban arrive in the U.S., a handful of former Trump administration officials are working to turn Republicans against them.

13. Democrats revise elections bill but face Senate headwinds - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats unveiled a pared back elections bill Tuesday in hopes of kickstarting their stalled push to counteract new laws in Republican states that could make it more difficult to cast a ballot.

14. Blinken defense of Afghan policy clouded by al-Qaida warning - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday sought to parry bipartisan congressional criticism of the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal, as new intelligence estimates warned that al-Qaida could soon again use Afghan soil to plot attacks on the United States.

15. Amazon eyes 125K more hires, $18+ per hour average salary - Friday, September 10, 2021

Amazon wants to hire 125,000 delivery and warehouse workers and said Tuesday that it is paying new hires an average of $18 an hour in a tight job market as more people shop online.

Competition for hourly workers has become fierce, and many companies are offering higher pay, sign-on bonuses and other incentives. Last week, package delivery company UPS promised to handout job offers in 30 minutes after candidates apply for many of the 100,000 holiday workers it plans to hire.

16. Blinken pushes back on GOP criticism of Afghan withdrawal - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back Monday against harsh Republican criticism of the handling of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying the Biden administration inherited a deal with the Taliban to end the war, but no plan for carrying it out.

17. Blinken defends Biden's handling of Afghanistan withdrawal - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday defended the Biden administration's much-criticized handling of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan in a contentious congressional hearing.

18. Study: Pentagon reliance on contractors hurt US in 9/11 wars - Friday, September 10, 2021

Up to half of the $14 trillion spent by the Pentagon since 9/11 went to for-profit defense contractors, a study released Monday found. It's the latest work to argue the U.S. reliance on private corporations for war-zone duties that used to be done by troops contributed to mission failure in Afghanistan.

19. US steps up effort to unite families separated under Trump - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is expanding its effort to find and reunite migrant families who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under President Donald Trump as part of a zero-tolerance policy on illegal crossings.

20. Analysis: Biden takes fight to unvaccinated in virus battle - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — They're a source of frustration. A risk to their fellow citizens. A threat to the nation's economic recovery.

President Joe Biden is trying to concentrate the anger of the nation's inoculated majority against the refusal of 25% of eligible Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

21. As flights resume, plight of Afghan allies tests Biden's vow - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Evacuation flights have resumed for Westerners, but thousands of at-risk Afghans who had helped the United States are still stranded in their homeland with the U.S. Embassy shuttered, all American diplomats and troops gone and the Taliban now in charge.

22. In a hot market, companies compete with would-be homeowners - Friday, September 10, 2021

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Soaring home prices and rents are fueling real estate companies' appetite for houses, adding unwelcome competition for many would-be homebuyers.

Residential real estate bought by companies or institutions hit an all-time high of 67,943 properties in the second quarter, according to Redfin, a Seattle-based online brokerage.

23. EPA seeks to restart process that could restrict Alaska mine - Friday, September 10, 2021

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it would seek to restart a process that could restrict mining in Alaska's Bristol Bay region, which is renowned for its salmon runs.

24. House Dems begin moving parts of Biden $3.5T domestic plans - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats began pushing plans for providing paid family and medical leave, easing climate change and bolstering education through House committees Thursday as they battled Republicans and among themselves over President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion vision for reshaping federal priorities.

25. US, Mexico restart high-level economic talks after 4 years - Friday, September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Mexico restarted high-level economic talks Thursday after a four-year pause as top advisers to presidents Joe Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed eagerness to make headway on issues important to both nations such as infrastructure, trade and migration.

26. Tennessee redistricting starts; focus on Nashville-area boom - Friday, September 10, 2021

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Republican supermajority Legislature began work Wednesday on the once-a-decade task of carving up new legislative and congressional districts based on population shifts, a task that a Democratic congressman testified should not divide fast-growing Nashville into different U.S. House seats.

27. COVID-19 surge in the US: The summer of hope ends in gloom - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The summer that was supposed to mark America's independence from COVID-19 is instead drawing to a close with the U.S. more firmly under the tyranny of the virus, with deaths per day back up to where they were last March.

28. Report: Solar could power 40% of US electricity by 2035 - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40% of the nation's electricity within 15 years — a 10-fold increase over current solar output, but one that would require massive changes in U.S. policy and billions of dollars in federal investment to modernize the nation's electric grid, a new federal report says.

29. Bradley attorneys appointed to ABA leadership positions - Friday, September 10, 2021

Seven Bradley Arant Boult Cummings attorneys have been appointed to new leadership roles with the American Bar Association, including Junaid Odubeko, a partner in the firm’s Nashville office.

30. Yellen warns US may hit debt limit in October - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning Congress that she will run out of maneuvering room to prevent the U.S. from broaching the government's borrowing limit in October.

In a letter to congressional leaders on Wednesday, Yellen said that she still could not provide a specific date for when she will be unable to keep the government funded, absent action by Congress to raise the debt limit.

31. Texas GOP bets on hard right turn amid changing demographics - Friday, September 3, 2021

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republicans in America's largest conservative state for years racked up victories under the slogan "Keep Texas Red," a pledge to quash a coming blue wave that Democrats argued was inevitable given shifting demographics.

32. US stocks close mostly lower, but Nasdaq still inches higher - Friday, September 3, 2021

Stocks closed mostly lower on Wall Street Tuesday as traders returned from the Labor Day holiday, even as gains for some Big Tech companies nudged the Nasdaq composite barely higher.

The benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.3%. Meanwhile gains for Apple, Facebook and a few other tech heavyweights nudged the Nasdaq up just under 0.1%, enough for another record high.

33. White House taps populist message as Biden pushes $3.5T plan - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden refocuses on his $3.5 trillion "build back better" agenda, the White House is preparing an urgent and aggressively populist-styled message for lawmakers and the American public: Whose side are you on?

34. Stocks end mostly lower even as tech drives Nasdaq higher - Friday, September 3, 2021

Major stock indexes on Wall Street closed mostly lower Friday, though a rally in Big Tech companies nudged the Nasdaq to another all-time high.

The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% a day after notching a record high. The benchmark index still managed its second straight weekly gain. Losses in financial, industrial and utilities companies outweighed gains in technology stocks and other sectors of the S&P 500. Energy prices mostly fell. Gold and silver rose. Treasury yields were mixed.

35. US booster plan faces complications, some may miss Sept. 20 - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's plans to start delivery of booster shots by Sept. 20 for most Americans who received the COVID-19 vaccines are facing new complications that could delay the availability of third doses for those who received the Moderna vaccine, administration officials said Friday.

36. Tyson Foods workers get paid sick leave; 75% vaccinated - Friday, September 3, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — Tyson Foods is offering its front-line workers paid sick leave for the first time, part of an agreement that secured union support for its mandate that all U.S. employees get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

37. US hiring slows as delta variant weakens travel and tourism - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a surprisingly weak gain after two months of robust hiring and the clearest sign to date that the delta variant's spread has discouraged some people from flying, shopping and eating out.

38. EXPLAINER: What is Apple doing with its App Store? - Friday, September 3, 2021

Over the past week or so, Apple has eased some longstanding restrictions that helped make its App Store into a big moneymaker for the company. The company has long required app developers to pay high commissions to Apple on the sales of paid apps as well as purchases of subscriptions or digital items inside their apps.

39. GM, Ford halt some production as chip shortage worsens - Friday, September 3, 2021

DETROIT (AP) — The global shortage of computer chips is getting worse, forcing automakers to temporarily close factories including those that build popular pickup trucks.

General Motors announced Thursday that it would pause production at eight North American plants during the next two weeks, including two that make the company's top-selling Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

40. US trade deficit narrows slightly to $70.1 billion in July - Friday, September 3, 2021

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly to $70.1 billion in July as economic recovery overseas helped boost American exports while imports declined.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the trade deficit fell 4.3% in July after surging to a record $73.2 billion in June. The trade deficit represents the gap between what the country exports to the rest of the world and the imports it purchases from other countries.

41. Milley: US coordination with Taliban on strikes 'possible' - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it's "possible" the United States will seek to coordinate with the Taliban on counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan against Islamic State militants or others.

42. Biden blasts high court failure to block Texas abortion curb - Friday, September 3, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday blasted the Supreme Court's decision not to block a new Texas law banning most abortions in the state and directed federal agencies to do what they can to "insulate women and providers" from the impact.

43. New online site launched to help people get child tax credit - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government has collaborated on a new internet site to help more Americans apply for and receive the expanded child tax credit, a monthly payment of as much as $300 per child that was part of the coronavirus relief package.

44. Texas Legislature sends sweeping GOP voting bill to governor - Friday, August 27, 2021

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The GOP-controlled Texas Legislature passed a broad overhaul of the state's election laws Tuesday, tightening already strict voting rules and dealing a bruising defeat to Democrats who waged a monthslong fight over what they argued was a brazen attempt to disenfranchise minorities and other Democratic-leaning voters.

45. Biden defends departure from 'forever war,' praises airlift - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defensive President Joe Biden called the U.S. airlift to extract more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and other allies from Afghanistan to end a 20-year war an "extraordinary success," though more than 100 Americans and thousands of others were left behind.

46. Analysis: War is over but not Biden's Afghanistan challenges - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the final stream of U.S. cargo planes soaring over the peaks of the Hindu Kush, President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise to end America's longest war, one it could not win.

47. For Biden, ending war in Afghanistan leaves tough questions - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Faced with tough questions about leaving Afghanistan, including Americans left behind, President Joe Biden planned to address the nation Tuesday about the way forward after 20 years of U.S. war.

48. Last troops exit Afghanistan, ending America's longest war - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America's longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war.

49. PNC to raise base wages to $18 an hour, latest bank to do so - Friday, August 27, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — PNC Bank is the latest large U.S. financial services company to increase wages in a bid to keep and attract employees, raising its minimum wage to $18 an hour while also giving higher-paid workers a bump in pay.

50. US flies more evacuees out as withdrawal deadline nears - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — America's 20-year war in Afghanistan entered its final hours Monday with the last Americans seeking to be evacuated and the U.S. military preparing to end its airlift and depart the Taliban-controlled capital.

51. Bernie Sanders sets out to sell big government in red states - Friday, August 27, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders has long argued, but not proved, that his big government populism can win over voters in the largely white, rural communities that flocked to Republican Donald Trump in recent elections.

52. Kabul airport attack kills 60 Afghans, 12 US troops - Friday, August 27, 2021

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul's airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. At least 60 Afghans and 12 U.S. troops were killed, Afghan and U.S. officials said.

53. Korean company to make auto parts in Washington County - Friday, August 27, 2021

TELFORD, Tenn. (AP) — A Korean manufacturer of auto parts is making its first expansion into the U.S. in Tennessee, state officials said.

Officials with Sungwoo Hitech America said the company is investing $40 million to bring manufacturing operations to the town of Telford in Washington County, Tennessee economic development officials said in a news release Wednesday. The company plans to create more than 100 jobs with the move.

54. Blinken estimates 1,500 Americans may still await evacuation - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests this part of the U.S.-led airlift could be completed before President Joe Biden's Tuesday deadline. Untold thousands of at-risk Afghans, however, are struggling to get into the Kabul airport.

55. Report: Most federal election security money remains unspent - Friday, August 20, 2021

Congress provided hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up the nation's election system against cyberattacks and other threats, but roughly two-thirds of the money remained unspent just weeks before last year's presidential election.

56. Bone McAllester Norton combines with Spencer Fane - Friday, August 27, 2021

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC, one of Nashville’s largest law firms, will combine with Spencer Fane, an Am Law 200 ranked law firm with offices in 20 cities nationwide.

The combination will become effective Oct. 1 and position the firms to expand both in terms of size and geography.

57. Pentagon: US troops must get their COVID-19 vaccines ASAP - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Military troops must immediately begin to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, ordering service leaders to "impose ambitious timelines for implementation."

58. Harris urges Vietnam to join US in opposing China 'bullying' - Friday, August 20, 2021

HANOI (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris called on Vietnam to join the U.S. in challenging China's "bullying" in the South China Sea, continuing her sharp rhetoric against Beijing as she met with Vietnamese leaders on Wednesday.

59. House passes $3.5T Biden blueprint after deal with moderates - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Striking a deal with moderates, House Democratic leaders have muscled President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle, ending a risky standoff and putting the party's domestic infrastructure agenda back on track.

60. House passes bill bolstering landmark voting law - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have passed legislation that would strengthen a landmark civil rights-era voting law weakened by the Supreme Court over the past decade, a step party leaders tout as progress in their quest to fight back against voting restrictions advanced in Republican-led states.

61. Biden to tackle cybersecurity with tech, finance leaders - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is meeting Wednesday with top executives from some of the country's leading technology companies and financial institutions as the White House urges the private sector to help toughen cybersecurity defenses against increasingly sophisticated attacks.

62. Taliban takeover prompts fears of a resurgent al-Qaida - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The lightning-fast changes in Afghanistan are forcing the Biden administration to confront the prospect of a resurgent al-Qaida, the group that attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, at the same time the U.S. is trying to stanch violent extremism at home and cyberattacks from Russia and China.

63. G-7 leaders can't sway Biden to delay Afghanistan withdrawal - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sharply divided leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies clashed Tuesday over U.S. President Joe Biden's insistence on withdrawing from Afghanistan by August 31 in the face of the Taliban takeover of the country.

64. Pentagon to mandate COVID-19 vaccine, as Pfizer is approved - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Monday that it will require service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making good on his vow earlier this month to require the shots once the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine. He said guidance is being developed and a timeline will be provided in the coming days.

65. Poll: School mask, vaccine mandates supported in US - Friday, August 20, 2021

BOSTON (AP) — As COVID-19 cases surge around the country, a majority of Americans say they support mask mandates for students and teachers in K-12 schools, according to a new poll, but their views are sharply divided along political lines.

66. COVID anxiety rising amid delta surge, AP-NORC poll finds - Friday, August 20, 2021

DENVER (AP) — Anxiety in the United States over COVID-19 is at its highest level since winter, a new poll shows, as the delta variant rages, more states and school districts adopt mask and vaccination requirements and the nation's hospitals once again fill to capacity.

67. Biden pledges to Americans in Kabul: 'We will get you home' - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pledged firmly on Friday to bring all Americans home from Afghanistan — and Afghans who aided the war effort, too — even as countless would-be evacuees struggled to get past crushing crowds, Taliban airport checkpoints and sometimes-insurmountable U.S. bureaucracy.

68. Owner: Purdue hoped new Oxy would help in crisis; no apology - Friday, August 20, 2021

The family that owns Purdue Pharma had hoped a reformulated version of Oxycontin would help rein in the burgeoning opioid crisis a decade ago, a member of the Sackler family said Thursday in court testimony that once again stopped short of an apology or acceptance of responsibility for the epidemic.

69. Under delta, supply chain strains, Toyota slashes production - Friday, August 20, 2021

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota is scaling back production in North America and Japan as the surging coronavirus pandemic in Southeast Asia and elsewhere crimps supplies.

Japan's top automaker said Thursday that it will cut back production at home by 40%, affecting 14 auto assembly plants in the country.

70. Biden: Greater threats than Taliban-controlled Afghanistan - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says even with the Taliban in power in Afghanistan, he sees a greater threat from outposts of al-Qaida and its affiliated groups in other countries, and that it was no longer "rational" to continue to focus U.S. military power there.

71. US jobless claims hit a pandemic low as hiring strengthens - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fourth straight time to a pandemic low, the latest sign that America's job market is rebounding from the pandemic recession as employers boost hiring to meet a surge in consumer demand.

72. How AI-powered tech landed man in jail with scant evidence - Friday, August 20, 2021

CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Williams' wife pleaded with him to remember their fishing trips with the grandchildren, how he used to braid her hair, anything to jar him back to his world outside the concrete walls of Cook County Jail.

73. Democratic-led committees vow investigations on Afghanistan - Friday, August 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic-led congressional committees are vowing to press President Joe Biden's administration on what went wrong as the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan and the United States left scores of Americans and thousands who helped them over the years in grave danger.

74. Brighter outlook from Macy's, Kohl's after sales bounce back - Friday, August 20, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — A return, at least temporarily, to near normalcy is giving a boost two of America's largest department stores hit hard by the pandemic last year.

Macy's and Kohl's raised their projections for 2021 Thursday after easily beating expectations in the just-ended second quarter. Americans are going back to stores again to buy dresses, luggage and other goods that fell to the bottom of the priority list last year when the pandemic struck.

75. US health officials call for booster shots against COVID-19 - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines' effectiveness is falling.

76. Franklin among hottest ZIP codes in U.S. - Friday, August 20, 2021

Franklin has been listed at No. 10 in the 2021 Hottest ZIPs in America, selling three times faster than last year’s list, the seventh annual Realtor.com Hottest ZIP codes Report finds.

77. Mayor names Jurkovich public affairs senior adviser - Friday, August 20, 2021

Tom Jurkovich has joined Mayor John Cooper’s administration as senior adviser for public affairs.

Jurkovich will provide strategic leadership in communications, community outreach, issue management, and coalition building as part of the effort to advance the mayor’s priorities on a range of policy areas, including transportation, sustainability, affordable housing and economic development.

78. Dollar General thrives despite ‘retail apocalypse' - Friday, August 20, 2021

Don’t blink! You might miss the grand opening of another Dollar General store. OK, that’s an exaggeration. But not by much.

In the 14 years since an investment group purchased the family owned business and took it public again two years later, the Goodlettsville-based chain has added nearly 10,000 stores to boast more retail locations than any other company in the United States – quickly closing on 18,000 stores in 46 states.

79. Pentagon: US in talks with Taliban to ease Kabul obstacles - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior U.S. military officers at the Kabul airport are talking to Taliban commanders in the capital about Taliban checkpoints and curfews that have limited the number of Americans and Afghans able to enter the airport, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

80. Study: Pandemic accelerated trends away from live TV viewing - Friday, August 13, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — The pandemic accelerated changes in how people use their televisions, further reducing the dominance in traditional live viewing of what networks are showing, a new study has found.

81. Judge mulls key rulings in Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy - Friday, August 13, 2021

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A year and a half after the Boy Scouts of America sought bankruptcy protection amid an onslaught of child sex abuse lawsuits, a Delaware judge is poised to issue a ruling that could determine whether the organization might emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

82. TSA extends into January mask rule for airline passengers - Friday, August 13, 2021

Federal officials are extending into January a requirement that people on airline flights and public transportation wear face masks, a rule intended to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The Transportation Security Administration's current order was scheduled to expire Sept. 13. An agency spokesman said Tuesday that the mandate will be extended until Jan. 18.

83. Former Vols could have big impact on new teams - Friday, August 13, 2021

Tennessee hasn't finished a season ranked higher than 22nd since 2007, yet there still figures to be a heavy Volunteer flavor to the playoff picture this year.

Or to put it more accurately, an ex-Volunteer flavor.

84. White House: Taliban agree to allow civilian 'safe passage' - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Taliban have agreed to allow "safe passage" from Afghanistan for civilians hoping to join a U.S.-directed airlift from the capital, President Joe Biden's national security adviser said Tuesday, although a timetable for completing the evacuation of Americans, Afghan allies and possibly other civilians has yet to be worked out with the country's new rulers.

85. GOP hits Biden despite divides over Afghanistan withdrawal - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden announced he would stick to his predecessor's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Republican reaction was mixed and largely muted. Foreign policy had become so contentious that the party's own leaders had no single position on the end of the nation's longest war.

86. Biden: Afghan chaos 'gut-wrenching' but stands by withdrawal - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defiant President Joe Biden rejected blame for chaotic scenes of Afghans clinging to U.S. military planes in Kabul in a desperate bid to flee their home country after the Taliban's easy victory over an Afghan military that America and NATO allies had spent two decades trying to build.

87. Buffett's firm ups Kroger stake while trimming drug holdings - Friday, August 13, 2021

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett's company has again increased the size of its bet on grocery giant Kroger, while scaling back several of its health care industry investments.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said in a quarterly update with regulators Monday that it picked up nearly 11 million shares of Kroger stock during the second quarter, raising its holdings to 61.8 million shares. Buffett's company has been steadily adding to its Kroger holdings in recent quarters.

88. Biden says he stands 'squarely behind' Afghanistan decision - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Striking a defiant tone, President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands "squarely behind" his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government's collapse was quicker than anticipated.

89. Hydrogen-powered vehicles: A realistic path to clean energy? - Friday, August 13, 2021

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Each morning at a transit facility in Canton, Ohio, more than a dozen buses pull up to a fueling station before fanning out to their routes in this city south of Cleveland.

The buses — made by El Dorado National and owned by the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority — look like any others. Yet collectively, they reflect the cutting edge of a technology that could play a key role in producing cleaner inter-city transportation. In place of pollution-belching diesel fuel, one-fourth of the agency's buses run on hydrogen. They emit nothing but harmless water vapor.

90. Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules without provoking backlash - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. first began to slow, President Joe Biden backed incentives like million-dollar cash lotteries if that's what it took to get shots in arms. But as new coronavirus infections soar, he's testing a tougher approach.

91. Airbnb cuts 2Q loss to $68 million, COVID clouds forecast - Friday, August 13, 2021

Airbnb said Thursday that it narrowed its second-quarter loss to $68 million and gave a bullish forecast for revenue, but the company warned that new variants of COVID-19 will make future bookings and cancellations harder to predict.

92. Judge rules Dominion case can proceed against Trump allies - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge cleared the way Wednesday for a defamation case by Dominion Voting Systems to proceed against Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, allies of former President Donald Trump who had all falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election.

93. Senate panel interviews former US attorney in Trump probe - Friday, August 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee met privately Wednesday with a former U.S. attorney in Georgia who resigned in January as then-President Donald Trump waged a pressure campaign on state and federal officials to overturn his presidential defeat — part of a larger probe into Trump's actions after the November election.

94. The five best hybrid SUVs you can buy - Friday, August 13, 2021

Buying a hybrid vehicle is typically a smart way to help save money on gas and reduce your carbon footprint compared to a conventional gasoline-only vehicle.

Not long ago, your shopping choices were largely limited to hybrid hatchbacks and sedans, but the hybrid SUV market has expanded considerably the past few years. The latest hybrid SUVs can get impressive fuel economy while providing plenty of cargo space, a higher ride height, available all-wheel drive and cutting-edge technology features.

95. What's inside the Senate's bipartisan infrastructure bill - Friday, August 6, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan plan to rebuild roads and bridges, modernize public works systems and boost broadband internet, among other improvements to the nation's infrastructure.

96. Dominion sues Trump-friendly broadcasters over fraud claims - Friday, August 6, 2021

PHOENIX (AP) — Vote-counting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems filed defamation lawsuits Tuesday against right-wing broadcasters and a prominent Donald Trump ally over their baseless claims that the 2020 election was marred by fraud.

97. What's inside the Senate's bipartisan infrastructure bill - Friday, August 6, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan plan to rebuild roads and bridges, modernize public works systems and boost broadband internet, among other improvements to the nation's infrastructure.

98. Dominion sues Trump-friendly broadcasters over fraud claims - Friday, August 6, 2021

PHOENIX (AP) — Vote-counting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems filed defamation lawsuits Tuesday against right-wing broadcasters and a prominent Donald Trump ally over their baseless claims that the 2020 election was marred by fraud.

99. Facebook bans firm behind Pfizer, AstraZeneca smear campaign - Friday, August 6, 2021

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Facebook said Tuesday that it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to a mysterious advertising agency operating out of Russia that sought to pay social media influencers to smear COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

100. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday still a goal for automakers - Friday, August 6, 2021

DETROIT (AP) — Rick Hendrick erased any doubt that marketing in motorsports is still effective when his automotive sales group bought the sponsorship rights through 2023 for NASCAR title contender Kyle Larson.