Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% and was solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 352 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% as of 2:05 p.m. Eastern. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 10.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 2.2% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 3.3% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.7%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 were gaining ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.6%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.8% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. European markets were mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.40% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, Bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.
Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer and little-known Georgia governor who became the 39th president of the United States, promising “honest and decent” government to Watergate-weary Americans, and later returned to the world stage as an influential human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has died. He was 100. When his turbulent presidency ended after a stinging reelection loss in 1980, Carter retreated to Plains, his political career over. Over the four decades that followed, though, he forged a legacy of public service, building homes for the needy, monitoring elections around the globe and emerging as a fearless and sometimes controversial critic of governments that mistreated their citizens. He lived longer than any U.S. president in history and was still regularly teaching Bible classes at his hometown Maranatha Baptist Church well into his 90s. During his post-presidency, he also wrote more than 30 books, including fiction, poetry, deeply personal reflections on his faith, and commentaries on Middle East strife. Though slowed by battles with brain and liver cancer and a series of falls and hip replacement in recent years, he returned again and again to his Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. As property values continue to outpace inflation, property taxes are taking a bigger bite out of homeowners’ wallets. A new analysis from Construction Coverage breaks down property tax rates by state, county, and city to reveal where homeowners have the greatest burden. Click for more. Where Are U.S. Property Taxes Highest and Lowest? A State, County, and City Analysis
Eagles QB Tanner McKee gets 1st career TD football back with a little help from fans in the standsWASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump 's team still hasn't signed agreements that are required to formally begin the transition process to the White House — meaning the government can't provide security clearances and briefings to incoming administration officials and the FBI can't screen his rush of picks for the Cabinet and other key posts . The importance of strenuous federal background screenings — and the fact that Trump's team has not been subjecting the president-elect's selections to such vetting — was evident Thursday, when former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew as Trump's pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on whether he could be confirmed by the Senate. The continued delay on agreeing to start the formal transition process may eventually force senators to vote on Trump’s choices without the benefit of the usual background checks. That process is designed to uncover personal problems, criminal histories and other potential red flags that would raise questions about a nominee’s suitability for key jobs. Beyond the top personnel picks that Trump already has announced, good governance activists and other experts on the transition process have warned for weeks that refusing to sign the transition documents will make it impossible for potentially hundreds of Trump national security appointees to get clearances. And that means the new administration won't be fully prepared to govern when Trump takes power on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025. Here's a look at where things stand and what effect the delay might have: At issue are memorandums of understanding under which the incoming administration agrees to work with the outgoing one while also submitting requests for name and background checks. The FBI then commits to flagging to the White House any adverse information uncovered during the process. Congressionally mandated ethics disclosures and donor contribution limits are required as part of the agreements needed to begin the transition process. A reluctance to comply with those has been a factor in the Trump team's hesitance to sign them, according to a person familiar with the process who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions. No. There's still time for the agreements to be signed. A Justice Department spokesperson said discussions were ongoing with the Trump transition team, which did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. But transition spokesman Brian Hughes said earlier this month that the team’s “lawyers continue to constructively engage with" lawyers and officials from President Joe Biden 's outgoing administration and promised updates “once a decision is made.” In the meantime, Trump's team has relied on internal campaign aides, allied groups and outside law firms to support its personnel effort. Trump for years has regarded FBI leadership with suspicion — in part because of the Russian election interference investigation that shadowed his first term, and more recently because of FBI investigations into his hoarding of classified documents and his efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election that led to his indictment last year. During a normal transition period, the new administration uses the time before taking office to begin working to fill 4,000 government positions with political appointees, or people who are specifically tapped for their jobs by Trump’s team. That includes everyone from the secretary of state and other heads of Cabinet departments to those selected to serve part-time on boards and commissions. Around 1,200 of those presidential appointments require Senate confirmation — which should be easier with the Senate shifting to Republican control in January. Trump has moved at record-setting speed to announce his key picks , and Senate GOP leaders say they plan to launch confirmation hearings as soon as the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3 — potentially allowing them to begin voting on nominees as soon as Inauguration Day. But lawmakers also are complaining about what they see as insufficient screening of the picks they’re being asked to consider. Some Senate Republicans have expressed concern about alleged wrongdoing by some Trump selections and two Democratic House members — Don Beyer of Virginia and Ted Lieu of California — introduced a proposal seeking to codify the FBI’s role in the background check process for political appointees of the president. And, while Gaetz is no longer an issue, he's not the only Trump pick with an eyebrow-raising background. The president-elect's nominee to be defense secretary, former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, but was not charged after a police investigation. A police report released Thursday contains graphic details of the sexual assault allegations. The selection of former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence has alarmed some U.S. intelligence analysts. They point to her past criticism of Ukraine, comments supportive of Russia and meetings with Syrian President Bashar Assad, a close ally of Russia and Iran. Incoming members of Trump's administration aren't getting briefings and other information from their outgoing Biden administration counterparts that can help them better prepare for their new jobs. And Trump appointees with positions involving a security clearance won't be able to begin work without a required background check. Once the president-elect takes office, however, he could simply order that officials be given a security clearance, as he was reported to have done for son-in-law Jared Kushner during his first term. Whether the delay thus far will have any longer-term effects is impossible to yet know. The delayed process may not matter much given that Trump has already served as president and has a much better understanding of how to run an administration than he did in 2016, when he won his first term. But there is precedent for problems. The 9/11 Commission suggested that the disputed election of 2000 — which delayed the start of the transition between outgoing President Bill Clinton and incoming President George W. Bush until December — raised questions about national security gaps from one administration to the other that may have contributed to the U.S. being underprepared for the Sept. 11 attacks the following year. The “36-day delay cut in half the normal transition period,” which constituted a “loss of time that hampered the new administration in identifying, recruiting, clearing and obtaining Senate confirmation of key appointees” the commission's report stated in 2004. ___(The Center Square) – Nevada’s state senate will be seeing five new faces with one seat flipping Republican and one flipping Democrat. Ten out of 21 district senate seats in Nevada were up for election this year. Here are those who have joined the Senate for the first time: District 1 Shelly Crawford was able to keep District 1 Democrat with 58.97% of the vote over Republican candidate Patricia Brinkley. Crawford filled former Sen. Pat Spearman’s vacated seat. Crawford has been a lifelong educator in Arizona and has written multiple bills targeting education that have passed through the legislature. “She has written Senate Bill SB352 which created $10 million dollars in state educator recruitment funding,” reads Crawford’s campaign website. “She also assisted with the $65 billion 2021 Federal Recovery Broadband Act that ensures that all of our students have access to the internet. This last legislative session she co-presented Senate Bill 428 for teacher pathway programs.” District 11 Democratic incumbent Dallas Harris lost his seat in District 11 to Republican challenger Lori Rogich by just around 1%. “I’m honored to have earned your trust and support in this election,” reads a post by Rogich on X. “Together, we’ve shown what a united, strong, and determined community can achieve. Now, I’m ready to get to work for our district, tackle the issues that matter most, and make a difference for every one of you. This is just the beginning, and I couldn’t be more excited for what we’ll accomplish together.” Rogich is new to the political arena, formerly working as a lawyer. Her priorities in the legislature include improving education, the healthcare workforce shortage, stabilizing the economy and improving public safety. District 15 Angie Taylor flipped District 15 blue, beating Republican candidate Mike Ginsburg. Republican Heidi Gansert formerly held the seat since 2016. This position on the senate will be Taylor’s first role in politics, but has spent her life working in education, formerly serving on the local school board. Her priorities in the legislature include funding and supporting schools, reducing the cost of living, protecting the right to abortion, creating affordable housing and finding ways to improve environmental sustainability. District 18 John Steinbeck has filled District 18’s open seat, keeping a Republican hold on the district. He won the general election against Ron Bilodeau with 56.91% of the vote. Steinbeck formerly worked as fire chief at the Clark County Fire Department and has ran his campaign on improving public safety. Additionally, his campaign website states that his other priorities include improving education quality, diversifying Nevada’s economy and addressing the healthcare workforce shortage. District 19 Republican John Ellison ran unopposed in the District 19 general election. Ellison has had a long history representing Nevada in the political arena, serving District 33 for 12 years in the Nevada Assembly. Five incumbents prevailed, keeping a hold on their seats in Districts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.