Residents of New Orleans are marking the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall on the Gulf Coast. Events from solemn memorial services to uplifting musical performances are being held in the city Friday to honor the dead, the displaced and the determined survivors who helped rebuild. A wreath-laying ceremony kicked off the day at New Orleans' memorial for dozens of unidentified storm victims. Hundreds observed a minute of silence in the Lower Ninth Ward, a majority Black neighborhood where the federal levee system was breached on Aug. 29, 2005. Residents and dignitaries also marked Katrina's anniversary in Mississippi, where hundreds more perished in the storm.
From
To
Labor Day is a holiday celebrating the American worker. But from barbecues to getaways to shopping the sales, many people across the U.S. mark it by finding ways to relax. It’s celebrated on the first Monday of September. While actions by unions in recent years to advocate for workers have been a reminder of the holiday’s activist roots, the three-day weekend it creates has become a touchstone in the lives of Americans marking the unofficial end of summer.
The New Orleans Katrina Memorial stands behind Dr. Michael White during a wreath laying event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in Charity Hospital Cemetery in New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Stocks moved further into record territory on Wall Street. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Thursday, its second record in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2%, eking out an all-time high of its own. The Nasdaq composite added 0.5%. The advances were driven largely by gains in huge tech companies including Broadcom, Alphabet and Amazon, even as many stocks fell. Spam maker Hormel sank after reporting earnings that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts and cutting its outlook for the year. Treasury yields were little changed in the bond market following some mixed reports on the economy.
Stocks edged higher ahead of a closely watched earnings report from Nvidia. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Wednesday, beating the all-time high it set two weeks ago. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Investors see Nvidia’s quarterly report as a barometer for the strength of the boom in artificial intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that power the technology. Cracker Barrel climbed 8% after scrapping plans to change its logo following an uproar on social media that even drew a comment from President Trump. Treasury yields fell in the bond market.
President Donald Trump is proudly promoting the work of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops in Washington to confront what the Republican president describes as an out-of-control crime wave in the Democratic-run city. Trump and his allies are confident that his decision to dispatch soldiers to a key American city with no clear crisis is a big political winner. Democrats say this is a fight they’re eager to have. One Democratic strategist says it's “an opportunity for the party to go on offense on an issue that has plagued us for a long time.†Trump’s power grab could be a factor for both sides in elections in Virginia and New Jersey this fall — and next year’s midterms.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and suggested the central bank will proceed cautiously as it continues to evaluate the impact of tariffs and other policies on the economy. In a high-profile speech closely watched at the White House and on Wall Street, Powell said that there are risks of both rising unemployment and stubbornly higher inflation. Yet he suggested that with hiring sluggish, the job market could weaken further.
PHILADELPHIA — A medical museum in Philadelphia has redrawn its policies on the collection and display of human remains, limiting its acceptan…
A federal judge has halted further expansion of the immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades. The judge on Thursday also ordered the facility to wind down operations within two months. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams stated that Florida officials never adequately explained the need for the facility in the middle of the sensitive wetlands. She also noted that state and federal defendants failed to conduct an environmental review before building the detention center. Federal and Florida officials had hailed the facility as a model for President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
People rally against President Donald Trump's use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops along the U street corridor in northwest Washington Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
