Wall Street slips and is headed for a losing week

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By DAMIAN J. TROISE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and are on track for their first weekly loss in the last four.

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The S&P 500 fell 0.7% in the morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:51 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.2%.

The market was weighed down by technology stocks, especially several big names with huge valuations that give them outsized influence over the direction of the market. Overall, there were more gainers than losers within the S&P 500, but the index was dragged down by a 2.5% drop for Nvidia and a 2.1% drop for Broadcom, among others big names losing ground.

Wall Street remained focused on the latest quarterly reports and forecasts from U.S. companies.

Payments company Block, which operates the Square and Cash App businesses, sank 10.9% after turning in results that fell short of forecasts. Exercise equipment maker Peloton jumped 6.1% after its results beat estimates.

Expedia Group surged 17.5% after beating analysts’ quarterly earnings forecasts.

Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.10% from 4.09% late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury remained at 3.56% from late Thursday.

Markets in Europe fell and markets in Asia closed lower. China reported that its exports contracted 1.1% in October, as shipments to the United States dropped by 25% from a year earlier. But economists expect Chinese exports to recover after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed last week to de-escalate the trade war between the two largest economies.

Marshawn Kneeland’s death highlights the importance of mental health resources for NFL players

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By ROB MAADDI, Associated Press Pro Football Writer

It’s OK to not be OK.

Every conversation about mental health includes that important statement and a message that tough times don’t last, things will get better and help is available.

The NFL and the rest of society have come a long way in dealing with mental wellness. The stigma surrounding it has changed. The “suck it up” and “tough it out” mentality are long gone.

Players are encouraged to prioritize their mental well-being. They’re told to seek professional support if needed. They have more resources available to them now. The NFL and NFL Players Association in 2019 made it a requirement to have a licensed behavioral health clinician on the staff of each team.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Helplines outside the U.S. can be found at www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts.

The Indianapolis Colts launched “Kicking The Stigma” in 2020, the Irsay family’s initiative to raise awareness about mental health disorders. Breaking down barriers surrounding mental health was a personal mission for Colts owner Jim Irsay, who died in May at age 65. His youngest daughter, Kalen Jackson, is leading the cause and has talked openly about dealing with anxiety.

Many former and current players have opened up about their personal struggles in an effort to raise more awareness about a topic that used to be a silent illness.

Former Eagles star Brian Dawkins used the platform of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018 to share publicly about his battle with depression. Dawkins overcame suicidal thoughts to become one of the greatest safeties in the history of the sport. Now, he’s on a crusade to educate people about mental wellness.

“I have grown leaps and bounds because of the things that I’ve gone through, and that’s one of those things I went through,” Dawkins said on the stage after receiving his gold jacket. “When I say, went through, that means I came on the other side of it. So for those who are going through it right now, there’s hope. You do have hope. There is something on the other side of this. Don’t get caught up where you are. Don’t stay where you are. Keep moving. Keep pushing through.”

Again, it’s OK to not be OK.

Sadly, this message doesn’t always get through to someone who needs to hear it the most.

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On Thursday, the NFL mourned the loss of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland. Police in a Dallas suburb say the 24-year-old Kneeland was found dead of an apparent suicide after evading authorities in his vehicle and fleeing the scene of an accident on foot.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott lost his older brother, Jace, by suicide in 2020. Teammate Solomon Thomas’ older sister Ella took her own life in January 2018 at 24 years old.

Thomas, a first-round pick in 2017, had just completed his first season with the 49ers. His sister’s loss led to anxiety, depression and sadness.

“I wish you knew it was going to be (OK),” Thomas wrote on Instagram above a photo of Kneeland. “I wish you knew the pain wouldn’t last and how loved you are. I wish you knew how bad we wanted you to stay.”

News of Kneeland’s death hit hard for players and coaches across the league.

“It hurts your heart,” Buccaneers veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard said in Tampa Bay’s locker room. “This game is great and everything; it is one of everybody’s childhood dreams to come and play at this level, but that is the real-life stuff people go through. You just never know, so (it) puts things in perspective for you every day that you walk into this building, being grateful and just checking on your brothers as well, make sure everything is OK with them mentally. This game is a lot on us and people tend to forget the real-life aspect of it. It hurts your heart to see.”

A second-round pick in 2024, Kneeland scored a touchdown after recovering a blocked punt on Monday night against Arizona. It was a highlight moment in what seemed to be a promising career.

Tragically, he’s gone.

Nobody has to suffer alone, there’s plenty of help available and it’s OK to not be OK.

Democrats consider prolonging the shutdown as Republicans prepare new bills without health care fix

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By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are moving to try to end the government shutdown by preparing a new bipartisan package of spending bills and daring Democrats to vote for it, but it was unclear if their plan would work.

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Many Democrats said they would continue to hold out for an extension of expiring health care subsidies, which was not expected to be part of the legislation.

Senate Democrats, who have now voted 14 times not to reopen the government, left their second caucus meeting of the week Thursday with few answers about whether they eventually could find a compromise with Republicans — or even with each other — on how to end the shutdown.

A test vote on the new package, which had not yet been publicly revealed, could come as soon as Friday. Democrats will then have a crucial choice to make: Do they keep fighting for a meaningful deal on extending health care subsidies that expire in January, while extending the pain of the shutdown? Or do they vote to reopen the government and hope for the best as Republicans promise an eventual health care vote, but not a guaranteed outcome?

Emboldened by overwhelmingly favorable elections earlier this week, many Democrats say the fight isn’t over until Republicans and President Donald Trump negotiate with them on an extension.

“That’s what leaders do,” said Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico. “You have the gavel, you have the majority, you have to bring people together.”

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz said Democrats are “obviously not unanimous” but they are unified that “without something on health care, the vote is very unlikely to succeed.”

Other Democrats have been working on a deal that would reopen the government with only an agreement for a future vote on the health care subsidies. Lawmakers in both parties were feeling increased urgency to alleviate the growing crisis at airports, pay government workers and restore delayed food aid to millions of people now that the shutdown has become the longest in U.S. history.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s decision to keep the Senate in session Friday, and perhaps over the weekend, came after Trump urged Senate Republicans at a White House breakfast Wednesday to end the shutdown. Trump said he thought the six-week impasse was a “big factor, negative” for Republicans in Tuesday’s elections.

A new effort to reopen the government

The bipartisan package Thune is proposing would fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things — and extend funding for everything else until December or January.

The new package would replace the House-passed bill that the Democrats have repeatedly rejected. That legislation would only extend government funding until Nov. 21, a date that is rapidly approaching after six weeks of inaction.

The details were still to be worked out, but the new legislation mirrors a tentative plan that moderate Democrats have been sketching out in hopes of finding agreement. The proposal led by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen would also take up Republicans on their offer to hold a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies at a later date.

It was still unclear what Thune, who has refused to negotiate while the government is closed, would promise on health care and if enough Democrats would agree to move ahead. Republicans have for weeks been five votes short of the 60 they need.

Johnson delivers setback to bipartisan talks

Democrats are facing pressure from unions eager for the shutdown to end and from allied groups that want them to hold firm. Many Democrats have argued that the results for Democrats in Tuesday’s election show voters want them to continue the fight until Republicans yield and agree to extend the health tax credits.

A vote on the health care subsidies “has got to mean something,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said this week. “That means a commitment by the speaker of the House, that he will support the legislation, that the president will sign.”

But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made clear Thursday morning he won’t make any commitment to Democrats. “I’m not promising anybody anything,” Johnson said when asked if he could promise a vote on a health care bill.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, leaves with Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., right, after speaking with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Johnson’s clear refusal was a setback for negotiators. Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, one of the moderate Democrats involved in negotiations, said the speaker’s comments were “a significant problem.”

“We have to make sure we have a deal that we can get broad support for,” Peters said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not yet weighed in on the latest push. He has repeatedly called for Trump to sit down with Democrats — a meeting that seems unlikely to happen.

“Donald Trump clearly is feeling pressure to bring this shutdown to an end,” Schumer said Thursday.

Closed-door negotiations become public

A group of Democrats and Republicans that has been quietly negotiating for weeks insisted they were making steady progress on a deal.

In a new development Thursday, Republicans suggested they might be open to including language in a final agreement that would reverse some mass firings of government workers by the White House, according to two people familiar with the private talks granted anonymity to discuss them. But it was unclear if that proposal would be included in the new package of bills.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who has been talking to Democrats, says she wants furloughed workers to be given back pay and workers who have been fired during the shutdown to be “recalled.”

“We’re still negotiating that language,” she said.

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti, Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Trump is ramping up a new effort to convince a skeptical public he can fix affordability worries

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By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is adjusting his messaging strategy to win over voters who are worried about the cost of living with plans to emphasize new tax breaks and show progress on fighting inflation.

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The messaging is centered around affordability, and the push comes after inflation emerged as a major vulnerability for Trump and Republicans in Tuesday’s elections, in which voters overwhelmingly said the economy was their biggest concern.

Democrats took advantage of concerns about affordability to run up huge margins in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races, flipping what had been a strength for Trump in the 2024 presidential election into a vulnerability going into next year’s midterm elections.

White House officials and others familiar with their thinking requested anonymity to speak for this article in order to not get ahead of the president’s actions. They stressed that affordability has always been a priority for Trump, but the president plans to talk about it more, as he did Thursday when he announced that Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk would reduce the price of their anti-obesity drugs.

“We are the ones that have done a great job on affordability, not the Democrats,” Trump said at an event in the Oval Office to announce the deal. “We just lost an election, they said, based on affordability. It’s a con job by the Democrats.”

The White House is keeping up a steady drumbeat of posts on social media about prices and deals for Thanksgiving dinner staples at retailers such as Walmart, Lidl, Aldi and Target.

“I don’t want to hear about the affordability, because right now, we’re much less,” Trump told reporters Thursday, arguing that things are much better for Americans with his party in charge.

“The only problem is the Republicans don’t talk about it,” he said.

The outlook for inflation is unclear

As of now, the inflation outlook has worsened under Trump. Consumer prices in September increased at an annual rate of 3%, up from 2.3% in April, when the president first began to roll out substantial tariff hikes that suddenly burdened the economy with uncertainty. The AP Voter Poll showed the economy was the leading issue in Tuesday’s elections in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City and California.

Grocery prices continue to climb, and recently, electricity bills have emerged as a new worry. At the same time, the pace of job gains has slowed, plunging 23% from the pace a year ago.

The White House maintains a list of talking points about the economy, noting that the stock market has hit record highs multiple times and that the president is attracting foreign investment. Trump has emphasized that gasoline prices are coming down, and maintained that gasoline is averaging $2 a gallon, but AAA reported Thursday that the national average was $3.08, about two cents lower than a year ago.

“Americans are paying less for essentials like gas and eggs, and today the Administration inked yet another drug pricing deal to deliver unprecedented health care savings for everyday Americans,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

Trump gets briefed about the economy by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials at least once a week and there are often daily discussions on tariffs, a senior White House official said, noting Trump is expected to do more domestic travel next year to make his case that he’s fixing affordability.

But critics say it will be hard for Trump to turn around public perceptions on affordability.

“He’s in real trouble and I think it’s bigger than just cost of living,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal economic advocacy group.

Owens noted that Trump has “lost his strength” as voters are increasingly doubtful about Trump’s economic leadership compared to Democrats, adding that the president doesn’t have the time to turn around public perceptions of him as he continues to pursue broad tariffs.

New hype about income tax cuts ahead of April

There will be new policies rolled out on affordability, a person familiar with the White House thinking said, declining to comment on what those would be. Trump on Thursday indicated there will be more deals coming on drug prices. Two other White House officials said messaging would change — but not policy.

A big part of the administration’s response on affordability will be educating people ahead of tax season about the role of Trump’s income tax cuts in any refunds they receive in April, the person familiar with planning said. Those cuts were part of the sprawling bill Republicans muscled through Congress in July.

This individual stressed that the key challenge is bringing prices down while simultaneously having wages increase, so that people can feel and see any progress.

There’s also a bet that the economy will be in a healthier place in six months. With Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s term ending in May, the White House anticipates the start of consistent cuts to the Fed’s benchmark interest rate. They expect inflation rates to cool and declines in the federal budget deficit to boost sentiment in the financial markets.

But the U.S. economy seldom cooperates with a president’s intentions, a lesson learned most recently by Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, who saw his popularity slump after inflation spiked to a four-decade high in June 2022.

The Trump administration maintains it’s simply working through an inflation challenge inherited from Biden, but new economic research indicates Trump has created his own inflation challenge through tariffs.

Since April, Harvard University economist Alberto Cavallo and his colleagues, Northwestern University’s Paola Llama and Universidad de San Andres’ Franco Vazquez, have been tracking the impact of the import taxes on consumer prices.

In an October paper, the economists found that the inflation rate would have been drastically lower at 2.2%, had it not been for Trump’s tariffs.

The administration maintains that tariffs have not contributed to inflation. They plan to make the case that the import taxes are helping the economy and dismiss criticisms of the import taxes as contributing to inflation as Democratic talking points.

The fate of Trump’s country-by-country tariffs is currently being decided by the Supreme Court, where justices at a Wednesday hearing seemed dubious over the administration’s claims that tariffs were essentially regulations and could be levied by a president without congressional approval. Trump has maintained at times that foreign countries pay the tariffs and not U.S. citizens, a claim he backed away from slightly Thursday.

“They might be paying something,” he said. “But when you take the overall impact, the Americans are gaining tremendously.”

Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.