With protesters shouting outside, the National Rifle Association is beginning its annual convention in Houston, just days after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school on the other side of the state. Former President Donald Trump and other leading Republicans are scheduled to address the three-day gun industry marketing and advocacy event. Some scheduled speakers and performers backed out, including several Texas lawmakers and performers. Protesters demonstrated outside, including some holding crosses with photos of the Uvalde shooting victims. The NRA said in an online statement that people attending the gun show would “reflect on” the Uvalde school shooting.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James, allowing her civil investigation into his business practices to continue. In a 43-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Brenda Sannes said she based her decision on case law that bars federal judges from interfering in state-level investigations in most cases. Sannes’ ruling came a day after a New York appeals court ruled that Trump must answer questions under oath in James’ probe, upholding a lower-court ruling requiring him to sit for a deposition. A lawyer for Trump said his legal team would appeal Friday's ruling.

Shoppers’ return to occasion dressing helped to power Macy’s fiscal first-quarter results. The department store chain raised its annual earnings outlook even as surging inflation is crimping Americans’ budgets. The results announced Thursday was among the few bright spots in a pile of reports from retailers that showed rising costs for everything from labor to shipping. Along with other retailers, Macy’s is adjusting to quickly changing behavior as consumers return to the office and resume normal lives. They’re going out to restaurants and doing more activities while buying less stuff that focuses on the home.

A state appeals court court has ruled former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices. A four-judge panel in the appellate division of the state’s trial court on Thursday upheld Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 17 ruling enforcing subpoenas for Trump and his two eldest children to give deposition testimony in Attorney General Letitia James’ probe. Trump had appealed, seeking to overturn the ruling. His lawyers argued that ordering the Trumps to testify violated their constitutional rights because their answers could be used in a parallel criminal investigation.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Macy's Inc. (M) on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $286 million.

The White House has announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects COVID-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island. The site will provide patients with immediate access to the drug once they test positive. More federally supported sites are set to open in the coming weeks in Massachusetts and New York City, both hit by a marked rise in infections. Next week, the U.S. will send authorized federal prescribers to several Minnesota-run testing sites, turning them into test-to-treat locations.

It’s become a common sight: jubilant Starbucks workers celebrating after successful votes to unionize at dozens of U.S. stores. But when the celebrations die down, a daunting hurdle remains. To win the changes they seek, like better pay and more reliable schedules, unionized stores must sit down with Starbucks and negotiate a contract. It’s a painstaking process that can take years. And it's all happening amid tensions between Workers United, which represents the unionized stores, and the Seattle coffee giant. Already, the NLRB has filed 45 complaints against Starbucks for various labor law violations, including firing workers for union activity. Starbucks has filed two complaints against the union, saying labor organizers harassed and intimidated workers at some stores.

New York City's planned ban on the sale of foie gras is being challenged in court by two upstate farms that claim it would leave them financially devastated. Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farm said the law enacting the ban set to go into effect Nov. 25 should be declared “invalid and void” in a lawsuit filed Friday in state court in Manhattan. Proponents say the production of foie gras — the fattened liver of a duck or goose — is cruel to the animals because it involves force feeding. A spokesperson for the city corporation counsel said the lawsuit is under review.

GETZVILLE, N.Y. (AP) _ Columbus McKinnon Corp. (CMCO) on Wednesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $11.8 million.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) on Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $24.4 million.