The U.S. winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years. An early barrage of illness in the South has begun to spread more broadly, and there’s a decent chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say. The last flu season to rev up this early was in 2003-2004 — a bad one. Some experts think the early start may mean a lot of suffering is in store, but others say it’s too early to tell. There are different types of flu viruses, and the one causing

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday put a temporary hold on a court ruling that would require records held by Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp to be handed over to Democratic-led congressional panels. Circuit Court of Appeals directing the two banks to comply with April subpoenas by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and Intelligence Committee for the financial records. In a brief order, Ginsburg said that the lower court ruling is now o

California Rep. Duncan Hunter who pleaded guilty in federal court to a single felony count of misuse of campaign funds said Friday that he will resign after the holidays. They were under fire for allegedly misusing campaign funds on personal items such as vacations, gas and groceries. In an interview with KUSI News when he announced he planned to change his plea, Hunter said, “I think it’s important that people know that I did make mistakes. I justify my plea with the understanding that I am res

Head Coach David Fizdale of the New York Knicks looks on against the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden on November 24, 2019 in New York City. The New York Knicks have fired head coach David Fizdale after 22 games this season, the team announced on Friday evening. The team also relieved assistant coach Keith Smart, the team said hours after ESPN first reported the news. Assistant coach Mike Miller, 55, will serve as interim coach, the Knicks said in a statement. His overall coaching record,

The White House informed the U.S. Congress on Friday that it will refuse to participate in impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee next week. In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, White House counsel Pat Cipollone called the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry “completely baseless” and said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had ordered Democrats to proceed with articles of impeachment “before your committee has heard

An homage to excess, featuring the signatures of two Hollywood legends, quickly banked $200,000 from an unnamed buyer this week. The black-and-white “Wolves of Wall Street I,” by famed British photographer David Yarrow, sold at Art Miami within 10 minutes of the art fair’s opening. Yarrow was inspired by the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street” and brought in the real Jordan Belfort, whose memoir the movie is based on, to feature in the photo. And that’s not all: The photo also bears the signatur

Diego Perez works on a Toll Brothers home on August 21, 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that trade talks with Beijing were going “very well.” Toll Brothers earningsWe’ll get a read on the housing market on Monday when home building company Toll Brothers reports fiscal fourth quarter earnings. Susquehanna Financial Group is expecting Toll Brothers to report earnings of $1.35 per share, compared to the $2.08 per share reported in the fourth quarter of 2018. Sha

Just in the past week, Trump said he would put new tariffs on Brazil, Argentina and France. He rattled markets when he said he could wait until after the election for a trade deal with China. If there’s no China deal, that could beat up stocks, send Treasury yields lower and send investors into other safe havens. Economic reports in the coming week include CPI inflation Wednesday, which could be an important input for the Fed. Fed aheadThe Fed has moved to the sidelines and says it is monitoring

President Donald Trump on Friday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily halt subpoenas for his financial records sent to two banks by congressional Democrats, the latest in a string of court battles over the president’s personal financial dealings to make its way to the justices. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Deutsche Bank and Capital One must turn over years of the president’s personal and business financial records to two Democratic-led committees in the House of Representatives.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected the New York Stock Exchange’s proposal to allow for companies going public through a direct listing to raise capital at the same time. The proposal disappeared from its website on Friday, and a spokesperson at the Big Board confirmed it has been rejected. “We remain committed to evolving the direct listing product,” the NYSE said. “This sort of action is not unusual in the filing process and we will continue to work with the SEC on this initiat

A jury decided that Elon Musk had not defamed British caver Vernon Unsworth in a Los Angeles federal court on Friday. Musk and his defense team, led by attorney Alex Spiro, argued that “pedo guy” was simply heated rhetoric and not meant as a statement of fact. They also argued that the phrase “pedo guy” is widely known as slang for “creepy old guy.” Lashing back, Musk called the caver a “pedo guy” in his now infamous public tweets. Vernon Unsworth vs. Elon Musk was one of the first major defamat

On a regular day, the United Parcel Service (UPS) delivers an average of around 20 million packages. UPS’ booming year-round business, coupled with its year-over-year holiday delivery growth, isn’t just a good thing for business — it’s also helped the company’s stock performance. A $1,000 investment made in 2009 would be worth more than $2,800 as of Dec. 2, 2019, for a total return of around 176%, according to CNBC calculations. In the same time frame, by comparison, the S&P 500 earned a total r

Carolyn Wilkins, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, left, and Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada, leave the Bank of Canada building for a press conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz will step down when his mandate expires in June, the bank said on Friday, and the front-runner in the race to take his place could become the first woman to head the country’s central bank. Many economists and market strategists

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told CNBC that an agreement to further trim global oil supply wasn’t intentionally timed to coincide with the initial public offering (IPO) of state-owned energy company Saudi Aramco. On Friday, OPEC and its allies — a wider grouping termed OPEC+ — agreed to cut an extra 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of their oil production during the first three months of 2020. Abdulaziz said Saudi Aramco’s value couldn’t be evaluated by “a tweak here o

Saudi Energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman shakes hands with staff during his visit to an Aramco oil facility one day after the attacks in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia September 15, 2019. Saudi Press Agency | ReutersSaudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman played down any rivalry between U.S. shale producers and more established oil producers in the Middle East. Due to the boom in U.S. shale production, alongside other factors, the OPEC energy alliance was prompted to act after

Here’s what to expect from the Reagan National Defense ForumCNBC’s Morgan Brennan reports from the Reagan National Defense Forum, where leaders in technology and defense are expected to attend the invite-only event to present what’s next in defense.

We asked Jay Leno, Tony Hawk, Barbara Corcoran and seven other Advisors in The Oracles what they would wish they knew in their 20s. —Jay Leno, one of the world’s most successful comedians, star of “Jay Leno’s Garage” on CNBC, and former longtime host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” “Don’t stop playing the violin or doing Frontside 540s. —Tony Hawk, founder and CEO of Birdhouse Skateboards and president of the Tony Hawk Foundation3. —Dan Lok, serial entrepreneur, global educator, international bests

Mark Cuban’s relationship with President Donald Trump has had its ups and downs. But the billionaire star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” says Trump still wants to hear his thoughts on the stock market. “He called me the other day, for real,” the Dallas Mavericks owner tells Hart about Trump. Cuban says Trump asked him. The president also reached out to Cuban in February 2019, after Cuban’s Mavericks pulled off a trade to land former New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis, Cuban tells Hart.

Newly announced Democratic presidential candidate, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets Virginia House Delegate-Elect Nancy Guy (not seen) at a coffee shop on November 25, 2019 in Norfolk, Virginia. Addressing criticism that his ego pushed him to enter the 2020 presidential race, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg says he has “the same rights as anybody else” to run. Bloomberg, whose net worth according to Forbes is around $55 billion, has seen pushback regarding his status as another

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy predicted Friday that Congress will pass the North American Free Trade Agreement replacement by the end of the year, despite Democrats’ focus on impeaching President Donald Trump. House Democrats have a lot on their plates before the planned Dec. 20 holiday recess. The Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing Monday on the evidence gathered in the Trump impeachment inquiry after Pelosi on Thursday told the House committees investigating the president to procee