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VOL. 41 | NO. 47 | Friday, November 24, 2017

Haslam backs WGU despite critical audit

Feds: Online college lacks faculty, should repay $700M in financial aid funds

On any day, hundreds and possibly thousands of Tennessee students go to college online, whenever and however they want, courtesy of Western Governors University Tennessee.

WGU students say mentors are their key to success

Every morning, Western Governors University course mentor Linda Knieps checks her roster of students to learn what they’ve been accomplishing. One may have aced an exam; another, not so much.

WGU: How it works

WGU offers two six-month terms a year, and students can start their school year on the first day of any month. The next term starts on Dec. 1.

SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL

Wiping slate clean is now less about who can afford it

The scales of justice in Tennessee are slowly tipping back toward the poor – and not so poor – helping them regain traction lost to often-minor transgressions.

Local Weather
Currently
Nashville, TN
44.1°F
Overcast
Wind: North at 10.4 mph
Humidity: 68%

EVENTS

Battlefield Illumination Ceremony. The ceremony to commemorate the Battle of Franklin’s anniversary will be at Carter Hill Battlefield Park, Thursday, 4 p.m. Brief remarks followed by the names of causalities. Visitors are allowed to walk throughout the luminaries to experience the somber event. Carnton and Carter House will be open to the public for a free walk-through from 5-7 p.m. Information: 794-0903

more events »

TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL

Hill (College or City?) with a view: Yours for a mere $30 million

If you are a developer with $30 million to spare for 2.69 acres of prime real estate overlooking downtown Nashville, the Rev. George T. Brooks has a deal for you.

RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK

The skinny on tall skinnies: What do you really own?

There is a Rusty Moore who is the principal broker at Parks in Green Hills, and we will deal with him another day.

REAL ESTATE

Top Middle Tennessee commercial transactions for October 2017

Top residential real estate sales, September 2017, for Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports. Due to technical issues, Davidson County sales are unavailable for September.

Middle Tennessee real estate trends for October 2017

October 2017 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.

Top Lenders for October 2017

A look at Davidson County’s top lenders based on total number of all loans, commercial and residential. Only loans that have the actual Lender name listed on the trust deed filing are included.

As interest rates rise, banks are paying more for deposits

NEW YORK (AP) — Slowly, but surely, being a saver is paying off again.

SPORTS

Smith eager to build Nashville Soccer Club

When the final whistle blew at last on that cold Toronto night in 2010, Gary Smith recalls the pure bedlam of the moment. He’d just guided underdog Colorado to a Major League Soccer championship, the seventh-seeded Rapids having stunned two higher seeds en route to claiming their first league title.

TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS

Titans willing to let Davis learn on the job

One of the most anticipated aspects of this Tennessee Titans season was how much of an impact rookie wide receiver Corey Davis could have in his first season.

Titans at Colts: What to watch

First down: Exorcise the demons. After their four-game winning streak came to a crashing halt, the Titans have to find a way to right themselves in a place that has always been a house of horrors – Lucas Oil Stadium.

DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS

Hillsboro’s Phillips playing for bragging rights

Tennessee’s football team and interim head coach Brady Hoke will try to avoid a historically bad season Saturday.

NEWSMAKERS

Bradley welcomes 11 new associates in Nashville

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has hired 11 attorneys for the firm’s Nashville office as associates, bringing the total number of Bradley attorneys in Nashville to 137.

BRIEFS

HealthTrustSM adds Prime Healthcare

Nashville-based HealthTrustSM, a health care performance improvement company, has signed an agreement with Prime Healthcare of Ontario, California.

BEHIND THE WHEEL

How to shop for car deals on Black Friday

Black Friday has become one of the single best days of the year to buy a car. Edmunds research shows 15 percent of total November car sales take place on Black Friday weekend.

CAREER CORNER

Your biggest weakness? Hope it’s not unpreparedness

“What is your biggest weakness?” continues to be one of the favorite interview questions of hiring managers. This is a tough question all the way around.

GUERRILLA MARKETING

Three Cs of building a powerful office team

Many business owners and executives want to be surrounded by empowered and motivated employees who join them in seeking new heights for their companies. But are they creating the right environment for that world to exist inside their companies?

STATEWIDE

Flap over botched ACT test leads Tennessee to consider SAT

KNOXVILLE (AP) — A disagreement over ACT scores withheld from students at a Tennessee high school could lead state officials to consider moving to a rival assessment test.

REAL ESTATE

Longer-term mortgage rates slip to historically low levels

WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term mortgage rates slipped this week, though shorter-term rates rose in response to better economic news that made it more likely the Federal Reserve will hike rates in December.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

US stocks up broadly in early trading; oil prices rising

U.S. stocks were moving broadly higher in early trading Thursday as technology companies rebounded after a steep sell-off a day earlier. Banks and health care stocks also posted solid gains. Energy companies rose along with the price of crude oil. New data showing consumer spending grew in October also helped lift the market.

Consumer spending rose solid 0.3 percent in October

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers boosted their spending a solid 0.3 percent in October, while their incomes grew 0.4 percent. Both were healthy gains indicating the fourth quarter got off to a strong start.

Applications for US jobless aid tick down to 238,000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people sought US unemployment benefits last week, a sign of strength in the job market.

OPEC poised to extend oil production cuts to support prices

VIENNA (AP) — Key OPEC oil ministers expressed preference Thursday for extending crude output cuts until the end of next year, strengthening expectations that the oil cartel will decide to continue pumping less oil for more dollars.

Trump to nominate economics professor to Federal Reserve

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump intends to nominate Marvin Goodfriend, a Carnegie Mellon University economics professor, for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, the latest step in the administration's effort to put its stamp on the nation's central bank.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Trump lashes out at wrong Theresa May on Twitter

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is lashing out at British Prime Minister Theresa May in a dispute over his tweets. Problem is, he initially picked on the wrong Theresa May.

AP FACT CHECK: Anti-Muslim videos misrepresent what happened

WASHINGTON (AP) — Like much other propaganda, the anti-Muslim videos spread around by President Donald Trump mix grains of truth, fakery and shades in between, overlaid with a message meant to be a blunt hammer blow for a cause.

Kushner questioned by Mueller's team about Flynn

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has been questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators about former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to The Associated Press.

Conservatives slam GOP proposal to automatically raise taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative groups and lawmakers are lining up against a proposal by Senate Republicans to impose automatic tax increases on millions of Americans — if their sweeping tax package doesn't grow the economy and raise tax revenues as much as projected.


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29
MIDSTATE

Nearly 100 soldiers returning to Fort Campbell

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Nearly 100 Fort Campbell soldiers are returning home after a 9 month deployment to Europe.

SPORTS

Nashville, Sacramento head MLS expansion finalists

NEW YORK (AP) — Nashville is among four finalists for a pair of Major League Soccer expansion teams after government financing for a new stadium was approved this month.

Rinne makes 37 saves, Predators beat Blackhawks 3-2

NASHVILLE (AP) — Filip Forsberg has scored on many different goalies, but Tuesday night was the first time he collected a goal against one with the same name on the back of his jersey.

AUTO INDUSTRY

SUVs are main attraction at L.A. Auto Show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The floor at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show will look a lot like America's roads: full of SUVs.

COURTS

Testimony: Feds targeted Jimmy Haslam in phone call

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Federal agents used a Pilot Flying J employee to try to get Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to make incriminating comments on the telephone, but court testimony suggests Haslam was aware he was making the call at their behest.

Supreme Court could limit police in digital-age privacy case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court signaled Wednesday it could impose limits on the government's ability to track Americans' movements through collection of their cellphone information.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Steep tech drop pulls stocks mostly lower

A steep drop in technology companies pulled major U.S. stock indexes mostly lower, offsetting gains in other sectors.

US economy expanded at brisk 3.3 pct. pace in third quarter

WASHINGTON (AP) — Led by a rise in business investment, the U.S. economy grew at an annual pace of 3.3 percent from July through September, its fastest rate in three years.

Yellen suggests a continuation of gradual rate hikes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the Fed expects to continue raising interest rates gradually. And she sought to assure lawmakers that the Fed would take care not to choke off any extra growth generated by tax cuts as long as inflation stayed tame.

OPEC and allies likely to extend production cuts at meeting

VIENNA (AP) — With crude prices at two-year highs, OPEC and allied oil producing-nations appear ready to agree to extend their output cuts at a meeting Thursday after Iraq's energy minister said there was broad agreement for such a move.

ECB warns global markets could face sudden drop

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank says broad-based economic growth is keeping banks and markets stable in the 19-country eurozone — but warned that increased risk-taking by global investors could mean trouble down the road.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Int'l visitors to US down 4 percent in 1st 6 months of 2017

Has the Trump slump that the travel industry warned about finally hit?

Conservatives slam GOP proposal to automatically raise taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative groups and lawmakers are lining up against a proposal by Senate Republicans to impose automatic tax increases on millions of Americans — if their sweeping tax package doesn't grow the economy and raise tax revenues as much as projected.

Senate poised for test vote on tax overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's top Republican says the chamber will cast a key test vote Wednesday on the party's long-awaited tax overhaul.

Prospects brighter for tax overhaul, success not assured

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prospects are suddenly looking brighter for the Republican tax overhaul. But the chances of avoiding a government shutdown? Not so much.

Facing tax vote in Senate, Trump seizes on cultural fights

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sized up his coming week on Sunday and tweeted that it was a "big week for Tax Cuts and many other things of great importance to our Country."

Trump stokes anti-Muslim sentiment; censured here and abroad

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stoking the same anti-Islam sentiments he fanned on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted a string of inflammatory videos from a fringe British political group purporting to show violence being committed by Muslims.

Skeptical Democrats to quiz Trump health pick on drug prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — Skeptical Democratic senators are getting a chance to question President Donald Trump's pick for health secretary about what he'll do about rising drug prices and the future of "Obamacare."


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28
STATEWIDE

Governor: No imminent change to private prisons expected

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he doesn't anticipate any imminent change in the state's use of private prisons after an audit found some of those facilities were understaffed and the staffing information they provided was at times incorrect or withheld.

TVA says it has discovered new fish species

KNOXVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority says its biologists have discovered a new species of fish in streams in Tennessee.

COURTS

Ex-Ohio State great widens lawsuit over commercial image use

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio State and NFL football star has asked a judge to let him expand his class-action lawsuit alleging improper use of ex-players' images in marketing campaigns to include potentially thousands of former athletes nationwide.

Supreme Court wrestles with whistleblower protection issue

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed reluctant to broadly apply whistleblower protections passed by Congress following the 2008 financial crisis, suggesting those particular protections only apply to people who report problems to the government.

REAL ESTATE

US home prices leapt in September by the most in 3 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose at the fastest pace in more than three years in September, lifted by a record-low supply of houses for sale.

TECHNOLOGY

FCC head Ajit Pai goes after Hollywood, tech companies

NEW YORK (AP) — The head of the Federal Communications Commission is defending his plan to undo the country's net-neutrality rules by hammering the Hollywood celebrities and tech companies that have criticized it.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Siemens working on hybrid plane

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Airbus, Siemens and Rolls-Royce are teaming up to develop a hybrid passenger plane that would use a single electric turbofan along with three conventional jet engines running on aviation fuel.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Banks power solid gains for US stocks, more record highs

Banks led a broad rally in U.S. stocks Tuesday, lifting the market to a milestone-shattering finish.

Retail group: Those buying both online, in stores spent more

NEW YORK (AP) — A retail trade group says people who shopped both online and in stores from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday spent more than those who picked one or the other.

US consumer confidence rises, hits highest level since 2000

WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers are feeling confident as the holiday season approaches.

World economy growing faster than in years, but not for long

PARIS (AP) — The world economy is growing faster than it has in seven years and more and more people are working — but the high growth isn't expected to last long, and wages remain stubbornly stagnant.

Powell casts himself as a figure of stability for the Fed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell says that if confirmed as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, he expects the Fed to continue raising interest rates gradually to support its twin goals of maximum employment and stable prices.

Meat-loving Arby's buying Buffalo Wild Wings

NEW YORK (AP) — Meat-centric sandwich chain Arby's said Tuesday that it's buying Buffalo Wild Wings for about $2.4 billion, making it the latest casual restaurant chain to be taken private.

Report: Many clients claim sex abuse at Massage Envy spas

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — More than 180 people across the United States have filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports and other sexual misconduct complaints against Massage Envy spas, their employees and the national company, according to an investigative report by the website BuzzFeed News.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Tax bill advances, final Senate vote uncertain

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Senate committee advanced a sweeping tax package to the full Senate on Tuesday, handing Republican leaders a victory as they try to pass the nation's first tax overhaul in 31 years.

Powell says he favors loosening some bank regulations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump's pick to be chairman of the Federal Reserve, told senators at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that he believes some bank regulations can be rolled back — something the administration and Wall Street favor. But he stressed that he will protect the central bank's political independence, calling it vital for the Fed's role.

Tillerson 'offended' at reports he is dismantling State Dept

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared Tuesday he is "offended" by the growing number of critical reports of his leadership, which accuse him of dismantling the State Department for political reasons.

Top Dems pull out of Trump meeting after his Twitter attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' top Democrats abruptly pulled out of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday after he declared he didn't "see a deal" ahead with them on taxes and federal spending, casting doubt on prospects for averting a government shutdown at the end of next week.

Trump makes hard-sell push for his agenda on Hill

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump makes a new push Tuesday for his year-end agenda as he heads to the Capitol to rally Senate Republicans on taxes, then pivots to White House negotiations with Democrats and GOP leaders over the budget and immigration.

GOP leaders press reluctant colleagues ahead of tax vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hours before a key committee vote Tuesday, Senate GOP leaders were still trying to persuade reluctant senators to support a sweeping tax package that would stand as the biggest legislative accomplishment of President Donald Trump's first year in office.

2 battle for control over US consumer watchdog

WASHINGTON (AP) — The battle between two supposed directors of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is making for compelling optics but only seems to be delaying a tidal shift at the powerful consumer watchdog.

Owners of Trump hotel in Panama rebel against Trump control

WASHINGTON (AP) — Owners of the Trump International Hotel in Panama are working to strip President Donald Trump's name from the 70-story building and fire the hotel management company run by Trump's family. The property once paid at least $32 million to associate with Trump.


MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27
STATEWIDE

Plans approved for new inn at Fall Creek Falls State Park

NASHVILLE (AP) — Plans to rebuild guest lodging at Tennessee's largest and most-visited state park have been approved.

4 Tennessee governor candidates won't release tax returns

NASHVILLE (AP) — Four of the seven major candidates for Tennessee governor are declining to release details of their federal income tax returns.

NASHVILLE AREA

Tree lightings set for Tennessee Capitol, Nashville square

NASHVILLE (AP) — It's Christmas tree lighting season on Tennessee. Gov. Bill Haslam is scheduled to turn on the lights on the tree set up outside the state Capitol tonight.

SPORTS

Vols AD Currie defends coaching search, vetting of Schiano

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee athletic director John Currie is defending the process of his coaching search and vouching for the character of Greg Schiano one day after negotiations between the two parties broke down amid a public backlash.

US sports leagues are hedging their bets on legal gambling

WASHINGTON (AP) — In court, all four major U.S. sports leagues are fighting New Jersey's challenge to the federal ban on sports gambling, which the Supreme Court will hear next month.

Tennessee no longer pursuing Schiano after protests

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is no longer pursuing Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to be the school's new head coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Tennessee puts pressure on Colts in 20-16 victory

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tennessee put more pressure on Indianapolis than it could handle Sunday.

REAL ESTATE

US new-home sales jumped 6.2 percent in October

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought new homes in October at the fastest pace in a decade — a 6.2 percent monthly increase that reflects both the underlying strength of the economy and the worsening shortage of existing homes for sale.

COURTS

Supreme Court rejects 2 gun rights appeals

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from Maryland gun owners who challenged the state's assault weapons ban.

Justices ponder need for warrant for cellphone tower data

WASHINGTON (AP) — Like almost everyone else in America, thieves tend to carry their cellphones with them to work.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Energy firms lead US stocks mostly lower as oil prices slip

A sluggish day of trading on Wall Street finished Monday with stocks edging mostly lower as investors came back from the Thanksgiving holiday.

How Powell could differ from Yellen: Nominee faces hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell's confirmation to be chairman of the Federal Reserve is considered all but certain. Yet when a Senate committee holds a hearing Tuesday on Powell's nomination, one question will hover above the discussions:

Stores hoping people keep shopping offer Cyber Monday deals

NEW YORK (AP) — After offering online deals for days, retailers are rolling out even more promotions for Cyber Monday, hoping to keep people buying stuff on their smartphones or computers.

FBI leaves US targets of Russian hackers in the dark

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI failed to notify scores of U.S. officials that Russian hackers were trying to break into their personal Gmail accounts despite having evidence for at least a year that the targets were in the Kremlin's crosshairs, The Associated Press has found.

Meredith buying Time Inc. for about $1.8 billion

NEW YORK (AP) — Magazine and broadcasting company Meredith is buying magazine publisher Time for about $1.8 billion to bulk up on readers as the publishing industry navigates the difficult transition to digital from print.

Merkel: Stability for Germany main goal in coalition talks

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday her conservative bloc is willing to start talks on trying to forge a "stable government" with the center-left Social Democrats, with an eye on the large challenges Germany faces both internationally and domestically.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Senators consider automatic tax hikes if revenue falls short

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are considering a trigger that would automatically increase taxes if their sweeping legislation fails to generate as much revenue as they expect. It's an effort to mollify deficit hawks who worry that tax cuts for businesses and individuals will add to the nation's already mounting debt.

Who's in charge? 2 fight for control of US consumer watchdog

WASHINGTON (AP) — With emails, tweets and doughnuts, the two dueling acting directors battled for control of the nation's top financial watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on Monday.

Trump, Senate GOP scramble to change tax plan to gain votes

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans scrambled Monday to make changes to a Republican tax bill in an effort to win over holdout GOP senators and pass a tax package by the end of the year.

Suit seeks to stop Trump from naming acting director of CFPB

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government official President Donald Trump wants to pass over as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with his own budget chief is asking a federal court to block the president's appointment.


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22
COURTS

Tennessee judge behind inmate sterilization program rebuked

SPARTA (AP) — A Tennessee judge who offered inmates less jail time if they voluntarily underwent birth control procedures has been publicly reprimanded by state judicial regulators.

Airline defendants to pay $95 million in 9/11 settlement

NEW YORK (AP) — Insurers for defendants including American Airlines and United Airlines have agreed to pay $95 million to settle claims that security lapses led planes to be hijacked in the Sept. 11 attacks.

TECHNOLOGY

Did you 'like' Russian propaganda? Facebook will clue you in

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook says it will show users if they followed or 'liked' Russia propaganda accounts on its service or on Instagram.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

US stocks mostly slip away from their latest record highs

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks mostly slipped away from their latest record highs Wednesday as the two former halves of Hewlett-Packard both tumbled, while falling interest rates helped phone companies but hurt banks.

Fed minutes show general support for 3rd rate hike this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials generally believe that it'll soon be time for another increase in the Fed's key interest rate. However, a few felt any further rate hikes should be delayed until they see inflation moving higher, minutes of their last meeting revealed.

Small retailers aim for emotional ties big chains may lack

NEW YORK (AP) — Some smaller retailers will tug at shoppers' heartstrings during the holidays, trying to create an emotional experience or connection that a big national chain might not provide.

As interest rates rise, banks are paying more for deposits

NEW YORK (AP) — Slowly, but surely, being a saver is paying off again.

Uber reveals cover-up of hack affecting 57M riders, drivers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber is coming clean about its cover-up of a year-old hacking attack that stole personal information about more than 57 million of the beleaguered ride-hailing service's customers and drivers.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Poll: 1 in 3 Americans dreads political talk at Thanksgiving

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bring on the turkey — but maybe hold the politics. Thanksgiving is Glenn Rogers' favorite holiday, when people gather around the table and talk about things to celebrate from the past year. But Donald Trump's presidency isn't something everyone in the Rogers family is toasting.

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