VOL. 43 | NO. 50 | Friday, December 13, 2019
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
’Tis the season to be jolly, and one of the means to that jolly end seems to be selling houses.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate sales, November 2019, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates rose this week. Still, rates remain at historically low levels as a lure to prospective homebuyers.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse watched in amazement as Aaron Nesmith kept making 3-pointers during a shooting drill at practice. “From 100 shots, five spots-20 shots, two days ago he had 91,” Stackhouse said on Dec. 3. “Ninety-one, that’s Allan Houston-type numbers.”
TENNESSEE TITANS
It seems like one of the simplest jobs in football, but in reality it involves physics, geometry and even some meteorology to do it right.
The Tennessee Titans (8-5) have played themselves into a big game this Sunday against the Houston Texans, who also are 8-5. A win would place the Titans in first place in the AFC South with two games remaining and give them a chance to win the division for the first time since 2008.
Titans 31, Texans 27: Could the Titans actually be a bona fide contender? The answer is yes if they can find a way to defeat the Texans. The Titans have to guard against big plays, but if they can contain the heroics of Deshaun Watson and continue riding the hot tandem of Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill, they can pull this off.
NEWSMAKERS
Laura Baker, a shareholder at the Law Offices of John Day, has been named 2020 president of the Nashville Bar Association.
BRIEFS
Travel publication Condé Nast Traveler has designated Nashville as one of the 20 best places to go in the world in 2020.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The end of the calendar year can be an exciting time for new-car buyers. Many vehicles have been redesigned and are packed with the latest technology. However, the outgoing models are still on dealer lots and likely to be discounted steeply by makers and dealers looking to meet year-end goals.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Honesty is the best policy, isn’t that what your mother always said? You hate when people lie to you, so you shouldn’t lie to them – although, as you’ll see in the new book “Cheaters Always Win: The Story of America” by J.M. Fenster, you wouldn’t be the first to do so.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Everyone needs a rainy-day fund. Your financial health depends on it, and your employer could help you build one.
CAREER CORNER
The race will be on in less than three weeks. Are you ready? You might wonder what race I’m talking about. It’s the most important races of your life. The race to your dream job.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Check the calendar. No, this isn’t a dream. It really is December, and Christmas Day is staring you straight in the face.
NASHVILLE AREA
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — From the middle of the Obama administration to the midpoint of the Trump presidency, household income grew the most in tech and entertainment centers like Nashville, Austin, Texas, and large chunks of the West Coast.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Music City Bowl will have a new title sponsor in TransPerfect starting in 2020 when the bowl pits teams from the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Fartun Abdi last saw her father face-to-face when she was about 1 year old living in Somalia, just before her family separated to flee fighting in the country.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government's highway safety agency has launched an investigation into four automakers that have a potentially deadly type of Takata air bag inflator in their vehicles but have yet to recall them.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home-buying slumped in November, with some Americans priced out of the market by rising prices and a shortage of sales listings.
TECHNOLOGY
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. has unveiled an upgraded version of its human-shaped T-HR3 robot. The robot, which is controlled remotely by a person wearing a headset and wiring on his or her arms and hands, now has faster and smoother finger movements because the controlling device is lighter and easier to use.
HEALTH CARE
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down "Obamacare's" now-toothless requirement that Americans carry health insurance but sidestepped a ruling on the law's overall constitutionality. The decision means the law remains in effect for now.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — One day after impeaching President Donald Trump, the Democratic-led House is expected to overwhelmingly pass one of his signature priorities, a rewrite of the 25-year-old free trade agreement he blames for shipping U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden's central bank has ended a five-year experiment of keeping its benchmark interest rate below zero, a policy that other countries have also adopted to try to improve economic growth.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Airbnb scored a big win in its long-standing fight with French hoteliers as the European Union's highest court rejected Thursday an argument that Airbnb should be subject to the strict rules that govern French estate agents.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Senate Republican on Thursday denounced the "most unfair" House impeachment of President Donald Trump and reassured Trump and his supporters that "moments like this are why the United States Senate exists."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Minutes after the House impeached President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw uncertainty into the process by refusing to say, repeatedly, when or whether she would send two articles to the Senate for a trial.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution's ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just seven Democrats will take the stage for the sixth and final round of presidential debates in 2019. That's down from 20 candidates six months ago.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee won't stop resettling refugees, Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday, rejecting the option offered to states by President Donald Trump's administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department announced a crackdown Wednesday aimed at driving down violent crime in seven of the nation's most violent cities.
NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx said Tuesday that its profit fell 40% in its most recent quarter, hurt by higher costs, a shorter holiday shipping season and its move to cut ties with online shopping giant Amazon.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have made yet another move at kicker, placing veteran Ryan Succop back on injured reserve and signing Greg Joseph off Carolina's practice squad.
PREDATORS
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — The Nashville Predators completed a two-day sweep of New York teams in a stunning way.
HEALTH CARE
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The "individual mandate" of former President Barack Obama's health care law is invalid, but other parts of the law need further review, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's expansion of a program aimed at steering more veterans to private health care is getting an $8.9 billion boost as part of the massive government spending bill approved by the House, setting up a potential battle over the direction of the Veterans Affairs Department.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration, eager to show progress on prescription drug costs, on Wednesday moved forward on its plan to allow Americans to safely and legally get access to lower-priced medicines from abroad.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will consider expanding protections for churches against job-discrimination claims.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
A last-minute burst of selling pulled the major U.S. stock indexes mostly lower Wednesday, ending the market's five-day winning streak.
New York Life will spend more than $6 billion in cash to acquire the group life and disability coverage business of the insurer Cigna.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany-based media and services company Bertelsmann says it will buy the 25% of publisher Penguin Random House that it doesn't already own for $675 million.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House marched toward a historic evening vote to impeach President Donald Trump on Wednesday, with Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisting Congress must "defend democracy" by evicting him from the White House. Trump would be just the third American president to be impeached, a distinctive dark mark on his tenure.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An incredulous and defiant President Donald Trump stared down Wednesday's impending impeachment votes as he has every obstacle in his presidency: broadcasting his grievances by tweet.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American history is happening in the U.S. House of Representatives.
TUESDAY, DEC. 17
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — A Tennessee nonprofit group has handed over statues of Confederate leaders Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, two years after they were removed from public parks in Memphis, officials said Tuesday.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — Exports in Tennessee dropped by more than $500 million during the third quarter compared to the same period last year, falling to $7.8 billion, according to a report released Monday.
EDUCATION
NASHVILLE (AP) — A former Kentucky education commissioner is moving into a new role at a private Christian college in Tennessee.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have waived kicker Ryan Santoso, who had been working as the team's kickoff specialist.
PREDATORS
NEW YORK (AP) — Coming off back-to-back losses, the Nashville Predators came through with a strong defensive effort and some timely goals to get a needed win.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee offensive lineman Ryan Johnson says he's transferring to Georgia Tech.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new homes rose again in November while applications for building permits rose to the highest level in 12 years, both encouraging signs of a rebound in the housing market.
ENVIRONMENT
BRUSSELS (AP) — EU lawmakers and member countries have agreed on a deal to promote environmentally-friendly investment after weeks of discussions that had stalled over whether to exclude nuclear projects.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is adding 3,000 jobs at two factories in the Detroit area and investing $1.45 billion to build new pickup trucks, SUVs, and electric and autonomous vehicles.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Wall Street extended its milestone-shattering run Tuesday with modest gains for stocks, nudging the major indexes to more record highs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials on Tuesday endorsed a type of cigarette that could help ease the addictive grip of smoking by delivering very low levels of nicotine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of available jobs jumped in October after hitting an 18-month low the previous month, a sign the job market remains strong.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industrial production snapped back last month, posting the biggest gain in more than two years, boosted by the end of a strike at General Motors.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is banning its third-party merchants from using FedEx's ground service to deliver to Prime members, suggesting that it thinks the service is too slow to get packages to their destinations in time for Christmas.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's competition watchdog said Tuesday it launched a formal inquiry into Google's takeover of cloud data analytics company Looker Data Sciences, as it intensifies scrutiny of technology deals.
LONDON (AP) — Buoyed by a Conservative majority in Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signaled Tuesday he won't soften his Brexit stance, ruling out any extension of an end-of-2020 deadline to strike a trade deal with the European Union.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the eve of his all-but-certain impeachment, President Donald Trump fired off a furious letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday denouncing the "crusade" against him but acknowledging that at this point he was unlikely to change any votes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday to pass a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package, handing President Donald Trump a victory on his U.S.-Mexico border fence while giving Democrats spending increases across a swath of domestic programs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is rejecting the Democrats' push for fresh impeachment testimony against President Donald Trump and making a last-ditch plea for them to "turn back from the cliff" of Wednesday's expected vote to send the case to the Senate for trial.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former Trump campaign official Rick Gates to 45 days in jail despite what she said was "extraordinary" cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe and other Justice Department investigations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington negotiations on a $1.4 trillion government-wide funding bill produced a bipartisan agreement that's also serving as a must-pass legislative vehicle for lots of other unfinished congressional business. The spending bill — split into two measures for political and tactical reasons — caps a months-long budget battle and would prevent a government shutdown this weekend.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, says he provided the president with information that the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was impeding investigations that could benefit Trump politically. Within weeks, she was recalled from her post.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates, who was charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, will learn how much his extensive cooperation with the Justice Department has paid off when he is sentenced in Washington's federal court.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House leaders on Monday unveiled a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package that's carrying an unusually large load of unrelated provisions catching a ride on the last train out of Congress this year.
MONDAY, DEC. 16
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee drivers won't be slowed down by temporary lane closures for construction on interstates and state highways during upcoming holiday travel.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nearly 150 deer in Tennessee have tested positive for chronic wasting disease so far this season, according to the state Wildlife Resources Agency.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans had a chance to seize control of the AFC South, a division they haven't won in a decade.
EDUCATION
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Universities in Washington state and Idaho fear there may soon be fewer students to fill their classes due to a national decrease in births during the Great Recession, officials said.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The bipartisan budget deal announced in Congress protects access to health care under the Affordable Care Act but it also ditches one of that law's main cost controls.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan deal on a government spending bill would for the first time in two decades provide money for federal research on gun safety. A law adopted in the 1990's has effectively blocked such research and prohibits federal agencies from engaging in advocacy on gun-related issues.
WASHINGTON (AP) — People will get more time to sign up for "Obamacare" health insurance, the Trump administration announced Monday, following a spate of computer glitches over the weekend.
AUTO INDUSTRY
MILAN (AP) — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Peugeot are planning to announce a binding memorandum of understanding that will merge the two carmakers, a person briefed on the announcement said Monday.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will not review an appellate decision that makes it harder for cities to keep homeless people from sleeping on the streets.
ENVIRONMENT
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's two houses of parliament are poised to more than double the starting price for carbon dioxide emissions from the transport and heating industries when the charge is introduced in 2021.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks are closing broadly higher on Wall Street Monday, pushing major indexes to more record highs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government's 2.1 million employees will get paid parental leave for the first time, a galvanizing moment in the growing movement to bring the benefit to all U.S. workers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Although many small businesses struggle to find staffers to fill their open positions, many entrepreneurs with recently launched companies intend to create jobs within a few years.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — As Roger Johnson prepares to step down after 11 years leading the National Farmers Union group, he's well aware of the many challenges facing its members: a painful trade war, the effects of climate change and the march of farm consolidation. But Johnson, a North Dakota native, believes smaller operators can still find a way to carve out a living.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired coal miners and longtime opponents of Obama-era taxes on high-cost health plans are eyeing big wins as top congressional leaders and the Trump White House close in on a deal on a government-wide spending bill that's also carrying lots of overdue Washington business.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump made clear Monday that he intends to participate in at least three general election debates, but is threatening to sidestep the nonprofit group charged with running them.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the nation and deserving to be ousted, as key lawmakers began to signal where they stand ahead of this week's landmark votes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump this week after spending the past three months investigating the president's dealings in Ukraine and deciding whether his behavior was grave enough to qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey acknowledged Sunday that a Justice Department inspector general report identified "real sloppiness" in the surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide and said he was wrong to have been "overconfident" about how the Russia investigation was handled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As near-certain impeachment closes in on him, President Donald Trump raged at his accusers, the Democrats. In the process, he offered a highly selective account of the testimony of a damning witness and misrepresented the facts of a phone call with Ukraine's president at the heart of the constitutional showdown.
FRIDAY, DEC. 13
STATEWIDE
A South Korean manufacturer of electric power equipment plans to set up its first U.S. production operations in Memphis, Tennessee, where the company aims to invest $86.9 million and create 410 jobs over seven years.
PREDATORS
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — On a night the Sabres celebrated the tradition of their old building, Jack Eichel and his Buffalo teammates continued to establish a home-ice advantage in their current arena.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators approved a second drug for a debilitating form of muscular dystrophy, a surprise decision after the medication was rejected for safety concerns just four months ago.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WENTZVILLE, Mo. (AP) — General Motors will invest $1.5 billion to make what it calls the "next generation" of mid-sized pickup trucks at its plant near St. Louis, the company's president said Friday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks closed with tiny gains on Wall Street as investors weigh the news that the US and China have reached an initial deal in their long-running trade war.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. has canceled plans to impose new tariffs on $160 billion worth of Chinese imports Sunday as part of a modest interim agreement that de-escalates a 17-month trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales rose at a modest pace in November as the holiday shopping season appeared to have a slow start.
LONDON (AP) — British businesses that have been hobbled for three years by fear and confusion over Brexit are getting a break.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Friday debated Britain's departure from the bloc amid some relief that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has secured a parliamentary majority that should allow him to push the long-stalled Brexit divorce deal through parliament.
TOKYO (AP) — A closely watched economic survey by the Bank of Japan showed sentiment among major manufacturers soured for the fourth straight quarter, sapped by trade tensions and damage from a typhoon.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats propelled President Donald Trump's impeachment toward a historic vote by the full U.S. House as the Judiciary Committee on Friday approved charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It's the latest major step in the constitutional and political storm that has divided Congress and the nation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a campaign going on in Washington that even the most garrulous members of Congress aren't eager to talk about: to be part of a team of uncertain size, with a risky mission, to be named by a leader who isn't talking about what she's looking for or when she'll decide.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Friday's House committee vote to impeach him "an embarrassment to our country" and refused to back away from the charge that first ensnared him in the scandal. Almost simultaneous to the vote, Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, turned up at the White House to discuss Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The always-prolific Tweeter-in-chief appears to have hit a new record.
THURSDAY, DEC. 12
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Capitol Commission has no plans to address a contentious bust of a former Confederate general and early leader of the Ku Klux Klan when it meets next week for the first time in a year.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sharpening their 2020 election message, House Democrats on Thursday pushed through legislation that would empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and offer new benefits for seniors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a White House candidate, Donald Trump said he could save Medicare billions of dollars by negotiating prescription drug prices.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten former NFL players were charged in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud the league's health care benefit program by submitting false claims for medical equipment, including devices used on horses, the Justice Department said Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT
MADRID (AP) — Failure to tackle global warming could result in economic disaster, the United Nations Secretary-General warned Thursday in Madrid, as negotiators at the U.N. climate talks remained deadlocked over key issues.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at all-time highs Thursday on renewed optimism that the U.S. and China are close to reaching a deal in their costly trade war.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and China are close to finalizing a modest trade agreement that would suspend tariffs that are set to kick in Sunday, de-escalating their 17-month trade war.
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled in McDonald's favor in a long-running case filed by 20 workers who were fired or faced retaliation for trying to unionize.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Shares in Saudi Aramco gained on the second day of trading Thursday, propelling the oil and gas company to a near $2 trillion valuation, where it holds the title of the world's most valuable listed company.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Christine Lagarde is wasting no time in putting her stamp on the European Central Bank.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices were unchanged in November as the rise in energy costs slowed following a big gain in the previous month.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee pressed toward a historic vote Thursday to approve articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Split sharply along party lines, the panel was expected to send the charges to the full House for pre-Christmas action next week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior lawmakers announced a tentative agreement Thursday on an almost $1.4 trillion government-wide spending bill that would stave off a federal shutdown next weekend and split the differences on a number of contentious issues.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed Dr. Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration despite concerns about how he will confront the growing problem of underage vaping.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump promised Thursday to expand child care and time-off options for working moms and dads confronted with high costs and lack of access to quality care, saying in his administration "we get it done."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Impeachment is moving beyond the hearing room.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump lashed out at 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday, a day after she was named by Time as its Person of the Year, calling her selection "ridiculous."