VOL. 47 | NO. 52 | Friday, December 22, 2023
‘Frustrated’ Tennessee universities unite to fight declining enthusiasm
Countless conversations over the holiday season will look toward the future, and many will examine higher education as a means of improving that future. A consortium of Tennessee’s public universities has coalesced behind the “Four the Future” campaign, an awareness and educational program designed to boost four-year college attendance.
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
When asked as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I sometimes replied “philanthropist.” It seemed a clever way to say, “I want to be so rich that I can give away money.”
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
There have been a multitude of experts screaming that the real estate sky is falling, and they have been on target for most of the nation. But Nashville has not seen price drops, only fewer transactions.
REAL ESTATE
Top Davidson County commercial real estate sales for November 2023, as compiled by the Nashville Ledger.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homebuilders are stepping up construction of single-family homes following a steady decline in mortgage rates and broad expectations among economists that home loan borrowing costs will ease further next year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Home loan financing costs eased again this week, pulling the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate down to a six-month low.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Now that the Titans have officially been eliminated from any playoff consideration, they need to treat the last three games of the season in much the same way they would play preseason games in August.
No doubt the Titans face a rebuild after being relegated to their second consecutive losing season under coach Mike Vrabel.
The Titans are eliminated before the final week of the regular season for the first time since Mike Vrabel became head coach six years ago. It will be interesting to see how he and his players handle playing out the string. With the 7-7 Seahawks coming in, the Titans can be in a Grinch role beginning Christmas Eve by denting Seattle’s playoff hopes.
NEWSMAKERS
Bass, Berry & Sims has added 19 attorneys in Nashville, bringing the total of new attorneys hired across the firm this year to 42.
BRIEFS
Middle Tennessee State University’s latest “Housing Tennessee” report shows continued increases in home prices and construction permits across the state, though closings were down both quarterly and annually.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Mercedes-Benz GLC has long been a popular choice for a small luxury SUV. From luxury and performance to technology, the GLC has set a standard that few other competing SUVs have been able to match. Last year, Mercedes redesigned the GLC, giving it a new interior and fresh styling. It’s a compelling SUV, but it’s not the only one.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Curiosity killed the cat. That’s what Grandma said when you were a nosy child, but you needed to learn about your world. Asking questions is what children – and savvy grown-ups – do.
PERSONAL FINANCE
If you’re someone who likes to return and exchange gifts after the holidays, prepare yourself: Making returns could feel a little different this year.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
The new year is upon us, and it’s a great time to plan for your financial future. Here are five financial resolutions to consider for 2024.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a judge on Wednesday to bar Donald Trump's lawyers from injecting politics into the former president's trial on charges that he schemed to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Michigan's Supreme Court is keeping former President Donald Trump on the state's primary election ballot.
ELECTION 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has centered his unlikely rise from reality television star to onetime — and potentially future — president on the idea that he's wiser than Washington's bumbling political class, once going so far as to label himself a "very stable genius."
MEDIA
Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times is striking back against the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the news industry, filing a federal lawsuit Wednesday against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots.
NEW YORK (AP) — Eight years ago, Steven Spielberg predicted that the superhero movie would one day go "the way of the Western."
ENERGY
Led by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023, a trend that if amplified will help Earth turn away from fossil fuels and prevent severe warming and its effects.
ENVIRONMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — On Dec. 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act. "Nothing," he said, "is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed." The powerful new law charged the federal government with saving every endangered plant and animal in America and enjoyed nearly unanimous bipartisan support.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street drifted to a slightly higher close as trading remained light on this holiday-shortened week.
Two higher-end models of the Apple Watch can go on sale again after a federal court temporarily lifted a sales halt ordered by the International Trade Commission over a patent dispute.
SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. online retailer Zulily is closing down, surprising customers and laying off hundreds of workers after efforts to salvage the business failed.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — At his suburban St. Louis home, Brett Koenig can pull out his smartphone and open a sports betting app. But he can't place a bet. He is blocked by a pop-up message noting he is not in a legal location.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the GOP presidential primaries just about to start, many Republicans aren't certain that votes will be counted correctly in their contest, as pessimism spreads about the future of both the Democratic and Republican parties, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans had been the NFL 's best at winning games decided by three or fewer points through coach Mike Vrabel 's first five seasons.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A panel of judges has blocked a new Tennessee law that would reconfigure the group overseeing professional sports facilities in Nashville by letting state leaders pick six of its 13 board members.
COURTS
DENVER (AP) — Police said Tuesday they are investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and providing extra patrols around their homes in Denver following the court's decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you're getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that's passed muster with health regulators.
Need help losing weight or handling depression? How about a pill that lowers cholesterol and treats erectile dysfunction?
MEDIA
We lost Twitter and got X. We tried out Bluesky and Mastodon (well, some of us did). We fretted about AI bots and teen mental health. We cocooned in private chats and scrolled endlessly as we did in years past. For social media users, 2023 was a year of beginnings and endings, with some soul-searching in between.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple filed an emergency motion seeking court permission to begin selling two of its most popular watches again until a final decision on its broader appeal in a bitter patent dispute is decided.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks notched more gains Tuesday, as Wall Street kicked off what's expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney has filed a lawsuit claiming that the oversight government for Walt Disney World, which was taken over by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, has failed to release documents and properly preserve records in violation of Florida public records law.
NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday sales rose this year and spending remained resilient during the shopping season even with Americans wrestling with higher prices in some areas and other financial worries, according to the latest measure.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Shipping firm Maersk says that it's preparing to allow vessels to resume sailing through the Red Sea, thanks to the start of a U.S.-led multinational naval operation to protect shipping from attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philip Tomasino scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 4:01 remaining, and the Nashville Predators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Thursday night.
EAST TENNESSEE
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Deposition testimony from billionaire Jimmy Haslam supports claims by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathway that Haslam tried to bribe employees at the Pilot truck stop chain amid a dispute with Berkshire over the future of the company, a Berkshire attorney told a judge Thursday.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Friday it will not immediately take up a plea by special counsel Jack Smith to rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his actions to overturn the 2020 election results.
Donald Trump pressured two election officials not to certify 2020 vote totals in a key Michigan county, according to a recording of a post-election phone call disclosed in a new report by The Detroit News.
TRAVEL
The Department of Transportation is investigating possible deceptive practices in airline loyalty programs after federal lawmakers raised concerns about how companies are calculating points and rewards.
NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush hit its peak Friday as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raised hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Cummins Inc. has agreed to pay an over $1.67 billion penalty to settle claims by regulators that the engine manufacturer unlawfully altered hundreds of thousands of pickup truck engines to bypass emissions tests.
BEIJING (AP) — American electric automaker Tesla's plans to produce energy-storage batteries in China moved forward on Friday with a signing ceremony for the land acquisition for a new factory in Shanghai, China's state media said.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — One of the world's largest electrical vehicle manufacturers, China's BYD, will open its first European EV production factory in Hungary, the country's foreign minister said Friday, the latest step in the Central European nation's efforts to become a global hub for EV manufacturing.
ENERGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration released its highly anticipated proposal for doling out billions of dollars in tax credits to hydrogen producers Friday, in a massive effort to build out an industry that some hope can be a cleaner alternative to fossil fueled power.
MILITARY
WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional oversight committee has launched an investigation into the V-22 Osprey program following a deadly crash in Japan which killed eight Air Force special operations service members.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of prices fell last month, another sign that inflation is easing and that Americans should benefit from reduced interest rates and get relief from painful price shocks in 2024.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish following reports showing inflation on the way down and the economy potentially on the way up.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers are stepping up sales and other enticements in the final days before Christmas to lure shoppers who've been waiting for the best deals, or who didn't have the time or the urge to wrap up gift-buying early.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden believes "serious scrutiny" is warranted for the planned acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, the White House said Thursday after days of silence on a transaction that has drawn alarm from the steelworkers union.
NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of Pornhub, one of the world's largest adult content websites, has admitted to profiting from sex trafficking and agreed to make payments to women whose videos were posted without their consent, federal prosecutors in New York announced Thursday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — This Congress started with showy bluster, a bitter 15-round, multi-day spectacle to elect a House speaker, a Republican who vowed to "never quit," and then did just that.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday giving the U.S. Treasury Department the authority to target financial institutions that facilitate Russia's efforts to bolster its defense industry.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A delegation of top U.S. officials is expected to visit Mexico soon as negotiations over how to enforce immigration rules at the two countries' shared border continue on Capitol Hill.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
The NHL and Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks, have reached an agreement that will keep local broadcasts for 11 teams on Bally Sports through the end of this season.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Rookie quarterback Will Levis hopes to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks as he recovers from a sprained left ankle similar to the injury that cost veteran Ryan Tannehill his job as the Tennessee Titans' starter.
SPORTS
The Southeastern Conference, currently chasing its fifth consecutive national championship, racked up another collection of talent and a couple of five-star quarterbacks on Wednesday.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, acknowledging severe financial strain exacerbated by his pursuit of former President Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election and a jury's verdict last week requiring him to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers he defamed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump touts his transformation of the U.S. Supreme Court as one of his presidency's greatest accomplishments. Now his legal and political future may lie in the hands of the court he pushed to the right.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport ministry officials inspected Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu on Thursday, one day after officials announced it was suspending the small car unit's shipments of all vehicles in and outside Japan after an investigation found improper testing involving 64 models.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department filed its first predatory mortgage lending case Wednesday against a Texas developer accused of luring tens of thousands of Hispanic homebuyers into "bait and switch" sales through platforms like TikTok.
TRAVEL
It's beginning to look a lot like a hectic holiday travel season, but it might go relatively smoothly if the weather cooperates.
ENERGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil companies offered $382 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after courts rejected the Biden administration's plans to scale back the sale to protect an endangered whale species.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but still remained at historically low levels despite high interest rates intended to slow hiring and cool the economy.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rebounded Thursday to claw back most of its sharp drop from the prior day, which was its first big step backward since a rally began in late October.
NEW YORK (AP) — You found the perfect holiday gift online. You ordered it. A notification arrived on your phone, showing the package had arrived. But when you open your doors, the parcel is nowhere to be found.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid grueling negotiations, the contours of a bipartisan border security and immigration deal are beginning to take shape, emerging even as Congress leaves town having failed to publicly unveil any details of the package that's central to unlocking stalled aid for Ukraine.