VOL. 46 | NO. 51 | Friday, December 23, 2022
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
Last week, a condominium in the Bellevue Commons sold for $399,000 in 24 days from the time that Autumn Faughn of Compass Tennessee, LLC listed the property. Faughn originally listed the property for $415,0000, and Milad Yakoub of simpliHOM sold the home.
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial real estate sales, November 2022, for Davidson County, as compiled by the Nashville Ledger.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate declined for the sixth straight week, giving potential homebuyers a tiny amount of relief after rates topped out over 7% last month.
TENNESSEE TITANS
They need wins, health, help from Jacksonville opponents
Here are some words Titans fans thought they would never utter this season: The Jacksonville Jaguars control their own playoff destiny.
I stated in this space last week that the Titans’ roster is simply not constructed properly to win consistently in today’s NFL.
If there is a soft spot remaining on the Titans schedule, this is it. And having lost four games in a row now, the Titans can ill afford to overlook the worst team the NFL has to offer in the Houston Texans.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are not used to losing, not with the NFL's second-longest active winning streak at six straight seasons.
UT SPORTS
The points might not always come in bunches. There might be stretches of play that aren’t aesthetically pleasing. But the one thing the Tennessee Vols never want questioned is their effort on defense.
NEWSMAKERS
Scott W. Reid has joined Bass, Berry & Sims as a member and will split time between the firm’s Nashville and Knoxville offices.
BRIEFS
Nashville’s gross domestic product growth for 2021 was 12%, the second-highest growth rate in the U.S. for metropolitan areas.
The holiday season is known for being merry and bright, but hectic schedules, last-minute shopping and travel both near and far can translate to the roads in the form of aggressive driving.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Electric vehicles, or EVs for short, have been the hot car commodity for 2022. Their sales were up nearly 82% from 2021 and now make up 5% of the total market, Edmunds data shows.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Don’t look now, but you’re being shadowed. It sure seems like it sometimes. Play around on social media, and ads start showing up a few minutes later for the discussions you just posted. Search a topic, click on a link, peek at an ad and, hey, are you being followed?
PERSONAL FINANCE
If you feel you have more to complain about these days, you might be right.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Meal kit subscriptions boomed in popularity in 2020 when more people were staying home and cooking than going out to eat during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies like HelloFresh, Blue Apron and EveryPlate catered to customers looking for healthy meals with more variety, made with pre-portioned ingredients shipped to their door.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans are desperately chasing division titles as the regular season winds to a close.
UT SPORTS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Joe Milton has started three games for Tennessee. Cade Klubnik hasn't started any for Clemson.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Roope Hintz scored his second goal of the game with 52.3 seconds left to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
EAST TENNESSEE
GATLINBURG (AP) — Repairs on the Spur Tunnel in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will begin next month, officials said.
COURTS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Delaware trucker described as a co-leader of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan's governor was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison Wednesday, a day after an accomplice received 16 years behind bars.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A jury convicted Dayonta McClinton of robbing a CVS pharmacy but acquitted him of murder. A judge gave McClinton an extra 13 years in prison for the killing anyway.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is keeping pandemic-era limits on asylum in place for now, dashing hopes of migrants who have been fleeing violence and inequality in Latin America and elsewhere to reach the United States.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Since the pandemic began, the United States has been using a public health rule designed to limit the spread of disease to expel asylum-seekers on the southern border.
NEW YORK (AP) — A divided appeals court on Tuesday rejected the insider trading convictions of four men, including an ex-government employee turned consultant, prompting a sharp dissent from a judge who says the ruling may prompt insiders to sell confidential government information to the highest bidders.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday a bill requiring the federal Bureau of Prisons to overhaul outdated security systems and fix broken surveillance cameras after rampant staff sexual abuse, inmate escapes and high-profile deaths.
AUTO INDUSTRY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Owning Tesla stock this year has been anything but a smooth ride for investors.
TRAVEL
DALLAS (AP) — Travelers who counted on Southwest Airlines to get them home suffered through another wave of canceled flights Wednesday, and pressure grew on the federal government to help customers get reimbursed for unexpected expenses they incurred because of the airline's meltdown.
ENVIRONMENT
DENVER (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating whether Colorado's regulation of air pollution from industrial facilities discriminates against Hispanic residents and other racial minorities, according to a letter released Wednesday.
ENERGY
BERLIN (AP) — A Swiss court has granted a six-month "stay of bankruptcy" to the operating company for the never-opened Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to bring Russian gas to Germany but put on ice shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
A broad slide for stocks added to Wall Street's recent losses Wednesday, as investors count down to the end of the worst year for the S&P 500 since 2008.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is marking the four-year anniversary of the detention in Russia of American businessman Paul Whelan, whose continued imprisonment is one of several major irritants in tattered relations between Washington and Moscow.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's tax returns are expected to be released by the House Ways and Means committee on Friday, a congressional aide confirmed Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be asking voters for a second term leading one of the nation's biggest cities. Republicans will try to take full control of the Virginia Legislature. Governors' mansions are up for election in Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Democratic governor in red-state Kentucky will try to hang on for another term.
UKRAINE
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A group of ethnic Chechens fleeing Russia arrived in Bosnia this week, hoping to use the Balkan country as a launchpad to reach the European Union and avoid getting sent to fight in Ukraine.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has bought some 1,400 drones, mostly for reconnaissance, and plans to develop combat models that can attack the exploding drones Russia has used during its invasion of the country, according to the Ukrainian government minister in charge of technology.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have absolutely nothing on the line Thursday night except pride and the chance to build some momentum by snapping a five-game skid.
TRAVEL
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines scrubbed thousands of flights again Tuesday in the aftermath of the massive winter storm that wrecked Christmas travel plans across the U.S., and the federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged so far behind other carriers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks are closing lower Tuesday afternoon after the long holiday weekend, adding to the market's recent losses as Wall Street counts down its final days of a painful year for investors. A slide in technology companies, automakers and airlines weighed on the market, offsetting gains in energy stocks and other sectors. News that China lifted some of its COVID-19 restrictions helped lift stocks in the early going. The S&P 500 index fell 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched 0.1% higher and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.4%.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — When he ran for the White House, Joe Biden told voters his presidency would be a bridge to the next generation. His first two years on the job have revealed it to be a much more ambitious venture.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., admitted Monday that he lied about his job experience and college education during his successful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House.
UKRAINE
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia's foreign minister on Tuesday warned anew Ukraine that it must demilitarize, threatening further military action and falsely accusing Kyiv and the West of fueling the war that started with Moscow's invasion.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 26
MUSIC INDUSTRY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The chorus against Ticketmaster's contentious concert pricing practices is growing, numbering among them Zach Bryan and friends.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting Jan. 1, many Americans will qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle. The credit, part of changes enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to spur EV sales and reduce greenhouse emissions.
TRAVEL
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The deep freeze from a deadly winter storm that walloped much of the United States will continue into the week as people in western New York deal with massive snow drifts that snarled emergency vehicles and travelers across the country see canceled flights and dangerous roads.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday sales rose this as American spending remained resilient during the critical shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent, according to one measure.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A section of the $1.7 trillion spending bill passed Friday has been billed as a dramatic step toward shoring up retirement accounts of millions of U.S. workers. But the real windfall may go to a far more secure group: the financial services industry.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three buses of recent migrant families arrived from Texas near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in record-setting cold on Christmas Eve.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated a quiet Christmas with his family at the White House and spoke with service members stationed around the world.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 117th Congress opened with the unfathomable Jan. 6, 2021, mob siege of the Capitol and is closing with unprecedented federal criminal referrals of the former president over the insurrection — all while conducting one of the most consequential legislative sessions in recent memory.
UKRAINE
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is ready for talks to end the war in Ukraine even as the country faced more attacks from Moscow — a clear sign that peace wasn't imminent.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill that would name a Nashville post office after a late former state senator is headed to President Joe Biden's desk.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge kept secret that two of Sam Bankman-Fried's closest associates had turned against him so the cryptocurrency entrepreneur wouldn't get spooked and fight extradition from the Bahamas, according to court transcripts made public Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection for the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants will resume in early January after a holiday break, according to court records.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military forces around the world will no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the mandate was lifted under an $858 billion defense spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law Friday by President Joe Biden.
AUTO INDUSTRY
CEO Elon Musk says he won't sell any more shares in Tesla for 18 months or more, likely an attempt to comfort shareholders of the electric vehicle company who have watched the stock lose nearly half of its value since Musk's purchase of Twitter went through in October.
TRAVEL
LONDON (AP) — Air travelers faced possible delays at U.K. airports Friday as government employees who check passports went on strike in the latest of a spate of walkouts over pay amid a cost-of-living crisis.
MEDIA
Microsoft is headed for a battle with the Federal Trade Commission over whether the U.S. will block the tech giant's planned takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
A choppy day on Wall Street ended with broad gains for stocks Friday, though most of the major indexes wound up with their third weekly loss in a row.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve slowed last month, another sign that a long surge in consumer prices seems to be easing.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A $1.7 trillion spending bill financing federal agencies through September and providing more aid to a devastated Ukraine cleared the House on Friday as lawmakers raced to finish their work for the year and avoid a partial government shutdown.
Retailers are scoring one win in the governmentwide spending bill, which will force online marketplaces like Amazon and Facebook to verify high-volume sellers on their platforms amid heightened concerns about retail crime.
President Joe Biden signed a large defense bill on Friday that includes a water bill that directs the Army Corps of Engineers on major infrastructure projects to improve navigation and protect against storms worsened by climate change.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee's final report asserts that Donald Trump criminally engaged in a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation into the former president and the violent insurrection two years ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee released its final report Thursday on the "unimaginable" 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a mob assault by supporters of the defeated president, Donald Trump, that shook the nation and exposed the fragility of American democracy.
UKRAINE
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded another defiant note on his return to his nation's capital Friday following his wartime visit to the United States, saying his forces are "working toward victory" even as Russia warned that there would be no end to the war until it achieved its military aims.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee rookie Malik Willis will start his third NFL game Saturday against the Houston Texans with veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill ruled out with an injured right ankle.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
CHICAGO (AP) — Roman Josi moved to the top of Nashville's career points list on Wednesday night.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday granted clemency to 16 people, including two inmates who will be eligible for parole.
REGION
NASHVILLE (AP) — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed six long-waiting nominees by President Joe Biden to the board of the nation's largest public utility, establishing a new majority with Biden's picks.
COURTS
TALLAHASSEE (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court will convene a grand jury at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' request to investigate any wrongdoing with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines, the court announced Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried can post $250 million bond and live in his parents' home in California while he awaits trial on charges that he swindled investors and looted customer deposits on his FTX trading platform, a judge said Thursday.
MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media's role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers.
HEALTH CARE
Nikiesha Barnett had knee surgery in 2006 and took unpaid leave from her job as a Georgia hospital coordinator while she was recovering. When Barnett wasn't able to keep up with the payments for the surgery, she ended up owing about $4,500.
ENERGY
TOKYO (AP) — Japan adopted a plan on Thursday to extend the lifespan of nuclear reactors, replace the old and even build new ones, a major shift in a country scarred by the Fukushima disaster that once planned to phase out atomic power.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, airlines have offered passengers concerned by climate change an option: For an extra cost, cancel out the carbon dioxide pollution from their share of a flight, by paying to protect trees.
AUTO INDUSTRY
The U.S. government's highway safety agency said Thursday it will send teams to investigate two November crashes in California and Ohio involving Teslas that may have been operating on automated driving systems.
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla Inc. is offering rare discounts through year's end on its two top-selling models, an indication that demand is slowing for its electric vehicles.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday as stronger-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy stoked worries about interest rates staying high.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shrugging off rampant inflation and rising interest rates, the U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported Thursday in a healthy upgrade from its earlier estimate of third-quarter growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to show strength even as the Federal Reserve has tried for nearly a year to slow the economy by raising its main lending rate.
NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, Lucila Gomez and her husband started their holiday shopping around Thanksgiving and wrapped it up a week before Christmas, spending $750 on tablets and clothing for their three children and relatives.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Online retail giant Amazon could be held responsible for breaching luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin's trademark rights over the sale of counterfeit red soled high-heeled shoes on its platform, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday.
Netflix said Wednesday it plans to build a state-of-the-art production facility at a former Army base at the Jersey Shore that will cost more than $900 million, and create thousands of jobs.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House took action Thursday after disclosures that the IRS never fully reviewed Donald Trump's tax returns during his presidency, passing a bill that would require audits of any president's income tax filings. The legislation would turn what had been a long-standing post-Watergate norm into established federal policy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday voted to release former President Donald Trump's tax returns, raising the potential of additional revelations in the coming days related to the finances of the longtime businessman who broke political norms by refusing to voluntarily make public his returns as he sought the presidency.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson described to the House Jan. 6 committee a wide-ranging pressure campaign from Donald Trump's allies aimed at influencing her cooperation with Congress and stifling potentially damaging testimony about him.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee is releasing dozens of witness transcripts from its investigation into the 2021 Capitol attack, including Thursday's release of a previously unseen account from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson detailing a stunning campaign by Donald Trump's allies encouraging her to stay "loyal" as she testified.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's emotional appeal for continued U.S. support, Congress is set to ensure the money keeps flowing for years, even after Republicans take control of the House.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An IRS policy governing the audits of tax returns filed by U.S. presidents is under new scrutiny after a report published by a congressional panel found the agency failed to perform the mandatory inspection of Donald Trump's returns until Congress pressed for information about the process.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An 800-page report set to be released Thursday by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and "provoked his supporters to violence" at the Capitol with false claims of widespread voter fraud.
UKRAINE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, has taken delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster its forces as it fights side-by-side with Russian troops in Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy told cheering U.S. legislators during a defiant wartime visit to the nation's capital on Wednesday that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is "not charity," but an "investment" in global security and democracy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The idea of a daring wartime trip by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington had percolated for some time before the surprise visit was revealed just hours ahead of the Ukrainian president's arrival.
Throughout Mariupol, Russian workers are tearing down bombed-out buildings at a rate of at least one a day, hauling away shattered bodies with the debris.