VOL. 48 | NO. 48 | Friday, November 29, 2024
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
There is no individual in the history of Nashville to have accomplished more in the world of real estate, philanthropy and leadership than the late Bill Freeman, co-founder of Freeman Webb company.
REAL ESTATE
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased this week, though it remains near 7% after mostly rising in recent weeks.
TENNESSEE TITANS
There are still many things to work on before Will Levis becomes a finished product as an NFL quarterback.
It’s too early to say that Will Levis is a franchise quarterback, though there has been clear progress from him in the past three weeks.
The Titans are back on the road again and face another potential playoff team in the Washington Commanders. Here are some keys to victory.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Nearly two weeks after their induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, former Predators general manager David Poile and captain Shea Weber were welcomed back to Bridgestone Arena and honored before the Nov. 23 home game against the Winnipeg Jets. The two participated in a ceremonial faceoff.
An unusual penalty was assessed against the Predators early in the first period of their Nov. 20 game in Seattle against the Kraken. Shortly after the opening faceoff, the on-ice officials were huddled near the penalty boxes in discussions with the off-ice officials.
As the Predators surprising bad start moves toward the likelihood of a bad season overall, general manager Barry Trotz has said that he is on the lookout for trade partners to add to the roster.
UT SPORTS
It was a sight few could have ever expected to see at Neyland Stadium. As Tennessee was completing its 56-0 drubbing of UTEP Saturday, the end of the Florida-Ole Miss game was shown on the scoreboard. Florida was about to beat Ole Miss, and the UT student section began doing the Gator Chomp.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel talked about what's at stake in the regular-season finale for his No. 7 Volunteers.
NEWSMAKERS
HMC Civil Rights Law, a firm focused on employment discrimination and civil rights cases, has hired Lucia Izzolo as an associate.
BRIEFS
Belmont University’s College of Music & Performing Arts ranked 15th among the world’s top 20 music schools in The Hollywood Reporter’s annual list. The 2024 ranking, which highlights institutions preparing the next generation of composers across all media, places Belmont alongside renowned institutions The Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Driving in the snow isn’t enjoyable for many people. It’s cold, the roads are slick and city traffic is often slow going. But there are ways to have a bit more fun in the wintertime. To start, it helps to have the right vehicle.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Preparing for retirement is stressful and confusing. A recent Principal Financial Group survey found that 59% of American workers mistakenly thought they were saving for retirement. Alarmingly, Generation Xers, the cohort closest to retirement, comprise 64% of that figure.
CAREER CORNER
We often ask children what they want to be when they grow up. Their answers include firefighter, police officer and, these days, social media influencer.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans keep proving that for every step forward, they always find ways to take two back.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Supreme Court justices didn't seem convinced Monday that federal regulators misled companies before refusing to allow them to sell sweet-flavored vaping products following a surge in teen e-cigarette use.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities on Tuesday urged telecommunication companies to boost network security following a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is adding over 132,000 heavy-duty pickups in the U.S. to a previous recall for tailgate release switches that can short circuit and open the gates while the trucks are in park.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors has reached an agreement to sell its stake in a nearly completed electric vehicle battery plant in Lansing, Michigan.
PHILANTHROPHY
NEW YORK (AP) — Melinda French Gates is offering to match up to $1 million in gifts to two nonprofit organizations to help spur donations on GivingTuesday, which has become a major annual fundraising day for nonprofits.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of job postings in the United States rebounded in October from a 3 1/2 year low in September, a sign that businesses are still seeking workers even though hiring has cooled.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The U.S. government said Tuesday it has closed its investigation into an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers after determining there is no longer a safety risk.
NEW YORK (AP) — Agribusiness giant Cargill is laying off thousands of its employees.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is underscoring his intention to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp., and he's pledging to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker.
Small businesses are bracing for stiff tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has proposed as one of his first actions when he takes office.
AT&T anticipates earnings growth over the next three years thanks to the momentum of 5G and fiber services.
BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. Commerce Department has expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software.
BANGKOK (AP) — China announced Tuesday it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications, as a general principle, lashing back at U.S. limits on semiconductor-related exports.
BlackRock is buying credit investment manager HPS Investment Partners in a stock deal valued at about $12 billion, giving it more ways to service its insurance clients.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats reelected Chuck Schumer as party leader on Tuesday as the party moves into a deeply uncertain time, with no real consensus on a strategy as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate "anti-state" forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country's parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.
TORONTO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump was joking when he suggested Canada become the 51st U.S. state during a dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Tuesday.
LUANDA, Angola (AP) — Joe Biden on Tuesday used the first visit to Angola by a U.S. president to promote billions of dollars of commitments to the sub-Saharan African nation and speak at a slavery museum, where he'll acknowledge the trafficking that once linked the nations' economies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kash Patel has been well-known for years within Donald Trump's orbit as a loyal supporter who shares the president-elect's skepticism of the FBI and intelligence community. But he's receiving fresh attention, from the public and from Congress, now that Trump has picked him to lead the FBI.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC.
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday.
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term there will be "HELL TO PAY."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland announced Monday that he will run to become the top Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee next year, directly challenging fellow Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler as the party prepares to fight a second Trump administration and an emboldened Republican majority.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading back to Europe on Monday for what will likely be the last high-level NATO meeting before the Biden administration leaves office next month.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2
TENNESSEE TITANS
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jayden Daniels wanted no part of sitting around for half of December dwelling on a losing streak.
UT SPORTS
Ohio State, Miami and Clemson plunged in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday following their losses during a wild weekend, eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A police officer accused of leaking confidential information to Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio became a "double agent" for the far-right extremist group after its members burned a stolen Black Lives Matter banner in the nation's capital, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of the officer's trial.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will control the White House and both houses of Congress come January. But President-elect Donald Trump's intent to nominate loyalists to fill key Cabinet posts has set up a possible confrontation with the Senate, which has the constitutional responsibility for "advice and consent" on presidential nominees.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Supreme Court justices didn't seem convinced Monday that federal regulators misled companies as they refused to allow them to sell sweet flavored vaping products following a surge in teen e-cigarette use.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Supreme Court this week wades into the contentious issue of transgender rights, the justices will hear from an attorney with knowledge that runs deep.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case involving Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 18.
TRAVEL
Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday set a record on Sunday, as airport officers screened more than 3 million people.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — A Stellantis joint venture with Samsung SDI has won a commitment from the U.S. government for up to a $7.54 billion loan to help build two electric vehicle battery plants in Kokomo, Indiana.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen workers launched rolling two-hour strikes Monday at nine plants across Germany to underscore their resistance to pay cuts and factory closures the company says are necessary to cope with a slack European auto market.
TECHNOLOGY
Tired of thinking about what gifts to get everyone this year? Artificial intelligence chatbots might help, but don't expect them to do all the work or always give you the right answers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Consumers in the United States are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber Monday.
Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's ambassador to the United States said Sunday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was successful in getting President-elect Donald Trump and key Cabinet nominees to understand that lumping Canada in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S. is unfair.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers will return to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state's progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's stunning announcement that he will nominate Kash Patel as FBI director sets the stage for a fresh round of turbulence at a law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the homeland and investigating federal crimes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's drive to upend the FBI was welcomed by Republican senators although it was not clear on Sunday how strongly members of the incoming majority party would embrace his move to install ally Kash Patel as the next director of the Justice Department's top investigative arm.
Kash Patel has called for radical changes at the FBI and was a fierce and vocal critic of the bureau's work as it investigated ties between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Massad Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman who is the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
President-elect Donald Trump has filled the key posts for his second term in office, prioritizing loyalty to him after he felt bruised and hampered by internal squabbling during his first term.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden had long pledged that he would not pardon his son, Hunter, who was set to be sentenced this month for gun and tax convictions. But on Sunday, the president did it anyway.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25
SEC SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — One thing is sure as the newly expanded Southeastern Conference wraps up its regular season: Two new teams has just meant more chaos in a league that seemingly had settled in formation behind Georgia and Alabama.
The Southeastern Conference's losses were almost everyone else's gain in the College Football Playoff rankings, with SMU nudging its way into the top 12 and Indiana staying in the mix at No. 10 despite a lopsided loss of its own.
COURTS
MEMPHIS (AP) — Two tax preparers submitted $65 million in false claims for refunds under programs designed to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal prosecutors in Tennessee said Wednesday.
CROTON, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a defamation lawsuit against Fox News by a former Donald Trump supporter who said he received death threats when the network aired false conspiracy theories about his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI informant who is charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden's family has been indicted in a new case on federal tax charges.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has assembled a team of medical contrarians and health care critics to fulfill an agenda aimed at remaking how the federal government oversees medicines, health programs and nutrition.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of obese Americans would get access to popular weekly injectables that would help them shed pounds quickly if a $ 35 billion proposal from the Biden administration is blessed by President-elect Donald Trump.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the nation's leading medical research agency.
TECHNOLOGY
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican and Microsoft on Monday unveiled a digital twin of St. Peter's Basilica that uses artificial intelligence to explore one of the world's most important monument's while helping the Holy See manage visitor flows and identify conservation problems.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai is recalling more than 226,000 SUVs and small cars in the U.S. because the rearview camera image may not show up on the screens.
DETROIT (AP) — While sales of electric vehicles surge in China, adoption of more environmentally friendly vehicles is stumbling in the United States and Europe as carmakers and governments struggle to meet years-old promises about affordability and charging stations.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's new Labour government will launch a consultation on auto manufacturers' sales targets during the transition to electric vehicles, following the decision by Stellantis, the owner of Vauxhall, to close its van factory in southern England at the potential cost of 1,100 jobs.
MILITARY
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service. While officials and defense experts said the Navy is in sore need of a disruptor, they cautioned that Phelan's lack of experience could make it more difficult for him to realize Trump's goals.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump loved to use tariffs on foreign goods during his first presidency. But their impact was barely noticeable in the overall economy, even if their aftershocks were clear in specific industries.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer price increases accelerated last month, the latest sign that inflation's steady decline over the past two years has stalled in recent months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual pace from July through September on strong consumer spending and a surge in exports, the government said Wednesday, leaving unchanged its initial estimate of third-quarter growth.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining near seven-month lows.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Technology stocks helped pull stocks lower on Wall Street Wednesday, handing the market its first loss in more than a week.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
TORONTO (AP) — Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration kept President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration closely apprised of its efforts to broker the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect early Wednesday, according to the outgoing Democratic administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a Monday evening announcement, President-elect Donald Trump railed against Mexico and Canada, accusing them of allowing thousands of people to enter the U.S.