VOL. 46 | NO. 7 | Friday, February 18, 2022
REAL ESTATE
As compiled by the Nashville Ledger:
Top residential real estate sales, January 2021, for Davidson County, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped again this week, approaching levels not seen since 2019.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
The name is familiar to anyone who has followed basketball for the past 30 years or so. And there are many expectations and pressure that comes with being named Scotty Pippen Jr.
NEWSMAKERS
Baker Donelson has named Martha L. Boyd as vice chair of the firm’s labor and employment group. Boyd will work with the group’s chair, Angie Davis, to oversee the management and strategy of Baker Donelson’s national labor and employment practice.
BRIEFS
Swoop, Canada’s leading ultra-low-fare airline, is expanding its presence in the United States by adding non-stop flights to five new destinations this summer: Nashville, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
February is the month of love, and for many people that means trying to find Mr. or Mrs. Right. The same goes for cars. It isn’t easy finding the right one, and many have personalities of their own. So why not choose your next car as you would a date?
PERSONAL FINANCE
Trying to work while caring for an aging loved one can be difficult, stressful and at times overwhelming. Many people feel they must quit, take a leave of absence or at least reduce their hours in order to cope.
CAREER CORNER
It’s the month of love, and every year at this time I write about why it’s important to love your job. This year, let’s look at it another way.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
OK, so let’s face it: Sometimes, you work with a bunch of jerks. Here’s another thing to face: You’re no innocent and you know it. Either way, it makes things so hard, doesn’t it?
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Burnt out? Over it? Ready for a change? Millions of people are quitting their jobs each month in what many have dubbed the "Great Resignation."
PREDATORS
SUNRISE, Fla.- (AP) — Mikael Granlund scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Nashville Predators snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett will be pulling double duty with special performances on top of their hosting duties at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards.
NASHVILLE AREA
Iron Galaxy Studios, LLC officials announced the company will invest $950,000 to establish a new video game development studio in Nashville.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers are mulling a proposal advocated by the governor to make Juneteenth a state holiday.
RELIGION
The Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee has offered a public apology and a confidential monetary settlement to sexual abuse survivor Jennifer Lyell, who was mischaracterized by the denomination's in-house news service when she decided to go public with her story in March 2019.
EDUCATION
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has drawn a pledged donation of $10 million to support an engineering scholarship.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has interviewed at least three candidates for the Supreme Court, according to a person familiar with the matter, and the White House is reiterating that he remains on track to make a final selection by Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is declining to disturb a decision that a Wisconsin man convicted of poisoning his wife should get a new trial.
MEDIA
BOSTON (AP) — America's first newspaper dedicated to advocating for the end of slavery is being resurrected and reimagined more than two centuries later as the nation continues to grapple with its legacy of racism.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Driving a rugged Subaru through snowy weather is a rite of passage for some New Englanders, whose region is a top market for the Japanese automaker.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Automaker Stellantis said Wednesday that it made 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion) in its first year after it was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group and would pay out record profit-sharing checks to unionized U.S. workers.
ENVIRONMENT
PARIS (AP) — The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that emissions of planet-warming methane from oil, gas and coal production are significantly higher than governments claim.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
HAMILTON, Ala. (AP) — A handwritten log kept by nurses tells the story of the losing battle to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in this corner of Alabama: Just 14 people showed up at the Marion County Health Department for their initial shot during the first six weeks of the year.
Is omicron leading us closer to herd immunity against COVID-19? Experts say it's not likely that the highly transmissible variant — or any other variant — will lead to herd immunity.
Pregnancy-related deaths for U.S. mothers climbed higher in the pandemic's first year, continuing a decades-long trend that disproportionately affects Black people, according to a government report released Wednesday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Lowe's Cos., the nation's second-largest home improvement chain behind Home Depot, offered an upbeat annual outlook after reporting strong fiscal fourth-quarter results that showed a still sizzling housing market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Clogged U.S. ports are being given access to nearly $450 million in federal money from President Joe Biden's infrastructure law as part of the administration's recent stepped-up efforts aiming to ease supply chain congestion and lower prices for American consumers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed to slap sanctions Wednesday on Russia's defense minister, a top adviser to President Vladimir Putin and hundreds of Russian lawmakers who voted in favor of recognizing the independence of separatist areas in southeast Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland take immediate action to reform the beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons in response to Associated Press investigations that exposed widespread problems there, serious misconduct involving correctional officers and rampant sexual abuse at a California women's prison.
BRUSSELS (AP) — World leaders on Wednesday waited to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin would cast the die and order troops deeper into Ukraine. At the same time, they worked to maintain a united stance and vowed to impose tougher sanctions in the event of a full-fledged invasion.
TOKYO (AP) — World leaders sought Wednesday to back up their tough words over Russia's aggression against Ukraine, announcing financial sanctions, trade and travel bans and other measures meant to pressure Moscow to pull back from the brink of war.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia began evacuating its embassy in Kyiv, and Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia on Wednesday as the region braced for further confrontation after President Vladimir Putin received authorization to use military force outside his country and the West responded with sanctions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to the nation's capital as it prepares for trucker convoys that are planning protests against pandemic restrictions beginning next week.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — In 1973, amid the growing gay rights movement, a band called Lavender Country recorded a country music album that unabashedly explored LGBTQ themes, becoming a landmark that would nonetheless disappear for decades.
COURTS
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The three men convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery's fatal shooting were found guilty of federal hate crimes and other lesser charges Tuesday for violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a decision throwing out a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing her when she was a child.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a new clash involving religion and the rights of LGBTQ people in the case of a Colorado web designer who says her religious beliefs prevent her from offering wedding website designs to gay couples.
EDUCATION
NASHVILLE (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has paid a visit to Tennessee State University to laud the school's initiatives to address teacher shortages.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union member countries agreed Tuesday that they should further facilitate tourist travel into the 27-nation bloc for people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus or have recovered from COVID-19.
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian lawmakers voted Monday night to extend the emergency powers that police can invoke to quell any potential restart of blockades by those opposed to COVID-19 restrictions.
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong will test its entire population of 7.5 million people for COVID-19 in March, the city's leader said Tuesday, as it grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the omicron variant.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street Tuesday after Russia sent forces into Ukraine's eastern regions, escalating tensions.
DETROIT (AP) — Elon Musk and his lawyers are escalating their fight with U.S. securities regulators, with a lawyer accusing them of leaking investigative information, and the Tesla CEO alleging on Twitter that government corruption is being exposed.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence declined modestly this month but remains high, even as prices for just about everything continue to rise.
Home Depot saw its sales remain strong in its fourth quarter as it continues to benefit from a sizzling housing market.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's offered an upbeat outlook on Tuesday after reporting strong quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street estimates despite a slew of challenges from inflation to supply chain clogs.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
MOSCOW (AP) — President Joe Biden ordered heavy U.S. financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs on Tuesday, stepping up the West's confrontation with Moscow, even as Russian lawmakers authorized President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside their country.
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in the Ukraine standoff by recognizing the independence of rebel regions in the country's east, and a key question now is whether he will stop at that or try to move deeper into Ukraine.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Responding swiftly to Russian President Vladimir Putin's order sending troops to separatist regions of Ukraine, world leaders hit back with non-military actions Tuesday in hopes of averting a full-blown war in Europe.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the White House calling Russian deployments in eastern Ukraine an invasion, it's expected to follow up with tough sanctions. President Joe Biden has made clear the United States intends to deploy sweeping financial penalties, not American troops, to hit Russia over President Vladimir Putin's moves against Ukraine.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — From a hastily convened meeting of the United Nations Security Council to capitals around the world, leaders have condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of two pro-Russia regions in eastern Ukraine as independent and his order to send troops there. The U.S., European Union and U.K. announced tough economic sanctions, warning more would follow if Putin proceeds further.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday, as the West started taking punitive measures against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a year, the Food and Drug Administration lacked a permanent head when the agency was central in the battle against COVID-19. Once President Joe Biden nominated Dr. Robert Califf to head the agency, it took the Senate three months to confirm him.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sandra Day O'Connor was nervous when she joined the Supreme Court in 1981 as the nation's first female justice.
REAL ESTATE
Krystal Guerra's Miami apartment has a tiny kitchen, cracked tiles, warped cabinets, no dishwasher and hardly any storage space.
ENVIRONMENT
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's winter drought is getting worse, with the national weather agency reporting Monday that 91% of the country is enduring "severe" or "extreme" drought conditions.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scrapping the last domestic coronavirus restrictions in England, including the requirement for people with COVID-19 to self-isolate, even as he acknowledged Monday the potential for new and more deadly variants of the virus.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — International tourists and business travelers began arriving in Australia with few restrictions on Monday, bringing together families in tearful reunions after separations of two years or longer forced by some of the most draconian pandemic measures of any democracy in the world.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Monday that she was open to lifting interest rates by more than the traditional quarter-point at the central bank's next meeting in March.
CHICAGO (AP) — An activist investor is trying to make McDonald's change the way it buys pork for its bacon cheeseburgers and sausage patties.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China said Monday it will impose new sanctions on U.S. defense contractors Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin due to their arms sales to Taiwan, stepping up a feud with Washington over security and Beijing's strategic ambitions.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — State attorneys general and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are digging deeper into the role that fake slates of electors played in Donald Trump's desperate effort to cling to power after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — With all eyes on a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending his top security envoy to the Balkans where Moscow has been trying to maintain influence mainly through its ally Serbia, according to reports.
TORONTO (AP) — The streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet now. The Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers' horns has gone silent.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is ready to limit financial assistance and possibly impose sanctions in Bosnia to help prevent the possible breakup up of the ethnically divided Balkan country as the peace agreement brokered over 25 years ago unravels, the EU's top diplomat vowed Monday.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — New Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell has recused herself from a case over Republican Gov. Bill Lee's school voucher program, which remains blocked.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Too progressive. Too moderate. Bad for workers.
REAL ESTATE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied homes rose in January as a surge in buyers with cash and others eager to avoid higher mortgage rates snapped up properties, leaving the number of available houses on the market at a record low.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed a federal watchdog assailed by former President Donald Trump to the top job battling fraud, waste and abuse at the $1.6 trillion Department of Health and Human Services, which has a portfolio that spans health, social services and even the care of migrant children.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
Average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the omicron variant's hold is weakening across the country.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California became the first state to formally shift to an "endemic" approach to the coronavirus with Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement Thursday of a plan that emphasizes prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks over mandated masking and business shutdowns.
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's Fung Shing Restaurant was bustling this week as customers came for one last taste of the traditional Cantonese dim sum that has made it famous.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve should start raising interest rates next month to help rein in too-high inflation, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Friday. But he added that the rate hikes may not have to begin with as big a bang as some have suggested.
Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street Friday, leaving indexes with a second weekly loss in a row after another bout of turbulence shook markets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government wants to give beer lovers more choices than the usual suspects when they reach for a drink — and help them pay less for whatever they choose.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Friday formally adopted sweeping new rules that will limit the ability of its top officials to invest in financial markets, a change intended to prevent conflicts of interest involving investments affected by Fed policies.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Embassy announced Friday that Washington is lifting a ban on inspections of Mexican avocados, freeing the way for exports to resume.
JAKARTA (AP) — Finance leaders of the world's biggest economies called Friday for a cautious and well coordinated approach to navigating recoveries from the pandemic.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday rejected efforts by former President Donald Trump to toss out conspiracy lawsuits filed by lawmakers and two Capitol police officers, saying in his ruling that the former president's words "plausibly" may have led to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bipartisan bill to extend government funding for three weeks to give Congress more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies through the rest of the fiscal year, the White House announced.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Classified information was found in the 15 boxes of White House records that were stored at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, the National Archives and Records Administration said Friday in a letter that confirmed the matter has been sent to the Justice Department.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House blamed Russia on Friday for recent cyberattacks targeting Ukraine's defense ministry and major banks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal judges would have to publicly disclose more about their finances under a bill approved by the Senate this week, which aims to make the judiciary subject to similar transparency requirements as lawmakers.
NEW YORK (AP) — To plead the Fifth, or not to plead the Fifth?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate gave final approval Thursday to legislation averting a weekend government shutdown, sending President Joe Biden a measure designed to give bipartisan bargainers more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies until fall.
Former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called Black Lives Matter protesters "thugs" and "anarchists," said there's "a lot of respect" for the overwhelmingly white truckers who blocked streets in the Canadian capital and shut down border crossings with the U.S. to oppose COVID-19 restrictions.
If knowledge is power, knowing the intimate secrets of one's DNA could be a powerful weapon. That might explain why the world leaders who hastened to Moscow in recent days for diplomatic talks seemed to balk at Russian-administered coronavirus tests.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17
PREDATORS
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has fined Nashville Predators coach John Hynes $25,000 for inappropriate conduct at the end of a 4-1 loss to Washington.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
MEMPHIS (AP) — Van Morrison, Lil Wayne, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sarah McLachlan, Foo Fighters, Three 6 Mafia and Death Cab for Cutie are among the eclectic group of artists set to perform at this year's Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — After months of gathering input from across the state on how Tennessee should fund its multibillion-dollar K-12 education system, Gov. Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn say they are close to finally revealing their plan for how the formula should be rewritten.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state's civil investigation into his business practices, a judge ruled Thursday.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A pilot and a flight attendant for United Airlines will suffer "irreparable harm" under the airline's COVID-19 policy that makes them choose between getting vaccinated in violation of their religious objections or going on unpaid leave, a divided federal appeals court panel in New Orleans ruled Thursday.
In the past few months, the number of women who call Fund Texas Choice has doubled to more than 100 per week. The demand, driven by a state law banning abortions at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, has forced the abortion rights fund to hire more people. But it's still been difficult to keep up with the avalanche of requests.
AUTO INDUSTRY
MEMPHIS (AP) — Ford Motor Co. and a South Korean company would have to create more than 5,000 full-time jobs at a planned electric pickup truck factory and battery manufacturing plant in Tennessee or pay back at least part of a $500 million state grant for the project, according to a lease approved Thursday by a regional board.
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have launched another investigation of Tesla, this time tied to complaints that its cars can stop on roads for no apparent reason.
TRANSPORTATION
The leader of the Federal Aviation Administration, whose agency has been criticized for its oversight of Boeing and handling of questions surrounding 5G interference with aircraft, said Wednesday he will step down March 31.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Airbus booked a record profit of 4.2 billion euros ($4.8 billion) last year as the aircraft maker delivered more planes with the global economy rebounding from the coronavirus pandemic.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — CNN's parent company says it has completed its investigation into circumstances surrounding the firing of anchor Chris Cuomo and ouster of network chief Jeff Zucker. But for a news organization, it has chosen to leave questions unanswered.
PERSONAL FINANCE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wall Street's blockbuster gains in 2021 helped pad savers' retirement accounts, lifting the average balance on some popular investment plans to new highs.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks and bond yields sank Thursday as markets remained anxious over the possibility that Russia could invade Ukraine.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia is signaling it isn't willing to pump more oil and won't push for changes to an agreement with Russia and other producers that has kept a lid on oil production levels.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week but remain near historically low levels, reflecting relatively few layoffs across the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is launching a new initiative aimed at identifying companies that exploit supply chain disruptions in the U.S. to make increased profits in violation of federal antitrust laws.
JAKARTA (AP) — Countries must avoid tensions and cooperate to support a recovery from the pandemic as it lingers in many parts of the world, Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a gathering of top financial leaders of the world's largest economies Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart muscled through rising inflation, a snarled global supply chain and surging costs related to COVID-19 sick leave among its workers to deliver strong fourth quarter results Thursday.
TYRNAVOS, Greece (AP) — In Greece's rural heartland, tractors have become a symbol of anxiety.
BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday rejected a U.S. accusation that Beijing is failing to live up to its market-opening commitments in a new round of complaints as companies wait for the two governments to restart talks on ending a tariff war.
DoorDash on Wednesday posted better-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter thanks to its growing active-user base and new offerings like deliveries from groceries and pet stores.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation averting a weekend government shutdown easily cleared an initial hurdle Thursday as the Senate advanced a measure designed to give bipartisan bargainers more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies until fall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the Bureau of Prisons following reporting by The Associated Press that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hoping to use his upcoming State of the Union address to nudge the pandemic into the nation's rear-view mirror. But it could turn into yet another disruptive display of national tensions and frustration over trying to move past COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country's liberal leader.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's little support among Americans for a major U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a new poll, even as President Joe Biden imposes new sanctions and threatens a stronger response that could provoke retaliation from Moscow.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street's losses mounted Wednesday as world leaders waited to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders troops deeper into Ukraine.