VOL. 43 | NO. 6 | Friday, February 8, 2019
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
A question for my fellow Southerners: Which South are you from? I don’t mean which part of the South. I mean, what kind of South.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
Chemical engineer by day, backer of Little Richard, Hendrix at night
Before he was a successful chemical engineer and beloved MTA bus driver, Jimmy Otey was playing the drums for Little Richard in the legendary Cavern in Liverpool, England, when he noticed some “nice guys,” a former house band in the club, looking on.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
The real estate market and the automobile industry received a big boost from the Federal Reserve last week when it announced that it would not raise rates in the near future, says Elliot Eisenberg, who calls himself the “Bowtie Economist.”
REAL ESTATE
The year started off on a high note for Nashville and Davidson County home sales with an increase in home sales prices and number of units sold.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week to a 10-month low, spurring on potential homebuyers for the upcoming season.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — David Williams II, the first black athletic director in the Southeastern Conference, has died. He was 71.
Vanderbilt’s baseball team is officially in downplay mode. That’s what happens when you’re ranked No. 1 nationally in two preseason polls, No. 2 in two others and No. 3 in another.
NEWSMAKERS
Racquel B. Martin of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has been selected a fellow to the 2019 National Employment Law Council Academy.
BRIEFS
Nashville’s HCA Healthcare has acquired Mission Health, a six-hospital system in Asheville and western North Carolina, for approximately $1.5 billion.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Test-driving a vehicle is a critical part of the buying process. And while you may be familiar with the basics, there are a number of things you can do to save time and streamline the process.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Gaylen Rust must have seemed trustworthy to the people who gave him money. Rust was a longtime businessman in Layton, Utah, where he ran a coin shop started by his father in 1966. Rust also founded a charity called Legacy Music Alliance that funded arts programs in schools.
CAREER CORNER
There’s this thing that happens when you see something unexpected. You can’t just unsee it. Once you know, there’s no turning back.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Lackluster. Safe. Ho-hum. Meh. Not worth $5.25 let alone the $5.25 million per 30-second spot ponied up by the big brands.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers are considering a move to make it easier for some felons to get their voting rights restored.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee State Museum will be showing a free screening of a documentary about legendary Tennessee State University track and field coach Ed Temple and 40 female athletes who broke the color barrier at the 1960 Olympics.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — A Memphis facility that distributes retail products for Verizon says it is closing.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
MEMPHIS (AP) — Rapper Cardi B, blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr., and rock mainstays The Killers and the Dave Matthews Band are among the acts scheduled to perform at the Beale Street Music Festival in Tennessee.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Nashville Predators' sizzling 13-3 start to the season is a distant memory. The defending Presidents Trophy winners have lost three straight and seven of the last 11 on their home ice called Smashville.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason has promoted Gerry Gdowski to offensive coordinator and hired a trio of new assistant coaches.
ENVIRONMENT
Under strong pressure from Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it will move ahead this year with a process that could lead to setting a safety threshold for a group of highly toxic chemicals in drinking water.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week to a 12-month low, an enticement for prospective homebuyers in the upcoming season.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but remains at levels low enough to show that most workers enjoy job security.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales fell in December, posting the biggest drop since September 2009 and delivering more evidence that last year's holiday sales fizzled unexpectedly. Even e-commerce suffered a big setback.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices fell for a second straight month in January as energy costs fell sharply again. The monthly declines were more evidence that inflation remains under control.
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May was scrambling Thursday to avoid another defeat on her Brexit plans amid opposition from members of her own party who claim she is moving in the wrong direction in efforts to overcome the impasse blocking a deal.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany recorded zero growth in the fourth quarter, narrowly avoiding a recession and adding to downbeat signs piling up about the 19-country eurozone economy.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is set to resolve its clattering brawl with President Donald Trump in uncommonly bipartisan fashion as lawmakers prepare to pass a border security compromise providing a mere sliver of the billions he's demanded for a wall with Mexico and averting a rekindled government shutdown this weekend.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just about President Donald Trump's border wall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional bargainers formally completed a bipartisan border security pact late Wednesday and President Donald Trump labored to frame it as a political win, even though it contains only a fraction of the billions for a "great, powerful wall" that he's been demanding for months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump would be taking an extraordinary step by declaring a national emergency to steer money to his promised border wall. He's making it sound quite ordinary.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential prospect Michael Bloomberg is promoting a new documentary film on climate change, but the billionaire philanthropist says the one person he thinks should see it most — President Donald Trump — likely never will because "it won't be running on Fox."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort intentionally lied to investigators and a federal grand jury in the special counsel's Russia probe, a judge has ruled.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13
REGION
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump's support for the coal industry — and for a particular power plant — will face a test this week when a utility board he appoints considers whether to close a coal-fired Kentucky plant whose suppliers include a mine owned by one of his campaign donors.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A man accused of killing four people at a Tennessee Waffle House finally pleaded not guilty Wednesday, nearly 10 months after his arrest.
NASHVILLE (AP) — An attorney has entered a not guilty plea for a white Nashville police officer indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of an armed black man.
MIDSTATE
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell is welcoming a new commanding general.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Goalie Jimmy Howard feels really, really comfortable playing at Bridgestone Arena.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Automobiles are getting more reliable, but J.D. Power's annual survey finds problems with battery failures, transmission shifting and voice recognition systems.
PARIS (AP) — French car maker Renault won't pay former Chairman Carlos Ghosn millions of euros in compensation following his resignation.
TOKYO (AP) — Junichiro Hironaka, a lawyer famous for winning extremely rare acquittals in Japan, has been tapped to defend Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn as he battles charges of false financial reporting and breach of trust.
TECHNOLOGY
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says it is teaming up with Microsoft on an academic prize to promote ethics in artificial intelligence.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal budget deficit in December totaled $13.5 billion, helping to push the deficit for the first three months of this budget year up 41.8 percent from the same period the previous year.
Stocks finished broadly higher Wednesday as investors remained optimistic that the U.S. and China will make more progress in resolving their costly trade dispute.
Is it love? Maybe not.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Well-known jeans company Levi Strauss & Co. says it plans to raise about $100 million through an initial public offering.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices were unchanged in January, as lower gasoline prices offset the rising costs of housing, clothing and medical care.
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are meeting this week for talks President Donald Trump says will help decide whether he escalates a technology dispute by going ahead with a March 2 tariff hike on $200 billion of imports from China.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic lawmakers challenged top executives of T-Mobile and Sprint on Wednesday over their pledge not to raise prices for wireless services or hurt competition if their $26.5 billion merger goes through.
GENEVA (AP) — The International Labor Organization says unemployment worldwide fell slightly last year, but is warning about a lack of opportunities, falling job security and declining quality of work in the global marketplace.
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. and other countries have not presented any conclusive evidence that Chinese telecoms gear maker Huawei Technologies threatens their national security and are merely stirring fears out of self-interest, a Chinese government spokeswoman said Wednesday.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump isn't showing his hand yet. But with little Washington appetite for another shutdown, he's expected to grudgingly accept an agreement that would keep the government open but provide just a fraction of the money he's been demanding for his Mexican border wall.
Howard Dean is back. The one-time presidential candidate, former Vermont governor and ex-Democratic National Committee chairman is set to return to prominence as head of a new operation that Democrats hope puts them back on par with Republicans in the never-ending race to use voter data to drive Americans to the polls.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — As Tennessee ramps up for another round of executions, the Republican-led Legislature is considering eliminating one level of state court review of death sentences.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — FedEx Logistics is establishing a new headquarters in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and bringing nearly 700 jobs along with it.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Family and friends gathered Monday to memorialize a young Nashville musician who was shot to death outside his home last week.
TRANSPORTATION
MEMPHIS (AP) — Federal transportation officials say dozens of firearms were seized in Tennessee's largest airports last year, including 86 in Nashville.
REGION
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Retaliatory tariffs caused a sharp downturn in American whiskey exports in the last half of 2018 as distillers started feeling the pain from global trade disputes, an industry trade group said Tuesday.
PARADISE, Ky. (AP) — A report by the Tennessee Valley Authority says it no longer makes sense to keep burning coal at its Paradise, Kentucky, power plant, despite calls by state and federal officials to keep it open.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — Nissan lowered its profit forecast for the full year on Tuesday, partly due to special charges related to alleged false financial reporting by its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn.
GENEVA (AP) — Forty countries led by Japan and the European Union — but not the U.S. or China — have agreed to require new cars and light commercial vehicles to be equipped with automated braking systems starting next year, a U.N. agency said.
MEDIA
LONDON (AP) — A British government-commissioned report is calling for a regulator to oversee online platforms such as Facebook and Google to help weed out "fake news."
TECHNOLOGY
GENEVA (AP) — Two U.N. agencies want governments and makers of headphones, mobile phones and other audio devices to do more to keep down the volume they emit amid concerns about hearing loss in an increasingly digitized era.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Social media service Reddit Inc. says it has raised $300 million in a financing round led by Chinese internet giant Tencent.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The national debt has passed a new milestone, topping $22 trillion for the first time.
U.S. stocks finished broadly higher Tuesday as investors grew more optimistic about the prospects for a resolution to the costly trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell traveled Tuesday to a historically black university in the Mississippi Delta to deliver a message that the nation's prosperity has not been felt in many such areas around the country.
The United States expects domestic oil production to reach new heights this year and next, and that prices — for both crude and gasoline — will be lower than they were in 2018.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he might let a March 2 deadline slide in trade talks with China if the two countries get close to a deal.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The clash over free trade in North America has long been fought over familiar issues: Low-paid Mexican workers. U.S. factories that move jobs south of the border. Canada's high taxes on imported milk and cheese.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted the most open jobs in December in the nearly two decades that records have been kept, evidence that the job market is strong despite several challenges facing the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Disruptions from last month's partial government shutdown caused a "shocking" deterioration in the IRS' telephone help for taxpayers in the first week of the filing season, the agency's watchdog said in a report released Tuesday.
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May was urging restive lawmakers Tuesday to "hold their nerve" and give her more time to rework a divorce agreement with the European Union.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's economy minister said Tuesday he's confident the country will soon have two terminals capable of receiving shipments of U.S. liquefied natural gas, something Washington has been pressing for in its bid to increase exports to Europe.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he's "unhappy" with a hard-won agreement to prevent a new government shutdown and finance construction of more barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, but he didn't say whether or not he would sign the measure. GOP congressional leaders swung behind the proposed deal, selling it as a necessary compromise.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Let Democrats have their way, President Donald Trump suggested, and the United States will become a country without border security, airplanes or cows.
PHOENIX (AP) — Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who became a prominent gun-control advocate after his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in a failed assassination attempt, announced Tuesday he will run to finish John McCain's last term in the U.S. Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has "unequivocally" apologized for tweets suggesting that members of Congress support Israel because they are being paid to do so, which drew bipartisan criticism and a rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Mayor David Briley has signed an executive order to help LGBT-owned businesses.
MIDSTATE
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Fort Campbell plans two welcome home ceremonies this week for more than 300 soldiers who are due to return to the Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vladimir Tarasenko put on quite a show to keep the St. Louis Blues' winning streak alive.
UT SPORTS
The NCAA Division I Basketball Committee slated Duke as the No. 1 overall seed in its initial tournament rankings over the weekend. Voters in the AP Top 25 stuck with Tennessee as their top team.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Mourners plan to gather Monday at a memorial service in Tennessee for musician Kyle Yorlets after the frontman for the rock band Carverton was gunned down during a robbery.
HEALTH CARE
NEW YORK (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration announced plans Monday to step up its policing of dietary supplements, which it said has mushroomed into a $40 billion industry with more than 50,000 products. The agency warned 17 companies for illegally making claims about their products' ability to treat diseases.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order directing federal agencies to prioritize research and development in artificial intelligence.
MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Private investigators working for Jeff Bezos have determined the brother of the Amazon CEO's mistress leaked the couple's intimate text messages to the National Enquirer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Enquirer committed neither extortion nor blackmail by threatening to publish intimate photos of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, an attorney for the head of the tabloid's parent company said Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chemical compounds are all around you. They're on many fabrics, rugs and carpets, cooking pots and pans, outdoor gear, shampoo, shaving cream, makeup and even dental floss. Increasing numbers of states have found them seeping into water supplies.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A no-deal Brexit could affect more than 100,000 jobs in Germany, and regions of the country with Volkswagen and BMW factories would be among those worst hit, according to economists at a prominent nonprofit institute.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Wall Street capped a day of mostly listless trading with a mixed finish Monday as gains in industrial companies, banks and energy stocks outweighed losses elsewhere.
NEW YORK (AP) — Toys R Us fans in the U.S. should see the iconic brand re-emerge in some form by this holiday season.
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May sought a compromise Monday with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in hopes of securing his backing for a divorce deal with the European Union.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's economy slowed last year to its weakest growth rate since the global financial crisis as mounting uncertainty over Brexit weighed on businesses and kept a lid on their investments, official figures showed Monday.
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline is up a penny a gallon over the past two weeks, to $2.34.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politically freighted border security negotiations are teetering just days before a potential new government shutdown. The turmoil is testing the changed balance of power in Washington, with lawmakers engaged in a sparring match over immigration policy that is challenging their ability to reach any accord.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is trying to turn the debate over a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border back to his political advantage as his signature pledge to American voters threatens to become a model of unfulfilled promises.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee residents who would like to grow industrial hemp have another week to apply for a license.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is accepting nominations for the 2019 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Nashville Predators have traded Emil Pettersson to the Arizona Coyotes for forwards Laurent Dauphin and Adam Helewka.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Nashville Predators know they might well end up seeing Dallas in the first round of the playoffs, and that made protecting home ice even more crucial after a loss here to the Stars only six days ago.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal prosecutor says the Justice Department has taken first-of-its-kind action to temporarily stop two Tennessee pharmacies, their owner and three pharmacists from dispensing opioids and other controlled substances.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court stopped Louisiana from enforcing new regulations on abortion clinics in a test of the conservative court's views on abortion rights.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors are looking into the National Enquirer's handling of a story about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' extramarital affair to see if the tabloid's publisher violated a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report from the White House tries to shift the Trump administration's combative rhetoric on health care, suggesting changes to the Affordable Care Act under President Donald Trump do not fundamentally undermine the health law.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennesseans determined to be using public records requests as a form of harassment could be banned from filing them for one year under a new bill that would allow courts to punish people for making too many inquiries.
President Donald Trump's call for a ban on late-term abortions is unlikely to prevail in Congress, but Republican legislators in several states are pushing ahead with their own tough anti-abortion bills that they hope can pass muster with the Supreme Court.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Subaru, Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler Vans, Mercedes and Ferrari are recalling about 1.7 million vehicles to replace potentially deadly air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. of Japan.
MILAN (AP) — Italian American automaker Fiat Chrysler says fourth-quarter net profits rose by 61 percent, powered by North American sales of the all-new Ram 1500 and Jeep Wrangler.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped eight Democrats to serve on a special committee to address climate change. The new panel does not include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is calling for a Green New Deal to transform the U.S. economy to combat climate change.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has released an iPhone update to fix a FaceTime flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on others while using its group video chat feature.
TRANSPORTATION
LONDON (AP) — Police say an American Airlines pilot has been arrested at Britain's Manchester Airport on suspicion of being drunk.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stock indexes stemmed an early slide Friday, finishing mostly higher and nudging the benchmark S&P 500 index to its second weekly gain in a row.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Get ready to say good riddance to the checkout line.
NEW YORK (AP) — A bankruptcy judge has blessed a $5.2 billion plan by Sears chairman and biggest shareholder Eddie Lampert to keep the iconic business going.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer borrowing rose at a slower pace in December, but that still pushed total borrowing to a new record above $4 trillion for the first time.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he does not expect to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a deadline to resolve a trade dispute.
LONDON (AP) — The British economy is set to grow at its slowest rate since the global financial crisis a decade ago as the "fog of Brexit" causes heightened uncertainty, the Bank of England warned Thursday.
BRUSSELS (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed that she will deliver Britain's departure from the EU on time following another session of talks with EU leaders.
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter's revenue and profit and its daily user base all grew in the final three months of 2018, capping its first profitable year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Southern banking giants BB&T and SunTrust announced they would merge in a $66 billion deal, the first big bank merger since the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis. The deal would create yet another financial titan in the U.S.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Union officials have slashed their growth forecast for the 19 countries that use the euro, saying even the lower estimate was vulnerable to "large uncertainty" from slowing growth in China and weakening global trade.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, a sign that layoffs are rare and the job market is strong.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing broadly lower on Wall Street as traders were discouraged by more disappointing news on the global economy and company profits.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional bargainers traded offers and worked toward a border security compromise Friday that would avert a fresh federal shutdown and resolve a clash with President Donald Trump that has dominated the opening weeks of divided government.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said on Friday that he has "not interfered in any way" in the special counsel's Russia investigation as he faced a contentious and partisan congressional hearing in his waning days on the job.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has long railed against immigration as a scourge on the economy and national security. He's committed his administration to starting construction on a wall along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration and asylum seekers, yet he reversed his past policy efforts on restricting legal immigration in this year's State of the Union address.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Britain and the European Union refused to budge an inch Thursday toward any compromise over Brexit, but at least they are on speaking terms again about their impending divorce.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new Democratic-controlled House is looking at proposals to compel presidents and presidential candidates to make public years of their tax returns. But the burning question is what Democrats might do more immediately to get such files from President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told attendees at the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday that he stands behind them, even as speakers bemoaned the level of division in the country and what one described as a "fracturing of the American family."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are calling for a Green New Deal intended to transform the U.S. economy to combat climate change and create thousands of jobs in renewable energy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general.