VOL. 44 | NO. 11 | Friday, March 13, 2020
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
The chipper sound announcing an incoming text at 7:54 a.m. Tuesday was pretty much the definition of a rude awakening. “Everything OK with you guys?” my friend Ed was asking. “Just seeing the news about a tornado in East Nashville.”
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
The number of COVID-19 cases is growing, and the stock market is shrinking. Of those considering home ownership, many have 20% less cash to invest than they had last month.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates were mixed this week after hitting all-time lows last week amid anxiety over risks to the economy from the deepening coronavirus crisis.
SPORTS
How does Nashville find the sweet spot between hoops and health? That was the dilemma this week as the clock ticked down for the start of the SEC Men’s Basketball Championship amid a steady stream of news on the spread of COVID-19.
There was an outside shot the Tennessee men’s basketball team could have earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament after wins against Florida and Kentucky.
NEWSMAKERS
Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently elected three members to the firm’s six-member management committee, replacing three attorneys who completed their terms of service. The new committee members are Erika Barnes of Nashville and Carol Dan Browning and Richard Wehrle of Louisville. The members rotating off the committee include attorneys Janet Craig and Mandy Wilson Decker (Lexington) and Marjorie Farris (Louisville). The new committee members will serve a two-year term.
BRIEFS
Benchmark Litigation has named Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as its 2020 Tennessee Litigation Firm of the Year.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
SUVs are among the most popular vehicles on the road, and their sales growth has come at the expense of the traditional four-door sedan. Many shoppers are attracted to the greater utility and higher seating positions these vehicles typically provide.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Estate appraiser Julie Hall advises downsizing clients not to take it personally when their adult children don’t want their furniture and other possessions. But when Hall asked her 23-year-old daughter what she might want from the four-bedroom family home, the younger woman mentioned just three items.
CAREER CORNER
Loyalty is an interesting concept. Companies expect it. Many demand it. You must be a loyal employee, management says. You must put the company’s best interest first.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Tax season can be a windfall or a wipeout for your budget. Which camp you fall into likely depends on whether you get a refund or a tax bill from the IRS.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Rep. Andy Holt will not seek reelection this year, the Dresden Republican posted on Facebook on Wednesday.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judge is allowing a lawsuit to proceed to trial, filed by a student alleging school officials wrongly distributed T-shirts promoting a Republican lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans kept their starting offense together with only one exception before the start of free agency.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Concerns about the spreading coronavirus forced most of North America's auto plants to close, at least temporarily.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Academy of Country Music had to postpone their upcoming awards show because of the spreading coronavirus, but CBS will air a new television special featuring country stars performing from their homes.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a matter of days, millions of Americans have seen their lives upended by measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Celebrities, politicians and professional athletes faced a backlash this week as many revealed that they had been tested for the coronavirus, even when they didn't have a fever or other tell-tale symptoms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Describing himself as a "wartime president" fighting an invisible enemy, President Donald Trump invoked rarely used emergency powers to marshal critical medical supplies against the coronavirus pandemic. Trump also signed an aid package — which the Senate approved earlier Wednesday — that will guarantee sick leave to workers who fall ill.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. surgeon general caught the eye of Donald Trump in a tried-and-true way: praising the 45th president on television.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first federal checks to families could be $3,000 for a family of four under the White House proposal to unleash $1 trillion to shore up households and the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged last week by 70,000 to the highest level in more than two years, indicating that the effect of the coronavirus was starting to be felt in rising layoffs in the job market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has set up a program to exchange dollars for foreign currency with nine central banks to support dollar lending in global markets that are under pressure from the impact of the viral outbreak.
It was less than 11 weeks ago that the first cases of pneumonia were detected in Wuhan, China. The speed at which what would soon be named COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, knocked the global economy askew is unparalleled in our lifetimes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve announced that it will establish an emergency lending facility to help unclog a short-term credit market that has been disrupted by the viral outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — By a sweeping bipartisan tally, the Senate approved a $100 billion-plus bill to boost testing for the coronavirus and guarantee paid sick leave for millions of workers hit by it — and President Donald Trump quickly signed it.
WASHINGTON (AP) — By a sweeping bipartisan tally, the Senate on Wednesday approved a $100 billion-plus bill to boost testing for the coronavirus and guarantee paid sick leave for millions of workers hit by it — and President Donald Trump quickly signed it. But lawmakers and the White House had already turned their focus to the administration's far bigger $1 trillion plan to stabilize the economy as the pandemic threatens financial ruin for individuals and businesses.
Mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Wednesday that they will suspend all foreclosure sales and evictions of borrowers in single family homes owned by their companies.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The fast-moving coronavirus upending every facet of American life is testing whether Washington, a capital city fractured by years of bitter partisanship and inaction, can still do big things.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday invoked a Korean War-era law as part of his response to the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to boost private industry production of supplies needed for the health crisis.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18
NASHVILLE AREA
Mayor John Cooper signed Executive Order #6, which declares an immediate state of emergency throughout Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County and enhances Metro Government’s ability to respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as provided under Tennessee state law and Metro code.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday proposed funneling money into relief for tornado and health crises, scaling back planned teacher raises, and socking more cash away into reserves, as the state reacted to the global impact of the coronavirus on everyday life.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers are working quickly on a proposal to drop state testing this spring in response to Gov. Bill Lee's latest effort to contain the new coronavirus by asking all schools to close by the end of the week.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Rep. Martin Daniel says he will not run for reelection this year.
MIDSTATE
The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has been rescheduled for Sept. 24-27 “out of an abundance of caution and for the health and safety of all Bonnaroovians, artists, staff and our community.”
TENNESSEE TITANS
The Denver Broncos have acquired five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jurrell Casey from the Tennessee Titans for a seventh-round draft pick.
TECHNOLOGY
The technology that animated movies like "Toy Story" and enabled a variety of special effects is the focus of this year's Turing Award, the technology industry's version of the Nobel Prize.
MEDIA
BEIJING (AP) — China said Wednesday it will revoke the media credentials of all American journalists at three major U.S. news organizations, in effect expelling them from the country, in response to U.S. restrictions on Chinese state-controlled media.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Concerns about the spreading coronavirus forced most of North America's auto plants to close, at least temporarily.
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — The Tesla factory that employs thousands of people could be forced to close after Alameda County on Tuesday night declared it a "nonessential business" under the county's shelter-in-place order.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Many nursing homes risk running out of protective masks and gowns by next week because of the coronavirus, and at least one facility already had to resort to using plastic garbage bags to make gowns, an industry group warned Wednesday.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. government is rushing protective equipment to states, packing dozens of flights and hundreds of trucks with supplies for medical workers who will be on the front lines of the coronavirus fight.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has sent lawmakers a $46 billion emergency funding request to help the government fight the coronavirus and to reverse cuts proposed just last month to the Centers for Disease Control, the front-line agency in fighting the battle.
BERLIN (AP) — Desperate travelers choked European border crossings on Wednesday after nations implemented strict controls in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, creating traffic jams miles long and slowing the passage of trucks carrying critical supplies.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new homes fell again in February, but not as much as the previous month. Those declines follow a December surge which had pushed home construction to the highest level in 13 years.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks tumbled more than 5% on Wall Street Wednesday, and the Dow erased virtually all its gains since President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration. Even prices for investments seen as safe during downturns fell as the coronavirus outbreak chokes the economy and investors rush to raise cash.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices had another jaw-dropping skid Wednesday, sending the price of U.S. crude oil below $21 a barrel for the first time since 2002.
NEW YORK (AP) — A restaurant owner wonders how she can stay in business if she can't sell food and drink.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting twin health and economic crises, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will invoke emergency powers to marshal critical medical supplies against a coronavirus pandemic threatening to overwhelm hospitals and other treatment centers. The Senate acted on the economic front, approving legislation to guarantee sick leave to workers sickened by the disease.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The coronavirus is dealing a death blow to the longest U.S. economic expansion on record, triggering layoffs and putting intense strain on the nation's financial system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Wednesday it wants to dedicate $500 billion to start issuing direct payments to Americans by early next month as the centerpiece of a $1 trillion plan to stabilize the economy as the coronavirus epidemic threatens a body slam to taxpayers and businesses.
The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus worldwide surpassed 200,000 for the first time Wednesday and the damage being seeded in the global economy is growing more clear by the day. Furloughs and job cuts, from dog walkers to oilfield workers, have begun. Governments around the world are pushing drastic countermeasures to help workers, particularly those who live paycheck to paycheck.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve put in motion two emergency lending programs Tuesday that were last deployed in response to the 2008 financial crisis, aiming to ease the flow of credit to businesses and households struggling amid the viral outbreak.
U.S. hotel companies are seeking $150 billion in direct aid for their workers for what they say is an unprecedented fall-off in demand because of the new coronavirus.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Badly strained ties between the United States and China are deteriorating further with the two sides hurling harsh accusations and bitter name-calling over responsibility for the spread of the novel coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders are resisting calls to let lawmakers vote remotely, a dispute pitting the scourge of the coronavirus against two centuries of tradition that underscores Washington's struggle to adapt to recommendations that evolve daily about how to handle the pandemic.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden cut deep into Bernie Sanders' coalition of young, liberal and Latino voters, securing solid victories in Florida, Illinois and Arizona in unsettled times.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that he is reassessing his campaign, raising questions about whether he will drop out after losing three more states and falling prohibitively behind Joe Biden in the 2020 race.
TUESDAY, MARCH 17
NASHVILLE AREA
The Iroquois Steeplechase, benefiting The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, will be rescheduled for June 27 at Percy Warner Park. It was scheduled for May 9.
Mayor John Cooper, with philanthropic, corporate and government partners, has created the COVID-19 Response Fund at United Way of Greater Nashville. The Fund’s advisory committee will be chaired by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D.
GOODLETTSVILLE (AP) — Dollar General is dedicating the first hour of its daily store operations to senior citizens in response to the new coronavirus.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers acknowledged they were shirking federal health recommendations on the coronavirus by sitting in close quarters as they conducted business Tuesday.
STATEWIDE
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The University of Tennessee is keeping classes online-only for the rest of the spring semester at all of its campuses amid the spread of the coronavirus.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen said Tuesday it would close most of its European plants for two weeks due to uncertainty about demand for cars and supplies of parts amid the virus outbreak and said it wasn't possible to give a reliable outlook for this year's profits.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The largest retail and entertainment center in the U.S. said it would temporarily shut down Tuesday in support of Minnesota's efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by discouraging people from gathering.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says individuals and businesses will be allowed to delay paying their 2019 tax bills for 90 days past the usual April 15 deadline. The extension announced Tuesday is an effort to inject up to $300 billion into the economy at a time when the coronavirus appears on the verge of causing a recession.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The scientific community's message to young Americans about the coronavirus got more pointed on Tuesday: Stay out of bars.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare said Tuesday it will immediately expand coverage for telemedicine nationwide to help seniors with health problems stay home to avoid the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was focused Tuesday on addressing the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the American economy, meeting with tourism executives and speaking on the phone with restaurant executives, retailers and suppliers.
BERLIN (AP) — Traffic jams swelled along borders and some travelers appealed to their governments for help getting home Tuesday as countries in Europe and beyond imposed strict controls along their frontiers aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. movie theaters have closed nationwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, turning dark nearly all of the country's 40,000-plus screens in an unprecedented shutdown.
BERLIN (AP) — Tens of millions of people hunkered down in government-ordered isolation Tuesday as borders slammed shut, schools and businesses closed and increasingly drastic restrictions on movement took effect. Others were scrambling to get home, caught up in widespread travel restrictions that aimed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With an urgency unseen since the Great Recession, Congress is rushing to develop a sweeping economic lifeline for American households and businesses suddenly capsized by the coronavirus outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is already helping combat the coronavirus outbreak in the United States and is considering ways to do more.
The Kentucky Derby was postponed from May to September on Tuesday because of the coronavirus pandemic.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is moving to drop charges against two Russian companies that were accused of funding a social media campaign to sway American public opinion during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing solidly higher after President Donald Trump promised he's "going big" with plans to blunt the economic pain caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is asking Congress to unleash a torrent of emergency economic aid — including direct checks to Americans — an effort unseen since the Great Recession to shore up households and the economy amid the coronavirus crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of an expected surge in coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump on Tuesday moved to blunt the impact of the pandemic on the U.S. economy, fundamentally altered by a push for a nation to stay home.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Congress works on a rescue package to help shore up a U.S. economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, a wide swath of business, from the solar power industry to casinos and hotels, along with doctors, nurses and educators are urging lawmakers to give them a share of the pie.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon, in an attempt to fill its warehouses with toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other items in high demand, said Tuesday that it will limit what suppliers can send to its warehouses for the next three weeks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is proposing a roughly $850 billion economic rescue package Tuesday amid the coronaviru s outbreak, a sweeping stimulus for businesses and taxpayers unseen since the Great Recession of 2008.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In its latest emergency action, the Federal Reserve is establishing a lending facility to try to ease the flow of short-term credit to banks and businesses as the economy grinds to a halt from the viral outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales fell 0.5% in February, the largest drop in more than a year, indicating that the consumer sector was slowing even before the coronavirus struck with force in the United States. Economists said they were looking for even weaker numbers in coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers sharply increased the number of jobs they advertised in January, a sign the job market and economy were in mostly solid shape before the virus outbreak hit.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industrial production rose last month for the first time since November as chillier weather kept utiliities busy and an uptick in auto production pushed manufacturing output higher. The economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak was not apparent in the February numbers.
Governments and central banks are scrambling to find ways to keep businesses from going bankrupt as the virus outbreak grinds the world economy to a halt.
NEW TRIPOLI, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania distillery owner who grew increasingly angry as he saw the skyrocketing price of hand sanitizer has decided to do something about it: He's temporarily converting his operation into a production line for the suddenly hard-to-find, gooey, alcohol-based disinfectant.
With each day that the coronavirus outbreak spreads and claims more lives, the damage to global airlines rises too. U.S. carriers on Monday put a price tag on their pain: They asked the federal government for more than $50 billion in rescue aid.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new coronavirus hampered efforts by voters to get to the polls in some states on Tuesday as the global pandemic scrambled the Democratic presidential contest.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The most elemental act of American democracy — voting — will be tested Tuesday as four states set to hold presidential primaries confront the impact of a global pandemic that has turned everyday life upside-down.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate has voted to extend, rather than tweak, three surveillance powers that federal law enforcement officials use to fight terrorists, passing the bill back to an absent House and throwing the future of the authorities in doubt.
MONDAY, MARCH 16
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have tagged Derrick Henry as their franchise player, making sure they keep the NFL rushing leader around for at least this season.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are keeping the quarterback that led them within a victory of the Super Bowl, agreeing to a four-year, $118 million extension with Ryan Tannehill.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennesseans affected by the massive tornadoes that ripped through the state earlier this month will soon be able to apply for emergency federal benefits.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Property owners affected by the tornadoes earlier this month now face two options: rebuild or bulldoze.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Metro Board of Health on Sunday agreed to close bars and limit restaurant capacity to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.
On Saturday night, revelers in many parts of the country ignored warnings against attending large gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. On Sunday, it became clear that in many places, the party is over.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday halted all non-essential business travel for state employees, banned visitors and tours from the state Capitol and heavily discouraged groups of 250 or more from gathering.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
Elton John postpones tour: A look at concerts on hold
NEW YORK (AP) — The show won't go on for the Academy of Country Music, after all.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee on Monday asked all schools in Tennessee to close by the end of the week due to coronavirus spreading across the state.
Thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and packs of antibacterial wipes and medical masks have been donated after a failed attempt by two Tennessee brothers to resell them for profit during the U.S. coronavirus outbreak.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court announced Monday that it is postponing arguments for the first time in more than 100 years because of the coronavirus, including fights over subpoenas for President Donald Trump's financial records.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — When the coronavirus cut off the flow of parts from China in early January, most global automakers were ready: Anticipating such a crisis, they had prepared to tap other suppliers and to conserve parts that they had stored.
The British government is asking manufacturers including Ford and Rolls-Royce to make ventilators for coronavirus patients.
The French automaker whose brands include Peugeot and Citroen says it is closing its factories in Europe until March 27 "due to the acceleration observed in recent days of serious cases of COVID-19."
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday urged all older Americans to stay home and everyone to avoid crowds and eating out at restaurants as part of sweeping guidelines meant to combat an expected surge of coronavirus cases.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans holed up at home against the coronavirus Monday, with many of them thrown out of work until further notice, as authorities tightened the epic clampdown and the list of businesses forced to close across the U.S. extended to restaurants, bars, gyms and casinos.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and its top economic allies pledged Monday to more closely share real-time information about the coronavirus and the availability of medical equipment and to support jobs, global trade and investment.
NEW YORK (AP) — Major league baseball pushed back opening day until mid-May at the earliest on Monday because of the new coronavirus after the federal government recommended restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are proposing a new coronavirus aid package, with at least $750 billion to boost hospital capacity, unemployment insurance and other direct aid for American households, businesses and the health care industry.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government moved Monday to try to blunt the impact of an expected surge of coronavirus cases, racing to bolster testing and aid even as the financial markets fell and Americans scrambled to reorder their lives.
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he will close the country's borders to anyone not a citizen, an American or a permanent resident — and even they have to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival — due to the coronavirus pandemic.
LONDON (AP) — British authorities on Monday dramatically ramped up measures to combat the new coronavirus, urging all U.K. residents to avoid unnecessary contact with others and telling people in the most vulnerable groups to stay at home for three months.
BERLIN (AP) — The European Union on Monday announced a multimillion-dollar investment in a German company that is working on a potential vaccine for the new coronavirus amid reports that the U.S. government was interested in acquiring the firm.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is alleging that a foreign disinformation campaign is underway aimed at spreading fear in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, three U.S. officials said Monday.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's top official on Monday proposed a 30-day ban on non-essential travel into the bloc, to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, while insisting on the need to keep the internal borders between the 27 member states open as much as possible.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government's effort to rapidly expand testing for the coronavirus will initially focus on screening health care workers and the elderly, Trump administration officials said Sunday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House put in place new measures Monday to protect President Donald Trump and his staff during the coronavirus outbreak, including taking the temperature of anyone who enters the complex, including visitors and members of the press corps.
NEW YORK (AP) — Overheard as the entertainment world stalled in response to the coronavirus outbreak: "What are we gonna do now, read books?"
The owners of iconic Las Vegas casinos such as Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas are shutting down as the coronavirus pandemic prompts authorities to lock down public gathering places.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Walt Disney World will close all of its hotels in Florida due to growing concern over the new coronavirus, the company announced early Monday.
NEW YORK (AP) — AMC Theaters, the largest movie chain in North America, will limit attendance at all screenings to 50 people to adhere to the CDC's latest social distancing guidelines.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday called on people to stop hoarding groceries and other supplies as one of the nation's most senior public health officials urged Americans to act with more urgency to protect themselves and others against the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would like to see aggressive measures such as a 14-day national shutdown.
WASHINGTON (AP) — United Airlines will slash 50% of its flying capacity in April and May and warns the cuts could extend into the peak summer travel season as the impact of the new coronavirus on airlines grows more dire.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered that all restaurants and bars be closed to dine-in customers, effective at 3 p.m. Monday, to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans normally hear from President Donald Trump when he is opining on Twitter, riffing from a rally stage or otherwise improvising. This past week was different as he sat in the Oval Office with a script laid out for him to read on a matter grave enough for a prime-time address to the nation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the course of a few weeks, President Donald Trump veered from confidently assuring Americans his administration had the coronavirus outbreak "very well under control" to declaring a national emergency and tweeting all-caps caution about the pandemic that has upended every facet of American life.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market plunged more than 12% Monday for its worst day in more than three decades as voices from Wall Street to the White House said the coronavirus is likely dragging the economy into a recession.
The nation's largest banks face a hit to their profits as the Federal Reserve slashes interest rates and bond yields continue sliding amid the coronavirus pandemic, which is putting the brakes on the economy as businesses and travel shut down.
U.S. airlines are asking the federal government for grants, loans and tax relief that could easily top $50 billion to help them recover from a sharp downturn in travel due to the new coronavirus.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Monday that it needs to hire 100,000 people across the U.S. to keep up with a crush of orders as the coronavirus spreads and keeps more people at home, shopping online.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's largest business organization asked the Trump administration and Congress on Monday to act rapidly to help companies have access to cash and avert a "potentially devastating" hit to the economy as the coronavirus pandemic forced closures and quarantines that threatened to choke off commerce worldwide.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks dropped 8% in the first minutes of trading Monday on Wall Street and triggered another temporary halt to trading as huge swaths of the economy come closer to shutting down, from airlines to restaurants. Emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve late Sunday to prop up the economy and get financial markets running smoothly again may have raised fears even further, some investors said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is all but sure to take its most drastic steps Wednesday since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis to try to counter the coronavirus' growing damage to the U.S. economy and the financial markets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Brandishing an array of financial weapons, the Federal Reserve announced extraordinary action Sunday to try to blunt the heavy damage the coronavirus outbreak has begun to inflict on the U.S. economy.
Global markets and businesses big and small opened the week to a landscape seemingly altered by the coronavirus pandemic. National retail chains have closed all stores. Banks are taking steps to keep cash on hand, lots of it. Markets in Asia, Europe and the U.S. are plunging. Following is a quick look at how the outbreak is impacting the financial and business sector, as well as millions of workers and customers.
The stock market has been on a punishing roller coaster ride this week, suffering its largest one-day drop in more than 30 years Thursday, on concerns that the spread of COVID-19 will hit the global economy hard.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's top official on Monday called for more coordination and insisted on the need to keep the 27-nation bloc's internal borders open as much as possible as member states implement measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
PARIS (AP) — French regulators fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) on Monday for striking deals to keep prices high, in the biggest-ever such sanction by France's Competition Authority.
BANGKOK (AP) — The Bank of Japan joined other major central banks Monday in expanding its already unprecedented levels of monetary support for financial markets and companies battered by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
BEIJING (AP) — China's consumer spending and factory activity fell more than expected in January and February as it fought a virus outbreak, prompting some forecasters to warn this year's economic growth might slump to its lowest level since the 1970s.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ticket sales plunged to their lowest levels in at least 20 years at North American movie theaters as the coronavirus pandemic led to one of Hollywood's worst weekends at the box office.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders sought in the Democratic debate to cast themselves as best-positioned to lead the nation through a global pandemic, uniting in their criticism of President Donald Trump's response to the fast-moving coronavirus but diverging in how they would confront the spiraling public health and economic crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders launched a new phase of the 2020 presidential election Sunday night, with a one-on-one debate held in a Washington studio without a studio audience.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders sparred one-on-one Sunday in a Democratic debate held without a live audience in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. The growing crisis prompted some questionable statements from the presidential rivals, as did issues they argued about for months on once-crowded stages.
FRIDAY, MARCH 13
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have waived three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker and kicker Ryan Succop.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's highest court on Friday suspended all in-person judicial proceedings until the end of the month due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration scrambled Friday to broaden testing for the coronavirus with a flurry of new measures, and public confusion persisted over who should be tested and how to get checked for the disease.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency in order to free up more money and resources. But he denied any responsibility for delays in making testing available for the new virus, whose spread has roiled markets and disrupted the lives of everyday Americans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he will likely be tested for the coronavirus "fairly soon," as questions swirled about why the president, his top aides and his family weren't doing more to protect themselves and others against COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One day, President Donald Trump boasted of "smooth" coronavirus testing across the country. The next day, he pronounced the testing system inadequate, and assailed the public-health bureaucracy, Barack Obama and Joe Biden for not fixing it before he became president.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is preparing to invoke emergency powers over the coronavirus outbreak, an emerging development Friday as an aid package teetered in Congress without his full public support.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Augusta National on Friday postponed the Masters, another massive hit to the spring sports calendar by the new coronaivirus that already is responsible for the loss of March Madness and the delay of opening day baseball.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration hoped to announce an agreement Friday on a coronavirus aid package to reassure anxious Americans by providing sick pay, free testing and other resources in an effort to calm teetering financial markets and the mounting crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a "foreign" virus, he says — one that can be fought by closing the nation's borders to dangerous foreigners carrying scary disease.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump incorrectly stated in his address to the nation that the health insurance industry has agreed to waive patient co-payments for treatment of COVID-19. The industry has not made such a commitment.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process.
Facebook and Twitter revealed evidence Thursday suggesting that Russian efforts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election are getting more sophisticated and harder to detect.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street roared back from its worst day in 30 years Friday with a broad rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly 2,000 points higher — its biggest point gain ever — after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency.
NEW YORK (AP) — Movie theaters have long acted as a refuge in times of war and recession. Their screens have flickered virtually unabated for the last century. But the coronavirus presents a rare case and an acute crisis for a medium already under threat by the advent of streaming services.
Delta Air Lines will cut passenger-carrying capacity by 40% to deal with a nosedive in travel demand, and it is talking to the White House and Congress about assistance to get through a downturn caused by the new coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have taken large steps this week to try to calm financial markets and restore some degree of confidence. So far, it hasn't quite worked. The central banks are facing a crisis only partly responsive to the medicine they can provide.
NEW YORK (AP) — It started with extra hand sanitizer and wipes for keyboards and headphones. Then came the directive for employees to lug their laptops home every night just in case. Finally, the memo arrived urging all employees to work from home — just not in their pajamas.
NEW YORK (AP) — In the end, the mighty bull was slayed by a tiny virus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — During the financial crisis a decade ago, President Barack Obama could look around the room and turn to an economist who served as Harvard's president, a former president of the New York Federal Reserve and a renowned academic considered one of the world's authorities on the Great Depression.
Airlines and travelers are still sorting out the new travel ban that President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday that bars most foreign visitors coming to the U.S. from continental Europe for 30 days.
Seven weeks after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the U.S., the outbreak is now classified as a pandemic and it's doing widespread damage to critical economic sectors of the global economy. Airlines are dropping routes because people are not flying, workers are staying home, public events that raise millions of dollars for local communities have been canceled and oil prices have sunk to near $30 a barrel. Here's a look at some of the hardest hit sectors in the S&P 500, and how far they've fallen in the past 30 days.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed into law a bill that provides $1 billion to help small telecom providers replace equipment made by China's Huawei and ZTE.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — There's still darts. Or New Zealand cricket. The fast-spreading coronavirus has led to an unprecedented slew of cancellations or suspensions of most major professional and college sports events in the U.S., particularly within the last 48 hours.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three surveillance powers available to the U.S. government are set to temporarily expire Sunday after a trio of senators opposed a bipartisan House bill that would renew the authorities and impose new restrictions.
THURSDAY, MARCH 12
NASHVILLE SC
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Major League Soccer is shutting down for 30 days because of the coronavirus, delaying the home opener for the expansion team co-owned by former England captain David Beckham.
PREDATORS
The NHL is following the NBA's lead and suspending its season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have waived linebacker Cameron Wake after one season into what had been a three-year contract.
NFL teams are curtailing or completely stopping scouting operations as a safeguard against the spread of the new coronavirus.
SPORTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is delaying the start of its season by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak and suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Multi-platinum rock band Third Eye Blind had never canceled a tour, even when its members "all had salmonella poisoning and we were all green and vomiting," as bandleader Stephan Jenkins put it.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declared a state of emergency Thursday to help the state address the spread of the new coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington is straining for an ample response to the coronavirus outbreak that is testing the nation's political and health care systems after President Donald Trump restricted air travel from Europe, Congress ran into trouble approving an aid package and the centers of power — the domed Capitol and stately White House — are being shuttered to visitors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump incorrectly stated in his address to the nation that the health insurance industry has agreed to waive patient co-payments for treatment of COVID-19. The industry has not made such a commitment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have unveiled an ambitious measure to provide free testing for the coronavirus, paid sick leave and strengthened unemployment insurance as a response to the worsening outbreak's economic impact on people across the United States.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Thursday lashed out at President Donald Trump's decision to restrict travel from Europe to the United States because of the new coronavirus, calling the the pandemic a global crisis that "requires cooperation rather than unilateral action."
ROME (AP) — Sweeping travel bans cascaded around the globe Thursday, walling off countries and even entire continents, keeping people inside their homes, and slowing the engines of commerce to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Markets collapsed with the growing realization that there would be no fast end to the uncertainty.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking dramatic action, President Donald Trump announced he is sharply restricting passenger travel from 26 European nations to the U.S. and moving to ease the economic cost of a viral pandemic that is roiling global financial markets and disrupting the daily lives of Americans.
Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside, the company said, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic.
NEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has prompted multiple religious faiths to change or cancel services as houses of worship try to help contain the disease. But some church leaders are also tackling another task: communicating a message that elevates both faith and science.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is shutting the Capitol to the public until April in reaction to the spread of the coronavirus, officials announced Thursday, a rare step that underscores the growing gravity with which the government is reacting to the viral outbreak.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee would no longer be required by law to sign a proclamation that names a day each year after a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader, according to legislation passed by the state House on Thursday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The escalating coronavirus emergency Thursday sent stocks to their worst losses since the Black Monday crash of 1987, extending a sell-off that has now wiped out most of Wall Street's big run-up since President Donald Trump's election.
NEW YORK (AP) — The deepening coronavirus crisis sent stocks into another alarming slide Thursday, extending a sell-off that has wiped out most of the big run-up on Wall Street since President Donald Trump's inauguration.
NEW YORK (AP) — The severity of Wall Street's rout this week may echo the swoons for stocks at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, but that's where the parallels end.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve moved Thursday to try to ease disruptions in the financial markets stemming from the coronavirus by announcing that it will sharply increase its purchases of short-term Treasury bonds.
WASHINGTON (AP) — During the financial crisis a decade ago, President Barack Obama could look around the room and turn to an economist who served as Harvard's president, a former president of the New York Federal Reserve and a renowned academic considered one of the world's authorities on the Great Depression.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Buffeted by fears of the fast-spreading coronavirus, consumers in the United States and overseas are showing increasing signs of cutting back on spending in what amounts to a severe threat to economic growth.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank deployed targeted new stimulus measures to cushion the shock to the economy from the virus outbreak, but its president said monetary policy couldn't do it alone and called for a "decisive and determined" response from governments.
Stocks' staggering skid that began less than three weeks ago has pulled Wall Street into what's known as a bear market.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Thursday it had asked for an emergency $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the spread of a new virus that's swept across the country, infecting more than 10,000 people and killing hundreds.
NEW YORK (AP) — Renee and Michael Brown planned to open a third location for their coffee company — and put their plans on hold when the coronavirus hit.