VOL. 42 | NO. 9 | Friday, March 2, 2018
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
It’s not often Tennessee’s Republican legislative leaders have to endorse a congressional candidate against a vacillating opponent. But the General Assembly’s GOP must have been worried about losing to a Democrat as they consolidated forces behind U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn in an effort to maintain a hold on the U.S. Senate seat Bob Corker might or might not be vacating.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
She’s adjusted her dreams of stardom a bit as calendar pages fly by, but this woman with the young heart and thick, red hair holds onto her Gretsch guitar and proclaims: “I am the Neon Angel.”
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
With parents beginning to make their spring break plan, the spring real estate selling season must be near. Once the children return to school following the break and trees leaf out, the season will be in full bloom.
REAL ESTATE
January 2018 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates crept higher this week, marking the eighth straight week that it cost more to borrow to buy a home.
NEWSMAKERS
Forbes magazine has named Pinnacle Financial Partners financial advisor James Hare as a “Best-In-State Wealth Advisor” for Tennessee. Hare earned the No. 23 spot on the list, which ranks more than 2,000 top-performing advisors from across the country.
BRIEFS
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has been named the 2018 Southeast Firm of the Year by Benchmark Litigation.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
About 40 percent of people shopping for a new car in 2018 will have a vehicle to trade in, Edmunds transaction data shows. And it’s safe to say that 100 percent of those people will want to get as much money as possible for that trade-in.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
For many reasons, 2017 proved to be an important year for all things data. And while the user interfaces for designing a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign may have changed little over the last year, the metrics behind such campaigns have increased notably.
CAREER CORNER
Part of my job is to work with professionals who have recently become unemployed. It’s incredible how many people are impacted by layoffs each day. Often, the person was let go due to something outside of their control.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee legislative panel refused to let two Las Vegas concert shooting survivors testify Wednesday after Republicans delayed action on a Democratic bill to ban the device used by that gunman in October.
STATEWIDE
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — An ordinance barring people from begging for money could be expanded in a Tennessee city.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates climbed this week to their highest average in more than four years, ratcheting up affordability pressures at the start of the traditional spring home buying season.
HEALTH CARE
The insurer Cigna will spend about $52 billion to acquire the nation's biggest pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, the latest in a string of proposed tie-ups as health care's bill payers attempt to get a grip on rising costs.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Thursday morning as they continue a recovery that started late the previous day. Technology companies and retailers are making some of the biggest gains. Industrial companies are rising after the White House said President Donald Trump will announce tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that give exemptions to Canada and Mexico. Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts jumped after health insurer Cigna agreed to buy it.
DENVER (AP) — Peyton Manning sold 31 Denver-area Papa John's stores last week, two days before the NFL dropped the chain as its official pizza sponsor.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank hinted Thursday that it is closer to withdrawing a key economic stimulus program as the eurozone economy recovers its strength after years of crisis and stagnation.
NATIONAL POLITICS
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe's top monetary official criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as a "dangerous" unilateral move.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a week of hints and uncertainty, President Donald Trump said Thursday he would soon announce tariffs on imported steel and aluminum but would offer temporary exemptions to Canada and Mexico. He suggested Australia and "other countries" might also be spared, a shift that could soften the international blow amid threats of retaliation by trading partners.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Not long ago, Gary Cohn was laying out an ambitious 2018 economic agenda for the Trump administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his appointees have stocked federal agencies with ex-lobbyists and corporate lawyers who now help regulate the very industries from which they previously collected paychecks, despite promising as a candidate to drain the swamp in Washington.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is presenting a skewed picture of the decline of manufacturing in making his case for import penalties that could spark a trade war.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's attorney general says the state constitution doesn't exempt whiskey barrels from property taxes.
State Rep. Jeremy Faison took his medical cannabis bill off notice today – temporarily – because he didn’t have the votes needed to pass it in the House Criminal Justice Committee.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
MEMPHIS (AP) — Singer Mamie Smith, songwriter and musician Roebuck "Pops" Staples, piano man Georgia Tom Dorsey, drummer Sam Lay and Chicago band The Aces are among this year's inductees to the Blues Hall of Fame.
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Nashville Predators talk about everything and shy away from nothing.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — "Failed leadership" at the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Obama years put patients at a major hospital at risk, an internal probe finds — another blow to Secretary David Shulkin, who served at the VA then and is fighting to keep his job.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — "What does it mean for trade?" That question continued to guide Wall Street Wednesday, leading stocks to a mixed finish after President Donald Trump's top economic adviser resigned after opposing the administration's planned tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Wednesday that Mexico, Canada and other countries may be spared from President Donald Trump's planned steel and aluminum tariffs under national security "carve-outs," a move that could soften the blow amid threats of retaliation by trading partners and dire economic warnings from lawmakers and business groups.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it's ready to retaliate against the U.S. over President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum — with counter-measures against iconic U.S. products like Harley Davidson motorcycles, Levi's jeans and bourbon.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity showed no gain in the fourth quarter, the poorest performance since an outright decline in the first quarter of 2016. It was further evidence of the struggles the country is facing in boosting worker efficiency.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit rose in January to the highest level since October 2008, defying President Donald Trump's efforts to bring more balance to America's trade with the rest of the world.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies added a healthy 235,000 jobs last month, led by solid gains in construction, hotels and restaurants, and education and health care, according to a private survey.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has chosen an odd time to offer special protection to the U.S. steel industry.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union warned Wednesday that it is ready to retaliate against the U.S. over President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, with counter-measures against iconic U.S. products like Harley Davidson motorcycles, Levi's jeans and bourbon.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become the first $100 billion mogul to top Forbes' annual rankings of the world's richest people. But President Donald Trump's fortune sank during his first year in office despite a surging stock market.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are giving Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $30 million to help improve the literacy skills of elementary school students across the nation.
NATIONAL POLITICS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A porn star who has said she had sex with President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that she signed days before the 2016 presidential election, which prevented her from discussing the alleged sexual encounters.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Women running for Congress surged to big wins and Democrats smashed recent turnout levels in Texas' first-in-the-nation 2018 primary elections, giving Republicans a potential glimpse of what's ahead in the first midterms under President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump once presided over a reality show in which a key cast member exited each week. The same thing seems to be happening in his White House.
TUESDAY, MARCH 6
SPORTS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — SEC coaches have selected Tennessee forward Grant Williams is the Southeastern Conference player of the year and Volunteers coach Rick Barnes is the coach of the year.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — A new historical marker in Memphis will point out that a famed Confederate general was a prosperous slave trader before the Civil War.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — One of the nation's oldest black medical schools will provide free dental services to uninsured Tennesseans this weekend.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — A few days after signing on, a Republican Tennessee Senate leader has dropped his name from a Democratic proposal to ban bump stock devices that allow guns to fire like automatic weapons.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee House has passed legislation that would lower the penalty to $250 for a first offense of toting a gun without a handgun carry permit.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have approved the first direct-to-consumer breast cancer gene test.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration Tuesday launched a new effort under the direction of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner to overcome years of problems with electronic medical records and make them easier for patients to use.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is hailing a federal judge's decision upholding his right to end a program for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
AUTO INDUSTRY
GENEVA (AP) — This year's Geneva auto show was full of new cars flaunting electric and autonomous technologies meant to help unclog city streets and fight global warming and air pollution.
TECHNOLOGY
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Setting up a likely legal fight with the Trump administration, Washington has become the first state to enact its own net-neutrality requirements after U.S. regulators repealed Obama-era rules designed to keep the internet an even playing field.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates says it will now require anyone conducting "commercial activities" through social media to register for a government-issued license.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks meandered but finished mostly higher Tuesday as retailers and industrial companies rose. A jump in metals prices helped mining and materials companies. Asian markets jumped after the North Korean government said it was open to talks with the U.S. about ending its nuclear program.
NEW YORK (AP) — Target's reinvention plan is driving more people to its stores and its website, where they are spending more for everything from fashion to towels. But the cost of such a massive overhaul is extensive, and it took some of the shine off a strong quarter of sales.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Warning of economic fallout, congressional Republicans and industry groups pressed President Donald Trump on Tuesday to narrow his plan for across-the-board tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. They said the White House appeared to be open to changes that might soften the impact.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate advanced legislation Tuesday to roll back some of the safeguards Congress put in place to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. Enough Democrats supported a procedural vote on the bipartisan bill to show it has a good chance of passage in the coming days.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal watchdog says White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway violated the federal law prohibiting government officials from using their positions to influence political campaigns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Worried about economic ramifications, House Speaker Paul Ryan called on President Donald Trump to back away from his plan for broad international tariffs, arguing Tuesday that a "more surgical approach" would help avert a potentially dangerous trade war.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a remarkably public confrontation, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican allies of President Donald Trump are pleading with him to back away from his threatened international tariffs, which they fear could spark a dangerous trade war. Trump retorted: "We're not backing down."
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offers an incomplete picture of American trade in making his case for penalties on foreign goods. Here's a look at his recent comments as he prepares to impose big tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and threatens action on a broader trade front:
MONDAY, MARCH 5
STATE GOVERNMENT
Country music singer Katie Armiger re-emerged in the spotlight Monday to back legislation giving freelancers and contractors protection against sexual harassment.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has formed a panel to review school safety in Tennessee and recommend improvements.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation has begun using a new online filing system.
JOHNSON CITY (AP) — A Tennessee museum has donated more than 3,500 vinyl LPs and 1,200 78 rpm records to East Tennessee State University.
SPORTS
DENVER (AP) — Nashville pulled off another comeback victory to remain the NHL's hottest team.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Madness. That's the only way to explain this. Lipscomb led by 29 points at halftime, went up by 32 in the second half, then saw the lead get shredded down to five — on the road against a Florida Gulf Coast program that has squeezed the utmost from nearly every opportunity it has gotten in March since becoming the "Dunk City" NCAA darlings five years ago.
AUTO INDUSTRY
GENEVA (AP) — The CEO of German automaker Volkswagen says businesses like his need clarity about new trade measures announced by the Trump administration before they can decide what to do.
GENEVA (AP) — Global automakers are rolling out more electric vehicles at the Geneva International Motor Show as they try to challenge Tesla and get ahead of a disruptive shift in transportation toward lower-emission and autonomous vehicles.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shook off morning losses on Monday and surged in the afternoon to send the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its best day in a week. It's the latest turn for a market suddenly prone to quick shifts not only day to day but also hour to hour, as investors question whether President Donald Trump will really risk a trade war.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services firms grew more slowly in February compared with the previous month, but still expanded at a healthy clip.
HOUSTON (AP) — A global energy watchdog says booming production in the United States will meet most of the world's growth in demand for oil in the next few years.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten years after a financial crisis rocked the nation's economy, the Senate is poised to pass legislation that would roll back some of the safeguards Congress put into place to prevent a relapse.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insisted Monday that he's "not backing down" on his plan to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum despite anxious warnings from House Speaker Paul Ryan and other congressional Republicans of a possible trade war.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration appears unbowed by broad domestic and international criticism of his planned import tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying Sunday that the president is not planning on exempting any countries from the stiff duties.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that North American neighbors Canada and Mexico will get no relief from his new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports unless a "new and fair" free trade agreement is signed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump leaves out a big component of trade when he complains about the huge imbalance between what the U.S. buys from abroad and what the world buys from the U.S. He ignores services, an American strength and part of the trade equation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — They spent their first year in Washington as an untouchable White House power couple, commanding expansive portfolios, outlasting rivals and enjoying unmatched access to the president. But Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have undergone a swift and stunning reckoning of late, their powers restricted, their enemies emboldened and their future in the West Wing uncertain.
FRIDAY, MARCH 2
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — In his U.S. Senate bid, former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen says he supports universal background checks on gun sales and a bump stock ban.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's leading Republican gubernatorial candidates have mixed feelings or aren't taking firm stances on President Donald Trump's ideas to ban bump stocks and bar people under 21 from buying semi-automatic guns.
SPORTS
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — David Poile now has the most wins in NHL history as a general manager.
MIDSTATE
GALLATIN (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied an environmental group's challenges to air pollution permits for a federal utility's Tennessee coal-fired power plant.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — Authorities have dropped all charges in connection with "Operation Candy Crush," a sting that targeted Tennessee stores accused of selling candy and other products containing a form of marijuana.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Chris Stapleton, who released two top-selling albums last year, leads the Academy of Country Music Awards with eight nominations, including his first entertainer of the year nomination.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. sales of new cars and trucks tailed off in February as automakers eased up on discounts.
Uber is driving deeper into health care by offering to take patients in every U.S. market where it operates to their next medical appointment.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Harley-Davidson says it will collaborate with Alta Motors on the motorcycle maker's plans for an electric bike.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks went on another dizzying ride Friday and worked their way back from an early-morning plunge to send the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its first gain in four days. It was just the latest swing in a frenetic week for markets around the world as investors recalibrated — again and again — how worried to be about a possible trade war and a more aggressive Federal Reserve.
BEIJING (AP) — After threatening to retaliate if U.S. President Donald Trump raised trade barriers, Chinese leaders need to decide whether his hikes in steel and aluminum tariffs justify starting a fight that might disrupt access to one of China's biggest markets.
GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization warned Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is risking an economically damaging trade war if he goes ahead with plans to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday insisted "trade wars are good, and easy to win," a bold claim that prompted threats of retaliation against U.S. exports like blue jeans and motorcycles.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In agitating for a trade war, President Donald Trump may have forgotten William Tecumseh Sherman's adage that "war is hell."
ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines showed no signs Friday of backing away from a decision to cancel discounts for the National Rifle Association, despite a revenge move by state leaders that deprived the airline of a significant tax break.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Some states are taking advantage of a dispute between Georgia and Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines over the company's decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association, urging the airline to relocate.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kroger and L.L. Bean said Thursday they will no longer sell guns to anyone under 21, becoming the third and fourth major retailers this week to put restrictions in place that are stronger than federal laws. The announcements follow those by Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart, emphasizing the pressure companies are facing to take a stand.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had a smooth public debut in his new job as head of the nation's central bank. But investors want to know whether he is really as optimistic about economic prospects as he appeared to be.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American manufacturers said they expanded in February at the fastest pace in nearly 14 years — gains driven in part by a jump in hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans lifted their spending just 0.2 percent in January, while their incomes jumped because of last year's tax cuts.
MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil says it will withdraw from its joint venture with Russia's state-controlled Rosneft due to U.S. and European sanctions against the country.
NATIONAL POLITICS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission late last year dropped its inquiry into a financial company that a month earlier had given White House adviser Jared Kushner's family real estate firm a $180 million loan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday it is rewriting Obama-era rules governing pollution from oil and gas operations and coal ash dumps, moves that opponents say will significantly weaken protections for human health and the environment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is looking for ways to deal with a recurring frustration: individual federal judges who have put the brakes on one major administration policy after another.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rattled by two weeks of muddled messages, departures and spitting matches between the president and his own top officials, Donald Trump is facing a shrinking circle of trusted advisers and a staff that's grim about any prospect of a reset.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Putting fellow Republicans in the hot seat, President Donald Trump is calling for quick and substantial changes to the nation's gun laws even as he criticizes lawmakers for being too fearful of the National Rifle Association to act.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of Americans, including large majorities of blacks and Hispanics, think President Donald Trump is a racist. More than half think his policies have made things worse for Hispanics and Muslims, and nearly half say they've made things worse for African Americans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to protect vital American industries, President Donald Trump declared Thursday that he will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, dramatically raising the possibility of a trade showdown with China and other key trading partners.