VOL. 42 | NO. 32 | Friday, August 10, 2018
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
Sen. Reginald Tate ran a campaign ad in the waning days of the Democratic primary race bragging about his service to the city of Memphis.
SPORTS
In 2017, former Belmont University star Ian Clark experienced the ultimate high for an NBA player, capturing the league championship as part of a star-studded Golden State Warriors team.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
“I don’t even recognize this place anymore. This is not the Nashville I once knew,” comes the lament from many who have inhabited the city for years. For those who have lived in the area for 25 years or more, their observations hold credence.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates are down this week amid a restrained home buying season this summer.
NEWSMAKERS
Charles Strobel, founding director of Room in the Inn, will be honored with the 25th annual Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award.
BRIEFS
Franklin-based Tivity Health, Inc., provider of fitness and health improvement programs, has announced financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, including an increase in revenue year to year.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
It won’t be long before incoming freshmen head off to college. That means it’s prime time for students – and parents – to find suitable, affordable cars for the road ahead. Edmunds has compiled a list of used hybrid, compact and crossover SUV vehicles that best lend themselves to varied demands of college life.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Your allowance was never enough, as a kid. Oh, sure, it bought you what you needed but what you wanted, well, you had to figure that out yourself. A dime here, a dollar there, little chores-for-pay, tasks for Grandma and you made it work.
CAREER CORNER
The number of companies reporting job search candidates ghosting them is on the rise.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Video ad spending will grow 49 percent – to roughly $18 billion – in 2018, Vox Media reports. It seems everyone is on the video bandwagon.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul" who sang with matchless style on such classics as "Think," ''I Say a Little Prayer" and her signature song, "Respect," and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, has died at age 76 from pancreatic cancer.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans running back Dion Lewis has been so focused on football with his new team that he didn't realize until a few days into training camp just how special the benches on each sideline really are.
EDUCATION
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The University of Tennessee's interim engineering dean is taking a position with the White House starting next week.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Republican Rep. David Hawk has announced that he is running for state House speaker, setting up a contested race to succeed Speaker Beth Harwell.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee appeals court has ruled that Gov. Bill Haslam's overhaul of the state's probation system is unconstitutional, saying it violates defendant's rights.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for the second straight week, with relatively lower rates continuing to fail to spark home sales.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. housing starts ticked up just 0.9 percent in July, a sign that higher construction costs might be weighing on homebuilders.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Government regulators have subpoenaed Tesla as they dig deeper into CEO Elon Musk's recent disclosure about a potential buyout of the electric car maker, according to media reports.
TECHNOLOGY
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kroger will begin testing grocery deliveries using driverless cars outside of Phoenix.
NEW YORK (AP) — A day after Twitter gave right-wing conspiratorialist Alex Jones a weeklong timeout, CEO Jack Dorsey is mulling deeper changes to the social media service that might limit the spread of fake news, misinformation and hate speech.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are surging Thursday morning as China and the U.S. prepare to hold their first trade discussions in months, a potential sign of progress toward ending the trade war between them. Walmart is surging after the retailer said its sales climbed in second quarter.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's finance chief tried to reassure thousands of international investors on a conference call Thursday, in which he pledged to fix the economic troubles that have seen the country spiral into a currency crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart raised its financial outlook for the year after beating Wall Street's expectations for its fiscal second quarter and seeing the strongest growth in more than a decade in sales at established stores. Its shares surged 10 percent before the opening bell Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney reported a bigger-than-expected loss in its fiscal second quarter as a key sales metric fell well short of Wall Street's view. The department store operator also cut its full-year forecast again, and its shares plunged 24 percent.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is lashing out at the press as newspapers nationwide launch a coordinated rebuttal to his attacks against what he calls "fake news."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former CIA Director John Brennan said Thursday that President Donald Trump yanked his security clearance because his campaign colluded with the Russians to sway the 2016 election and is now desperate to end the special counsel's investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking unjustified credit for recent job gains by black Americans even as he defends himself against claims of racism.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — A state review has found that while Tennessee lawmakers began reviewing 500-plus public records exemptions this year, they approved more exclusions.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking a court hearing after the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Tennessee Waffle House was deemed presently incompetent for trial and in need of hospitalization.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber is still struggling to make money while the ride-hailing service's CEO deals with the headaches left behind by his predecessor.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tesla is forming a special committee to evaluate proposals to take the company private one week after CEO Elon Musk said he was considering it.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter says it is suspending the account of the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for one week after he violated the company's rules against inciting violence.
ENVIRONMENT
NEW YORK (AP) — Now that plastic straws may be headed for extinction, could Americans' love of balloons get deflated too?
COURTS
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A sweeping grand jury report into child sexual abuse in Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania said church officials gave a former priest a positive reference to work at Disney World, even though they'd fielded at least one allegation about him sexually abusing a boy.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Deepening worries about global economic growth, particularly in China, set off a rout in riskier assets including technology stocks, copper and crude oil Wednesday. U.S. retailers took a drubbing after Macy's reported weaker sales.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in more than three years, while labor costs actually fell.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans shopped at a healthy pace in July, buying more cars, clothes and appliances, evidence that consumers are helping drive robust economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing output rose a solid 0.3 percent last month, led by increased production of cars, electronics, and appliances.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's raised its annual profit forecast as the department store reported an unexpected increase in a key sales measure.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey said Wednesday it is increasing tariffs on some U.S. products like cars, alcohol, and coal — a move that is unlikely to have much economic impact but highlights the deteriorating relations with the U.S. in a feud that has already helped trigger a currency crisis .
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Wednesday it would be "a huge strategic mistake" if no deal is struck before Britain leaves the European Union in March — as his Latvian counterpart put the chances of a no-deal Brexit at 50-50.
BEIJING (AP) — China says it is challenging a U.S. tariff hike on solar panels before the World Trade Organization, adding to its sprawling conflicts with President Donald Trump over trade and technology.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blaming the United States for Turkey's financial crisis, ignoring homegrown problems like high debts, raging inflation and his own erratic policies.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett's company added to its stakes in Apple and Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter while tweaking several of its other stock investments.
NATIONAL POLITICS
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — In a night of firsts, Democrats in Vermont's primary chose the nation's first transgender gubernatorial nominee. In Minnesota, they picked a woman who would be the first Somali-American member of Congress. Connecticut Democrats nominated a candidate who could become the first black woman from the state to serve in Congress.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis has signed an eight-year deal worth $50 million that keeps under contract through the 2026-27 season.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Connecticut and Tennessee plan to face each other in women's basketball during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, renewing a rivalry that has been dormant since 2007.
COURTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The former president of the nation's largest fuel retailer has been given a delay in sentencing for his conviction in a scheme to defraud trucking companies.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court is fast-tracking the appeal in a challenge of the state's lethal injection drugs.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville has published confidential information including Social Security numbers in some publicly available court records.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The new Tennessee State Museum is slated to open to the public on Oct. 4.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
MEMPHIS (AP) — A gold record, photos and jewelry are among the more than 200 items sold at an auction of memorabilia related to late singer Elvis Presley.
STATEWIDE
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials say elevated mercury levels have been found in two fish species in the downstream portions of the Pigeon and Nolichucky rivers, and a precautionary fish consumption advisory has been issued.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will ban driving recalled BMWs that haven't received safety checks following dozens of fires the German automaker has blamed on a faulty exhaust gas component.
TECHNOLOGY
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Cody Wilson found his calling when, in 2013, he successfully fired the first gun made on a 3D printer.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lawmakers are vowing to step up their oversight of the data collection practices of giant technology companies after an Associated Press investigation found Google continues to collect user location data even if they've used a privacy setting that claims to prevent it.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday as banks, retailers, and smaller companies jumped. That helped the market recover most of its losses from the previous two days.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kroger will start to sell some of its products to Chinese shoppers through a website owned by internet giant Alibaba, the latest move by the supermarket chain to boost its digital business.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's president appeared to escalate a dispute with the United States that has helped foment a Turkish currency crisis, claiming Tuesday that his country will boycott U.S.-made electronic goods. Behind the scenes, however, diplomats resumed contact to ease tensions.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The reopening of Yosemite National Park can't come soon enough for Douglas Shaw.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And, perhaps, your potential leakers closer yet.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Internal documents show the Environmental Protection Agency privately questioned the Trump administration's finding that freezing Obama-era mileage standards would make drivers safer.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin election officials insist the state's voting systems are safe from hackers as ballots are cast in Tuesday's primary.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson isn't backing down from comments that Russian operatives have penetrated some of his state's election systems ahead of this year's crucial election.
MONDAY, AUGUST 13
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Democrat Phil Bredesen is proposing four debates before the November election for U.S. Senate against Republican Marsha Blackburn, whose campaign says she's still finalizing her debate schedule but looks forward to debating Bredesen.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music star Dolly Parton has been honored with a leadership award that is named after her.
EDUCATION
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Officials say community college and applied technology students in Tennessee will see minimal increases in tuition this fall.
COURTS
Davidson County General Sessions judges have unanimously elected Judge Melissa Blackburn to serve as presiding judge through Sept. 2019. Blackburn has been serving as presiding judge since Dec. 2017 when Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton was elevated to the 20th District Criminal Court by Gov. Bill Haslam.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Quarterback Blaine Gabbert quickly stopped the reporter asking him about learning his fourth offense in four years.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Nobody has emerged as a front-runner in Tennessee's quarterback competition, coach Jeremy Pruitt said Sunday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund would be the main source of money for Tesla CEO Elon Musk's grand plan to take the company private, but the deal isn't done yet, Musk disclosed in a blog on Monday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell further Monday as Turkey's central bank was unable to stop a steep plunge in the nation's currency. That's helping to push the dollar higher, hurting big exporters.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett is still finding new places to invest decades after he started, even though his basic approach of finding businesses selling for less than they are worth hasn't changed much.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's central bank took action Monday to free up cash for banks as the country grapples with a currency crisis sparked by concerns over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's economic policies and a trade and diplomatic dispute with the United States.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Donald Trump's call for a boycott of Harley-Davidson motorcycles forced Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans to either criticize the president or stick with the Milwaukee-based company just ahead of Tuesday's primary where Trump allegiance has been a central focus.
NATIONAL POLITICS
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — Former presidential adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman is drawing fire from President Donald Trump's allies and national security experts for secret recordings she made at the White House, including her firing by chief of staff John Kelly in the high-security Situation Room.
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — For years he dutifully carried out Roger Ailes' orders, earning himself the nickname "the Butler" at Fox News.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is distorting the truth on U.S. economic growth and jobs, pointing to record-breaking figures that don't exist and not telling the full story on black unemployment.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10
TENNESSEE TITANS
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Marcus Mariota is proving to be a quick study with a new coach installing yet another offensive system for the Tennessee Titans.
SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee women's basketball coach Holly Warlick has received a three-year contract extension.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — An exhibit centered on the career of Lisa Marie Presley, and a launch party marking the release of an album of gospel songs by her late father Elvis Presley, are among the highlights of this year's Elvis Week in Memphis, Tennessee.
PREDATORS
Nashville Predators general manager David Poile headlines the class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee health officials say at least 74 people have contracted hepatitis A in Nashville since last December.
Nashville's Travellers Rest is one of four Tennessee sites added today to the National Register of Historic Places, the Tennessee Historical Commission announced.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee carried out the execution Thursday of a man condemned for the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl, marking the first time the state has applied the death penalty in nearly a decade.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is set to execute a man for the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl, in what would be the first time the state has applied the death penalty since 2009.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping the widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos on the market despite extensive scientific evidence that even tiny levels of exposure can harm babies' brains.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Who knew connecting the world could get so complicated? Perhaps some of technology's brightest minds should have seen that coming.
NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung's new smartphone illustrates the limits of innovation at a time when hardware advances have slowed.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber will have to navigate around a new regulatory pothole in New York on an already bumpy road to its initial public offering of stock next year.
Tesla shares have dropped back to near the level they were trading at before CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that he may take the company private.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks in the U.S. and Europe skidded Friday as investors worried about the financial stability of Turkey and how it might affect the global banking system.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Four women who used to work for Nike have filed a federal lawsuit against the company, alleging it violated state and U.S. equal-pay laws and fostered a work environment that allowed sexual harassment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices climbed 2.9 percent in July from a year earlier, a rate of inflation that suggests Americans are earning less than a year ago despite an otherwise solid economy.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A financial shockwave ripped through Turkey on Friday as its currency nosedived on concerns about its economic policies and a dispute with the U.S., which President Donald Trump stoked further with a promise to double tariffs on the NATO ally.
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's prime minister sternly warned the United States on Friday against ramping up sanctions, saying that Moscow will retaliate with economic, political and unspecified "other" means.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economy resumed its longtime expansion in the last quarter as consumers and businesses stepped up spending, the government said Friday.
Rite Aid shares plunged Thursday as the company headed into an uncertain future after calling off its merger with the grocer Albertsons.
NEW YORK (AP) — The $3.9 billion buyout of Tribune Media by Sinclair collapsed Thursday, ending a bid to create a massive media juggernaut that could have rivaled the reach of Fox News.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices were unchanged in July after two months of large increases, a sign inflation pressures may have softened.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government racked up a $76.9 billion deficit in July, with increased government spending and tax cuts keeping the country on track to record its biggest annual deficit in six years.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel's Laura Ingraham is disavowing the support of white nationalists and claims her views about the nation's demographic changes have been distorted, although that hasn't quieted critics who see bigotry in her words.
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston newspaper is proposing a coordinated editorial response from publications across the U.S. to President Donald Trump's frequent attacks on the news media.
The Trump administration plans to roll back another major Obama-era rule that was created to police the for-profit college industry.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The indictment of Rep. Chris Collins on insider trading charges is drawing new attention to the freedom members of Congress have to serve on corporate boards or to buy and sell stock in industries they're responsible for overseeing.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The billionaire behind a measure to split California in three said he's giving up on the effort to reimagine the nation's most populous state after the state Supreme Court knocked it off the November ballot.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence has announced plans for a new, separate U.S. Space Force as sixth military service by 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are linking a Republican congressman's insider trading indictment to a culture of corruption they say President Donald Trump has fostered, a theme they hope will help them seize congressional control in November's elections.
WASHINGTON (AP) — New sanctions against Russia will be imposed later this month for illegally using a chemical weapon in an attempted assassination of a former spy and his daughter in Britain earlier this year, the United States said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a border crisis in Pennsylvania. The radical left is surging in New Jersey. And Nancy Pelosi is a threat to New York.