VOL. 44 | NO. 33 | Friday, August 14, 2020
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
Kristy Hairston, president of the Greater Nashville Realtors, continues to deliver incredibly good news to her followers as 2020, in spite of the pandemic, is setting real estate sales records with each passing month.
REAL ESTATE
July 2020 real estate trends for Davidson County, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
Top residential real estate sales, July 2020, for Davidson County, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. average rates on long-term mortgages rose this week but remained at historically low levels. The key 30-year loan stayed below 3%.
TENNESSEE TITANS
It is no secret that the Tennessee Titans have been built in large part on the New England Patriots model Bill Belichick masterminded two decades ago, a scheme that brought the Pats six Super Bowl championships.
Beginning Friday, it will be time to start taking notice of the Titans.
NEWSMAKERS
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has added Charles E. Elder to the firm’s Nashville office as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group.
BRIEFS
The Nashville Financial Empowerment Center is expanding to meet the growing financial needs of Davidson County residents as a part of Nashville’s coordinated COVID-19 response.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
One of COVID-19’s impacts has been the reduction in interest rates, including those for auto loans. In June 2020, the average interest rate for new auto loans decreased to 4.2%, down from 6.0% one year ago, Edmunds reports.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Behavioral economist Dan Ariely and his colleagues at Duke University’s Center for Advanced Hindsight have a pact. Every week, the group of 50 people picks one small business in Durham, North Carolina, and each person spends $100 there.
CAREER CORNER
Small businesses are a special thing in our country. Being able to start something from a vision and grow it is a gift. Now the pandemic is taking a toll on small-business owners, and many are reconsidering the idea of being self-employed.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
I know, I know. You’ve probably heard all about how you should renegotiate your bills to save money. But that’s easier said than done, right?
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Lottery's leader expects the state's first sportsbooks under its online-only sports betting law to go live no later than Nov. 1.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was arrested Thursday on charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme "We Build The Wall."
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A former Tennessee police officer who admitted to sexually assaulting three women in his custody and using a stun gun on another victim has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
TRANSPORTATION
American Airlines will drop flights to 15 smaller U.S. cities in October when a federal requirement to serve those communities ends.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese electric car brand NIO plans to start expanding to Western markets next year and might export a battery-swapping service that could help it compete with rival Tesla, the company's chairman said Thursday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — The case against former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn may have taken another turn as Japanese media report allegations that the automaker declared as expenses 1.15 billion yen ($10.8 million) in his taxable personal income.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
As hospitals care for people with COVID-19 and try to keep others from catching the virus, more patients are opting to be treated where they feel safest: at home.
ATLANTA (AP) — New guidance from the President Donald Trump's administration that declares teachers to be "critical infrastructure workers" could give the green light to exempting teachers from quarantine requirements after being exposed to COVID-19 and instead send them back into the classroom.
ELECTION 2020
When Joe Biden steps to the podium Thursday night as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, he will offer himself to a wounded, meandering nation as balm — and as a bridge.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president on Wednesday, cementing her place in history as the first Black woman on a major party ticket and promising she and Joe Biden will rejuvenate a country ravaged by a pandemic and riven by racial and partisan divides.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Former President Barack Obama warned that American democracy could falter if President Donald Trump is reelected, a stunning rebuke of his successor that was echoed by Kamala Harris at the Democratic Convention as she embraced her historic role as the first Black woman on a national political ticket.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On Joe Biden's big day, President Donald Trump is planning to show up in his rival's old backyard.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama painted a unsparing portrait of American democracy on the brink if President Donald Trump wins in November, warning in a scathing, and at times emotional, address Wednesday that his successor is both unfit for office and apathetic to the nation's founding principles.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of laid-off workers seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 1.1 million last week after two weeks of declines, evidence that many employers are still slashing jobs as the coronavirus bedevils the U.S. economy.
Airbnb is banning house parties worldwide as it tries to clean up its reputation and comply with coronavirus-related limits on gatherings.
How will office life be different in a pandemic? The office you once knew is likely to look vastly different.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — At least 4,800 chicks shipped to Maine farmers through the U.S. Postal Service have arrived dead in recent weeks after rapid cuts hit the federal mail carrier's operations, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese and U.S. trade envoys will hold a meeting by phone "in the near future" to discuss an agreement aimed at resolving a tariff war, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said Thursday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. is considering selling advanced American F-35 warplanes to the United Arab Emirates over the objections of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised the supporters of QAnon, a convoluted, pro-Trump conspiracy theory, and suggested he appreciates their support of his candidacy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is set to demand the restoration of all international sanctions on Iran in a move that will further isolate the U.S. at the United Nations, test the credibility of the U.N. Security Council and possibly deal a fatal blow to one of former President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievements.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged that the Trump administration will continue to support Iraq as it confronts the threat posed by the Islamic State group, but he also called for the Baghdad government to redouble efforts to rein in pro-Iran militias.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Board of Control is adding a classification for basketball, baseball and softball.
EDUCATION
MURFREESBORO (AP) — Middle Tennessee State University has unveiled a $39.6 million building that will house classrooms and offices for the study areas of criminal justice administration, psychology and social work.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and his family have made a gift of $40 million to the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, the school said.
REGION
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — More than 110 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division have returned to Fort Campbell from their deployment in Africa.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee will become the latest state to ask the federal government for an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits under President Donald Trump's supplemental plan, Gov. Bill Lee's labor and workforce development commissioner announced Tuesday.
TECHNOLOGY
For millions of people in the U.S. who use the Chinese app WeChat, it's a lifeline to friends, family, customers and business contacts in China.
HEALTH CARE
FAIRLESS HILLS, PA (AP) — Investors fled drug developer BioMarin in droves on Wednesday, driving shares down by a third after U.S. regulators rejected the company's potentially game-changing hemophilia A gene therapy over concerns it might not really be a one-and-done lifetime treatment.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
LONDON (AP) — London's Heathrow Airport, the U.K.'s busiest, unveiled a new coronavirus testing facility Wednesday that it says could halve the length of time people have to stay at home after arriving from countries on the British government's quarantine list.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks turned lower in late trading on Wall Street Wednesday, handing the S&P 500 a loss a day after it closed at a record high.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers lifted their spending in May and June but businesses remained cautious because of the tremendous uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, Federal Reserve officials said at a policy meeting last month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged people to boycott tires from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., tweeting that the Ohio-based company had "announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS."
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple is the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion, just two years after it became the first to reach $1 trillion.
NEW YORK (AP) — When ride-hailing heavyweights Uber and Lyft and delivery giants Grubhub and Instacart began making shared rides and meals available with a few taps on a smartphone, they transformed the way people work, travel and get food delivered to their homes.
NEW YORK (AP) — Angel Dougherty went to the mall last month — not to shop, but to watch a drive-in drag show in the parking lot.
NEW YORK (AP) — Target reported the largest quarterly sales growth, including an online sales spike, in its 58-year-history, the latest evidence that Americans are consolidating their trips to big box stores and pivoting their spending to around the home during the pandemic.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The world's biggest shipping company, Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, said Wednesday that its business dropped only slightly during the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt global demand but the outlook for trade is highly uncertain.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Since leaving the White House nearly four years ago, former President Barack Obama has repeatedly called for a new generation of political leaders to step up. On Wednesday, he'll implore Americans to vote for Joe Biden, a 77-year-old who has been on the national political stage for more than four decades.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their presidential candidate, with party elders, a new generation of politicians and voters in every state joining in an extraordinary, pandemic-cramped virtual convention to send him into the general election campaign to oust President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump campaign's interactions with Russian intelligence services during the 2016 presidential election posed a "grave" counterintelligence threat, a Senate panel concluded Tuesday as it detailed how associates of Donald Trump had regular contact with Russians and expected to benefit from the Kremlin's help.
Sustaining energy through four days of a political convention is never easy. It's even more challenging during this, the first virtual convention. On the second night of the Democratic National Convention, party leaders tried to blend its past with its future.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few people ever have logged more time on Democratic National Convention stages than Bill Clinton.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — On Tuesday night, delegates from all 50 states, former Republican national security advisers and progressive leaders all endorsed Joe Biden.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Facebook says it will restrict the right-wing conspiracy movement QAnon and will no longer recommend that users join groups supporting it, although the company isn't banning it outright.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's postmaster general has no intention of restoring mail equipment or funding overtime hours he cut, despite public outcry that operational changes are undermining service before the November election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday suspended or terminated three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong covering extradition and tax exemptions, the latest in a series of U.S. moves in response to China's imposition of strict national security laws over the former British territory.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday slapped sanctions on two aviation companies in the United Arab Emirates over their work for an Iranian airline already under U.S. sanctions. At the same time, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against one of the companies for violations of U.S. export control regulations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty Wednesday to altering a document related to the secret surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser during the Russia investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing mounting public pressure and a crush of state lawsuits, President Donald Trump's new postmaster general says he is halting some operational changes to mail delivery that critics blame for widespread delays and warn could disrupt the November election.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee has signed into law sweeping protections for businesses, schools and nursing homes against coronavirus lawsuits.
REGION
NASHVILLE (AP) — When he joined the Tennessee Valley Authority as CEO last year, Jeff Lyash offered up a lighthearted goal in an interview: to never be "on either end, good or bad, of a presidential tweet."
MEMPHIS (AP) — Environmental groups are suing the Tennessee Valley Authority over long-term partnership agreements signed by local power companies that receive electricity generated by the nation's largest public utility.
COURTS
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina bail bond company should not lose the bond money it put up for a defendant who missed a court date because federal immigration agents had already taken him away, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
ROME (AP) — Cesare Romiti, an industrialist and champion of Italian capitalism who steered automaker Fiat through years of strikes and domestic terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s, died in Rome on Tuesday, Italian state TV said. He was 97.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has approved a $60 million settlement in a shareholder lawsuit challenging electric car maker Tesla Inc.'s $2 billion acquisition of solar-panel installer SolarCity in 2016.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new U.S. homes surged 22.6% last month as homebuilders bounced back from a lull induced by the coronavirus pandemic.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Students at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville could face punishments as stiff as expulsion if they are "irresponsible" in hosting big parties, if they won't cooperate with COVID-19 contact tracing or if they don't complete forms documenting their self-isolation, the chancellor said Tuesday.
PARIS (AP) — France is now mandating masks in all workplaces, from the Paris business district to factories in the provinces, as it tries to contain growing virus infections but avoid shutting down the economy.
LONDON (AP) — Rates of depression appear to have almost doubled in Britain since the country was put into lockdown in late March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the country's official statistics agency.
North Carolina's flagship university canceled in-person classes for undergraduates just a week into the fall semester Monday as college campuses around the U.S. scramble to deal with coronavirus clusters linked in some cases to student housing, off-campus parties and packed bars.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Potential accuracy issues with a widely used coronavirus test could lead to false results for patients, U.S. health officials warned.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump campaign's interactions with Russian intelligence services during the 2016 presidential election posed a "grave" counterintelligence threat, a Senate panel concluded Tuesday as it detailed how associates of Donald Trump had regular contact with Russians and expected to benefit from the Kremlin's help.
WASHINGTON (AP) — At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, former first lady Michelle Obama told party members that "when they go low, we go high."
WASHINGTON (AP) — There will be no palms to grease in Milwaukee, no checks to stroke and no influence to peddle.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama assailed President Donald Trump on Monday for ripping migrant children from their parents and throwing them into cages, picking up on a frequent and distorted point made widely by Democrats.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Wall Street clawed back the last of the historic, frenzied losses unleashed by the new coronavirus, as the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high Tuesday.
PARIS (AP) — French Champagne producers decided Tuesday to put unprecedented limits on the quantity of grapes they'll harvest this year in hopes of propping up prices and containing damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
The national coin shortage has been an unusual side effect of the pandemic. Among its victims? Retailers, laundromats and even the tooth fairy.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans turned to Walmart's online business as well as its stores for supplies and home goods as the virus surged in new regions, resulting in soaring sales for the fiscal second quarter.
Millions of people forced to work out of the office during the pandemic took on new projects at home and Home Depot is supplying a lot of the DIY material they need.
BEIJING (AP) — China accused Washington of damaging global trade with sanctions that threaten to cripple tech giant Huawei and said Tuesday it will protect Chinese companies but gave no indication of possible retaliation.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid widespread protests and unrest over the police killings of Black Americans, a national commemoration of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington is being reconfigured to comply with coronavirus protocols in the District of Columbia.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing public pressure and state lawsuits, the Postmaster general announced Tuesday he is halting some operational changes to mail delivery that critics warned were causing widespread delays and could disrupt voting in the November election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Monday from enforcing a new regulation that would roll back health care protections for transgender people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A nonpartisan congressional watchdog's finding that the two top officials at the Department of Homeland Security are legally ineligible to hold their posts is "erroneous" and should be withdrawn, a Trump administration official said Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is misrepresenting the U.S. Postal Service's financial problems as his postmaster general defends cuts that have slowed mail delivery in advance of the November election.
MONDAY, AUGUST 17
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Malcolm Butler is so excited to be back practicing with the Tennessee Titans after a season-ending injury that the veteran cornerback is even enjoying practice.
NASHVILLE SC
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — FC Dallas and Nashville SC played to a scoreless draw Sunday night in a game that started more than 3 1/2 hours late because of lightning.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee state lawmaker who was criticized for not wearing a mask at a Republican party dinner has been hospitalized, and colleagues say he's battling the coronavirus.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's secretary of state and Department of Health are working together to give away hangtags to remind people not to leave a child inside a parked car and to provide a simple way to register to vote.
TECHNOLOGY
The U.S. is imposing another round of restrictions on China's Huawei as President Donald Trump renewed accusations that the company's telecommunications equipment is used for spying.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Google warned on Monday that the Australian government's plan to make digital giants pay for news content threatens users' free services in Australia and could result in their data being given to media organizations.
ENVIRONMENT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday took another step to opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil and gas, potentially fulfilling a decades-long dream for Republicans.
ELECTION 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — Presidential politics move fast. What we're watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:
ATLANTA (AP) — The Democratic Party will convene, sort of, amid a pandemic that has upended the usual pomp-and-circumstance of presidential nominating conventions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In October 1960, a young James Clyburn gathered with other students and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as frustrations mounted over civil rights protests in what was becoming a tumultuous, dangerous year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is muddying the facts about mail-in voting and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
From the dorms at North Carolina to the halls of Notre Dame, officials at universities around the U.S. scrambled on Monday to deal with new COVID-19 clusters at the start of the fall semester, some of them linked to off-campus parties and packed clubs.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street nudged a bit higher on Monday, and the S&P 500 teased even closer to its record high.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is giving his trade deal with China false credit for generating the purchases of U.S. goods that Beijing agreed to make. Chinese imports of U.S. products are actually running at less than half of what Trump negotiated, and it's even worse for American farmers who sell to China.
Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a public backlash over mail delays, the Trump administration scrambled to respond Monday as the House prepared an emergency vote to halt delivery interruptions and service changes that Democrats warned could imperil the November election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back into session over the crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to appoint Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to the Council of Governors, the White House said.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee made clear in March the front office was ready to move on from five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jurrell Casey.
NASHVILLE SC
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday that he will sign a bill that toughens penalties on some protests in response to continued demonstrations in the state and nationwide over racial injustice.
REAL ESTATE
NEW YORK (AP) — A renter most of his adult life, Clarence Swann became fearful that landlords would use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to gouge their tenants. So, with a desire to move near family, the retired veteran bought his first home last month at the age of 74.
AUTO INDUSTRY
A federal judge in Detroit said Friday that he will not reconsider his July dismissal of General Motors' racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, the new joint-venture between the two auto companies, on Thursday announced an additional $830 million investment in its new Alabama plant.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — A major union representing U.S. postal workers has endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, a move that comes as President Donald Trump has acknowledged starving the postal service of money in order to make it more difficult to vote by mail in November's election.
HOUSTON (AP) — Executives at the nation's two largest private prison companies have been donating large sums to President Donald Trump and Republican candidates with an eye toward the November elections that one of the corporations believes will lead to a rebound in its stock price.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Policy changes to slow delivery at the U.S. Postal Service are taking a toll on military veterans, who are reporting much longer wait times to receive mail-order prescription drugs, according to Democratic senators.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump frankly acknowledged that he's starving the U.S. Postal Service of money to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worries could cost him reelection.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday gave credence to a false and racist conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris' eligibility to be vice president, fueling an online misinformation campaign that parallels the one he used to power his rise into politics.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday announced $168 million more in COVID-19 relief for small businesses, agriculture, tourism and workforce development through federal coronavirus relief funding.
The NCAA called off fall championship events — a move Thursday that does not affect major college football — because not enough schools will be competing in sports such as men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball during the first semester.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President Donald Trump's push to open all schools, half of the Defense Department's schools in America will not open for in-person learning as the country struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes barely budged on Wall Street Friday, leaving the S&P 500 just shy of its record once again.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans increased their spending at retail stores and restaurants in July for a third straight month, but some evidence suggests that sales are weakening with the expiration of government rescue aid that had previously put more money in people's pockets.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — U.S. productivity rose at a 7.3% rate in the second quarter as the number of hours worked fell by nearly half, the biggest drop-off since the government started tracking the data more than 70 years ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American industry continued to regain ground lost in the coronavirus recession last month, but production remains well below where it was before the pandemic struck.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With talks on emergency coronavirus aid having stalled out, both sides played the blame game Thursday rather than make any serious moves to try to break their stalemate. Official Washington is emptying, national politics is consuming the airwaves and the chasm between the warring sides appears too great for now.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has reported its economy contracted 17% in the last quarter in its worst downturn since the global financial crisis.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch economy suffered an unprecedented 8.5% contraction in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic slammed the brakes on spending, exports and investments, the country's Central Bureau for Statistics said Friday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple and Google dropped the popular game Fortnite from their app stores after the game's developer introduced a direct payment plan that bypasses their platforms.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The two most senior officials in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were improperly appointed to the posts under federal law by the Trump administration, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer plans to plead guilty to making a false statement in the first criminal case arising from U.S. Attorney John Durham's investigation into the probe of ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, his lawyer said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's push to cut Social Security payroll taxes for the rest of the year — and even arguing for a permanent cut — would do little to bolster the coronavirus-battered economy in the short term and could destabilize long-term funding for benefits that millions of Americans depend on.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The NHL's winningest general manager is not happy with the Nashville Predators' diminishing returns, and David Poile made it clear Thursday that change is coming.
NASHVILLE SC
HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — The New York Red Bulls on Thursday traded midfielder Alex Muyl to Nashville SC for an international roster spot through the end of 2021.
There was a smattering of boos when players from FC Dallas and Nashville SC collectively took a knee during the national anthem before their MLS game Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas.
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — David Accam scored in the 86th minute to give Nashville SC a 1-0 victory over FC Dallas on Wednesday night in the first match for both teams since Major League Soccer shut down the season in March because of the coronavirus.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, says it has reached an agreement in principle to settle U.S. claims over emissions from its diesel vehicles for over $2.2 billion.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state of Michigan and some private partners are taking steps toward building or assigning dedicated lanes for automated vehicles on a 40-mile stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.
TRANSPORTATION
DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines is planning to drop flights to up to 30 smaller U.S. cities if a federal requirement to continue those flights expires at the end of next month, an airline executive familiar with the matter said Thursday.
EDUCATION
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department investigation has found Yale University is illegally discriminating against Asian American and white applicants, in violation of federal civil rights law, officials said Thursday.
ELECTION 2020
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts' predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from coronavirus over the next three months.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was among a team of advisers who briefed Joe Biden on Thursday about the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Thursday that he opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, acknowledging that his position would starve the agency of money Democrats say it needs to process an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday left in place an agreement that allows Rhode Island residents to vote by mail in two upcoming elections without signing their ballots in the presence of two witnesses or a notary.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even before last week's intelligence assessment on foreign election interference, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson was facing criticism from Democrats that his investigation of presidential candidate Joe Biden and Ukraine was politically motivated and advancing Russian interests.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NASHVILLE (AP) — The mayor of Tennessee's capital city says he plans to roll back restrictions that have shuttered bars, allowing them to reopen starting Monday with strict limits in place.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Two schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee are closed after someone tested positive at each school for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, officials said.
MEMPHIS (AP) — When Claudia Guzman suspected she had caught the coronavirus, her friends and family were full of advice: Don't quarantine. Don't get tested. A homemade tea will help cure you.
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Helena Miller listened to teachers, terrified to reenter classrooms, and parents, exhausted from trying to make virtual learning work at home. She heard from school officials who spent hundreds of hours on thousands of details — buses, classrooms, football, arts, special education. She spent countless nights, eyes wide open, her mind wrestling over the safety and education of the 17,000 children she swore to protect.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Another afternoon fade for stocks left Wall Street just shy of a record on Thursday, after the S&P 500 briefly crossed above its all-time closing high for the second straight day.
TikTok and its U.S. employees are planning to take President Donald Trump's administration to court over his sweeping order to ban the popular video app, according to a lawyer preparing one of the lawsuits.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment dropped below 1 million last week for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. five months ago, but layoffs are still running extraordinarily high.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With talks on emergency coronavirus aid having stalled out, both sides played the blame game Thursday rather than make any serious moves to try to break their stalemate. Official Washington is emptying, national politics is consuming the airwaves and the chasm between the warring sides appears too great for now.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The largest rural airline in Alaska has declared bankruptcy and laid off more than a thousand workers but wants to award $250,000 in bonus money to its chief executive and other employees.
NEW YORK (AP) — AMC Theatres, the nation's largest movie theater chain, will reopen in the U.S. on Aug. 20 with retro ticket prices of 15 cents per movie.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Thursday it has seized millions of dollars from cryptocurrency accounts that militant organization abroad, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, relied on to raise money for violent operations.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the announcement that full diplomatic ties will be established with the United Arab Emirates has ushered in a "new era" in Israel's relations with the Arab world.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of the Chinese Communist Party, alleging that the program to help teach Chinese language classes in America is part of Beijing's propaganda and influence operations on campuses and other classrooms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An overzealous prosecutor trying to hide her crime-fighting past — who is also weak on crime. The most radical pick for vice president ever — but too moderate to energize progressive Democrats.
BALTIMORE (AP) — President Donald Trump's proposed payroll tax cut is a threat to Social Security no matter how he casts it.