VOL. 41 | NO. 31 | Friday, August 4, 2017
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
Bryan Rippy, 38, chuckles when he says he’s in the prime of his life. But sharpening his skills is no laughing matter, and he understands the importance of raising his value in the job market.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
Willie Eason is a regular visitor to Bud’s Corner, an oft-overlooked section of North Nashville real estate named for Edward “Bud” Norman, the man who owned this three-block section of the city, putting a firm stamp of family and love on it that continues eight years after his death.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
With summer winding to a close, Realtors and homeowners are preparing for the fall selling season. And with properties that have not sold, the square dance is in full force.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates were little changed this week after declining for two straight weeks.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
The old adage holds that if you have two quarterbacks you really have none.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
The NFL can be a cold and cruel business. In such a high-risk business, one injury or a sudden drop in production can put a player’s very livelihood in jeopardy. NFL, in such situations, really can mean “Not For Long.”
NEWSMAKERS
The law firm of Baker Donelson has named Ashby Q. Burks co-chair of Baker Ober Health Law, one of the largest health law practices in the country.
BRIEFS
Zeel Massage on Demand has launched in Nashville as part of its Southeast expansion.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
We tell ourselves that the use of clever, intentional phrasing designed to encapsulate thoughts as succinctly as possible is the perfect communication method. But are we telling ourselves the truth?
CAREER CORNER
Two interesting things have happened in the past week. First, I was asked the question: “What advice would you give your younger self?” Then, I attended my high school reunion.
COURTS
DENVER (AP) — Taylor Swift has testified in her trial accusing a radio host of groping her that "he grabbed my ass underneath my skirt" when the two posed for a photo together before her 2013 performance in Denver.
BRENTWOOD (AP) — A family has filed a $30 million lawsuit against a private Christian school in Tennessee, alleging failure to act after a 12-year-old student was repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted by teenage boys.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state of Tennessee has taken back control of a building after determining that it was no longer being used as a workshop for the blind.
NASHVILLE (AP) — An autopsy has found that the son of Nashville Mayor Megan Barry died from a combination of several drugs, including two opioids.
SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Former football coaches Robert Neyland and Phillip Fulmer highlight a star-studded Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame induction class.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Don't get Josh Dobbs wrong. The Pittsburgh Steelers' rookie quarterback is amped to take the first snaps of his NFL career on Friday night when the AFC North champions open the preseason against the New York Giants.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's own actions are triggering double-digit premium increases on individual health insurance policies purchased by many consumers, a nonpartisan study has found.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Technology companies were leading a broad slide in U.S. stocks in early trading Thursday as investors pored over the latest batch of corporate earnings reports. Banks and retail chains were also among the big decliners. Simmering tensions between the U.S. and North Korea were also weighing on the market. Oil prices were headed higher.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices at the wholesale level dipped slightly in July, the first decline in 11 months and further evidence that inflation remains a no-show in the economy.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Department store chains saw key sales figures fall again in the latest quarter as customers increasingly move online, though at Macy's the decrease wasn't as bad as Wall Street expected and Kohl's managed to keep the decline to just 0.4 percent.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for jobless aid last week. Despite the small increase, the number of people seeking benefits remained close to historic lows.
NEW YORK (AP) — Blue Apron posted strong revenue growth in its second quarter, but scaled down marketing efforts and a sequential decline in customers has investors jittery.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Krispy Kreme is going dark ahead of the solar eclipse set to cast a shadow across part of the U.S. later this month.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials have delivered mixed messages of alarm and reassurance as tensions have escalated over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, leaving doubt about the direction of U.S. policy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is escalating a feud with his party's leader in the Senate. Trump is expressing disbelief that that Sen. Mitch McConnell couldn't persuade a Republican majority to pass a health care bill.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday distanced herself from her comment earlier this year about the nation's historically black colleges and universities being pioneers of school choice, saying that in the past "there were no choices" for African-Americans in higher education.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The late country singer and songwriter Vern Gosdin, as well as veteran songwriters Jim McBride, Walt Aldridge and Tim Nichols, will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame this fall.
NASHVILLE (AP) — On television and on stage, Glen Campbell was a superstar with boyish good looks, a flashy smile and wit, but it was his last performance on screen that exposed a more vulnerable side that touched many of his fans.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Glen Campbell was a rare entertainer who got to say goodbye to his life and career in every way he knew how.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Glen Campbell, the affable superstar singer of "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Wichita Lineman" whose appeal spanned country, pop, television and movies, died Tuesday, his family said. He was 81.
NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction to the death of superstar entertainer Glen Campbell:
STATEWIDE
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Former University of Tennessee President Emerson "Eli" Fly, whose tenure as president capped a 40-year career in the university system, has died. He was 82.
NASHVILLE (AP) — When state Sen. Mark Green abandoned his bid for Tennessee governor in June after his failed nomination for Army secretary, he said he would turn his attention to a "higher capacity" in Washington.
JACKSON (AP) — A flooring company will close a Tennessee plant this year, resulting in 215 layoffs.
COURTS
DENVER (AP) — A former disc jockey accused of groping Taylor Swift while posing for a photograph with her before a concert acknowledged Wednesday that the image is "weird and awkward," but he insisted that he touched Swift in the ribs, not in the rear, as she alleges in a lawsuit.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 52,016 Titan pickup trucks because their rear seat belts might not adequately protect passengers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday, making up much of the ground they lost earlier following a rare batch of earnings disappointments by Walt Disney and other big companies.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is bringing back an app that lets shoppers skip the checkout line and pay for items themselves on their smartphone.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A retired corporate executive said in a lawsuit that she spent $150,000 on a matchmaking service that set her up with a string of highly incompatible suitors, including men who were married, mentally unstable or felons.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The productivity of American workers rose just modestly in the spring, extending a worrisome issue that has persisted throughout this expansion.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A British company hired to train Afghan intelligence officers billed the U.S. government for high-end cars, including Porsches and an Aston Martin, and paid the "significant others" of the firm's top executives six-figure salaries even though there's no proof they did any work, according to a Pentagon audit made public Wednesday.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump scolded his own party's Senate leader on Wednesday for the crash of the Republican drive to repeal and rewrite the Obama health care law, using Twitter to demand of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, "Why not done?"
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged calm and said Americans should have "no concerns" after North Korea and President Donald Trump traded fiery threats, insisting Wednesday he doesn't believe there is "any imminent threat."
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nation's struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8
NASHVILLE AREA
CLARKSVILLE (AP) — A former Democratic Tennessee state senator who pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of sexual battery faces a lawsuit from the woman who says he assaulted her.
STATEWIDE
OAK RIDGE (AP) — The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is seeking to cut as many as 350 positions.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says he is making the case for Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. to build a new assembly plant in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Reen Baskin as the administration's new communications director.
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans minority owner Susie Adams Smith is selling her portion of the team.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The majority owners of the Minnesota Vikings are joining a group trying to bring a Major League Soccer expansion franchise to Nashville.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Marcus Mariota will start Saturday night when the Tennessee Titans open the preseason at the New York Jets.
AUTO INDUSTRY
MIAMI (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. would pay $97.68 million under a proposed settlement with vehicle owners affected by the Takata air bag recalls.
REAL ESTATE
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Minnesota say PHH Corp. and two subsidiaries have agreed to pay over $74 million to settle allegations they violated standards for underwriting government-backed mortgages.
COURTS
DENVER (AP) — A former radio disc jockey accused of groping Taylor Swift before a concert testified Tuesday that he may have touched the pop superstar's ribs with a closed hand as he tried to jump into a photo with her but insisted he did not touch her backside as she claims.
FRANKLIN (AP) — An Alabama woman sued several Tennessee agencies, saying her civil rights were violated when she was arrested in 2016 and lost her children and job.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Losses in health care and consumer-focused companies pulled U.S. stocks broadly lower Tuesday, snapping a 10-day winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — It would take at least 25 years for Wisconsin taxpayers to break even on Gov. Scott Walker's incentives to lure Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to the state, according to a fiscal analysis released Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Disney is launching streaming services for both its movies and live sports, shaking up how it interacts with viewers as it navigates a changing media landscape.
NEW YORK (AP) — Two years ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that ESPN, long a major profit center for Disney, was shedding subscribers. On Tuesday, Disney announced a plan intended to start bolstering ESPN's fortunes.
DALLAS (AP) — Following widespread outrage over a passenger who was violently dragged off an overbooked plane, U.S. airlines are bumping customers at the lowest rate in at least two decades.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted a record number of open jobs in June, a sign that the solid hiring of recent months will likely continue.
U.S. officials are abandoning plans to require sleep apnea screening for truck drivers and train engineers, a decision that safety experts say puts millions of lives at risk.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal climate report says the United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with temperatures rising dramatically over the last four decades.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is trying to combat new weakness in his Republican base and re-energize his staunchest supporters after months of White House backbiting and legislative failures.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and Congress face a daunting set of budget-related deadlines in the coming weeks. Blowing them could upend global financial markets and cause a partial government shutdown.
MONDAY, AUGUST 7
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Mayor Megan Barry says she's facing a new normal as she resumes her duties about a week after her 22-year-old son died of an apparent drug overdose.
MIDSTATE
CLARKSVILLE (AP) — Austin Peay University's new board of trustees has dismissed a complaint of gender discrimination in hiring.
FRANKLIN (AP) — A Tennessee sheriff's deputy has been given a national award after he was credited with saving the life of a child who was choking at school.
COURTS
DENVER (AP) — With Taylor Swift looking on, potential jurors in her lawsuit against an ex-Denver radio host were asked Monday whether they had ever been inappropriately touched or wrongly accused of groping someone — the issues at the center of the case.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Democrat Craig Fitzhugh is joining the race for Tennessee governor.
SPORTS
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — New Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler won't play in the team's exhibition opener Thursday, but look for him to be starting soon enough.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have added running back Brandon Radcliff and have waived injured linebacker Victor Ochi.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — With Republicans unable to advance a health care bill in Congress, President Donald Trump's administration may find itself in an awkward role as caretaker of the Affordable Care Act, which he still promises to repeal and replace.
FANCY FARM, Ky. (AP) — A week after an attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he'd consider a bipartisan effort to continue payments to insurers to avert a costly rattling of health insurance markets.
AUTO INDUSTRY
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Tesla is raising $1.5 billion as it ramps up production of the Model 3 sedan, its first mass market electric car.
CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Supporters of the United Auto Workers say they're not giving up their fight to unionize a Nissan auto assembly plant in Mississippi after a stinging defeat, even as UAW opponents say Friday's loss proves workers don't want the union.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Gains in technology companies helped lift U.S. stock index higher Monday, nudging the market once again into record territory.
FedEx customers are complaining that the company's system for tracking packages has been crashing.
NEW YORK (AP) — For the first month since CNN's Larry King owned cable news in October 2001, the most popular personality in prime-time doesn't work for Fox News Channel. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC is the new champ.
NEW YORK (AP) — This year's run to a record for the stock market has been one of the calmest in decades. Just don't get too comfortable.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IBM Corp. owes Indiana $78 million in damages stemming from the company's failed effort to automate much of the state's welfare services, a judge has ruled in a long-running dispute.
NEW YORK (AP) — Google's new head of diversity has rejected an internal commentary from a male employee who suggested women don't get ahead in tech jobs because of biological differences.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department on Monday scrapped an Obama-era rule on coal royalties that mining companies had criticized as burdensome and costly.
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump is insisting his support is stronger than ever, despite a report that some Republicans are weighing a 2020 presidential run without him.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Donald Trump's universe, the past week was distinguished by two phone calls that happened and two that didn't.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Federal officials say they agree with a decision not to prosecute a white Tennessee police officer who fatally shot a black man after a traffic stop and have concluded no further action is warranted.
MEMPHIS (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 83 people in New Orleans and two Tennessee cities.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher has retired in what he calls the hardest decision he's had to make, leaving the defending Stanley Cup finalists in need of a new captain.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
DENVER (AP) — Taylor Swift and her support team didn't call police after she said she had been groped by a Denver radio host during a photo session before a concert.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is opening an exhibit on the life and career of Hall of Famer Loretta Lynn in Nashville.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Bob Corker says he's not ready to say when he will decide about seeking a third term representing Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's farms and wineries are getting ready to host visitors hoping to get a glimpse of the solar eclipse in August.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two elected officials in Tennessee have launched Republican bids to replace longtime U.S. Rep. John Duncan, who announced this week he wouldn't seek re-election.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The acting U.S. attorney in Nashville says he will leave the U.S. Department of Justice in early September.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the first-degree murder conviction of a former Blackwater security contractor, ordering a new trial for the man prosecutors say fired the first shots in the 2007 slayings of 14 Iraqi civilians at a crowded traffic circle in Baghdad.
NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Shkreli, the eccentric former pharmaceutical CEO notorious for a price-gouging scandal and for his snide "Pharma Bro" persona on social media, was convicted Friday on federal charges he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds.
Lt. Governor Randy McNally today announced the appointment of Howard Donald “Don” McLeary and Harold L. "Hal" North, Jr. to the Trial Court Vacancy Commission.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee commission is accepting applications for two state judicial openings.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Get your insurance through your employer? The ongoing political turmoil around "Obamacare" all but guarantees you'll still be able to do that.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that efforts to repeal and replace former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature health care law "ain't over by a long shot."
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — A German Volkswagen executive pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy and fraud charges in Detroit in a scheme to cheat emission rules on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles.
CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Workers at a Nissan auto assembly plant in Mississippi are voting on whether they want the United Auto Workers union to bargain for them.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. plan to spend $1.6 billion to build a joint-venture auto manufacturing plant in the U.S. — a move that will create up to 4,000 jobs, both sides said Friday.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ban the sale of gasoline and diesel cars by a deadline — 2040, 2030, even 2025. More and more governments are proposing just that.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Banks and other stocks climbed Friday after the government reported more gains in hiring last month, the latest signal that the economy is continuing to hum along. The modest gains wrapped up another quiet week for the stock market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A drop in the unemployment rate to a 16-year low raises a tantalizing question about the job market: How much better can it get?
NEW YORK (AP) — Blue Apron is closing a facility in New Jersey that puts together and ships out its ready-to-cook meal kits, and says that about 470 workers may lose their jobs if they don't chose to transfer to another facility in the state.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Is the United States the 98-pound weakling of global trade?
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in July, a second straight month of robust gains that underscore the economy's vitality as it enters a ninth year of expansion.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in June as exports hit the highest level in 2½ years.
NEW YORK (AP) — Did you notice that your toe doesn't hurt because you didn't stub it today?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fannie Mae reported net income of $3.2 billion from April through June, up from a year earlier as the mortgage giant marked gains on its investments.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services firms grew last month at the slowest pace since August 2016, a performance consistent with only modest economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders at U.S. factories increased in June as demand surged for aircraft.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's job, putting forth new legislation that aims to ensure the integrity of current and future independent investigations.
COURTS