VOL. 43 | NO. 32 | Friday, August 9, 2019
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
For years, the program hawkers at athletics contests have used the same enticement to sell their wares:
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell sharply this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan touching its lowest level since November 2016.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
Decades after standing in center-ring with legendary heavyweight prizefighter George Foreman, Laura Powers straightens up in the burgundy loveseat and launches into song.
NEWSMAKERS
Elizabeth Anne Bowden has joined the Nashville office of Stites & Harbison, PLLC.
BRIEFS
Nashville-based LBMC, an accounting and business consulting firms, has announced it has acquired Think Data Insights, a national data analytics company.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Ryan Tannehill admits the approach is taking some getting used to.
There is no doubt that going into his fifth NFL season that Marcus Mariota has never had a backup quarterback with the credentials that Ryan Tannehill brings to the table.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Here’s a car-buying pro tip that may help shave serious time and negotiation stress from the average purchase process: Ask the dealership to deliver the new vehicle to your home. Taking delivery of a car can be done without ever setting foot on the dealership’s lot.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 14
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt plans to conduct alcohol sales to the general public for home football games this season.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industrial production fell 0.2% in July, as factory activity slumped in a worrisome sign for the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers spent more at retail stores and restaurants in July, a sign that concerns over slower global growth that have roiled financial markets haven't dampened consumer confidence.
BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday threatened retaliation if Washington steps up their war over trade and technology by going ahead with planned Sept. 1 tariff hikes on additional Chinese imports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity increased at a decent pace in the second quarter, a trend that could lead to higher wages if it continues.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart raised its annual outlook after a strong second quarter for the world's largest retailer thanks in part to strong online grocery deliveries.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding consultations with senior ministers and aides on Thursday to reevaluate the decision to allow two Democratic congresswomen to enter the country next week.
TUESDAY, AUG. 13
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Rapper Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" with Billy Ray Cyrus has created a musical phenomenon, but many in Nashville are trying to decide whether to nominate it for a country music award.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Housing Administration is changing regulations to make it easier for more first-time condo buyers to receive mortgages.
NASHVILLE AREA
CUNNINGHAM, Tenn. (AP) — A county commission is Tennessee has once again denied a land rezoning application by several residents hoping to open a small-batch distillery.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee inmate has made a last-minute request to be put to death in the electric chair, an option his lawyer described as "also unconstitutional, yet still less painful" than the state's preference of a three-drug lethal injection.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Records show candidates, political organizations and elected officials in Tennessee owe two state agencies nearly $2 million.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is extending the warranties on about 560,000 small cars in the U.S. and Canada to cover a litany of problems with a troubled six-speed automatic transmission.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee want answers from Attorney General William Barr over the decision to resume executing federal death-row inmates for the first time since 2003.
HOUSTON (AP) — The images of children crying after their parents were arrested in a massive immigration raid in Mississippi revived a longstanding complaint: Unauthorized workers are jailed or deported, while the managers and business owners who profit from their labor often go unprosecuted.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Trump administration official says that the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants into the country is about "people coming from Europe" and that America is looking to receive migrants "who can stand on their own two feet."
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Compared to the free-swinging and sometimes emotional stock market, the bond market is supposed to be the sober and measured one.
Stocks fell sharply Wednesday after the bond market raised another warning flag on the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has taken a step closer to relaxing federal regulations governing the amount of time truck drivers can spend behind the wheel.
NEW YORK (AP) — An economic alarm bell has sounded in the U.S., sending warnings of a possible recession ahead.
MONDAY, AUG. 12
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — CBS and Viacom announced a long-anticipated reunion Tuesday, bringing together their television networks and the Paramount movie studio as traditional media giants bulk up to challenge streaming companies like Netflix.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL and Jay-Z's entertainment and sports representation company are teaming up for events and social activism.
NASHVILLE AREA
CLARKSVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee county commission has voted to ban the general public from livestreaming its meetings.
Baptist college kicks out transgender student after surgery
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee is considering a wide range of recommendations designed to improve Tennessee's 15 distressed counties.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon is selling Tumblr, a darling of early social media, to the owner of blogging platform WordPress.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Hillary Clinton took the stage in Reno, Nevada, with an urgent warning about the consequences of a Donald Trump administration: "He's taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America's two major political parties. Trump is reinforcing harmful stereotypes and offering a dog whistle to his most hateful supporters. It's a disturbing preview of what kind of president he'd be."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are using public outrage over this month's mass shootings in Texas and Ohio to try pressuring President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on curbing gun violence and investigating white supremacists.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising tensions over trade have dimmed Americans' opinions of China.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than one in 10 voters could cast ballots on paperless voting machines in the 2020 general election, according to a new analysis, leaving their ballots more vulnerable to hacking.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
And back up goes the stock market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is delaying tariffs on Chinese-made cellphones, laptop computers and other items and removing other Chinese imports from its target list altogether in a move that triggered a rally on Wall Street.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3% in July, pushed higher by more expensive gas, medical care and housing.
FRIDAY, AUG. 9
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — The audio edition of Ann Patchett's new novel has a voice that listeners should find familiar: Tom Hanks.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Lil Nas X is galloping his way to two new records on the Billboard charts thanks to the massive success of "Old Town Road."
REGION
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — The president of the nation's largest public utility says he will recommend suspending a plan to boost electric rates next year.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is finalizing major changes Monday to the way it enforces the landmark Endangered Species Act, in a move that it says will reduce regulatory burdens but critics charge will drive more creatures to extinction.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration rules that could deny green cards to immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance are going into effect, one of its most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration.
MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she sees comprehensive immigration reform not only as Congress' official work but also as its moral responsibility as she finishes up a tour of Central America.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Monday, knocking nearly 400 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's budget deficit rose by $183 billion to $867 billion during the first 10 months of this budget year as spending grew more than twice as fast as tax collections.
NEW YORK (AP) — Months after business owners and other taxpayers have filed their returns with the IRS, thieves try to scam people out of money or personal information.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Ken White had a good job at a credit card processor for 22 years, but he was laid off in the Great Recession.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Monday that it has decided to remove Japan from a list of nations receiving preferential treatment in trade in what was seen as a tit-for-tat move following Tokyo's recent decision to downgrade Seoul's trade status amid a diplomatic row.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee company that processes medical insurance claims will add another office with 200 new jobs over the next five years.
CRITIC'S CORNER
A strange thing happened as I watched “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,” the new movie from filmmaker Quentin Tarantino: I grew sad.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Variable annuities are complex insurance products — so complex that what people actually buy and what they think they’re buying may be quite different. Those misunderstandings can end up costing them, or their heirs, a lot of money.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Senate leader says a slow start means the country's first online-only sports betting law might not see its first wager until after the fall.
COURTS
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A U.S. judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants from Oregon to force the nation's first sanctuary state to cooperate with U.S. immigration enforcement.
PELHAM, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man serving life in prison for murder has been freed after 12 years over a fingerprint pointing to another man.
HEALTH CARE
BRISTOL, Va. (AP) — On a field trip to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Ashish Bibireddy put on headphones and scrolled through a jukebox of music from an influential 1927 recording session.
TECHNOLOGY
BEIJING (AP) — Huawei on Friday unveiled a smartphone operating system that it said can replace Google's Android, adding to the Chinese tech giant's efforts to insulate itself against U.S. sanctions.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is reportedly in talks with news publishers to offer "millions of dollars" for the rights to publish their material on its site. The move follows years of criticism over its growing monopolization of online advertising to the detriment of the struggling news industry.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks stumbled on Wall Street Friday, veering between modest and sharp losses, as worries flashed yet again about President Donald Trump's trade war with China. The declines bookend a wild week where markets zoomed down, up and down again as investors struggled to make sense of a trade dispute whose resolution suddenly seems much more uncertain.
Walmart is removing from its stores nationwide signs, displays or videos that depict violence following a mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas, store that killed 22 people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices ticked up just 0.2% in July, the latest sign that inflationary pressures are largely in check.
PARIS (AP) — The trade war between the United States and China and a broader decline in world economic growth are weakening the demand for oil and pushing prices down, the International Energy Agency said Friday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is warning he may take action against Mexico if it doesn't do more against drug trafficking.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is setting a timetable for federally funded family clinics to comply with a new rule that bars them from referring women for abortions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he's talking with the powerful National Rifle Association and others to make sure that their "very strong views" about the Second Amendment are represented and respected in discussions about gun control legislation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shifting the gun violence debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he now wants to consider background checks and other bills, setting up a potentially pivotal moment when lawmakers return in the fall.
MORTON, Miss. (AP) — Effects of the largest immigration raid in at least a decade are likely to ripple for years through six Mississippi small towns that host poultry plants.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against a man charged with killing a Tennessee sheriff's deputy and burning his body and patrol car last year.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Technology companies powered stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday, driving the S&P 500 to its best day in more than two months and erasing its losses for the week.
NEW YORK (AP) — Uber lost $5.24 billion in the second quarter after making huge stock-based payouts in the months following its stock market debut.
Getting rejected for a personal loan can feel like a punch to the gut. It's easy to get discouraged, especially if it delays plans to consolidate debt or renovate your home.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is not letting up on his attacks on the Federal Reserve, calling for "substantial" Fed rate cuts to allow the dollar to fall in value against foreign currencies.
BERLIN (AP) — The International Air Transport Association says passenger traffic grew by a "solid" 5% in June compared with the same month last year, despite the impact of U.S.-China trade tensions.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a frequent target of President Donald Trump's ire, sued the FBI and the Justice Department on Thursday over his firing.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Republican Party, the Trump campaign and other GOP organizations said Thursday that they are freezing their spending on Twitter to protest the platform's treatment of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Somewhere out there, the next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lurks. So wary House Democrats are amassing campaign war chests to scare off progressive upstarts from challenging them in primaries — or trounce them if they try.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 200 mayors, including two anguished by mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, are urging the Senate to return to the Capitol to act on gun safety legislation amid criticism that Congress is failing to respond to back-to-back shootings that left 31 people dead.
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The Cameroonian men who share 10 mattresses on the floor of a third-floor apartment above a barber shop walk every morning to the busiest U.S. border crossing with Mexico, hoping against all odds that it will be their lucky day to claim asylum in the United States. Their unlikely bet is that a sympathetic Mexican official will somehow find a spot for them.
ENVIRONMENT
GENEVA (AP) — Human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the Earth's land and the way people use the land is making global warming worse, a new United Nations scientific report says. That creates a vicious cycle which is already making food more expensive, scarcer and less nutritious.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government meteorologists say this year's hurricane season may be busier than initially expected now that summer's weak El Nino has faded away.