VOL. 41 | NO. 39 | Friday, September 29, 2017
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
“I believe in the Zombie Apocalypse,” says the sprightly Greek psychic, who climbs from one of Liberace’s gilded chairs and begins staring down at her iPhone, purposely unaware of the direction she’s going and its barriers while stumbling blindly around the room where she conducts psychic readings.
“I want people not to be afraid of what I do. The sessions I give are different than anyone else’s,” says Nashville’s Astrologer Jen Green, before offering up a dose of what she forecasts and proclaims.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
The presence of mold in homes is as serious condition, especially the mold known as “black mold,” which is the term used for stachybotrys (pronounced stack i bot rus) chartarum.
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial real estate sales, August 2017, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term mortgage rates were unchanged this week: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained at 3.83 percent; the 15-year home loan, popular among homeowners who refinance their mortgages, stayed at 3.13 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
What does John Currie’s decision to reinstitute the name “Lady Vols” for all women’s sports at the University of Tennessee have to do with Butch Jones? Bear with me:
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Tennessee football coach Butch Jones had more than Georgia on his mind this week.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
Want to add some fun to your NFL experience? I give you Titans rookie cornerback and punt returner Adoree’ Jackson, who quite honestly is just a kid having fun playing football.
Taylor Lewan vs. J.J. Watt. Watt tormented the Titans when Jake Locker and Zach Mettenberger were under center. Last year, he was missing due to an injury.
BRIEFS
The state Department of Environment and Conservation has announced the recipients of low-interest construction loans for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.
Job seekers are invited to a hospitality industry job fair on Oct. 3 as the city brings together employers in the tourism and convention sectors for a hiring event.
CRITIC'S CORNER
Have you ever seen a movie you kinda liked, but when someone asked you if they should see it, you hemmed and hawed?
GUERRILLA MARKETING
By 2019, mobile ad spending will likely represent 72 percent of total U.S. digital spending (source: eMarketer).
CAREER CORNER
Have you ever received a call from a headhunter or recruiter out of the blue? Sometimes, they’ll call your work phone and leave a voicemail you weren’t expecting. They’re recruiting for a new position. It’s one you haven’t heard about, but they want to speak to you.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — British rockers Radiohead, singer Nina Simone and The Moody Blues are among the first-time nominees on the ballot for induction next year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans coach Mike Mularkey says quarterback Marcus Mariota's status is still unclear for their upcoming matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
STATE LEGISLATURE
MEMPHIS (AP) — Tennessee state Sen. Lee Harris says he is running for Shelby County mayor.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that he won't run for the U.S. Senate seat being opened with the retirement of fellow Republican Bob Corker.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam is headed on trade mission to Asia next week to pitch companies in Japan and South Korea about investment opportunities in Tennessee.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes peeked higher in morning trading on Thursday, and the slight gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 put the index on track for its longest winning streak in four years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders at U.S. factories increased by 1.2 percent in August, driven by strong gains in aluminum and other metals, industrial machinery and autos.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix is raising the price for its most popular U.S. video streaming plan by 10 percent— a move that could boost its profits but slow the subscriber growth that drives its stock price.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 last week to 260,000, as claims returned to more normal levels following the disruptions caused by Hurricane Irma in Florida and Georgia.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Adults in the United States who are providing long-term care for aging relatives and friends have little training for their stressful roles, but plenty of commitment, according to a poll.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Students who attended for-profit colleges were twice as likely or more to default on their loans than students who attended public educational institutions, according to a federal study published Wednesday.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are focused on cutting taxes instead of deficits as they look to power a $4.1 trillion budget plan through the House on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is criticizing the Senate intelligence committee over its investigation into possible collusion between Russia and associates of the Trump campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior congressional Republicans say they are open to considering legislation banning "bump stocks" like the shooter in Las Vegas apparently used to make semi-automatic rifles perform more like fully automatic weapons.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27
MUSIC INDUSTRY
Country star Jason Aldean is cancelling three upcoming tour dates after a mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas out of respect for the victims and to take time to mourn.
STATEWIDE
GATLINBURG (AP) — A national park trail where a remote fire started and skipped miles to contribute to a deadly blaze in Tennessee last year is largely reopening.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google on Wednesday unveiled new phones, smart speakers and other devices infused with artificial intelligence in its bid to claim the high ground against rivals Amazon and Apple.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Obama administration officials are undertaking a private campaign to encourage people to sign up for coverage next year under the Affordable Care Act.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation that could help usher in a new era of self-driving cars advanced in Congress on Wednesday after the bill's sponsors agreed to compromises to address some concerns of safety advocates.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks inched a bit further into record territory Wednesday after teeter-tottering through the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose by just a sliver, but it was enough for a seventh straight gain.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the Fed is committed to making sure that the regulations it imposes on the nation's community banks are not overly burdensome, noting a proposed rule issued last week to simplify requirements governing how much capital these banks must hold.
SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon has agreed to a big expansion in Seattle less than a month after the e-commerce giant announced it was looking for a second headquarters in North America.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services companies in September expanded at the strongest rate in dozen years as a measure for new orders climbed sharply.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe their jobs are safe from the spread of automation and robotics, at least during their lifetimes, and only a handful says automation has cost them a job or loss of income.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hobbled U.S. hiring last month, with businesses adding just 135,000 jobs, the fewest in nearly a year, a private survey found.
PARIS (AP) — A report shows that solar energy was the fastest-growing source of power last year, accounting for almost two-thirds of net new capacity globally.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Amazon has to pay $295 million in back taxes to Luxembourg, the European Union ordered Wednesday, in its latest attempt to tighten the screws on multinationals it says are avoiding taxes through sweetheart deals with individual EU states.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department is moving to delay an Obama-era regulation aimed at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas production on federal lands.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his Republican partners in a nearly $6 trillion tax-cutting plan insist it would benefit middle-class Americans and not the wealthy. But a key provision would slash tax rates for a special kind of business set up by owners of profitable firms, including Trump and his family.
BOSTON (AP) — A cybersecurity adviser to President Donald Trump is pushing to phase out the use of Social Security numbers as a form of identification.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is finalizing a $29 billion disaster aid package that combines $16 billion to shore up the government-backed flood insurance program with almost $13 billion for hurricane victims, according to a senior administration official and congressional aides.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says his staff will now work in close partnership with industries the EPA regulates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the Puerto Rico hurricane relief effort.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is finalizing a $29 billion disaster aid package that combines $16 billion to shore up the government-backed flood insurance program with almost $13 billion in new relief for hurricane victims, according to a senior administration official and top congressional aides.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3
STATEWIDE
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett's company is acquiring a major stake in Pilot Flying J truck stops and it will take over a majority stake within about five years from the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Headliner Jason Aldean took to social media to speak to fans a day after a gunman opened fire during his set at a country music festival.
Tom Petty, an old-fashioned rock superstar and everyman who drew upon the Byrds, the Beatles and other bands he worshipped as a boy and produced new classics such as "Free Fallin,' "Refugee" and "American Girl," has died. He was 66.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are proposing a five-year extension of financing for a popular program that provides health insurance for 8.9 million low-income children.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The auto industry posted its first monthly sales gain of the year in September, led by strong truck and SUV sales and the replacement of cars destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Airline and automaker stocks took off on Tuesday and helped U.S. indexes push a bit further into record territory. Trading was again quiet overall, with only modest moves for bond yields, commodities and other markets.
NEW YORK (AP) — After a gunman killed more than 50 people in Las Vegas in the nation's latest mass shooting, stocks in the gun industry followed a familiar pattern. They rose.
NEW YORK (AP) — A retail trade group says it expects holiday sales to at least match the 3.6 percent growth of a year ago, as job creation and improving wages should put shoppers in a mood to spend.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Starting next month, major U.S. cigarette companies will publish a series of statements about the health risks of smoking.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is sharpening its same-day delivery skills through the acquisition of a small, New York City company.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders called for unity and prayer Tuesday after the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, but offered no new legislation to tighten gun laws and said a bill to ease regulations on gun silencers would be shelved indefinitely.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeowners would be forced to choose between two popular tax deductions — one for local property taxes, the other for mortgage interest — under a potential compromise that House Republicans are considering as they craft the evolving tax revamp.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States expelled 15 of Cuba's diplomats Tuesday to protest its failure to protect Americans from unexplained attacks in Havana, plunging diplomatic ties between the countries to levels unseen in years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are renewing calls for gun safety legislation after the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, but their pleas are falling on deaf ears in the Republican-controlled Congress.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 2
MUSIC INDUSTRY
Two country singers on the bill at the Route 91 Harvest Festival have described a scene of terror that felt like a "war zone" as a shooter in a Las Vegas hotel rained gunfire down on thousands of music fans.
Country stars and celebrities took to social media to express their sadness after the mass shooting in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Festival:
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The rapid-fire popping sounded like firecrackers at first, and many in the crowd of 22,000 country music fans didn't understand what was happening when the band stopped playing and singer Jason Aldean bolted off the stage.
MESQUITE, Nev. (AP) — Stephen Paddock lived in a tidy Nevada retirement community where the amenities include golf, tennis and bocce. He owned rental properties, held a private pilot's license and liked to travel to Las Vegas to play high-stakes video poker.
REGION
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal utility is appealing a judge's order to excavate and move its coal ash at a Tennessee power plant.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Mayor Megan Barry has proposed a $250 million stadium deal as the final piece in Nashville's bid for a Major League Soccer expansion team.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education has named two schools in Tennessee as 2017 National Blue Ribbon Schools.
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have seen Marcus Mariota be a pretty quick healer, and that's what they're hoping for from their quarterback who's dealing with a strained hamstring.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Tennessee Titans entered Sunday's game against the Texans looking for their first win in Houston since 2012.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — A Tennessee city will receive more than a million dollars in grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice to finish processing untested rape kits.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Even though gasoline-powered SUVs are what people are buying now, General Motors is betting that electric vehicles will be all the rage in the not-to-distant future.
TOKYO (AP) — Nissan is recalling 1.2 million vehicles in Japan that were produced between October 2014 and September this year to re-inspect them because they had not gone through the proper final checks.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court opened a high-profile term Monday with a case about employees' rights that could affect an estimated 25 million workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place the conviction of a Pennsylvania man who posted violent rap lyrics on Facebook that took aim at his estranged wife, an elementary school and law enforcement.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place lower court rulings against internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and others associated with his now defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is starting its new year, with Justice Neil Gorsuch on board for his first full term.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Emboldened by a successful IPO, Roku is reducing the price on the next generation of its best video streaming player in an attempt to fend off competitive threats from Apple and Amazon.
NEW YORK (AP) — Google will try to help newspapers and other publishers boost subscriptions by ending a decade-old policy that required them to provide a limited amount of free content before people were asked to pay for it.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facebook announced Monday that it is planning more measures to increase transparency in advertising as the company provides Congress with more than 3,000 ads linked to a Russian ad agency.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks set more records Monday as health care companies and banks continued to surge as investors grew more optimistic about the recovery in manufacturers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory activity rose to the highest level in 13 years last month as hurricanes disrupted supplies but drove up demand for manufactured goods.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending rebounded 0.5 percent in August after two months of contraction, helped by strength in home building, and commercial and government construction.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has set out to upend some of President Barack Obama's regulations, which the White House says circumvented Congress in the first place and cost American businesses and the economy billions of dollars.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans want their local officials to take on the challenge of battling global warming now that President Donald Trump is withdrawing the nation an international climate change agreement.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans informed the NFL about the death threats to Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker and his family because of the anthem protests. The league said Friday its security department is investigating.
Texans star J.J. Watt wants to thank Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk before Houston's game with Tennessee for being one of the first big donors to his Hurricane Harvey relief fund.
NASHVILLE AREA
WASHINGTON (AP) — A note found in the car of a man charged with spraying deadly gunfire at a Tennessee church made reference to revenge for a white supremacist's massacre at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, two years earlier, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two men accused of spray-painting profane references to Allah on a Tennessee Islamic center and placing bacon around an entrance are facing federal charges, authorities said Friday.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — State Rep. Steve McDaniel, who is tied with Speaker Beth Harwell as the longest-serving members in the Tennessee House, plans to retire next year.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's opponents from both sides of the political spectrum aren't holding back their attacks until after he decides whether to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that he had been holding out hope that his friend Bob Corker would run for a third term in the U.S. Senate. But now that Corker has decided to retire from Congress, the governor said he's been thrust into the position of having to give a Senate bid serious consideration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term mortgage rates were unchanged this week: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained at 3.83 percent; the 15-year home loan, popular among homeowners who refinance their mortgages, stayed at 3.13 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Volkswagen plans to offer two new U.S. models every year for the foreseeable future and double the length of its warranties as it tries to recover from a 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.
BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen says it expects to take charges of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in the third quarter to cover the costs of buying back and retrofitting diesel cars in North America.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German prosecutors say they have conducted further searches at two locations and had one person taken into custody in connection with their investigation into alleged manipulation of diesel emissions in Audi cars sold in the United States.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Ikea is making moves so you don't have to assemble a sofa or bookcase yourself.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Roku, an early player in streaming-video gadgets, soared Thursday after its initial public offering of stock raised $219 million.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court with a reconstituted conservative majority is taking on a new case with the potential to financially cripple Democratic-leaning labor unions that represent government workers. The justices deadlocked 4-4 in a similar case last year.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Large technology and health care companies and smaller U.S.-focused firms rose again Friday as stocks finished the third quarter at record highs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an array of trade groups representing banks and businesses have filed a lawsuit targeting a rule that allows people to band together to sue banks or credit card companies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers barely boosted their spending in August, a sign that overall economic activity could be weaker this quarter.
MIAMI (AP) — Tour companies, airlines, cruises and others in the travel industry say they will continue taking Americans to Cuba despite a dramatic safety warning issued Friday by the U.S. State Department.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is warning Americans against visiting Cuba and ordering more than half of U.S. personnel to leave the island, senior officials said Friday, in a dramatic response to what they described as "specific attacks" on diplomats.
NEW YORK (AP) — Just over a year after Walmart spent more than $3 billion for the fast-growing online retailer Jet.com, it will launch a higher-end grocery line targeting millennials as it tries to contain Amazon.com.
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — The CEO of American Airlines says the once-volatile industry has changed so radically that his company will never lose money again.
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines says hurricanes and earthquakes will cut $100 million from third-quarter revenue by causing the carrier to cancel about 5,000 flights.
NEW YORK (AP) — Toys R Us, trying to reorganize under bankruptcy leading into the holiday season, was seeing overall sales fall and those at established locations drop even more sharply as it was heading for a Chapter 11 filing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at an upgraded annual rate of 3.1 percent in the spring, the fastest pace in more than two years. But growth is expected to slow sharply this quarter in the wake of a string of devastating hurricanes.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new GOP tax plan delivers a big tax cut to the wealthiest Americans while some in lower tax brackets would end up paying more, according to an analysis Friday from prominent nonpartisan researchers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans unveiled a budget plan Friday that lays the groundwork for their effort to overhaul the nation's tax system, the top legislative priority for President Donald Trump and the GOP.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has passed a bill to prevent a shutdown of federal aviation programs and provide tax relief to hurricane victims.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The social media giant Twitter says it has provided congressional investigators with a "roundup" of ads from accounts used by Russia's state-sponsored television network, RT.
WASHINGTON (AP) — How do you pay for an estimated $5.8 trillion tax cut?