VOL. 43 | NO. 36 | Friday, September 6, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, with the average on the key 30-year loan reaching its lowest point in nearly three years.
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
Cousin Glen is coming to Nashville! Mama would be so envious.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
The memory of her brother, Carlos – murdered by one of the gangs that have made El Salvador a wellspring for the stream of refugees seeking asylum or illegal safety at our border – is never far from the surface of Amy Paz’s emotions … even as she builds a successful tax and accounting business whose aim is to help those immigrants.
UT SPORTS
The day started with a Vol Navy boat catching fire and sinking into the Tennessee River before sunrise.
NEWSMAKERS
Doug Sloan is joining Bone McAllester Norton PLLC to lead the firm’s land use and zoning practice.
BRIEFS
James “Jimmy” Otey Jr., 73, of Nashville, best-known as a drummer for the likes of Little Richard and Ray Charles, died Thursday.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
In the car business, Labor Day is more than just the end of the summer selling season. It signals the beginning of what many bargain hunters eagerly await: the end-of-model-year clearance. In the eyes of these shoppers, the Labor Day holiday weekend sales time equals big-time savings. But as Edmunds data shows, this year’s Labor Day weekend deals might not be as impressive as they were in the past.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Election Day has arrived in the runoff race for Nashville mayor.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — John Prine's winning streak has continued at the Americana Music Association's annual awards ceremony in Nashville, though his two-year reign as Americana artist of the year has ended.
STATEWIDE
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — If you're carrying a gun, Florida's largest supermarket chain doesn't want to see it.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has appointed a Samantha Beaty as state veterinarian and assistant commissioner for animal health.
MIDSTATE
SPRINGFIELD (AP) — A nonprofit that advocates for the separation of church and state has filed a formal complaint about baptisms on the football field of a Tennessee high school.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee cornerback Bryce Thompson has returned to practice less than three weeks after his arrest on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump gets some of his worst marks from the American people when it comes to his handling of climate change, and majorities believe the planet is warming and support government actions that he has sometimes scoffed at.
HEALTH CARE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Courtroom showdowns still face OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and the family that owns it, the Sacklers.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany's auto industry and the country as a whole face a "Herculean task" meeting the goals set for combating climate change.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing nationwide enforcement of a new Trump administration rule that prevents most Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the United States.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices slowed in August, rising by a slight 0.1%, reflecting a big drop in the cost of gasoline and other energy products.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank delivered a new blast of monetary stimulus Thursday to help the shaky economy in the face of uncertainties like the U.S.-China trade conflict and Brexit.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is rolling out an unlimited grocery delivery subscription service this fall as it races to gain an advantage in the competitive fresh food business.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States has agreed to a two-week delay in a planned increase in tariffs on some Chinese imports.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fights over abortion and President Donald Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall have thrown Senate efforts to advance $1.4 trillion worth of agency spending bills into disarray, threatening one of Washington's few bipartisan accomplishments this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee is preparing for its first impeachment-related vote, set to define procedures for upcoming hearings on President Donald Trump even as some moderates in the caucus are urging the panel to slow down.
WASHINGTON (AP) — And then there were 10. The Democratic Party's strongest presidential contenders — according to polls and fundraising, at least — meet on the same debate stage for the first time Thursday night.
LONDON (AP) — The British government insisted Thursday that its forecast of food and medicine shortages, gridlock at ports and riots in the streets after a no-deal Brexit is an avoidable worst-case scenario, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied misleading Queen Elizabeth II about his reasons for suspending Parliament just weeks before the country is due to leave the European Union.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11
REGION
NASHVILLE (AP) — An audit has found instances where executives for the nation's largest public utility overspent on travel.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Music Pathways trail has a new stop, the Tennessee State Museum.
TECHNOLOGY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The American Library Association asked the public for help Wednesday to press Macmillan Publishers to rethink a planned embargo on electronic copies of new releases to public libraries.
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple is finally taking on Netflix with its own streaming television service and, uncharacteristically for the company, offering it at a bargain price — $5 a month beginning on Nov. 1.
HEALTH CARE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma reached a tentative deal Wednesday with about half the states and thousands of local governments over its role in the nation's deadly opioid epidemic, but criticism by several state attorneys general clouded prospects for an end to litigation against the company and the family that owns it.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks notched broad gains on Wall Street Wednesday as investors drew encouragement from China's move to exempt some U.S. products from a recent round of tariffs.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — T. Boone Pickens, a brash and quotable oil tycoon who grew even wealthier through corporate takeover attempts, died Wednesday. He was 91.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration will propose banning thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes to combat a recent surge in underage vaping .
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has risked turmoil in the financial markets and damage to the U.S. economy in waging his trade war with China, America's top strategic rival.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. is missing out economically because "Boneheads" at the Federal Reserve won't lower interest rates at his insistence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices edged up a slight 0.1% in August as energy prices took a big plunge, a further sign that inflation is remaining tame.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank appears to be preparing a new shot of stimulus to prop up the economy, amid broader questions about whether central banks like the ECB and the U.S. Federal Reserve can re-energize global growth on their own.
BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday announced it will exempt American industrial grease and some other imports from tariff hikes in a trade war with Washington but kept in place penalties on soybeans and other major U.S. exports ahead of negotiations next month.
LONDON (AP) — The Hong Kong stock exchange wants to buy its London counterpart to create a company worth more than $70 billion that could shore up the U.K. capital's status as a global financial hub after Brexit.
LONDON (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says an orderly departure of Britain from the European Union remains possible, less than two months before the deadline.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Senate has passed a bill that would give new wage and benefit protections to workers at so-called gig economy companies like Uber and Lyft.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he's looking at five individuals to become his fourth national security adviser to replace John Bolton, the hawkish diplomat who clashed with the president on global challenges, especially Iran and North Korea.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied instructing an aide to urge a federal agency to repudiate weather forecasters who contradicted his claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators pushing to require background checks for private gun sales made a fresh pitch to President Donald Trump on Wednesday amid continued gridlock over legislation to curb gun violence following a summer of more mass shootings .
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House lawyer nominated to be a federal appeals court judge is declining to answer questions from senators about his work in the Trump White House and Education Department.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump marked his third 9/11 anniversary as president on Wednesday amid his growing frustration about what he calls the "endless war" in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida conceived the deadly 2001 attacks.
LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament less than two months before Britain is due to leave the European Union was unlawful, a Scottish court ruled Wednesday — though it said Britain's top court must make the final decision.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Democrats are engaging in "theatrics" over gun control legislation, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned that "people are dying" because the Senate leader refuses to act.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 10
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE – Reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year and four-time GRAMMY winner Keith Urban will headline Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville for a fourth consecutive year, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp announced today.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan is interested in getting a job in the music industry, possibly in California, his lawyer said at a court hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville vocal coach has been indicted on charges of sexually abusing a minor for six years.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have added center Hroniss Grasu to their active roster and waived running back Dalyn Dawkins.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt will be relying more and more on younger players to help the Volunteers bounce back from their worst start in over three decades.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A prominent Vanderbilt University dean who co-directs the school's public policy poll has used his credentials as a polling expert to help cigarette makers win lawsuits against sickened smokers, WPLN-FM reports .
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is going on a hiring spree.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Three men's college basketball teams from the late 1950s at Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial Normal School have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton is warning Nashville officials that he might attempt to withhold state funding due to the city's recent executive order discouraging local cooperation with immigration officials.
NASHVILLE (AP) — As Tennessee grapples with how to improve its consistently dismal voter turnout, a newly released state government report warns that requiring cities to move their local and school elections to coincide with statewide elections wouldn't necessarily address the problem.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Republican Tennessee lawmaker says he was clearly joking when he called in a radio broadcast for the abolishment of higher education in order to cut off the "liberal breeding ground."
EDUCATION
WASHINGTON (AP) — Historically black colleges and universities with a religious affiliation will no longer be restricted from accessing federal funding for capital projects, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is off the mark in taking credit for a drop in drug prices that he calls unprecedented in half a century.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The proportion of Americans without health insurance edged up in 2018 — the first evidence from the government that coverage gains under President Barack Obama's health care law might be eroding under President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When researchers at the University of Kentucky compare brains donated from people who died with dementia, very rarely do they find one that bears only Alzheimer's trademark plaques and tangles — no other damage.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says that more than half of its European sales will be electric-powered by 2022 as it unveils a premium model of its Puma crossover that uses recovered braking energy to boost acceleration.
ENVIRONMENT
BERLIN (AP) — A group of leaders from business, politics and science have called for a massive investment in adapting to climate change over the next decade, arguing it would reap significant returns as countries avoid catastrophic losses and boost their economies.
TECHNOLOGY
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple unveiled new iPhones that are largely unchanged from previous models and accompanied by an unexpected price cut for the cheapest model, underscoring the company's efforts to counteract a sales slump of its flagship product.
Big tech companies have long rebuffed attempts by the U.S. federal government to scrutinize or scale back their market power. Now they face a scrappy new coalition as well: prosecutors from nearly all 50 states.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for Michael Flynn accused federal prosecutors of misconduct on Tuesday as a judge set a December sentencing hearing for President Donald Trump's former national security adviser.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes closed mostly higher Tuesday, erasing much of an early slide, as investors favored smaller, U.S.-focused companies for the second straight day.
NEW YORK (AP) — Seven states and the District of Columbia have sued the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the regulatory agency is putting investors in jeopardy by relaxing rules designed to ensure that securities brokers keep the interests of their customers ahead of their own.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of open U.S. jobs slipped 0.4% in July, while hires climbed slightly, a sign that some employers may be growing cautious amid rising economic uncertainty.
PARIS (AP) — France's main business federation says Britain's Oct. 31 departure from the European Union shouldn't be delayed again unless there's a major shift in negotiations, warning that "a Brexit without end" would be economically damaging.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials on Tuesday defended their plan to Congress for ending government control of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, clashing with Democratic senators on whether the change would raise home borrowing costs and neglect lower-income homeowners.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats are trying to scare people by demanding a vote on background checks for gun sales.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A day before the anniversary of 9/11, President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to expand the administration's ability to go after terrorists and their financiers and supporters.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday abruptly forced out John Bolton, his hawkish national security adviser with whom he had strong disagreements on Iran, Afghanistan and a cascade of other global challenges.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are moving on two fronts to block President Donald Trump from using special emergency powers to transfer money from military base construction projects like new schools to pay for new fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.
LONDON (AP) — Opposition politicians raged Tuesday at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's five-week suspension of Parliament before the deadline for Brexit, which drew angry and unprecedented protests in the House of Commons.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is urging North Carolina voters to "take the first steps" toward removing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and "winning the back the House in 2020."
MONDAY, SEPT. 9
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judge handed down tough criticism on Tennessee's new restrictions for signing up voters while refusing to dismiss a legal challenge surrounding the new law set to take effect in October.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen is rolling out what it bills as the breakthrough electric car for the masses, the leading edge of a wave of new battery-powered vehicles about to hit the European auto market. The cars are the result of massive investments in battery technology and new factories driven by environmental regulation and concerns about global warming.
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa tendered his resignation Monday after acknowledging that he had received dubious income and vowed to pass the leadership of the Japanese automaker to a new generation.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty has officially filed to run for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat.
NEW YORK (AP) — Financial markets have become so in thrall to President Donald Trump's tweets that J.P. Morgan has created an index to help identify how much volatility they're creating.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing criticism that the Senate has become little more than what one member calls an "expensive lunch club," Congress returns for the fall session Monday with pressure mounting on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to address gun violence, election security and other issues.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's weekend tweet canceling secret meetings at Camp David with the Taliban and Afghan leaders just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is the latest example of a commander in chief willing to take a big risk in pursuit of a foreign policy victory only to see it dashed.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed Monday as large companies gave up early gains and smaller companies closed broadly higher.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer borrowing surged in July at its fastest pace since late 2017, driven by a big jump credit card use.
DALLAS (AP) — UPS said Monday it expects to hire about 100,000 seasonal workers and pay them more to handle the avalanche of packages shipped between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
MEMPHIS (AP) — Discount retail and pharmacy chain Fred's Inc. is filing for bankruptcy and closing its stores over the next two months.
NEW YORK (AP) — Activist hedge fund manager Elliott Management is making a new $3.2 billion investment in AT&T and calling for changes at the company such as selling its DirecTV and Mexican wireless operations.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is going on a hiring spree.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 6
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee's health care task force is hoping to introduce legislation to improve telemedicine throughout Tennessee in time for the 2020 legislation session.
TECHNOLOGY
BERLIN (AP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei unveiled its latest advanced chipset Friday ahead of the upcoming launch of its latest flagship smartphone, even as uncertainty hangs over whether the device can use Google's Android.
NEW YORK (AP) — Two bipartisan groups of state attorneys general are launching separate antitrust investigations into Facebook and Google, adding to regulatory scrutiny of two of the world's largest and most ubiquitous tech companies.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes finished little changed Friday after a day of mostly quiet trading capped the S&P 500's second straight weekly gain.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the Fed is not expecting a U.S. or global recession. But it is monitoring a number of uncertainties, including trade conflicts, and will "act as appropriate to sustain the expansion."
WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate for black Americans fell sharply to 5.5% in August, hitting its lowest level since record-keeping began in 1972. But the drop was driven primarily by a negative development: Fewer African-Americans were either working or seeking jobs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a modest 130,000 jobs in August, a sign that hiring has slowed but remains durable in the face of global economic weakness and President Donald Trump's trade war with China.
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. employers added a modest 130,000 jobs in August, a sign that global economic weakness and President Donald Trump's trade war with China may have begun to slow hiring.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration toughened sanctions against Cuba on Friday by reducing the amount of money that Cuban-Americans can send to family members on the island.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are demanding information on the use of taxpayer money at President Donald Trump's hotels and properties, including during Vice President Pence's trip this week to Doonbeg, Ireland. The push is part of an expanded effort this fall to investigate the president's financial entanglements and business practices.
BEIJING (AP) — China on Friday criticized Washington's opposition to Chinese-made next-generation telecoms technology after Vice President Mike Pence called on Iceland and other governments to find alternatives.
LONDON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper cautioned European allies against cozying up to China, arguing on Friday that Beijing seeks greater global influence by leveraging economic power and stealing technology.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is hiring Google to run key parts of its dashboard infotainment system, admitting that the tech firm can do a better job.
LONDON (AP) — Samsung's highly anticipated folding phone will go on sale Friday, after the original launch date was delayed by months because of embarrassing problems with the screen.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Investors powered U.S. stocks to broad gains Thursday, cheering plans for another round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, and drawing encouragement from a batch of positive economic data.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a decade-plus of economic growth, Americans have slowed the pace at which they're forming new companies, a trend that risks further widening the gap between the most affluent and everyone else.
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. and Chinese envoys will meet in early October for more talks aimed at ending a tariff war that threatens global economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services expanded at a stronger pace in August, driven by an uptick in business activity and new orders.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity rose at a healthy pace in the second quarter but dropped at American factories, another sign of trouble for manufacturers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses added a healthy 195,000 jobs last month, a sign companies are still hiring at a solid pace despite the Trump administration's trade war with China.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is tackling a new frontier: love.
FRANKLIN (AP) — A Tennessee woman has pleaded guilty to attempting to poison her children with a mixture of NyQuil and antidepressants.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is trying to coax "news deserts" into bloom with the second major expansion of a tool that exposes people to more local news and information. But the social network confesses that it still has a lot to learn.