VOL. 41 | NO. 36 | Friday, September 8, 2017
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
State Sen. Lee Harris is encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s request for the state of Mississippi to respond to a lawsuit seeking to remove the Confederate battle flag from its state flag.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
With two-thirds of the year gone, upper-end homes are selling ahead of last year’s pace.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
Anybody got an extra billion dollars lying around? If so, you can own one-third share of an NFL franchise plus a handful of other assorted business ventures.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
For most of their two decades in Tennessee, the wide receiver position has been a glaring hole for the Titans.
Marshawn Lynch vs. Titans defensive line. The Titans defensive front, led by Jurrell Casey, was stingy against the run last year, second best in the NFL. Oakland has a strong offensive line and now have former Seahawks star Lynch to run the ball a year after unretiring and joining the Raiders.
NEWSMAKERS
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and Waller had seven and five, respectively, of the 32 Lawyer of the Year selections for the Nashville area as compiled by Best Lawyers in America.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
White sandy beaches. Waves that gently kiss your toes with warm water. In your minds’ eye, they stretch for miles and are yours to explore. That will be your retirement – or so you hope.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
It’s no secret businesses see value in leveraging technology like social media in their marketing efforts.
CAREER CORNER
Job seekers often struggle with the idea of when to leave. We may feel that it makes no sense to leave one good job for another, and this can make sense in certain situations.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Folk singer songwriter John Prine was awarded the artist of the year, while one of his protégés, country singer Sturgill Simpson, took home album of the year at the Americana Honors and Awards show.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Stars of the Grand Ole Opry will gather Thursday to honor country singer Troy Gentry, a member of the popular country duo Montgomery Gentry, who died in a helicopter crash.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Conservative activist Andy Ogles announced Thursday he will run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, who has so far refused to divulge whether he will seek a third term.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Beth Harwell says she won't privatize services at Tennessee state parks if she is elected governor.
SEVIERVILLE (AP) — Five people have been charged in Tennessee with conspiring to defraud the My People Fund of Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation, set up to help people affected by wildfires last year.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The University of Tennessee says one of its professors has helped identify a species of giant prehistoric crocodiles that roamed the coasts and waterways of what's now north-central Texas about 95 million years ago.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are not clamoring for single-payer health care, as Sen. Bernie Sanders suggests they are, in proposing a plan that would have the government foot most medical bills.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says "a lot of trust has been destroyed" in the country's automakers by the diesel emissions cheating scandal and they need to regain it quickly.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling Thursday morning after finishing at record highs the last two days. Technology and health care companies, the best-performing sectors of the market in 2017, are taking some of the biggest losses. Prices paid by consumers jumped in August, which could be a sign inflation is increasing, but it's not clear how much of a role Hurricane Harvey played in the change.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits declined slightly last week but still remained elevated as hurricane disruptions impacted layoffs for a second week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher gas and housing costs boosted U.S. consumer prices 0.4 percent in August, the most in seven months. The increase suggests inflation could be picking up, but the figures may have been distorted by Hurricane Harvey.
BEIJING (AP) — Regulators have ordered Chinese bitcoin exchanges to close, two business newspapers reported Thursday, after uncertainty about the digital currency's future in China caused its price to plunge.
GENEVA (AP) — Online travel giant Booking.com is defending its policy on the commissions it charges in Switzerland after a state agency opened an investigation into alleged "abusive" pricing.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department says that concerns about secure communications with government agencies is what prompted Secretary Steven Mnuchin to inquire about using a government plane for his European honeymoon in August.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan backed off months of promises that the Republicans' tax plan won't add to the nation's ballooning deficit, declaring in an AP Newsmaker interview that the most important goal of an overhaul is economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday denied an assertion by the Democratic leaders in Congress that they had an agreement to preserve protections for young immigrants living illegally in America and to bolster U.S.-Mexico border security, but without his coveted wall for now.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was "fairly close" to a deal with congressional leaders to preserve protections for young immigrants living illegally in America but he's insisting on "massive border security" as part of any agreement.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is poised to extend sanctions relief to Iran, avoiding imminent action that could implode the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Forward Vernon Fiddler is retiring from the NHL after playing 877 games over 14 seasons in the league with four different teams.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The ink may be dry on a new state law that boosts funding for road projects through Tennessee's first gas tax hike in 28 years, but that doesn't mean all Republicans running for governor are happy with it.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Officials say people from out of state who expect to be in Tennessee for an extended period because of damage to their homes or workplaces by Hurricane Irma can file for unemployment insurance.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators on Wednesday rolled out competing plans for the nation's health care system, with a group of GOP senators making a last, long-shot effort to undo Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders proposing universal government-run coverage.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans would get health coverage simply by showing a new government-issued card and would no longer owe out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles, according to legislation Sen. Bernie Sanders released Wednesday charting a stem-to-stern reshaping of the country's health care system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders is ready to unveil his bill for starkly reshaping the country's current hodge-podge health care system into one where the government provides medical insurance for everybody.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday banned federal agencies from using computer software supplied by Kaspersky Lab because of concerns about the company's ties to the Kremlin and Russian spy operations.
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple's new iPhone X is special. It has flashy upgrades, facial recognition and animated emoji, all in celebration of the iPhone's 10-year anniversary. And its price tag is appropriately special: $999 and up.
UPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple has made a luxury iPhone that punctuates its technological swagger with a high-priced exclamation point. And that exclamation point appears to be a sign of things to come.
BOSTON (AP) — Self-driving cars may not hit the road in earnest for many years - but autonomous boats could be just around the pier.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to maintain its restrictive policy on refugees.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes finished with tiny gains Wednesday as retailers jumped after a strong hiring forecast from Target and energy companies rose along with oil prices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher energy costs led to prices at the wholesale level rising in August at the fastest pace in four months.
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is hiring 100,000 people to work during the hectic holiday shopping season, up 40 percent from last year.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan is declining to say a tax overhaul Republicans are trying to write won't increase federal deficits.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is pushing lawmakers to "move fast" on a tax overhaul.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of thousands of former students who say they were swindled by for-profit colleges are being left in limbo as the Trump administration delays action on requests for loan forgiveness, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A lawsuit says Chevron isn't cooperating with a Tennessee attorney general investigation that has claimed the company has fraudulently bilked more than $18 million from a petroleum cleanup fund.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cherokee National Forest officials in Tennessee are closing the Ocoee and Tellico ranger districts to the public in preparation for what is now Tropical Storm Irma.
SPORTS
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — After inspecting the stadium, meeting with campus and city officials, and assessing available resources, Florida decided its Southeastern Conference opener against Tennessee would be played as scheduled.
TECHNOLOGY
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple has broken the $1,000 barrier with its latest, and most expensive, phone, the iPhone X.
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple watchers say the company's new Face ID technology could help revolutionize facial recognition and bring it to the mainstream.
HEALTH CARE
WISE, Va. (AP) — They arrived at a fairground in a deep corner of Appalachia before daybreak, hundreds of people with throbbing teeth, failing eyes, wheezing lungs. They took a number, sat in the bleachers and waited in the summer heat for their name to be called so they could receive the medical help they can't get anywhere else.
AUTO INDUSTRY
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The Trump administration is updating safety guidelines for self-driving cars in an attempt to clear barriers for automakers and tech companies who want to get test vehicles on the road.
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Aiming to get an edge on its rivals in an intensely competitive industry, Japanese automaker Nissan says it's attempting to foster a corporate culture that will produce manufacturing innovations in leaps and bounds instead of steady incremental improvement.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Carmakers at the Frankfurt auto show are unveiling the low-emissions vehicles and technology strategies they hope will let them profit from the sweeping changes expected to hit the auto industry in the next few years.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to record highs Tuesday as banks kept rising and retailers climbed after some encouraging job data.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Job openings posted by U.S. employers reached an all-time high in July, suggesting that the steady hiring of the past year will endure.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The median U.S. household's income finally topped pre-recession levels last year and has reached an all-time high after years of sluggish growth.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — No-frills toys including the paper airplane, sand and play food are among 12 finalists vying for a place in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
LONDON (AP) — Inflation in Britain spiked up to 2.9 percent in the year to August, official figures showed Tuesday, in a development that has stoked speculation the Bank of England may raise interest rates sooner than expected regardless of how the country's Brexit discussions shape up.
NATIONAL POLITICS
PHOENIX (AP) — Lawmakers from 19 states are trying to develop a plan in Arizona this week for carrying out a growing, but unlikely, national effort to amend the Constitution to require a balanced U.S. budget, a long-held goal of conservatives who believe out-of-control spending is harming the nation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are struggling with how many billions of dollars President Donald Trump's tax code overhaul will add to the deficit as they work on a GOP budget plan that's a prerequisite to any far-reaching change in the nation's tax system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three moderate Democrats are among a bipartisan group of lawmakers having dinner with President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushing toward the Republicans' prime goal of tax legislation, the GOP Senate leader and members of the Budget Committee are scrambling to come up with a budget deal to clear the way for the first tax overhaul in three decades.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veteran Republicans are bailing on Congress in growing numbers, as GOP control of Washington fails to produce the unity or legislative successes party leaders wish for. With President Donald Trump willing, if not eager, to buck fellow Republicans and even directly attack them, a number of lawmakers no longer wish to be involved.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veteran Republicans are bailing on Congress in growing numbers, as GOP control of Washington fails to produce the unity or legislative successes party leaders wish for. With President Donald Trump willing, if not eager, to buck fellow Republicans and even directly attack them, a number of lawmakers no longer wish to be involved.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans missed their big opportunity to show the NFL they're ready to play with the league's big boys.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — A public memorial ceremony will be held Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry for Troy Gentry, a member of the popular country music duo Montgomery Gentry, who died in a helicopter crash in New Jersey on Friday.
MIDSTATE
GREENVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A south Alabama city has signed a deal to buy its local hospital from a Tennessee company.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's gubernatorial candidates are often keen to tout their support for farmers and rural communities as they campaign around the state. But former state Sen. Mae Beavers says she can outdo any of her rivals in terms of hands-on experience.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Bob Corker said Monday he is unsure about running for re-election, injecting fresh doubts into the GOP's efforts to tighten its hold on the Senate majority next year.
GATLINBURG (AP) — Great Smoky Mountains National Park authorities are discouraging people from visiting as what is now Tropical Storm Irma is expected to bring inclement weather to the area.
BOLIVAR (AP) — Ignoring the din of logging trucks rolling by, Calvin Howell chews a cigar and walks the sidewalk across from the Hardeman County Courthouse, peering into the empty storefronts of a few buildings he owns.
COURTS
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Environmental groups and a Democratic state senator are urging a New Jersey appeals court to let them intervene in the state's $225 million settlement with Exxon Mobil.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is expected to sell its fanciest iPhone yet for $1,000, crossing into a new financial frontier that will test how much consumers are willing to pay for a device that's become an indispensable part of modern life.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied to record highs Monday as Hurricane Irma weakened without causing as much damage as many had feared, and a North Korean holiday passed without new missile launches. Financial and technology companies lead the way.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With businesses disrupted, fuel and chemical refineries out of commission and consumers struggling to restore their lives, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will likely pack a tough double-whammy for the U.S. economy.
Big airports in Florida remained closed Monday, and flight cancellations were spreading north along the track of Tropical Storm Irma.
SEATTLE (AP) — Nordstrom is opening up a store that doesn't have any inventory.
NEW YORK (AP) — Though damage from Hurricane Irma is extensive, property insurers are breathing a sigh of relief with the storm nowhere near as catastrophic as many had feared.
LONDON (AP) — Brexit will descend into chaos if lawmakers don't approve a bill designed to lay the legislative framework for the country's EU exit, Britain's minister for leaving the European Union has said.
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline jumped in the past two weeks after Hurricane Harvey prompted the closure of refineries.
NATIONAL POLITICS
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis has sharply criticized climate change doubters, saying history will judge those who failed to take the necessary decisions to curb heat-trapping emissions blamed for the warming of the Earth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was in the mood to celebrate after cutting a big deal with opposition Democrats.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump urged any U.S. residents still in Hurricane Irma's path Saturday to "just get out of its way" and not worry about possessions, as he monitored the powerful storm's advance on Florida from the secluded Camp David presidential retreat.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Don Williams, an award-winning country singer with love ballads like "I Believe in You," has died. He was 78.
LUMBERTON, N.J. (AP) — Troy Gentry, one half of the award-winning country music duo Montgomery Gentry, died Friday in a helicopter crash just hours before a concert, according to a statement from the band's website. He was 50.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials are now accepting applications for $10 million worth of broadband grants.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's two biggest cities are joining the chase to land Amazon's planned second headquarters.
CHICAGO (AP) — Forty-one cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada — including Nashville — have submitted preliminary bids to host 2026 World Cup matches.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee city hopes to acquire 90 more homes at risk of flooding.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A judge on Friday dismissed a long-standing lawsuit over Tennessee's treatment of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ending federal oversight of state programs.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term US mortgage rates fell this week, led by the benchmark 30-year rate, which declined for the sixth straight week.
AUTO INDUSTRY
LONDON (AP) — Jaguar Land Rover says all of its new vehicles will be at least partially electrified by 2020.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of Republican and Democratic governors became the latest voices Thursday to endorse a bipartisan Senate drive to control health insurance costs in defiance of President Donald Trump.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Lilly will slash its global workforce by nearly 9 percent as the drugmaker closes some research sites and pushes to trim fixed costs.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Disney is adding more firepower to its upcoming streaming service .
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Technology and energy companies skidded Friday while banks and insurers recovered some of their recent losses, leaving major U.S. indexes little changed on the day and slightly lower for the week.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Credit monitoring company Equifax has been hit by a high-tech heist that exposed the Social Security numbers and other sensitive information about 143 million Americans. Now the unwitting victims have to worry about the threat of having their identities stolen.
GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss supermarket chain has started selling burgers and balls made from insects, a move being billed as a legal first in Europe.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, an Associated Press analysis shows a steep drop in flood insurance across the state, including the areas most endangered by what could be a devastating storm surge.
NEW YORK (AP) — At last, a bit of redemption for the stock pickers.
LONDON (AP) — With 18 months until Britain is due to leave the European Union, the U.K. government warned lawmakers on Thursday that it would be "reckless" to oppose a key piece of Brexit legislation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers' productivity rose a bit more this spring than initially reported, but the gains were relatively weak and a key reason why recent economic growth has been modest.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative grumbling aside, the House is heading toward backing a $15.3 billion disaster aid package that President Donald Trump and Democrats have linked to a temporary increase in America's borrowing authority and keeping the government funded through December.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Frustrated with his own party's leaders in Congress, President Donald Trump talked up his suddenly cozier relationship with Democrats on Thursday, raising the prospect of new deals on government spending and even posting one of his tweets at their behest.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly backed a $15.3 billion aid package for victims of Harvey, nearly doubling President Donald Trump's emergency request, and including a deal between Trump and Democrats to increase America's borrowing authority and fund the government.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump pressed ahead on making deals with Democrats on Thursday, acting on a request from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on immigration in the aftermath of his agreement with the minority party to keep the government operating and raise the nation's debt limit.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has tapped one of his own White House attorneys for a judgeship on one of the most important federal appeals courts, opening the door for confirmation hearing questions about the legal controversies that dominated the first seven months of Trump's presidency.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's eldest son told a Senate committee Thursday he was open to receiving information about Hillary Clinton's "fitness, character or qualifications" in a meeting with a Russian lawyer last year.