In this time of war overseas, more Americans think foreign policy should be a top focus for the U.S. government in 2024, with a new poll showing international concerns and immigration rising in importance with the public.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults named foreign policy topics in an open-ended question that asked people to share up to five issues for the government to work on in the next year, according to a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
That’s about twice as many who mentioned the topic in the AP-NORC poll conducted last year.
Long-standing economic worries still overshadow other issues. But the new poll’s findings point to increased concern about U.S. involvement overseas – 20% voiced that sentiment in the poll, versus 5% a year ago.
It also shows that the Israeli-Hamas war is feeding public anxiety. The conflict was mentioned by 5%, while almost no one cited it a year ago. The issue has dominated geopolitics since Israel declared war on Hamas in Gaza after that group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli soil.
Four percent of U.S. adults mentioned the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as something for their government to focus on this year. That’s similar to the 6% who mentioned it at the end of 2022.
Foreign policy has gained importance among respondents from both parties. Some 46% of Republicans named it, up from 23% last year. And 34% of Democrats list foreign policy as a focal point, compared with 16% a year ago.
89 TN counties show lower Nov. unemployment
County unemployment rates dropped in a majority of Tennessee’s counties in November, according to new data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Eighty-nine of the state’s 95 counties recorded lower rates for the month.
Unemployment remained the same in three counties in November and increased in three counties.
November’s data showed that 92 of the state’s counties recorded rates of less than 5% during the month. The remaining three counties had rates higher than 5% but less than 10%.
Moore County had the state’s lowest rate in November. At 2.4%, its new rate was 0.2% lower than it was the previous month. Both Williamson and Sevier counties had the next lowest rates at 2.6%. The new statistics accounted for a 0.1% decrease in unemployment for both counties.
Perry County recorded November’s highest unemployment in Tennessee with a rate of 5.3%. The county’s new rate dropped by a staggering 2.6% from its October rate of 7.9%. Lauderdale County had Tennessee’s next highest jobless number. Its November rate of 5.2% was 0.3% lower than the rate the county recorded in October.
County unemployment rates are not adjusted for seasonal events such as school breaks and weather, while the statewide rate is seasonally adjusted to take into account the impact those events can have on unemployment.
Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate did increase in November, up by 0.2% from 3.3% in October to 3.5%.
Nationally, unemployment dropped by 0.2%, moving from 3.9% to 3.7%.
Tennesseans looking for a fresh start in 2024 by taking a new career path can start that journey at Jobs4TN.gov. The state’s workforce development website lists the state’s hot occupations, average wages and more than 210,000 current job openings.
7 counties eligible for disaster unemployment
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance from individuals whose employment or self-employment was impacted by severe storms and tornadoes occurring Dec. 9, in Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery and Sumner counties. The disaster period started Dec. 10 and ends June 15. Applications from individuals who live in, work in, or travel through these counties must be submitted by Jan. 16.
Cheatham, Gibson and Stewart counties were added to the Federal Disaster Declaration FEMA DR-4751 as of Dec. 28. Applications from individuals who live, work in, or travel through these counties must be submitted by Jan. 29.
Individuals can apply for DUA at Jobs4TN.gov or by calling 1-877-813-0950 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CST. Individuals filing online should specify that their applications are related to the damage caused by severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes.
To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the day the DUA application is filed. Required documentation includes a Social Security number, a copy of the most recent federal income tax form or paycheck stubs, and documentation to support that you were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred.
Applicants must mail in or fax all required documentation within 21 days from the date of the DUA application. Documents can be mailed to 220 French Landing Drive, Nashville, TN 37243, or sent by fax to 615-532-3374.
Murfreesboro Driver Services Center reopens
The Murfreesboro Driver Services Center, located at 1035 Samsonite Boulevard, which closed for a planned remodel in September, reopened to the public Tuesday.
The newly refurbished full-service center has fresh paint, updated flooring, a larger waiting area and additional counter space to serve residents. This center provides driver’s license and identification card issuance; vision, knowledge and skills testing; motor vehicle records; handgun permit applications; voter registration and organ donor registration during regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Redfin: Pandemic migration boom waning
The share of U.S. homebuyers looking to move to a different metro area declined for the third straight month in November, dropping to 23.9%.
That’s the lowest share in a year and a half, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. It’s down from 24.1% a year earlier – a tiny drop, but the first annual decline in Redfin’s records – and down from a record high of 26% over the summer.
Nashville is in the top 10 preferred destinations for homebuyers to move into, with Los Angeles being the top origin area from where buyers are relocating.
Overall home buying slowed in 2023 because it was the least affordable year on record and there was a severe supply shortage. There were 4% fewer Redfin.com users looking to move to a new metro in November than a year ago, compared with a 3% year-over-year drop for Redfin.com users searching within their home metro.
The slightly bigger drop for house hunters looking to relocate explains why migrants are making up a smaller share of overall home searchers.
The portion of house hunters who are relocating to a new area is coming down for a few reasons. One, there’s less flexibility to work remotely as employers call workers back to the office.
Two, home prices generally increased more in popular migration destinations than they did in expensive coastal metros during the pandemic, making the case for moving a bit less compelling.
Nashville nets $13M for Nolensville Pike
Nashville will receive $13 million in Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding for the implementation of the “We Are Nolensville Pike” transportation safety improvement project.
SS4A grants totaling $817 million were awarded to regional, local, and tribal communities across the country for planning, implementation and demonstration projects that improve safety and help prevent death and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.
Through the grant award, the Nashville Department of Transportation & Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) will receive $13 million from USDOT and will contribute over $3.2 million in local capital dollars for a total project cost of $16.3 million.
The local portion is fully funded. The department will work with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, WeGo Public Transit, and other community partners to implement the improvements.
The opportunity has been afforded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), as enacted in the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act that authorizes $5 billion in Safe Streets for All funding over five years.
The total $16.3 million funds will be used to construct safety improvements for people walking, biking and using transit along the Nolensville Pike corridor between McCall Street and Haywood Lane, a 2.5-mile stretch.
Nonaddictive pain relief system nears clinical trials
Researchers in the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science are nearing completion of an ingenious undertaking that may be a high point of their careers – a nonaddictive alternative for relieving chronic pain.
Their invention, a focused ultrasound stimulation system that directs neuromodulating ultrasound signals deep into the brain under the guidance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is being readied for clinical testing with the support of a three-year, $4.6 million federal grant awarded this fall.
The object of their quest, which began 10 years ago, is the relief of often-intractable neuropathic pain caused by stroke-related nerve damage in the brain. Current treatments relying on morphine, oxycodone, and other opioid drugs provide limited relief and can be highly addictive.
“Nondrug pain therapy – that’s what we’re aiming for,” says chronic pain researcher Li Min Chen, M.D., Ph.D., who developed the technology with ultrasound expert Charles Caskey, Ph.D., and colleagues at Vanderbilt.
While other devices have been developed to treat chronic pain, they cannot precisely target pain circuits in the brain.
“If we are successful, we will be the first” to conduct human testing of an MRI-guided, ultrasound-based pain therapy, says Chen, professor of radiology and radiological sciences, biomedical engineering and psychology.
Sound waves emitted by ultrasound devices are used diagnostically to generate images of internal anatomy. But they also can modulate the activity of cells in the body, including nerve cells, says Caskey, associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences and biomedical engineering.
The major challenge has been guiding the ultrasound beam to the precise location of damaged nerves in the brain that are the source of the tingling and often-excruciating sensations of burning and stabbing pain throughout the body.
With former Vanderbilt biomedical engineer William Grissom, Ph.D., now at Case Western Reserve University, Caskey and Chen arrived at an elegant solution: an ultrasonic probe guided by functional MRI, a diagnostic technique that detects and monitors changes in magnetic signals reflecting neuronal activity in specific regions of the brain.