VOL. 40 | NO. 39 | Friday, September 23, 2016
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
State Rep. Kevin Brooks set the tone for Jeremy Durham’s ouster in prayer, of all places.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
If you want to spend some time with a few hundred Realtors, they are all gathering in the same place these days.
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial real estate sales, August 2016, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
Since his arrival at Tennessee in December 2012, Butch Jones often has spoken about the importance of getting the Vols back up and running in their biggest rivalry games.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
If you’re a Tennessee fan hurting from the 11-game losing streak against Florida, put yourself in Corey Vereen’s shoes.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
Was Sunday’s stunning victory in Detroit the start of a turning point for the Tennessee Titans?
Score more points: OK, the Titans are 1-1, and may be somewhat encouraged by that. But they also have scored 16 points in both games. As exotic as the “smashmouth” might be, and as much bend-but-don’t break as the defense has put up, let’s be honest here, the Titans won’t be in the win column very often in today’s NFL scoring just 16 points every week. Somehow, some way, the offense has to find a way to score more often.
NEWSMAKERS
Alisa L. Chestler, the chair of Baker Donelson’s Privacy and Information Security Team, has joined Baker Donelson’s Nashville office. Chestler will continue to maintain a presence in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, where she was previously based.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Dodge Durango has added sharp new color options, a Sport driving mode and connectivity upgrades for 2016.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Since Facebook Live launched in April, live-streaming events have become very popular. Even though competitor Periscope has been around since early 2015, Facebook has integrated live-streaming directly into the timelines of 1.71 billion users, making these live videos more visible than ever.
I SWEAR
I saw in the sports section of my local paper an item that said three golfers named Yip, Hack and Schenk were a threesome on the final day of some tournament.
CAREER CORNER
Very often in school, we’re taught to understand both sides of an issue. If you can argue for or against a point, you’re often more likely to truly understand all dimensions of the problem at hand.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country star Jason Aldean rarely has time to be a tourist when he's touring, but during a recent trip to New York, he and his wife, Brittany, found some downtime to walk around the city. The crowds afford the Georgia-born singer a little anonymity that he doesn't always get back home.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose again in July, pulled up by strong gains in Portland, Seattle and Denver.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) — BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is withdrawing from the Affordable Care Act marketplace in the Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville regions. In a news release, the company says the change will affect an estimated 100,000 Tennesseans.
AUTO INDUSTRY
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — State officials have approved a $600,000 job training grant for a Volkswagen supplier in Chattanooga.
TECHNOLOGY
LONDON (AP) — As investors and investigators weigh the damage of Yahoo's massive breach to the internet icon, information security experts worry that the record-breaking haul of password data could be used to open locks up and down the web.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday and climbed after a survey showed consumer confidence is at a nine-year high, a sign Americans will keep spending in the months to come. Technology and consumer stocks made the largest gains.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence in September rose to the highest level in nine years, a hopeful sign that economic growth will accelerate in coming months.
GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization dramatically slashed its forecast for trade growth this year by about a third to its lowest rate since 2009, when the global economy was mired in recession in the wake of the financial crisis.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 60 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children rely on monthly Social Security benefits. That's nearly one in five Americans. The trustees who oversee Social Security say the program has enough money to pay full benefits until 2034. But at that point, Social Security will collect only enough taxes to pay 79 percent of benefits. Unless Congress acts, millions of people on fixed incomes would get an automatic 21 percent cut in benefits.
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) — Donald Trump aggressively tried to pin the nation's economic and national security problems on Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, belittling the former senator and secretary of state as a "typical politician" incapable of delivering the change many Americans crave.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's habit of peddling hype and fabrication emerged unabated in the first presidential debate while Hillary Clinton played it cautiously in her statements, though not without error. They both denied making statements that they are on the record as saying.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Former Republican state Rep. Jeremy Durham, who earlier this month became the first lawmaker expelled from the Tennessee General Assembly in 36 years, was escorted from a University of Tennessee football game on Saturday after getting into an altercation with a Florida fan.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee State University is hosting a public memorial service for famed track and field coach Ed Temple, who led the school's Tigerbelles to 13 Olympic gold medals.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Construction is starting this week on the first blockhouse to be part of Nashville Metro Parks' new Fort Nashborough Interpretive Center.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A California man has been shot and killed while running from an apparent robbery attempt in downtown Nashville.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) - BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is withdrawing from the Affordable Care Act marketplace in the Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville regions. In a news release, the company says the change will affect an estimated 100,000 Tennesseans.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Jean Shepard, "the grand lady of the Grand Ole Opry" who had a long recording career as an influential female in country music, died Sunday, according to an Opry spokeswoman. Shepard was 82.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes retreated in August, one month after surging to the highest level in nearly nine years. Activity fell in all regions of the country except the West.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped Monday, and banks took the biggest losses. Deutsche Bank plunged as investors worried about the financial health of Germany's largest bank. Pfizer pulled drugmakers down after it announced it won't break up into two companies.
NEW YORK (AP) — They sell diamond rings in malls and used cars at dealerships, make wrench sets for mechanics and giant combines for farmers. Not one has "bank" in its name, but they are all big lenders, and getting bigger by the day.
BERLIN (AP) — A closely watched survey shows that business confidence in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has increased sharply to its highest reading since May 2014 amid signs that concerns related to Britain's vote to leave the European Union have dissipated.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — THE ISSUE: Tepid income growth and shrinking opportunities for blue-collar workers have kept many Americans anxious about jobs and the economy, seven years after the Great Recession ended.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Ed Temple, the former Tennessee State track and field coach whose Tigerbelles won 13 Olympic gold medals and helped break down racial and gender barriers in the sport, died Thursday night. He was 89.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Republican candidate for the state House says an automated program is to blame for his campaign Twitter account "liking" several explicit tweets.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — John D. Loudermilk, a singer and songwriter who wrote pop and country songs such as "Tobacco Road" and "Indian Reservation," has died. He was 82.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Singer songwriter Jason Isbell won album of the year and song of the year at the 2016 Americana Honors and Awards show, extending his legacy as the star of Americana music.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The National Highway Traffic Administration has confirmed that Tennessee is back in compliance with federal zero-tolerance standards for drunken drivers under the legal drinking age.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The University of Tennessee has launched an investigation into a law professor who in a Twitter post called on drivers to run over demonstrators blocking traffic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Ten of the 11 members of Tennessee's congressional delegation want the new federal courthouse in Nashville to be named after the late actor-politician Fred Thompson.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Lee Pope, an attorney for the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board has been hired as the new deputy open records counsel in the state comptroller's office.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The new Tennessee State Museum is scheduled to open its doors to the public in the fall of 2018.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Regional Transportation Authority is moving forward with plans to build a nearly $6 billion mass transit system aimed at improving traffic in Middle Tennessee.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Islamic Center of Nashville is suing the state in federal court after it says it was denied a tax exemption.
TECHNOLOGY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX says a breach in its rocket's helium system may have caused the devastating explosion three weeks ago at Cape Canaveral.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — LinkedIn wants to become more useful to workers by adding personalized news feeds, helpful messaging "bots" and recommendations for online training courses, as the professional networking service strives to be more than just a tool for job-hunting.
ARBLEHEAD, Mass. (AP) — One of the world's largest package delivery companies is stepping up efforts to integrate drones into its system.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — A group billing itself as an alternative to the United Auto Workers union at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee has failed to meet minimum enrollment standards under the German automaker's internal labor policy.
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla Motors says a software update to its Autopilot system will disable automatic steering if drivers don't keep their hands on the wheel.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve wants to put new limits on big banks' activities in physical commodities businesses, with an eye to reducing financial risks from volatile trading and transport of sensitive materials.
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter's stock is surging following a report that the social media company, forever struggling in Facebook's shadow, is close to a sale.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The International Monetary Fund is painting a bleak outlook for bailout-dependent Greece, where it expects unemployment to stay in the double digits for more than three decades.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo has been struggling for years to keep people coming back to its digital services such as email. That challenge just got more daunting after hackers stole sensitive information from at least 500 million accounts.
NEW YORK (AP) — Several of the best-known names in travel are now united in one hotel company.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes closed moderately lower on Friday following three days of gains. Several technology stocks traded heavily, including Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook. Energy stocks fell along with a steep decline in the price of oil.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since July, more evidence that U.S. workers are enjoying job security.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks posted solid gains on Thursday as investors, comfortable that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low, bought up stocks that pay big dividends.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans retreated from home-buying in August, as a worsening inventory shortage appears to be hurting sales and pushing prices higher.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week.
Some of the nation's largest for-profit colleges are suffering steep declines in enrollment amid growing competition, new regulation and government pressure that led to the collapse this month of one of the industry's biggest players, ITT Technical Institute.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Computer hackers swiped personal information from at least 500 million Yahoo accounts in what is believed to be the biggest digital break-in at an email provider.
RUSSELS (AP) — European Union ministers expressed pessimism Friday that the bloc can conclude a massive trade pact with the U.S. anytime soon and debated whether to change tack on the talks.
NATIONAL POLITICS
DENVER (AP) — A new analysis from a nonpartisan group finds that Donald Trump's latest tax proposals would increase the federal debt by $5.3 trillion over the next decade, compared with $200 billion if Hillary Clinton's ideas were enacted. The Trump campaign disputed the findings.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study that examines some major health care proposals from the presidential candidates finds that Donald Trump would cause about 20 million to lose coverage while Hillary Clinton would provide coverage for an additional 9 million people.