VOL. 44 | NO. 42 | Friday, October 16, 2020
First down: Try to get back on track. The COVID shutdown has all but derailed the Titans’ routine, and puts them on a short week in preparation for the Texans Sunday. The biggest hope – beyond just player and personnel safety from the coronavirus – has to be getting back inside the facility and some sort of normalcy. If the Titans can do that, then a short week of prep for Houston won’t seem like such an obstacle.
NEWSMAKERS
Wood Stabell Law Group, PLLC has hired two attorneys, Lin Ye and Ashley Gold. WSLG has now added four attorneys since 2019.
BRIEFS
Dickinson Wright PLLC has been named “Law Firm of the Year” by both Captive Review (@Captivereview #USCaptiveAwards) and Captive International.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is the brand’s bestselling hybrid, with 2019 sales outpacing even those of the Prius. It provides significantly higher fuel economy – an estimated 40 mpg combined – than the regular RAV4 SUV with minimal compromise.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Time to take care of business. You know you’ve got three minutes or more, plenty of time to leave the sofa, quickly run to another part of the house, cruise through the kitchen for a snack and you’re back before your program restarts. Unless your ads are running, you might otherwise grab the remote and zap past the break.
PERSONAL FINANCE
The pandemic seems to be driving a surge of early retirements as businesses close or downsize and older people weigh the health risks of continuing to work.
CAREER CORNER
If you’re working from home, you might be as productive as ever. You can focus without interruption. There are no long chats around the water cooler. There’s no wasted time commuting.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
As millennials, we’ve learned about money the hard way. From the Great Recession to stratospheric student loan debt to a pandemic, there’s been no shortage of life giving us lemons.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The NFL and the NFL Players Association found instances when the Tennessee Titans failed to wear masks at all times and were "insufficiently clear" to players about not meeting or working out once the facility closed in a review given to the team Monday, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans' winning mojo is about to get its biggest test yet.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Expectations for Derrick Henry already are pretty high, with his history of mighty stiff arms and long touchdown runs.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — An organic baby food manufacturer plans to invest $45 million in a new facility in Tennessee that is expected to create 147 jobs.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Six Russian military officers sought to disrupt through computer hacking the French election, the Winter Olympics and U.S. businesses, according to a Justice Department indictment unsealed Monday that details attacks on a broad range of political, financial and athletic targets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear two cases involving Trump administration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border: one about a policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings and a second about the administration's use of money to fund the border wall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is agreeing to review a Trump administration policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings.
RIPLEY (AP) — The trial of a Tennessee convict charged with killing a corrections official before escaping prison on a tractor has been delayed until next year.
TECHNOLOGY
LONDON (AP) — Nokia says it has been tapped by NASA to build the first cellular communications network on the moon.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's top military leaders have been cleared to return to work at the Pentagon after having self-quarantined as a precaution following the positive COVID-19 test of a senior Coast Guard official in early October.
LONDON (AP) — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the planet has surpassed 40 million, but experts say that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the true impact of the pandemic that has upended life and work around the world.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After struggling to ramp up coronavirus testing, the U.S. can now screen several million people daily, thanks to a growing supply of rapid tests. But the boom comes with a new challenge: keeping track of the results.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Bars and restaurants across Belgium shut down for a month and a night-time curfew took effect Monday as health authorities warned of a possible "tsunami" of new virus cases in the hard-hit nation that host the European Union's headquarters.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks gave up some of their recent gains Monday as Wall Street's hopes that Washington will come through with badly needed aid for the economy before Election Day faded.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is quickly moving past the point at which it can deliver more coronavirus relief before the election, with differences between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, her Senate Republican rivals and President Donald Trump proving durable despite the glaring needs of the country.
BEIJING (AP) — China's shaky economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is gaining strength as consumers return to shopping malls and auto dealerships while the United States and Europe endure painful contractions.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the European Central Bank says the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic "risks losing momentum" due to a second wave of infections and that more stimulus could be added if necessary.
LONDON (AP) — The U.K.'s most senior Anglican bishops warned Monday that legislation breaching part of the Brexit divorce agreement the government signed with the European Union will set a "disastrous precedent" and could undermine peace in Northern Ireland.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has pushed nearly all Mideast nations into the throes of an economic recession this year, yet some rebound is expected as all but two — Lebanon and Oman — are expected to see some level of economic growth next year, according to a report published Monday by the International Monetary Fund.
HANOI, Vietnam. (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in his first overseas summit since taking office last month, agreed with his Vietnamese counterpart to step up defense and security cooperation in the face of China's expanding influence in the region.
ELECTION 2020
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden went on offense over the weekend as both campaigned in states they are trying to flip during the Nov. 3 election, just over two weeks away.
TROY, Mich. (AP) — She walks with the determination of a person who believes the very fate of democracy might depend on the next door she knocks on, head down, shoulders forward. She wears nothing fussy, the battle fatigues of her troupe: yoga pants and sneakers. She left her Lincoln Aviator idling in the driveway, the driver door open -- if this house wasn't the one to save the nation, she can move quickly to the next.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump stood before a crowd in a state that had once been firmly in his grasp. There were fewer than three weeks left in the campaign, one reshaped by a virus that has killed more than 215,000 Americans, and he was running out of time to change the trajectory of the race.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Back fully campaigning after COVID-19 sidelined him, President Donald Trump returned to familiar form, spreading a litany of falsehoods.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
STATE GOVERNMENT
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A Republican lawmaker from Chattanooga is under fire for comments made during a local TV interview in which he blamed "inner city" obesity partly on people eating fried chicken and criticized the local police department's hiring practices.
MEMPHIS (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee is calling for the temporary suspension of negative consequences for Tennessee schools and teachers related to student tests for the current school year due to adjustments and disruptions to learning caused by the COVID-19 virus outbreak.
ENVIRONMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Trump administration will let some leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds stay in operation for years more and some unlined ponds stay open indefinitely under a rule change announced Friday.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Controversial Trump administration policies on the census, asylum seekers and the border wall, held illegal by lower courts, are on the Supreme Court's agenda Friday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A U.S. appellate panel won't change Tennessee's signature matching requirement for absentee voting before the November election, affirming a lower court's decision.
HENDERSONVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee man was arrested and charged with impersonating defense attorneys and a nurse, authorities said.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' Cruise autonomous vehicle unit says it will pull the human backup drivers from its vehicles in San Francisco by the end of the year.
BERLIN (AP) — A German utility said Friday it is restoring water supply to the construction site of a Tesla factory near Berlin, a day after it was cut off because of an unpaid bill.
TRANSPORTATION
BERLIN (AP) — Europe's aviation regulator is closing in on a decision to allow the Boeing 737 Max to return to the air after it was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes, according to a report Friday.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's plan to mail millions of seniors a $200 prescription savings card has hit legal and budget roadblocks, making it unlikely the government can carry it out before Election Day.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials on Friday unveiled a plan to get approved coronavirus vaccines to nursing home residents free of cost, with the aid of two national pharmacy chains.
NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer Inc. cannot request emergency authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine before the third week of November — and that's if everything goes well, the company's CEO announced Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that he was wrong not to wear a mask at the White House, after he and President Donald Trump both came down with the coronavirus.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks took a late stumble on Wall Street, erasing an early gain and leaving major indexes mixed on Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3.1 trillion in the 2020 budget year, more than double the previous record, as the coronavirus pandemic shrank revenues and sent spending soaring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industrial production fell 0.6% in September, the weakest showing since spring and a sign that the economy's recovery from the pandemic recession may be faltering just as confirmed viral infections are resurging in much of the country.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales rose strongly in September, the fifth consecutive month of growth, as Americans spent more on clothing, cars and sporting goods.
UK says EU trade talks 'over' but bloc sees room for a deal
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden's campaign says the former vice president and his running mate, Kamala Harris, each tested negative Friday for COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is investigating whether emails that were published by the New York Post related to Joe Biden's son, Hunter, are connected to a possible Russian influence operation to spread disinformation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For Republicans, the nomination fight over Amy Coney Barrett is a chance to seal conservative control of the Supreme Court for decades. For some GOP senators, it's also a lifeline they hope will preserve their political careers and their party's control of the chamber in November's elections.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump recently accepted $1 million in campaign contributions from a couple whose vocal support for the QAnon conspiracy theory led to the cancellation of a fundraiser they were supposed to host for Vice President Mike Pence last month.
More than 17 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2020 election, a record-shattering avalanche of early votes driven both by Democratic enthusiasm and a pandemic that has transformed the way the nation votes.
NEW YORK (AP) — The overwhelming majority of voters believe the nation is deeply divided over its most important values, and many have doubts about the health of the democracy itself. And supporters of President Donald Trump and Joe Biden alike think the opposing candidate will make things even worse if elected, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Backed into a corner and facing financial strains, President Donald Trump fought to defend his sagging reelection bid Friday in a state Republicans haven't lost in nearly three decades. With Election Day looming, Democrat Joe Biden pushed to keep voters focused on health care in the Midwest.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden faced inquisitive voters on separate stages in different cities in a substitute for the debate that was meant to be.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was out-raised by Democrat Joe Biden in September and is being outgunned financially by his rival with just weeks to go until Election Day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson and his wife have given $75 million to a new super PAC that is attacking Democratic nominee Joe Biden, an investment made amid GOP concern that President Donald Trump's campaign is flailing and might not be able to correct course.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse told Nebraska constituents in a telephone town hall meeting that President Donald Trump has "flirted with white supremacists," mocks Christian evangelicals in private, and "kisses dictators' butts."
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday rejected as "a non-starter" Russia's stance that a key nuclear arms control treaty be extended without imposing a broader, short-term freeze on U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials announced Wednesday that September revenues once again came in higher than state projections, but warned that possible declines could be on the horizon.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 20% of Tennessee's Black adults cannot vote due to a felony conviction, while 8% of the state's overall adult population is disenfranchised, according to a newly released report.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Officials with Belmont University announced Thursday that they intend to start a new medical school in Nashville.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week as the key 30-year loan reached a new all-time low for the tenth time this year.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — A German utility company says it has shut down the pipes supplying Tesla with water for the construction of a factory near Berlin because the automaker hasn't paid its bills.
MEDIA
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — YouTube is following the lead of Twitter and Facebook, saying that it is taking more steps to limit QAnon and other baseless conspiracy theories that can lead to real-world violence.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee landlords hoping to overturn a national eviction moratorium will make their case in front of federal judge later this month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The full federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday said it will once again take up the House of Representatives' bid to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — European and American officials said Thursday that they have arrested 20 people in several countries for allegedly belonging to an international ring that laundered millions of euros stolen by cybercriminals through malware schemes.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases in rural and urban areas, including a 93% increase among Nashville children up to 17 years old since September began, city officials said Thursday.
Coronavirus cases around the world have climbed to all-time highs of more than 330,000 per day as the scourge comes storming back across Europe and spreads with renewed speed in the U.S., forcing many places to reimpose tough restrictions eased just months ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than three weeks from Election Day, majorities of Americans are highly critical of President Donald Trump's handling of both the coronavirus pandemic and his own illness, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stock indexes erased much of their early losses and closed modestly lower Thursday, extending the S&P 500's losing streak to a third day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy's recovery from the pandemic recession is tentative and uneven and "marked by significant uncertainty" as confirmed coronavirus cases spread in many countries, international finance ministers warned Thursday.
WINCHESTER, Va. (AP) — In a normal year, hundreds of book lovers would have descended on Winchester this summer for Shenandoah University's annual children's literature conference.
NEW YORK (AP) — This presidential election is clearly unlike any other, but investors might be wise to treat it just like most of the previous ones.
BRUSSELS (AP) — As a fresh wave of the coronavirus sweeps across much of Europe, the reality of the disease struck a summit of European Union leaders on Thursday when one of the 27-nation bloc's top officials abandoned the meeting to go into self-imposed quarantine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week by the most in two months, to 898,000, a historically high number and evidence that layoffs remain a hindrance to the economy's recovery from the pandemic recession.
COVID-19 took another bite out of Walgreens Boots Alliance quarterly numbers but this time left behind better-than-expected earnings.
BRUSSELS (AP) — It is yet another deadline day in the tortuous, four-year trek called Brexit but - Spoiler Alert! - most likely nothing will happen.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is thanking some Republican donors as he celebrates a record-breaking campaign fundraising haul from last month.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, will suspend in-person events until Monday after two people associated with the campaign tested positive for coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden will compete for TV audiences in dueling town halls on Thursday night instead of meeting face-to-face for their second debate as originally planned.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Looking to undermine rival Joe Biden 20 days before the election, President Donald Trump's campaign has seized on a tabloid story offering bizarre twists to a familiar line of attack: Biden's relationship with Ukraine. But the story in the New York Post raises more questions than answers, including about the authenticity of an email at the center of the story.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination cleared a key hurdle Thursday as Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans powered past Democrats' objections in the drive to confirm President Donald Trump's pick before the Nov. 3 election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee set Oct. 22 for its vote to advance Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court on Thursday as Democrats threw pointed objections but were unable to stop the Republicans' drive to confirm President Donald Trump's pick before the Nov. 3 election.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is expected to reveal that it will build the Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV at its factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee, when it makes a major manufacturing announcement on Tuesday.