VOL. 44 | NO. 44 | Friday, October 30, 2020
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial real estate sales, September 2020, for Davidson County, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates were little changed this week after marking a new all-time low last week.
TENNESSEE TITANS
In baseball, there is the old notion that it’s hard to fix a bad bullpen.
First down: Pressure the rookie. The Titans won’t be facing a seasoned vet like they did in Ben Roethlisberger, but rookie Joe Burrow has had the lowly Bengals competitive in a number of games this year. If the Titans are going to correct their mistakes and suddenly find some pass rush on defense, getting after a rookie QB would be a good place to start.
Derrick Henry has few words to say until he's asked about his favorite running backs. The Tennessee Titans' star running back quickly rattles off 15 names from Jim Brown, Gale Sayers and Walter Payton to Eric Dickerson, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson.
NEWSMAKERS
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP partner Todd Presnell has been selected by the Defense Research Institute as the 2020 recipient of the Tom Segalla Excellence in Education Award, which honors a member of DRI whose contributions through legal scholarship exemplify the highest educational standards of DRI and further its mission of improving the skills of the defense lawyer.
BRIEFS
Nashville-based S2 Cognition officials say the company can measure and quantify the previously unseen characteristics of the brain that separate elite athletes from the rest of the pack.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Trucks and SUVs are the top-selling vehicles in America, and the sales trends show no signs of cooling off. They’ve become the de facto family vehicles for a number of reasons, including a high ride height for better visibility, enhanced versatility thanks to roomy cargo areas, available all-wheel drive for extra wet-weather traction and the feeling of safety imparted by a larger vehicle.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Overworked and underpaid. It’s an old, jokey statement that’s not so funny now. No, it seems like you work more hours than you ever did, and your ends still come up 2 feet from meeting.
PERSONAL FINANCE
If the Supreme Court throws out the Affordable Care Act, your finances and your future could pay the price.
CAREER CORNER
In recognition of the Halloween season, I want to share one of my own frightening job interview stories.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
Side gig. Side job. Side hustle. It goes by many names and serves many purposes. For some, it’s a way to keep the lights on. For others, it’s an opportunity to save for a goal or follow a passion.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A company that makes handgun accessories and parts plans to invest $7 million in a new Nashville headquarters, which is expected to create 110 new jobs.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Sportsbooks are set to accept the first bets in Tennessee's unique online-only sports betting program starting early Sunday, the Tennessee Lottery announced Friday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials say a record of nearly 2.3 million voters have already cast their ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election, making up just more than half of the state's registered voters.
WARTBURG (AP) — Frozen Head State Park has been named 2020 State Park of the Year by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
MEDIA
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Netflix is raising most of its U.S. prices by 8% to 13% as its video streaming service rides a wave of rising popularity spurred by government-imposed lockdowns that corralled people at home during the fight against the pandemic.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee prosecutor's office is asking a judge to overturn the conviction of man serving life in a 1998 slaying after finding new evidence.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NEW YORK CITY (AP) — The coronavirus can spread more extensively in households than previous research suggests, and kids can transmit it at about the same rate as adults do, according to a new study.
For the second time, a study testing an experimental antibody drug for COVID-19 has been paused to investigate a possible safety issue in hospitalized patients.
NEW YORK (AP) — Like battle-hardened veterans, New York City hospitals and nursing homes are bracing for a potential resurgence of coronavirus patients, drawing on lessons learned in the spring when the outbreak brought the nation's largest city to its knees.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A multi-state coronavirus surge in the countdown to Election Day has exposed a clear split between President Donald Trump's bullish embrace of a return to normalcy and urgent public warnings from the government's top health officials.
It's been over two months since movie theaters started reopening in the U.S., but there is still a fair amount of consumer confusion about moviegoing in the COVID-19 era.
PARIS (AP) — Parisians fleeing for the countryside jammed the roads ahead of France's lockdown to slow the spread of the resurgent coronavirus, and there was only a sprinkling of people hurrying along city sidewalks Friday as the nationwide restrictions went into effect.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Wall Street closed out another punishing week Friday with the S&P 500 posting its first back-to-back monthly loss since the pandemic first gripped the economy in March.
LONDON (AP) — The global travel and tourism industry is on course to lose 174 million jobs this year if current restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in place, a leading industry group warned Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wages and benefits for U.S. workers grew slowly this summer as employers sought to hold the line on pay gains in the midst of the pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will reduce the minimum loan level in its small business lending program and waive some fees to try to boost participation in a program that has so far provided little assistance to struggling companies.
NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon Mobil reported its third consecutive quarter of losses as the global pandemic curtailed travel and crippled global economic activity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers increased their spending by 1.4% in September, a modest gain but far less than the big increases of late spring, adding to concerns that Americans remain cautious with the viral pandemic resurging across the country and impeding the economy.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European economy grew by an unexpectedly large 12.7% in the third quarter as companies reopened after severe coronavirus lockdowns, but the rebound is being overshadowed by worries that growing numbers of infections will cause a new downturn in the final months of the year.
For the turkey industry, this Thanksgiving is a guessing game.
ELECTION 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart has reversed course, announcing it is returning ammunition and firearms to their displays in its U.S. stores.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texans have already cast more ballots in the presidential election than they did during all of 2016, an unprecedented surge of early voting in a state that was once the country's most reliably Republican, but may now be drifting toward battleground status.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Joe Biden was last in Iowa, his presidential campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the caucuses by a former Indiana mayor nearly 40 years his junior. He returns Friday as the Democratic nominee, believing he's just days away from becoming president-elect.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There are no crowds at Disneyland, still shut down by the coronavirus. Fewer fans attended the World Series this year than at any time in the past century. Big concerts are canceled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal laws and long-standing custom generally leave the U.S. military out of the election process. But President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated warnings about widespread voting irregularities have raised questions about a possible military role.
DETROIT (AP) — Every day feels like a raw wound for Omari Barksdale.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos planned a "Moms for Trump" rally in her home state of Michigan. The Department of Homeland Security's top official was in Texas to celebrate completion of a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency headed to North Carolina after visiting Georgia the day before.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29
VANDERBILT SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Vanderbilt Commodores have tried to make up for lost time, hoping unexpected practice time will be evident when they finally play their first game in three weeks.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Luke Combs and more are set to take the stage at the CMA Awards in November.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE – By the close of polls on Wednesday, Oct. 28, the 13th day of early voting for the Nov. 3 presidential election, 2,109,156 voters cast their ballot early or absentee by-mail.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Thursday marks the last day in Tennessee to vote early in person for the Nov. 3 presidential election.
COURTS
New York (AP) — Three civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging President Donald Trump's executive order that restricts federal agencies, as well as contractors and grant recipients, from offering certain diversity training that the president deems "anti-American."
REAL ESTATE
SEATTLE (AP) — Several fair housing organizations accused Redfin of systematic racial discrimination in a lawsuit Thursday, saying the online real estate broker offers fewer services to homebuyers and sellers in minority communities — a type of digital redlining that has depressed home values and exacerbated historic injustice in the housing market.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The pending sales of existing homes fell 2.2% in September, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, the first monthly contraction of that figure in four months.
HEALTH CARE
BOSTON (AP) — Federal agencies warned that cybercriminals are unleashing a wave of data-scrambling extortion attempts against the U.S. health care system designed to lock up hospital information systems, which could hurt patient care just as nationwide cases of COVID-19 are spiking.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to pull back the veil on health care costs to encourage competition, the Trump administration on Thursday finalized a requirement for insurers to tell consumers up front the actual prices for common tests and procedures.
TECHNOLOGY
LONDON (AP) — The European Union is set to propose new laws to rein in the power of big tech companies, including measures to ensure customers are protected, smaller rivals are treated fairly, and illegal content is dealt with, the bloc's digital and antitrust chief said on Thursday.
BEIJING (AP) — China's leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant "technology power" as a feud with Washington cuts access to U.S. computer chips and other high-tech components, hampering Beijing's industrial ambitions.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German automaker Volkswagen said Thursday it returned to profit in the third quarter thanks to cost discipline and a rebound in global sales markets led by China after the lifting of the severe restrictions on activity in the early phase of the pandemic.
TRANSPORTATION
The days of airlines blocking seats to make passengers feel safer about flying during the pandemic are coming closer to an end.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization's Europe director said Thursday that the 54-country region has again reached a new weekly record for confirmed cases, with more than 1.5 million confirmed last week and more than 10 million since the start of the pandemic.
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is halting his public general audiences and will limit participation at Christmas and other upcoming Masses amid a surge of coronavirus cases in Italy and the Vatican, officials said Thursday.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The World Health Organization's Europe director expressed deep concern on Thursday after the region again recorded the highest-ever weekly incidence of cases, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of a "difficult winter" as residents in France braced for life under a new month-long lockdown and Spain's parliament voted to extend the country's state of emergency.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stocks shook off an early slide and closed broadly higher Thursday as the market steadied after its worst drop in more than four months.
Five technology giants are reporting earnings Thursday, providing the latest indication of whether they are rebounding from an economic slowdown earlier this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The resurgence of coronavirus cases engulfing the United States and Europe is imperiling economic recoveries on both sides of the Atlantic as millions of individuals and businesses face the prospect of having to hunker down once again.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a scolding assessment of COVID-19 relief talks on Thursday, blaming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for failing to produce answers to her demands for Democratic priorities as part of an almost $2 trillion aid package.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a record 33.1% annual rate in the July-September quarter but has yet to fully rebound from its plunge in the first half of the year — and the recovery is slowing as coronavirus cases surge and government aid dries up.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 751,000, the lowest since March, but it's still historically high and indicates the viral pandemic is forcing many employers to cut jobs.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank held off from strengthening its current economic stimulus but its President Christine Lagarde said there was "little doubt" that more action would be coming at its December meeting as surging coronavirus infections and new restrictions on activity threaten Europe's economy.
ELECTION 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — North Carolina, yes. Pennsylvania, yes. Wisconsin, no. That's how the Supreme Court has answered questions in recent days about an extended timeline for receiving and counting ballots in those states.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden are encouraging voters to turn out in person on Election Day next Tuesday, both campaigning in Florida, a state all but essential to the Republican's pathway to another term.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — In the battle for control of the U.S. Senate this year, the Deep South is fielding more Black candidates than it has since Reconstruction.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Even if the presidential election hinges on a Florida recount like 20 years ago, hanging chads and butterfly ballots won't be around to trip up voters and officials — changes to ballots, equipment and laws have made the Bush-Gore circus a relic never to be revisited, state elections officials believe.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Hackers stole $2.3 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party's account that was being used to help reelect President Donald Trump in the key battleground state, the party's chairman told The Associated Press on Thursday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing a 2021 legislative agenda with two "great, big initiatives" — expanding health care access and rebuilding American infrastructure — that are longtime Democratic priorities aligned with Joe Biden's platform and taking on fresh urgency in the COVID-19 crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the U.S. Geological Survey violated federal whistleblower-protection laws by reassigning an employee who lodged an official complaint against him, the Interior Department's inspector general office said Thursday.