Only one-third of homebuying offers written in the Nashville area in July encountered competition, down from 73% in July 2021, a new study from real estate brokerage Redfin reports.

Nationwide, 44.3% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition on a seasonally adjusted basis in July compared with a revised rate of 50.9% one month earlier and 63.8% one year earlier.

2. ACLU of TN taps new executive director - Friday, August 19, 2022

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has selected Nashville attorney Kathy Sinback to lead the organization as its new executive director.

Sinback has served as the Davidson County Juvenile Court administrator since 2014. She began her career with the Metropolitan Public Defender’s Office, where she represented youth facing transfer to the adult system. She also served as a senior attorney with the Metropolitan Department of Law.

3. High-end homes unaffected by area’s July sales decline - Friday, August 19, 2022

Sales dropped 19% in July compared to July 2021, Greater Nashville Realtors sales data reveals. Last July, there were 4,314 sales and, even as recently as June of this year, there were 4,257 sales. But in July, the number dropped to 3,459.

4. Man who hid guns in jail pleads guilty to weapons charge - Friday, August 12, 2022

NASHVILLE (AP) — A prominent prison reform advocate who disguised himself as a construction worker to hide guns, handcuff keys and hacksaw blades in the walls of a Nashville jail under construction pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge on Thursday.

5. Harbinger of normalcy: ‘Open house, 2-4 Sunday’ - Friday, August 12, 2022

Things have changed. Realtors have begun to incorporate the “price improvement” verbiage into their vocabularies and their postings, and many of the nearly 2,000 new Realtors in the area are venturing into uncharted waters with a sales technique known as “open houses.”

6. Russians buy last goods from H&M, IKEA as stores wind down - Friday, August 5, 2022

MOSCOW (AP) — Russians are snapping up Western fashion and furniture this week as H&M and IKEA sell off the last of their inventory in Russia, moving forward with their exit from the country after it sent troops into Ukraine.

7. In dry California, salty water creeps into key waterways - Friday, August 5, 2022

RIO VISTA, Calif. (AP) — Charlie Hamilton hasn't irrigated his vineyards with water from the Sacramento River since early May, even though it flows just yards from his crop.

8. Live on the Green announces lineup - Friday, August 5, 2022

The lineup for Live on the Green features both local favorites and noisemaking newcomers as the Labor Day weekend music festival returns to Nashville’s Public Square Park after a two-year pandemic-related hiatus.

9. UT’s Hooker ready for football after busy offseason - Friday, August 5, 2022

Hendon Hooker knows sleep is a valued commodity for an athlete in terms of performance recovery. But Hooker has so much he’s excited about each day that it’s hard for him to stay still.

10. Freije from long range: Rates will remain stable - Friday, August 5, 2022

This week’s mortgage interest rate news is provided by Matt Freije, branch manager and vice president of mortgage lending with Guaranteed Rate Mortgage. Many may recognize the name as Freije was as an All-SEC basketball player for Vanderbilt and was the school’s all-time leading scorer when he graduated in 2004.

11. Pelosi to Taiwan would be career capstone, despite warnings - Friday, July 29, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched her political career being tough on China -- a new congresswoman who dared to unfurl a pro-democracy banner in Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a 1991 visit with other U.S. lawmakers shortly after the student massacre.

12. Watchdog head: Fines may not stop bad behavior by companies - Friday, July 29, 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — The head of the nation's financial watchdog is having second thoughts about how useful fines are in deterring illegal behavior in the financial industry, saying some companies have gotten so big that the money makes little difference.

13. GOP's links to extremism surface in congressional primary - Friday, July 22, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional candidate whose compelling personal story of military valor and unfathomable loss helped him win former President Donald Trump's support has connections to right-wing extremists, including a campaign consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys.

14. Dad means well, but he’s no expert on real estate - Friday, July 29, 2022

As another recession looms, those in the mortgage lending community are absorbing the data and working with buyers and investors as they plot their financial courses.

Mary Littleton, a senior mortgage broker with Accurate Mortgage, notes “Bond pricing is worse this week as the 10-year Treasury yield opened at 3.028 last week and moved to 2.842 Monday morning.” She adds: “Treasury yield spread continues to show inversion, a typical sign of impending recession.”

15. Growing number in GOP back Pelosi on possible Taiwan trip - Friday, July 22, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reported plans to travel to Taiwan have upended Washington's political divide, with a rift emerging with President Joe Biden over the visit to the self-governing island while prominent Republicans offer encouragement to a political opponent they normally scorn.

16. Housing market chills as mortgage rates, prices scare buyers - Friday, July 22, 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — It's the summer that cooled off the housing market.

Rising mortgage rates have combined with already high home prices to discourage would-be buyers. Mortgage applications have declined sharply. Sales of previously occupied homes have fallen for five straight months, during what is generally the busiest time of year in real estate.

17. Big truck, big bucks and other real estate fallacies - Friday, July 22, 2022

In residential real estate, there are presumptions and assumptions made by buyers and sellers that are not accurate. In fact, they are just plain wrong.

One of the best is that when either party decides that the other party is wealthy and decides no financial concessions should be made.

18. Whiskey bent and trail bound - Friday, July 22, 2022

The foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains have long played host to distilleries, though their grand openings weren’t always accompanied by a news release.

These days, instead of being underground operators living in fear of the “Revenuers” breaking up their equipment, Tennessee’s distillers have become a cohesive group of entrepreneurs working to drive economic development and tourism across the state.

19. Sankey sees changes in stronger SEC with expansion, playoff - Friday, July 15, 2022

ATLANTA (AP) — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey proclaimed Monday the league "is stronger now than at any other time in our history."

But the conference can't rest on its success, which includes the last three national championships in football, Sankey said in his address that opened SEC Media Days. He spoke of the changes to come with conference realignments, leaving open the possibility of further expansion after Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC in 2025 to make it a 16-team conference, as well as what might be next for the College Football Playoff.

20. Top Davidson County commercial sales for June 2022 - Friday, July 15, 2022

Top commercial real estate sales, June 2022, for Davidson County, as compiled by the Nashville Ledger.

21. Statewide early voting begins Friday - Friday, July 15, 2022

Tennessee’s early voting period for the Aug. 4 primaries and general election is scheduled for July 15-30, daily except Sundays.

On the August ballot, Tennessee voters will see primary races for governor, U.S. House, state Senate, state House and the state Executive Committee members for each political party, as well as retention or general elections for judicial offices and other state and local positions.

22. Rising rates? No problem. Sales numbers still climbing - Friday, July 15, 2022

After the Federal Reserve announced it had raised interest rates by 75 basis points in June, mortgage interest rates jumped to 5.85% for a fixed-rate, 30-year loan, even though mortgage rates are tied to 10-year Treasury Bills, not the Federal Reserve.

23. Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon hits tragic record in 2022 - Friday, July 8, 2022

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon during the first half of 2022 broke all records, a measure of the increasing destruction taking place under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.

24. Amazon Prime Day comes amid slowdown in online sales growth - Friday, July 8, 2022

Amazon is heading into its annual Prime Day sales event on Tuesday much differently than how it entered the pandemic.

The company has long used the two-day event — one of its biggest all year — to lure people to its Prime membership, for which Amazon recently raised the price to $139 a year from $119 a year.

25. YWCA opens calls for Women of Achievement - Friday, July 8, 2022

YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee is calling for nominations for the 31st annual Academy for Women of Achievement, presented by Amazon. The AWA award recognizes Middle Tennessee women who have made extraordinary accomplishments through career success, community service and leadership.

26. Bidding wars on retreat as local market begins to slow - Friday, July 8, 2022

Homes continue to sell in the Nashville area, despite the interest rate increase that is slowing sales nationwide, although there are fewer selling for more than list price, especially at the upper end.

27. Add rent to the rising costs bedeviling small businesses - Friday, July 1, 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — The rent has come due for America's small businesses and at a very inopportune time.

Landlords were lenient about rent payments during the first two years of the pandemic. Now, many are asking for back rent, and some are raising the current rent as well. Meanwhile, most of the government aid programs that helped small businesses get through the pandemic have ended while inflation has sharply pushed up the cost of supplies, shipping, and labor.

28. 345% surge in home sale contracts as mortgage interest rates rise - Friday, July 1, 2022

The recent increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board has slowed the residential real estate market as buyers and lenders re-assess the buyers’ borrowing abilities. Coupled with a downturn in the stock market, the residential market is resting in some areas and at some prices.

29. China's Baidu races Waymo, GM to develop self-driving cars - Friday, June 24, 2022

BEIJING (AP) — With no one at the wheel, a self-driving taxi developed by tech giant Baidu Inc. is rolling down a Beijing street when its sensors spot the corner of a delivery cart jutting into its lane.

30. Snitker named Waller chief diversity officer - Friday, June 24, 2022

Ron Snitker has been named the first chief diversity officer at the Nashville-based Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis.

Snitker will be responsible for overseeing and executing the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy in concert with Waller’s Diversity Committee. This includes internal and external initiatives such as collaborating on recruiting, retention, firm culture, programming, leadership development and community engagement.

31. To ARMS! Time to bring back old mortgage solution - Friday, June 24, 2022

Everyone knows the Federal Reserve raised rates last week by 0.75 percentage points, the biggest increase since 1994. But few know what it means in terms of residential real estate.

So, we should party like its 1995, the year after the great increase. Billy Hamburg of Cardinal Financial notes that the interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages is 5.875%, a rate considered outrageously high as compared to the foolishness consumers have enjoyed the past few years.

32. Angry Fans might pass on ’22 Ally 400 - Friday, June 24, 2022

A year ago, when NASCAR returned top-tier Cup Series racing to the Nashville area for the first time since 1984 with the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, the race-day experience looked like an easy victory for the track and fans.

33. Judge declines to open Tenn. Judicial Conference to public - Friday, June 10, 2022

NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday declined to order a meeting of the Tennessee Judicial Conference to be opened to the public, ruling after an attorney for the state testified the group would only engage in continuing legal education and make no policy decisions.

34. Editor sues Tennessee courts director over meeting access - Friday, June 10, 2022

NASHVILLE (AP) — The editor of a national news website on Monday sued Tennessee's state court administrator over her February decision to close Judicial Conference meetings to the public.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Nashville, The Center Square Executive Editor Dan McCaleb asks the judge for an order declaring a Tennessee Judicial Conference meeting that begins on Wednesday to be open to the public. An emergency hearing was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

35. VU Children’s Hospital No. 1 in state, Southeast - Friday, June 17, 2022

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has once again been named the No. 1 children’s hospital in Tennessee and continues to be recognized among the top pediatric hospitals in the nation, the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital rankings finds.

36. With supply rising, why aren’t prices dropping? - Friday, June 17, 2022

“Inventory rises to its highest level Since November 2020” reads the headline atop this month’s the latest news from the Greater Nashville Realtors.

The rise in inventory brings joy and hope to the hearts of homebuyers who have been shunned by the market for the past two-plus years. Yet, the glass remains half full: The organization also reports sales of 3,982 homes in May, meaning there is a 1.5-month inventory on hand.

37. Scottsdale? Woo-hoo! Partay! Go west, young bachelorettes - Friday, June 17, 2022

It’s a competition many folks in Nashville would be more than happy to lose. Including me.

A recent article in The New York Times positioned Scottsdale, Arizona, as the rising star on the bachelorette party scene. (Of course, this is the same paper that, in 2013, helped kick off the current situation by declaring Nashville the latest “It” city.)

38. ‘They don’t know my Madison’ - Friday, June 17, 2022

Sometimes all it takes is a few people to see things not just as they were, but what they could be. To have reverence for the past while guiding growth in the future.

Nancy VanReece is one of those people. She moved to Nashville in 1986 to start her own radio promotion and marketing agency out of college in Texas. Soon she was in publishing, started a small label and sold it to her partners after two years. She then joined the performing rights organization BMI, where she ended up working for 10 years in business and health care licensing.

39. Small businesses are facing 'summer of uncertainty' - Friday, June 10, 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — Small businesses that depend on outdoor crowds and free-spending tourists aren't sure what to expect this summer.

Consumers likely have a lot of pent-up demand after more than two years of the pandemic. But they're also facing some significant financial headwinds because of the highest inflation in decades. And COVID-19 remains a looming presence.

40. Napaway Coach to offer D.C.-Nashville service - Friday, June 10, 2022

Napaway Coach, a new type of premium sleeper coach service designed to offer comfortable, convenient, overnight journeys between cities across the country, has revealed it will officially begin operations June 17 with service between Washington, D.C., and Nashville.

41. Henry Horton State Park opens restaurant, visitors center - Friday, June 3, 2022

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials have opened a new restaurant and visitors center at Henry Horton State Park.

42. UK pledges missiles to Ukraine; new US ambassador in Kyiv - Friday, June 3, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Britain pledged Thursday to send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, joining the United States and Germany in equipping the embattled nation with advanced weapons for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery.

43. Former Watkins campus to be developed - Friday, May 27, 2022

EJF Capital LLC and Chartwell Residential has announced the close of an approximately $67.35 million construction loan to develop the first phase of a multifamily development in Nashville’s Metrocenter neighborhood.

44. Bradley adds health care attorney Setterlund - Friday, May 27, 2022

Eric Setterlund has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in the firm’s health care and cybersecurity and privacy practice groups.

Setterlund previously served as the privacy and data counsel and the interim chief privacy officer for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. During his time at BCBST, he provided strategic leadership on privacy, security and technology matters, as well as enterprise data sharing initiatives, digitization efforts and member outreach campaigns.

45. Events - Friday, May 27, 2022

Member Connect Leads Exchange. Connect with fellow members while gaining exposure for your business. This is a facilitated, small-group networking opportunity allowing each attendee to talk about their business. One representative per company each month. Williamson, Inc. Power Room, 4031 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 630, Franklin. Parking: 4000 Rush Street. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Fee: free. Option 2: Afternoon session, Wednesday, 3:30-5 p.m. Information

46. Median area home price rises $95,000 in just a year - Friday, May 27, 2022

April home prices hit all-time highs, with median single-family prices rising dramatically from $385,000 in April 2021 to $480,000 for April 2022, data from Greater Nashville Realtors and Realtracs reveals.

47. Amazon to sublease warehouses as online shopping slows - Friday, May 20, 2022

Amazon is planning to sublease some of its warehouse space now that the pandemic-fueled surge in online shopping, which helped the e-commerce giant rake in soaring profits in the past two years, has eased.

48. McDonald's era in Russia coming to a close, restaurants sold - Friday, May 20, 2022

McDonald's has begun the sale of its restaurants in Russia 30 years after the burger chain became a powerful symbol of easing of Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union.

The Chicago burger giant said its existing licensee Alexander Govor, who operates 25 restaurants in Siberia, has agreed to buy McDonald's 850 Russian restaurants and operate them under a new name. McDonald's did not disclose the terms of the sale.

49. Big dreams for new Warner Bros. Discovery in ad presentation - Friday, May 13, 2022

In what was essentially a public debut on Wednesday, leaders of the new Warner Bros. Discovery portrayed the media giant as effectively a fifth U.S. broadcast television network, with even bigger aspirations.

50. Don’t misjudge deceptive signs of slowing market - Friday, May 20, 2022

Has the Midstate real estate market slowed? This is a question asked by potential buyers hoping the answer is “yes.” And there are some signs that point in that direction.

Don’t be fooled.

51. Fall of Mariupol appears at hand; fighters leave steel plant - Friday, May 13, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Mariupol appeared on the verge of falling to the Russians on Tuesday as Ukraine moved to abandon the steel plant where hundreds of its fighters had held out for months under relentless bombardment in the last bastion of resistance in the devastated city.

52. Ukraine working to pull last fighters from Mariupol mill - Friday, May 13, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters defending the last holdout in Mariupol were evacuated to areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists and officials worked Tuesday to get the rest out, signaling the beginning of the end of a siege that became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

53. Theme park to open 1st US attraction at gateway to Smokies - Friday, May 13, 2022

KNOXVILLE (AP) — In its quest to redefine tourism at the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has inked a deal to bring an international entertainment company to the United States for the first time.

54. AllianceBernstein shows off new corporate home - Friday, May 13, 2022

AllianceBernstein LP, a research and global investment management firm, has officially unveiled its corporate headquarters in Nashville.

AB is located at 501 Commerce, which is part of the mixed-use Fifth + Broadway development.

55. Top Davidson County residential sales for April 2022 - Friday, May 13, 2022

Top residential real estate sales, April 2022, for Davidson County, as compiled by the Nashville Ledger.

56. Honestly, how do you know if sellers are telling the truth? - Friday, May 13, 2022

Very few people have lied one time and then ceased the practice. If they lied to you once, you can expect more falsehoods to follow.

For some, the lie is a creative exercise so as not to appear ignorant. For others, the lie is a means to an end. Some might drop a slight fib in order to make a piece of real estate seem more attractive to an unsuspecting buyer.

57. As Putin marks Victory Day, his troops make little war gains - Friday, May 6, 2022

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his country's biggest patriotic holiday Monday without a major new battlefield success in Ukraine to boast of, as the war ground on through its 11th week with the Kremlin's forces making little or no progress in their offensive.

58. Russia pounds Ukraine's vital port of Odesa, Mariupol plant - Friday, May 6, 2022

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces pounded away at the vital port of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, as part of an apparent effort to disrupt supply lines and weapons shipments. On the other end of the southern coast, they hammered a steel plant where Ukrainian fighters are denying Moscow full control of another critical port.

59. More than 60 feared dead in bombing of Ukrainian school - Friday, May 6, 2022

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — More than 60 people were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb flattened a school being used as a shelter, Ukrainian officials said, while Moscow's forces pressed their attack on defenders inside Mariupol's steel plant in an apparent race to capture the city ahead of Russia's Victory Day holiday.

60. No end in sight for Ukraine war as Putin hails Victory Day - Friday, May 6, 2022

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin used a major patriotic holiday Monday to again justify his war in Ukraine but did not declare even a limited victory or signal where the conflict was headed, as his forces continued to pummel targets across the country with few signs of significant progress.

61. Brazil's Amazon deforestation hits record for month of April - Friday, May 6, 2022

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Deforestation detected in the Brazilian Amazon broke all records for the month of April, and that followed similar new records set in January and February, reflecting a worrisome uptick in destruction in a state deep within the rainforest.

62. Wall Street, tech investors back Musk Twitter bid with $7B - Friday, May 6, 2022

Elon Musk has strengthened the equity stake in his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter with commitments of more than $7 billion from a diverse group of investors including Silicon Valley heavy hitters like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

63. California moves to embrace cryptocurrency and regulate it - Friday, April 29, 2022

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, which would have the world's fifth-largest economy if it was a country, on Wednesday became the first U.S. state to formally begin examining how to broadly adapt to cryptocurrency and related innovations, following a path laid out by President Joe Biden in March.

64. AP evidence points to 600 dead in Mariupol theater airstrike - Friday, April 29, 2022

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — She stood in just her bathrobe in the freezing basement of the Mariupol theater, coated in white plaster dust shaken loose by the explosion. Her husband tugged at her to leave and begged her to cover her eyes.

65. Heritage Foundation to open history center - Friday, May 6, 2022

The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County plans to establish The History & Culture Center of Williamson County in the former McConnell House building in Downtown Franklin.

The historic building will be transformed into Williamson County’s first state-of-the-art, interactive exhibition space dedicated to telling its comprehensive countywide history.

66. $8.6 million for a teardown? Just a sign of things to come - Friday, May 6, 2022

At $8.6 million, the house at 1220 Chickering Road speaks to the strength of the Nashville Real estate market as it, like houses priced $7 million less, sold in one day.

Unlike the lower-priced homes, this house could not boast that it sold for more than list price, but when there is a price tag of $8.9 million, bragging rights are not a factor.

67. Justices limit discrimination claims for emotional distress - Friday, April 29, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit filed by a deaf, legally blind woman against a physical therapy business that wouldn't provide an American Sign Language interpreter for her appointments.

68. VU poll: Nashvillians say city headed in wrong direction - Friday, April 29, 2022

For the first time since the Vanderbilt Poll–Nashville was established in 2015, more than half of respondents say they believe the city is headed in the wrong direction.

Fifty-three percent of those who took the survey, which gauges people’s perception of their local government, said that Nashville is off track—a significant swing from last year, when 59 percent of residents polled said they believed the city was “generally headed in the right direction.”

69. China grants first driverless taxi permits to Baidu, Pony.ai - Friday, April 29, 2022

BEIJING (AP) — China has granted Chinese internet services company Baidu and a rival autonomous car company, Pony.ai, permits to provide driverless ride-hailing services to the public in Beijing, a significant regulatory step in the country's pursuit of driverless technology.

70. Twitter abuse victims fear Musk's plans, but may not quit - Friday, April 22, 2022

Perhaps no group of people is more alarmed about Elon Musk's plan to make Twitter a free speech free-for-all than those most likely to be targeted for harassment: women, racial minorities and other marginalized groups.

71. Jones Company sold to Richmond - Friday, April 29, 2022

Richmond American Homes of Tennessee has entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the homebuilding assets of The Jones Company of Tennessee, LLC.

Jones closed over 370 homes in fiscal year 2021 in the Nashville area with an average sales price of $564,000, generating revenues of $209 million.

72. New basketball facility transforming VU football stadium - Friday, April 29, 2022

Double-deckers are commonplace in downtown Nashville these days — everything from a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red lower Broadway venue to a ride aboard one of those slow-moving, open-air “transpotainment” party buses to one of those expensive parking garages.

73. Lost in translation: What listing states, what it means - Friday, April 29, 2022

I have observed during the past 43 years an increasingly creative use of the English language by my real estate peers. While there are apps and programs for translation for many languages, real estate translation is nowhere to be found.

74. Housing shortage, soaring rents squeeze US college students - Friday, April 22, 2022

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — UC Berkeley sophomore Terrell Thompson slept in his car for nearly two weeks at the start of the school year last fall, living out of a suitcase stashed in the trunk and texting dozens of landlords a day in a desperate search for a place to live.

75. Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44B and will privatize company - Friday, April 22, 2022

Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers.

76. Possible mass graves near Mariupol shown in satellite images - Friday, April 22, 2022

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — New satellite images show apparent mass graves near Mariupol, where local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians to conceal the slaughter taking place in the ruined port city that's almost entirely under Russian control.

77. EXPLAINER: Why the battle for Mariupol's steel mill matters - Friday, April 22, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin is claiming control over Ukraine's port city of Mariupo l even as its defenders are still holding out at a giant seaside steel mill.

His statement reflected the importance of the city on the Sea of Azov and appeared to be an attempt to declare victory without storming the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance there: the massive Azovstal plant.

78. Putin claims victory in Mariupol but won't storm steel plant - Friday, April 22, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory Thursday in the battle for Mariupol, even as he ordered his troops not to take the risk of storming the giant steel plant where the last Ukrainian defenders in the city were holed up in a maze of underground passages.

79. Bitcoin's new puzzle: How to ditch fossil fuels and go green - Friday, April 22, 2022

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — For the past year a company that "mines" cryptocurrency had what seemed the ideal location for its thousands of power-thirsty computers working around the clock to verify bitcoin transactions: the grounds of a coal-fired power plant in rural Montana.

80. Ukraine war refugees top 5 million as assault intensifies - Friday, April 15, 2022

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her family's home in Ukraine, Viktoriya Savyichkina made a daring escape from the besieged city of Mariupol with her 9- and 14-year-old daughters.

81. Russia ratchets up battle for control of eastern Ukraine - Friday, April 15, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, intensifying assaults on cities and towns along a front hundreds of miles long in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war.

82. Twitter adopts 'poison pill' defense in Musk takeover bid - Friday, April 15, 2022

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Twitter said Friday that its board of directors has unanimously adopted a "poison pill" defense in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's proposal to buy the company and take it private.

83. Expanding drought leaves western US scrambling for water - Friday, April 15, 2022

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Tumbleweeds drift along the Rio Grande as sand bars within its banks widen. Smoke from distant wildfires and dust kicked up by intense spring winds fill the valley, exacerbating the feeling of distress that is beginning to weigh on residents.

84. Ukraine's port of Mariupol holds out against all odds - Friday, April 15, 2022

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Under relentless bombardment and a Russian blockade, the key port of Mariupol is holding out, but weapons and supplies shortages could weaken the resistance that has thwarted the Kremlin's invasion plans.

85. Japanese e-vehicle battery company to build Kentucky plant - Friday, April 8, 2022

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Japanese electric vehicle battery technology company will build a factory in Kentucky, creating 2,000 jobs in a $2 billion investment that reinforces the state's leadership in battery production, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.

86. Echo Health Ventures plants Tennessee flag - Friday, April 15, 2022

Echo Health Ventures is establishing a local presence in Tennessee led by Echo Health Advisors principal Hayley Hovious, who joined the company in March following seven years as president of the Nashville Health Care Council.

87. Electric Avenue sale shocking; interest rates curbing frenzy - Friday, April 15, 2022

If a person decided to rock down to Electric Avenue in order to buy a home, said person might be shocked to find the cost of Electric had jumped even more than the price of gasoline.

Last week, Robert Drimmer – often referred to as Robbie – listed and sold 1503 Electric Avenue, getting $1.2 million for the 2,758-square-foot home.

88. Future of work, living takes shape in suburbs - Friday, April 15, 2022

The future of the office, or at least one vision of that future, is coming into focus in suburbs surrounding Nashville, where commutes require a comfortable pair of shoes or a bicycle instead of a car.

89. Nashville’s cranes find new habitats - Friday, April 15, 2022

Standing on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in downtown Nashville, you can look in any direction and see why the city is considered the hottest place in the country for commercial real estate investment.

90. California utility to pay $55 million for massive wildfires - Friday, April 8, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires started by aging Northern California power lines belonging to the nation's largest utility, prosecutors announced Monday.

91. Lyft, Spin partner, scoot into Nashville - Friday, April 8, 2022

Lyft and Spin have announced a partnership to bring Spin scooters to the Lyft app in 60 U.S. markets, including Nashville.

More cities are launching over the coming months.

This integration further positions Lyft as the go-to transportation platform as riders have new, cost-effective and more sustainable ways to get from point A to point B. This exclusive partnership creates a seamless experience: riders can simply rent and pay for Spin scooters in the Lyft app without needing to download another app or add new payment information.

92. Siri, what did the last couple say they were willing to pay? - Friday, April 8, 2022

The Ring doorbell and similar security and camera devices have ushered in a new era in real estate showings. Often, after viewing a listing, the buyers and the buyers’ agents stop on the front porch to discuss their assessment of the property.

93. ‘I’m done with tennis ... and I loved tennis’ - Friday, April 8, 2022

It’s everywhere, the sport of the moment, and people just can’t get enough of it

Let’s say you hadn’t heard of pickleball until a couple of years ago, and now your folks/kids/half your friends are playing it.

94. Events - Friday, April 1, 2022

Member Connect Leads Exchange. Connect with fellow Williamson Chamber members while gaining exposure for your business. Member Connect is a facilitated, small-group networking opportunity allowing each attendee to talk about their business in an intentional way. Williamson, Inc. 4031 Aspen Grove Dr., Suite 630. Parking: 4000 Rush Street. Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Information Second option: Holiday Inn-Franklin/Cool Springs, 1738 Carothers Parkway. 3:30-5 p.m. Information

95. Sky high: Bidding wars find another home in tall condos - Friday, April 1, 2022

The “When will it end?” question continues to be floated as many are being priced out of the Nashville market. Those who have watched prices skyrocket faster than their income and their savings accounts are praying for relief.

96. Nashville vs. Milwaukee: GOP weighs its convention choices - Friday, March 25, 2022

In Milwaukee, one of two cities vying to host the Republican presidential convention in 2024, Democrats were pilloried by the potential visitors after predawn election results delivered Wisconsin for Joe Biden in the 2020 White House race. Rival Nashville, Tennessee, is run by a mayor whose Democratic brother was effectively redistricted out of his congressional seat by Republicans.

97. Zelenskyy hints at openness to compromise on eastern Ukraine - Friday, March 25, 2022

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is prepared to declare its neutrality and consider a compromise on contested areas in the country's east, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of another round of talks set for Tuesday on stopping the fighting. But he said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader can end the war.

98. Metro Nashville to acquire Hickory Hollow Mall property - Friday, March 18, 2022

Metro Nashville plans to acquire the Global Mall at the Crossings, formerly known as Hickory Hollow Mall, and announced a new vision for Southeast Nashville property.

Metro has signed a letter of intent with Vanderbilt University Medical Center to negotiate a long-term lease of at least 600,000 square feet for health care related services, similar to VUMC’s repurposing of retail space at One Hundred Oaks.

99. Rising rates add another hurdle for harried buyers - Friday, March 25, 2022

Historically, rising interest rates force hesitant buyers to jump from the fences and into the fray. As rates have begun a steady climb recently, borrowers are clamoring to lenders in order to lock rates before they increase even more.

100. Pandemic relief money spent on hotel, ballpark, ski slopes - Friday, March 18, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thanks to a sudden $140 million cash infusion, officials in Broward County, Florida, recently broke ground on a high-end hotel that will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and an 11,000-square-foot spa.