Corker turns down Trump offer to become U.S. ambassador to Australia
President Donald Trump offered Sen. Bob Corker, currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to position of U.S. ambassador to Australia, but the retiring Tennessee Republican lawmaker said no. His decision has made headlines internationally.
UT endowment investing in Cayman Islands; details kept secret under law approved by legislature in 2017
The University of Tennessee’s endowment has pumped millions of dollars into private investment funds in recent years, including many chartered in the Cayman Islands, reports the Commercial Appeal, and UT officials university successfully lobbied the Tennessee legislature to pass a law last year that keeps the details of these and other “alternative investments” secret.
As stated in a note accompanying the article, it is part of an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists project.
Report says cyberattack on Knox County election website came from from foreign countries, including Ukraine
Investigators found evidence of a “malicious intrusion” into the Knox County Election Commission’s website from a computer in Ukraine during a concerted cyberattack as results of this month’s local primary election were being reported, reports the Associated Press.
GOP gubernatorial candidates fret about trade war, but declare trust in Trump
President Donald Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel drew concerns from most Republican candidates for governor at a forum on Thursday at Martin, according to the Associated Press. They generally indicated worry about a trade war could harming Tennessee’s farm exports, particularly soybeans.
Haslam spending the week in United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Austria and Italy
Press release from the governor’s office
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe will travel to Europe May 4 to May 11 for an economic development trip designed to strengthen ties with European businesses and increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tennessee.
Blackburn and Bredesen concerned about trade war but not yet criticizing
Questioned about the possibility of a trade war between the United States and China at a Tennessee Farm Bureau breakfast, U.S. Senate candidates Marsha Blackburn and Phil Bredesen had somewhat similar responses, reports the Times Free Press.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent weeks have threatened to slap tariffs on products exported from each other’s countries.
…Both candidates voiced concerns but were hesitant to criticize Trump.
Lawyer mentioned in Russian probe also had ties to Blackburn
A Nashville lawyer with ties to a Russian banker mentioned in national media reports on probes into that country’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election also has ties to U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, reports The Tennessean.
Alexander, Corker — and Bredesen — don’t like Trump tariffs (Update: Blackburn, too)
Tennessee’s two U.S. senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, are both criticizing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that were announced Thursday.
TNECD hires representatives in France and Spain for total of 11 foreign recruiters
Press release from Department of Economic and Community Development
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community (TNECD) has announced the addition of two international representatives for Spain and France that will focus on attracting new foreign direct investment (FDI) to Tennessee.
Haslam quip to Hagerty: Make Japanese crane TN official state bird
Bill Hagerty, former commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development and now U.S. Ambassador to Japan, says Gov. Bill Haslam once joked about replacing the mockingbird with the crane as Tennessee’s official state bird, reports WKRN. The red-crowned crane is the official national bird of Japan.
