Nashville Celebrates MLK Day

Jason Luntz
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Nashville Celebrates MLK Day

January 20, 2020 – Hundreds of Nashvillians gathered on historic Jefferson Street to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The morning began with a Youth Rally that led to a march to the Gentry Center at Tennessee State University. The day concluded with a Convocation where local and state leaders spoke about the legacy of Dr. King, followed by a keynote by MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid.

Presented by the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship (IMF), the Nashville MLK Day celebrated 31 years and is one of the oldest MLK Day programs in the nation.

Nashville North Collaborative Helps Teachers and Students Prepare for Success

The Nashville Voice
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Nashville North Collaborative Helps Teachers and Students Prepare for Success

Nashville, TN — The Nashville North Collaborative hosted a Back to School – School Supply Re-Up on Saturday, January 18, at Hartman Park. This family-friendly event was free and open to the community. There was entertainment, games and performances enjoyed by teachers, students, and parents who were able to “re-up” on school supplies and backpacks.

(l - r) Councilmember Kyonzté Toombs, MNPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle, Councilmember Jennifer Gamble, and State Senator Brenda Gilmore. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)
(l – r) Councilmember Kyonzté Toombs, MNPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle, Councilmember Jennifer Gamble, and State Senator Brenda Gilmore. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

The Nashville North Collaborative is comprised of Metro Councilmembers Jonathan Hall – D1, Kyonzté Toombs – D2, Jennifer Gamble – D3, and Brandon Taylor – D21, State Representatives Vincent Dixie and Harold Love, Jr., and State Senator Brenda Gilmore.

“Nonprofits and churches give away book bags and parents and teachers try to stock up on school supplies at the beginning of the school year. However, supplies run out. Book bags tear up. Coming right out of the holiday season, we wanted to give some relief to parents and teachers and help replenish school supplies and replace worn book bags,” said Representative Vincent Dixie. “We want our community to know we care and are invested in their success.”

Mayor John Cooper and MNPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle were also in attendance.

“The School Supply Re-Up is our first community event,” explained Councilmember Kyonzté Toombs. “We wanted to come together to use our platforms to impact our communities outside of our roles as elected officials.”

Why a Personalized Diet Can Help You Achieve Better Results

StatePoint
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Why a Personalized Diet Can Help You Achieve Better Results

From custom-designed sneakers to tailor-made sunglasses, the trend of personalization is going head-to-toe, and for good reason, making its way to the world of weight loss and wellness.

Specifically, researchers have been studying two converging topics in recent years. One is the importance of body type in determining the combination of fats, carbohydrates and protein that will provide the best results for a given individual. The other is the variability of results associated with a single diet — the idea that if two people start the same diet at the same time, their results could be drastically different.

On top of that, consumer research shows that people overwhelmingly prefer personalized experiences. Sixty percent of consumers agree that personalization is essential to weight loss and overall wellness.

Here’s what to know about why personalized diets are becoming so popular and how to find the right diet for you:

The Importance of Body Type

The places your body stores excess fat may be the single greatest predictor of health outcomes. This is the concept behind Nutrisystem’s assessment of the four most common body types: “Apple,” “Pear,” “Hourglass” and “Rectangle.”

“We’re going a bit old school here, because these categories have stood the test of time for a reason. They provide crucial information on how you respond to food intake and can help you to adjust what you eat based on your goals,” says Courtney McCormick, corporate dietitian at Nutrisystem.

Body type can also influence how macronutrients like fat, protein, and carbs are processed. To fulfill your individual needs, first determine your body type, food preferences and goals, then look for a weight loss plan that takes these important factors into consideration, such as Nutrisystem.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The DIETFITS study, a large, randomized research study comparing low-fat versus low-carb dietary patterns found no difference in weight loss between them. But drilling down into the data, one can see great variability. Some dieters gained weight while others lost a lot. But it’s not always about weight outcomes, as recent research has shown that factors such as body shape may play a bigger role in the determinants of health risks than body weight alone.

For instance, a woman who is apple-shaped tends to carry her extra weight in the mid-section. She would see best results on a lower-glycemic nutrition plan that is lower in refined carbs and higher in healthy fats and protein.

“Research shows that one size does not fit all when it comes to weight loss and disease prevention,” says McCormick. “That’s why we’ve created a unique, personalized approach that’s easy to follow and designed to help participants lose weight and get healthy.”

For more insights on how to personalize your diet and maximize results, visit leaf.nutrisystem.com.

While it’s no secret that achieving one’s weight loss goals is challenging, personalizing your plan can help make things easier, ultimately providing you a greater chance of success.

Tyler Perry knows which part of ‘A Fall From Grace’ will have you yelling

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Tyler Perry knows which part of ‘A Fall From Grace’ will have you yelling

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Please don’t spoil Tyler Perry’s new movie on social media.

The media mogul has a new thriller out on Netflix titled “Tyler Perry’s A Fall From Grace,” which debuted Friday.

Perry told CNN he was concerned about people sharing an important plot twist and planned on taking to social media to ask viewers to not ruin it for others.

“I love for people to discover it for themselves,” he said. “So stop spoiling it!”

The film centers around Grace Waters, a middle-aged woman who finds love again after rebuilding her life following a painful divorce.

But Waters, played by Crystal Fox, soon discovers that everything isn’t what it seems and lands in jail, charged with murder.

Fox said she wanted to “represent all of those women who may not have been represented.”

“Things can happen to you, but that doesn’t mean you lose sight of your feistiness and your sexuality,” the actress said. “I hope that I honored all of the different shades of women. I just didn’t want to miss us by telling this story, I wanted to represent us.”

The cast includes Bresha Webb as Grace’s young, inexperienced attorney Jasmine, Phylicia Rashad as Grace’s best friend Sarah and Cicely Tyson as Sarah’s tenant, Alice.

Webb talked to CNN about what it was like to work with such legendary actors.

“It’s still ‘Pinch me, this can’t be happening,” she said. “Even during this press tour I’ve learned so much, I’ve gained so much, I’ve grown so much. I’m just honored to be a part of the conversation, to sit at the table.”

“I got to work with the queen, Cicely Tyson,” Webb added. “It’s very rare that a young actress is given a opportunity like this.”

Perry, who directed as well as wrote the film and plays a supporting role, shot it in five days at his Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

That sounds like an amazing feat until you realize that Perry is used to doing things his way.

‘I didn’t learn in Hollywood so I don’t know how they do it,” he said. “The way I learned to do it is very guerrilla, it’s very grab it and make it happen. I have a team and a crew that’s amazing and we pull it off every day.”

Perry praised his cast, especially Webb, Rashad and Fox, who joined him for the interview.

“They just all started playing this beautiful symphony for me in every scene,” he said.

There’s one scene in particular which the director said has elicited a strong response from audiences who have seen it so far.

Webb’s character ventures down the stairs into a dark basement, often to shouts of “Don’t go in there, girl!”

“If anyone’s going to give me grief, that’s the only part to for me to give me grief about,” he joked. “Ain’t no black woman in the history of [film] ever went down into a basement so we have to suspend belief for that.”

No spoilers here, but the ending does hint at a possible sequel.

So will there be one?

Perry said that depends on whether the characters have more to say, but Rashad endorsed reuniting Grace and her lawyer Jasmine.

“That’s the real powerful story,” she said. “About these women impacting each other and moving each other towards a positive goal in each of their lives. That’s powerful, I think.”

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Beyoncé’s Ivy Park x Adidas’ line drops online and sends the internet into a frenzy

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Beyoncé’s Ivy Park x Adidas’ line drops online and sends the internet into a frenzy

By Chauncey Alcorn CNN Business

(CNN) — Queen Bey’s latest wardrobe arrived a day early and it’s already breaking the internet.

A limited supply of clothes and shoes from Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s new Ivy Park x Adidas retail line dropped at noon on Friday – hours ahead of its scheduled Saturday release date – and started a social media frenzy. The #IvyParkXAdidas hashtag made it to at least #3 on Twitter’s top 10 trending topics in the United States during the day.

The pop star has been posting photos teasing the brand’s launch for more than a week. Her notoriously passionate fans – known affectionately as the Beyhive – tweeted non-stop during the afternoon about the new sports apparel after the beloved celeb shared new photos and videos of herself wearing the gear on her Instagram account.

Videos of the “Spirit” singer strutting, vogue-ing, twirling, twerking, jerking, and dropping it like it’s hot in maroon, orange and white Ivy Park tops, hats, shoes, hoodies, and windbreaker pants – some accented with Adidas’ signature three stripes – were posted on her Instagram story.

“She’s literally the cutest! #ivyparkxadidas #adidasxIVYPARK,” one fan account tweeted along with a video of Beyoncé dancing in her new clothes.

Adidas signed a joint venture deal to make Beyoncé one of its latest celebrity brand partners in April of last year.

Beyoncé’s face was plastered all over Adidas’ website during the afternoon. A button click on the homepage took users to a page explaining the rules for a chance to be one of the first to obtain Ivy Park apparel.

“This is a limited release,” a pop-up message stated. “You’re in line for the new adidas x IVY PARK collection. Please wait for your chance to shop. Make sure you know which items you’re interested in – we’re expecting to sell out quickly.”

Smart phone users were directed to a separate “waiting room” screen.

“We’re almost ready to launch adidas x IVY PARK – final preparations are being made to ensure the drop is fair and bot free,” the message read.

Some fans reported on social media they had struggled to purchase the gear on Adidas’ website. A lucky few managed to get through.

“Got emmmm'” one purchaser tweeted.

Earlier this week, the 38-year-old, Golden Globe nominee made more headlines after sending Ivy Park swag to several celebs, including Zendaya, Hailey Bieber, Cardi B, Yara Shahidi and Reese Witherspoon. Pictures of the wealthy young stars receiving and sporting Bey’s clothes prompted some backlash from critics who lamented the celebrities could all afford to buy their own Ivy Park gear.

Adidas also has an active endorsement deal with Kanye West, whose Yeezy shoe line was projected to produce more than $1.3 billion in sales by the end of 2019, according to a June New York Times profile. Adidas did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

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Exclusive: Warren accused Sanders in tense post-debate exchange of calling her a ‘liar’ on national TV

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Exclusive: Warren accused Sanders in tense post-debate exchange of calling her a ‘liar’ on national TV

By Kyle Blaine, Jeff Zeleny and Marshall Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — In a tense and dramatic exchange in the moments after the Democratic debate Tuesday night, Elizabeth Warren accused Bernie Sanders of calling her a liar on national television.

Sanders responded that it was Warren who called him a liar and said they should not talk about it right then.

When the CNN/Des Moines Register debate concluded, the studio audience and viewers saw Warren walk over to Sanders and not shake his outstretched hand. The two senators seemed to have a heated and brief exchange before Sanders appeared to throw his hands up, turn and walk away. The video of the exchange aired live with no audio.

But sound of the moment was caught by CNN’s microphones and found Wednesday.

“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren can be heard saying.

“What?” Sanders responded.

“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” she repeated.

“You know, let’s not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion,” Sanders said, to which Warren replied, “Anytime.”

“You called me a liar,” Sanders continued. “You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”

After their exchange, fellow Democratic candidate Tom Steyer, who had been standing behind the two senators, can be heard saying, “I don’t want to get in the middle. I just want to say hi Bernie.”

A spokesperson for the Sanders campaign declined to comment on the audio. A spokesperson for Warren’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

The tense interaction between Sanders and Warren capped a 48-hour period in which the two progressive presidential front-runners, who have mostly gone through a year-long campaign without any public signs of discord, were suddenly put at odds.

On Monday, Warren said Sanders told her during a private 2018 meeting that a woman could not win the presidency. In a CNN story published earlier that day, four sources had said Sanders had told Warren in the meeting a woman couldn’t win.

Sanders has repeatedly denied making the comment while Warren has held firm in saying that he did — and that she disagreed with his assessment.

The terse post-debate exchange between Warren and Sanders was all the more striking because it came during a routine round of pleasantries among the rivals, as the crowd’s applause still echoed inside the Sheslow Auditorium at Drake University in Des Moines.

“Joe, good job,” Warren said, extending her hand to former Vice President Joe Biden. “Good to see you.”

“Good job, Pete (Buttigieg),” Sanders said. “Good job, Amy (Klobuchar).”

Then, Warren came face-to-face with Sanders and confronted him, puncturing the non-aggression pact that has held for the past year.

It was notable that before the debate, the two senators shook hands when they arrived on stage. When they left, they did not.

The conversation was not captured on the primary audio feed from the candidates’ podiums. After the debate, CNN did an inventory of the audio equipment that was used and found two backup recordings from the microphones Sanders and Warren were wearing.

CNN then synchronized the audio recordings with the footage that was broadcast live on Tuesday night.

The conversation played out on the debate stage, in public view, and occurred before Sanders and Warren’s clip-on microphones were removed.

During Tuesday’s debate, Sanders and Warren both doubled down on their differing accounts of the 2018 meeting.

Pressed by the moderators, Warren called Sanders her “friend” and insisted she wasn’t there “to try to fight with Bernie,” before pivoting to the broader issue of women running for president.

Sanders, who had said he didn’t “want to waste a whole lot of time on this because (a fight between them) is what Donald Trump and maybe some of the media want,” vehemently denied questioning whether a woman could win the presidency.

“Anybody who knows me, knows that it’s incomprehensible that I would think that a woman could not be president to the United States,” he said. “Go to YouTube today. They have some video of me 30 years ago talking about how a woman could become president of the United States.”

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Steyer pokes fun at his awkward appearance in Warren-Sanders exchange

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Steyer pokes fun at his awkward appearance in Warren-Sanders exchange

By Caroline Kelly, CNN

(CNN) — Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer joked about his inadvertent role in the newly revealed tense exchange between his fellow Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont following Tuesday’s Democratic debate.

“Just want to say hi, America,” Steyer tweeted Wednesday, referencing his unfortunate timing when he sought to chat with Sanders after the CNN/Des Moines Register debate — and stumbled upon the senators each accusing the other of calling them a liar.

“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren can be heard saying in new CNN audio from after the debate.

“What?” Sanders responded.

“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” she repeated, at which point Steyer can be seen putting his hand on Sanders’ shoulder.

“You know, let’s not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion,” Sanders said, to which Warren replied, “Anytime.”

“You called me a liar,” Sanders continued. “You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”

After the two then parted, Steyer — who had been standing behind them and looking alternately at each of them — can be heard saying, “I don’t want to get in the middle. I just want to say hi, Bernie.”

Sanders replied, “Yeah, good, OK.”

Steyer then said to a departing Sanders, “It was a treat to see you.”

The tension between the two top-tier candidates has been simmering since earlier this week. In a CNN story published Monday, four sources said Sanders had told Warren during a private 2018 meeting about the 2020 campaign that a woman could not win.

Later on Monday, Warren said Sanders had told her at the meeting that a woman couldn’t win. Sanders has repeatedly denied making the comment, while Warren has held firm in saying that he did — and that she disagreed with his assessment.

The audio recording of the encounter expands on Steyer’s account of the exchange from Tuesday night.

“I was just going up to say, ‘Good night, Senator Sanders’ and I felt like, OK, there’s something going on here. Good night, I’m out of here,” Steyer told CNN’s Anderson Cooper following the debate.

“I really wasn’t listening. They were talking about getting together or something,” Steyer said. “I really didn’t listen. I really — it was one of those awkward moments where I felt like, you know, I need to move on as fast as possible.”

He added, “My goal was simply to say good night to two people who I respect. The last thing I wanted to do was get between the two of them and listen in. That was not my goal and I didn’t do it.”

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Trump shows that impeachment will not moderate him

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Trump shows that impeachment will not moderate him

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump is not waiting to be acquitted of impeachable crimes to show that no one can stop him doing what he wants to do.

No Constitution, Democratic House, code of accepted presidential behavior, foreign Islamic Republic, common notion of proportionate force, media fact checker or legal precedent is going to rein him in.

On a day that was an apt leitmotif for his administration, Trump was formally accused of abusing power and obstructing Congress when Democrats finally transmitted articles of impeachment to the Senate. Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, publicly implicated the President in the Ukraine scandal and, disputing previous administration claims that the effort was to root out corruption, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper the aim was “all about 2020.”

Trump, however, is simply pressing on with the kind of unfettered conduct and violation of governing conventions that that got him in trouble in the first place, showing that for him, impeachment might be a stain, but it won’t be a lesson.

Partly, it is bravado: Trump is sending a message of defiance, refusing to give a “hoax” impeachment the respect it deserves and showing voters he’s doing his job, on Wednesday trumpeting what he billed as a historic trade pact with China.

“They have a hoax going on over there, let’s take care of it,” Trump told Republican senators who will serve as his jurors at the White House signing ceremony on Wednesday, in front of stony faced senior Chinese officials.

But after a tumultuous week at home and abroad, Trump is also telegraphing to his foes how his presidency will look when he’s armed with what he expects to be vindication from the Senate.

And he’s posing an implicit question — what constraints will remain when the Republican-led Senate has done his expected work and voted to block an attempt by the House to eject him from office. What are Democrats going to do — impeach him again?

Trump tests limits on power

Trump’s defiance of attempts to examine and restrain his conduct and concept of almost endless presidential authority encompasses the power duels in Washington and his bombastic actions abroad.

A week after a showdown with Iran nearly erupted into a new war in the Middle East, the administration is still defying congressional demands for more information about the rationale for killing Tehran’s top general.

Tensions deepened after the administration abruptly canceled briefings on the situation, with little explanation, days after it was accused — even by some Republicans — of insulting lawmakers conducting oversight duties.

The Iran crisis has revealed Trump’s belief that regular expectations of transparency and the need to explain grave decisions in a time of war do not apply to him. Last week, he told Fox News that he did not think Americans had a right to know the specific targets that the White House says were sized up by the dead Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Trump also shocked Washington when he said that four US embassies were in the firing line but has presented no intelligence to back up the remark.

Partly to satisfy legal requirements, top officials first justified the strikes by saying that Iranian attacks on US targets were “imminent” and were being actively planned by the Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Now, in a sign of the administration’s brazen nature, Attorney General William Barr is arguing that the concept of imminence “is a red herring.”

Given the furor in Washington over impeachment, his remarks did not perhaps get appropriate attention. But they represent an extremely broad interpretation of the power of the President under the Constitution — a concept for which Barr is known.

The White House’s refusal to regularly brief reporters is another affront to normal transparency. Previous administration’s mounted comprehensive public relations strategies before and after military strikes to try to bring along the public and to build support for the President.

This administration has been defiant. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has done the media rounds and appeared at the White House podium with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. But such efforts seem more intended to rebuke critics of the administration’s actions and to goad the media than to persuade.

The death of Soleimani was in itself a sign of Trump’s refusal to accept guardrails that might have constrained other presidents. The drone strike at Baghdad’s airport appeared to enshrine a new principle that targeting senior foreign leaders was now an acceptable tool of US foreign policy. In itself, the President’s decision to escalate things reportedly shocked some senior military planners.

Trends echo on Ukraine and Iran

Trump’s approach to the Iran crisis reveals similar characteristics to the alleged pressure campaign in Ukraine that caused his impeachment.

In both cases he wielded power largely unilaterally, unrestrained by experienced foreign policy officials who were purged from his circle for trying to control his wilder impulses. In the case of Ukraine, Trump appears to have used presidential authority for personal political ends. Many opponents believe that his motivation in eliminating Soleimani was also motivated by politics — a recurring theme throughout his foreign policy.

Just as he sees no need to brief members in Congress about the in-depth intelligence behind the Soleimani strike, Trump has no qualms over withholding key witnesses from the impeachment investigation in an aggressive assertion of blanket, absolute executive immunity.

Even his perpetual disrespect for facts and frequent lies are an assertion of power. Trump has shown that when a politician in a democracy is not bound by a nation’s common concept of reality, he can open up entirely new avenues he can use to assert his power.

The President also stepped on Congress’ power of the purse by allegedly withholding $400 million in military aid granted to Ukraine by lawmakers in order to try to coerce its leaders to investigate his potential political opponent in Joe Biden.

He is barging into similar territory by seeking to divert Pentagon funds to build his border wall that have already been appropriated by Congress for other purposes. The President is considering reprograming another $7.2 billion this year for a similar purpose, five times what Congress authorized, The Washington Post and CNN reported this week.

Trump’s capacity to act with such impunity in these cases is a testament to his unchallenged power over his party’s grass roots — a block of support he can leverage to intimidate GOP lawmakers who might think of checking him.

Any Republican politician who lacks their own national power base and who wants a future in the GOP ranks has no political running room to question Trump’s behavior in Ukraine or ultimately to support impeachment.

Trump’s aura of omnipotence is informed by the lessons of his life in business and innumerable legal scrapes to politics. A barnstorming personality who blasts through restraints and never allows adversaries to take stock of the damage is a powerful political force. Trump’s lack of shame at outlandish behavior, refusal to ever apologize and audacity constantly restocks his political capital.

It’s one reason why Democrats said they had no option to impeach the President over his off-the-books diplomatic scheme in Ukraine.

“We’ve always felt a certain urgency about this impeachment, given that the President was trying to get foreign help in cheating in the next election,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, D-California, said Wednesday.

Trump knows what’s good for him — politically

The way that Trump leads in times of crisis is not just the symptom of an unruly personality. It may also illustrate a shrewd political judgment.

The one thing no one can say about Trump is that he went native in Washington. He has been true to the disruptive, glass-shattering persona that wrecked the most promising field of conservative Republican White House hopefuls in a generation and built an impregnable political base.

The barking authoritarian boss that Trump played on NBC’s “The Apprentice” was an attractive image to many heartland Americans furious with politicians of all stripes who simply wanted the Washington establishment torn down.

Trump has bent the presidency to his raucous requirements and refused to obey its behavioral codes fashioned over two-and-a-half centuries.

So, it’s unthinkable that Trump will emerge from his impeachment drama chastened. He is instead likely to perceive validation for his conduct, and may consider, since he is branded with a historic badge of honor, that he has not got much more to lose and could shed even more restraints.

With congressional Democrats having played their most important card, the courts could become the last line of constitutional defense.

Trump has repeatedly chafed at restrictions, injunctions and stays inflicted on him by judges — though the swift clip that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is maintaining in confirming conservatives to the bench could start to change things. Still, one judge recently rebuked the President by writing that “presidents are not kings.”

Federal courts have repeatedly frustrated Trump, especially regarding his hardline immigration policies.

Once the impeachment drama finally ends, American politics will coalesce around the looming presidential election. It will be a reminder that the ultimate clash between Trump and accountability will come in November.

Impeachment only happened because voters who apparently favored more presidential restraint handed Democrats the House in midterm elections. They will get their chance to weigh in again on Trump’s unconstrained vision of politics again in less than 10 months.

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Lev Parnas says Trump ‘knew exactly what was going on’ with Ukraine pressure campaign

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Lev Parnas says Trump ‘knew exactly what was going on’ with Ukraine pressure campaign

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN

(CNN) — Indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, a central figure in the White House’s alleged Ukraine pressure campaign, said President Donald Trump “knew exactly what was going on” despite his repeated denials of wrongdoing.

“He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn’t do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani, or the President,” Parnas told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night. “I have no intent, I have no reason, to speak to any of these officials.”

Parnas asserted he was the one “on the ground” doing Trump and Giuliani’s work, “and that’s the secret that they’re trying to keep.”

“Why would President Zelensky’s inner circle, or Minister Avakov, or all these people, or President Poroshenko, meet with me? Who am I? They were told to meet with me,” he said.

The comments, which represent Parnas’ most forceful implication of Trump yet, come against the backdrop of an approaching Senate impeachment trial after the House on Wednesday formally presented two articles of impeachment to the chamber.

Democrats allege Trump abused his office by directing a pressure campaign for Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for $400 million in US security aid and a White House meeting. Trump, Democrats say, then stonewalled congressional investigators to cover up the misconduct.

The President has denied all wrongdoing and has repeatedly sought to distance himself from Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman after they were charged with funneling foreign money into US elections and using a straw donor to obscure the true source of political donations. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“I don’t know them,” Trump told reporters after they were arrested. “I don’t know about them. I don’t know what they do but I don’t know, maybe they were clients of Rudy. You’d have to ask Rudy, I just don’t know.”

Yet on at least seven occasions, Trump has posed for photos with either Fruman or Parnas, and CNN previously reported that Fruman and Parnas had a private meeting with the President and Giuliani during a White House party in December 2018, according to two acquaintances in whom Parnas confided right after the meeting.

During the meeting, Parnas said that “the big guy,” as he sometimes referred to Trump in conversation, talked about tasking him and Fruman with what Parnas described as “a secret mission” to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden, the two confidants said.

In the days immediately following the meeting, Parnas insinuated to the two people he confided in that he clearly believed he’d been given a special assignment by the President; like some sort of “James Bond mission,” according to one of the people.

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Mayor John Cooper Creates Performance Management Team, Appoints Diego Eguiarte As Director

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Mayor John Cooper Creates Performance Management Team, Appoints Diego Eguiarte As Director

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Today, as part of his agenda to improve accountability and transparency at all levels of Metro Government, Mayor John Cooper announced that his administration has created a Performance Management Team within the Mayor’s Office.

Pursuant to Amendment 1 passed on August 1, 2019, the Performance Management Team will save taxpayer money through greater accountability and improved efficiency and is designed to provide leadership, guidance, and support for all Metro departments on performance management and organizational and process streamlining. These efforts are directed toward improving programs and increasing operational effectiveness and efficiency to provide better service to the Metro customer − both internal and external. The work of the Performance Management Team will serve as a bridge between budgeting and operational management by using performance information to support budget requests and measuring performance results for the sake of financial accountability.

“It’s been said, ‘If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it,’” said Mayor Cooper. “The Performance Management Team will work to improve efficiency in every facet of Metro Government – and they’ll start by measuring how those of us in Metro Government make use taxpayer dollars in delivering core services to Nashvillians. My administration is constantly working to make Nashville the leading example of an effective and results-oriented government. In order to realize these goals, we must ensure that we are supporting our programs and policies through performance management best practices.”

Mayor Cooper also announced his appointment of Diego Eguiarte as Director of the Office of Performance Management. Eguiarte will report to the Chief Operations Officer, Kristin Wilson, and will be responsible for collaborating closely with Metro department heads to develop a comprehensive set of system and department-specific level performance metrics and goals. He will also develop comprehensive data dashboards aligned with the Mayor’s office strategic priorities and deliver reports on a recurring basis. His start date was December 9, 2019.

Previously, Eguiarte worked with financial services firms Scotiabank and Santander Bank, N.A. before shifting into business operations and international business consultancy. Most recently, he was the Associate Director of Managed Services of IHS Markit, a UK-based information services firm.

Eguiarte earned a bachelor’s degree from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and a Masters of Business Administration from Loyola University. He teaches finance and business strategy to immigrant entrepreneurs through the Negocio Próspero business course at Conexión Américas.

Recruitment for additional positions within the Mayor’s Office of Performance Management is currently underway.

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