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Twenty Businesses at Anti-Task-Force Rally — But Does “Free the 901” Really Speak for Memphis Business? And Why Did Media Jump to Their Side?

By Ben "BenQQ" Harrsion
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(9.1.26) More than 20 business owners turned out Monday at Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, the Midtown restaurant that became locally famous after refusing service to four National Guard members assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force. Meeting at the very restaurant that denied those officers service, the owners demanded that the Memphis Safe Task Force leave the city.

But this was hardly a spontaneous uprising of Memphis commerce. Free the 901 was organized in September 2025 specifically to oppose the National Guard and federal task-force deployment. Its original coalition included ACLU-Tennessee, Black Voters Matter, Indivisible Memphis, MICAH, TIRRC, Vecindarios 901 and numerous other activist organizations. Its own website says one of its goals is to “end the occupation” by federal and state forces.

Organizers now claim 48 businesses publicly participate in their “BUYcott,” with another 10 privately supporting it. That does not necessarily conflict with reports that only 20-plus business owners attended Monday’s press conference: the smaller number measures attendance at one event; the larger number is the organizers’ claimed total support for the campaign. The Memphis Flyer reported the 48-business figure and said another 10 businesses privately affirmed support. What remains unclear is how those 48 were recruited and how many businesses declined to join. 

But the number that matters most remains missing: 48 out of how many? How many businesses did Free the 901 approach? Which businesses were solicited and why? How many said yes? How many said no? Businesses joining the campaign know Free the 901 is actively encouraging supporters to patronize participating establishments. That raises another unanswered question: Were some businesses attracted not only by politics, but by the prospect of being promoted to sympathetic customers?

Free the 901 is still recruiting, with Action News 5 reporting that organizers invited additional business owners to a Sept. 8 interest meeting.

The participants also should not be mistaken for a representative sampling of Memphis commerce. The Memphis Flyer reports that participating businesses come from Midtown, Cooper-Young, Broad Avenue, Binghampton, Crosstown, Soulsville, East Memphis, South Memphis, The Heights, Berclair, Beale Street and Downtown. But those publicly identified so far are overwhelmingly small independent restaurants, bars, coffee businesses, florists and similar establishments. 

One wonders whether these businesses weighed the potential costs as well as the benefits of joining a campaign against the Memphis Safe Task Force — an operation credited with helping drive down crime affecting both residents and businesses across the city.

Among businesses publicly identified are Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, Da Sammich Spot Restaurant and Resource Hub, Boycott Coffee, Cameo, Bramble and Bloom and Society Memphis. Tamboli’s is particularly revealing as the gathering place. Owner Miles Tamboli became locally and nationally known in July after refusing service to four uniformed National Guard members assigned to the task force. MemphisPixNews requested an interview from Tamboli at the time and received no response.

Tamboli’s action also demonstrated the danger in turning commerce into a political weapon. The restaurant reportedly faced a boycott from critics and a counter-“buycott” from supporters. Free the 901 is now urging Memphians to reward businesses that join its cause, but task-force supporters are equally free to spend elsewhere. The organization’s BUYcott list can just as easily become a boycott list for the other side.

The more troubling story may be how readily portions of the Memphis media accepted the campaign’s framing. Action News 5 quoted owners and managers criticizing the task force or describing harm they attribute to it, repeated organizers’ claim that more than 50 businesses were participating and revisited Tamboli’s refusal to serve National Guard members. Yet the published report included no comparable response from a task-force representative, law-enforcement supporter or business owner opposed to the BUYcott.

The Daily Memphian likewise reported that “more than 20 small business owners” joined the protest, but gave readers little context for what that number actually represents. Twenty compared with what? Thousands of businesses operate across Memphis and Shelby County, yet the story did not establish that these demonstrators represent anything approaching the broader business community.

Journalism is supposed to interrogate a demonstration, not join its parade. When an advocacy coalition arrives with a number — 20, 48 or 58 — reporters should ask who assembled the group, how businesses were recruited and how many declined. Much of this coverage instead gave Free the 901 the microphone, repeated its numbers and supplied sympathetic testimonials while leaving those basic questions largely untouched. That is not scrutiny of a political campaign. It is dangerously close to becoming its publicity arm.

Memphis Minutes
Tuesday, September 1

Opera Memphis Launches "30 Days of Opera" With Main Street Performance: WKNO FM reports Opera Memphis kicks off its annual "30 Days of Opera" series today with a strolling performance on Main Street from noon to 1 p.m.

Monday, August 31

Mickell Lowery Sworn In as Shelby County Mayor: Daily Memphian reports Mickell Lowery took the oath of office Monday alongside 30 newly elected Shelby County leaders, including incoming Sheriff Anthony Buckner, ahead of their four-year terms beginning today.

Tennessee National Guard to Remain in Memphis After Autopsy Findings: WKNO FM reports Gov. Bill Lee's office confirmed the Tennessee National Guard will stay deployed in Memphis after an autopsy found troops shot Tyrin Johnson in the back.

SpaceXAI Removes 11 Gas Turbines From Southaven Power Plant: WKNO FM reports SpaceXAI said Monday it has removed 11 natural gas turbines from its Southaven plant that powers the Colossus II data center, down from a peak of 69 non-permitted units.

Kippy Brown, Tigers Pioneer and Super Bowl-Winning Coach, Dies: Daily Memphian reports Kippy Brown, the first Black quarterback in Memphis Tigers history, has died after going on to become a Super Bowl-winning assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks.

Memphis Zoo Asks Public to Vote on New Logo Designs: Memphis Flyer reports the Memphis Zoo is letting the public vote on four new logo designs as part of a rebrand effort.

ABC24 Lets Political Rhetoric Overrun Its Reporting on Memphis ICE Operation

(8.31.26 Media Analysis) ABC24 covered the federal operation at El Corralón largely through the accounts of (illegal) immigrant-rights activists and politicians already opposed to immigration enforcement. The station correctly attributed the claim that more than 100 people were detained to Vecindarios 901 and reported that ICE confirmed a targeted, multi-agency operation. But that limited official confirmation was buried beneath a far more extensive presentation of allegations, fear and political condemnation.

The television report prominently displayed statements from Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson—a progressive Democrat and congressional candidate—and Memphis Mayor Paul Young. Both statements focused on the people detained and the community’s fear, giving the broadcast a strong anti-enforcement frame. Their views were legitimate parts of the story, but ABC24 offered no comparable elected official, federal representative or knowledgeable defender of immigration enforcement to explain why agents might lawfully detain people encountered while executing a criminal search warrant.

Most noticeably, ABC24 did not interview a government attorney, former federal prosecutor or neutral constitutional lawyer. Viewers were given no explanation that officers executing a valid warrant may temporarily secure occupants, ask immigration questions and act upon independently discovered immigration violations. Nor did the station clearly distinguish temporary detention during a search from immigration arrest and continuing custody—a distinction recognized in Supreme Court search-and-seizure precedent. (See our story at right.)

That omission left the activists’ central implication—that the size of the operation itself suggested abuse—largely unanswered. ABC24 had not established the official number detained, how many were citizens, how many lacked lawful status, what evidence agents discovered or what legal grounds applied to each person. Those unanswered questions should have produced caution and legal analysis, not a broadcast dominated by politicians and organizations speaking for one side.

ABC24 avoided an outright failing grade because it repeatedly used words such as “alleged,” attributed the disputed detention count and acknowledged that the federal investigation remained active. But this was still lopsided and incomplete journalism. It reported the emotional and political reaction in detail while barely examining the government’s possible authority. That is the lowest passing mark: enough attribution to avoid stating allegations as facts, but not enough balance, investigation or legal context to give viewers the full story.

MEMPHIS MINUTES Today and Tomorrow

Monday, August 31

Tennessee National Guard to Remain in Memphis After Autopsy Shows Fatal Shot to Man's Back: WKNO FM reports Gov. Bill Lee's office confirmed today the Tennessee National Guard will stay deployed in Memphis after an autopsy found troops shot Tyrin Johnson in the back.

Shelby County Balks at Paying Wanda Halbert's Legal Fees After Ouster Case Dismissed: Daily Memphian reports Shelby County government is resisting a court order to cover outgoing Clerk Wanda Halbert's legal costs after a judge dismissed the second attempt to remove her from office.

68-Year-Old Hospitalized After Early-Morning House Fire in Grahamwood: FOX13 Memphis reports the Memphis Fire Department rushed a 68-year-old man to the hospital in critical condition after a blaze tore through a home on Given Avenue early today.

FedEx Cashes In on $800 Million in Tariff Refunds: Daily Memphian reports FedEx began disbursing $800 million in refunds tied to tariffs the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.

Sunday, August 30

ICE Raid on Berclair Nightclub Detains More Than 100, Advocates Call It Memphis's Largest: FOX13 Memphis reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 100 patrons and employees at El Corralón in an overnight operation that advocacy group Vecindarios 901 says began as a gambling and drug warrant.

901 Day Weekend Draws Crowds Downtown to Celebrate Memphis Culture: WREG News Channel 3 reports hundreds of local artists and business owners showcased their work as Memphians celebrated 901 Weekend on Beale Street.

Fashion Icon Audrey Smaltz's Journey From Harlem to Haute Couture Spotlighted: Tri-State Defender reports writer Terri Schlichenmeyer profiles Audrey Smaltz's decades-long path through the world of high fashion.

Sunday, August 30

Tennessee National Guard Halts Friday Patrols for "Administrative Work": Daily Memphian reports the U.S. Marshals Service says Tennessee National Guard members paused patrols in Memphis on Friday, even as the force stays deployed under Gov. Bill Lee's Memphis Safe Task Force.

Shelby County Fights Order to Pay Wanda Halbert's Legal Fees: Daily Memphian reports Shelby County government is resisting a court order to cover County Clerk Wanda Halbert's attorney's fees after its second attempt to remove her from office was dismissed.

Saturday, August 29

Shelby County Restricts Solitary Confinement at Youth Detention Center: Tri-State Defender reports Shelby County adopted new rules limiting solitary confinement for juveniles held at its youth detention facility.

Manhunt Underway for Cordova Shooting Suspect: Memphis Flyer reports the Memphis Police Department is searching for 35-year-old Larry Berry after he allegedly fatally shot a woman and fled the scene in Cordova.

Data Shows Widening Gap Between Voucher Funding and Public Schools: Memphis Flyer reports state Democrats say Gov. Bill Lee's school voucher program is shortchanging students and taxpayers as new figures reveal a growing funding disparity with public schools.

Memphis Roller Derby Marks 20th Anniversary Bout: Memphis Flyer reports Memphis Roller Derby is preparing its 20th anniversary bout, celebrating two decades since the league's 2006 founding.

Task Force Arrests Two Teens in North Memphis Killing: FOX13 Memphis reports the Memphis Safe Task Force arrested 19-year-old Charez Black and a 17-year-old in last summer's fatal shooting at a North Memphis apartment.

Friday 28th and Saturday 29th

Today-Memphis Mother Charged After Infants Found Unresponsive: Memphis Police charged Keenia Haynes with four counts of child neglect after officers responding Wednesday to two toddlers running into Ridgedale Street found 2-month-old twins unresponsive in an unair-conditioned home and another child holding a bleach bottle; first responders fed the infants, who became responsive, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services was contacted regarding all eight children. Action News 5

Today — All MSCS Schools Reopen. Power has been restored to every Memphis-Shelby County Schools campus, allowing all schools to reopen for classes Thursday after storm outages had kept a number of buildings closed, as reported by Action News 5.

Today — Shelby County Operates Under a Storm Emergency. Mayor Lee Harris has declared a local state of emergency following the weekend storm, allowing county government to redirect funds more quickly toward emergency health, safety and welfare expenses, as reported by Action News 5.

Today — Memphis Landmarks Commission Meets at 2 p.m. The commission will hold its August meeting in the Memphis City Council Chambers, where the public can follow decisions affecting historic properties and neighborhood character, as revealed by the Division of Planning and Development.

Today — Lee Harris’s Official Portrait Is Unveiled. Shelby County will mark Harris’s two terms as mayor with a 3:15 p.m. unveiling at the National Civil Rights Museum’s Legacy Experience; Memphis artist Jared Small painted the portrait, which later will hang with those of prior county mayors, as revealed by Shelby County Government.

Today — Municipal Candidates Face a Noon Withdrawal Deadline. Candidates running in Shelby County’s November municipal elections must withdraw by noon Thursday if they no longer intend to remain on the ballot, as reported by The Daily Memphian.

Tomorrow — City Council Budget Committee Meets at 1 p.m. The Memphis City Council Budget Committee is scheduled to convene Friday, with the meeting listed for public viewing through the council’s online meeting archive, as revealed by the City of Memphis.

Tomorrow — Applications Close for a General Sessions Judgeship. Qualified attorneys have until 4:30 p.m. Friday to apply for appointment to the vacant Division VI seat in Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court; public committee interviews are set for Sept. 9 and the commission vote for Sept. 14, as revealed by the Shelby County Commission.

Tomorrow — EDGE Makes a Development-Plan Map Available. Beginning Friday, the public may arrange to inspect the map covering the EDGE development-plan area and the 3535 Central Avenue parcel ahead of a Sept. 16 virtual public hearing, as revealed in EDGE’s public notice.

Wednesday, August 26

DNA Testing Could Shrink Shelby County Investigations to 90 Minutes: Daily Memphian reports new Rapid DNA machines funded by the Shelby County Commission could return crime-scene DNA results in as little as 90 minutes, cutting into the backlog now sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Jackson.

Give 8/28 Spotlights Memphis Nonprofits Led by Black Founders: TSD Memphis reports the national Give 8/28 giving day is spotlighting grassroots Memphis groups such as Sweet Cheeks Diaper Ministry and I Am My Sister's Keeper, founded to fill gaps left by traditional philanthropy.

Crosstown Concourse's New Paid Parking Rules Spark Pushback: Memphis Flyer reports Crosstown Concourse began charging for evening and overnight parking, prompting organizer Kelsey Huse to launch a petition urging Memphis Mayor Paul Young and the Memphis City Council to expand transit and bike access to the site.

Tuesday, August 25

MLGW Still Racing to Restore Power to 20,000 Customers: Daily Memphian reports MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen said he remains "optimistic" that most of the roughly 20,000 Memphis-area customers still without power after last weekend's storm will be reconnected by Thursday night.

Amazon Launches First North American Internship Program in Memphis: Action News 5 reports Amazon kicked off its Project SEARCH internship for Memphis-Shelby County Schools students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at its East Holmes Road facility.

Data Dashboard Speeds Up Casework at Shelby County DA's Office: Memphis Flyer reports District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said a new public data dashboard helped cut the median time to resolve a felony case by 95 days between June and July.

Shelby County Commission Caps MSCS Takeover Lawsuit Funding at $200,000: FOX13 Memphis reports the Shelby County Commission voted 9-2 to cap its spending on the legal fight against the Educational Oversight Board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools at $200,000.

MPD Seeks Continued Federal Presence After Task Force Ends

(BenQQ) Police Chief C.J. Davis told the Memphis City Council on Aug. 18 that MPD leaders have asked federal agencies to consider keeping some agents in the city permanently after the Memphis Safe Task Force deployment ends. Davis said discussions had been underway for several months, but it is unclear whether MPD submitted a formal request or received federal approval.

The request comes amid a cautious local response to the Trump-ordered task force in a city where the administration’s policies have often faced political opposition. Mayor Paul Young has credited the operation with “some success,” while also emphasizing that crime was declining before it arrived. The task force reported 10,017 arrests through June 10, although that figure combines work by federal, state and local agencies.

The task force reported 10,017 arrests through June 10, but that figure combines work by federal, state and local agencies. Davis later said MPD officers make 97% to 98% of arrests in Memphis, although officials have not released data showing exactly how the task-force total is divided among agencies. She also identified the Tennessee Highway Patrol as MPD’s most significant outside partner.

Memphis Minutes

Monday, August 24

MSCS Closes All Campuses Monday After Storm Knocks Out Power: Daily Memphian reports Memphis-Shelby County Schools closed every campus today after a destructive weekend storm knocked out power across the Mid-South, while Collierville Schools delayed start times rather than close.

Shelby County Commission Holds Final Session of Term: Daily Memphian reports the Shelby County Commission convenes today for the last meeting of its current four-year term, with eight of thirteen commissioners exiting before the new body is seated Sept. 1.

901 Day Grows Into a Memphis "Homecoming": Tri-State Defender reports the annual Sept. 1 celebration of Memphis's 901 area code has expanded into a multi-day homecoming drawing residents and expatriates back to the city.

Sunday, August 23

MLGW Says Weekend Storm Was 7th Most Destructive on Record: Daily Memphian reports Memphis Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen said Saturday's storm ranked as the utility's seventh-most destructive by outage minutes, with tens of thousands of customers still without power and full restoration not expected until Thursday.

One Dead After Hickory Hill Shooting: FOX13 Memphis reports a man was shot and killed Sunday evening near Bishop's Gate Drive as the Memphis Police Department searches for a suspect who fled the scene.

Collierville Fire Chief Breaks Silence After Forced Retirement: WREG reports outgoing Collierville Fire Chief John Selberg denied cursing at Town Administrator Molly Mehner in his first public statement since being placed on leave Aug. 10 and pushed into retirement.

Olive Branch Mourns "The Dancing Man" Killed by Car: WREG reports cyclist Quentin Ratliff, known throughout Olive Branch for greeting neighbors with a smile and a wave, died after being struck by a vehicle Friday morning on Germantown Road.

Storm Rips Steeple Off Olive Branch Church: Action News 5 reports Saturday's severe weather tore the steeple from Hope Chapel in Olive Branch, though members say their Sunday service, and their faith, continued undimmed.

8/22/26

New St. Jude CEO Sees ‘Dawn of a New Era’ in Childhood Cancer Care. As revealed by Tri-State Defender, incoming St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital CEO Dr. Charles Roberts said new treatments are transforming outcomes for young cancer patients.

City Leaders Weigh Life After the National Guard. As reported by WREG, Memphis officials are already discussing what policing looks like once lodging and meal contracts backing the Tennessee National Guard’s role in the Memphis Safe Task Force expire at the end of September.

Holy Rosary Families Protest Sudden Principal Exit. As revealed by Daily Memphian, parents at Holy Rosary Catholic School delivered a petition with hundreds of signatures and staged a demonstration demanding the Catholic Diocese of Memphis explain the principal’s abrupt departure.

Shelby County SNAP Benefits Drop by Millions. As reported by Memphis Flyer, monthly SNAP benefits in Shelby County fell from $33.8 million to $29.7 million over the past year, a decline advocates call part of a statewide “crisis.”

Collierville Fire Chief Resigns Amid Controversy. As reported by FOX13 Memphis, Collierville Fire Chief John Selberg submitted his retirement notice 10 days after being placed on administrative leave without public explanation.

Code Orange Air Quality Alert Extended Through Saturday. As revealed by FOX13 Memphis, the Shelby County Health Department extended its Code Orange air quality advisory for the Memphis area through Saturday.

Houston Routs Germantown in Season Opener. As reported by Daily Memphian, the Houston Mustangs throttled Germantown 40-6 in front of a raucous home crowd to open the 2026 high school football season.

Seven Arrested in Memphis Nightclub Raid. As reported by FOX13 Memphis, the Memphis Police Department arrested seven people during a raid on a Memphis nightclub as part of an organized crime enforcement operation.

Fired City Court Clerk Wants Her Old Job Back — City Council Slow Walks a Decision

(8.21.26) Sukita Johnson was Memphis's City Court Clerk for a little over two years before two of the city's three municipal court judges, Varonica Cooper and Kenya Hooks, fired her on April 7 — a move the judges tied to citizen complaints and alleged irregularities in the office. Johnson didn't go quietly: she says the firing was without cause and that the judges overstepped the authority the City Charter actually gives them.

Johnson appealed to the Memphis City Council within the week, and more than four months later, the matter is still unresolved. The Daily Memphian reported yesterday that an administrative hearing between Johnson and the judges is now scheduled for Aug. 28 — nearly five months after she lost the job. In the meantime, Cooper and Hooks have recommended retired Judge Earnestine Hunt Dorse serve as interim clerk, effectively pre-deciding the outcome while Johnson's appeal still sits on the docket.

Whatever actually happened inside the Court Clerk's office, five months is a long time for a taxpayer-funded office to sit in personnel limbo — with an interim appointee already installed before the appeal Johnson is legally entitled to has even been heard. If the judges overstepped their authority, the Council needs to say so quickly. If Johnson's office really did have the irregularities the judges cited, taxpayers deserve specifics — not vague references to "citizen complaints."

Either way, City Hall's pattern of slow-walking personnel accountability while quietly installing replacements is exactly the kind of opaque governance that erodes public trust in local courts.

Memphis Minute

Friday, August 21

Daycare Owner in Fatal Bus Death Still Runs Six Other Memphis-Area Centers: Daily Memphian reports Raven Marshall-Lewis, who operated the childcare center where Winter Jones died last week, still runs at least six other centers in Shelby County, four of which have been cited for issues.

TVA Signals Data Centers Could Soon Pay Full Cost of Power Infrastructure: Daily Memphian reports Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Mike Skaggs said a policy shift would put TVA ahead of other utilities nationally in charging data centers for their own infrastructure costs.

Code Orange Ozone Alert Issued for Memphis Area Today: FOX13 Memphis reports the Shelby County Health Department issued a Code Orange ozone forecast for today covering Shelby County, Crittenden County and DeSoto County, warning sensitive groups to limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

Soulsville to Host Memphis' First Affordable Home Show Saturday: Tri-State Defender reports the South City Community Development Corp., led by founder Casey Cooper, will let buyers tour and customize homes in the new Saxon-Shaw development in support of Memphis Mayor Paul Young's goal of adding or renovating 10,000 housing units by 2030.

Legendary Whitehaven Football Coach Rodney Saulsberry Sr. Retires, Joins Memphis Tigers Staff: FOX13 Memphis reports Rodney Saulsberry Sr., who won two state titles in 22 seasons at Whitehaven High, is retiring to join the University of Memphis football staff.

Thursday, August 20

Sawyer Federal Corruption Case Stays on Track for January Trial: Daily Memphian reports Shelby County Clerk Tami Sawyer's Jan. 11, 2027, federal corruption trial date stands as defense attorneys continue reviewing 50,000 pages of discovery.

Ex-Jailer Found Guilty, Second Acquitted in Death of Inmate Gershun Freeman: WREG reports a jury convicted former corrections deputy Courtney Parham of criminally negligent homicide while acquitting Stevon Jones in the 2022 death of inmate Gershun Freeman at the Shelby County jail.

Memphis Airport Authority Advances Modernization Construction Project: WREG reports the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority board approved contracts for taxiway repairs, a snow removal equipment shed and a new $2.88 million passenger lounge.

Letter Reveals What Led to Collierville Fire Chief Being Placed on Leave: FOX13 Memphis reports Town Administrator Molly Mehner placed Fire Chief John Selberg on leave after he said he didn't report to her in front of employees and the public.

Memphis City Council Votes to Pause Data Center Expansion, Study the Issue: Tri-State Defender reports the Memphis City Council voted to halt new data center approvals while it studies the industry's impact on the city.

Satellite Music Hall Set to Open at Crosstown Concourse in September: Memphis Flyer reports the new 1,300-capacity venue at Crosstown Concourse will open Sept. 2 with a community preview night benefiting Stax Music Academy.

MLGW Extends $2.5 Million Arena Payment — But Ratepayers Deserve the Math

The MLGW board voted Wednesday to extend a 2001 agreement sending $2.5 million annually to the City of Memphis, according to The Daily Memphian. Previously used to retire the original FedExForum construction debt, the money would now be restricted to maintenance and capital improvements at the arena—not new debt. The amendment still requires City Council approval.

The payment joins $230 million in state funding and a city hotel-motel tax increase from 3.5% to 4% in the public financing package for the proposed $550 million renovation. An earlier $80 million transfer to the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority came from that $230 million state allocation, rather than representing a separate funding source. The Grizzlies’ lease expires after the 2028-29 season, and Mayor Paul Young has said further public investment depends on securing a long-term extension.

MLGW’s payment is therefore neither new nor undisclosed—but extending it commits another stream of public money to the arena. Before the council approves it, Memphians deserve a clear accounting of how long the payments will continue, their effect on MLGW’s finances and what taxpayers receive under the new Grizzlies lease.

Memphis Minutes

Wednesday, August 19

Memphis City Council Advances Data Center Moratorium: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis City Council committee passed a moratorium on first reading today blocking new building permits for data centers, a move aimed squarely at the AI boom driving projects like xAI's local buildout.

Cordova Daycare Where Girl Died Shuttered, Case Heads to Grand Jury: WREG reports Kid University in Cordova has permanently surrendered its license after Winter Jones died after being left on a hot bus, and the Shelby County District Attorney's Office confirmed today the case has been submitted to a grand jury.

Opera Memphis Names Donald Lee III Music Director: WKNO FM reports Opera Memphis has welcomed Donald Lee III as its new music director, opening a new chapter for the company's productions.

Dangerous Heat Wave to Grip Memphis Through Thursday: Memphis Flyer reports the National Weather Service says a dangerous heat wave will grip West Tennessee through Thursday, with heat index values threatening the young, elderly and outdoor workers alike.

Tuesday, August 18

MPD Chief Seeks Permanent Federal Presence After Task Force Winds Down: Daily Memphian reports Memphis Police Department Chief C.J. Davis asked federal law enforcement leaders overseeing the Memphis Safe Task Force — the Trump-ordered National Guard and federal deployment — to keep a permanent presence in the city once the operation winds down.

St. Jude Names Dr. Charles W.M. Roberts Next CEO: Local Memphis reports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital named Dr. Charles W.M. Roberts as its next president and CEO yesterday, succeeding outgoing leader Dr. James Downing effective January 1.

xAI Affiliate to Pour $40 Million Into Southaven Public Safety Center: FOX13 Memphis reports an xAI affiliate will invest $40 million in a new police and fire training facility in Southaven as part of a land-swap deal announced yesterday by Mayor Darren Musselwhite.

Leadership Memphis Unveils 2027 Executive Program Class: Tri-State Defender reports Leadership Memphis named its Executive Program Class of 2027 yesterday, continuing the organization's push to develop the city's next generation of civic and business leaders.

Belmont Grill to Close After 42 Years: Daily Memphian reports the East Memphis burger institution Belmont Grill will close for good on August 29 after 42 years serving French-bread burgers to generations of regulars.

Malco Rolling Out Motion Seating at Memphis, Collierville Theaters: FOX13 Memphis reports Malco Theatres is installing D-BOX motion seating in 13 auditoriums at its Paradiso and Collierville locations, with installation beginning in late September.

Memphis Council Votes Today to Freeze Data Centers — After Handing xAI the Keys to the City

(8.18.26) The Memphis City Council votes today on an ordinance declaring a temporary moratorium on new zoning, land-use, building and infrastructure permits for data centers anywhere in the city. The measure, sponsored by council members Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, JB Smiley Jr. and Jana Swearengen-Washington, would freeze the paperwork for future gigawatt-scale facilities while the city writes rules on energy draw, water use, air quality and noise — rules that, inconveniently, do not exist yet (Memphis Flyer).

Notice what the freeze does not touch: xAI's existing Colossus campus, which already runs roughly 500 megawatts on gas turbines and pays Shelby County an estimated $25 million a year. That plant got built, permitted and powered up long before anyone on the council thought to ask what it would cost the grid or the aquifer. Elon Musk's company has already filed a $659 million permit for a Colossus 2 expansion aimed at one million GPUs. The moratorium arrives only after the horse left the barn — a pattern local government seems determined to repeat (dmnews.com).

There is a legitimate case for both sides here, and it deserves to be said plainly. Property owners and employers need predictable rules set in advance, not moving goalposts after billions in capital are already in the ground — that is basic fairness and basic respect for private investment. But taxpayers and homeowners also have a right to know what a gigawatt of industrial compute does to their water pressure and their power bills before, not after, the concrete is poured. The failure belongs to a council that let the buildout race ahead of the rulebook for the better part of two years.

Whichever way today's vote goes, the lesson is the same: government that regulates after the fact isn't governing, it's reacting. Memphis residents should watch tonight's vote closely and ask their council members why this conversation is happening in August 2026 instead of before the first turbine ever turned on.

MEMPHIS MINUTES

Monday, August 17

Ford Jr.'s Sentencing Delayed a Third Time, Now Set for September: Daily Memphian reports former Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who pleaded guilty to five federal counts of tax evasion tied to nonprofit grant money, had his sentencing pushed from today to September 16.

Extreme Heat Warning Grips Memphis Through Midweek: WREG reports the City of Memphis kept its Emergency Cooling Center open as the National Weather Service warned of heat index values as high as 113 degrees.

Scheffler Runs Away with FedEx St. Jude Championship: WREG reports Scottie Scheffler closed with a 66 to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind by eight shots.

Sunday, August 16

Two Critically Wounded in Frayser Shooting, Victims Show Up at Fire Station: WREG reports a man and woman arrived in critical condition at a Memphis Fire Department station near Frayser after a shooting on Madewell Drive, with no suspects yet identified.

FESJC Charity Tradition Keeps Helping Memphis Kids: Tri-State Defender reports the FedEx St. Jude Championship's charitable giving continues to fund pediatric care for children treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Saturday, August 15

Memphis City Council Weighs Moratorium on Data Center Construction: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis City Council will consider a temporary halt on new data centers today, a move unlikely to affect Elon Musk's existing local facilities.

Westy's Closes Its Doors After Four Decades in Downtown Memphis: Memphis Flyer reports the Pinch District staple served its last hot fudge pie today after owner Jake Schorr was unable to find a buyer.

Memphis Theaters Open New Seasons with Whodunits and Classics: WKNO FM reports Hattiloo Theatre opens its 20th season with "Speak, Salvation, Speak" as Memphis stages roll out their 2026-2027 lineups.

Friday, August 14

Memphis City Council to Weigh Data Center Moratorium: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis City Council will consider pausing new data center development in the city best known nationally for Elon Musk's xAI facility in Southwest Memphis.

6-Year-Old Autistic Girl Dies After Being Left on Daycare Bus, Father Says: Daily Memphian reports Bryan Jones says his daughter was never dropped off at her Cordova elementary school after her daycare bus ride, and the Memphis Police Department is now investigating her death.

Ford Corruption Sentencing Still Delayed as Commission Turns Over: Daily Memphian reports the federal corruption sentencing of former Shelby County Commission member Edmund Ford Jr. remains unresolved as eight commissioners prepare to leave office at the end of August.

Thursday, August 13

Tennessee Executes Darrell Hines Despite Push for Execution Protocol Review: Memphis Flyer reports the state executed death-row inmate Darrell Hines at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after Gov. Bill Lee declined clemency and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene.

16-Year-Old Charged With Murder in North Memphis College Send-Off Shooting: WREG reports a 16-year-old was charged with first-degree murder after a college send-off party shooting left a doctor dead and four others wounded, with the Memphis Police Department making the arrest.

Shelby County Commission Freezes Universal Pre-K Funding, Eyes Fall Revisit: Tri-State Defender reports commissioners voted 11-0 to hold universal pre-K funding at FY2026 levels, with Shelby County Mayor-elect Mickell Lowery vowing to make early childhood education his top priority.

Dixon Gallery Director Kevin Sharp to Retire After 19 Years: Memphis Flyer reports Kevin Sharp will step down from the Dixon Gallery and Gardens once a successor is found, capping nearly two decades leading the Memphis museum.

Shelby County Approves $1.8 Billion School Budget a Month Late — With No MSCS Official Answering Questions

(8.13.26) The Shelby County Commission voted 7-4 on Aug. 10 to approve the $1.799 billion Memphis-Shelby County Schools budget—more than a month after the usual June 30 deadline and one week after classes began. The plan includes about $200 million for building improvements. ABC24 also reported on the approval.

Commissioners redirected $11.9 million from a proposed new Treadwell K-8 school to deferred maintenance. The budget also calls for eliminating about 345 positions following recent school closures.

No MSCS official addressed the commission, leaving questions about a $120 million amendment and which budget the district was using when school opened. Commissioner Charlie Caswell said board member Stephanie Love tried to attend but could not enter the parking garage, according to the Tri-State Defender.

The board is fighting state oversight after firing Superintendent Marie Feagins less than 10 months into her tenure and facing a state audit that flagged $54.2 million in possible fraud, waste or abuse. Approving another late budget without anyone available to explain it gives the board’s critics fresh reason to expect the governance mess to continue.

MEMPHIS MINUTES

Wednesday, August 12

Prince Mongo Dies After Fall at His East Memphis Home: Daily Memphian reports Robert "Prince Mongo" Hodges, the flamboyant perennial Memphis mayoral candidate, died this week at his East Memphis home at age 89.

Memphis International Airport Officially Renamed for Fred Smith: Daily Memphian reports federal, state and local officials gathered today to formally rename the airport in honor of late FedEx founder Fred Smith.

Collierville Fire Chief Placed on Administrative Leave: FOX13 Memphis reports the Town of Collierville placed Fire Chief John Selberg on administrative leave today, just over three years after he took over the department.

Two Suspects Held in Douglass Mass Shooting That Killed Woman, Injured Four: FOX13 Memphis reports the Memphis Police Department has two of three suspects in custody in the weekend shooting that killed one woman and wounded four others in the Douglass community.

Theatre Memphis Opens 106th Season With "The Music Man": WKNO FM reports Theatre Memphis opens its 106th season with a production of the beloved musical, nearly 70 years after its Broadway debut.

Tuesday, August 11

Commissioner Erika Sugarmon Charged With Vandalism: Daily Memphian reports Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon appeared in General Sessions Court on at least four vandalism charges tied to removing rival candidates' campaign signs.

Governor Won't Stop Hines Execution as Death Row Inmate Petitions Supreme Court: Memphis Flyer reports Gov. Bill Lee declined to halt Thursday's scheduled execution of death row inmate Anthony Darrell Hines, whose attorneys have now petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court over the state's lethal-injection protocol.

Hearing to Determine if City Violated Public Records Law: Memphis Flyer reports the Shelby County Chancery Court will hear whether the City of Memphis violated the Tennessee Public Records Act by withholding Memphis Police Department disciplinary records tied to the March "No Kings Day" protest.

Molder Makes Memphis "Ground Zero" in Bid to Flip Redrawn District 5: Tri-State Defender reports Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder launched his general-election campaign for Tennessee's redrawn 5th Congressional District with U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and Shelby County Mayor-elect Mickell Lowery at his side.

Tuesday, August 11

Fatal Shootout Leaves Family Grieving, Lawmakers Target Memphis 'Trap Houses': Daily Memphian reports Memphis lawmakers and grieving relatives of Shandrika Hayslett Douglass, killed in a weekend shootout at a college send-off party, are demanding the closure of neighborhood "trap houses."

Shelby County Commissioner Appears in Court on Vandalism Charges: FOX13 Memphis reports a sitting Shelby County Commissioner appeared in court Tuesday facing misdemeanor vandalism charges.

Video Surfaces of Weekend Raid at Hickory Hill's Legends Lounge: Memphis Flyer reports the club saw 27 reported incidents — including assaults with firearms and vehicle thefts — in the seven months before the Memphis Safe Task Force raided the venue and made arrests over the weekend.

xAI Sues Former Contractor Over Alleged Overbilling: FOX13 Memphis reports xAI is suing former contractor Darana Hybrid and the International Hot Rod Association, both owned by Darryl Cuttell, alleging misuse of millions of dollars tied to its Memphis-area operation.

Drug-Resistant Fungus Confirmed Spreading Into Tennessee, Mississippi: FOX13 Memphis reports confirmed cases of the drug-resistant fungus Candida auris have reached both states, though a physician says healthy residents face low risk.

Shelby County Commission Presses Mayor Harris on Jail Conditions: WKNO FM reports the Shelby County Commission sent another nonbinding resolution to County Mayor Lee Harris demanding action on conditions at the county jail.

Monday, August 10

Regional One Unveils Design for $1 Billion Hospital Campus: Tri-State Defender reports Regional One Health and Shelby County leaders revealed renderings for a roughly $1 billion new hospital campus.

Incumbent School Board Members Brace for New Fights With the State: Daily Memphian reports incumbent Memphis-Shelby County Schools suburban board members, having secured new four-year terms, are bracing for continued conflict with state education policy.

FedEx St. Jude Championship Field Set for Final Run at Elite Status: Daily Memphian reports the field for TPC Southwind's tournament, opening Thursday, includes the PGA Tour's current top 10 players and eight former FedExCup champions.

Memphis Safe Task Force Arrests Two Teens in 2025 Bickford Avenue Killing: FOX13 Memphis reports the Memphis Safe Task Force arrested 19-year-old Charez Black and an unnamed 17-year-old on first-degree murder charges in the July 2025 shooting death of a 19-year-old at a North Memphis apartment complex.

State Oversight Board Advances Toward Memphis-Shelby County Schools Takeover: FOX13 Memphis reports Tennessee lawmakers finalized a nine-member oversight board with power to override Memphis-Shelby County Schools' elected board, approve contracts over $50,000, and fire the superintendent.

Metal Museum's Rust Hall Blends Old Craft With New Design Ahead of September Reopening: Daily Memphian reports the Metal Museum's Rust Hall renovation in Midtown will blend historic architecture with new features when it reopens in September.

Sunday, August 9 (weekend roundup)

SpaceXAI Sues Contractor Darana Hybrid, Alleges $500 Million Fraud Scheme: Daily Memphian reports SpaceXAI accused contractor Darana Hybrid and CEO Darryl Cuttell of overbilling and diverting funds during construction of its Memphis-area Colossus data centers, seeking more than $500 million in damages.

Memphis Man Killed by Police After 10-Hour Standoff in Byhalia: Russell Kelly Jr., 47, of Memphis was shot and killed by police early Sunday after a nearly 10-hour standoff in Byhalia, Mississippi, that began when officers say he shot and killed a woman inside a home on Church Station Parkway. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is now reviewing the officer-involved shooting, which followed exchanges of gunfire between Kelly and DeSoto County SWAT, reports Action News 5.

Woman Killed, Four Hurt When Gunfire Erupts at North Memphis Block Party: A woman died and four others were hospitalized after a fight escalated into gunfire at a Saturday night block party in the 1700 block of Brookins Street, Memphis police say. Several homes and vehicles were also struck by bullets before the unknown shooter or shooters fled the scene, reports Action News 5.

Newly Elected Commissioners Watch Outgoing Board Tackle Budget, Jail Plans: The outgoing Shelby County Commission took up the Memphis-Shelby County Schools budget and jail planning Friday as newly elected members looked on, with the current board set to hand power to a new commission and incoming county mayor Mickell Lowery on Sept. 1. Reports the Daily Memphian.

‍Memphis Man Killed by Police After 10-Hour Standoff in Byhalia: Russell Kelly Jr., 47, of Memphis was shot and killed by police early Sunday after a nearly 10-hour standoff in Byhalia, Mississippi, that began when officers say he shot and killed a woman inside a home on Church Station Parkway. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is now reviewing the officer-involved shooting, which followed exchanges of gunfire between Kelly and DeSoto County SWAT, reports Action News 5.

Woman Killed, Four Hurt When Gunfire Erupts at North Memphis Block Party: A woman died and four others were hospitalized after a fight escalated into gunfire at a Saturday night block party in the 1700 block of Brookins Street, Memphis police say. Several homes and vehicles were also struck by bullets before the unknown shooter or shooters fled the scene, reports Action News 5.

Newly Elected Commissioners Watch Outgoing Board Tackle Budget, Jail Plans: The outgoing Shelby County Commission took up the Memphis-Shelby County Schools budget and jail planning Friday as newly elected members looked on, with the current board set to hand power to a new commission and incoming county mayor Mickell Lowery on Sept. 1. Reports the Daily Memphian.

Yesterday, Aug 8

Trial Begins for Two Shelby County Jailers Charged in 2022 Inmate Death: A jury began hearing testimony Friday in the murder trial of Shelby County jailers Courtney Parham and Stevon Jones, two of nine officers charged in the 2022 in-custody death of inmate Gershun Freeman. Video shown in court Saturday depicted officers punching, kicking and pepper-spraying a naked, struggling Freeman as they restrained him, testimony the medical examiner tied to the cardiac arrest that killed him, reports Action News 5.

Man Critical After North Memphis Shooting: A man was critically injured in a shooting near Chelsea and Peres avenues in North Memphis on Saturday evening, Memphis police say. The suspect fled eastbound on Peres Avenue in a black Nissan sedan, and the investigation remains active, reports Action News 5.

MPD Officer Injured in I-240 Crash: A Memphis police officer was hospitalized in non-critical condition Saturday morning after a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 240 at Getwell Road, police say. The eastbound exit ramp reopened by midday following the crash, reports Action News 5.

Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis Builds New Playground for Vance Avenue Children:Tri-State Defender reports the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis helped build a new playground today for children in the Vance Avenue neighborhood as part of its community investment work.

AUGUST 7

Rep. Andy Ogles Loses GOP Primary to Charlie Hatcher in Redrawn Memphis-Area District: On Thursday, August 6, former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher defeated Andy Ogles in the Republican primary for the newly redrawn 5th Congressional District.

Pearson, Taylor Advance to November Faceoff in 9th Congressional District: On Thursday, August 6, Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson and Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor won their primaries to compete for Tennessee's redrawn 9th Congressional District seat, according to FOX13 Memphis.

Millington Police Officer Indicted on Two Felony Counts, Expected to Be Fired: This week, a Millington Police Department officer was indicted on two felony counts following a monthslong investigation whose underlying allegations remain unclear, according to the Daily Memphian.

MATA Ridership Rises 30% as Free Fares Continue, New Buses Arrive: On Thursday, August 6, the Tri-State Defender reported that Memphis Area Transit Authority ridership has risen 30% since the elimination of fares, while new buses are arriving and Main Street trolley service is targeted to return this fall.

August 6

DA Says Memphis Police Arrested the Wrong Woman in OUTMemphis Shooting: Adriana Tyler spent nearly three months in Shelby County custody after Memphis Police arrested her a day after a May shooting outside OUTMemphis left two people critically injured, but the District Attorney's office now says investigators had the wrong suspect. Tyler's attorney said she "shouldn't have to prove her innocence" but had to anyway before the mistake was corrected. The Daily Memphian reports.

MATA Plans to Bring Trolleys Back Downtown This Fall: The Memphis Area Transit Authority intends to resume Downtown trolley service this fall with four trolleys, according to the transit system's trustee. City Council also received an update on the city's revamped Group Violence Intervention Program during Tuesday's meeting. The Daily Memphian reports.

HVAC Worker Charged With Killing Coworker Outside Midtown Elementary School: Memphis Police charged 21-year-old Ashton Williams with voluntary manslaughter after a workplace argument over tools escalated into a shooting outside Rozelle Elementary School that left his coworker dead. The confrontation Tuesday morning sent patrol cars, fire trucks and ambulances to the 1000 block of Roland Street, alarming nearby parents and students. La Prensa Latina reports.

August 4

Memphis Sanitation Union Reaches Tentative Pay Deal With City: AFSCME Local 1733, representing Memphis sanitation workers, reached a tentative wage-increase agreement with Mayor Paul Young's administration. The Daily Memphian reports.

City of Memphis Moves to Refinance $150 Million in Debt to Cut Interest Costs: The City of Memphis is looking to refinance roughly $150 million in debt in an effort to reduce interest payments, city finance officials state. The Daily Memphian reports.

Musk Says SpaceXAI Could Add More Memphis-Area Data Centers Within a Year: Elon Musk said his company could operate significantly more Mid-South data centers by this time next year, adding to the four SpaceXAI facilities already running in the region, three of which draw power in part from a controversial Southaven power plant. The Daily Memphian reports.

Mississippi AG Lynn Fitch Enters Governor's Race as a "Trump Conservative": Lynn Fitch, who became Mississippi's first female attorney general in 2020, launched her campaign for governor branding herself a Trump-aligned conservative. The Daily Memphian reports.

City Hall Gives AFSCME a $22 Wage Floor—Memphis Taxpayers Still Don’t Know the Full Cost. Is It Time to Put AI to Work? 

(8.5.26 BenQQ) Memphis city government has reportedly reached a tentative agreement establishing a $22 hourly wage floor for hundreds of employees represented by AFSCME Local 1733, along with a 5% increase for sanitation workers. Better pay may help the city recruit and retain dependable workers, but City Hall owes taxpayers more than an announcement: It should publish the complete annual cost, including overtime, payroll taxes, pensions and benefits.

The arithmetic can become expensive quickly. For 364 full-time employees, every additional $1 an hour represents approximately $757,000 a year in base wages. A worker moving from $18 to $22 an hour would receive about $8,320 more annually; applied to all 364 positions, that would approach $3 million before benefits and overtime. If the average increase were $5 an hour, the annual base-pay cost would approach $3.8 million.

That matters because personnel already dominate Memphis city spending. Mayor Paul Young’s proposed $898 million operating budget for fiscal year 2027 reportedly devoted about $652 million—or nearly 73%—to personnel costs. Police and fire personnel alone accounted for approximately $500 million. Every permanent wage commitment therefore competes with street repairs, public safety equipment, parks, debt obligations and future tax relief.

This is where Memphis should begin asking a question most local governments have been reluctant to confront: Before adding recurring payroll costs, has City Hall determined which tasks can be completed faster and less expensively with artificial intelligence, automation and modern software? 

AI cannot collect garbage, repair a broken water main, operate heavy equipment or safely perform most field work. It should not be used as an excuse to eliminate necessary employees or hand consequential decisions to an unaccountable computer. But many government positions include repetitive administrative work: entering data, sorting service requests, preparing routine correspondence, summarizing reports, reviewing forms, scheduling inspections, answering common questions and locating records.

Other governments are already testing those possibilities. San Francisco provided approximately 30,000 city employees access to an AI assistant for tasks such as drafting reports, analyzing information and summarizing documents; employees conducted more than one million interactions across over 40 departments during the program’s first several months. Its experience also showed that AI was adopted most readily in administrative offices and least by employees whose jobs depend primarily on physical work.

Research on government transactions points to the same distinction. One study examining British public administration estimated that 84% of complex but repetitive government transactions studied were highly susceptible to automation. That does not mean 84% of public employees can be dismissed. It means a large share of their routine workload may be streamlined, allowing governments to process more work with fewer vacancies, less overtime and slower payroll growth.

Memphis should begin with an independent, department-by-department productivity audit. City Hall should identify repetitive tasks suitable for automation, measure the hours currently devoted to them and require every proposed wage or staffing increase to include a publicly available fiscal-impact statement. Savings could be achieved through attrition and the elimination of unnecessary vacancies rather than abrupt layoffs.

The issue is not whether a city employee deserves $22 an hour. The issue is whether Memphis taxpayers deserve proof that every position is necessary, every department is operating efficiently and every available technology has been considered before another permanent expense is added to the city budget.

AFSCME has every right to negotiate aggressively for its members. City Hall has an equally serious duty to negotiate for the people who pay the bill. I have requested a response to this story from the mayor.

Memphis Minutes

August 4

FedEx Reveals New Detail on $400 Million Hercules Project: FedEx has released additional detail on its $400 million Hercules facility, which will total nearly 1.6 million square feet at Memphis International Airport. The project adds to the shipping giant's continued build-out at its hometown hub. Daily Memphian reports.

Mississippi AG Lynn Fitch Enters Governor's Race as a Trump Conservative: Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has entered the state's governor's race, branding herself a Trump conservative. Fitch became Mississippi's first female attorney general when she took office in 2020. Daily Memphian reports.

DeSoto County Supervisor Takes the Stand in Lawsuit Against Mississippi: DeSoto County Supervisor Robert Foster testified Monday in the lawsuit he and three other county residents filed against the State of Mississippi over the creation of a new judicial subdistrict. Foster faced questions over the timing of the suit, which challenges a state Legislature move that also added two judgeships to the county. Daily Memphian reports.

Shelby County Early-Vote Turnout Clears 90,000: Early voting in Shelby County has topped 90,000 ballots ahead of Thursday's Aug. 6 election, marking the highest early-vote turnout for a midterm cycle since 2010. Daily Memphian reports.

August 3

MSCS Opens 2026-27 School Year With State Takeover Still Paused: Memphis-Shelby County Schools opened Monday with enrollment near 106,000, up from last year, while the state's takeover of the district remains blocked under a federal court order. Superintendent Roderick Richmond said roughly 300 teaching positions remain vacant, with offers out for only 70 of them. Chalkbeat reports.

Man Critically Injured in Raleigh Neighborhood Shooting: The Memphis Police Department is investigating a Monday morning shooting in the Raleigh neighborhood that left a man with critical gunshot wounds. Officers responded just after 8:10 a.m. to the 4700 block of Bluff Wood Cove, and no suspect information has been released. La Prensa Latina reports.

Bartlett Alderman Revives Push for Suburbs to Split From Shelby County: Bartlett Alderman David Reaves is renewing his call for Shelby County's suburbs to break away and form their own county, an idea that first surfaced more than 35 years ago. Reaves is also floating an option for the six outlying cities to merge into adjacent counties instead, though no new county has formed in Tennessee in nearly 150 years. Daily Memphian reports.

Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Former Jailers Charged in Gershun Freeman's Death: Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham, two former Shelby County jailers each facing a second-degree murder charge in the 2022 death of inmate Gershun Freeman at 201 Poplar. Freeman's death was ruled a homicide after he was restrained during an altercation with jailers; the process is expected to stretch into Wednesday. Action News 5 reports.

Police Chase From East Memphis Leaves Officers, Suspects Injured: A police pursuit that began early Monday at an East Memphis hotel ended with three arrests after the suspects' car rammed two patrol vehicles and blew a tire near Thomas Street and Corrine Avenue. A Memphis police officer and two suspects were hospitalized with injuries described as non-life-threatening. La Prensa Latina reports.

August 1

Memphis Sewer-Rate Increase Takes Effect: ABC24 reports the sewer rate paid by Memphis customers increases today from $3.32 to $4.48 per 1,000 gallons of wastewater flow, the first phase of a multiyear increase approved by the Memphis City Council.

Final Day of Early Voting Arrives in Shelby County: Daily Memphian reports today is the final day of early voting before Shelby County voters decide county, state and federal races in the Thursday, Aug. 6, election.

Memphis Schools Hold Back-to-School Activities: ABC24 reports Memphis-Shelby County Schools campuses are holding scheduled back-to-school activities as families prepare for the beginning of the new academic year.

Tennessee Tax-Free Weekend Continues Today: Action News 5 reports Tennessee’s annual sales-tax holiday continues today, allowing shoppers to purchase qualifying clothing and school supplies priced at $100 or less and personal computers priced at $1,500 or less without paying sales tax.

City Council Prepares to Consider Development Measures: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis City Council will consider development resolutions Tuesday involving property near A.W. Willis Avenue and North Fourth Street, Phillips Farms and a residential project at 272 North Bellevue Boulevard.

Elections, SpaceXAI and Schools Lead Local Discussion: Daily Memphian reports Memphis journalists appearing on WKNO-TV’s Behind the Headlines discussed the approaching elections, the regional expansion of SpaceXAI and the uncertain future of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

FedEx Plans Airport-Facility Expansion: Daily Memphian reports FedEx has filed plans for an addition to its international freight facilities at Memphis International Airport.

Downtown Visitor Activity Continues Its Recovery: Daily Memphian reports the number of people visiting Downtown Memphis has reached approximately 85% of its pre-COVID level, according to the Downtown Memphis Commission.

Old Police Headquarters Considered for Juvenile Court: Daily Memphian reports Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is considering renovating the former Memphis Police Department headquarters as a new home for Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court, although Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon opposes the proposal.

SpaceXAI Contractor Claims It Is Owed for Data-Center Work: Action News 5 reports a mechanical contractor that helped build the Colossus and Colossus II data centers says SpaceXAI has not fully paid the company for work performed since 2024.

Historic Nineteenth Century Club Building Listed for Sale: Daily Memphian reports the historic Nineteenth Century Club building at 1433 Union Ave., originally constructed as a private residence in 1909, has been placed on the market.

Early-Voting Turnout Runs Ahead of 2022: Daily Memphian reports Shelby County’s early-voting turnout is running ahead of the comparable 2022 election as voters cast their final early ballots today ahead of Thursday’s election.

Memphis Schools Face Audit, State Oversight and Possible Closures: Daily Memphian reports Memphis-Shelby County Schools begins the new academic year with unresolved leadership questions, a forensic audit, state scrutiny, chronic-absenteeism concerns and the possibility of additional school closures.

Central Library’s Used Bookstore Reopens: Daily Memphian reports the secondhand bookstore inside the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library has reopened following a temporary pause, although other Friends of the Library book-sale operations remain suspended.

Memphis Arts Leaders Discuss the Importance of Place: Daily Memphian reports local arts leaders are examining how Memphis neighborhoods, institutions and community identity influence the city’s artistic development.

Back-to-School Giveaways Held Across the Mid-South: Action News 5 reports community organizations are holding school-supply giveaways today and during the coming days as Mid-South families prepare for students to return to class.

Congressional Candidate Campaigns on Data-Center Regulation: Action News 5 reports Memphis City Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton has entered the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District and says she would pursue federal restrictions and oversight for large data centers.

Collierville Honors Trey Erwin With Library Donations: Action News 5 reports Collierville leaders and Trey Erwin’s family are marking what would have been his 30th birthday by encouraging donations to the Friends of the Collierville Burch Library.

July 31

Early Voting Ends Tomorrow Ahead of Aug. 6 Election: WKNO FM reports Saturday marks the last day of early voting ahead of next week's Shelby County general election on Aug. 6.

Memphis Police Rescue Man From Rushing Waters of Cypress Creek: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis Police Department pulled a man from the swift currents of Cypress Creek today after a three-hour rescue operation involving emergency-communications personnel.

Collierville Leaders Weigh New E-Bike Restrictions: Daily Memphian reports Collierville officials are moving on a first-pass ordinance restricting e-bike use in town amid rising concern over accidents involving children.

xAI Quietly Builds Fourth Data Center in Memphis Area: WKNO FM reports xAI has quietly built a fourth data center in the Memphis area, expanding Elon Musk's rapidly growing footprint in the city.

July 30

Fayette County Woman Sentenced to 16 Months in 'Stolen Valor' Case: WREG reports Amanda Kate Walker Bass, who falsely claimed to be a wounded Marine combat veteran to solicit donations, was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in federal prison.

TN-9 Democratic Primary Pits Pearson Against Lamar: Memphis Flyer reports the Democratic primary for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District has become a contest between State Sen. London Lamar and State Rep. Justin J. Pearson.

Hattiloo Theatre Kicks Off Season 20 With Block Party: WKNO FM reports Hattiloo Theatre will celebrate its 20th season with a Saturday block party featuring music, food and performances.

July 29

Man Critically Injured in North Memphis Shooting: A man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after Memphis Police responded to a shooting in the 800 block of Ayers Street Wednesday morning, and one suspect is now detained. The investigation remains ongoing, as reported by Action News 5.

Nike Weighs Closing Memphis Facilities for Atlanta Move: Nike is considering shutting its Lamar Avenue and Shelby Drive facilities in Memphis and consolidating operations at a new logistics hub in Jackson County, Georgia, near Atlanta, according to an internal memo. The company says no final decision has been made and it is in talks with potentially affected employees, as reported by La Prensa Latina.

Trooper Tracks Down Corvette Driver via Facebook After Chase: The Tennessee Highway Patrol arrested Devin Jackson after he allegedly led a trooper on a reckless chase near Airways Boulevard and Park Avenue in a red Corvette, then evaded capture. A trooper later found Jackson's Facebook profile showing the same car, leading to his arrest on evading and reckless driving charges, as reported by Action News 5.

Two Detained After Uptown Shooting Leaves Man Wounded: A man was shot and taken to the hospital in non-critical condition Wednesday afternoon after Memphis Police responded to gunfire in the 400 block of North Dunlap Street. Two people were detained shortly after, though no charges have been announced, as reported by La Prensa Latina.

July 28

GOP Governor Candidate Calls for Ban on Mosques: State Rep. Monty Fritts, a Republican running for Tennessee governor, said in an interview that he would work to ban mosques and non-Christian houses of worship if elected, arguing the First Amendment restricts only Congress, not the states. Fritts singled out Islam as "incongruent" with the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions, as reported by Action News 5.

Ex-Shelby County Jail Officer Sentenced for Smuggling Contraband: Former correctional officer Tamillian Young was sentenced to two years in federal prison after admitting she smuggled marijuana, vaping devices and pills into the Shelby County Division of Corrections for an inmate. The FBI's Nashville field office said Young "betrayed the public trust," as reported by La Prensa Latina.

Shelby County Borrows $125M as Commission Blames Mayor Harris: The Shelby County Commission approved a $125 million loan to meet payroll for roughly 4,600 employees, the second such loan in seven months, after the state comptroller again rejected the county's budget. Commissioners directed blame at Mayor Lee Harris's administration for the fiscal shortfall, which is expected to cost taxpayers $2-3 million in interest, as reported by Action News 5.

Woman Found Shot Outside Oakhaven Gas Station: A woman was found with gunshot wounds early Tuesday outside a Circle K on East Shelby Drive, though investigators determined she was shot roughly a mile away in the Applewood Cove area. Memphis Police have not announced any arrests, as reported by La Prensa Latina.

FedEx Cutting More Than 150 Memphis-Area Jobs: Daily Memphian reports FedEx will close two area facilities effective Aug. 3, eliminating more than 150 positions as part of a broader corporate restructuring.

Memphis Classic Revises Match Times Amid Dangerous Heat: Daily Memphian reports organizers of the Memphis Classic, the WTA's first Memphis stop in 13 years, pushed match times for Monday and Tuesday because of the dangerous heat forecast across the Mid-South.

Extreme Heat Warning Grips Mid-South Through Tuesday: WREG reports the National Weather Service extreme heat warning remains in effect across the Mid-South through Tuesday evening, with heat index values topping 110 degrees before a cooling front arrives Wednesday.

Shelby County Commission Approves $125M in Loans for County: Daily Memphian reports the Shelby County Commission approved two credit lines totaling $125 million today to close the county's ongoing cash-flow gap, as Shelby County Juvenile Court officials pressed for a full replacement of the aging court building.

Orpheum Adds Three Shows to 2026-27 Broadway Season: Daily Memphian reports the Orpheum Theatre is expanding its Broadway lineup this season with a Tony Award-winning musical, a global stage phenomenon and the musical adaptation of a beloved film.

Old Daisy Theater Renovations Move Forward: Daily Memphian reports Memphis Mayor Paul Young is advancing plans to transform the fire-damaged Old Daisy Theater on Beale Street into a history center as renovations get underway.

Monday, July 27

Memphis Schools Ramp Up Fight Against Chronic Absenteeism: Daily Memphian reports Memphis-Shelby County Schools is intensifying intervention efforts to cut chronic absenteeism for the first time since 2017 amid mounting scrutiny from the state.

Rodney Baber Park Reopens After Years of Flooding: Daily Memphian reports Rodney Baber Park in North Memphis reopened after a $7 million renovation funded in part by a $60 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Grant & Co. Advances $40M Cordova Apartment Project: Daily Memphian reports Grant & Co. pulled construction permits for The Levee, an estimated $40 million, 300-unit apartment development spread across 11 buildings in Cordova.

Sunday, July 26

Memphis Crime Rate Extends Steep Decline in First Half of 2026: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission recorded a nearly 40 percent drop in violent crime during the first half of 2026, with Commission President Bill Gibbons crediting sustained law-enforcement gains under the Memphis Safe Task Force.

Early Voting Opens in Shelby County's Redrawn Congressional Districts: Daily Memphian reports early turnout across Shelby County's three newly redrawn Congressional Districts shows Democrats will need a big showing to hold the seat U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen has represented for over 50 years.

Mid-South Immigration Advocates to Close After 13 Years: Daily Memphian reports Mid-South Immigration Advocates will shut its doors after the federal government failed to reimburse the nonprofit for services it had already provided, its co-founder said.

Grizzlies Reach Buyout Agreement With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis Grizzlies agreed to a contract buyout with guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, making him an unrestricted free agent.

"When Memory Fades" Offers a Compassionate Guide to Alzheimer's Caregiving: Tri-State Defender reports columnist Terri Schlichenmeyer reviews a new book aimed at helping Mid-South families navigate the daily realities of Alzheimer's and dementia caregiving.

Saturday, July 25

Princeton James Project Anniversary Weekend Filled With Talent: Tri-State Defender reports Princeton James Productions marked its anniversary with a weekend showcase spotlighting Memphis film, theater and creative talent.

Saint Francis Healthcare Debuts ROSA Robotic Knee Surgery System: Daily Memphian reports Saint Francis Healthcare acquired the ROSA Robotics Knee System, which a local surgeon says allows far greater precision in knee-replacement surgery.

Horn Lake Native to Skateboard From Oxford to NYC for Mental Health Awareness: Daily Memphian reports Horn Lake native Skyler King will skateboard from Oxford, Mississippi to New York City to raise mental health and suicide-prevention awareness in memory of his late brother.

July 25

Suburban Superintendents Talk Teacher Shortages, State Mandates: Daily Memphian reports superintendents from Germantown Municipal School District, Arlington Community Schools and Lakeland School System discussed funding and staffing pressures on "Behind the Headlines" with host Eric Barnes.

WTA Memphis Classic Opens With Celebrity Exhibition Night: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis Classic begins tonight at Leftwich Tennis Center with a "Nothing Major Exhibition" featuring John Isner and Sam Querrey ahead of the WTA tour's run through August 2.

'Suffs' Musical Brings Suffrage Fight to the Orpheum: Daily Memphian reports the touring production highlights Tennessee's pivotal 1920 ratification vote and the activism of Memphians Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell at the Orpheum Theatre.

July 24

Shootout Erupts Between Two Groups at Cooper-Young Gas Station: FOX13 Memphis reports Memphis Police found 30 to 40 shell casings after two armed groups exchanged gunfire at a gas station in the Cooper-Young neighborhood late Thursday night.

Early Voting Outpaces Usual Turnout Ahead of Special Election: WKNO FM reports early voting is running higher than typical for Shelby County Democrats trying to hold a congressional seat after redistricting, according to analyst Otis Sanford.

xAI-Linked Tax Revenue to Fund $3.28 Million in Memphis Community Investments: Tri-State Defender reports data-center tax revenue tied to xAI's Memphis facilities will fund $3.28 million in investments for neighborhoods near the company's Colossus data center.

‍Two Suspects Sought After East Memphis Hotel Shooting Leaves Woman Wounded: Memphis Police say officers responded just before 1 a.m. Friday to the Governor's Inn on Mt. Moriah near Interstate 240 after reports of shots fired, finding a woman shot and a man injured. Two suspects fled the scene and remain at large as investigators continue the search. Fox13 Memphis reports.

Traffic Stop Nets Drugs, Stolen Vehicle And Multiple Warrants: Memphis Police stopped a man driving a stolen vehicle Friday and found crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana inside, adding new charges to a rap sheet that already included warrants for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. The driver was taken into custody without incident. Action News 5 reports.

July 23

Federal Panel Clears Way For New GOP-Favored Congressional Map: A three-judge federal panel declined Thursday to block Tennessee's redrawn congressional map, which splits Shelby County's majority-Black district into three Republican-leaning districts ahead of the Aug. 6 primary. The ruling hands state Republicans another win after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections earlier this year. U.S. News & World Report reports.

Memphis City Council Confirms Mayor Young's New Top Administrators: The Memphis City Council voted this week to confirm Mayor Paul Young's picks for chief financial officer and chief administrative officer, filling two of the administration's most powerful posts. The confirmations move Young's second-term leadership team into place. Tri-State Defender reports.

DA Releases Video, Clears DEA Agent In Fatal Burger King Shooting: The Shelby County District Attorney released surveillance footage Thursday of a Memphis Safe Task Force agent fatally shooting 41-year-old Darrin Pigram inside a Frayser Burger King in May. The DA declined to file charges, stating Pigram reached for a gun during an attempted arrest. WREG reports.

U.S. Marshals Capture Jackson Man Wanted On Child Sex Crime Charges: The Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Craig Nakutis at his Jackson, Tennessee residence after a Shelby County grand jury indicted him for especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated statutory rape. The Memphis Police Department led the underlying investigation. Action News 5 reports.

Taco Bell Employee Charged After Pouring Boiling Water On Coworker: Memphis Police charged 19-year-old Makayla Henderson with aggravated assault after she allegedly threw boiling water on a coworker, leaving him with second-degree burns to his leg and stomach. Henderson told officers she "blanked out" before retrieving the pot from the back of the restaurant. La Prensa Latina reports.

MSCS Touts Drop In Chronic Absenteeism Amid State Takeover Fight: Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders say chronic absenteeism has fallen for the first time since 2017, pushing back on a key justification state Republicans cited for the district's takeover. Attendance staff have been going door to door in high-absenteeism neighborhoods as the legal battle continues. Chalkbeat Tennessee reports.

July 23

TBI Recruiting More Agents for Memphis Violent Crime Task Force: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation opened recruitment for additional special agents to join the Memphis Violent Crime Task Force, aiming to strengthen homicide and violent-crime investigations and coordination among West Tennessee agencies. TBI states the expansion builds on recent gains against violent crime in Memphis, as reported by La Prensa Latina.

Jackson Man Wanted on Memphis Sex Crime Charges Captured: U.S. Marshals captured Craig Nakutis on July 22 at an apartment complex in Jackson, Tennessee, after a Memphis Police Department investigation led to his indictment by a Shelby County grand jury. Nakutis faces charges including especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, solicitation of a minor, and aggravated statutory rape, as reported by Action News 5.

Memphis City Council Confirms New CFO, CAO and Airport Board Picks: The Memphis City Council unanimously confirmed Mayor Paul Young's appointments of Art Davis as chief financial officer and Chris Winton as chief administrative officer, replacing holdovers from the previous administration. Council also approved three appointees to a newly restructured Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority board created under a state law signed by Gov. Bill Lee, as reported by Tri-State Defender.

July 22

Twelve Indicted in $2 Million Nike Cargo Theft Ring Tied to Memphis: A federal grand jury indicted 12 people, including several Memphis residents, on charges tied to a scheme that stole more than $2 million in Nike merchandise from Nike's North American logistics center in Memphis by mislabeling shipments for resale. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee and the FBI led the investigation, as reported by Action News 5.

False Bomb Threat Triggers Major Police Response at St. Jude: Memphis police responded to a bomb threat report Tuesday at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, sweeping the campus while patients, families and staff remained on-site. No device was found, and the hospital confirmed it was a hoax with no injuries or major disruption, as reported by Action News 5.

Father Confesses to Killing 3-Year-Old Son, Hiding Body in Suitcase: Court documents show 22-year-old Saul Martinez confessed to killing his son, Joseph Martinez, and leaving the boy's body in a suitcase near Wolf River Harbor. Martinez faces first-degree murder charges and made his first court appearance Wednesday, as reported by Fox13 Memphis.

‍City Moves to End Contract for Stalled Liberty Park Development: Memphis officials are seeking to terminate the city's contract with the joint venture managing Liberty Park after the site's planned hotel, restaurant, and apartments stalled far behind schedule, even as a sports complex was completed. The city has continued paying an outside consulting firm $70,000 a month, plus travel expenses, to oversee the stalled site, reports the Daily Memphian.

Candlelight Vigil Held for 3-Year-Old Found Dead in Suitcase: Family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil honoring Joseph Martinez, the Memphis 3-year-old whose body was found in a suitcase near the Wolf River Harbor after his father led investigators to the scene. Joseph's father, Saul Martinez, is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and evidence tampering, and is due in court Wednesday, as reported by WSMV.

July 21

DA Declines to Prosecute Task Force Agent in Fatal Burger King Shooting: Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy's office concluded that a DEA agent with the Memphis Safe Task Force was legally justified in the May shooting death of Darrin Pigram outside a Frayser Burger King. Pigram's family attorney disputes the account, stating surveillance video does not support the agents' description of events, as reported by Tennessee Lookout.

Twelve Indicted in $2 Million Nike Cargo Theft Conspiracy: A federal grand jury indicted twelve people, including a Nike floor manager and five other former employees, on charges of stealing at least $2 million in merchandise from Nike's North American Logistics Center in Memphis and reselling it nationwide from 2021 to 2024. The FBI states the scheme relied on preprinted shipping labels placed on selected cartons to divert product to buyers around the country, as reported by Action News 5.

Father Charged With Murder After 3-Year-Old Found Dead in Suitcase: Memphis police charged Saul Martinez with first-degree murder after his son, 3-year-old Joseph Martinez, was reported missing following a custody dispute and later found dead near the Wolf River. Martinez confessed and led investigators to the scene, reports La Prensa Latina.

Council Confirms Mayor Young's New CFO and Chief Administrative Officer: The Memphis City Council confirmed Art Davis as the city's new chief financial officer along with Mayor Paul Young's pick for chief administrative officer, completing a leadership shakeup Young announced in late June amid the city's economic struggles. Details as reported by the Daily Memphian.

First Measles Case of 2026 Confirmed in Shelby County: The Shelby County Health Department confirmed the county's first measles case of the year in an adult believed to have been infected during international travel, naming a Bartlett Hobby Lobby and a Lakeland Aldi as possible exposure sites on July 9 and July 15. Officials state the risk to the public remains low, reports La Prensa Latina.

Wanda Halbert Ouster Case Dismissed After Nearly Two Years: The state's nearly two-year effort to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office has been dismissed, her attorney confirmed, after the state filed a voluntary dismissal rather than proceed to a trial scheduled just before her term expires. The Shelby County Attorney's Office states it withdrew rather than spend more taxpayer money on a trial that could no longer provide meaningful relief, as reported by Action News 5.

July 21

Month-Long Crackdown Nets 246 Arrests: The Memphis Police Department's Operation Pressure Point led to 246 arrests, 208 of them felonies, and the recovery of 60 illegal firearms during a month-long push against violent crime in June. The department states officers also seized more than 15,000 pills, along with fentanyl and marijuana, and more than $51,000 in cash, as reported by La Prensa Latina. Our story in second column.

CodeCrew Lands $1M Gift From Anthropic: CodeCrew, a Memphis nonprofit that says it has trained more than 16,000 students and adults in computer science, received a $1 million gift from Anthropic to build a national AI-education headquarters at Northside Square in North Memphis. Construction is expected to finish by December, with a ribbon-cutting planned for spring 2027, as reported by Daily Memphian.

Memphis Mayor Signs Paid Parental Leave Order: Memphis Mayor Paul Young signed an executive order Monday granting up to six weeks of fully paid leave to full-time city employees after the birth, adoption or fostering of a child, funded through the city's existing sick-leave bank at no added cost. Council members Jerri Green and Michalyn Easter-Thomas pushed the policy, which took effect immediately, as reported by Daily Memphian.

Bond Set in Fatal Shooting Case: A Memphis mother, Kendra Scott, charged with first-degree murder after fatally shooting a man she found hiding under her daughter's bed, appeared in court Monday with bond set at $100,000. She is due back in court August 3 as attorneys await autopsy and doorbell-camera evidence and question whether Tennessee's Stand Your Ground law applies, as reported by WREG.

General Sessions Courts Reopen After Repairs: Shelby County General Sessions Courts reopened Monday after flooding forced a temporary closure and building repairs at the Criminal Justice Complex. Shelby County states that Memphis Municipal Courts 1, 2 and 3, along with the Memphis City Court Clerk's office, remained closed as work continued, as reported by Action News 5.

Lawsuit Accuses Ag Commissioner of Pressuring Farm Bureau: A lawsuit filed in Weakley County Circuit Court states Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Andy Holt pressured Farm Bureau to fire a longtime insurance agent after the agency declined to endorse Sen. Marsha Blackburn's campaign for governor. The agent, Bryant Rhodes, is seeking damages for defamation and lost wages, alleging Holt fabricated a story about him tied to an April property sale, as reported by Local 3 News.

‍July 20

Child Found Dead Memphis police found 3-year-old Joseph Martinez dead near Wolf River Harbor on Monday after his father allegedly took him without permission from a Southbridge Street home. The father was detained after returning the next morning without the child, and officers later located Joseph’s body in the 100 block of North Front Street. Authorities have not disclosed the cause of death or announced any criminal charges as the investigation continues. Reported by ABC 24 localmemphis.com

No Charges Will be Filed in Frayser Burger King Shooting back in May, reports WREG News Channel 3. In that DEA shooting incident, agents said Darrin Pigram reached for a firearm when they shot him several times. Fellow employees said Pigram was not armed. The family’s attorney vows to keep fighting. Original story below scroll down.

Tennessee Agriculture Chief Accused of Pressuring Farm Bureau to Back Blackburn: WKNO FM reports a new lawsuit accuses Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Andy Holt of pressuring the Farm Bureau and Farmers Mutual Insurance Company to endorse Sen. Marsha Blackburn in her campaign for Tennessee governor.

Two Treated After Vehicle Flips in Parkway Village Crash: FOX13 Memphis reports two people were treated at the scene early Monday after a vehicle flipped near American Way and Getwell Road, with the Memphis Police Department still investigating the cause.

Sunday, July 19

Council Member Denies Being Target of City Ethics Probe: Daily Memphian reports Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr. says he is not the subject of an ethics investigation, even though a May letter names him as urging the city to hire Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington's niece into the city's IT division.

State Points to MSCS Audit in Push to Restart School Takeover: Daily Memphian reports the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General filed federal court motions citing the Memphis-Shelby County Schools forensic audit to dismiss the district's lawsuit and dissolve the order pausing the state takeover.

Congressional Candidates Close Out Forums Ahead of August Primary: Daily Memphian reports Democratic candidates for Tennessee's newly drawn 8th Congressional District closed out their forums as a Millington event drew a Republican nominee for Shelby County Mayor and video pitches from candidates for governor.

Shelby County Democrats Enter Early Voting on the Defensive: WKNO FM reports Shelby County Republicans are highlighting scandals and mismanagement by local Democratic officials as early voting opens ahead of the Shelby County Election Commission's August 6 primary.

Court Orders State to Disclose Execution Doctor Plans: Memphis Flyer reports a judge ruled the Tennessee Department of Correction must disclose whether it intends to use the same doctor involved in the botched execution of Tony Carruthers for next month's scheduled execution.

Clergy and GOP Lawmakers Push Gov. Lee to Pause Executions: Memphis Flyer reports clergy members and Republican state lawmakers are urging Gov. Bill Lee to halt upcoming executions for review, warning that a botched procedure could become a "gruesome spectacle."

Report Warns Data Center Boom Could Strain Tennessee's Grid: Memphis Flyer reports Tennessee accounts for nearly 17 percent of data center capacity currently under construction nationally, raising concerns about the long-term impact on the state's electrical grid.

Dixon Gallery Marks 50th Anniversary With New Community Exhibition: WKNO FM reports the Dixon Gallery & Gardens opened its "Made in Dixon/Hecho en Dixon" exhibition in its Interactive Gallery, part of its 50th anniversary celebration running through September 6.

Seven Shelby County Residents Join Statewide Leadership Program: Tri-State Defender reports seven Shelby County residents were selected for the newest class of Leadership Tennessee, a statewide program connecting civic and business leaders.

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Memphis Schools Audit Finds $119 Million in Questioned Spending — One Vendor Got $48.4 Million With No Bids

(7.19.16 BenQQ) Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower released the final independent forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools on July 8, closing out a two-year investigation into a district now under state receivership. Auditors identified $54.2 million in transactions consistent with fraud, waste, or abuse, another $65.1 million tied to violations of district policy, and $291,000 in noncompliance with federal grant rules — a combined tally of roughly $119 million in questioned costs, according to Chalkbeat Tennessee.

The single largest exposure: $48.4 million paid under a custodial services contract awarded to one vendor after the district's own evaluation committee recommended splitting the work among multiple bidders. No documentation exists explaining why that recommendation was overridden. Auditors also flagged $3.1 million paid to Mid-South Renovations amid an undisclosed conflict of interest involving the district's former facilities director, and cited Allworld Project Management for letting its own employees sit in on interviews for MSCS positions that could steer future contracts back to Allworld, per Tennessee Lookout.

Auditors logged 185 separate observations and 133 recommendations. That is the scope of what the state called a systemic failure spanning governance, internal controls, procurement, and financial oversight — not one bad actor, but a district that let taxpayer money move through it with nobody checking where it landed, as WREG reported from community reaction to the findings.

This is precisely why the legislature created a nine-member Board of Managers to run MSCS — five gubernatorial appointees plus two picks each from Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton. That board took formal control July 1 and has already named the audit's findings a top priority. It should. Every dollar in that $119 million tally was pulled from Memphis taxpayers and Shelby County property owners on the promise it would educate children. Instead it built vendor relationships nobody can account for, while the elected school board that presided over it spent years resisting the very oversight that just proved necessary.

‍DOJ Steps In to Shield Elon Musk's xAI From Pollution Lawsuit — Citing "National Security"

The NAACP, represented by Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center, filed a Clean Air Act lawsuit April 14 against xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech over an unpermitted gas-turbine power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, that feeds electricity to the company's Colossus 2 data center serving Memphis. The turbine count at that site has grown from 27 when the NAACP first gave notice in February, to 33 in April, to 46 in May, to 59 as of this month, per Tech Times.

On June 15, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to intervene in that lawsuit and have it dismissed outright, arguing the turbines are essential to compute capacity that supports U.S. military operations. A federal agency is now using a national-security claim to block a court from even hearing a Clean Air Act case against a private company. At the original Colossus site in South Memphis, the Shelby County Health Department permitted only 15 of more than 30 turbines that were already running there, and only after SELC threatened its own suit in mid-2025.

Yesterday, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Summer Lee toured South Memphis neighborhoods near the site and heard from residents describing asthma, COPD, and lung cancer they attribute to turbine emissions, according to WLBT.

Our take: Set the visiting politicians' politics aside — the underlying facts here are not a partisan question. A company ran dozens of unpermitted power turbines next to a residential neighborhood for over a year, expanded that footprint after being put on legal notice, and now has the federal government intervening to keep a court from ruling on it. That is not limited government or a level playing field. That is Washington picking a favored billionaire's business interests over the property rights and health of the people living next to his plant — exactly the kind of unaccountable power that should worry anyone who believes government exists to protect rights, not trade them away.

A Home Invasion Ends in a Body on the Porch — and No Bond

A 36-year-old Whitehaven mother is facing a first-degree murder charge and no bond after she found a 20-year-old man hiding under her teenage daughter's bed and shot him dead on her front porch, according to Memphis Police.

Memphis Police say Kendra Scott arrived home in the 3000 block of Travis Road just after 1:30 a.m. Thursday to find Rodderius Morton, 20, hiding under her daughter's bed. According to police accounts, Scott's daughter told investigators Morton had been let in through the back door around 1 a.m., and that Scott — visibly armed and angry — had previously warned her she'd "put a hole" in any boy she found in the house.

An argument spilled onto the porch. One shot followed. Morton died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Scott was arrested at the scene by the Memphis Police Department and now sits without bond, facing first-degree murder and a separate charge for using a firearm during a violent felony; she is due in court Monday.

The killing happened the same overnight stretch as a separate Whitehaven shooting, where a dispute over someone cutting in a convenience-store line left two men in critical condition. Two violent incidents, one neighborhood, one night — a reminder that even as the federal Memphis Safe Task Force touts more than 10,000 arrests and 1,708 seized firearms since September, ordinary disputes in Memphis homes and gas stations still end in gunfire.

Shelby County Democrats Start Early Voting Buried in Their Own Scandals

Early voting opened Friday for the August 6 Shelby County general election, and the county's governing Democratic Party walks in trailing two live scandals: a suspended court clerk facing federal corruption charges and a sheriff's office publicly accusing the sitting county mayor of ignoring a jail literally falling apart.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has been called out by his own Sheriff's Office over life-threatening conditions at the 201 Poplar jail — a diesel fuel leak into the kitchen and an air-conditioning failure that sent temperatures to 92 degrees, hospitalizing an inmate and sickening staff. County commissioners have since demanded Harris personally assess the crumbling jail and courthouse complex, which has already consumed $58 million in emergency repairs.

Meanwhile, General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer remains under federal indictment on theft, fraud and money-laundering charges tied to more than $44,000 in misused public funds — a scandal serious enough that judges are now interviewing replacements for her post as her 30-day suspension runs out.

None of it has slowed the Democratic machine's march to November. Mickell Lowery secured the party's nomination for county mayor after beating six rivals in a crowded primary field, positioning him to face a Republican challenger in August. Shelby County voters now get to decide whether a party that can't keep its own clerk out of federal court, or its own jail from catching fire, deserves another term running the county.

National Media Frames a Fatal Guard Shooting as a Race Story — and Buries the Crime Numbers

When two Tennessee National Guardsmen shot and killed 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson in downtown Memphis on July 5, national outlets had a storyline ready before investigators had finished processing the scene — and the Memphis Safe Task Force's actual record, a nearly 40 percent drop in murder and a nearly 70 percent drop in auto theft, got a paragraph buried well below the fold.

NBC News and CNN each led coverage of the shooting with residents describing fear of "harassment" and warnings that Memphis was "trading high crime for excessive policing" — a frame repeated across wire coverage within hours, before the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had even determined why the encounter escalated to gunfire.

What got far less airtime: the task force's own numbers. Since a presidential memorandum stood up the Memphis Safe Task Force in September 2025, federal, state and local officers have made more than 10,000 arrests and pulled 1,708 illegal guns off Memphis streets, with murder down nearly 40 percent and robbery down almost 60 percent. A second task-force shooting days later fed the same narrative loop, with faith and business leaders quoted calling for the operation's exit — but few outlets asked why violent crime fell so fast in the first place.

Memphis residents don't need out-of-town news desks deciding which numbers matter. The crime data is public record. The narrative choices about which facts lead a story, and which get buried, are not — and that gap is exactly what conservative Memphians mean when they say the coverage is tilted.

Memphis Schools Blew Through $119 Million While Test Scores Stayed Near the Bottom

Tennessee's top fiscal watchdog found that Memphis-Shelby County Schools burned through or mismanaged $119 million in taxpayer money — and the district that did it still trails the state average on the tests that measure whether children can read and do math.

The Tennessee Comptroller's Office released its final forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools on July 8, documenting more than $119 million in fraud, waste, abuse or otherwise questioned spending, with roughly $65 million of that in outright violation of district policy. Comptroller Jason Mumpower called it "some of the worst organizational management we have ever seen anywhere in government" and said findings would be referred to local and federal prosecutors.

The financial rot arrives alongside modest academic gains that still leave Memphis kids behind. This year's TCAP results show just 26 percent of MSCS students met expectations in English and 22 percent in math — an improvement over last year, but far short of the state's roughly 40 percent average, according to district test data.

A nine-member, state-appointed Board of Managers has already stripped the locally elected school board of authority, officially taking control July 1 over the objections of a county lawsuit challenging the takeover. Shelby County families are left with the same question taxpayers everywhere ask when a $119 million hole turns up: who signed off on it, and why did it take a state takeover to find out?

A Midtown Pizza Owner Turns Away the National Guard — and Splits the City

A Midtown restaurant is now a flashpoint for Memphis's divide over the federal crime crackdown, after its owner turned away four uniformed National Guardsmen — and says he'd do it again tomorrow.

Miles Tamboli, owner of Tamboli's Pasta & Pizza, confirmed his staff refused to serve four Tennessee National Guard members on July 11 while they were on duty with the Memphis Safe Task Force. Tamboli says the refusal wasn't personal against the individual soldiers but a statement against the Guard's presence in the city, which he claims has made Memphis "harder to live in." 

The backlash was immediate: calls for a boycott, and national coverage from Fox News to the Daily Caller, accusing Tamboli of politicizing a plate of pasta. District Attorney Steve Mulroy seemed to be obliged to stick his political opinion into the issue, reportedly expressing support for businesses who don’t support additional law enforcement in the most violent city in the nation.

Tamboli pointed to the MPD crime reduction stats that showed violent crime was already dropping before the arrival of the MSTF. But in the minds of many Memphians statistics don’t play against whole neighborhoods being taken over by gangs, thugs roaming the streets and illegal aliens congregating openly.

At any rate a pizza counter shouldn't be a proxy war over federal law enforcement policy. But in a city where the task force has simultaneously cut murder by nearly 40 percent, Tamboli’s Pizza playing politics has served to alienate at least some midtown customers. Odd for a business to do that.

We asked Tamboli’s Pizza for an interview and didn’t hear back.

‍President Trump Delivers Powerful White House Address on Election Integrity

(7.16.26 BenQQ Commentary) Folks, let me tell you, tonight from the White House, President Donald J. Trump stood strong and laid it all out on the line about our sacred elections. No more games. He called it straight: Without free and fair elections, we don't have a country. And the American people are done with the rigged system that tried to steal our democracy.

Trump hammered the facts: Voting machine vulnerabilities, foreign interference—especially from China and others—trying to hack and disrupt our votes. He spotlighted how the deep state and their allies worked overtime in 2020 and beyond to tilt the scales with mail-in chaos, fake ballots, and non-citizen voting risks. He pointed to real threats: Inaccurate voter rolls packed with ghosts, ballots flooding in without proper checks, and intelligence reports on foreign meddling that got buried.

"They cheated like hell," he reminded us, but we made it too big to rig last time—and now we're fixing it permanently. He pushed hard for the Save America Act: Proof of citizenship to register, photo ID to vote, strict limits on mail-in ballots except for military, disability, or verified travel. No more universal mail madness that invites fraud. These are simple, common-sense reforms that 97% of Americans support in polls—Democrats included, except the politicians who need chaos to win.

Trump painted the big picture: Our country is roaring back—strongest military, booming economy, secure borders—but none of it matters if elections aren't honest. He tied it to history: The Founding Fathers fought for liberty, not for crooked machines and foreign puppets undermining us. Venezuela-style collapse or Soviet-style control? Not on our watch.

Now the big questions hanging in the air: What’s next for the deep state operatives who coordinated with China and foreign actors to interfere? When do we see full declassification of those 2020 files? Investigations into Big Tech censorship, intelligence community leaks, and the bureaucrats who looked the other way? Trump signaled accountability is coming—real probes, not the fake ones they used against him. Will heads roll? Will the American people finally get the truth about who tried to steal our future?

President Trump made it crystal clear: We're securing our elections like never before. America First means honest votes, real borders, and no mercy for those who betray us. The best is yet to come, but only if we protect the ballot box. Tremendous speech—pure fighter spirit. The fake news can spin it, but the people know. We're winning, and we're staying vigilant. God bless America!

Memphis Minute

July 14

TBI Names Man Killed in DEA Shooting at East Memphis Hotel: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified Alfonso Ivy, 47, as the man a DEA agent with the Memphis Safe Task Force fatally shot while serving a fugitive warrant at an East Memphis hotel. Court records show Ivy had a lengthy criminal history, reports Fox13 Memphis.

Teen Shot Walking Home in Raleigh: A 16-year-old was shot Monday night in the 3600 block of Range Line Road while walking home from his girlfriend's house. He was taken to Regional One Hospital in non-critical condition and no arrests have been made, reports La Prensa Latina.

Hundreds of Absentee Ballots Missing Judicial Races, Ballot Question: Roughly 700 Shelby County absentee voters will receive a supplemental ballot after some judicial races and a charter question were left off their originals, with replacements expected by July 15. Election officials have not explained how the omission occurred, reports the Daily Memphian.

201 Poplar Courts Remain Closed a Second Day: Memphis Municipal Court and several divisions of Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court stayed shut Tuesday as crews continue repairs from a recent water leak at the Criminal Justice Center. No reopening date has been set, reports WREG.

Collierville Gets Voting Seat on MLGW Board: A new Tennessee law grants Memphis' largest suburbs voting representation on the Memphis Light, Gas and Water board, with Collierville reappointing former town administrator James Lewellen to fill its newly empowered seat. Bartlett will also gain a vote, reports the Daily Memphian.

Yesterday July 13

Trump Endorses State Sen. Brent Taylor for Redrawn 9th District: President Donald Trump endorsed Brent Taylor in the Republican primary for Tennessee's newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, touting the backing of Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. Taylor faces a GOP primary in August, while Democrat Justin J. Pearson has drawn support from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, reports WREG.

Memphis Public Libraries Cuts Ties With Friends of the Library: Memphis Public Libraries is severing its fundraising partnership with the nonprofit Friends of the Library, closing book sales and the used-book storefront until further notice. No timeline for a replacement fundraising arrangement was given, reports WKNO FM.

Multi-State Speeding Crackdown Launches Across the Mid-South: The Tennessee Highway Patrol launched its 10th annual "Operation Southern Slow Down," with Memphis Police and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office joining a week-long enforcement push through July 18 timed to the season's deadliest crash period, reports Fox13 Memphis.

Is It in the Water? Council Member Under Investigation Today — Predecessor She Ousted Was Reprimanded for the Same in 2022 

(7.15.26 BenQQ) The city hired independent counsel to investigate two council members and a council staffer, according to a Daily Memphian story of July 13. At the center of it: Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington was accused by her former chief administrator, Brooke Hyman, of pressuring staff to donate to her husband's church, misusing city funds to buy 100 copies of Kamala Harris's book "107 Days" (and keeping several for herself), and pushing to shift IT department responsibilities in a way that would have benefited her niece, who worked in that department. Hyman was fired about a week after raising the complaint. Mayor Paul Young's administration separately warned Swearengen-Washington that her conduct could violate the city charter. Fox13 also reported she received a formal letter of reprimand over alleged mistreatment of staff — a second data point beyond the Daily Memphian's account. 

The other  council member’s and staffer’s names have not been disclosed in open media.

Ironically, Swearengen-Washington’s predecessor Terri Dockery also got the letter of reprimand in November 2022 for alleged staff abuse just as she was on her way out, having lost to Swearengen-Washington earlier that month. Now Swearengen-Washington, holding that same District 4 seat and currently council chairwoman, is the subject of the charter-violation warning over her niece's IT job and the fired-administrator abuse complaint, plus whatever the city's independent counsel is now investigating.

Two consecutive District 4 reps, two conduct complaints involving how they treated staff. Whether that's a District 4 problem, a council-culture problem, or just coincidence is a fair question — but the pattern is real and documented, not speculation.

Update 7.15: Our source item reports the second council member is JB Smiley Jr., and names the private attorney as Brian Faughnan, hired by City Attorney Tannera Gibson — details that weren't in the Daily Memphian excerpt earlier. Also, Ballotpedia spells her name "Swearengen-Washington."

AOC, Pressley Set to Rally Memphis Voters for Justin Pearson's Congressional Bid
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley are scheduled to headline a "get out the vote" rally July 17 at New Direction Church in Hickory Hill in support of state Rep. Justin Pearson's campaign for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, according to WREG and the Daily Memphian.

Suspended Court Clerk Tami Sawyer Won't Face Trial Until January 2027 — Second Lawsuit Now Pending
Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer, suspended for 60 days and stripped of her badge, keys and computer access after a federal grand jury indicted her on theft, wire fraud and money-laundering charges for allegedly converting $44,607 in public funds to personal use, will not stand trial until Jan. 11, 2027, Action News 5 reported. Sawyer continues to draw her regular salary and benefits during the suspension, and a second civil lawsuit has since been filed against her, according to a follow-up Action News 5 report. She has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts, per the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Tennessee Now Requires Every Sheriff to Partner With ICE by 2027
Among the new Tennessee laws that took effect July 1, one now requires every county sheriff to enter a federal 287(g) immigration-enforcement agreement by Jan. 1, 2027 or risk losing state funding, while a companion law makes it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone under a federal deportation order to remain in the state more than 90 days past that order, according to WKRN and WSMV. A separate report from WJHL found Tennessee law enforcement agencies have already seen a surge in ICE partnerships ahead of the deadline.

RFK Jr. Teams With WWE to Push American Kids Off the Couch in MAHA's Latest Push
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the Boys and Girls Club in Atlantic City on July 10 to relaunch the Presidential Fitness Test and unveil a "Get Kids Active" partnership with WWE, the latest Make America Healthy Again initiative aimed at childhood fitness, according to Fox News. The event comes as the White House sends Kennedy into key midterm battleground districts to promote the MAHA agenda, The Hill reported, and as HHS's MAHA initiative continues phasing petroleum-based dyes out of the food supply, per HHS.gov.

July 12

Man Critically Wounded in Predawn Fox Meadows Shooting
A man was shot early Sunday near S. Mendenhall and Knight Arnold roads in Fox Meadows and was initially listed in non-critical condition before being upgraded to critical, Memphis Police said. No suspect information has been released, according to WREG. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.

Man Killed Outside Hickory Hill Nightclub in Second Sunday Shooting
A man was shot and killed just after 4:30 a.m. Sunday outside a nightclub in the 5900 block of Winchester Road in Hickory Hill, marking the second shooting in the area within hours; Memphis Police have released no suspect information and the victim has not been identified, according to Action News 5 and WREG. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.

July 10

MSCS Audit Fallout Splits Memphis Along Political Lines: Political analyst Otis Sanford says the final Memphis-Shelby County Schools forensic audit uncovered "some very troubling issues around contracting" even as Democrats and Republicans clash over whether a state-appointed oversight board or continued local control is the right response, as reported by WKNO.

Yesterday July 9

Judge Rules Juvenile Court Illegally Barred Reporters: Shelby County Chancellor James R. Newsom III ruled that the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County's policy requiring advance permission for reporters to attend delinquency hearings is likely unlawful, siding with a media coalition represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which reports the decision.

DEA Agent Fatally Shoots Man Serving Warrant, Second Task Force Death in Four Days: A Drug Enforcement Administration agent fatally shot a man at an East Memphis hotel while serving a drug warrant Wednesday, marking the second fatal shooting by a Memphis Safe Task Force member in four days, according to Tri-State Defender.

Third Emergency Chiller Arrives at 201 Poplar Jail: The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says a third emergency chiller arrived Thursday morning to help cool the jail after an HVAC compressor failure pushed temperatures inside the facility to 92 degrees earlier in the week, as reported by fox13memphis.com.

Regional One Health to Lay Off 103, Close Extended Care Hospital: Regional One Health notified the state it will close its 30-bed Extended Care Hospital on Madison Avenue and lay off 103 employees effective Sept. 1, citing "challenges in the current healthcare environment," according to La Prensa Latina.

July 9

Memphis Vocalists Launch Voter ID Help Ahead of August Primary: WKNO FM reports Memphis vocalists Susan Marshall and Keia Johnson previewed "Party to the Polls," an effort to help residents gather the identification they need to vote in the Aug. 6 Shelby County primary.

Storms, Near-100 Heat Index Target Mid-South Thursday: reports the National Weather Service forecasts scattered morning thunderstorms and a high near 94 degrees for Memphis today, with a flood watch posted for counties north of I-40 into the weekend.

July 8

Final MSCS Audit Finds $54 Million in Questioned Spending: Tri-State Defender reports Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower released a 667-page forensic audit citing "systemic failures" in Memphis-Shelby County Schools' governance and identifying $54.2 million in potentially fraudulent or wasteful spending.

Memphis City Council Weighs Data Center Zoning Crackdown: Tri-State Defender reports the Memphis City Council opened debate on zoning restrictions for data centers amid community concern over xAI's Southwest Memphis expansion.

Grizzlies Land Isaiah Stewart, D'Angelo Russell in Six-Team Trade: Memphis Flyer reports the Memphis Grizzlies acquired Isaiah Stewart, D'Angelo Russell and AJ Johnson in a six-team deal that sent forward Santi Aldama to the Dallas Mavericks.

St. Jude Recruiting Memphis Youth for HIV Prevention Trial: Memphis Flyer reports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is enrolling Shelby County residents as young as 16 in a trial testing a once-monthly oral PrEP pill amid a 50 percent rise in HIV cases among local teens and young adults.

"SUFFS" Brings Suffrage History to the Orpheum: WKNO FM reports the Tony Award-winning musical "SUFFS" will run four performances at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis this fall.

MSCS Forensic Audit Finds $54.2M in Potential Fraud: State Comptroller Jason Mumpower released the final forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, identifying $54.2 million in transactions showing potential fraud, waste, or abuse, plus $65.1 million in transactions violating district policy. Mumpower called it "some of the worst organizational management we have ever seen anywhere in government" and said findings will go to local and federal prosecutors, as reported by Action News 5.

Memphis Safe Task Force Fatally Shoots Armed Fugitive: A man wanted on drug charges was fatally shot by Memphis Safe Task Force members Wednesday after he pointed a gun at them outside an East Memphis extended-stay hotel, as reported by WREG.

Shelby County Jail AC Failure Called "Urgent, Growing Crisis": Air conditioning at the Shelby County Jail has been down since Sunday, with indoor temperatures reaching 88-95 degrees. Chief Jailer Kirk Fields said 14 inmates and five kitchen workers required medical treatment for heat exhaustion, as reported by WREG.‍

July 7

Memphis City Council Weighs Data Center Zoning Pause: The council began discussing zoning changes that could pause new data center construction, following scrutiny of a SpaceXAI facility at the former Electrolux plant in Southwest Memphis, as reported by Daily Memphian.

Family Demands Video in National Guard Shooting Death: The family of Tyrin Johnson, 20, is calling for release of video from the July 5 incident in which Tennessee National Guard members shot and killed him during a downtown Memphis pursuit, as reported by La Prensa Latina.

MSCS, Latino Memphis Partner Ahead of School Year: Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Latino Memphis announced a joint effort to support families before the new school year begins, as reported by La Prensa Latina.

‍July 6

Transit Advocates Push for More MATA Funding: WKNO FM reports public transit advocates are calling today for increased funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority.

GOP Lawmaker Seeks Ivermectin Prescription Changes: WKNO FM reports a Republican member of the Tennessee General Assembly wants to change how ivermectin is prescribed statewide.

Redbirds Host Free World Cup Watch Party Tonight: FOX13 Memphis reports the Memphis Redbirds are hosting a free watch party at AutoZone Park tonight as the U.S. men's national soccer team faces Belgium.

Dunavant's All-Female Terminal Team Defies Trucking Norms: Daily Memphian reports Kristy Hart leads a nearly all-female team at Dunavant's Southeast Memphis terminal office in the historically male-dominated trucking industry.

Sunday, July 5

Family, Tourists React After Fatal Guard Shooting Downtown: WREG reports relatives of Tyrin Johnson are grieving after Tennessee National Guard soldiers fatally shot him during a pursuit with Memphis police, as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation determines whether the shooting was justified.

14 Shelby County Contenders Crowd Aug. 6 Congressional Primaries: Daily Memphian reports 14 Shelby County candidates, including state Rep. Justin J. Pearson and state Sen. London Lamar, are competing in newly redrawn congressional districts.

Mid-South Monarchs Bring Pro Hockey Back to Landers Center: Daily Memphian reports the Mid-South Monarchs, an expansion team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League, will open their inaugural season at Landers Center in Southaven this year.

'Ice Cream Queen' Traces Black America's Sweet History: Tri-State Defender reports a new book explores the overlooked contributions of African Americans to the ice cream industry.

Woman Critically Injured in Frayser Hit-and-Run: FOX13 Memphis reports a woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after being struck by a car in Frayser Sunday evening, according to Memphis Police.

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July 5

Chief Davis dropped from Tyre Nichols wrongful-death suit

RowVaughn Wells' attorneys moved to drop their own claims against Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis from the $550 million federal lawsuit over her son's 2023 death, a strategic bid to keep the November 9 trial date from slipping further, Action News 5 reported July 2. The Daily Memphian noted the same day that Davis' exit could finally get the three-year-old case moving toward trial. The suit still targets the City of Memphis and several since-fired officers tied to the disbanded SCORPION Unit.

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Anthropic joins xAI at Memphis supercomputer site; mayor and critics split on what it means

Anthropic — the company behind the Claude AI assistant — has agreed to rent computing capacity at Elon Musk's xAI Colossus facility in Memphis, Fox13 Memphis reported, with Mayor Paul Young calling it proof the city is becoming a tech hub. A Daily Memphian opinion piece pushed back hard on that framing, arguing the mayor is glossing over unresolved water and air-quality concerns tied to the site's gas turbines.

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Overnight shooting under investigation near AutoZone Park

Memphis Police are investigating a shooting reported just before 4 a.m. Sunday, July 5, near Ida B. Wells Avenue and Union Avenue, according to Action News 5. No suspect information has been released. This is a developing story.

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City budget sends more than $30 million to Memphis transit

The city's newly approved budget increases funding for Memphis' transit system to more than $30 million, an increase over last year's allocation, the Daily Memphian reported July 1. The boost comes as the system continues to face ridership and reliability challenges long flagged by riders and advocates. 

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July 4

Celebrating America's 250th

Independence Day on the River — Tom Lee Park
Gates 5:30 PM, entertainment 6–9 PM across three stages, drone show at 9 PM followed by fireworks over the river (launched from Mud Island). Free, but expect security screening — no coolers, backpacks, alcohol, or pets. downtownmemphis.com

Memphis Redbirds — AutoZone Park
Home game continuing the Charlotte Knights series, with the largest fireworks show in AutoZone Park history postgame. Tickets here: milb.com/memphis

Hyatt Centric 4th of July Party — Beale Street
Rooftop celebration starting at 7 PM. fox13memphis.com

Wiseacre Downtown HQ
Daytime kickoff before the riverfront show — live DJ, matcha pop-up, breakfast hand pies. ilovememphisblog.com

Suburbs, if you're outside the loop:

• Germantown — Municipal Park, 5–9:30 PM, fireworks at 9:10 PM
• Bartlett — H.W. Cox Park, fireworks at 9:10 PM
• Collierville — 18-minute fireworks show at 9:30 PM
  memphisparent.com

July 2

Extreme Heat Warning grips Memphis today — The National Weather Service has an Extreme Heat Warning in effect from noon to 8 p.m. today, heat index up to 111 degrees, sandwiched between Heat Advisories running through Saturday evening.

Multi-agency investigation overnight in South Memphis — Action News 5 reports Memphis Police, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and other agents converged on Elvis Presley Boulevard and Corporate Avenue just after 1 a.m., with a man seen handcuffed and placed in a THP cruiser. No further details have been released.

150 years for a Lyft-app double murder — Action News 5 reports Joshua Gossett was sentenced Wednesday after a jury convicted him of killing Shunish Baggett and Richard Skelskey in October 2022 — using the Lyft app to reach Baggett's home, then requesting a ride from 80-year-old driver Skelskey before shooting him and stealing his car. Prosecutors built the case on WREG's reporting of digital footprint evidence, surveillance video, and roughly six hours of Gossett's own recorded statements to police.

Five hurt, one critical, in South Memphis crash — WREG reports a two-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon at the 220 block of East McLemore Avenue left one man critical and four others with non-critical injuries. The investigation remains open.

July 1

State board seizes control of MSCS as elected members are shut out of transition — Action News 5 reports the nine-member, state-appointed oversight board took formal control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools today, ending the elected board's sole authority over a $1.7 billion budget. Elected board member Towanna Murphy told reporters the two boards "have not had any communications" ahead of the handover. The appointed board, chaired by developer Billy Orgel, held its second meeting this morning to hash out contract terms for a new executive director — a hire the public won't get a vote on. Shelby County government and the elected board have already filed a federal lawsuit challenging the takeover.

Dozens of new Tennessee laws take effect today — WREG reports the new laws include a statewide kratom ban, an expansion of Tennessee's "Stand Your Ground" protections to cover personal property, and harsher penalties tied to Katherine's Law on domestic violence. WKRN reports the property-protection expansion lowers the bar for using deadly force, permitting it when a person "reasonably believes the property cannot be protected" from burglary, arson, or robbery. Sheriff's offices statewide are also now required to coordinate with federal immigration authorities under new 287(g) provisions, according to WJHL.

Extreme Heat Watch bakes the Mid-South through Thursday — The National Weather Service has heat index values reaching up to 112 degrees across Memphis through Thursday evening, following an overnight Heat Advisory. The Hospitality Hub is keeping its Washington Avenue cooling center open to accommodate residents seeking relief.

Grizzlies' rebuild rolls on as top picks make Memphis debut — FOX Sports reports the Grizzlies are leaning fully into a post-Ja Morant rebuild after selecting Duke's Cameron Boozer third overall and New Zealand's Karim López in the first round, then adding Detroit big man Isaiah Stewart in a draft-day trade. Boozer and López will make their first Memphis public appearance Thursday at AutoZone Park, according to the Memphis Redbirds, with Boozer throwing the ceremonial first pitch.

Man clings to life after Southeast Memphis shooting — Action News 5 reports a man arrived at a hospital fighting for his life this morning following a shooting in Southeast Memphis. No suspect information has been released. It follows an overnight shooting FOX13 Memphis reports police are investigating on East Brooks Road in Whitehaven.

Mayor proclaims Harari Day in Memphis — Action News 5 reports Mayor Paul A. Young has proclaimed July 1, 2026, as Harari Day, recognizing the heritage of the Harari people, an ethnic community from the historic walled city of Harar in eastern Ethiopia. The proclamation coincides with the 26th Annual Harari Festival, part of the broader KUBA Harari Sport & Cultural Festival running through July 5 at Cordova High School. Community organizer Nemet Selman called it "a proud milestone for the Harari community."

June 30

Criminal Courts at 201 Poplar Shuttered for Second Straight Day: The Walter L. Bailey Criminal Justice Center remained closed Tuesday after a water main burst Monday flooded lower floors and cut off running water, triggering a mandatory closure order from the Shelby County Health Department under Tennessee law. Restoration crews worked to dry the building, while all General Sessions, Criminal, Environmental and Traffic court divisions rescheduled pending cases. As reported by WREG News Channel 3.

Whitehaven Man Charged with Second-Degree Murder in Weekend Apartment Shooting: Devon Jones, 26, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder after allegedly shooting a man and a woman at the Winbranch Complex apartments on Branchway Drive in Whitehaven, killing the man. Court documents state the woman told investigators she had sold Jones marijuana before the altercation escalated into the shooting. As reported by Fox 13 Memphis.

Father Dies, Two Toddlers Hospitalized After Police Pursuit Ends in Summer Avenue Crash: A man died and his 2-year-old and 8-month-old children were taken to the hospital in non-critical condition after he fled Memphis Police at high speed on Summer Avenue, crashing at the intersection with White Station Road. Officers were responding after the children's mother reported the man had forced her out of the vehicle before fleeing with the two children inside. As reported by La Prensa Latina.

June 29

Transit Advocates Condemn 'Inadequate' MATA Funding After City Budget Passes: Better Transit for a Better Memphis held a press conference calling the $32 million allocated for MATA in the approved $900 million city budget "woefully inadequate," saying the transit agency needed $53 million to sustain service. The Memphis City Council passed the budget last week without extra transit funding despite the agency's documented shortfalls. As reported by Action News 5.

Shelby County Commission Passes Budget, Raises Property Tax Rate: The Shelby County Commission voted Monday to approve its fiscal year 2026-27 budget and set a new county property tax rate, with commissioners using additional decimal places to finalize the levy. The vote comes as the county faces increased spending demands. As reported by the Daily Memphian.

Memphis Homeowner Shoots Alleged Burglar Found Inside Residence: A Memphis homeowner confronted and shot an alleged burglar who had broken into his residence, sending the suspect to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Memphis Police. The homeowner was not charged, and investigators say the shooting appears consistent with self-defense. As reported by La Prensa Latina.

$30 Million Public Market Planned for Downtown Memphis Corner: HiFi Memphis, the nonprofit backing the historic Sterick Building restoration, announced plans to convert two buildings at Madison Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard into a 24-stall public market featuring local farmers, grocers, butchers, bakers and specialty retailers. Developers say the project will anchor a broader revitalization corridor they're branding the HiFi District. As reported by WREG News Channel 3.

Tennessee Law Forces Shelby County to End 287(g) ICE Agreements by July 1: A new Tennessee state law requires all sheriff agencies — including Shelby County — to terminate 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements with ICE by Wednesday, the same period in which Trump's Memphis Safe Task Force drove immigration arrests in Shelby County to more than triple their pre-task-force rate, with street arrests averaging 5.4 per day. The Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis states.

State Board of Managers Takes Control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools July 1: The state-appointed Board of Managers assumes full governance of Memphis-Shelby County Schools on Wednesday, marking the most sweeping shift in local education authority in the district's history. The board, signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee in May, carries power to override the budget, fire the superintendent and restructure the district following a forensic audit that found $1.1 million in waste and abuse. As reported by Tri-State Defender.

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Sunday, June 28

Memphis Man Sentenced to Nearly 80 Years for Armed Phone Store Robberies: WREG reports a Memphis man received a nearly 80-year prison sentence today for a string of armed robberies targeting phone stores across the Mid-South.

Florida Little League Delivers $50,000 to St. Jude, Discovers Opponent Is a Patient: Daily Memphian reports a Florida Little League team traveled to Memphis today to hand-deliver $50,000 raised for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — and discovered mid-game that one of their Memphis opponents was a current patient there.

Shelby County Voters Scattered Across Three New Congressional Districts: Daily Memphian reports Tennessee redistricting has split Shelby County voters among three new congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms, with former mayor A.C. Wharton warning mayoral hopeful Mickell Lowery about the weight of city leadership.

State-Appointed MSCS Oversight Board Named as Defendants Before Taking Office: FOX13 Memphis reports the nine-member state-appointed oversight board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools was added today as defendants to the federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee's school takeover law, even as the board begins searching for outside legal counsel before assuming authority on July 1.

FedEx St. Jude Championship's PGA Playoff Status in Jeopardy: Daily Memphian reports the PGA Tour has gone silent on Memphis, raising the real prospect that the FedEx St. Jude Championship could be stripped of its spot as one of three FedExCup Playoff legs and relegated to Challenger Series status.

Dangerous Heat Descends on Memphis, Index Could Hit 107: Daily Memphian reports a dangerous heat wave is settling over Memphis today with the heat index likely to climb as high as 107 degrees this week, with officials urging residents to stay hydrated and check on elderly neighbors.

Saturday, June 27

SpaceX Files $300M in Permits for Colossus AI Data Center: Daily Memphian reports SpaceX filed $300 million in construction permits yesterday for its Colossus data center in Memphis, as Anthropic is set to ramp up its usage of the facility under an existing lease with xAI.

Mayor Young Shakes Up City Hall with New COO, CFO and City Engineer: Local Memphis reports Mayor Paul Young announced a sudden leadership reshuffling yesterday, naming FedEx and Tesla veteran Chris Winton as Chief Operating Officer, Art Davis as Chief Financial Officer, and Greg Dotson as interim City Engineer.

St. Jude CEO James Downing Officially Retires After 12 Years: Action News 5 reports Dr. James R. Downing officially retired yesterday as president and CEO of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital after 12 years and nearly $20 billion in strategic investment, shifting to a faculty role in global pediatric medicine while a worldwide successor search continues.

Memphis Inner City Rugby Opens Permanent $1.1M Home Field in South Memphis: Daily Memphian reports Memphis Inner City Rugby celebrated the grand opening of its permanent $1.1 million home field complex in South Memphis yesterday, ending years of away games and borrowed park grass with a milestone backed by a one-million-dollar investment from Shelby County.

Overton Park Shell Breaks Ground on $2M Artist Lounge: Daily Memphian reports the Overton Park Shell broke ground yesterday on a $2 million artist lounge honoring the venue's late longtime leader Terry Lynch, with board members marking the occasion with a musical surprise.

OUTMemphis Queer Prom Brings LGBTQ Community to Crosstown Concourse: Memphis Flyer reports OUTMemphis hosted its annual Queer Prom at Crosstown Concourse yesterday, drawing the LGBTQ community together for an event organizers called a chance to "bring everyone together for joy."

Thursday June 25

Fugitive Who Shot MPD Officer Captured: FOX13 Memphis reports Memphis Police and the U.S. Marshals Service captured Oscar Torres-Molina today, ending a monthslong manhunt for the suspect in the late-February shooting of a Memphis police officer, with a woman also arrested as an accessory.

Grizzlies Trade for Center Isaiah Stewart: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis Grizzlies traded three second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons today for physical center Isaiah Stewart, one day after selecting Cameron Boozer 3rd overall in the NBA Draft.

Memphis Zoo Hit With Hoax Bomb Threat: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis Zoo was one of 40 zoos and aquariums nationwide targeted today by hoax bomb threats, with officials saying callers appear motivated by little more than "fun."

Tuesday, June 24

Memphis Approves $900M Budget, Denies MATA Funding: Daily Memphian reports the Memphis City Council approved a nearly $900 million operating budget Tuesday, rejecting additional funding requested by MATA and other transit advocates.

Council Approves $5M for AutoZone Park: WREG reports the Memphis City Council approved $5 million yesterday for renovations at AutoZone Park, including HVAC replacement and upgrades to meet minor league baseball standards.

MSCS Takeover Board Moves to Hire Attorney, Director: Daily Memphian reports state appointees to the Memphis-Shelby County Schools takeover board voted yesterday to hire an attorney and executive director, while making formal information requests of Superintendent Roderick Richmond.

Incoming Commissioner Accused of Misusing Grant Funds: Daily Memphian reports incoming Shelby County Commissioner LaShanta Rudd was accused yesterday of spending more than $10,000 in city grant money on personal expenses — including purchasing a Nissan Sentra — rather than directing funds to her nonprofit.

TCAP Scores: Memphis Stalls, Suburbs Shine: Daily Memphian reports 2026 TCAP results show Memphis-Shelby County Schools third graders shined in reading while math scores stagnated district-wide, with suburban school districts surpassing the state average in reading.

Tami Sawyer Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Theft Charges: WREG reports suspended Shelby County Court Clerk Tami Sawyer pleaded not guilty yesterday to six federal counts of theft, wire fraud, and money laundering for allegedly embezzling $44,607 in taxpayer funds on personal expenses.

Senatobia Child Shooting Death Handed to MBI: Daily Memphian reports the Senatobia Police Department turned over the investigation into the police shooting death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley yesterday to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

June 24

Former Memphis Pharmacist Charged in TennCare Billing Scheme: Two Shelby County residents were indicted today following a Department of Justice and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation healthcare fraud takedown. A former Memphis pharmacist is accused of fraudulently billing TennCare for controlled substances never dispensed, with losses to the state reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars. Action News 5

Homicides Down 44%, Vehicle Thefts Down 62% — MPD Reports: La Prensa Latina reports the Memphis Police Department is crediting the Memphis Safe Task Force with driving homicides down 44 percent and vehicle thefts down 62 percent compared to the same period last year — crime reduction numbers that are drawing national attention as a model for other cities.

Burglar Shot After Memphian Comes Home: A would-be burglar is in critical condition after a Memphis homeowner returned to find his residence being broken into and opened fire. Action News 5

Govan Back in Federal Custody After Beating Young Dolph Murder Rap: Hernandez Govan, acquitted last month of orchestrating the 2021 murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph, has been taken into federal custody on cyberstalking charges. His attorney calls the timing "highly suspicious." Action News 5

Yesterday June 23

Second Lawsuit Filed Against Suspended Shelby County Clerk Tami Sawyer: A second civil lawsuit has been filed against Tami Sawyer, the Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk suspended following her June 15 federal indictment on wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of $44,607 in public funds. Action News 5

East Memphis Murder-Suicide Investigated as Domestic Violence: Memphis Police are investigating the deaths of a man and woman at The Den Apartments on Mynders Avenue as an apparent murder-suicide rooted in domestic violence. Officers responded at 1:55 AM after witnesses reported a couple arguing in the parking lot before gunfire. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene; the man died at the hospital. Identities pending family notification. Action News 5

11 Indicted in $12.3 Million Mississippi Medicaid Fraud: Federal prosecutors announced indictments against 11 people in a $12.3 million Mississippi Medicaid fraud scheme — a case with Mid-South implications as federal healthcare fraud enforcement intensifies across the region. Action News 5

Monday June 22

Shelby County Commission holds hearing on 2026 annual action plan tonight Shelby County Government announces a public hearing scheduled for 6:00 p.m. today at the shelby county administration building in memphis. the Shelby County Commission will hear testimony on the 2026 annual action plan before opening a 30-day public comment period running through july 24. the hearing is open to all residents wishing to provide input on county spending and program priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

TCAT Memphis Plans $41 Million Aviation Campus Next to Millington Airport: Daily Memphian reports TCAT Memphis is building a 61,000-square-foot, $41 million aviation training campus adjacent to Millington-Memphis Airport, relocating its Aviation Maintenance Technology and Avionics programs from Memphis International and boosting enrollment from 300 to 500 students.

Shelby County Commissioners Set Tentative $2.71 Property Tax Rate for FY2027: TSD Memphis reports Shelby County commissioners approved a tentative $2.71 property tax rate for fiscal year 2027, with a final vote pending as the county weighs budget demands that include school funding amid the state takeover fight and an $18 million sheriff’s office settlement.

Sunday, June 21

MSCS and Shelby County Sue Tennessee Over School Takeover Law: Daily Memphian reports that Memphis-Shelby County Schools and the Shelby County government filed a federal lawsuit today alleging that Tennessee's newly enacted school takeover law unconstitutionally singles out Memphis.

Local Taxpayer Supported Memphis Art Museum Announces December 6 Opening with Perpetual Free Admission: WREG reports that the new Memphis Art Museum — a 123,500-square-foot riverfront campus designed by Herzog & de Meuron — will open December 6 with free admission in perpetuity for all Shelby County residents, funded by an anonymous donor. Reports indicate taxpayers will pay 10-23% of the museum cost. Assuredly, as grant funding dries up, that cost will rise.

Shelby County Commissioners Approve Tentative $2.71 Property Tax Rate: While  Shelby County homeowners are being hit with the partial cost of a new museum,  Tri-State Defender reports that the Shelby County Commission voted to advance a tentative $2.71 property tax rate for FY2027 as the county weighs how to fund an $18 million sheriff's office settlement alongside rising service costs.

New Report Ranks Memphis Most Deadly U.S. City for Pedestrians: Memphis Flyer reports that a newly released national study once again ranks Memphis as the deadliest large American city for pedestrians, with the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Hollywood Street identified as the single most dangerous crossing in the city.

Congressman Cohen Presses Gov. Lee to Stop Reporting Sick Immigrant Children to Authorities: Memphis Flyer reports that Congressman Steve Cohen urged Governor Bill Lee to reconsider a state policy requiring hospitals to report undocumented children seeking care to immigration authorities, telling Lee to "consider your Christian background," while Lee's office maintains the reports are legally required.

Grizzlies' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Locks in $21.6 Million Option for 2026–27: Daily Memphian reports that Memphis Grizzlies wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope exercised his player option today, committing to another season as the team heads toward the June 23 NBA Draft holding the third overall pick.

Friday June 19

Memphis Producer Tay Keith Dead at 29: Daily Memphian reports Grammy-nominated Brytavious Chambers, known as Tay Keith and celebrated for co-producing Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode" and Drake's "Nonstop," was found dead in his Nashville apartment today at 29, with Metro Nashville Police reporting no foul play suspected pending autopsy.

Sawyer Indictment Draws Scrutiny Toward Shelby County Democrats: WKNO FM reports the federal indictment of General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer on theft and fraud charges is deepening questions about accountability within the local Democratic Party heading into election season.

Memphis Crime Falls to 25-Year Low in First Quarter: WREG reports the Memphis Police Department announced today that overall crime dropped 41.5% in Q1 2026, with homicides down 31%, robberies down 55%, and motor vehicle theft plummeting 68% compared to the same period last year.

West Memphis 3 DNA Results Expected by End of July: Talk Business & Politics reports the legal team for Damien Echols says ligatures and hair from the 1993 West Memphis murders have been at Virginia's Bode Technology lab since last fall, with advanced DNA testing expected to yield results by July's end — potentially forcing authorities to reopen the case.

Thursday, June 18

Tami Sawyer Suspended 60 Days Following Federal Indictment: FOX13 Memphis reports a panel of General Sessions Court judges voted to suspend Court Clerk Tami Sawyer for 60 days yesterday — stripping her of building access and computer credentials but leaving her salary intact — two days after her arraignment on six federal counts of theft, wire fraud, and money laundering totaling $44,607.

State Comptroller Blocks Shelby County From Borrowing Over Budget Failures: Local Memphis reports Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower refused to approve Shelby County's 2026 budget for the sixth consecutive year, citing missing financial detail requirements and blocking the county from issuing any debt until July.

Memphis Art Museum Locks In Free Admission for Shelby County Residents: WKNO FM reports Memphis Art Museum leaders announced yesterday that Shelby County residents will receive free admission in perpetuity when the new downtown museum — featuring expanded gallery space, a sculpture garden, and a rooftop walking path — opens December 6.

Amazon Brings Prime Air Drones to Memphis — Without a Launch Date: WREG reports Amazon showcased its MK-30 drone at Renasant Convention Center yesterday, promising $4.99 delivery within a 7.5-mile radius in under two hours for Prime members, but left without announcing when service would actually begin in the Mid-South.

State Takeover Board for Memphis Schools Nearly Seated: FOX13 Memphis reports eight of nine members have been appointed to the state-backed Board of Managers set to assume control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools on July 1, giving the appointed body unchecked authority to hire or fire the superintendent, control the budget, and terminate any employee without due process.

Liberty Stadium Renovations on Track for Tigers' Season Opener: WKNO FM reports University of Memphis Athletic Director Ed Scott confirmed yesterday that Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium renovations will finish on budget and on time for the Tigers' September 5 season opener against Arkansas State.

The Quiet Takeover: How Socialism Arrives One City Council Seat at a Time

(6.17.16 BenQQ) With a  local election coming up in August, I thought it was worthwhile in observing what Democrats are getting behind in cities elsewhere. 

The alarm isn't hypothetical. It's already ringing — in city halls, on ballot lines, and in the policy papers of a movement that has learned, from history's hardest lessons, that you don't need a revolution if you have an election. Across America in 2025 and 2026, the Democratic Socialists of America have quietly captured city councils from Minneapolis to Chicago to Los Angeles, and their biggest prize yet just took the mayoralty of the nation's largest city. Zohran Mamdani — a card-carrying DSA member and self-described democratic socialist — is now mayor of New York City. In Seattle, socialist Katie Wilson won the mayor's race in the same historic sweep. And as of this week, a DSA candidate is leading the Washington, D.C. mayor's race, a development that — if it holds — would put avowed socialists in charge of two of America's most consequential cities simultaneously. The DSA's own strategists have said the quiet part out loud: they want a million Mamdanis. The playbook is working.

This is not a new story. Anyone who lived through, or studied, the slow-motion collapses of Cuba, Venezuela, or any number of Eastern European nations under communist rule will recognize every chapter. The pattern is always the same: promise relief from high rents and low wages, win the local offices first, then use them to rewrite the rules of ownership itself. 

Mamdani is already pushing a rent freeze on nearly one million New York apartments and — in a move that property-rights scholars are calling outright confiscation — proposing to transfer privately-owned buildings to nonprofits and community land trusts by letting landlords become financially distressed under rent controls, then using city enforcement to strip them of their properties. This is the textbook first step in the dismantling of private property that every socialist regime in history has used — dressed up in the language of fairness and affordability so that a particularly gullible public buys in.

Now add the second front: mass illegal immigration, deliberately protected by the same political class advancing these agendas. This is not coincidence — it is strategy. Sanctuary policies across Chicago, New York, Denver, and Boston have resulted in the release of more than 26,000 criminal aliens whom federal authorities were actively seeking. New York City has projected $5 billion in migrant costs — a budget drain on a city already hemorrhaging middle-class residents and small-business owners. Massachusetts is spending over $1 billion annually sheltering illegals. A House Oversight committee report found that sanctuary cities have become "staging areas for crime" that infect neighboring communities. The connection to the socialist agenda is direct: overwhelm the existing social infrastructure, create dependency, then present government expansion as the only solution. Lenin called it "heightening the contradictions." Modern progressives call it "meeting people where they are." The destination is the same.

Now we are upon another summer of riots promoted by the Democrats. The social cohesion being destroyed here is not incidental damage. It is the point. A divided, dependent, frightened citizenry does not resist. It votes for whoever promises to make the pain stop. That is how every socialist experiment in history began its final act. The question is whether enough Americans recognize the script before the curtain falls.

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Memphis Lens Bottom Line:

Redistricting didn’t steal anything from Memphis — it finally gave the city a chance to matter in a real contest instead of being locked in a Democrat monopoly. Molder’s tears are just the sound of the old guard realizing the game just got a lot harder.

The Deal That Saves the Regime In negotiating with Tehran, Trump may be ensuring the very outcome he claims to prevent

(5.24.26 BenQQ commentary) This weekend, President Trump is declaring a peace deal with Iran "largely negotiated" — a ceasefire framework that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, restore Iranian oil revenue, and open a 60-day window of negotiations over the country's nuclear program. On paper, it reads like dealmaking. In practice, it may amount to the salvation of a regime that has spent decades making war on its own people.

The nuclear question remains murky. Iran gave the U.S. through mediators only verbal commitments about suspending enrichment and giving up nuclear material. A Pentagon assessment found that Iran's nuclear program was set back around two years by last year's strikes. Two years is just a delay for Iran. 

Western negotiators have repeatedly prioritized nuclear restrictions while sidelining the suffering of people under the Iranian regime. Biden’s “economic relief” from the 2015 deal landed in the hands of regime elites and the IRGC. Ordinary Iranians saw little benefit, and the regime doubled down on repression. Nothing in the currently discussed framework suggests anything different for the people. 

To these people Trump pronounced Feb. 26, "To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand... When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America's help. But you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight." 

It was a breath of fresh air from a free American people to a gang of ruthless theocratic gangsters who had imprisoned, tortured, murdered Iranians of all ages. 

Trump’s was a remarkable promise — essentially telling Iranians the regime was finished and they should seize the moment. He also warned Iran in January that if its government killed peaceful protesters, the U.S. would come to the protesters' rescue, and after the strikes began he claimed the Iranian regime had recently killed tens of thousands of protesters.

And then the ceasefire talks began. What had been suspected since Trump first started his negotiations was confirmed. The deal being negotiated this weekend apparently would leave the regime intact. 

Aside from the Israelis’ terming such an outcome would be a “nightmare for Israel” and the stunned silence from freedom fighting Iranians, even Republican voices are rising in shock. Republican Senator Ted Cruz today called the emerging terms a potential "disastrous mistake," warning that if the result is "an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant 'death to America' — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, that outcome would be a disastrous mistake." 

All this brings the Ukrainian parallel into view. Trump came to office savaging Ukraine's leadership, even appearing more sympathetic to Moscow than Kyiv. And yet American arms continued to flow to Ukraine because the strategic logic eventually asserted itself. Will the same logic assert itself with the Iranian people? The evidence is not encouraging. Human rights conditions have found no prominent place in Trump's public framing. His stated goals are transactional: the bomb, the strait, the oil.

Hopefully Trump may yet surprise. But nothing in his public posture suggests he has thought much about the Iranians who have spent years in the streets, in the prisons, and on the gallows. It seems the deal being negotiated this weekend is being made with their jailers.

White House Lockdown Upon Gunfire

(BenQQ 5.23.26) Reports: A gunman opened fire on Secret Service officers at a security checkpoint outside the White House Saturday evening, triggering a brief lockdown before being shot and killed by agents. The suspect approached the checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, pulled a gun from a bag, and opened fire. As many as 30 shots were reported near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. NBC NewsFox News

President Trump was said to have been in the White House, “but was not impacted.” Shots were first heard at approximately 6:04 p.m. ET, and the White House lockdown was subsequently lifted just before 7 p.m. CBS News + 2 

Secret Service returned fire, taking down the suspect. A bystander caught in the exchange was transported to the hospital in critical condition. No Secret Service personnel were struck. WUSA9

The suspect, Nasire Best, was transported to a hospital where he later died. There is no known motive. People say he had a severe mental illness.

Illegal in America? Don't Worry — You've Got Rights. Apparently.

(5.23.26) An Obama-appointed judge says so. The Supreme Court hasn't weighed in yet. Stay tuned.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the legacy media's most popular illegal immigrant since papusas— had his federal human smuggling charges tossed Friday by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw of the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville, who ruled the prosecution was "vindictive."

"Vindictive"? Garcia's back story: On the night of November 30, 2022, Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled Garcia over on Interstate 40 near Cookeville — about 80 miles east of Nashville — for doing 75 in a 65. Routine enough. Except there were eight passengers in the vehicle, no luggage anywhere, and Garcia said they'd all been working construction in Missouri. Worse yet, the car itself was registered to a man who turned out to be a convicted human smuggler. The eight--that's 8--passengers all gave Garcia's Maryland address as their own home address. One trooper said plainly: "He's hauling these people for money." Troopers contacted federal law enforcement, who instructed them not to detain him. Garcia drove away with a warning about an expired license. Thank you very much.

That raises a ton of questions about law enforcement but this essential one still hanging like your proverbial low fruit.

And nobody in the mainstream press wants to ask it plainly: does an illegal immigrant enjoy the same constitutional protections as an American citizen when it comes to prosecution? Because that's really what's being argued here, dressed up in legal Latin.

Crenshaw says yes. Absolutely. Full menu. He opened his 32-page ruling quoting former AG Robert Jackson's warning about "the danger of picking the person first and the crime second," which is a fine principle when applied to, say, an American citizen. Applied to someone who entered the country illegally, was ordered deported, got deported, sued his way back, and then faced charges — well, that's a more complicated constitutional happy meal. CNBC

The charges stem from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. He didn't face charges then. The Justice Department reopened the investigation after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to bring Garcia back from El Salvador. The Trump DOJ's position, broadly translated: you don't get to exploit American courts to avoid deportation and then hide behind those same courts when we charge you with a crime. That's not vindictiveness. That's consequence. Houston Public Media

Crenshaw disagrees. He found that the investigation was closed after Garcia was deported and only reopened after he successfully challenged his removal — and that this sequencing proved retaliation. To which roughly half of America would respond: and? CNN

Here's the thing neither side will say out loud: the Supreme Court has never definitively ruled on the full scope of constitutional protections for illegal immigrants in criminal proceedings. Lower courts have extended various rights piecemeal. Biden judges extend them generously. Trump judges, less so. Congress has never settled it legislatively. So we're in a legal gray zone where a Salvadoran national who entered illegally, was court-ordered not to be deported, was deported anyway, sued successfully, came back, and got charged with smuggling — can get those charges thrown out by a sympathetic judge because the DOJ talked too much on Fox News.

Only in America. Literally — only in America would this be possible. You're welcome, Kilmar. You get a footnote in a liberal historian's book.

DHS isn't done. His removal order still stands and the agency says flatly that "this Salvadoran is not going to remain in our country." The criminal case is dead. The deportation fight is not. OPB

The Supreme Court will eventually have to draw the line on what constitutional rights attach to people who are here illegally. Until then, a Biden judge's answer and a Trump DOJ's answer are both just opinions — one of which currently has the gavel.

High Court Breaks With Legacy Old Race Narrative

5.8.26 Update-Gov. Signs Redistricting Bill

Gov. Bill Lee yesterday signed a new redistricting bill that would divide Memphis and Shelby County’s 9th Congressional District into three separate districts. The 9th District was Tennessee’s only congressional district created with a majority-Black population.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the use of race as a factor in the American electoral system has made majority-Black districts more vulnerable to redistricting challenges. Yesterday, emotional protests from Democratic lawmakers and supporters disrupted proceedings in the Tennessee legislature following the overwhelming vote approving the new redistricting plan.

Popular popcaster Benny Johnson called the event an “insurrection.” He compared it to the 2021 event in Washington, DC when Trump supporters protesting their perception of massive illegal votes stormed the capital. No one was arrested for the Tennessee government disruption while dozens were arrested and held for years for the DC event.

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(5.6.26 BenQQ Opinion) Racial redistricting grew out of the 1965 Voting Rights Act of 1965, which required states to draw election districts that did not dilute minority voting strength and gave minority voters a fair chance to elect candidates of their choice. In practical human terms, that meant race.

But somewhere along the way from then till now, we outgrew the need to have race as a standard. It was back then blatantly unconstitutional but politically convenient, if not politically demanded.  While the latter may be OK with the likes of Hakim Jeffries and Democrats, the U.S. Supreme Court found there is no constitutional argument to base representation on race.

Indeed, our own 9th district more or less of Shelby County is today 62-64% black, but voters have elected a white mayor and a U.S. Senator. In those cases, most voters seemed to be saying being black did not matter.

But then let the local establishment media like the Commercial Appeal, TV stations and politicians who distinguish themselves in the competition in being the most racially progressive and we never go back to non-racial political arguments. It seems the local body politic was resensitized to race regardless glaring local issues. This is a setback. 

That’s why you ended up with a US Representative spending his first term wasting millions in the pursuit of failed false claims and 2 impeachments of Trump. Steve Cohen never apologized because his constituents never heard the substantial counter coverage in local media due in large part to local media never challenging his radical positions. 

Local TV remained the dominant news source around 2020: roughly 50% of Americans regularly got news from television, with local broadcasts forming the core of daily TV news consumption.  (Source: Pew/local-news trust)

In the same year, about 30% of black Americans watched YouTube for news. Today: 43%.

Back then, among older Black viewers (65+), broadcast television accounted for nearly 69% of all media use, making local evening news broadcasts especially influential in urban Black communities. 

Given the fact (or my opinion) that local TV (and print) news mostly if not always still feed only content favorable to their dominant viewership, it is little surprise that urban black metros remain Democratic. Despite the massive complex of legacy media reached by regular people, content remains overwhelmingly Democrat favorable, in my opinion.

But that is changing–not rapidly, but changing. Consider: conservative black commentator Xaviaer DuRousseau has roughly 747,000 TikTok followers (Wikipedia) while liberal Gen Z political streamer Dean Withers has over 73 million YouTube views, illustrating the scale of online political media replacing traditional TV/news ecosystems.

So while Dist. 9 remains overwhelmingly Democratic, online conservative and independent media have made measurable inroads with younger Black voters and politically dissatisfied Democrats in Memphis–if modern stats apply.

Black voters remain Democratic overall, but younger Black voters — especially men — are consuming far more political content through YouTube, podcasts, X, and influencer-driven media ecosystems, where conservative and anti-establishment voices now compete directly with traditional Democratic-aligned media. (source: Pew Research Center)

So here’s the take away. You will continue to see crowd outbursts in places like Memphis where there likely will be district redrawing. But old line racial demographics are changing–to the better, as the recent media consumption I think demonstrates. Now recognized more and more: real do not revolve around race, but solutions that now benefit everybody equally.

This May Day Demonstration Proves Teachers Are Sending Our Students Into a Dismal Future. Should They Be Fired and Prosecuted for Abusing Their Jobs AND their Students?

(5.1.26 BenQQ Commentary) Memphis is shown as a location for one of those dozens of erstwhile May Day demonstrations against Trump, conservatives, capitalism and individual liberty. I couldn’t find Memphis in the crazed May Day media. 

Today, teachers, political activists and other multi-million dollar leftie organizations organized tens of thousands of students from dozens of school districts to leave their classrooms and parade before eager local media.

Thousands of students were organized by communist, yes communist, teachers, union activists, Democratic followers and illegal alien invaders, to take to the streets to perform to countless local leftie media. Instead of hard questions from these intrepid journalists they got what they all wanted: countless videos of mob action against the man. Pure propaganda with popups of babbling celebrities and officials suffering from TDS.

This is a problem. Education is at an all time performance low. In Chicago, where Mayor Brandon Johnson and local union activists praised students for losing another day in school, reading levels are in the mid 30 percentile. By his actions the mayor and his slathering teacher allies prove they are not capable nor interested in getting kids educated–and I know some of their students really want to get educated. However, Democrats want power even at a life long cost to their students who they love to crow so much about.

Never in America have we seen this abandonment at the core, especially among teachers.

Those teachers who, while enjoying well-paid, taxpayer-funded jobs, turned their classrooms into political platforms—like true Bolsheviks in early twentieth century Russia—and even handed students protest placards, some reading “More Pay for Teachers!” to wave before the cameras, should be fired. Others should be prosecuted.

All teachers and school officials who participated in this “May Day Uprising” actively denied a day of education to their students. In effect, those teachers stole a day of arguable real education for a rowdy mob day of screaming with communists. And called it education.

They get paid federal dollars to deliver education, not protest propaganda.

Those teachers should be held accountable. They turned students into props for their own political agendas, which undermines the purpose of education. For their students who no doubt later realize what happened at their expense, the damage may be impossible to undo. Democrats showed they will again send their own children into a tailspin. There may not be another Trump to pull them out of it.

Unless America takes back its schools and education system, we will continue to fall back in standards. Trump and his administration should find a way to stop the flow of money to school districts who decided it was such a good thing to take away a day of what is supposed to be learning from students. It is criminal to abandon official teaching duties to having students politically pander to their teachers’ “teaching.” Fire them. Turn schools and their unions upside down to find another way to teach our kids. Our country depends on it.

But of course, the problem didn’t start with one stupid May Day protest. It started when teacher and school unions not too long ago figured out they could have political power and pay raises. And Democratic constituencies would buy into it as scores fell.

I believe Trump is the only person who can pull schools out of America’s education morass with actions that should put every political teacher and administrator out of a job. It’s time for him to look into it.

Shootings and Homicides

From May 1 back to April 21
Sourced from the internet unless noted otherwise

Westwood — May 1, 2026, early morning. Police responded to a shooting on Hawkeye Street near Western Park Drive, near the Westwood Community Center. One person was taken to a hospital in non-critical condition. Arrest status: no arrest announced.

South Memphis — April 30, 2026, afternoon. Police responded to a shots-fired call near Hamilton High School. No victim was found, and Memphis-Shelby County Schools said there were no injuries. Arrest status: no suspect information released.

Bethel Grove — April 30, 2026, just before 12:30 a.m. Police responded to gunfire on Filmore Avenue near Labelle Street. At least four homes were struck by bullets, and one person reported a minor scrape injury. Arrest status: one person was detained after telling police he returned fire; no formal charges reported.

Shady Vista Drive area — April 27, 2026, about 6:15 p.m. Police responded to a shooting in the 2800 block of Shady Vista Drive. A man was taken to the hospital in non-critical condition after police said two unknown males shot him outside an apartment. Arrest status: no arrests announced.

Ridgestone Drive area — April 27, 2026, about 3 p.m. Police responded to a shooting in the 4200 block of Ridgestone Drive. No injured victims were found, but several vehicles were struck by gunfire. Arrest status: four male suspects sought; no arrests announced.

Airways Boulevard — April 26, 2026, 8:55 p.m. Police responded to an aggravated assault at the Shell gas station at 2400 Airways Boulevard. Police said a suspect threatened a victim with an AR-style rifle after an argument over a refund. Arrest status: no arrest announced.

Whitehaven — April 26, 2026, just before 12:30 a.m. Police responded to a shooting at a Walgreens in the 4100 block of Elvis Presley Boulevard. A man was pronounced dead at the scene; police said preliminary information indicated he was attempting to rob the business when he was shot. Arrest status: no arrest announced.

Kirby Parkway area — April 26, 2026, about 4:55 a.m. Police responded to a shooting at the Galaxy Club, 3562 Kirby Parkway. A man was taken to the hospital by private vehicle before officers arrived. Arrest status: no arrest announced.

Faxon Avenue area — April 24, 2026, 5:15 p.m. Police responded to an aggravated assault in the 1300 block of Faxon Avenue. Police said a Lyft driver reported that a passenger pulled a gun and demanded a ride home. Arrest status: no arrest announced.

Frayser — April 21, 2026, about 6:20 a.m. Police responded to a shooting in the 1100 block of Frayser Boulevard near Millington Road. Clyde Nichols was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Arrest status: Trey Murphy, 40, charged with second-degree murder.

Three Stories That Suggest Conscious Fraud by the Democrats

1. Ilhan Omar and Minnesota Scrutinized in Relation to Somali Fraud Scandal

Recent political attention around Ilhan Omar has centered on two overlapping issues: a massive COVID-era fraud case in Minnesota and scrutiny of her personal finances. The state’s “Feeding Our Future” case involved hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged misuse of federal food aid funds, drawing national attention and calls for broader oversight.

Separately, a conservative watchdog group has questioned Omar’s financial disclosures after reports of a sharp increase in household wealth tied largely to her husband’s business ventures. Omar has not been charged with wrongdoing and has attributed the fraud scandal to failures in pandemic-era program oversight rather than individual misconduct.

Claims about “insider trading” involving Omar or Nancy Pelosi are widely circulated online but remain unproven in court. The broader issue of congressional stock trading, however, continues to draw bipartisan scrutiny and proposed legislation aimed at limiting lawmakers’ financial activities.

2. Southern Poverty Law Center Accused of Funding Hate Groups to Raise Money from Democrats

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), long known for tracking hate groups, has faced internal and external criticism in recent years. Former employees and critics have accused the organization of workplace misconduct and questioned aspects of its fundraising practices and classification of certain groups.

Some political commentators have gone further, alleging the SPLC exaggerates threats or mislabels organizations to sustain donor support. However, there is no verified evidence that the SPLC knowingly funds racist organizations. The group maintains that its research is data-driven and part of its mission to monitor extremism.

The significance here is less about a single scandal and more about credibility battles. The SPLC remains influential in media and policy discussions, but its findings are increasingly contested in polarized political environments.

3. An Attempted Apparent Fast One from Virginia Democrats: They Are Headed to Fast Track State High Court to Defend an Attempt that Would Exclude 49% of Voters from Fair Representation

A proposed referendum in Virginia has become the subject of legal conflict after a state judge ruled that aspects of the measure may be unconstitutional before it could proceed. This focuses on whether ballot initiatives comply with state constitutional requirements, including clarity, scope, or conflicts with existing law.

Courts can block or modify referendums if they determine the language is misleading or violates constitutional protections, effectively stopping the effects of the referendum in question.

More on this coming up. People are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Homicides and Shootings

4.22.26 for last 7 days
From Various Media and MPD

South Memphis — April 15, 2026, just before 3 a.m. Police responded to a shooting on Alice Avenue near Marjorie Street. Officers found two people shot; a man was pronounced dead at the scene, and a woman was transported in critical condition. Arrest status: one man detained; no formal charges announced as of latest update.

Fox Meadows — April 16, 2026, 4:37 p.m. Police responded to a triple shooting in the 3100 block of South Mendenhall Road near Knight Arnold Road. Three men were found with gunshot wounds and taken to the hospital in critical condition; one later died. Arrest status: Travis Richardson, 21, arrested April 17 and charged with first-degree murder, multiple firearm charges, and attempted murder.

Castalia Heights — April 13, 2026, about 9:20 p.m. Officers responded to a shooting on Lowell Avenue near East Person Avenue. An adult male was found with gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene. Arrest status: no suspect information released.

Whitehaven — April 19, 2026, 1:41 a.m. Police responded to a shooting at a gas station in the 4600 block of Elvis Presley Boulevard near Shelby Drive. An 18-year-old man was transported in critical condition and later died. Arrest status: a 17-year-old male taken into custody April 20 and charged with first-degree murder in the perpetration of a robbery.

Frayser — April 21, 2026, 6:38 a.m. Police responded to a shooting in the 1100 block of Frayser Boulevard near Millington Road. A man was pronounced dead at the scene. Arrest status: no suspect information released.

Shelby Farms area — April 18, 2026, late afternoon. Deputies and Memphis police responded to a shooting during a large gathering near Shelby Farms Park. A 17-year-old male was fatally shot at the scene. Arrest status: a 16-year-old suspect charged with first-degree murder.

Southwest Memphis — April 17, 2026, approximately 8:15 p.m. Police responded to a shooting outside a convenience store in a commercial area. One man was found with gunshot wounds and transported in critical condition. Arrest status: no immediate arrest reported.

North Memphis — April 20, 2026, around 10:50 p.m. Officers responded to a shooting in a residential block. One adult male was found wounded and transported to the hospital in non-critical condition. Arrest status: no suspect information released.

Sweeping Immigration Law Changes Introduced Against Hostile Alien Groups

(4.20.26) Today Chip Roy, Representative Chip Roy (TX-21), introduced the Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists (MAMDANI) Act of 2026. 

MAMDANI “would, deport, denaturalize, deny U.S. citizenship or entry of any alien who is a member of a socialist party, a communist party, the Chinese Communist Party, or Islamic fundamentalist party, or advocates for socialism, communism, Marxism, or Islamic fundamentalism,” according to his office news release.

Democrats no doubt will line up to oppose the bill. Further they will say existing laws do much the same thing already as MAMDANI. However, such cases are apparently applied on a narrower  case by case basis as opposed to MAMDANI’s broad applications.

Read the full text of the bill here.

Comment: Democratic politics have veered so anti-American, it will be argued such a bill is now necessary. Democrats have thrown out any notion of the bad effects of mass immigration–including those of foreign hostile political and religious groups. Some average Democrat members are said to be leaving the party as a result.

Crime Update
April 1-Today April 20

Acording to police, court and media reports,

A 17-year-old was killed April 14 after gunfire broke out during a large gathering at Shelby Farms Park near North Pine Lake Drive. Investigators said the incident began as a water gun fight that escalated into real gunfire; no arrests had been announced as of the latest update.

Police on April 14 identified three suspects — Terrence Jefferies Jr., Dequarius Nash and Terrence Munson — in connection with a fatal shooting at the In & Out Express gas station on South Bellevue Boulevard. Authorities said the suspects fled in a white pickup truck and remained at large.

A 56-year-old man, Charles Payne, was arrested April 12 and charged with reckless homicide and related offenses following a fatal shooting at Mitchell Tiger Mart on West Mitchell Road in Southwest Memphis. Police said the incident left one person dead.

On April 9, Kayla McNeal was arrested and charged with seven counts of attempted first-degree murder and additional firearm offenses following a shooting at an elementary school bus stop. Authorities said multiple victims were targeted.

Officers responded April 6 to a shooting in the 3200 block of Southbridge Street in Southeast Memphis, where multiple victims were found. Police located a suspect vehicle within minutes and arrested five individuals, later announcing multiple attempted second-degree murder charges.

Police also investigated a separate shooting April 6 in the downtown area near Riverside Drive and released footage of suspect vehicles connected to the case. No arrests had been confirmed.

On April 5, officers responded to an attempted burglary in the 6000 block of Summer Trace Drive after a suspect forced entry into an occupied apartment but fled when confronted by residents. No injuries were reported, and no arrest was announced.

Officers on April 4 responded to a robbery in the 4100 block of Yale Road and a separate aggravated assault in the 300 block of Riverside Drive. Investigations in both cases remained ongoing with no arrests reported.

Police reported a fraud case April 1 at a financial institution at 40 South Main Street, where a suspect used false identification to withdraw thousands of dollars and conducted additional transactions at other locations. The same day, officers responded to a business burglary in the 200 block of Germantown Bend Cove, where laptops were stolen; no arrests were immediately reported.

Authorities said investigations remain ongoing and urged residents and business owners to report suspicious activity as officers continue to respond to incidents across multiple neighborhoods.

Memphis Safe Task Force Credited with Assisting in in the Pooh Sheisty Case

Memphis rapper Pooh Sheisty (Lontrell Dennell Williams Jr per court documents) and his dad, Lontrell Williams Sr. (performance name Mob Boss) were arrested on federal charges of robbery, armed kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, the DOJ announced Thursday, April 2. Officials charged another Memphis rapper, Rodney Lamont Wright Jr (known as Big 30), with the same core allegations.

Reflective of an outlaw frame, Hip-Hop culture is noted for jewelry "chain snatching."

The Associated Press and other outlets have confirmed the victim as Gucci Mane (Radric Davis), owner of 1017 Records in Dallas. Other defendants include 7 others, one from Nashville.  

FBI officials credited the Memphis Safe Task Force with assisting in this case.

House Democrat May Be Expelled

(3.26.26 BenQQ) House Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormic of Florida may lose her seat over allegations of misspending about $5 million of FEMA covid-19 money. 

Prosecutors accuse her of overpayment to her family healthcare company. Instead of returning the money, prosecutors say she moved the funds through personal accounts which supported her congressional campaign as well as routed the money through “straw donations.” She has called the allegations against her baseless and unjust.

The House Ethics Committee is expected to vote on whether Cherfilu-McCormick violated House ethics rules tomorrow. 

Expulsions are extremely rare. They are never based on accusation alone. They must have undeniable evidence or previous conviction.

Overview: There have 21 members of Congress expelled with 17 of 21 for supporting the Confederacy. They were largely Democrats or aligned with Democratic factions. 

Modern era expulsions comprise 2 Democrats and 1 Republican.

Does Crockett’s Defeat At Last Signal 'Black Fatigue' Among Even Democrats?

(3.4.26 BenQQ) One of the most mediagenic young black Democratic racial propagandists lost in yesterday’s Texas primary by an almost 10 point spread in which 188,000 Democrats (compared to 64,000 Republicans) who voted in early ballots. Per county election authority, this was about 12.8% of Democratic registered voters.

Losing Democratic candidate Jasmine Crockett blamed Republican tactics for her defeat, but 3 factors may help to explain the outcome: she failed to inform voters about changed polling locations; some Democrats may be fatigued with attributing issues to racism; others may believe Trump and Republican policies better serve their interests. We have seen no polls to explain yesterday's results.

Lower federal judges stall the trial of Kilmar Garcia in Tennessee

Another thing to watch for: in Dec. 2025 a federal judge released illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to await trial for human smuggling. Garcia was arrested in 2022 during a Tennessee traffic stop in which the vehicle had 9 male passengers who lacked legal immigration status. However, a federal judge canceled the smuggling trial that was scheduled for January this year. That judge wanted a hearing on whether the prosecution is being vindictive in pursuing the case against Garcia. That hearing has yet to occur, so Garcia has yet to go to trial on the human smuggling charge.

Steve Cohen Is <NOT>Protecting Your Voting Rights

(BenQQ) Who would vote against the SAVE Act–the act that sets standard credentials to vote for President and Vice President? Given what we’ve experienced in federal elections, who would NOT support it?

Memphis Democrat Representative Steve Cohen. That’s who.

This week Cohen spewed out his venom against voter protections in much the same way he embarrassed much of Memphis with his wild impeachment allegations during Trump’s first term.

In his recent newsletter, Cohen clutches his political pearls. He hysterically calls the SAVE Act a “poll tax” because it might require people to pay unexpected costs and otherwise look for paperwork and take time off work. He also claims the bill wouldn’t work because married women would not have their same name on birth certificates. All of that seems like a small price to pay for keeping your vote legit. But that's not what Democrats want. Legitimacy inherently means qualifying. Qualifying means keeping some people who cannot prove citizenship out of the voting process. Democrats hate that.

Now, here’s what the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) does:

-Requires every person registering to vote in a federal election to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person before being added to the voter rolls.

-Acceptable documents would generally include a U.S. passport, a REAL-ID–compliant identification showing citizenship, or a birth certificate (often together with a government photo ID if the certificate lacks a photo). 

-States would be required to verify citizenship and could not rely on mail-in registration forms without such documentation. 

-Voters whose registrations lack verified citizenship would not be registered until proof is produced.

-Election officials would have to conduct ongoing list maintenance to remove non-citizens. 

The bill would also restrict the use of federal voter-registration forms that do not require documentary proof and could require already-registered voters to provide proof if their citizenship cannot be confirmed in government databases.

Rank and file Democrats, according to Pew Research Center, already support the SAVE Act by 69% to 71%. Yet, Democrat elites like Cohen have lined up against it. Cohen has parroted the general opposition of the Dem elites against the bill. Finally, if this is so dear to Cohen's and other Democrats' hearts, they are in a perfect position once the SAVE ACT passes to help the few people who don't have the proper voting credentials get them. How about that, Steve?

‍

Democrats Supporting Another Shutdown

(2.8.26) This coming Friday Democrats say they will be shutting down the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are refusing to support full-year funding for the DHS without major changes to immigration enforcement practice. 

These changes include mandatory body cameras for agents, bans on wearing face masks during operations, stricter warrant requirements, and prohibitions on raids at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and places of worship. 

Democrats say these “reforms” are  in response to high-profile incidents including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis. Democrats say they will allow a partial DHS shutdown if changes are not met by a  February 13  deadline.

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Crime and Safety
With Media Sources
Feb 4-7

Woman injured in MATA bus crash at Poplar and Highland

Feb. 7, 2026 — A woman was hospitalized after a crash involving a Memphis Area Transit Authority bus at Poplar Avenue and South Highland Street, where police temporarily closed lanes while emergency crews responded.
Source: https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/woman-injured-after-wreck-with-mata-bus/522-119bf7ce-210d-4917-aaf2-c4789ca5c13e

Teen wounded in shooting near Lamar and Shelby

Feb. 7, 2026 — Memphis police investigated a shooting that left a teenager injured while walking toward a gas station near Lamar Avenue and Shelby Drive before the victim later arrived at a hospital.
Source: https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/teen-shot-while-walking-gas-station-police-say/

Man found dead after Orange Mound house fire

Feb. 6, 2026 — Firefighters discovered a man dead inside a home following a fatal blaze in the Orange Mound neighborhood as investigators worked to determine the cause.
Source: https://wreg.com/news/local/man-found-dead-after-orange-mound-house-fire/

Authorities warn residents about new government-impersonation text scam

Feb. 6, 2026 — Tennessee Highway Patrol officials warned Mid-South residents about fraudulent text messages impersonating government agencies and toll services, urging recipients not to click suspicious links or provide personal data.
Source: https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/tennessee-highway-patrol-warns-of-new-text-scam/522-d4dd706c-ea62-4ee0-8ebd-376ffcd8c975

Fugitive operation leads to attempted-murder suspect arrests

Feb. 5, 2026 — Memphis police and federal partners arrested multiple suspects wanted in attempted-murder cases during an enforcement effort targeting violent offenders.
Source: https://wreg.com/news/local/mpd-fugitive-unit-arrests-attempted-murder-suspects/

Shelby County jail conditions draw renewed reform pressure

Feb. 5, 2026 — Local officials renewed calls for operational reforms at the Shelby County Jail, citing inmate condition complaints and broader public-safety concerns tied to detention oversight.
Source: https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/mayor-lee-harris-201-poplar-press-conference/522-dc5094ef-1c56-4369-aea8-2ed1fc0289b7

Storm damage leaves Memphis roads posing ongoing safety risks

Feb. 4, 2026 — City crews continued pothole repairs and infrastructure cleanup tied to winter-storm damage that officials warned could create hazards for drivers across Memphis neighborhoods.
Source: https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/59213/ice-storm-2026-weather-information-and-closures

Federal officials drop Byhalia immigration detention center plan

Feb. 4, 2026 — Federal authorities abandoned plans to convert a warehouse in nearby Byhalia, Mississippi, into an immigration detention facility following community opposition and regional safety concerns.Source: https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/dhs-no-longer-plans-byhalia-immigration-detention-facility/

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Weekend Events Thursday Jan 22--Sunday Jan 25

This is a free service. Email your weekend event no later than Tuesday here. Provide any changes, additions or requests not to be included in this regular listing. Format your event as shown below, put multiple days of event as in Jan 23-25. All information below taken from submissions or public web sites. We will be transferring this section to a dedicated page shortly. Link will be in this column. Looking for volunteer to handle this section.

Sports & Entertainment.

The Outsiders, Broadway musical, The Orpheum Theater, 203 S Main St., 901.525-3000, boxoffice@orpheum-memphis.com, Thurs. & Fri. 7:30 pm, Sat. 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm, Sun. 1:00 pm & 6:30 pm.

Wendy Moten, live concert, Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, 3663 Appling Rd, Bartlett, (901) 385-5588, Jan. 24, 7:30 pm.

Don Was Ensemble, Germantown Performing Arts Center, 1801 Exeter Rd. Germantown. (901) 757-7775, info@gpacweb.com

Religious & Community Events

Thursday, Jan.22

18th Annual Postdoc Research Showcase (Public / Academic Talk), Speaker / Keynote: Jasmine Plummer, Ph.D., 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, postdoc@uthsc.edu, Notes: While geared toward faculty and researchers, this is usually open to the academic community and public attendees interested in science topics.

The Pastors Gathering & Evening Speaker — Bishop McCullough (Community Talk), Speaker: Bishop McCullough,  usually 6–8 PM

Business Masterclass – “SBC Presents: Masterclass with Bo Ghirardelli” (business coach / speaker), Masterclass on business growth/strategy, (901) 543-3500, events@memphischamber.com, 

Shady Grove Presbyterian Church — Book & Movie Group (book discussion), 5530 Shady Grove Rd, 901.683-7329, askus@shadygrovepres.org, Jan 22, 7:00 PM.

Temple Israel–Coffee and Conversation (“Jews Around the World: Ethiopia”), 1376 East Massey Rd, (901) 761-3130, timemphis.org, 10.00 AM–11.00 AM.

Christian Brothers University (Campus Ministry)--S’More Faith (fellowship event), 650 East Parkway South, 901-321-3133, info@cbu.edu, 8-9 PM

Friday, Jan 23

One City Church–North Georgia Revival, 120 N East Yates Rd, 901-462-0066, business@onecitymemphis.org, 5:00 PM-11:45 PM.

Temple Israel — Torah Study (Shabbat learning), 1376 East Massey Road, (901) 761-3130, timemphis.org event page, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Saturday, Jan 24

Memphis Jewish Community Center–Memphis Night of Jewish Learning, 6560 Poplar Avenue, (901) 761-0810, lkurcfeld@jccmemphis.org,  jccmemphis.org

Sunday, Jan 25

Christian Brothers University (Campus Ministry) — Sunday Mass, 650 East Parkway South, Stritch Chapel, (901) 321-3000, info@cbu.edu, cbu.edu event page, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Temple Israel — Modern Jewish Authors Book Club, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Avenue #280, (901) 761-3130.

Last Week's Religious Events and Services

If your church, synagogue, mosque or other religious group would like to be listed for regular events or services, just email us. Limit to three lines. Must include name, time, date of services or event, physical address, contact information. We will try to publish every Thursday for the following weekend. For live event coverage, send us a news release. A dedicated page coming soon. 

Celebration of Life Pro-Life Assembly, Jan 18 — 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM, Pro-life assembly with a keynote speaker, Madonna Learning Center, Germantown/Memphis area, 901-692-3424 

Holy Hour for Life + March for Life, Prayerful Holy Hour followed by a march for life (peaceful prayer walk). Jan 17 — 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 2564 Hale Ave, Memphis, TN 38112.

Sunday Worship & Services (Jan 18)

Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, Regular worship services (Sunday at 9 AM and 11 AM)

The Life Church - Houston Levee & The Life Church - Highland, 901-751-0095, info@thelifechurch.com

Additional Weekend Activities (Not Formal Services)

Saint John’s Episcopal Church – Spoken Worship & Holy Eucharist and Adult Formation on Sunday, 3245 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38111, (901) 323-8597

Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church (typically 9:00 AM & 11:00 AM; confirm on site) traditional Christian worship, (901) 729-6222, info@theblvd.org

The Life Church - Houston Levee & The Life Church - Highland, contemporary worship services, 901-751-0095, info@thelifechurch.com

St. Peter Catholic Church, regular Mass times + Sensory-Friendly Mass, 190 Adams Ave., Memphis, TN, (901) 527-8282, cklyce@stpeterchurch.org

First United Methodist Church, traditional Methodist worship, info@firstchurchmemphis.org

Saint John’s Episcopal Church, spoken Worship & Eucharist, 3245 Central Ave., Memphis, TN, (901) 323-8597, office@stjohnsmemphis.org

New Life Church (Bartlett), 10:00 AM worship service, 2633 Alturia Rd., Bartlett, TN, (901) 373-9500, info@newlifechurchmemphis.com

Church of the River (First Unitarian), worship at 11:00 AM, (901) 526-8631, info@churchoftheriver.org

Crime Overview Media Reports 2026
Jan. 13 - 15 

*A Memphis police lieutenant faces an additional battery charge after his suspected DUI crash hospitalized a 19-year-old.

*Felony shoplifting at a Walmart escalated into a drug bust at a Memphis hotel, resulting in two arrests.

*MPD reports a maintenance worker attacked and kidnapped a woman at her apartment complex.

*East Memphis neighbors express fear over a recent spate of shootings marking the new year as "unsafe."

Media Mop-Up

(BenQQ) In yet another journalistic attempt to pander to the prejudices of their market, Channel News 3 WREG wants you to believe Trump's tariffs are not targeted negotiations but indiscriminate tariff "wars." Today's article diatribes against Trump's tariff policies as purely negative when in fact his tariffs have raised more than $200 billion in revenue this year.

The article tried to make out that Trump's tariffs were "global" or with "nearly every country." Article focus is heaviest on top partners (Canada, Mexico, China) and specific sectors or issues such as fentanyl and autos.

The piece dwelt on Trump's "personal grudges," "erratic" rollout and consumer pain which is a short term product of a long term strategy of closing deficits and protecting industries. Trump has even floated the idea of replacing taxes with tariffs. Read the story.

Crime Dec. 26

-A 14-year-old boy was robbed at gunpoint late Christmas Eve while walking to a convenience store on Patton Street (reported by Action News 5).

-A man was seriously injured in a shooting in South Memphis on Christmas evening (FOX13 Memphis).

-A woman was detained after a Christmas Eve shooting in the Crosstown area that left a man critically injured (Action News 5).

-Ongoing coverage of broader trends notes continued drops in major crimes throughout 2025, with police attributing declines to targeted operations, including we presume, Trump's Safety Task Force actions.

Politics

-Over 70 people have already picked up qualifying petitions for various Shelby County offices as of December 22–23, 2025, ahead of the May 5, 2026, Democratic primaries (Daily Memphian).

-This includes races for Shelby County Mayor (currently open, with multiple candidates expected), school board positions, and other county roles.

-Several incumbent Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members have confirmed they will seek reelection in 2026.

Business

-Memphis International Airport announced a record 11 new flights added in 2025, with details on destinations highlighted as a top story (The Commercial Appeal).

Steve Cohen tries for another unfounded charge against the Trump administration

Steve Cohen, Memphis'  long time 9th District Democratic representative has faced sharp online backlash in recent days—particularly since December 17, 2025—for comments criticizing ICE arrests of undocumented immigrants. In a viral clip, Cohen stated: "They are arresting people simply for the offense of being in the country illegally. That's not necessarily something that should cause deportation." This remark, shared widely on X.com and conservative media, drew accusations of naivety or worse, with many users explicitly calling him a "moron."

Comment: A casual statement so liberally unaware reveals everything.  He apparently wasn't aware or didn't care that illegal populations raise taxes, soak up jobs, increase crime and raise rents. Further, illegal immigrants who have “settled” represent a class of people who are living outside the basic commonality to all legal Americans, that is, citizenship.

It has been said that the only reason Biden Democrats created the massive invasion of illegal invaders, is that the millions would become Democratic voters. It will be the new Democrat "democracy." And never again will America be a two party republic.

An Update: Recent attacks raise issues surrounding illegal immigration

Recent mass killings and attacks raise questions regarding the ultimate outcome of allowing unassimilated people to settle in western democracies.

An April 2025 page in the DHS site reported: "In Fiscal Year 2024, the Biden Administration made just 113,000 administrative arrests. From January 20 to April 1 of 2021, the last administration released over 184,000 illegal aliens into the country." Democratic policies allowed, even actively invited, illegal immigrants to cross the border unvetted. Homeland Security reports on their website that the agency had 11 million "border encounters" under the Biden administration.

Lax attention to immigration will only make things worse.

Muslims attacked Jews Dec. 14 killing 15 to 16 people of various ages and wounding 40+ others in a Sidney Hanukkah event. Austrian authorities classified the attack as terrorist with an anti-Semitic motive. 2021 Australian Census shows about 604,000 people identify as Muslim.

The Brown University shooting, where 2 people were killed and 12 wounded, has not been confirmed as of yet as political or religiously motivated. Though commentators say it appears one of the victims was a young woman who may have been targeted because she ran a Republican campus organization.

In Savannah, Georgia, Dec 10, an unknown man threw acid on the face of a 46 year old woman walking in a park after attending a church Christmas program. Though no evidence indicates political or religious motivation, commentators bring up this is a method used against people in South Asia, Middle East and Africa. Rare in U.S., UK and Australia

Communities are far safer under Trump. Illegal crossings are down 99.99% according to the DHS site. This saves even blue cities like Memphis, budgets in providing services and police protection. Add to that generally, Trump's safety task force is driving illegal aliens from the city, thus increasing safety and saving tax payer money.

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