Happy New Year! It’s Wednesday, Dec. 31, and here’s hoping you have a great time tonight ringing in 2026. If you still need plans, check out our New Year’s Eve party guide.

You know what would be a great way to wrap up 2025? A Memphis Tigers win as they open American Conference play. The Tigers play North Texas this afternoon, so let’s send them all the luck.

Today is the final day of our 2025 end-of-year fundraising campaign. We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. Please give today to support The Daily Memphian’s work.

THE NEED TO KNOW

“xAI has bought a third building called MACROHARDRR,” wrote Elon Musk in an X post on Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP file)

XAI is expanding: Elon Musk announced on X Tuesday that his company has bought a third building — this one in Southaven — for xAI. The 800,000-square-foot warehouse is at 2400 Stateline Road West, and he’s calling it “MACROHARDRR.” (Um, OK.) He said the expansion would bring xAI up to 2 gigawatts worth of compute, aka the energy required to power the semiconductors being used to run xAI chatbot, Grok.

The Buc-ee’s location in Fayette County remains undeveloped as of Friday, Dec. 19. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

You’ll have to wait on those Beaver Nuggets: There’s bad news for Buc-ee’s fans. The Disney World of gas stations is delaying planned openings in West Memphis and Fayette County. Both Memphis-area locations were supposed to open in 2026, and now openings are planned over the next two years.

A Christmas pajama party was held at this house in East Memphis, where gunfire broke out and a man was shot. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Party foul: A Christmas pajama party at an Airbnb on Dec. 20 ended after a man was shot. He later died from his injuries. The party at 222 Grove Dale St. in East Memphis is just the latest example of a short-term, rental-house party gone wrong, and it’s prompting more discussion around how to crack down on such parties. Airbnb doesn’t allow parties, and the City of Memphis has ordinances in place that should help. But the max fine allowed by state law costs less than what some party hosts are charging for one single cover charge.

Under a new Tennessee law beginning Jan. 1, hemp-derived THC products can only be sold in four types of places.(Hans Pennink/AP File)

Where to buy THC: You’ve probably heard that new restrictions around hemp-derived cannabis products go into effect on Jan. 1, but that doesn’t mean you can no longer buy legal THC in Tennessee tomorrow. The new law will prevent you from buying THC products online, but you’ll still be able to buy gummies, drinks and other edibles in bars, liquor stores and a few other places. The Daily Memphian’s Ellen Chamberlain breaks down the new law and how it will affect your buzz.

One of the biggest Memphis City Council votes of the year extended a pay raise for firefighters. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Top City Council votes of 2025: The Memphis City Council had a busy year that ended with the approval of 2% raises for Memphis firefighters. That was a contentious issue among some council members. They also approved a process for using some of xAI’s tax dollars to improve surrounding neighborhoods, funded the Memphis Area Transit Authority and improved a new lease for Beale Street’s Historic Daisy Theater. See more on those council decisions and other big ones for 2025 in this recap.

MEET MEMPHIS

Shayne Diaz will soon open Kuya restaurant in the former Bedrock space. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Chef Shayne Diaz is keeping her late father’s dream alive with Kuya, her new Filipino snack bar opening in the South Main Arts District next year. Her dad collected restaurant supplies in the family garage in the hope of one day opening a restaurant. It runs in the family; Diaz’s grandmother owns a dessert shop in the Philippines. As for Diaz’s plan, Kuya will serve Filipino dishes like lumpia and adobo — but with a twist.

THE NICE TO KNOW

“I didn’t find a suitable buyer. It would take a special buyer to buy it anyway. I said: ‘I’m just going to keep it,’” said Marshall Steakhouse owner Randall Swaney. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Avoiding a mis-steak: Randall Swaney, the owner of Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs, has decided not to sell his restaurant. Swaney announced plans to sell this past fall because he’s opening a new location in Oxford. Loyal customers expressed their disappointment on social media, but Swaney said he was looking for a buyer who would keep it as a steakhouse. That buyer never came along, and now Swaney has decided not to sell, and he’s even expanding into lodging.

Grizz dances with fans in courtside seats during the Memphis Grizzlies Open Practice on Oct. 4. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

‘Disappointing’ year in sports: Memphis sports showed some promise in the early part of 2025: The Memphis Grizzlies were third in the West, and the Memphis Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament. Later, the Tigers football team started off on a winning note. But things quickly soured for all of those teams, and we’re closing out the year in disappointment. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins reflects on the sports year that was (or, well, wasn’t) and what can be done about it.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant charged Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe on Tuesday, Dec. 30. (Brandon Dill/AP)

Speaking of disappointing ... The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 139-136, in overtime Tuesday night. But get this: The Grizzlies shot at a better percentage and won the rebounding battle by double digits. So, what gives? It may be Coach Tuomas Iisalo’s playing philosophy. He’s been pulling the best players from the floor in crucial moments to protect their health over the games’ outcomes, and that happened three times last night. Yet Tuomas still defends his strategy.

The First Horizon Bank building in East Memphis, which is located beside the former Houston’s restaurant, was sold. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Bank building sold: The First Horizon Bank building at 4990 Poplar Ave. (the one next to the old Houston’s) has new owners. Local investor Darrell Horn and Brown Gill of Gill Properties bought the 61,000-square-foot building for $1 million.

Director Craig Brewer during the production of “Song Sung Blue.” (Sarah Shatz/Focus Features)

Promising note on ‘Song Sung Blue’: Memphis filmmaker Craig Brewer’s “Song Sung Blue,” a biopic on a Neil Diamond tribute artist couple, made nearly $12 million in its opening week. That put it in eighth place among Christmas Day releases, but the reviews from viewers were good. And our resident movie buff Chris Herrington expects the film to be a “grower.” In other movie news, Herrington has a preview of “The Plague,” a “terribly impressive” film about tween-boy social anxiety. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT 

Can’t agree more with City of Bartlett on this one. If this is you, maybe resolve to get some earbuds in 2026.

The Early Word is taking New Year’s break and will return on Monday, Jan. 5. See y’all next year!

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