The man believed to be responsible for the Christmas Day bombing that tore through downtown Nashville blew himself up in the explosion, and appears to have acted alone, federal officials said Sunday, Dec. 27.

Special teams coach Pete Lembo constructed one of the best units in the nation.

Shelby County reported 1,395 cases between Saturday and Sunday. The report included data from two days as data reporting was delayed due to the Christmas Day explosion in Nashville.

Perhaps one lesson from 2020 is that helping other people requires thoughtful consideration for what someone else actually needs and wants. It’s a deeper kind of call and response, and it might require breaking established habits.

Gov. Bill Lee declared Pfizer’s vaccine “safe” as Tennessee gave its first doses to health care workers while recording some of the nation’s highest rates of virus spread. The Republican governor reiterated that the shots will be optional for people in public schools.

After years of waiting and debating, construction of Lakeland’s high school is underway an on schedule to open for the 2022-23 school year.

The COVID-19 vaccines now becoming available offer the hope of curtailing the pandemic, but may not be available to the masses for months — and not all automatically trust that the vaccine will be safe. 

Kyle Anderson has 20 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis; both teams opened with dreadful play, and Morant gets rare tech while arguing non-call. The Grizzlies will face the Brooklyn Nets at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Barclays Center. 

From Dec. 11 to Friday, Dec. 25, the Health Department reported an average of 765 cases a day and 6,510 test results a day with a 11.8% positivity rate. Eight of the 10 highest daily increases of new cases occurred in this period.

FEMA confirms tissue samples found at the scene are human remains, and Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office, said 250 agents, analysts and FBI staff are working the Nashville case.

Police said the driver was treated for minor injuries and no one else was hurt Christmas night when a car crashed into the main lobby of the hospital at 1265 Union Ave. in Midtown Memphis.

Memphis is lit. Well, at least its fireplaces and backyard fire pits are. More people are staying home for longer periods of time during the pandemic, and that has created demand for seasoned firewood.

Shelby County Schools leaders recently revised how the Memphis district handles sexual harassment complaints after pressure from former and current students who championed the change starting four years ago. 

Shelby County’s hospital beds are filling up even though the county has one of the lowest new case rates in Tennessee, according to a New York Times database.

Many of the Lunches ‘n Love volunteers don’t have to imagine what it was like for those walking into the parking lot, hoping to leave with more than they came. They were once homeless themselves.

Friday’s 619 cases come from 4,909 tests, giving Christmas Day a positivity rate of 12.6%. 

NASHVILLE — Three people injured in the Christmas Day blast in Downtown Nashville were in stable condition Friday evening, Major John Cooper said, and no further information was available about possible human remains found at the scene.

We can pledge not to go “back to normal.” Normal, in the best of times, found us donating to GoFundMe campaigns to cover emergency medical bills of folks in our music community. Normal was $100 a gig for musicians. Normal is the system that’s broken.

During a November video call with his algebra teacher, the 14-year-old had a terrible realization: There was a tab he never clicked on, where his teachers had noted missing assignments. Jalan, typically an A student, had 73 assignments in seven classes that were overdue. 

The Montgomery Bowl win was an example of how all three phases of the game clicked, and what can be expected next season.

It was the last Christmas all three sons would share with our parents, although none of us knew that at the time, and the last Christmas I would be single, and I guarantee neither Nora nor I knew that at the time.

LeMoyne-Owen College administrator Charles Elliott said it is important for young Black people to learn technology skills so more businesses will want to relocate to and invest in the Memphis community.

Taking opera from the concert halls to the streets was not a new notion for Opera Memphis. Their annual “30 Days of Opera” features small pop-up performances in unlikely places, from playgrounds and dog parks to libraries and groceries. 

The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast offers a review of the year 2020 centered on four major events. Three of the four were national in scope. The fourth is a local story that has broad implications for the gap between aspirations and the reality of governing.

William “Bill” W. Deupree Jr., a key leader in the old Morgan Keegan & Co. investment firm, worked with vigor, spent his retirement years energetically, and gave generously.