The new state law, which prohibits drag shows where children might be present, would have gone into effect Saturday, April 1. 

For the first time in more than two years, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center issued a rare “high risk” forecast for Memphis Friday afternoon.

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Schools, MATA closing in advance of severe weather

Tornado slams Little Rock, smashes rooftops, flips vehicles

A tornado plowed through Little Rock and surrounding areas on Friday afternoon, reducing rooftops to splinters, toppling vehicles and tossing debris on roadways as people raced for shelter.

The race for chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party is set against the backdrop of turmoil this week in the state House. Two of the three contenders say Democrats in the House aren’t being vocal enough.

“In the past, most bar fights ended up being just that — a bar fight,” Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said. “Now everybody has a weapon, and we’re seeing more and more simple arguments turning into gun battles.”

Council attorney Allan Wade says council rules forbid special meetings to vote on ordinances, like the redistricting plan an ad hoc group is sending to the council for a vote in special meetings April 5 and April 12.

During an appearance on The Daily Memphian’s On the Record podcast, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland declined to say whether he thought the police department had issues with its culture. 

Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins denied a motion to make the city of Memphis part of the lawsuit. But he consolidated two legal challenges to the City of Memphis’ five-year mayoral residency requirement Friday. 

Friends of George’s, a Memphis LGBTQ+ theater company, recently filed a First Amendment challenge to Tennessee’s new “drag ban” in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

And MATA announced it would suspend services beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, March 31.

A man has been charged in the Whitehaven shooting that resulted in the gunshot injuries of two Memphis Police Department officers Thursday, March 30.

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TBI investigating Whitehaven shooting that hospitalized two officers

TBI investigates officer-involved shooting, lawmakers are open to red flag gun laws and a Binghampton man has a light bulb moment.

The National Civil Rights Museum hosted “The Reckoning: Community Policing and Accountability,” the first in a three-part series to examine historical connections of systemic racial violence.

A three-plus hour mayoral forum Thursday night at First Congregational Church in Cooper-Young featured Daniel Abston, Frank Colvett, J.W. Gibson, Reginald Hall and Paul Young. 

At the request of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking at the Whitehaven shooting where two officers and a suspect were injured.

“That’s what this festival can really highlight: the healing power of the arts, and the significant impact the U of M arts program has on this city to impact change,” said Ryan Fisher, interim dean at the University of Memphis College of Communication and Fine Arts.

The Memphis Police Department gave updates on the shooting at Prive, a Memphis restaurant, that left two dead and several injured.

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Two dead, five injured following shooting at Memphis restaurant

Tennessee Republicans said they are open to red flag laws like Florida’s, but they were largely unmoved by the biggest protest at the State Capitol in recent years. “I thought it would be more than just talking to a door,” one student protester said.

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Protesters in Nashville demand Tennessee legislators ‘do something’ on guns

The state-funded Healthy Smiles Initiative will tackle Tennessee’s shortage of dentists and work to make dental care more readily available.

Protesters filled the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday, March 30, to demand tougher gun safety laws in the wake of the shooting deaths of three children and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville.

“(Preliminary) information indicates that the shooting stemmed from an altercation that started inside the club,” a statement from the Memphis Police Department reads. 

Carriage Crossing could get a makeover, Strickland confirms police/fire hire pension plans and Lakeland gets a taste of the Philippines.

More than 250 soldiers from Shelby County died in the Vietnam War, and names of the fallen are engraved on the memorial.

Strickland said the pension expansion would be part of the city’s upcoming budget and cost between $1 to $2 million annually. It could increase the city’s pension liability by tens of millions.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools also gave updates about Hanley School, Mt. Pisgah Early College Middle and High School and the former Shady Grove Elementary.