Memphis-Shelby County Schools changed its plan for all third graders to retake the statewide exam days before summer break. 

Arlington Community School board approves its budget for the coming fiscal year, while recognizing the work of Superintendent Allison Clark with a new four-year contract.

Longtime political reporter Bill Dries joins us today to talk about U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen’s legacy and how the three congressional races are shaping up. 

No Kings bodycam video is out, a Memphis voice remains on the education board and a 13-year-old is a barbecue champ.

The appointment leaves a vacancy in the 9th Congressional District seat on the State Board of Education, which has an increasingly large role to play in setting the standards for success at Tennessee schools.

A new proposal would require receipts for money spent and a 5-year ban on new grants if nonprofits don’t follow the rules. The commission also set the stage for budget hearings.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris agreed earlier this month to settle Bonner’s lawsuit against Harris with a “confidential” deal for an $18 million amendment to the sheriff’s budget for the current fiscal year.

Winning pitmaster Jacey Blurton, 13, began manning the grill five years old, taking up barbecue after three surgeries left her with limited mobility.

A jury found Jonathan Brush guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the 2022 road rage stabbing death of Memphis chef Jody Moyt, leaving the victim’s family outraged over the reduced charge.

The nearly 9 minutes of footage is from the body camera of one of the MPD officers who used pepper spray on No Kings marchers.

As we prepare to go into our new work week, it’s with summer on our minds. 

Memphis hospitals get bad ratings, barbecue fest ended with back-to-back champs and we look back on the life of Monk.

An unlikely local celebrity, Anthony “Monk” Cassata was known by thousands, and he spent decades walking the streets of Memphis with a heavy cane, big cigar, orange cap and multiple coats. 

In this political roundup, new congressional districts shake up contenders with August primaries around the corner. Plus, a senator explains what he’s learned from “JFK to Trump.” 

To succeed under Tennessee’s takeover metrics, appointees to the Memphis schools oversight board will likely focus on the district’s lowest-performing schools. Experts say that could result in tremendous academic growth for poor students — or closures of their schools.

A planned special session for the Mississippi Legislature to possibly redraw the state’s three Supreme Court districts was called off by Gov. Tate Reeves — but that’s more of a delay than an abandoning of the idea.

Also happening this week: Memphis turns 206, and the city takes on the county in a basketball game.

The state has tapped lawyers from a Virginia firm that has racked up recent Supreme Court victories.

One commissioner is proposing to put more conditions on the $2.6 million the body allocates for grants days after Mayor Lee Harris warned that funding grants is a great share of the county’s budget.

The Memphis City Council Parks and Environmental Committee voted on fresh amenities, renovated swimming facilities and expanded summer programs for local parks, and discussed plans for further safety measures.

The Memphis Area Association of Realtors Commercial Council has renamed its annual tournament.

Better Men Better Families provides mentorship, brotherhood and financial-literacy programs to men from South Memphis. Its president and co-founder Curtis Hines is driven by his own experiences and a deep sense of responsibility.

High school students are becoming more intentional and more financially focused in choosing the college they will attend.

Retired U.S. District Court Judge Jon McCalla could be a stern taskmaster, friends said, but that was because he demanded the best from not only himself but also any lawyer who stood before him in a courtroom.

NCRM officially unveiled its $55 million renovation of the former boarding house where James Earl Ray fired the shot that killed Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968.