The Shelby County Health Department reported 159 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths.

The Mississippi River reopened to boat and barge traffic this morning, the United States Coast Guard said Friday, May 14.

Local task force talks about COVID-19 and kids, we go inside a midcentury modern gem and how the bridge has cracked our supply chain. 

City Council budget committee Chairman Worth Morgan and city Chief Financial Officer Shirley Ford talked about revenue estimates and the impact of federal American Rescue Plan funds as well as restrictions during “Behind The Headlines.”

Shortly after the CDC announced vaccinated Americans could ditch the masks in most situations, Shelby County government said Health Directive No. 21, set to go into effect Saturday, may be in for a rewrite.

To date about 154 million Americans, more than 46% of the population, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Shelby County children as young as 12 were starting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday, May 13.

On Thursday, May 13, the Shelby County Health Department reported 143 new coronavirus cases and three new coronavirus-related deaths.

After two days with fewer than 100 new coronavirus cases reported in Shelby County, the number is more than 100 again.

We’re clapping back at that ‘crack,’ and Lakeland is looking for something it currently lacks. 

Meanwhile, both of the state’s Republican U.S. Senators have been critical of the Democratic bill that would change election laws. One of the few Tennessee Republicans dissenting on Cheney’s ouster, former Congressman Zach Wamp, says it represents a split in the Republican Party that could have implications in next year’s mid-term Congressional elections.

Local health officer Dr. Bruce Randolph has said that the new rules will allow people to vote with their feet.

After damage was discovered on the Hernando DeSoto bridge, Twitter users made some cracks, too.

Elizabeth Rouse of ArtsMemphis joins Eric Barnes on The Sidebar.

Bobby White, chief public policy officer for the Greater Memphis Chamber, said the I-40 bridge closure may help bring discussions of a third bridge across the Mississippi to the forefront of the community’s consciousness.

Attorneys for Pervis Payne have filed a petition in Shelby County Criminal Court, asking the court to recognize that Payne has an intellectual disability and under a new state law cannot be executed. 

The area’s seven-day moving average stands at 129. 

Will we soon see bright, smiling faces? Maybe, maybe not. But a bright sign in Midtown is expected to come back. 

It could have taken years for city crews to adequately manage garbage pick up in Area E, city council members were told Tuesday. Meanwhile, some council members appear likely to move for more funding of the Memphis Area Transit Authority and the parks division has a plan to add park rangers.

Restaurateurs aren’t happy with a new health directive that suggests people wear masks but puts the burden of the decision on them.

In some ZIP codes, vaccination rates are less than half the rates in other parts of Shelby County.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says he’s found nothing to validate accusations that doses of vaccine were lost, stolen or misused when the county Health Department controlled distribution. 

A former MPD officer accused of pepper spraying a handcuffed, mentally ill man is the second law enforcement officer to face criminal charges brought by a new prosecution unit aimed at cracking down on police brutality.

Sedley Alley was executed in 2006 for the murder of Lance Cpl. Suzanne Collins. Alley’s daughter sought to have DNA evidence tested to see if it would clear his name. 

Tennesseans on unemployment insurance won’t get the extra $300 per week provided by the federal government as of July 3, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, May 11.