Tennessee lawmakers passed a number of bills in 2018 that became law on Jan. 1, affecting everything from Sunday wine sales to sanctuary city prohibitions and ultrasounds done before abortion procedures.

The 6th Circuit Appeals Court has struck down a Tennessee cap on punitive damages related to a lawsuit filed in Memphis.

At the city's longest running New Year's Day prayer breakfast, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen talks about a new Democratic majority in Congress, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris discusses the new juvenile detention center and religious leaders talk about reality and the Biblical prophet Jeremiah.

The Shelby County legislative delegation will have five new faces and one member moving to the Senate from the House as the 111th General Assembly convenes Jan. 8.

Legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Chairwoman Raumesh Akbari would authorize sports betting in Tennessee and set up a gaming commission to oversee the industry, with 10 percent of the revenue going to state and local governments and community colleges and technical schools.

Shelby County Commission Chairman Van Turner said he wants to make more changes to the MWBE ordinance in 2019.

A planned Memphis Sports Hall of Fame at AutoZone Park is picking up momentum with a project manager on board, an exhibit designer being recruited and fundraising coming in 2019.

Criminal justice reform promises to be a recurring theme in the 111th General Assembly in 2019, along with medical marijuana and possibly an immigration issue affecting in-state tuition. 

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said on New Year's Eve the city is making progress on poverty, but there are remaining challenges as he called for the improving local economy to include all Memphians.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ “healthyShelby 19” inititative to promote physical, dietary and mental fitness is set to kick off. 

Some issues county government would like to address in education in 2019 are pre-K initiatives, workforce development and school facilities. 

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland stuck to the basics in 2018 – the “brilliant at the basics” four-word slogan of his 2015 campaign for mayor and the motto of his three-year-old administration.

City Hall is looking for mandatory jail time for road-rage convictions in the 2019 session of the Tennessee Legislature and a sports book on Beale Street as well as making it easier to get title to tax-delinquent property for tax sales.

According to 2018 TNReady test scores almost 80 percent of Shelby County Schools' third-graders are not proficient in reading. Read901, convened by Literacy Mid-South, is working to get 90 percent of third-graders reading at grade level by 2025.

There were more than votes to count in the 2018 local elections. There were voters, early voting locations and lawsuits – six of them – against the Shelby County Election Commission.

The Shelby County Commission will hold a comprehensive discussion on Juvenile Court at its next committee meeting in January. 

Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton is the independent monitor who will report to U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla on steps the Memphis Police Department is taking to end surveillance of protesters after violating a 1978 consent decree barring such surveillance.

County commissioner Tami Sawyer and activist Josh Spickler discuss flaws in the juvenile justice system and the roles a new assessment center and new juvenile detention center might play in reforming the system. 

Memphis-based Sunshine Enterprise has announced funeral service details for four executives killed when a private plane crashed Dec. 20 in northwest Atlanta.

There were only a few warning signs that something might be wrong. Dr. Robert Bolding thought he had perhaps suffered a stroke. There was the numbness on his left side, and his family said his behavior was odd. He was inclined to ignore the frequent headaches, figuring maybe it was just the weather.

One of the biggest decisions facing Shelby County government in 2019 is whether it will allocate funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority in its 2019-2020 fiscal year budget.

Tennessee's tax-credit liability of nearly $1 billion is raising questions about economic development incentives and transparency for taxpayers. 

The Shelby County Schools board is facing some important decisions as it mulls outgoing superintendent Dorsey Hopson's latest school consolidation plan and welcomes an interim leader. 

After finding checks stuffed in desks, no payments to agencies since 2016 and other issues, Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn calls for an audit of her office.