The Early Word: Shelby Farms’ grave mystery and Memphis’ fight over xAI

Bianca Phillips By , Daily Memphian
Updated: July 07, 2025 12:02 PM CT | Published: July 07, 2025 6:26 AM CT Premium

Good morning, Memphis! It’s Monday, July 7, and I hope you had a relaxing and firework-filled Fourth of July. Today is World Chocolate Day, so here’s an Ice Cream Brownie Sundae Pie recipe from our archives that won’t even require an oven on this 90-degree day. (That is, if you buy prepared brownies from a store.)

Up in the air: xAI’s natural-gas turbine permit could allow more pollution in an already polluted neighborhood.

Language gap: Memphis-Shelby County Schools could lose $17 million in federal funds that, in part, helps pay for translators to help student learn English.

Crime by the numbers: Here is a deep dive into the trends

SWITCH-ing things up: The Youth Villages SWITCH program is putting a dent in juvenile crime.

A grave mystery: Why is there a 134-year-old grave in Shelby Farms? We’ve got answers

Fast food to flatbread: Ellen Chamberlain has just the thing to upgrade your lunch.

Branching out: The largest bonsai nursery in the U.S. is just across the Tennessee-Mississippi state line.

No more Huff Stuff: The Grizzlies made a move that opened up space for a new big man.

Have mural, will travel: Germantown is getting its first mural, but it won’t be painted on a wall

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Bianca Phillips

Bianca Phillips

Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian who’s worked in local journalism and PR for more than 20 years. In her days as a reporter, she covered everything from local government and crime to LGBTQ issues and the arts. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South,” a cookbook of vegan Southern recipes.


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