The Early Word: DOJ says MPD discriminates; xAI may get more super

Bianca Phillips By , Daily Memphian
Published: December 05, 2024 6:26 AM CT Premium

Brrrrr, Memphis. It’s Thursday, Dec. 5, and baby, it’s cold outside. It’ll be warmer inside the St. Jude Memphis Marathon expo, which opens today and runs through Friday at the Renasant Convention Center. Yours truly will be at our booth from 5-6 p.m. tonight. You can also sign up for our special St. Jude Marathon newsletter with race results, photos and all of our event coverage.

It’ll also be warm inside our Daily Memphian Commercial Real Estate Seminar where three CRE brokers will be discussing hot topics (like tariffs!), and here’s hoping the Memphis Grizzlies are on fire tonight as they play the Sacramento Kings at FedExForum. But you might want to bundle up for tonight’s Millington Christmas Parade, which kicks off at 6 p.m. 

And while we’re on weather, our friends at MemphisWeather.net have some tips for the cold and a look ahead at the weekend.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s 17-month investigation into the Memphis Police Department found that some Memphis cops treat Black residents and those with behavioral-health issues differently. The investigation was launched after the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols, and the DOJ report describes how routine police interactions sometimes end in use of force without just cause. It also found that Black residents are often treated more harshly than white residents and that police use demeaning language and needless force against children, including those with disabilities. But despite the findings, the city said in a letter to the DOJ that it will not enter into a consent decree, citing the cost to taxpayers and criticizing the DOJ’s rushed timeline for the investigation

Elon Musk’s xAI could invest tens of billions more into its Memphis-based supercomputer, with the data center growing from the current 200,000 Nvidia chips to one million chips. XAI executive Brent Mayo made that announcement during the Greater Memphis Chamber’s annual luncheon on Wednesday. He also said tech giants Nvidia, Super Micro Computer and Dell could soon invest in Memphis manufacturing facilities.  “[The tech companies are] already going to be here for us anyway,” Mayo said. “So, while they’re building ours, they can also be building others at the pace that we have.” The expansion of xAI comes with a big question: Where would it get its power? A new Memphis Light, Gas and Water substation is set to provide power for xAI’s first phase, but it would need another substation for additional power.

Plus, Memphis in May will honor South Korea, a Bartlett commission is pushing back on a proposed mosque and the Tigers have a “hangover from Hawaii.”

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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. She’s a diehard morning person who spends her free time running marathons and ultras. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South.”


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