The AM/DM

Are you ready to get a little bit wacky? Then this weekend's events are for you. One gathering combines two trends — eating pudding with a fork and day-raving with coffee — while another combines the Pink Palace and Opera Memphis and LaZer Divas with Sky Pirates of Destiny. (See, wacky.)

Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips discuss those events, plus an illuminating new event at the Memphis Zoo and a bus to all the Irish bars in the Memphis area.

Plus:

• The bill that ended the government shutdown could pay Tennessee's US senators a minimum of $500K each
• Longtime Highland hangout Newby's is closing
• Shelby County moves money toward a new Regional One
• A South Korean manufacturer is to invest another $157 million and create 240 new jobs in Memphis
• The Sheriff's office demands an apology for a sexual assault lawsuit
• Crosstown Concourse will have coworking spaces beginning in the spring

There is nothing like the promise of a new grocery store, especially one that's new to the market. Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and suburbs reporter Michael Waddell talk about the possibility of a new grocery store in Lakeland and what new-to-the-market grocer it could be.

Plus:

• Spillit Memphis is launching a film fest
• The former Railgarten is to become family-friendly Stomping Grounds
• A lawsuit alleges that two inmates were assaulted at the Shelby County women's jail
• The DeSoto county DA seeks seeks new sentencing for Whiteside

Michelin stars have been a thing in Europe since 1900, when the first guides were published in France. And then stars came to the states in 2005, when Michelin inspectors went to New York restaurants. But this year marked the first time the Michelin Guide came for restaurants in the American South.

On this episode of The AM/DM, Mary Cashiola and Daily Memphian food writer Ellen Chamberlain talk about the Memphis restaurants that earned Michelin recognition and what that means for them.

Plus:

• Bartlett honors nation's heroes with a Veterans Day ceremony
• A mystery grocery store is looking to become part of the Ashmont development in Lakeland
• A gun-group's lawsuit against the City of Memphis has been dismissed
• Collierville police are investigating a a sexual assault at St. George's
• Collierville's bus lot gets closer to its move

The Memphis Safe Task Force has led to a dramatic drop in crime in the city: Aggravated assaults, motor vehicle thefts, robberies and homicides are all down. But, after more than a month in, people are also wondering what happens when the surge ends. Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and enterprise reporter Sam Hardiman talk about the federal crackdown and what some experts and community leaders think we can expect to see once the additional law enforcement personnel leave the city.

Plus:

• As temperatures dip, Memphians can expect a "mixed bag" of weather this winter and plenty of precipitation
• A $750 million bond is suggested for a long-term schools plan
• A woman involved in a Mississippi Boulevard pastor's murder has been found guilty
• Marshall Steakhouse is going up for sale
• A man who had charges dismissed in a drag-racing death has been arrested again
• A Memphis gynecologist asks for his case to be dismissed again

It's Monday, Nov. 10, and if there's a theme for the week ahead, it might be walking. Many of this week's notable events have ties to pedestrians, trails and public transportation. This morning, editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips, give us the scoop.

Plus:

• Community leaders weigh in on the long-term impact of the Memphis Safe Task Force
• Food pantries see hundreds needing help
• Kamp Kiwani will be auctioned off
• DeSoto protest data shows significant participation
• Tony Allen was released on bond after a drug arrest
• Lucchesi's is to be in more than 40 grocery stores
• Memphis International is expected to see flights cut

Outdoor events are all the rage this weekend, with a fun holiday market, a very short run (with a much longer afterparty) and a hot take on fire pits. Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips discuss those events, plus an exhibit of Stax Records songwriter Bettye Crutcher's letters, lyric sheets and photos once lost — and then found — in an antique mall in Lexington, Tennessee.

Plus:

• The county mayor wants more judges for Task Force cases
• Ford could scrap the EV F-150 but says there is no change for BlueOval City
• Second Line is leaving Midtown
• A judge is to deny the dismissal request for the case against Ford
• Memphis kids suffering from gunshot wounds doubled in 2023 but a real decline is happening in 2025
• Hundreds of jail inmates will be moved to combat overcrowding
• Witnesses say a gun was purchased six hours before a Mississippi Boulevard pastor was killed

It's been more than a month since President Donald Trump announced he'd be sending a 13-agency federal task force to Memphis to help curb crime rates. And it's been about eight weeks since The Daily Memphian reported on the possibility that the National Guard would come.

Since then, the U.S. Marshals Service has reported the task force has made more than 1,800 arrests, served more than 800 warrants and made more than 300 immigration-related arrests. Though the task force's focus is crime, education, religious institutions, the court system and even local restaurants have been impacted.

Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola, CEO Eric Barnes and metro editor Jane Donahoe talk about the site's ongoing coverage and answer a few frequently asked questions.

Plus:

• Arlington puts future solar plant plans on ice
• School of Rock's three Memphis-area locations have been sold
• A former county director is to be released from jail
• Two men were electrocuted at xAI's Southaven power plant

Collierville recently planned to overhaul its parking requirements for restaurants, in part because of McDonald's. The fast food restaurant was looking at a new location near Houston Levee Road and wanted to have more parking spaces than currently allowed. That request suddenly had the suburb rethinking its parking formula for restaurants across the board.

Today, suburbs reporter Abigail Warren joins editorial director Mary Cashiola to talk about why the suburb walked back the proposed changes and what will happen to the space restaurant Raven & Lily used to call home.

Plus:

• Memphs Business Academy football coach is charged in a drug conspiracy
• A federal agent fired a shot that wounded a suspect in front of the Cordova Corky's
• MATA's 90-day zero fare pilot program is set to begin
• A 201 Poplar inmate's death is possibly linked to pepper spray
• Partial funding has been announced for SNAP following a court filing
• The trial date has been pushed for two over the 2022 death of a jail inmate
• Memphis restaurants were recognized at a historic ceremony
• A Memphis gynecologist has been reindicted on more charges

The Memphis Safe Task Force has been on the ground in the Bluff City for over a month, making about 1,800 arrests as of Nov. 1 and issuing more than 4,700 traffic citations. With traffic stops being a large part of the task force's activities, at least by the numbers, it seems some area drivers are more conscientious about expired license plates and revoked driver's licenses.

Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola talks with public safety reporter Aarron Fleming about the trend. They also discuss how many missing children the task force has found and who those children are.

Plus:

• Memphis politicians and the state tussle in Nashville court
• Marshals Service releases new immigration arrests totals
• Mayor Young commits to giving firefighters another 2% raise
• A pedestrian is dead after being hit by a Memphis police car
• The former Evolve CEO faces decades in prison for allegedly soliciting sex

Editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips help you prepare for the week ahead. Downtown Dining Week is back, the Memphis City Council will be making sausage (though not literally) and if you haven't heard of the Dons yet, you will.

Plus:

• The Memphis Tigers move up in the national rankings
• MSCS says its on track to improve chronic absenteeism
• The Memphis fire chief is retiring
• Memphis Art Museum has a plan for opening
• Collierville Square's Raven & Lily space sells
• Brooks Museum names a new chief curator