The AM/DM

Editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips celebrate Fri-yay with their picks for the weekend.

To start, there's a big arena show, a food truck event and Tennessee's tax-free weekend.

Plus, The University of Memphis set a new fundraising record, County Commissioners considered cutting terms for MSCS board seats, the United Football League refutes claims that the Memphis Showboats are relocating, Barons expands into East Memphis and attorneys argue that a Feagins return to MSCS leadership would be short-lived.

Joe Caruso never made it to the Major Leagues as a player, but last week the Collierville man found himself on baseball's biggest stage — throwing batting practice in the Home Run Derby to Oakland A's slugger Brent Rooker.

The Daily Memphian's Mary Cashiola talks to state sports writer of the year winner John Varlas about Caruso's background, what he thought of the derby and a viral moment that saw Rooker losing his round by a single inch.

Also, Baby Jack's closes in Bartlett, xAI's second data center will come online in weeks, Ezekiel Kelly gets a new trial date, and Marie Feagins makes her case.

When record-setting rains fell across Texas earlier this month, more than 120 people lost their lives in devastating flash floods.

Here in Memphis, we experienced our own torrential rainfall this spring — but with a very different outcome. On today's episode: Why geography, soil and water systems mean a tragedy like what happened in Texas is unlikely to happen in Memphis, even though flooding is an issue.

Plus, the City Council approves the Old Daisy lease, a new East Memphis restaurant will open on Poplar Avenue, we remember Ozzy Osbourne's wild Memphis night, a building at U of M is slated for renovation, Sincere Parker made his first court appearance, the deal to keep the Grizzlies won't be completed this summer and Porter-Leath takes over Head Start.

Who controls Beale Street?

That's the question at the heart of a decades-long controversy and, today on The AM/DM podcast, Mary Cashiola talks to The Daily Memphian's Bill Dries about how that question could be answered, once and for all.

That is — if the Memphis City Council agrees.

Also, Edmund Ford Jr. gets a trial date, Memphis makes a $200 million proposal to join the Big 12, an Ole Miss football player was killed in a Cordova shooting, 100 N. Main developers pause project and crime is down in Memphis.

Editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips discuss the biggest news events of the week ahead.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who is facing bribery and tax evasion charges, should get a trial date, and the Memphis City Council has a big decision to make on a decades-long lawsuit.

Plus, Cashiola confesses her love for Bluey. IYKYK.

Also, Mayor Paul Young's newest cabinet members, MSCS Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond is one third of the way through his contract, new Tigers player Sincere Parker was arrested, how Tennessee's two Republican senators voted on the clawback bill, FedEx's executive vice president steps down, Memphis Fire Firefighters Association sues the City of Memphis and The University of Memphis athletics departments sets a new fundraising record.

Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips and editorial director Mary Cashiola talk about their top picks for the weekend, including the very popular — and very large — Asian Night Market.

There's also the sold-out Big Star Quintet show Saturday at the Germantown Performing Arts Center and a smaller, free event earlier in the day.

Plus, the Desoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau has a new executive director, a new coffee shop goes in the former Bluff City Coffee space Downtown, Memphis Grizzlies draft pick Jahmai Mashack, Steve Miller Band cancels Live at the Garden performance, Germantown tries to bridge Houston High funding gap and environmental groups appeal xAI's air permit.

Guard Sincere Parker is part of the University of Memphis' new-look basketball roster, a group that also includes Kansas State transfer Dug McDaniel and Ohio State transfer Aaron Bradshaw. Parker is coming to Memphis by way of McNeese State University in Louisiana, and his story includes his father's dreams, a spate of injuries and a great season last year. Parth Upadhyaya recently wrote what one might call an epic story on Sincere Parker. But to understand where he's going, you have to start with his dad, Ray.

Also, The NCAA penalizes the University of Memphis for academic violations, Methodist Healthcare cuts more than 150 jobs, Ghanaian students at the U of M will be forced to leave, xAI acknowledges plans for Southaven, and Memphis-native Kathy Bates is nominated for an Emmy.

Nick Lingerfelt takes us to Brussel's Bonsai in Olive Branch, where more than 100,000 miniature trees are pruned, wired and shipped all over the world. From its Memphis roots to its global reach, this is the story of how a childhood hobby grew into a quiet horticultural empire.

And more news about xAI in Southaven, the Lakeland School System, Memphis City Council member Jerri Green running for governor and Delta Air Lines nonstop flight to New York City.

How Ghana sent nearly 200 students to the U of M. Plus, more news on Nichols' attorneys' request to push back the civil trial, Memphis Zoo mourns beloved gorilla, Santi Aldama joins NBPA Foundation and Memphis Medical District building receives a PILOT.

Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips and editorial director Mary Cashiola discuss this week's upcoming news events. Plus, more on the future of the Old Daisy, Quincy Wilson's world record, the 50th anniversary of Davies Manor as a museum, Cushman & Wakefield | Commercial Advisors' arts initiative and Shelby County TCAP scores.