Today is Black Friday, the day people traditionally start shopping for holiday gifts — and retailers try to capitalize on that by offering consumers heavy discounts. In honor of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Museum Store Sunday, editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips talk about some of the ideas listed in The Daily Memphian's gift guide. They also talk about other fun events happening this weekend, such as Flyway Comedy Club's Friendsgiving special.

If you're not "on the apps," you're not really trying. That's the message single people get these days as they try to navigate the dating world. The apps in question, of course, are Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Grindr, Her, OkCupid, eHarmony, Match.com and others.

The Daily Memphian's Nick Lingerfelt recently talked to single Memphians as cuffing season begins to get a sense of how locals think about the apps and the dating pool in the Bluff City. He joins the show today to talk about that, real life relationships and five first date ideas.

Plus:

• The city searches for a new library director
• Pam Bondi and Bill Lee tout a crime decline 56 days into the Memphis Safe Task Force
• A lawsuit claims that a Memphis 7-year-old was handcuffed and pushed into a bookcase

The Memphis Safe Task Force has seized more than 400 guns during its time in Memphis, in what could be a major milestone in reducing violent crime. But Tennessee is an open carry state, meaning most adults can legally carry a gun without a permit.

Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and enterprise reporter Sam Hardiman talk about what makes a gun in Tennessee illegal — and thus actionable for the task force — what happens to weapons that are seized, what else we know and what remains unclear.

Plus:

• College students want to flip a house in every state starting in Memphis
• Lakeland is set to expand the Lake District's special tax area
• North Memphis Grocery Project is on hold
• The Tennessee voucher application will track public school attendance as part of new award guidelines

Thanksgiving week is upon us, and with it Black Friday. Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips discuss everything from some of The Daily Memphian's recipe offerings to family traditions to what restaurants are open on Thanksgiving Day.

Plus:

• For 35 low-performing schools in Memphis, Tennessee has new rules about academic improvment
• The Task Force has made nearly 3K arrests since it began
• Memphian Chloe Sexton will be a cooking show contestant on Gordon Ramsey's newest tv show
• A former county corrections employee pleads guilty to taking a bribe
• Seven finalists vie for a spot at Carriage Crossing
• Peabody Memphis' lower level flooded last week
• A lawsuit claims the Tennessee vouher program expansion in unconstitutional

It's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but the holiday season begins in earnest this weekend, with Graceland turning on its holiday lights and the City of Memphis lighting its official tree on the Main Street Mall. Plus, "& Juliet" opens at the Orpheum Theatre.

Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips discuss all of those events and other things to do.

Plus:

• The first Memphis school closure meting raises concerns about displaced teachers and students
• A new judge has been appointed in the high-profile Whiteside case
• Downtown businesses receive more than $58,000 in grants
• More than 850 National Guard personnel are in Memphis

Earlier this week, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved a $43 million loan to keep the county afloat — and to make sure that the government could make payroll in a few weeks. The county has experienced cash flow problems at this time of year before, but this time around, it's raising bigger questions about the county's long-term financial stability.

Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and politics and government reporter Bill Dries talk about what's driving the shortfall and if there are larger problems, or solutions, on the horizon.

Plus:

• Marie Feagins is running for Shelby County mayor
• Baron Von Opperbean sets an opening date
• Memphis raises the minimum salary for city employees
• Memphis officials vow challenge after the guard deployment is halted by a judge
• The State plans to appeal the National Guard injunction

It's not a great time to be a Memphis sports fan. The Memphis Grizzlies have been struggling this season, and that's before star point guard Ja Morant injured his calf.

The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team just experienced its worst home loss since the team lost to South Florida in March 2018. And, the defeat came at the hands of UNLV, headed by none other than former Memphis coach Josh Pastner.

Memphis Tigers football has also been lackluster. The team is facing its sixth year in a row to not make the conference championships.

To put this all in context for us, Daily Memphian editorial director Mary Cashiola talks with sports editor David Boyd.

Plus:

• Memphis delays a firefighter pay raise
• MSCS board and employees are asked to grade Richmond as superintendent
• South Point Grocery arrives in Southaven
• The County fixes a cash-flow crunch with a $43 million loan
• A statewide art exhibition spotlights four museums in Tennessee
• The U of M school district launches a preschool program at Le Bonheur

In South Memphis, an array of art projects are bringing color — and an renewed identity — to a local neighborhood near Downtown. It's perhaps the culmination of more than 25 years of transformation, but even in the middle of the celebration, there are visible reminders of the pain the community carries. Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and veteran reporter Bill Dries talk about the city's former public housing projects and what has risen in their place.

Plus:

• A Nashville judge blocks the Memphis National Guard deployment
• A person is dead after a shooting at Wolfchase Galleria
• A data center coming to the former Fred's headquarters wants a 15-year PILOT
• Dunavant fills four top positions in US Attorney's Office
• Police arrest 8 in a gang sweep
• Target bought Millington land for more than $2M
• National Guard deployment has already cost millions

Big government projects may move forward this week. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on $28.8 million in capital funding for Regional One Health's new Union Avenue campus. And the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system will consider the next phase of its facilities plan, which includes school closures, consolidations and renovations. And the University of Memphis men's basketball team will be in the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship.

Editorial director Mary Cashiola and newsletter editor Bianca Phillips discuss all of that and the week ahead.

Plus:

• Memphis Safe Task Force has seized more than 400 illegal guns
• A second St. George's assault victim comes forward
• ShapeShifter Art School and Gallery is opening in East Memphis
• Bartlett course manager thinks Quail can do well
• Twelve acres of Old Forest land in Overton Park opened to the public
• Whiteside is back in custody and a new trial date has been set
• 100+ more National Guard members are coming to Memphis
• The state's high court says Shelby County judges can handle task force case load

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