Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1978, Tennessee’s own Dolly Parton hosted NBC’s The Midnight Special, performing hits like Here You Come Again and I Will Always Love You.

Actor Glen Powell, in town cheering for Texas, spent his pregame stopping to take selfies with Tennessee fans, winning over the crowd even as he rooted against them. Have you ever bumped into a celebrity, and how did it go? Reply and tell us.

Could your pet be adding years to your life? A study that followed 3.4 million people for 12 years found that owners of a particular pet were 40% less likely to die during that period than those who didn’t own it. And no, it’s not a golden retriever. Ayla counts down the seven pets linked to longer lives on today’s episode of The Flyover Podcast. Where do cats fall? Are pet fish, reptiles, or even chickens in the top seven? And which pet landed at No. 1? Tune in here to find out!

Later today, watch for an email from our partner, Green Coffee Company, about its farm-to-shelf coffee business and a private investment offering at $1.10 per share through Sept. 30.

If you haven’t compared your car insurance in a while, there’s a good chance you’re paying more than you need to. Even if you checked rates a year ago, the market has changed. That’s why today’s sponsor, Insurify, makes it easy to compare quotes from more than 120 insurers in just a few minutes.

Execution Set for Wednesday amid Protests

Demonstrators rallied in Tennessee against tomorrow’s scheduled execution of Christa Pike, set to be the state’s first woman put to death in more than 200 years.

Pike, now 50, was convicted in the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student.

Opponents delivered thousands of petitions to Gov. Bill Lee, citing Pike’s 18 years of age at the time of the crime and her documented history of childhood trauma in calls for clemency. The state has defended the sentence, and courts have repeatedly rejected her appeals.

Barring intervention from Lee or the courts, the execution is set for tomorrow at a Nashville maximum-security prison.

Groups Sue over Kingston Gas Plant Permits

The Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices have sued the Tennessee Valley Authority, arguing the utility needs stricter air permits to keep building its new Kingston natural gas plant.

The groups say TVA’s February decision to run the aging Kingston coal plant past its planned 2027 retirement, alongside the new gas plant, invalidates the “minor” permit the gas plant was approved under.

Running both at once would sharply increase emissions, requiring a stricter federal review, the lawsuit contends.

The suit asks a federal court to pause construction until TVA obtains proper permits and offsets local environmental harm. TVA does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson said.

State Faces $1B Road Funding Shortfall

Tennessee is projected to fall about $1 billion short on road and bridge funding in fiscal 2027-28, a new state commission report found.

The state will need roughly $3.6 billion to maintain its network and keep up current investment, but existing revenue is expected to bring in only about $2.6 billion.

The gap stems from fuel taxes losing purchasing power as vehicles grow more efficient and construction costs climb, the report explained.

Rather than a single fix, the commission laid out options for lawmakers, from higher fuel taxes to new fees or lifting the state’s ban on borrowing for roads. The report warns that the gap will only grow if left unaddressed.

A Note from Cole, CEO of The Flyover

Dear Reader,

Buried in the official editorial guidelines of one of the world’s largest news organizations—on the books for decades, published for anyone to read—is a remarkable sentence. It says the word terrorist “can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding.”

The written policy is that the plainest true word for an act of terror gets in the way of understanding it.

That’s not one outlet’s quirk. It’s mainstream media doctrine. And last month, you got to see where doctrine like that leads. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of September 11, reporters at another major news organization, a national public broadcaster, received a memo from the standards office: “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”

The approved language for the deadliest terrorist attack in American history, in which nearly 3,000 people were murdered, was “hijackings that led to plane crashes.”

The memo leaked. Two days of daylight later, the broadcaster backed down. Sort of. They carved out an exception for 9/11, and only 9/11. The rule stands.

And their defense was telling. They didn’t argue that the rule is right. They argued that it’s the industry standard and that newsrooms everywhere follow the same practice.

The worst part is, they’re right. It is the standard. That’s the problem.

You know why we exist. The truth isn’t a barrier to understanding. It’s the only road there. The facts arrive the way we found them, in plain words, and you decide what they mean. That’s your job, and we’d never dream of doing it for you.

We call things what they are.

We keep the spin out and trust you with the facts.

And The Tennessee Flyover stays free.

A terrorist attack is a terrorist attack. We’d print that sentence any day of the week. No memo required.

So today I’m asking: if news that calls things what they are is something you want to see thrive, will you stand behind it?

Support the news in plain words. Free, every morning.

Make a generous donation to support The Tennessee Flyover.

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Our promise: we answer to you.

Help us keep it.

— Cole CEO, The Flyover

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➤ Statewide: Tennessee bowhunters are on track for a record archery deer harvest, coinciding with a new law letting permit holders hunt over bait on private land for the first time. (More)

➤ East Tennessee: The Veterans Heritage Site Foundation honored Gold Star families at the Historic Ramsey House for National Gold Star Mothers and Families Day. (More)

➤ Monroe County: Nathan O’Niel Hass, a fugitive wanted on charges in Tennessee and North Carolina dating to 1999, was captured after being spotted walking beside U.S. Highway 64. (More)

➤ Clarksville: City council is set to vote on a $65 million performing arts center planned for the downtown Roxy site. (More)

➤ Cookeville: Tennessee Tech will offer in-state tuition to students from six North Alabama counties starting next fall, saving regional students over $2,000 a semester. (More)

➤ Nashville: Nashville Electric Service blamed the bright Harvest Moon for tripping streetlight sensors across the city Sunday night, with no power outages involved. (More)

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➤ The SEC admitted officials blew a call on Tennessee’s onside kick in Saturday’s 20-17 loss to No. 1 Texas, saying the late-game kick should have drawn a penalty and a replay. (More)

➤ New Giants quarterback Jameis Winston delivered a philosophical pregame speech before facing the Titans, declaring “the circumstances, conditions, and facts, they don’t matter.” (More)

➤ Barry Trotz, the Predators’ first head coach and their all-time winningest with 557 victories, will be inducted into the team’s Golden Hall on Oct. 29, becoming its sixth member. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | Soccer

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➤ Tennessee gas prices fell four cents this week to a $4.03 statewide average, though that’s still up 34 cents from a month ago and $1.31 from a year earlier. (More)

➤ Texas-based Kent Kwik will open its first new-build Tennessee travel center in Ardmore, an over 14,300-square-foot facility with a Rustic Cafe restaurant, about 80 miles south of Nashville. (More)

➤ Delgado Guitars, a 98-year-old Nashville music store, says it doesn’t qualify for the mayor’s proposed small-business grants and calls the incentives ineffective for legacy businesses. (More)

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➤ Actor Glen Powell charmed Knoxville by posing for selfies with Tennessee fans before Saturday’s Texas game, despite rooting for the Longhorns. (See Photos)

➤ Morgan Freeman celebrated his new Memphis blues album onstage with the University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra in a one-night Symphonic Blues Experience. (More)

➤ The Harlem Globetrotters added a Knoxville stop to their 100th-anniversary Rivalry Tour, playing the Food City Center on Jan. 31 with new uniforms and a pre-game party. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

➤ Scientists ranked the seven pets linked to longer lives, and No. 1 isn’t a golden retriever. (Hear List)

➤ Every household in a Pennsylvania town was offered $10,000 by a data center developer, but residents are pushing back. (Hear Details)

➤ Experts say Spirit Halloween’s real estate strategy quietly signals something about the shopping centers it moves into. (Listen Now)

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Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Execution Set for Wednesday amid Protests

Groups Sue over Kingston Gas Plant Permits

State Faces $1B Road Funding Shortfall

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