Friday, October 30, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1864, Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry used riverbank cannons to capture the Union gunboat Undine and two transport ships on the Tennessee River near Paris Landing. Days later, Forrest struck the Union supply depot at Johnsonville.

Two everyday anglers are fishing against the world’s best bass pros on Old Hickory Lake this week, with $1.25 million on the line for the winner. Meet them in Et Cetera, and hit reply to tell us about the biggest fish you’ve ever caught.

Does your car insurance renew automatically? Convenient, sure. But you could be overpaying. Today’s sponsor, Money.com, makes it easy to compare rates, switch, and save. Check your new rate now.

Titans Trade Simmons to Bears

The Titans traded All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears on Thursday, pending a physical, in a historic deal aimed at rebuilding the franchise.

Tennessee gets Chicago’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 plus a 2027 fourth-rounder, while sending a 2028 fifth-rounder with Simmons. He’s reportedly the first defensive tackle since 1967 traded for multiple first-round picks.

Simmons spent his entire career in Tennessee after the Titans drafted him at the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville. He became the league’s highest-paid defensive tackle this past offseason.

Owner Amy Adams Strunk said, “He gave Nashville more than football.” The 1-6 Titans visit Cincinnati on Sunday.

24 Charged in Cartel-Linked Drug Ring

Twenty-four people face federal charges in a Nashville-based drug ring with alleged ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Two alleged leaders, Humberto Morales, 34, and Jose Martin Perez, 30, are accused of helping direct the operation from inside Tennessee prisons, where they were serving time for unrelated convictions.

Investigators seized more than 500 kilograms of methamphetamine, 20 kilograms of fentanyl, 60 kilograms of cocaine, and more than $375,000 in cash. Seven suspects were arrested in Nashville, Mt. Juliet, Cookeville, and Stockton, California.

If convicted, most face at least 10 years in federal prison. All 24 are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Facebook Deer Hunt Guide Owes $60K

A Somerville man must pay $60,000 and quit hunting for five years after guiding illegal deer hunts he advertised on Facebook.

Austin Elrod, 30, led hunts in Fayette County without a guide license during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and seven deer were taken illegally. A Georgia client with no Tennessee license killed five of them and took them home.

Fayette County is a designated zone for chronic wasting disease, which is fatal and contagious among deer.

A federal judge sentenced Elrod to probation, a $40,000 fine, and $20,000 in restitution. The Georgia hunter was ordered to pay $26,000 and lost his hunting privileges for 18 months.

A Note from Cole, CEO of The Flyover

Dear Reader,

Every year, auditors count how many copies America’s biggest newspapers actually put in people’s hands. The new numbers are brutal.

Of the 25 largest papers in the country, 24 shrank last year. Average decline: 12.5%. Nearly a quarter-million daily papers, gone in a single year. The Denver Post now prints about 24,000 copies a day. The Arizona Republic, 33,000. The Houston Chronicle, 35,000. The Dallas Morning News, under 40,000. These are metros of millions. And the steepest collapse in the country belonged to The Washington Post: down 21% in a single year to fewer than 88,000 print copies.

The industry will tell you it’s the internet. It’s a convenient story, because it means none of this is their fault.

Here’s the story they won’t tell: Americans didn’t stop caring about the news. They stopped trusting the people delivering it. Somewhere along the way, the papers stopped reporting what happened and started campaigning for what they wanted to happen—and their readers noticed. Trust in the media now sits at the lowest level ever recorded.

So no, that’s not an audience drifting away. That’s a jury coming back with a verdict.

And here’s the part the industry really doesn’t want to talk about: those readers didn’t give up on news. They went looking for someone who would just tell them the truth. Millions of them found their way to The Flyover—a morning news publication built on one simple deal:

We call things what they are.

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

And The Tennessee Flyover stays free.

It turns out that when you just give people the facts and trust them to think for themselves, people respond.

So today I’m asking: will you help us continue? If news that plays it straight is something you want to see thrive, will you stand behind us?

Chip in and support the news that gives it to you straight—and free, every morning.

Will you make a generous donation to support The Tennessee Flyover?

While the biased legacy media is failing, will you join our movement to keep the bias out of the news, free to your inbox every morning?

I’d be grateful if you did.

Make a generous donation to support The Tennessee Flyover.

I’d be grateful if you did.

Give $10
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Our promise: we answer to you. Help us keep it.

– Cole
CEO, The Flyover

Flying together with our sponsor

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➤ Statewide: Gov. Bill Lee said he suspects Christa Pike’s death sentence will stand “unless determined otherwise by the courts,” a month after her failed lethal injection. (Read More)

➤ Nashville: A child treated for measles at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt this week has been discharged. It’s the Nashville area’s second case this year. (Read More)

➤ Chattanooga: The state fined American House Hamilton Place $1,000 after a resident with dementia walked a quarter-mile down Gunbarrel Road before a passerby brought them back. (See Details)

➤ Clarksville: A local man let a police K-9 out of a cruiser in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and got bitten, then was arrested. He told police he’d “rather get bit by a dog than shot with a bullet.” (Read More)

➤ Knox County: Facing a budget shortfall, Knox County Schools is weighing new start times to cut bus routes. One plan would drop 77 routes and save $2.7 million a year. (Read More)

➤ Norris: The Tennessee Valley Authority sealed a stainless-steel time capsule at Norris Dam Wednesday to mark America’s 250th birthday. It’ll be displayed at the visitor center until it’s opened in 2076. (See Details)

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➤ The Predators fell 4-3 to Washington Thursday in Alex Ovechkin’s final game at Bridgestone Arena, as Cole Hutson scored twice for the Capitals. Nashville is 4-4-5. (See Recap)

➤ The Grizzlies visited the Trail Blazers Thursday night in their first meeting with Ja Morant since trading him to Portland in June. (See Score)

➤ The Vols landed 2027 cornerback Preston Glasco of Loganville, Georgia, who picked Tennessee over Alabama and Georgia after visiting the weekend of the Vols’ Oct. 17 upset of Alabama. (Read More)

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➤ Skip the oven and grill for this genius microwave hack. Rocket Chef delivers crispy, juicy meals in minutes! Turn your microwave into a searing hot grill for burgers, grilled cheese, pizza, leftovers and more. Learn More

➤ About $4 million in state grants will help Gallatin, Centerville, Livingston, Mount Pleasant, Paris, and other rural towns spruce up their downtowns. Each town must match 25% of its grant. (Read More)

➤ Lower power bills could follow a $14 million federal investment in Tennessee’s transmission system, U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly said Wednesday. (Read More)

➤ Ballpark-view apartments are coming to Chattanooga’s Foundries District, where a $100 million, 287-unit building will overlook Erlanger Park, the Tennessee River, and Lookout Mountain. (See Plans)

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Still Paying the Same Car Insurance Rate?

The average U.S. driver now pays about $194 a month for car insurance. If you’ve been with the same insurer for years, it may be worth checking whether you’re still getting a competitive rate.

Shopping around can uncover lower-priced options, and comparing quotes only takes a few minutes.

Money’s car insurance comparison tool can help you see rates from providers in your area and find out whether switching could put more money back in your pocket.

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➤ Two everyday anglers picked through a sweepstakes are fishing against the world’s top bass pros at The Champions on Old Hickory Lake, where the winner takes home $1.25 million. (Meet Them)

➤ Lioness star Jill Wagner traded Hollywood for a Tennessee town of 800, where a Mennonite horse and buggy is a familiar sight, even at the post office. (Read More)

➤ Hundreds of silk lanterns, some 16 feet tall and shaped like elephants, red pandas, and peacocks, will glow at the Chattanooga Zoo’s Asian Lantern Festival starting Nov. 18. (See Lanterns)

Flying together with our sponsor

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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.

➤ Protesters clashed with riot police in Madrid, demanding the prime minister’s resignation after Wednesday’s train crash killed nearly seventy people. (Hear Details)

➤ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly grew close to a suspected Chinese spy whom U.S. intelligence spent a year tracking. (Hear Story)

➤ A popular WNBA star said the FBI is monitoring roughly 20 people tied to stalking and threats against her. (Listen Now)