Friday, June 5, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1943, the Grand Ole Opry moved to the iconic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, where it would remain for the next 31 years as its popularity skyrocketed.

Veterans spent the week at Amy Grant’s Franklin farm, where Nashville songwriters helped them turn their trauma into original music, then performed the songs live in concert. See details in the story below.

Today’s sponsor, BOXABL, is working to tackle America’s housing affordability crisis with factory-built, foldable homes designed for faster production, easier shipping, and scalable deployment. Later today, you’ll receive a message from them detailing the opportunity they offer.

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Downtown Nashville Gas Leak Contained

A construction crew’s errant dig struck a natural gas line near downtown Nashville’s YMCA on Wednesday morning, triggering a major leak that forced evacuations across several nearby buildings.

Gas company Spire shut off the affected line, and Nashville Fire Department crews spent hours going building-by-building to restart HVAC systems and clear any lingering fumes.

No injuries were reported as crews worked methodically through the downtown corridor to confirm every structure was safe before allowing evacuees to return in the afternoon.

The incident drew renewed attention to the risks of construction in Nashville’s rapidly expanding downtown, where aging utility infrastructure runs beneath some of the city’s busiest blocks.

Haslams Give UT $130M Gift

Dee and Jimmy Haslam have made the largest private gift in the University of Tennessee’s 232-year history, donating $130 million to UT Knoxville.

The donation from the Haslam family, whose name already graces UT’s College of Business, is expected to fund transformative initiatives across the flagship campus, where more than 40,000 students are enrolled.

Jimmy Haslam’s family founded Pilot Flying J, headquartered in Knoxville, and also owns the Cleveland Browns. Their total philanthropy at UT now approaches $200 million, cementing the Haslams as among the most consequential donors in Volunteer State education history.

The gift arrives as UT Knoxville has been on a notable upswing, posting record enrollment and climbing national research rankings.

Rucker’s St. Jude Benefit Sets Record

Country star Darius Rucker’s 17th annual Darius and Friends concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium raised $1.1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, setting a new record for the event.

The benefit, which served as the unofficial kickoff to CMA Fest week, featured an all-star lineup including Jason Aldean, Lauren Alaina, and Carter Faith.

Combined with proceeds from a companion golf tournament, the $1.1 million haul pushed the event’s all-time total past $6.2 million raised for St. Jude over nearly two decades.

Rucker committed to supporting the hospital after touring St. Jude’s Memphis campus in 2008, where he saw firsthand the cutting-edge research and family-centered care provided to children with cancer.

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BOXABL Is Betting on Factory-Built Housing

Boxabl’s goal is ambitious: build homes more like automobiles using factory automation and standardized production.

The company says a single automated factory could eventually produce thousands of homes annually while using significantly less labor than traditional homebuilding methods.

Its foldable Casita homes are designed to ship efficiently and unfold on-site in about one hour. BOXABL also says it is developing stackable housing systems for multifamily and larger residential projects.

BOXABL has announced plans for a proposed SPAC merger with FG Merger II Corp. (NASDAQ: FGMC), with the combined company expected to under the anticipated ticker symbol $BXBL following closing.

FGMC on Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FGMC/

Learn more about the proposed transaction here.

➤ Statewide: Tennessee will become the first state in the nation to regulate nuclear fusion machines when new rules take effect on Tuesday. (More)

➤ East Tennessee: The Tennessee Valley Authority is warning that lake levels may drop further this summer as the region’s runoff sits at the fourth-lowest level in 152 years of recorded history. (More)

➤ Knox County: Eleven current and former sheriff’s office employees face arraignment on theft conspiracy charges, raising questions about the Republican nominee who had already won the May primary before the indictments came down. (More)

➤ Greenbrier: A police officer who crashed into a home this spring shared that doctors discovered an apple-sized brain tumor that never would have been found without the accident. (More)

➤ Karns: Rockland, a bald eagle that escaped Dollywood’s Eagle Mountain Sanctuary in April, has been spotted repeatedly in the area. Residents are asked to photograph the bird and submit sightings. (More)

➤ Memphis: A neglected four-acre lot downtown has residents complaining about six-foot-tall grass, blocked sightlines, and even snake sightings. (More)

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➤ Nashville SC’s training facility will serve as the base camp for Japan’s national team during this summer’s World Cup. The squad will stay in the city between matches and hold an open practice at the club’s stadium on Monday. (More)

➤ Former Titans receiver Nate Washington, a two-time Super Bowl champion who spent six seasons in Tennessee, just released a memoir titled Football Was My Father. A book signing is set for Wednesday in Franklin. (More)

➤ Prime Video drew 1.655 million viewers for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, down about 12% from last year. A rain delay pushed the start well past the originally scheduled time. (More)

➤ Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner landed on FOX Sports’ top 10 returning players list after withdrawing from the NBA Draft. He averaged 19.5 points per game last season and made first-team All-SEC. (More)

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➤ Memphis-based FedEx completed the spin-off of FedEx Freight this week, creating a standalone publicly traded company for the first time in the logistics giant’s history. (More)

➤ Nashville’s new Nissan Stadium has launched an interest form and Culinary Combine competition for local Tennessee food vendors interested in working with the venue. (More)

➤ Tennessee continues to attract entrepreneurs, with a new study ranking the Volunteer State among the top 10 in the nation for growth in new business applications. (See Details)

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BOXABL’s Growth Story Is Drawing Investor Attention

This company has raised more than $235M from investors as it works toward its goal of transforming the housing industry with factory-built homes.

The company’s foldable housing system is designed to reduce shipping costs and speed up installation. Its flagship Casita unfolds on-site in less than one hour.

The company has announced a proposed merger with FG Merger II Corp. (NASDAQ: FGMC), which could result in BOXABL trading publicly on Nasdaq under the ticker $BXBL.

Shareholder meetings related to the proposed transaction are expected on June 9, 2026.

FGMC on Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FGMC/

Find important information related to the proposed merger here.

BOXABL and FGMC have extended their merger deadline to June 30, 2026, pending shareholder approvals, see SEC Exhibit 99 for further details https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1816937

➤ Nashville songwriters worked with veterans at Amy Grant’s farm in Franklin, pairing off to write original songs about their experiences and perform them live. (More)

➤ A Tennessee woman raised more than $145,000 through a viral GoFundMe for an 85-year-old movie theater employee, who said she plans to use the money to help her church and homeless community rather than retire. (See Details)

➤ A rare red-collared lemur born this spring at the Tennessee Aquarium is making its public debut as the newest addition to the aquarium’s conservation program. (See Photo)

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