Thursday, October 1, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 2019, Nashville hit 98 degrees, its fifth straight day above 90, as a September heat wave spilled into October. With highs near 90 again today, fall seems to be running a little late this year, too. See the record here.

Where would you retire if the numbers made the decision instead of your gut? A new ranking scored 182 American cities on everything from taxes to golf to healthcare, and the winners aren’t all where you’d expect. Ayla counts down the 10 best places to retire in America on today’s episode of The Flyover Podcast. Where do Florida’s famous retirement havens actually land? Do any cities in California make the list? And which two surprise Texas towns made the cut? Tune in here!

Introducing Flyover Finance! Launching on Monday, Oct. 12.

You trust The Flyover for news without the spin. Now, you can trust Flyover Finance for money news without the noise. Our newest edition will break down the market, stock, and economic news that matters in about five minutes—plus practical tips on retirement, taxes, and saving—all in plain English. No jargon, no finance degree required. Join Flyover Finance here.

When it comes to peptides, there are more options than ever, and figuring out what actually makes sense for you can feel like guesswork. Today’s sponsor, The Pep Report, takes a different approach: start with your DNA and use your genetics to help narrow down the options.

Lawyers Say Pike Still Alive after Injections

Christa Pike’s lawyers say she was still alive after two lethal injections last night, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to let her execution proceed.

Media witnesses said Pike complained of pain and could be heard snoring before they were told to leave, and an ambulance was seen arriving at the prison.

Her attorneys filed an emergency motion to stop the execution and begin lifesaving care, saying she had not lost consciousness and still had a heartbeat.

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. State officials had not confirmed whether she was alive as of late Wednesday.

Ex-Student Charged in 2025 TSU Threats

A former Tennessee State University student is charged with a felony after police say he threatened last September to kill people and bomb the campus.

An arrest affidavit says the 32-year-old made “direct and credible threats” toward the TSU president’s office by phone and posted similar threats on social media.

He was arrested in Cincinnati the day after the threats, and investigators said at the time that he was never in Nashville when they were made.

Metro Nashville Police arrested him Tuesday, a little over a year later, on a charge of making a threat toward a school.

Lawsuit Filed over Pizza Battle

Sir Pizza of Tennessee is suing a former Hermitage franchisee, saying he ended his license and reopened the next day as King Pizza using the chain’s recipes, menu, and branding.

The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, says King Pizza still serves Sir Pizza’s award-winning bleu cheese dressing and even displays the award the chain won in 2025.

Lawyers say King Pizza never got Sir Pizza’s proprietary Iowa meat blend, so it has been grinding its own meat to copy the look of the chain’s slices.

Sir Pizza wants a restraining order that would halt King Pizza’s operations as it expands to more locations, plus damages to be determined in court.

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➤ Memphis: Two people were charged after a man allegedly pulled a gun during a fight at the zoo. No shots were fired, and no visitors were hurt. (More)

➤ Jackson: An attorney for accused mass killer Austin Drummond was arrested after police say he threatened city employees at City Hall. (More)

➤ Smoky Mountains: Two people are accused of poaching nearly 700 ginseng roots from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including one person found with 521 roots weighing eight pounds. (More)

➤ Oak Ridge: Oak Ridge National Laboratory has opened a 100,000-square-foot facility that brings its battery, quantum computing, and materials science teams under one roof. (See Inside)

➤ Nashville: Nashville Symphony CEO Mark Cantrell stepped down after the orchestra declared a financial emergency, suspended its season, and furloughed 77 musicians and 27 staff members. (See Story)

➤ Also Nashville: Nashville Electric Service first blamed the Harvest Moon for Sunday’s outage of 37,000 streetlights, but now says a vendor’s software testing was actually to blame. (See Details)

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➤ AJ Dungan, Tennessee’s top right-handed pitcher in the Class of 2028, committed to Vols baseball after an official visit. (More)

➤ Bo Bryan, son of country star Luke Bryan, threw for 404 yards and six touchdowns as Battle Ground Academy beat Franklin Road Academy 41-35 in a high school state title rematch. (See Story)

➤ Tennessee moved up its 2027 and 2028 football season openers to take advantage of new rules letting every team play in Week 0. (See Dates)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | NHL | WNBA | Soccer

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➤ Ultium Cells, GM and LG’s joint venture, will invest $1 billion to make next-generation battery cells at its Spring Hill plant, creating 500 jobs. Production starts in 2028. (More)

➤ Buffalo Biodiesel, a used cooking oil recovery company, plans to open a Knoxville collection hub by the end of the year. (See Details)

➤ The former IKEA building in Cordova has been sold to an unnamed retailer that’s new to the Memphis market. Plans for the 271,150-square-foot space haven’t been announced. (More)

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➤ Country star Megan Moroney will headline the Grand Ole Opry’s 18th annual breast cancer awareness concert this fall. (More)

➤ A new proposal is suggesting a Dolly Parton Imagination Library space inside Nashville International Airport, building on earlier efforts to rename BNA after the late country icon. (See Petition)

➤ The UT Creamery opened a new ice cream shop inside Torchbearer Hall on the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus. (See Photos)

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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.

➤ Two retirement destination rankings crown completely different winners, and one snubs Florida entirely. (See Top 10)

➤ Surgeons at an Ohio hospital are accused of amputating the wrong appendage of a 74-year-old Army veteran. (Hear Details)

➤ Tennessee’s first execution of a woman in more than 200 years was halted about an hour before it began. (Listen Now)

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Only certain kinds: 35%
No, never: 5%
Only if I have to: 4%

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Thursday, October 1, 2026

Thursday, October 1, 2026

Lawyers Say Pike Still Alive after Injections

Ex-Student Charged in 2025 TSU Threats

Lawsuit Filed over Pizza Battle

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One Email. All The Tennessee News.

Get Informed About The Volunteer State In 5 Minutes.