Thursday, January 9, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1866, Fisk University in Nashville opened its doors to newly freed slaves and held its first classes just six months after the end of the Civil War.

This week, a team of Chattanooga firefighters rescued two cats and a dog while extinguishing a house fire. Read about it in our Around Tennessee section. We appreciate our first responders and their hard work across our state.

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Friday Snow Watch Across State

A Winter Storm Watch is currently in place across the state and will be upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning before snow begins to fall. Snow is expected to move into Middle Tennessee Friday morning and continue through early Saturday morning.

Preliminary forecasts indicate higher snow totals in the southern areas and lower amounts in the north, but all regions will experience accumulating snowfall on Friday, with up to 7 inches of snow in some areas anticipated.

In Memphis and Western Tennessee, snow is expected starting Thursday evening, with 2 to 4 inches of snow forecast.

Residents are advised to prepare now, as travel conditions are likely to be impacted on Friday and extend into the weekend.

Tennessee Joins Supreme Court Landlord Battle

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the state of Tennessee and others, announced earlier this week it has revised its lawsuit against RealPage, a software company accused of artificially driving up rental prices.

The suit alleges that six landlords violated federal antitrust laws by reducing competition and participating in an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing, harming millions of American renters.”

In its updated complaint, the DOJ has added six major leasing companies that manage apartment buildings as co-defendants. According to the DOJ, these landlords collectively oversee more than 1.3 million rental units across 43 states and the District of Columbia.

TN to Get $85.7M in Helene Disaster Relief

Tennessee and Virginia will receive a combined $132.4 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for disaster recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene and other recent natural disasters.

Tennessee will receive $85.7 million to aid recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene and the tornadoes that struck Middle Tennessee in December 2023.

“This funding will help rebuild homes for families in dire need, help rebuild schools so kids can learn, help small businesses reopen their doors,” Sen. Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.

According to HUD, the funds can be used to replace damaged affordable housing, repair and improve infrastructure, and support economic revitalization. The funding is part of a disaster relief package approved by Congress in December.

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➤ Chattanooga: Firefighters quickly extinguished a house fire on Stone Trace Drive. Explosions from paint cans complicated efforts, but crews rescued two cats and a dog. (More)

➤ Memphis: A Shelby County corrections officer was shot and hospitalized on Tuesday night, with no arrest made or information released about the suspect. (More)

➤ Millington: The community held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the state’s largest veteran outpatient clinic coming to the Mid-South. (Watch Video)

➤ East Tennessee: A new area code is coming to parts of the state, adding 729 and requiring callers to dial 10 digits for local calls. (More)

➤ Knoxville: The city council approved a $27.6 million contract to renew and expand its police video contract on Tuesday. (More)

➤ Middle Tennessee: A list of cold weather shelters has been released as low temperatures and snow are expected across the state. (More)

➤ The Memphis Grizzlies will host Mentoring Night during its home game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday. (More)

➤ The Tennessee Titans General Manager Ran Carthon has been dismissed just days after the team’s 3-14 season. (More)

➤ A Germantown native, Brent Rooker, signed a major contract extension with the Major League Baseball’s Athletics in a five-year, $60 million deal. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer

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➤ BJ’s Wholesale Club will officially open its doors in Maryville on Jan. 17, making it the first location in East Tennessee. (More)

➤ Twenty-six jobs are coming to Chattanooga with a $3.8 million investment from Italy-based Microtex Composites. (More)

➤ The Crayola Experience and Nerf Action Xperience family entertainment attractions will open in Pigeon Forge in late summer 2025. (More)

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➤ Tennessee ranked No. 10 in a new study of the best states to launch a business in 2025. (See List)

➤ Tennessee State Parks announced the addition of eight new all-terrain wheelchairs to parks across the state, with the new mobility devices now at 30 of the state’s 59 parks. (More)

➤ Walland’s Blackberry Mountain was featured in Southern Living’s list of “12 Southern Hotels with the Coziest Fireplaces,” alongside other locations such as South Carolina’s Montage Palmetto Bluff and North Carolina’s Snowbird Mountain Lodge. (See List)

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