The “Midtown Rooster” has been caught after being the topic of conversation on Nextdoor.
Several posts on the app show residents inquiring about a “rooster on the loose” in East Memphis.
Neighbors spotted the animal on Philadelphia Street, Oliver Avenue, and more. The rooster has also been nominated to be a co-mascot of the neighborhood along with the Sasquatch.
After being the subject of a “Where’s Waldo”-esque game around the area, the rooster was caught by a resident named Alec Ogg.
Ogg said they have a farm lined up for the rooster if he’s not claimed by the weekend.
A state Senate panel reviewed Tennessee’s law on criminal responsibility — especially felony murder — in a session Thursday that included gut-wrenching personal testimony, expert explanation, and personal sniping amongst Shelby County lawmakers.
Criminal responsibility means you can be held liable for a crime committed by someone else even if you just helped them. In felony murder, a type of criminal responsibility, you can be charged with murder even if you’re just the get-away driver (or aided in the crime in another way) and did not commit the murder yourself.
“An example I hear often is a young person is driving a vehicle,” said state Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis). “They know that their friend is gonna go in there and possibly rob the store. But they have no knowledge that (their friend is) going to commit murder. So, the person goes in, commits murder, and the driver is also charged with murder …”
Akbari carried legislation to change Tennessee’s law on felony murder in the last session of the Tennessee General Assembly. The bill would have allowed individuals to be held accountable only for “their own actions.” The bill failed.
“We’re not trying to stop someone from being punished,” Akbari said Thursday. “If they commit a crime, they should be punished. But aligning the punishment with the crime, that’s our goal.”
But state Sen. Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) suggested the idea get a thorough review in the legislature’s off-season in “summer study” hearing. No votes are taken in these meetings. But information shared in them can help to inform legislation and votes in coming sessions.
Roberts said his interest in the topic came after visits with inmates at Nashville’s Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, formerly known as the Tennessee Prison for Women. He said he heard from many there that “I was young. I was dumb. I was in the car when he killed someone and I didn’t know he was going to kill someone.” Some of these women, he said, were charged and convicted of felony murder and offered a deal of 10 to 15 years in prison or risk trial and possibly serve for life.
“People spending 15 or 20 years in jail because they were in proximity to someone who did something they were not expecting them to do is a legitimate policy question,” Roberts said. “Is that what we want to do?”
Roberts response came after state Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said the bill was a “solution looking for a problem,” a derisive phrase often used by lawmakers to claim a bill is overthought, goes too far, or is partisan beyond everyday usefulness. Taylor also said the entire hearing Thursday was a “waste of time.”
This drew the ire of state Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) who asked the committee to be “respectful” and said “all our bills are very respectful.”
“I am elected to this body just like everybody else,” Taylor returned. “I get to say whatever it is that I want to say. If people don’t like it, I am sorry. … If other members could refrain from commenting on what I have to say, that would be great.”
Powerful testimony ended the hearing from a group of women who have experienced repercussions of Tennessee’s felony murder law first-hand, either as one who has been sentenced with it or who has a loved one who has. The five women who spoke Thursday united under the name “Separate Acts Separate Facts Coalition.”
Ashlee Sellars said she was 17 when an adult man she was staying with murdered Cynthia Page, a 23-year-old college student at the University of Tennessee. The man asked Sellars to drive him to a church, was gone for awhile, and came back later with a purse and money bag. While he was gone, he’d robbed the restaurant that Page managed, killed her, and took her purse.
Page was not present at the killing, nor did she have any previous knowledge of it. But she did not call police because, she said, of a mistrust of authorities stemming from a childhood of physical and sexual abuse with no help from law enforcement.
”The state aggressively prosecuted me, implying my involvement because I did not call law enforcement,” she told lawmakers. ”No one considered the ‘why …why I did not call them.’ [But] under Tennessee’s felony murder and criminal responsibility statute, I was prosecuted and convicted. Beginning at the age of 17, I spent over 21 years in prison, my first two in solitary confinement.”
Erin Twomey from the Council of State Governments told lawmakers that Louisiana law identifies intent when prosecuting these crimes. It outlines “criminal responsibility for the conduct of another” and differentiates between “specific intent” and “general intent.” If Tennessee did this, prosecutors would have to prove that intent in the crime as well as an offender’s mental state.
Stephen D. Crump, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorney General Conference, said he was there to oppose repealing and amending Tennessee’s law.
“These laws are not abstract doctrines,” Crump said. “They are practical, time-tested tools that protect Tennesseans, deter violent crimes, and hold all violent actors accountable.”
Crump explained that proponents of change champion the phrase “different acts, separate facts” which he said “ignores the reality of violent crime.” He said that both parties share responsibility when a crime is committed.
“In the real world the robbery doesn’t happen without the driver, the lookout, the planner, or the gun supplier,” Crump said. “Crime is often a team sport.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday he is ready to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the police force there.
Lee said he spoke with U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who told him the military could be requesting states to send troops to the nation’s capital for law enforcement.
“I told him we would be obviously willing to work with them on whatever they needed. The current status, I cannot speak to, but the request … of interest was made, and I expressed interest,” Lee said in a press conference following a groundbreaking for Australian-owned Barrett Firearms south of Murfreesboro.
The governor’s statement provides another example that he is prepared to use Tennessee National Guard personnel for nearly every request the president makes.
Recently, Lee mobilized Guard members to provide backing for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it continues efforts on mass deportation. Guard personnel are to help with paperwork and logistics to give ICE agents more time to concentrate on arresting immigrants who lack documentation for permanent citizenship.
In addition to deportation efforts, Trump ordered the feds to wrest control of the Washington, D.C. police department using National Guard troops in a purported emergency move to cut crime in what he called a “lawless city.” Local officials criticized the move, saying the city has seen a major decrease in crime in the last year.
Under federal law, the president could run the police department for 30 days, though the time frame could be stretched.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole reportedly said federal troops would be “embedded” with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Protestors made “good trouble” outside Mason Town Hall Tuesday evening as town leaders debated and finally approved a contract to re-open a prison facility there as a detention center for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Members of Indivisible Memphis were there. Here’s what they had to say about the situation:
“Something is fishy. Something is off,” the group said on Facebook. “And we are not finished in Mason. We hold all elected officials accountable. Financial disclosures are not available for those elected officials in Mason. And we are going to find out why.”
Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Carnita Atwater was at the protest, too.
“When I fight, I fight for all Tennesseans,” Atwater said in a Facebook post. “We are Tennessee strong. I am in Mason, Tennessee protesting against the ICE detention center. No CoreCivic in Mason.”
Mason, Tennessee Mayor Eddie Naeman, and Christa Poindexter, yell at each other during a Tuesday meeting of the Mason Board of Alderman. Naeman supported the creation of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center; Poindexter did not. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Officials in the small West Tennessee town of Mason on Tuesday approved a contract with private prison corporation CoreCivic to operate the former West Tennessee Detention Facility as an immigration detention facility.
The Mason Board of Mayor and Aldermen called a special meeting to review two contracts: one between the town and CoreCivic, and one between the town and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
After a chaotic exchange between aldermen and a crowd of constituents and residents of nearby towns in West Tennessee, the board approved the CoreCivic contract 4-1 with two abstentions. The ICE contract passed 3-2 with two abstentions.
Neither document was provided to the public prior to the meeting, and town attorney Nathan Bicks said he and others were working on the CoreCivic contract until Monday, giving the board about 24 hours to review it in its final form before the vote.
Crowds flanked the 1,500-person town’s Main Street more than 40 minutes before the meeting began, holding signs decrying ICE and opposing the facility’s reopening.
We need everybody’s support, everybody’s business here. We open arms for everybody. We’re not against anybody.
– Mason Mayor Eddie Noeman
The 600-bed prison closed in 2021 after the Department of Justice, under order from then-President Joe Biden, did not renew its contract with CoreCivic to operate the facility. President Donald Trump reversed Biden’s order against contracting with private detention facilities in January.
Mason Mayor Eddie Noeman, the first Egyptian immigrant to represent the town, voted in favor of both contracts, citing the job and economic opportunities that would come with reopening the facility.
“We need everybody’s support, everybody’s business here,” he said. “We open arms for everybody. We’re not against anybody.”
Alderwoman Virginia Rivers, who previously served as the town’s vice mayor, disagreed.
“I feel you should have been notified and made aware of this situation before now,” Rivers told the audience. “I understand and support the need to deport actual criminals, but the majority of the people who are being deported and detained are lawful citizens.”
“We, as the officials of the Town of Mason that were elected by the citizens, should consider the consequences and the hurt that this will cause our local community, our neighbors, Tennessee schools, and many families,” Rivers said, adding that entering into a contract with CoreCivic and ICE would “make our city complicit in the abusive treatment of immigrants.”
Attendees at Tuesday’s meeting of the Mason, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Alderman look on from seats in the non- air conditioned Mason Fire Department Garage. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Mason officials held the meeting in the Mason Fire Department garage across the street from Mason City Hall to accommodate some of the larger crowd. The remaining audience stood outside the garage doors, chanting and drumming through most of the meeting. Officials passed around a microphone attached to a karaoke machine, and audience members repeatedly yelled out that they could not hear what officials were saying.
The majority of audience members who spoke at the meeting opposed the contracts.
Those who spoke in support pointed to property tax, impact fees and utility revenue that would come from the facility. CoreCivic stated the facility would generate about $325,000 in annual property taxes, and an estimated $1.2 million in annual utility payments. When fully operational, the facility would generate about $200,000 in annual impact fees to the town, according to the company.
I understand and support the need to deport actual criminals, but the majority of the people who are being deported and detained are lawful citizens.
– Alderwoman Virginia Rivers
Eloise Thompson, a fifth-generation resident of nearby Fayette County, said she was against Mason “becoming a for-profit center for human suffering.”
She said Mason has other alternatives to create jobs and stimulate the local economy that “speak more to the character of who we are.”
Darryle Donell, a veteran and Mason resident, said he previously worked at the facility when it was run by Corrections Corporation of America, which later became CoreCivic.
“That prison ain’t never been good for the town,” he said, calling for transparency, honesty and loyalty from town leaders. “I don’t see no prison. I see a concentration camp.”
Christa Poindexter, another Mason resident, approached Noeman during the meeting and asked why he supported the contracts.
“I want the job. Jobs,” he said.
At one point, at least three board members — Noeman, Vice Mayor Reynaldo Givhan, and Alderman Alethea Harris — exited the building during a period of public comment.
A protester of a CoreCivic immigration detention center in Mason holds signs outside the meeting. (John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Givhan voted in favor of the CoreCivic contract but abstained from voting on the ICE contract.
“When I moved here 20 years ago, CCA or CoreCivic employed several of my family members, and it was thriving,” he said after the meeting adjourned. “I was actually excited when we first got word that they were coming, that it was going to reopen.”
The “negative connotation that’s connected with just the word ICE … you feel it, and in your heart of hearts, you have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror,” he said of his abstention.
Givhan said he exited the building, which was not air conditioned, during the meeting to “get some air” and pray. He said he did not talk to other board members and did not see other members talking to each other.
CoreCivic Public Affairs Manager Brian Todd said 2,100 people have already applied for the roughly 240 job openings at the facility. These roles would pay a starting salary of about $26.50 per hour, according to a statement distributed by CoreCivic representatives at the meeting.
“You all may feel that there’s no oversight and accountability at the facility, and that is far, far from the truth,” CoreCivic representative Jerry Langford said. “The facility will operate with strong oversight and accountability … our government partners will have a presence at that facility while we’re operating, including regular audits and on-site monitors. Both our company and the government partners share a deep commitment to humane care.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
As Lucy J’s Bakery prepares to celebrate seven years in business, the business continues to be driven by not just a love for food, but by a mission to provide jobs and livable wages for people transitioning out of homelessness.
Located at Suite 151 at Crosstown Concourse, Lucy J’s was founded on a belief to “bake with a purpose.” The bakery partners with the Dorothy Day House to offer job training, employment, and livable wages to employees.
“As we celebrate seven years, we’re reminded how every loaf and every dollar helps transform lives,” Josh Burgess, founder of Lucy J’s, said.
According to Tracy Burgess, executive director of Dorothy Day House and Josh’s wife, her husband has always wanted to own a restaurant. When the couple decided to launch Lucy J’s, they knew they wanted to be intentional regarding wages and employment practices.
“It’s not worth putting the sweat equity into a business if you’re not able to take care of the people that actually make it possible,” Tracy said.
Josh said their mission is to employ as many people as possible — especially parents from the Dorothy Day House. The organization provides temporary housing for families in Memphis, who in turn may need additional employment.
Not only is Lucy J’s able to provide extra support for families at the Dorothy Day House, but they’re also able to provide soft skill training and professional development.
“We found that a lot of the parents and people need soft skills like how to talk to managers and not at your manager, the importance of being part of a team,” Josh said.
The community is composed of high school students from Crosstown High and parents from the Dorothy Day House. Josh said this allows the parents to see support from the Crosstown community, which can help them move towards stability.
Josh also said this partnership reduces stigma around people experiencing homelessness.
The couple said their intentionality stemmed from volunteering at the Dorothy Day House in 2012, and interacting with the population there.
“Interacting with families that were in extremely tough situations expands your empathy and compassion for people,” Tracy said.
Through volunteering, Josh and Tracy said what they learned was simple — families need better paying jobs. Tracy noted they were proponents of offering $15 an hour for entry-level positions before large corporations began to.
“People just didn’t believe in this idea that entry level employees should earn that amount of money,” Tracy said. “The fight for $15 was prominent, but there was so much against it, and so many people saying it was never possible.”
She admitted that they were fighting an uphill battle on opening, however the couple realized that advocating for people’s wages was bigger than themselves.
Lucy J’s hopes that their mission inspires the city and others to realize the importance of providing opportunity and support for marginalized communities. The couple emphasizes that liveable wages along with affordable housing, education, and accessible transportation are crucial to sustainability in Memphis.
“It’s going to take all those pieces to move our city forward,” Tracy said. “As a community we need to advocate for businesses that are doing this.”
Josh adds that people can support their vision by coming in and enjoying a fresh croissant or cinnamon roll.
“It’s a pretty good cinnamon roll — I would suggest starting there,” Josh said. “Come meet people and become part of the community here. You’ll definitely find someone like yourself that’s for sure.”
ICE's Eloy Federal Contract Facility in Arizona. (Credit: ICE via Flickr)
Protestors are organizing to oppose a move that could open a Mason detention facility for those those captured by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mason is about 45 miles northeast of Memphis in Tipton County. Since 1990, the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason has been owned by Tennessee-based CoreCivic, a private prison corporation.
The facility closed in 2021 after then-President Joe Biden cancelled contracts with privately held prisons in January of that year, according to a story from The Covington Leader. The West Tennessee Detention Facility closed months after the order was signed, the newspaper said.
But the facility may open again. The agenda for a special-called meeting of the Mason Mayor and Board of Alderman set for Tuesday evening shows two items: approve a contract between CoreCivic and the town, and approve a contract between ICE and the town. The agenda says “no other business will be discussed.”
Mason Mayor Eddie Noeman did not immediately respond to a query on the situation. This story will be updated with any comment from Noeman.
Credit: Mobilize
However, protestors are already planning to publicly oppose the re-opening. A post on the Mobilize website calls for people to “pack the room” at the meeting for “no CoreCivic ICE Facility.”
Minter. Credit: CoreCivic
“This is a classic case of corporate overreach,” reads the post. “Core Civic has been lining the pockets of Tennessee politicians for years leading to harm and destruction of our immigrant communities.”
CoreCivic has not released any public information on a possible move at the detention facility in Mason. However, company leaders said earlier this year they believed the company would see an uptick in detainees thanks to ICE activity. Also, the company named a new warden, Trinity Minter, for the facility in June.
The Memphis Zoo’s only male lion died last week, the zoo announced Monday morning.
The zoo said in a morning Facebook post that Thabo the lion died Thursday at age 16. The lion had surgery that day to remove a bladder stone that had “been causing him significant pain.” The procedure was a “calculated risk,” the zoo said, given Thabo’s age.
“Despite the best efforts of our skilled veterinary and keeper teams, Thabo stopped breathing during recovery, and resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful,” reads the zoo’s post. “Our staff performed heroically, and their grief mirrors that of everyone who knew and loved him.”
Thabo was born at Tulsa Zoo in 2009. For nearly 15 years, the lion was one of the first and last animals to be seen by zoo visitors at the Cat Country exhibit.
“Known for his early morning and evening roars that echoed across the zoo, Thabo embodied the spirit of the King of the Beasts,” the zoo said in its post. “He was not fond of early mornings or rainy days but loved Bone Day enrichment, breezy afternoons, and sharing affectionate head bumps with his pride. His steady gaze and powerful presence inspired awe and sparked a love of lions in guests of all ages.
“Though the roar of Cat Country has quieted, Thabo’s legacy and the happiness he brought will forever echo in the hearts of all who stood in awe of him.”
To honor his memory, the zoo will allow cards and flowers to be placed at the lion statue on the Avenue of Animals, the row of big animal statues at the zoo’s entrance.
Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) announced that lead levels were found at 27 water sources across 24 school campuses.
“MSCS has received laboratory results indicating that 27 individual water sources across 24 school campuses have tested for lead levels at or above 15 parts per billion (ppb),” the district said in a statement. “Of those, specific water sources tested at or above 20 ppb, exceeding the actionable threshold established by law.”
The district said facility kitchen sinks, concession areas and stadiums, ice machines and water have impacted.
Credit: Memphis Shelby County Schools
“These results pertain to individual fixtures and are not representative of the entire school building’s water supply,” the district said.
MSCS said these sources have been taken out of service and will be corrected and retested within 90 days. The district’s nutritional center is also ensuring that “alternative water sources are available in all affected kitchen areas.”
The Board of Education, the Tennessee Department of Education, the Department of Environment and Conservation, the Department of Health, and the Shelby County Health Department have been notified per state law and school board policy.
Parents, students, and staff have also been notified.
“Please be advised, we continue to provide bottled water to affected schools, and all of them have water filtration machines and hand sanitizer, which means students do not ever have to come in contact with the school’s water,” MSCS said.
The way students and parents pay for higher education will change as the Republican-sponsored “One Big Beautiful Bill” legislation is enacted.
On Thursday, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) discussed how President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” would impact higher education. The policy affects federal student-aid asset calculation, loan repayment and limits, and more. The changes coincide with an uptick in tuition and fees for the 2025-2026 academic school year.
Information from the THEC shows that locally, government institutions — such as the University of Memphis — are seeing an average total fee increase of 5.2 percent. Community colleges are averaging 3.5 percent while Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology increased by 3.3 percent.
In June, the University of Memphis Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 4.92 percent for the upcoming school year. School officials said tuition and mandatory fees “support” educational and general operation costs.
“Along with the [tuition] increase, the university is focused on optimizing current resources, including possible budget reductions to provide a successful outcome for every student,” a U of M statement said. The [mandatory fee] increase will fund inflationary cost increases for software and operations, scholarships, technology infrastructure, safety and security, and student success initiatives.
THEC executive director Steven Gentile said that loan-repayment plans have been simplified through Trump’s bill for past, current, and future borrowers during the organization’s quarterly meeting on Thursday.
Borrowers will be put on either an income-driven or standard payment plan. Gentile noted that one of the major changes is that everyone will be required to make payments towards their student loans.
This policy differs from the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan which doesn’t require those at 225 percent of the federal poverty line to make payment towards their loans. Interest does not accrue under SAVE.
Those who took out loans prior to 2014 will now have 15 percent of their discretionary income go towards loan repayment with forgiveness after 25 years. Post 2014 borrowers will have 10% of their income taken out with forgiveness after 20 years.
“The minimum payment is going to be $10,” Gentile said. “This is ensuring that principles are drawn down over time.”
Borrowers will also have loan limits depending on their program starting July 1, 2026.
“Master’s programs (3 years or less) will be capped at $20,500 annually, total of $100,000 lifetime,” THEC said. “Professional programs (MD, Ph.D., JD, etc.) will be capped at $50,000 annually, $200,000 lifetime.”
These caps are in addition to loans taken out during the borrower’s undergraduate career with a $257,000 lifetime limit.
Parent PLUS loans are also being capped at $20,000 annually and $65,000 lifetime per student.
Gentile said the bill also imposes new accountability measures for all institutions. Undergraduates will not be able to take out loans in programs where “majority of completers earn less than the median high school graduate in the state.”
These earnings will be calculated four years after graduation.
Graduate students will be banned from taking out federal student loans for programs where the “majority of completers earn less than a bachelor’s degree recipient in the same field.”
“There are a lot of instances in this bill that make sense,” Gentile said. “We want students to be able to graduate and have a wage that is reflective of having gone in an academic program and putting them in a better spot than they would’ve been if they did not go.”
