Saturday, June 6, 2026

Good Morning! On this date in 1862, the First Battle of Memphis took place during the Civil War. It was a naval battle between the Union Mississippi River Squadron and the Confederate “River Defense Fleet” that resulted in the surrender of the City of Memphis and opening up the Mississippi River to Union transport and gunboats to Vicksburg.

This Tennessee town's tourism is rebounding strongly after pandemic-era declines. See which city in Around Tennessee.

A fast food restaurant is taking a victory lap after the candidate it endorsed beat a Trump-backed rival, handing the president his first major statewide primary loss of the 2026 midterms. So how did a burger chain end up in a governor's race, and why is it bragging now? Today on The Flyover Podcast, Christopher Lyon digs into the story and the politics behind it. Tune in here!

Today’s sponsor, EnergyX, is positioning itself at the center of America’s growing lithium boom with patented extraction technology, major industry backing, and access to millions of tons of untapped lithium reserves across the Americas.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog, your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Commission Examines Winter Storm Response

The Winter Storm Response Commission held a three-hour hearing questioning Nashville Electric Service (NES) over its response to January's ice storm, which killed three people and cut power to more than 230,000 customers.

Commission members pressed NES on communication failures—including texts wrongly saying power was restored—plus coordination breakdowns and restoration delays that left some residents powerless for nearly two weeks.

CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said NES has rebuilt its emergency and communications plans and is testing underground power lines in four neighborhoods, while members urged broader outreach such as televised announcements for elderly residents.

The commission will compile factual findings and deliver recommendations to the mayor by late summer.

New Opioid Killing Knox County Residents

A synthetic opioid called cychlorphine—reportedly 10 times more potent than fentanyl—has been linked to 50 suspected overdose deaths in Knox County, according to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center.

The Knox County Medical Examiner says cychlorphine-positive cases have spiked sharply in recent months. The drug has been appearing in multiple states, raising alarm among health officials and law enforcement across East Tennessee.

Cychlorphine is not yet as well-known as fentanyl, but toxicologists warn its extreme potency makes even small amounts potentially fatal. The Knoxville area has struggled with opioid deaths for years, and the emergence of this drug marks a dangerous new chapter.

Local health officials have not yet issued formal public warnings, but investigators say the spike in cychlorphine deaths is being treated as an urgent public health concern.

CMA Fest is in Full Swing

CMA Fest is roaring through downtown Nashville this weekend, packing Nissan Stadium with fans from across the country—and around the world—for four nights of country music’s biggest annual party.

The festival runs through Sunday, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees to Music City. Nashville’s streets, honky-tonks, and venues have been humming all week as the country music faithful make their annual pilgrimage to the Volunteer State.

CMA Fest generated a record $86 million in estimated visitor spending last year, according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. In addition to being a boost for the local economy each year, the festival gives artists a chance to connect directly with fans in a way that no arena tour can replicate. If you’re heading to downtown Nashville today or tomorrow, expect crowds, live music spilling out of every corner, and a whole lot of cowboy boots.

The Hidden Cost of ChatGPT: A Lithium Crisis

That ChatGPT answer you just got? It ran on electricity. A lot of it.

OpenAI's data centers consume more power than some small countries, and every one of them runs rows of lithium-ion battery backup systems to keep servers alive if the grid hiccups.

The world isn't producing enough lithium to keep up. And one company is making major moves to fill the gap.

EnergyX just announced plans for a second lithium project in the United States, sitting on approximately 2.4 million tons of lithium in Utah. They're projecting $600M+ in annual revenue at full scale, and retail investors can currently claim an early-stage stake.

Here's why the timing matters.

Demand is projected to hit 5.5 million tons by 2040. And that was before the AI buildout got priced in.

McKinsey now projects battery demand growing 30% annually through 2030. The supply gap is widening and not going away.

EnergyX is positioned at the center of it.

Invest before the 7/16 deadline.

➤ Nashville: Gunshot victims in the city are down significantly in 2026 compared to prior years, according to Metro Public Health data released on Friday. Officials note both incidents and victims have declined, though age-group patterns are shifting. (More)

➤ Memphis: Downtown tourism is rebounding strongly after pandemic-era declines, with visitors returning to Beale Street and other downtown destinations, according to a new economic report. (More)

➤ Statewide: About 80% of Tennessee remains in moderate to severe drought despite weeks of rain, per NOAA data. Nashville briefly exited drought conditions, but East Tennessee lake levels sit at the fourth-lowest runoff on record. (More)

➤ Chattanooga: Spain’s national soccer team—led by teenage phenom Lamine Yamal—has arrived in the Scenic City to use a local high school as their World Cup base camp. (More)

➤ Martin: After the Tennessee Soybean Festival—one of West Tennessee's signature summer events—was canceled, a grassroots effort was made to bring it back. The community has organized a smaller alternative festival that will be held from September 10-12 at Virginia Weldon Park. (More)

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➤ The Memphis Tigers will put $9 million of its revenue-sharing budget into men's basketball next season and $7 million into football—a rare instance of a school spending more on their basketball roster than football. (More)

➤ Tennessee's student-athletes posted a record 3.47 GPA in the spring semester, the school’s best-ever spring mark. (More)

➤ Vanderbilt landed a commitment from four-star offensive tackle Jasper Ngokwere, a 2027 Texas recruit who picked the Commodores over Texas and Texas Tech. (More)

➤ Tennessee baseball dismissed pitching coach Josh Reynolds after just one season. The Vols' 4.72 team ERA was their highest since 2013. (More)

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Discovered: 328 Years Worth of Lithium

The United States just discovered a massive lithium reserve in the Appalachia region, a 328-year supply based on America’s 2025 import totals.

With Morgan Stanley forecasting an 80,000-ton shortage this year alone, the sooner we can tap into it the better.

For companies like EnergyX, that spells opportunity.

Their patented technology can recover lithium 500X faster than traditional methods. It's why industry leaders like General Motors have already invested.

Now, they hold rights to up to 13 million tons of untapped lithium across the Americas. And they just announced plans for their second U.S. lithium production facility.

All of which puts them on the short list of companies capable of turning massive reserves into fast results.

Claim your piece of this lithium boom as an early-stage EnergyX investor before the 7/16 deadline.

➤ Singer Lainey Wilson dropped a new single, “Phone, Keys, Wallet,” featuring some unexpected guitar work from musician John Mayer—a Nashville-to-everywhere collaboration that’s generating serious buzz in the music world. (More)

➤ Actor Matt Damon revealed he spent a month bartending incognito at a Knoxville bar in 1997 before filming The Rainmaker to learn the local Southern accent in preparation for his movie role. (More)

➤ A street in South Memphis was renamed in honor of local businessman, James A. Bridges Sr., recognizing decades of investment in the neighborhood by a community pillar who many call an unsung hero of South Memphis. (More)

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➤ Scientists are taking a closer look at a little-known herb after studies suggested it may help reactivate dormant hair follicles, even later in life. What surprised researchers most wasn't just the results...It was that this herb outperformed some of the most popular commercial hair growth treatments. Read the full story here.