Friday, September 4, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1991, country singer-songwriter Dottie West, known for writing advertising jingles like Coca-Cola’s 1970s Country Sunshine campaign, died in Nashville after a car crash.

What are your plans for Labor Day Weekend? Hit reply to let us know. If you're wondering what road travel may look like during the holiday rush, today's Top Stories has you covered.

Today’s sponsor is AutoCamp, bringing boutique hotel comfort to the growing outdoor lodging market through major partnerships with Hilton and Airstream while offering investors a chance to participate in its expansion.

Guide: Labor Day Travel

TDOT will halt all lane-closure work on interstates and state routes at noon today. Crews resume at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Work zones stay active even without closures. Drivers convicted of speeding where workers are present face fines of $250 to $500, plus court fees and possible insurance increases.

AAA's Tow to Go program runs 6 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Tuesday, giving both driver and vehicle a free ride to a safe spot within 10 miles.

A heat advisory for several counties remains in place today, though Sunday and Monday will be slightly cooler, with rain chances and highs in the upper 80s.

Tiny-Home Buyers Sue Developer

Residents of three Tennessee tiny-home communities allege developer Claude "Chip" Hayes III kept control of their homeowners associations long past the required handover point.

Governing documents ended developer control five years after the first outside lot sale or once 75% of lots had sold. Homeowners contend Hayes stayed in charge well beyond that.

Lots at Deer Lick Falls, Water's Edge, and Sunset Bluff were marketed with hiking trails, kayak access, a clubhouse, and a saltwater pool. Owners say the pool was never built.

At Sunset Bluff, owners voted Hayes out, elected their own board, and joined a lawsuit seeking $5 million in damages plus control of association funds and records.

City Employees Wrangle Escaped Emus

Morristown city employees drew an unusual assignment Wednesday when three of them headed to Calloway Circle to round up two escaped emus.

Emus are the world's second-tallest flightless birds, trailing only the ostrich. The city said the birds appeared just as surprised by the encounter as the crews were. See photos here.

This isn't East Tennessee's first emu headline. In 2023, a bird named MeeMoo led Harriman police on a slow-speed chase after clearing a seven-foot fence.

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Hilton Hotels Enter High-Growth World of Outdoor Lodging

Hilton Hotels didn't become a global hospitality giant by standing still. When they see a category worth backing, they move.

So it didn’t take long for them to form a first-of-its-kind partnership with AutoCamp.

AutoCamp brings boutique hotel comfort to the great outdoors, an industry estimated to be $732B. As the first outdoor lodging brand ever bookable on Hilton.com, AutoCamp’s 700+ rooms are in front of 200M+ Hilton Honors members who can earn and redeem points on every stay.

In fact, direct AutoCamp bookings on the Hilton channel are up 30% year-over-year.

It’s not just Hilton Hotels partnering with Autocamp, either. Iconic American travel brand Airstream also formed an exclusive partnership. In total, AutoCamp’s model has earned more than $150M in location revenue since inception.

For investors, it's a signal: some of the travel industry’s largest players are partnering with AutoCamp in the outdoor lodging race. Become an AutoCamp shareholder before they expand to 10,000+ rooms.

➤ Statewide: Tennessee added nearly 64,000 residents from 2024 to 2025, a 0.88% rise to more than 7.3 million, according to a SmartAsset analysis of Census Bureau estimates. (More)

➤ Also Statewide: A federal court upheld Tennessee's law barring judicial officers from weighing a defendant's ability to pay when setting bail, though employment and finances may still be considered. (More)

➤ Carter County: The parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes, found dead in South Carolina, were arrested in the county Tuesday. Each faces charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk. (More)

➤ Sevier County: Public defenders asked a judge to disqualify District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn's office, arguing he could not rescind a retirement the governor had already accepted. (More)

➤ Greeneville: An ICE operation involving federal, state, and local agencies led to several arrests Wednesday. The agency said the investigation remains active. (More)

➤ Nashville: Fewer than 32% of Nashville third- through eighth-graders scored proficient in English on 2026 state tests, roughly 10 points below the statewide average. (More)

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➤ Titans coach Robert Saleh has staked his job on quarterback Cam Ward's development, with Ward entering his second season as starter after a three-win 2025. (More)

➤ No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 24 Louisville meet Sunday at Nissan Stadium in the first Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff, the weekend's only ranked matchup. (More)

➤ ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers named Tennessee's opener against Furman his one upset-alert pick, citing freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon and a rebuilt defense under Jim Knowles. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: US Open | MLB | NCAAF | Soccer

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➤ Wilson County cattle farmers say calves are selling about 25% cheaper than two months ago and worry a 90-day lift on beef import tariffs will squeeze fall profits. (More)

➤ Switzerland-based UBS, the world’s largest private bank, downgraded the stock for Spanish construction firm Ferrovial over the group’s deal to build and operate toll lanes from downtown Nashville to a point near Murfreesboro. (More)

➤ Kilgore Flares Company, a defense manufacturer in Toone, will permanently lay off 127 workers on Oct. 31, according to a WARN notice filed with the state labor department. (More)

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How Solving Camping’s Biggest Problem Earned $150M+

Most people love the idea of being outdoors. Almost nobody loves what it takes to get there.

Campsites book months in advance. Gear’s expensive and collects dust. RV ownership’s a financial and logistical burden. Hotels are comfortable, but lose the very thing people were chasing in the first place.

AutoCamp solves all that. Guests arrive with a suitcase, check in like a hotel, and wake up at an iconic outdoor destination like Yosemite or Joshua Tree. But instead of hard ground and outhouses, they have a boutique room or custom-designed Airstream trailer with a spa-inspired bathroom.

And travelers can’t get enough, with 1M+ happy campers so far. That’s earned $150M+ in location revenue for property owners operating with the Company’s Brands since inception.

Now you can invest as AutoCamp works to scale from 9 locations to 100+.

This is a paid advertisement for AutoCamp's Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.autocamp.com

➤ A fourth grader at Newport Grammar School raised $11,000 for his principal’s daughter after she was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer. (Read Story)

➤ A 5-year-old Knoxville girl being treated for leukemia joined country music singer Emily Ann Roberts on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Tuesday night. (Read Story)

➤ The National Civil Rights Museum named Fred D. Gray, Shavon Arline-Bradley, Bakari Sellers, and Nneka Ogwumike as honorees for its 35th Freedom Award. (More)

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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.

➤ The U.S. military destroyed another vessel accused of refueling drug traffickers off the coast of South America. (Full Story)

➤ Popular baby wipes have been recalled after federal testing revealed bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections in infants. (Hear Details)

➤ The nation's largest school district has pulled the plug on artificial intelligence for most of its students. (Listen Now)