Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Toxic Worms, Golf Cart Crimes, and a Tennessee-Filmed Sitcom

Tennessee agriculture officials are receiving more reports of hammerhead worms across the state, and want residents to know the invasive flatworms are toxic to touch and should never be cut in half, since cutting one creates more worms as they regenerate from fragments.                
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Top Stories

Article Icon 1Memphis DA Declines to Prosecute DEA Agent

The Shelby County District Attorney will not pursue charges against the DEA agent who fatally shot a man inside a Memphis Burger King in May, concluding the use of deadly force was legally justified.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Memphis Safe Task Force officers went to the restaurant to serve a warrant when Darrin Pigram reached for a gun in his waistband, leading a DEA agent to open fire.

Pigram, who was working a shift when officers entered, was shot eight times. The family's attorney says surveillance video doesn't show the aggressive actions agents described to investigators. 

The DA's declination letter acknowledged in a footnote that camera footage of a key moment "does not support" the agents' claims of aggressive action at a doorway. Pigram's death was the first of four fatal shootings this year by officers assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force.

Article Icon 1Hammerhead Worms Spreading across TN

Tennessee agriculture officials are receiving more reports of hammerhead worms across the state, and want residents to know the invasive flatworms are toxic to touch and should never be cut in half, since cutting one creates more worms as they regenerate from fragments.

Native to Southeast Asia and believed to have arrived in the U.S. in the early 1900s through nursery plant soil, hammerhead worms prey on earthworms, which are essential for healthy soil. 

The worms are easy to spot: flat, ribbon-like bodies, usually brown or gray with stripes, and a distinctive half-moon-shaped head.

If you find one, officials say to use gloves or a stick to place it in a sealed bag, then kill it with salt, rubbing alcohol, or a citrus oil and vinegar spray, and inspect new plants and soil before adding them to your yard to prevent the pest from spreading.

Article Icon 1Mom Delivers Baby in Car Wash Parking Lot

A Union County woman gave birth early Monday morning in a Knoxville car wash parking lot after realizing she couldn't make it to the hospital in time. Her husband caught the baby and carefully unwrapped the umbilical cord from the newborn's neck before the ambulance arrived ten minutes later.

Sarah Powers said she and her husband Ivan left their Union County home around 1 a.m. and made it as far as Broadway before she told him to pull over near the PureMagic Car Wash because she couldn't hold back any longer.

Ivan delivered baby Laiklynn, who weighed 7 pounds, on the side of the road while on the phone with a 911 operator, then drove his wife and daughter to the hospital, where both were confirmed healthy.

"We got all the tests done to make sure both of us were good and we were both healthy and thriving," Powers said. "It was definitely an unexpected experience!"

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The Flyover

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Around Tennessee

➤ Statewide: A new report says Tennessee consumers can pay off their median credit card balance in just under a year, ranking the state among the country's most financially resilient for debt management. (More)

➤ Williamson County: The Tennessee Supreme Court has permanently disbarred an attorney for harassing a judge and helping a client hide her child from police after an Amber Alert was issued. (More)

➤ Chattanooga: Demolition of AT&T Field begins tomorrow as the former Lookouts stadium clears the way for Hawk Hill, a planned neighborhood with restaurants and green space. (See Renderings)

➤ Knoxville: A man is facing four felonies after stealing a University of Tennessee golf cart on July 4, threatening a couple, then flipping the cart on Alcoa Highway before being arrested. (More)

➤ Nashville: Belmont University's medical school has been placed on accreditation probation and cannot advance for at least two years. The school is now offering refunds to students who wish to disenroll. (More)

➤ Greeneville: High school art students painted a mural celebrating important women, saw it graffitied with profanity overnight, and restored it themselves that same night. (See Mural)


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Tennessee Carolina Sports

The Tennessee Titans will induct former running back Chris Johnson into their Ring of Honor during the season opener on Sept. 13. Johnson, who set the NFL record for yards from scrimmage in a season with 2,509 in 2009, revealed last month that he’s been diagnosed with ALS. (More)

Titans quarterback Cam Ward's hometown of West Columbia, Texas, is renaming a street in his honor. North 17th Street, where his mother grew up, will now become “Cam Ward Way.” (More)

The Titans' new Nissan Stadium will be the first venue to deploy a next-generation Wi-Fi system using hyper-directional antenna technology built to cover every corner of the 60,000-seat stadium. (More)

The Nashville Predators rank sixth all-time among NHL franchises in regular-season point percentage according to an analysis of the league's historical standings. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB

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Tennessee Business

➤ Tennessee has joined two major agricultural export councils to help expand international markets for soybeans, the state's top commodity crop by gross dollar value. (More)

➤ Twelve people, including Nike employees, face federal indictments for allegedly stealing at least $2 million in merchandise from Nike's Memphis logistics center and reselling it nationwide. (More

➤ Costco is coming to Montgomery County after previous plans to bring the retailer to Clarksville fell through. The location is pending final county commission approval. (More)

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Whether you're paying down existing balances or planning a large purchase, this offer can help you save on interest while earning cash back on everyday spending. See if you qualify and take advantage of this limited-time opportunity today.

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Et Cetera

➤ A new biography of Knoxville native Cormac McCarthy arrives Oct. 6. University of Tennessee librarians are cataloguing nearly 20,000 books acquired earlier this year from the Pulitzer Prize winner's personal library. (More)

Joint Custody, a new half-hour comedy about the struggles of almost-30-somethings, is in production in the Jackson area, with filming set for Milan this fall. (See Details)

➤ Four Tennessee cities made a new list of the nation's best for first-time homebuyers. Knoxville, Memphis, Murfreesboro, and Nashville all ranked among the top 300 cities evaluated. (More)

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➤ Coffee vs Hot Cacao vs Green Tea:  Which of these hot drinks was proven in a study boost stem cells by 220% in 30 days?  Billionaires drop 6 figures on stem cell therapy, but this hot drink costs 50 cents a day and boosts anti-aging stem cells improving heart health, blood pressure, and longevity.

The Flyover Podcast

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Forecasters warn a record-strength El Niño could decide whether your state floods or dries out. (Hear Details)

Mass shootings swept through eight states last weekend, leaving dozens of victims as investigators continue to search for suspects. (Hear Episode)

The Secret Service officer who took a bullet stopping a gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is being honored. (Listen Now)

  

The Poll

Have you ever read something written by Cormac McCarthy?

  1. Yes, multiple works
  2. Yes, one work
  3. I'm not sure
  4. No, nothing

 

Previous Results:

Do you shop at farmers markets?

  1. Occasionally: 45%
  2. Not really: 24%
  3. Yes, often: 19%
  4. I do now: 12%
North Carolina Trivia

What natural process creates the blue mist that gives the Smoky Mountains their name?

Show me the answer

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Medicaid Freeze, Pan Am Wreck Found, and a Star-Spangled Smack

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday the federal government is freezing more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud.
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The Flyover Podcast

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

Forecasters warn a record-strength El Niño could decide whether your state floods or dries out. (Hear Details)

Mass shootings swept through eight states last weekend, leaving dozens of victims as investigators continue to search for suspects. (Hear Episode)

The Secret Service officer who took a bullet stopping a gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is being honored. (Listen Now)

Politics

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said a software error improperly registered about 6,600 noncitizens to vote in 2023 and 2024, with hundreds of them having cast ballots in elections. (More)

FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly planning to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg in October, with Russia's Federal Security Service expected to host, the first such trip by an FBI director since Robert Mueller in 2013. (More)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with President Trump at the White House Tuesday to press for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon under a U.S.-brokered disarmament framework. (More)

President Trump said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form" in the U.S., rejecting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's threat to detain the Israeli leader during a planned September visit to the UN. (More)

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The Flyover

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It's not about expecting the worst. It's about giving yourself the peace of mind to stop checking your phone every hour, knowing they're never truly alone.

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Sports

FIFA opened a disciplinary investigation into the brawl that broke out between Argentine and Spanish players after Sunday's World Cup final. (See Video)

➤ ESPN laid off a wave of on-air talent yesterday as part of Disney's integration of NFL Network. Former NFL MVP Cam Newton, 33-year-old MLB voice Karl Ravech, and NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero were among those let go. (More)

LIV Golf is being sued for more than $1 million by a Canadian tech company alleging that LIV failed to pay more than $925,000 in fees for the 2026 season and then dropped the product entirely for its final six events. (More)

➤ Topps is turning the famous 2007 photo of a 20-year-old Lionel Messi holding a six-month-old Lamine Yamal into a one-of-one trading card. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB

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Finance

Trend Line Daily Market Report  07/21/2026

NASDAQ
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
25,837.21
1.29%
SPX
S&P 500
7,509.20
0.89%
DJI
Dow Jones Industrial Average
52,224.82
0.74%
BTC
Bitcoin
$66,386.89
1.77%
GOLD
Per Ounce
$4,088.10
1.94%
SILVER
Per Ounce
$59.03
3.92%
OIL
West Texas Intermediate Crude
$84.68
1.74%
AEHR
Aehr Test Systems
$98.91
+27.86%
Bitcoin, gold, silver, and oil are traded 24 hours a day.

➤ Big Stock Move: Aehr Test Systems stock jumped nearly 28% on Tuesday on momentum from the semiconductor testing company's better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings last week. (More)

➤ Novo Nordisk is suing Eli Lilly for alleged false advertising, claiming the rival drugmaker used outdated clinical trial data to make its GLP-1 weight-loss drugs appear more effective than Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic. (More)

➤ Lindt is heading toward its worst quarterly performance in 17 years as consumers push back against the nearly 20% price hikes the chocolatier imposed to offset surging cocoa costs. (More)

➤ Netflix revealed in a new SEC filing that it paid $587 million in cash for movie star Ben Affleck's AI film tech company InterPositive, which the streaming giant acquired in March. (More)

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Science & Technology

➤ NASA confirmed its planned nuclear-powered Mars mission will cost roughly $2.1 billion. The spacecraft, targeting a late 2028 launch, would carry three helicopters to the Red Planet. (More)

A Greenland shark that washed up on the Irish coast in April, the first ever stranded there, gave scientists a rare look at the world's longest-living vertebrate, who can survive around 400 years. (Meet the Methuselah)

Middle-aged adults who watched the most television showed smaller brain regions tied to memory and decision-making decades later, according to a study of roughly 1,700 people. (More)

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Pentagon Eye Doctor: Vision Loss Doesn't Start in Your Eyes. A hidden gut toxin, not aging, is silently destroying your eyesight. Discover the eye detox military researchers say restores clearer vision and helps protect your eyes before permanent damage sets in. (Learn More)

The Rotator

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by:

The Flyover

"How was work today?" is a conversation killer, one therapist says. She offers seven questions she says the strongest couples ask each other every evening instead. (See Questions)

Kids raised in the 1970s and '80s mastered eight everyday skills by age 12 that more contemporary kids were never taught. A few might surprise you. (See List)

There are six types of motivation, and knowing yours can help you hit your goals faster, psychologists say. See which one drives you. (Find Out)

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Et Cetera

A viral video showed a Cubs fan smacking a younger man on the head for sitting during the national anthem. The fan, a Vietnam veteran, says the two later made amends over a beer. (More)

A pudgy raccoon named Jimothy became Seattle's newest celebrity after a video of his unusually round physique racked up 5 million views in days. (See Video)

A tiny Pomeranian named Twinkie set a world record by leaping through her trainer's arms 10 times in 7.48 seconds. The pair holds 19 record titles together. (Watch Dog)

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Poll Position

How old were you when you got married?

  1. Under 21
  2. 21-25
  3. 26-30
  4. Over 30
  5. Which time?
  6. Still waiting for the right one
 

Yesterday's Results:

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?

  1. Two or three: 41%
  2. Just the one: 22%
  3. None: 19%
  4. Four or more: 13%
  5. It's an IV drip: 5%

Quote BoxDaily Quote

Quote

"The scammers got paid. The taxpayers got stuck with these enormous bills."

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on freezing Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud

TriviaToday's Trivia

What's the tallest grass in the world?

Show me the answer

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Record El Niño Threat, Weekend Mass Shootings, Secret Service Hero Honored

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