Thursday, August 20, 2026

Hospital Mix-Up, More Knoxville Monkeys, and Mocs Gold Lager

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1942, singer and composer Isaac Hayes was born in Covington. Hayes would go on to create the Grammy and Oscar-winning score for the film Shaft.

A cold one is coming to campus: UT Chattanooga debuts Mocs Gold Lager, its first official university beer, this Thursday. Do you think universities should put their name on a beer, or should campus and alcohol stay separate? Hit reply and let us know.

Have you ever done a home remodel and regretted it? Well, you aren't alone. 74% of homeowners who renovated in the last five years wish they'd done something differently, and the most regretted upgrades aren't what you'd expect. Some of the most popular design trends in America made the list. Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla counts down the 10 renovations homeowners regret most and shares the simple tricks that could save you from making the same mistakes. Tune in here!

Later today, watch for a message from our partner Insurify about a quick way to see whether you’re overpaying for car insurance. With rates climbing, a few minutes of comparison shopping could reveal some surprisingly big savings.

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Teacher Minimum Salary Hits $50K This Year

Tennessee's minimum teacher salary rose to $50,000 this school year, a $15,000 jump from the old $35,000 floor.

The increase caps Gov. Bill Lee's 2023 Teacher Paycheck Protection Act, which phased the minimum up from $35,000 in 2019 to $44,500, then $47,000, and now $50,000, a 42% rise over eight years.

Some East Tennessee districts already exceed the floor, with Campbell County starting first-year teachers at $51,750 and Anderson County at $51,000.

Campbell County shed roughly 13 teaching positions, mostly through attrition, to balance its budget against declining enrollment and tighter state funding.

Hospital Drug Mix-Up Leaves Patients Harmed

A medication error at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown in Nashville has harmed at least four patients, with one family saying a 72-year-old woman was left paralyzed from the chest down.

The family says she went in for a routine knee replacement and received potassium chloride instead of the intended anesthetic, bupivacaine, during spinal anesthesia.

Hospital president Dr. Shubhada Jagasia apologized to the families, said the cause was identified and corrective safeguards were put in place, and reported the incident to state regulators the same day.

Local reporting indicates the syringes were filled at the pharmacy with potassium, which can be lethal, instead of the anesthetic. The hospital declined to release clinical details, citing privacy, and an investigation continues.

New Recess Law Collides With Triple-Digit Heat

Tennessee's new recess law is straining some districts as students return to class during a stretch of dangerous, triple-digit heat indexes.

The law, which took effect July 1, requires elementary students to get at least 40 minutes of daily physical activity, up from the previous 130 minutes per week, and bars schools from withholding it as punishment.

With heat advisories common in the first weeks of school, districts like Wilson and Cheatham counties have moved recess indoors, leaving teachers to supervise crowds in gyms, hallways, and cafeterias.

One educator group says the crunch has renewed talk of pushing back the start of the school year and adding air conditioning to older buildings and buses.

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➤ Statewide: A Trump administration proposal to scrap the 25-year-old Roadless Rule could open thousands of acres of the Cherokee National Forest to logging and road construction. (More)

➤ Townsend: Great Smoky Mountains National Park is asking the public to help track invasive Joro spiders, now spotted in and around Cades Cove as they spread north. (See Details)

➤ Knoxville: The City Council gave first approval to an ordinance capping residents at four dogs and four cats and extending limits to pet monkeys. A second reading comes in two weeks. (More)

➤ Memphis: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital named Charles W.M. Roberts as its new president and CEO, taking the helm at what he called a pivotal moment for the institution. (More)

➤ Knox County: The school district opened an internal investigation after two students left Farragut Primary without permission. Both are safe, and the school has been in contact with their families. (More)

➤ Hickman County: Families are devastated after someone bulldozed the 19th-century Neely Cemetery, clearing about 22 grave markers and discarding headstones in the woods. The sheriff's office says it's actively investigating. (More)

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➤ The Lady Vols basketball team will wear Axle Logistics jersey patches this season as part of a five-year, $15 million deal. It's the program's first jersey sponsorship since the NCAA approved corporate patches. (More)

➤ The Nashville Predators unveiled their 2026-27 theme night schedule, headlined by a season-long celebration of legendary goaltender Pekka Rinne's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rinne's official induction night is on Nov. 3, his birthday. (More)

➤ The Tennessee Titans signed former UFL cornerback Corey Mayfield Jr. this week, their fifth defensive back addition since training camp opened. The moves come as cornerback Nazeeh Johnson faces a six-game suspension for violating the league's PED policy. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, the Titans also launched a personalized brick program for the new Nissan Stadium, letting fans engrave their name in the West Plaza. Packages start at $150, with net proceeds going to the Titans Foundation. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Tennis | WNBA | Little League World Series | Soccer

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➤ TVA, Kairos Power, and Google announced a partnership to supply clean energy in Tennessee and Alabama through an advanced nuclear reactor by 2030. (More)

➤ A group opposing racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway unveiled renderings for a 25-acre redevelopment with a large park and affordable housing, part of a petition drive to put racing's future on the ballot. (More)

➤ A petition to allow retail liquor stores in Lenoir City nears its Thursday deadline, needing 209 verified signatures to reach the November ballot. The organizer has gathered 175 so far. (More)

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➤ Chattanooga is joining the world's most prestigious trail-running series, adding a race to its lineup on the circuit. (See Details)

➤ Knoxville Area Rescue Mission announced the opening date for its annual KARM Christmas store, with the first location on Clinton Highway. (More)

➤ UT Chattanooga will debut Mocs Gold Lager, its first official campus beer, on Thursday at the Mocs Football Fan Fest, with sales at campus venues and select retailers. (More)

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➤ Scientists Alarmed: If Your Memory Is Slipping, This Can Happen In 30 Days. Your slipping memory may be a warning sign of something much bigger. Discover what's happening inside your brain - and the simple step you can take before it's too late. See What's Damaging Your Memory.

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:

➤ Remodeling triggers regret in 74% of homeowners, with these 10 “upgrades” causing the most trouble. (Hear Details)

➤ American forces are reportedly running a secret nightly operation to move millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. (Hear Episode)

➤ Russia has placed RFK Jr.'s son on its most wanted list over accusations that he fought for Ukraine. (Listen Now)

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Your procrastination just got smarter

"Five minutes each week that might change your life."

A lot of people think that AI is like a magic wand that can suddenly make them insanely productive. But it's not.

In fact, I think AI is quickly becoming the most sophisticated form of procrastination.

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you:

You sit down to write a memo. But instead of writing it, you spend 45 minutes crafting the perfect prompt, tweaking it, regenerating it, tweaking it again.

And then you end up with 2,000 words that are fine… but have some issues.

So then you spend the next two hours revising and editing all the errors out of the AI output.

And the next thing you know, you've ended up with a so-so memo that kind of sounds like you.

But now you've spent as much time generating and fixing it as if you had just written it from scratch yourself.

But you felt like you were saving time because the AI was doing things.

I recently went through this with Claude Code.

I was staying up until midnight and working through the weekends building agents that I thought were going to automate half of my business.

What I ended up with was a bunch of clunky software that I was spending more time fixing than if I had just done the work myself to begin with.

So AI is genuinely powerful.

But only if you've already done the hard cognitive work of knowing what you're making.

If you haven't done that work, then AI doesn't help you skip it.

It just helps you hide from it more comfortably.

See you Monday,
Mark

P.S. AI is only as useful as the thinking you put in first. But once you've done that thinking, the next question is which tools are actually worth your time. The Rundown AI can answer that for you. It's a free daily newsletter that breaks down what matters in AI, and how to use it, in just five minutes. After you sign up, a 60-second quiz gives you personalized recommendations for the thing you're actually trying to build. Two million people read it, including me. Sign up for free.

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About this newsletter: You are receiving this email because you signed up to my free newsletter. Each week, I send you a few powerful ideas, a few questions to ask yourself, and a few things to try in your life. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter and all other updates from me, you can unsubscribe here.

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CLT People Mover, UNC Names QB, and New Scarowinds Events

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1863, 13 veteran soldiers from the 3rd North Carolina Infantry slipped into the woods that night with rifles and cartridge belts after the Gettysburg defeat, a point of no return detailed by one of the deserters, John Futch, in his dictated letters.

A new analysis of federal data reveals that women are being admitted to UNC system colleges and universities at a higher rate than men. Learn more in Top Stories.

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People Mover Studied for Charlotte Airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport wants to connect its terminals to the city’s planned Silver Line light rail with a 1-mile automated “people mover.”

Under designs airport leaders released last week, travelers would ride the Silver Line to a new stop on Wilkinson Boulevard, then transfer to the people mover for a roughly 7-minute ride to the terminals. Officials said it could resemble a self-driving bus, train, or cable liner, with stops at parking lots and the rental car center.

Airport leaders said running light rail directly to the terminals isn’t realistic, citing construction challenges and the need to leave room for future terminals.

Construction on the people mover could begin in 2030 and be completed by 2032. The airport projects local passenger traffic will jump from 19.3 million flyers in 2025 to 35.7 million by 2050.

Feds Move to Lift Roadless Rule

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rescinding the 25-year-old Roadless Rule, opening nearly 152,000 protected acres in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests to potential roads and logging.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the 2001 rule locked forests away from treatments that reduce wildfire risk, and that rescinding it returns decisions to local forest managers. The department said the change does not mandate any logging or road building.

Conservation groups pushed back, with Will Harlan of the Center for Biological Diversity calling the move “the largest evisceration of public lands in American history,” and warning it threatens some of the wildest land in Western North Carolina.

Both sides will get their say: a public comment period runs from Aug. 19 to Sept. 21. The USDA said about 99% of comments in last fall’s earlier round opposed the change.

Women Admitted at Higher UNC Rates

Women were admitted at higher rates than men at 10 of 15 University of North Carolina System campuses in 2024, according to a new analysis of federal data.

The gap was widest at NC State, where 46% of female applicants were admitted versus 38% of male applicants, according to federal figures—a divide that has widened since 2016.

Analysts urged caution about the cause, saying the numbers can’t yet show whether the gap reflects women’s stronger applications or bias in admissions offices. They noted the underlying federal figures don’t include applicants’ GPAs or test scores.

The pattern fits a broader trend: women made up the majority of applicants at nearly every system school, while more men are choosing trade and vocational programs over four-year college.

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➤ Statewide: North Carolina’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education held nearly two hours of its July 27 meeting in Zoom breakout rooms the public couldn't access, which open-government advocates say may have violated the state’s Open Meetings Law. (More)

➤ Coastal NC: Tolls are coming to every North Carolina ferry route starting Jan. 1, 2027, under a 2026 state law. NCDOT has launched a website outlining planned fares and a public-input process. (More and Submit Input)

➤ Western NC: President Trump endorsed state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, R- Henderson, for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in an Aug. 17 Truth Social post. Republicans picked Balkcom to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards on the November ballot. (More)

➤ Statesville: Terrell Williams, 44, of Georgia, is charged with burglarizing the home of former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle after learning Biffle and his family died in a December plane crash. Authorities say he stole $30,000 in cash, firearms, NASCAR memorabilia, and coins. (More)

➤ Greensboro: Two co-defendants in the killing of off-duty Greensboro police Sgt. Philip Dale Nix were sentenced Monday. John Walter Morrison got 15 to 20 years for accessory after the fact, and Z'quriah Blackwell received 16-29 months. Gunman Jamere Foster was sentenced earlier to 25 to 32 years. (More)

➤ Duke University: The Department of War ordered the university—one of 30 institutions targeted—to audit its foreign ties or risk losing federal funding. Duke must identify all foreign collaborations, evaluate any links to “entities of concern,” and take steps to mitigate them. (More)

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➤ North Carolina football named Billy Edwards Jr. its starting quarterback for the season opener, ending a camp-long competition. Edwards won the job despite a rough weekend scrimmage that had raised questions about the position. (More)

➤ Charlotte ranked 16th out of 30 NFL markets in a new Nielsen fan passion index that tracked TV viewership, radio, merchandise, and five other metrics. Buffalo, Kansas City, and Green Bay topped the list. (More)

➤ UNC men's basketball coach Michael Malone said he turned down the job three times before conversations with Hall of Famer Roy Williams changed his mind. Malone called the UNC job the only college position he would consider. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Tennis | WNBA | Little League World Series | Soccer

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➤ Wyda Packaging USA, a Brazilian aluminum manufacturer, is preparing to expand in Charlotte, saying deals with new and existing clients could require it to triple its local output. Sales and marketing head Celeste Costa cited rising U.S. demand. (More)

➤ North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said the state’s growing aviation reputation, highlighted by JetZero’s $4.7 billion Greensboro project, depends on developing shovel-ready sites and strengthening workforce training. (More)

➤ A Superior Court judge announced Tuesday that he will not compel former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to give sworn testimony in a lawsuit by bar owners challenging his COVID-era orders that kept bars closed longer than other alcohol-serving businesses. (More)

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➤ A bear attack in northern Buncombe County left one person injured and headed to the hospital Tuesday evening, with the Reems Creek Fire Department leading the response. (More)

➤ SCarowinds—Carowinds’ Halloween event—is adding eight new experiences this year, headlined by “Jason: Blood Reign,” a haunted maze drawn from the Friday the 13th films. SCarowinds runs select nights from Sept. 11 through Nov. 1. (More)

➤ Currituck County commissioners designated the Boswood-Morris House, built in 1901 on Caratoke Highway, a local historic landmark. The current owner, Rhonda Morris, is a 10th-generation Currituck native and a member of the fourth generation to live in the house. (See Photo)

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➤ Remodeling triggers regret in 74% of homeowners, with these 10 “upgrades” causing the most trouble. (Hear Details)

➤ American forces are reportedly running a secret nightly operation to move millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. (Hear Episode)

➤ Russia has placed RFK Jr.'s son on its most wanted list over accusations that he fought for Ukraine. (Listen Now)