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What Nashville is talking about
police shooting
Jason William Sexton, 54, was fatally shot by Metro Nashville Police SWAT Officer Joshua Baney on Aug. 29 after a prolonged standoff on Cheshire Drive in North Nashville. Police said Sexton was armed with a sword and that a woman was being held in his vehicle; the woman later gave WSMV a firsthand account of escalating abuse and threats but disputed that she had initially been kidnapped. Baney was decommissioned pending separate investigations by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and MNPD. The incident has also prompted questions about the availability and role of mental-health crisis responders during the standoff.
via wpln.org·13h agoDetails →
healthcare
A medication mix-up at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown during routine surgeries in August seriously injured four patients, with at least two reported as paralyzed. The incident has become part of Williamson County’s debate over a proposed $950 million sale of Williamson Health to Ascension Saint Thomas. Separately, Tennessee’s Civil Justice Act of 2011 generally caps noneconomic damages at $750,000, with a $1 million cap for paralysis.
via newschannel5.com·13h agoDetails →
child safety
Smyrna police responded to a medical call involving a child death at a Lake Farm Road home on August 29. Tennessee child-services and law-enforcement agencies are investigating, while the Tennessee Department of Human Services has described the operation as allegedly illegal or unlicensed; authorities have not released a cause of death or announced an arrest.
via wsmv.com·13h agoDetails →
artificial intelligence
Jason Isbell, David Lowery, Guy Forsyth and Eduardo Calle filed a proposed class action against AI music company Suno in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. The lawsuit centers on right-of-publicity and identity-related claims, alleging Suno can use musicians’ names as prompts to generate music and related outputs evoking their identifiable traits without consent or compensation. The complaint is distinct from copyright-focused litigation over AI training data, and Suno has said the claims lack merit.
via news.bloomberglaw.com·13h agoDetails →
traffic technology
TDOT is piloting a Truck Parking Availability System at the Interstate 40 Welcome Center in Smith County, Tennessee, funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SMART Grants Program. The system is meant to give commercial drivers real-time parking availability before they reach the facility, addressing a shortage of safe truck parking that can lead to trucks stopping on highway shoulders and ramps. The pilot is being evaluated for possible statewide use at TDOT truck-parking facilities.
via tn.gov·13h agoDetails →
pedestrian safety
A 68-year-old Nashville man was killed while crossing Murfreesboro Pike near Fesslers Lane during the evening rush hour on September 1. Metro Nashville Police said a tow truck making a left turn struck him and preliminary information indicated he was crossing against a “Don’t Walk” signal; police also believed the truck driver’s visibility was limited by the vehicle’s size. District 17 Council Member Terry Vo said the death underscores broader pedestrian-safety needs along the Murfreesboro Pike corridor.
via wkrn.com·13h agoDetails →
air travel
Southwest Airlines announced on September 2, 2026, that it will establish its first airport-lounge network in partnership with Chase. Nashville International Airport is among the first four planned locations, alongside Austin, Baltimore/Washington and Honolulu. The Nashville lounge is planned post-security in BNA’s central-lobby Mezzanine level and is under construction, with first guests expected in late 2027.