For many, youth baseball is a rite of passage: full of home runs, walk-up songs and teamwork.
And now, WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams reports, there’s a different kind of baseball field growing in popularity: it’s called a “Miracle Field.” These are accessible baseball facilities that can accommodate players with disabilities.
The first field was built in Georgia in 2000, but these have been popping up more and more — and, today, there are now hundreds around the country.
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This week was very newsy — from a failed execution to lawsuits on redistricting to an outcry about NES tree trimming and no screens and schools.
We also threw in a little Summer Joy for good measure!
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Tennessee halted a man’s execution on Thursday morning after being unable to find a vein for lethal injection.
An attorney who was present for the planned execution of Tony Carruthers in Tennessee on Thursday said it was called off after officials struggled to find a vein for an hour.
Maria DeLiberato, an attorney for Carruthers, said she saw Carruthers “wincing and groaning” and called it “horrible” to watch.
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Tennessee redistricting shaken up congressional races across the state.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen ended his re-election campaign after Tennessee Republicans approved President Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting plan.
The new congressional map splits Cohen’s home city of Memphis into three districts. Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which Cohen has represented for nearly two decades, now stretches 300 miles from Memphis to the edge of Nashville.
Marianna Bacallao (ba.marianna) reports that state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have joined the race, hoping to take Cohen’s spot in Washington.
The Tennessee Democratic Party is among several groups suing to block the redistricting plan on behalf of Cohen and other candidates and voters. But a federal judge has allowed the maps to go into effect while multiple legal challenges go forward.
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Photos: Marianna Bacallao, Cynthia Abrams, the campaigns of Brent Taylor, Todd Warner and Chaz Molder
GOP-led states across the South have rushed to redistrict after a U.S. Supreme Court case weakened protections for Black voting blocs. Marianna Bacallao reports that new congressional districts in Tennessee mirror the way Black communities have been fractured in the past.
Tennessee was the first state to answer President Trump`s call for new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, dividing Memphis into three different districts.
The new map also split Nashville`s historically Black neighborhood of North Nashville. The neighborhood has been split before by the construction of Interstate 40. The highway cut through the heart of Nashville`s Black Wall Street during the 1960s, decimating Black-owned businesses.
The new congressional map splits North Nashville along the same streets as the highway.
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After a 32-0 vote by the NFL owners, Nashville is officially hosting its first Super Bowl at the new Nissan Stadium in 2030.
Since moving to Nashville in 1997, the NFL franchise has never had the opportunity to host because the current Nissan Stadium did not meet the NFL’s requirements.
With new Nissan Stadium meeting specific requirements, such as having a dome, the owners voted unanimously in favor of Nashville hosting Super Bowl LXIV.
Mayor Freddie O’ Connell said Nashville is the complete package and he can’t wait to show the world what Nashville has to offer, reports WPLN News Intern Seth Thorpe.
The city of Nashville will host a formal announcement on May 20 in the morning, and a celebration on Lower Broadway later in the evening.
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A bus rider with a great memory asked Curious Nashville: What happened to the highly-touted all-electric buses that WeGo used to offer, for free, throughout downtown?
Short answer: They were discontinued in 2021. Then the manufacturer went bankrupt. The chargers — at last — are being removed this year.
All told, Nashville’s EV bus initiative will have come and gone in just 11 years. WeGo says it’s considering zero-emission buses again, but keeping a close eye on the technology and dependability of the companies making them.
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Notable quotables for the week in news from WPLN that cover the redistricting aftermath, the renovations at historic Ft. Negley, tree trimming worries and “Chud the Builder.”
There are now four lawsuits challenging the redrawn Tennessee map, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed all Democrats from the committee assignments as a punishment for protesting.
Nashville Electric Service is ramping up its tree cutting — a move that has drawn blowback. And city leaders are working to improve Fort Negley, a Civil War historic site, and one of the foundational pieces of Nashville’s Black history.
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Back by popular demand, the WPLN fan favorite series Curious Nashville is here to investigate oddities, share local history, tell stories of interesting people, and explain how local institutions operate.
You ask the questions, and we answer.
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