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Tag: memphis

  • Twitter Fixes Bug That Locked Out Users Who Tweeted ‘Memphis’

    Twitter Fixes Bug That Locked Out Users Who Tweeted ‘Memphis’

    In a strange turn of events, some Twitter users found themselves locked out of their accounts for tweeting the word “Memphis.”

    Twitter, like most social media platforms, has been under fire for its moderation policies. Some criticize the company for not moderating enough, while others accuse it of censorship.

    Whatever one’s views of Twitter’s moderation, no one expected to be locked out for tweeting the word “Memphis.” Fortunately, it appears to have been a simple bug that Twitter has since fixed.

    Many Twitter users were quick to reply with some tongue-in-cheek humor.

    https://twitter.com/roadtoserfdumb/status/1371236422376583170?s=20

    Other users pointed out that the company still struggles to effectively ban abusive speech, yet has no problem banning a city.

    Either way, at least Memphis is once again safe in the Twitterverse.

  • Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest Body May Be Dug Up, Statue Sold

    In South Carolina, they are pulling Confederate flags down from state buildings. Memphis, Tennessee is doing you one better. They’re planning to dig up the body of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

    The Memphis City Council voted unanimously last week to dig up the body of Nathan Bedford Forrest and move it to another location. They have also said they intend to sell a statue on the spot to “anyone who wants it.”

    Forrest’s body and statue are currently to be found at Health Sciences Park on Union Avenue in Memphis. The general has been buried there for 110 years.

    “The Forrest family is solidly opposed to digging up the graves and moving them any place,” said Lee Millar with the Son’s Of Confederate Veterans. “The statue just as well. They’re opposed to moving the statue too.”

    Nathan Bedford Forrest was famous for his brutal attacks on Federal forces in the Civil War. He is also jokingly referred to as an ancestor of Forrest Gump, who is his namesake.

    The move comes at an odd time, considering the fact that the governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, signed an annual proclamation that this coming Monday, July 13, would be a day honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest. The governor of Tennessee is obliged to sign such a proclamation each year for the day to be observed. Some lawmakers have talked about changing that via legislation so it remains observed without the need for an annual proclamation from the governor.

    The recent events in Memphis will surely clash with that sentiment.

    “This appears to me to be another knee jerk reaction to that anti-Confederate hysteria. Some people here are trying to get on the bandwagon in erasing Confederate history and its just wrong,” Millar said.

    But one council member had another thought about the exhumation of Forrest and sale of his statue.

    “Has anyone else heard UT (University of Tennessee) is about to do a $500 million expansion and that park is something they want?” asked council member Janis Fullilove.

    “When I made this recommendation I had not heard that,” replied council member Lowery.

    The matter is not settled, however. The Tennessee Historical Commission has to approve the move, and it is sure to have a court battle ahead.

  • Judge Joe Brown, Recently Jailed, Running for Office

    The man who helmed a popular TV court show for 15 seasons is now running for office. But could he be up against his worst challenge yet?

    Judge Joe Brown, the man whose namesake show gave him the opportunity to dispense justice in his own style, sometimes sitting on top of his bench.

    Brown had formerly been a prosecutor in Memphis, Tennessee. In fact, he was the first African-American prosecutor in that city. He later became a judge on the State Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee.

    Brown was thrust into the national spotlight when James Earl Ray, the man who killed Martin Luther King, Jr. was filing the last of his appeals. The investigation was re-opened in the case. Judge Brown was presiding, but was removed due to some statements he had made about the murder weapon that led some to believe that he would not be an impartial judge.

    But during this time, he was spotted by the producers of the Judge Judy program, a show that has run 18 seasons.

    Brown was whisked away to head his own court TV show. But his show was canceled in 2013. Now Judge Brown is running for the of District Attorney back in Shelby County, Tennessee, picking up his judicial career where it left off, it would seem.

    But something else has happened in the short time since his walking off the set of his show.

    Judge Joe Brown was arrested.

    In a scene that was as ironic as anything before, urge Joe Brown was jailed for contempt of court. At the time, he was in the court helping a client in a child support case. Judge Brown says the hearing went ridiculously sideways and he got angry.

    Brown was charged with contempt of court, arrested, and sentenced to five days in jail.

    The question is, will the citizens of Memphis care that their D.A. has been to jail himself? Or will they see it Joe’s way, that his opponent set this up to try to beat him in the race?

    His opponent in the D.A. race, Amy Weirich, made hay with the incident herself, “That sort of disrespectful circus stunt may get Hollywood ratings, but this is real life and real people, and Joe Brown knows better. He should be ashamed of himself.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie Do Memphis

    Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were in Memphis this weekend for Guy Pelly and Lizzy Wilson’s nuptials. Their first cousins Prince Harry and Prince William arrived a few days ahead of the ladies who arrived Thursday. The Princesses of York got down to business right away, hitting up Memphis’s famed Beale Street within hours of their arrival.

    Beatrice and Eugenie talked and laughed as they strolled around town with Lizzy Wilson and Beatrice’s boyfriend Dave Clark, They took in the nightlife–including the pubs–and partied well into the evening.

    Princes William and Harry served as ushers at the wedding on Saturday. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were among the couple’s distinguished guests.

    The official wedding festivities kicked off on Friday night with the royals joining the family and the wedding party for drinks at the Memphis Hunt and Polo Club.


    The girls joined the guys for a tour of Elvis Presley’s home Graceland, and Princess Beatrice even sported Elvis-style sunglasses as they walked the grounds that the King of Rock and Roll once called home.

    A lavish brunch back at the Memphis Hunt and Polo Club on Sunday signified an official end to the celebratory weekend.

    Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, along with Prince William and Prince Harry provided fans with many celebrity sightings at various spots all around Memphis during the past few days. They lined the streets outside of the barbecue restaurant Rendezvous in hopes of catching a glimpse–as well as a few photos–of a prince or a princess.

    Even though fans have found it to be very exciting, some Memphis locals might actually welcome the peace and quiet once the royals leave town.

    Image via YouTube

  • Tupelo Shooting Leaves a Family Without a Father

    The town of Tupelo, Mississippi, is mourning the death of Police Officer Gale Stauffer who was shot and killed during a bank robbery on Monday, December 23rd. The individual responsible for the crime was concealed behind a mask before walking into BanCorpSouth’s Gloster Creek Village branch wielding a AK-47 assault rifle. When two police officers arrived at the scene, the individual fired at both and killed Stauffer.

    Though details are still emerging about this incident, the community has been shattered by the tragedy. Tupelo resident Matt Lavender said, ”I’m glad they’re actually doing something about it. It takes a special breed of person actually to do something that low.”

    Kenny Steen heard the blasts from the rifle and recalled his experience. “We heard some, just a real, ‘burr, burr’ real fast, so we came out and there was cop cars coming they stopped right here in the street. Soon as I came out, there was an officer actually falling, going down,” Steen said.

    ”It’s scary. It’s sad. It makes me not want to go in the bank with my children anymore,” said Heather Krutz, who was in the vicinity of the bank when the robbery occurred.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation is presently working on the case, and has already interviewed a person of interest located in Union County. The home and vehicle were both adequately searched; however, investigators released the person of interest.

    Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton acknowledged the community’s grief at losing such a valuable member, and spoke about a vigil to honor the brave man. ”There will be a vigil in Fairpark at 5 p.m. tomorrow, just to honor and bring the community together in honor of Sergeant Stauffer and pray for him and his family.”

    Officer Stauffer’s tragic death has left a wife without a husband and two children (a son and a daughter) without a father within days of the Christmas holiday.

    A reward is being offered to catch the perpetrator where the amount continues to increase due to donations from local businesses and banks. The amount is presently close to $150,000.

    Image Via NDN

  • Flight Diverted Due to “Unruly Passenger”

    Flight Diverted Due to “Unruly Passenger”

    An AirTran flight left Baltimore Monday afternoon, making it’s way to Austin, Texas. During the flight a man, who is being described as an “unruly passenger”, tried to open the emergency exit at the back of the plane.

    AirTran Flight 265 was forced to land at Memphis International Airport at around 6:30 p.m. The plane was over Little Rock, Arkansas when the incident occurred, and the pilots chose to land in Memphis because it was the closest AirTran airport. “It’s the kind of thing you hear about and worry about and it was handled completely professionally and calmly,” said Patty Solum, who was a passenger aboard the flight.

    The man, who has not been identified, was restrained by off-duty military passengers until the plane completed the emergency landing. None of the 120 passengers or 5 crew members on board were hurt. However, they were all forced to evacuate the plane once it had landed in Memphis.

    The passengers were then interviewed by the FBI and were allowed to re-board the plane and continue their flight to Austin at around 8:30 p.m. One passenger said that the man seemed to be suicidal and was claiming that he no longer wanted to live.

    “Everyone was really calm and in good spirits and understanding,” said Tara Hamilton, who was on the flight along with her son. “Luckily there were military personnel on the plane and they were really accommodating. It could have been way worse but it wasn’t that bad.”

    http://youtu.be/q1pw51ftEeE

    The Memphis International Airport Vice President of Operations, John Geraud, said that, at the time of his arrest, the man did not appear to be intoxicated, suicidal, or unruly.

    The FBI and the TSA detained the man and questioned him for two hours about his actions. It has not yet been determined whether or not charges will be filed against him.

  • Graceland Celebrates 30th Year as Tourist Attraction

    Graceland, a place which many consider to be the ultimate rock and roll experience, opened its doors to the general public 30 years ago this month. Since that time, nearly 18 million Elvis Presley fans have made the pilgrimage to the late musician’s expansive home. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the help his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley. When the estate was struggling and the pressure was on to sell the property and all of Presley’s belongings, she saw an opportunity to retain his cherished possessions and allow his legion of fans to connect with the late singer in a very unique way.

    “I realized as it was going on that there really wasn’t any money that could support Graceland or any of the people that worked for Elvis that were still there,” she explained to the Associated Press. “I had a decision to make to somehow save Graceland.”

    After securing a $500,000 investment and visiting other major tourist attractions for inspiration, Priscilla began the task of transforming Elvis’ home into a place people would want to visit. Much to everyone’s surprise — and delight — Graceland sold all of its tickets on opening day as fans from across the country poured in to pay homage to the legendary musician. In fact, so popular was the destination that they made back their initial investment in just 38 days.

    “We had no idea whether 30 people were coming, or 300, or 3,000 that first day, Fortunately, it was the latter,” said Elvis Presley Enterprises CEO Jack Soden.

    Before long, additions to the attraction were made, including a visitors center which showcased a number of Presley’s favorite cars, his private jet, and other odds and ends. Shortly thereafter, the gift shop and cafe opened its doors, selling Elvis trinkets and memorabilia to Graceland’s seemingly endless supply of visitors. In order to keep people coming back for more, $50 million in improvements are currently scheduled for the future.

    Of course, Presley’s estate wasn’t alone in reaping the rewards. The city of Memphis prospered as a result of Graceland’s opening. According to the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, travel expenditures trickled into the city’s bank account to the tune of $1 billion. In 2011, thanks to other local attractions, including Sun Studios and Stax Records, the city enjoyed a $3 billion windfall thanks to the endless devotion of the musician’s fans.

    “Every time I go in there, I feel like Elvis is going to come down the stairs any minute,” Priscilla Presley said. “I have no doubt that he’s there, somewhere, his spirit. I think people feel that.”