Hillary Clinton Visits Memphis

Hilary Clinton visits LeMoyne-Owen College

It was nice to see the presidential campaign impacting Memphis.  Tennessee isn't really a player in the primary process.. But Hillary Clinton decided to make stops at two historically black colleges.  The campus of LeMoyne-Owen in Memphis was an exciting place to be on the day of her visit.  Clinton last came there as First Lady in 1993.  My photographer arrived early to set and that all equipment could be cleared by secret service officers.  I showed up a little later.  Clinton ran about 30 minutes late (which is not unusual).  She touched on a number of national issues and some with connections to Memphis.  It was amazing how quickly the gym was cleared after the event.

Syria Native Discusses Resettlement Debate

Governors want to keep refugees out

I did stories for the 6:00 and 10:00 concerning the emerging debate over the resettlement of Syrian refugees in America.  The governors of AR, MS, and TN (our coverage area) were among those requesting the placements here be halted after connections were made between the Paris attacks and Syria.  I had no problem finding political opposition to the effort to stop resettlement.  But finding a local Syrian immigrant took a lot of phone calls, texts, and emails.  I finally found a man who came to the U.S. from Syria in 1992.  He now works as a pharmaceutical researcher and professor at UTHSC.  He said refugees are fleeing terror, not bringing it.

Funeral Home Embalmed Bodies In Break Room

TN Government: Funeral home embalmed bodies in break room, reused caskets

Newsroom managers actually spotted this story on another station and then passed it on to me.  Getting story ideas from the competition or a newspaper is common.  This one involved a Memphis funeral home owner accused by a state board of embalming bodies in a break room, among other things.  I called the owner while on the way to the funeral home to get video.  I didn't think he'd be willing to talk on camera.  But he did.  He even showed us around the funeral home.  

Shooting At Buffalo Wild Wings

Shots fired at Buffalo Wild Wings

We sent Chopper 5 to this Buffalo Wild Wings to check out reports of a shooting.  My photographer and I followed once we saw there was quite a scene.  We arrived about an hour before the 10:00 news.  I grabbed an interview with a customer who pulled into the parking lot.  We then wrote and edited something for the newscast.  I noticed bullet holes in the restaurant window just a few minutes before news time.. So we snapped photos of those and I incorporated them into my live shot.    

Mall Custodian: Shopper Urinated On Me

Wolfchase Galleria worker reports lewd act in men's room

A custodian at Wolfchase Galleria emailed us about a gross encounter.  She said a shopped urinated on her as she cleaned a men's room.  He was upset that the restroom was closed while she was inside cleaning it.  Of course, I verified that she had actually filed a police report before running with the story.  My photographer actually conducted the interview while I did the 4:00 news.  One big issue she had was the fact that mall security failed to detain the man until MPD arrived.  I decided to do my live shot from the TV station's men's room in order to make it more active.  Otherwise, I would have been outside a closed mall.

Boy's Death Exposes Massive Theft Ring

9-year-old's death on ATV leads to huge theft ring

This story began with a series of affidavits from the jail website.  Several men had been booked on numerous theft-related charges.  Their bonds were each $2 million.  We knew it had to be a pretty big deal.  Turns out, they were accused of being part of a multi-state theft ring.  But the most interesting part of the story is how they were busted.  A 9 year-old died in an ATV accident.  Detectives discovered the one he was riding had been reported stolen out of Shelby County.  The massive theft ring then started to unravel.