The aircraft, a single-engine Cirrus SR22T, went down Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, around 3 p.m. in Franklin, a town in Western North Carolina, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

"Grammy-winning songwriter reportedly among 3 dead after small plane from Nashville crashes near North Carolina elementary school. FlightAware data shows the the Cirrus SR22T plane took off from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville at 12:41 p.m. (CDT) before it crashed in North Carolina."

It is reported the plane was registered to Brett James [Cornelius], American singer-songwriter and Hall of Fame member, known for hit songs like "Jesus Take the Wheel" and "When the Sun Goes Down." He was 57.

At least two other Cirrus planes have crashed in the past 4 years. Or more... On July 7, 2025, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22T, N5656M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sanford, North Carolina. The private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured.

Cirrus has a training facility at the Tyson McGhee Airport.

Food industry analyst Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru "believes the Trump administration's tariffs are one of three primary reasons that Americans are seeing a rise in grocery prices, with the others being climate change and labor shortages."
...
He also says the U.S. should brace for shrinkflation — when food and product manufacturers keep prices the same, but reduce the size of items, meaning consumers are ultimately paying more for the same amount.

A September 2024 analysis from Lending Tree found that about one-third of approximately 100 common consumer products had shrunk in size or servings since the start of the pandemic.

"What they're doing is they're trying to put less in the package, hoping that you and I are not going to observe that, and keep that price either stable or just slightly increased," Lempert explained.

Size of food items has not been something I track. I guess I'll give it a try.

Knoxville SOUP will hear 4 excellent proposals at the dinner on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2025. Doors open at 5:30 PM and presentations start at 6:00. The dinner will be held at the Kerbela Temple in South Knoxville, 315 Mimosa Avenue. $5 gets you soup, salad AND a vote!

1. 9th Annual Cattywampus Parade & Block Party: A free community arts event and associated programming.
2. "Urban Outposts" Series (Inside of Knoxville): spotlighting small businesses and neighborhood gems beyond downtown
3. Bashun's Bridge (Knox County Red Book of Resources): to break the stigma surrounding addiction and share the grief over overdose losses by creating a space for education, advocacy, and connection.
4. After-School Healthy Cooking Program (Little Chefs, Big Change): Our after-school cooking classes will help South Knox kids

Read more about these proposals and learn more about Knoxville SOUP on their website at KnoxvilleSOUP.org

Check out the Knoxville SOUP Facebook page for raffle items that have been donated by local businesses and additional information.

The president was questioned about the legality of attacking and killing 11 Venezuelans this month in allegedly defending against drug runners.

"What’s illegal are the drugs that were on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country.”

“And the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs. That’s what’s illegal.”

That would be nearly 90% of the U.S. population. Heh.

A couple moved from California to the Nashville area in Tennessee to save money and slow down. It hasn't worked out as expected.

In our experience, the housing market in the greater Nashville area didn't feel much different from our previous area in California. Generally, the house prices were about the same in the most desirable areas with the standard conveniences.
...
we sat in a one-hour commute of gridlock traffic just to drop my son off at his school. For us, this was another reality check.
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Sure, gas is cheaper — close to $3 a gallon instead of over $4 — but when we're driving more and sitting in traffic, we're filling up the tank more often. All in all, we spend about the same amount on gas as we did in California.
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one of the most unexpected day-to-day costs we've encountered since the move is the grocery tax... we pay a 6% total added tax on our groceries...
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the experience taught us that financial peace isn't just about numbers — it's about fit. In the long term, it's important to consider quality of life over just dollars.

And, the pay differential is large. Then there is the culture shock.

With the explosive growth of Big Tech’s data centers threatening to overload U.S. electricity grids, policymakers are taking a hard look at a tough-love solution: bumping the energy-hungry data centers off grids during power emergencies.
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Grid operators in Texas, the Great Plains states and the mid-Atlantic region have produced eye-popping projections showing that electricity demand in the coming years will spike, largely due to data centers.
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The proposals are cropping up at a time when electricity bills nationally are rising fast — twice the rate of inflation, according to federal data — and growing evidence suggests that the bills of some regular Americans are rising to subsidize the gargantuan energy needs of Big Tech.
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“Data center load has the potential to overwhelm the grid, and I think it is on its way to doing that,” said Joe Bowring, who heads Monitoring Analytics, the independent market watchdog in the mid-Atlantic grid.

70% of rising electricity cost from data centers
Tennessee in top 10 states with electricity rate increases

Our government representatives are not doing a good of representing/protecting citizens. Be more informed when it comes time to vote.

Female monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed plants since monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed. I checked, we have no monarch larvae on our milkweed plants.

While Tennessee's population, jobs and economic output have risen quickly in the past decade, it's still hard for many residents to make ends meet and find attainable housing, the report from nonprofit Think Tennessee said.
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Major costs including housing, transportation, child care, health care and food since 2020 are still rising faster than wages for most Tennesseans
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For research and development, Tennessee is more reliant on government and nonprofit money than the U.S. as a whole, the report said. While nationally, 6.8% of R&D funding comes from nonprofits and 7.8% from the government sector, it's 32.2% and 13.5%, respectively, in Tennessee
...
Those dollars are being scaled back
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The median price to buy a home has more than doubled since 2014 in six of Tennessee's counties
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Costs for renters are also up by over 50% statewide

Whatta ya gonna do? It certainly is hard to tell if Gov. Bill cares about the little guy. We pretty much know the U.S. president doesn't, but some how he gets the little guy's votes.

I checked out some local hotels for room rates Friday night before UT Knoxville football game against Georgia.

Yowza, the Hampton downtown on Main Street has a few rooms available at $1,078 and up. You could save a lot of money by staying at the Hampton in Alcoa near the airport for only $366 and up a night.

Yikes!

...the Volunteer State had the largest increase in the country for the number of unemployment claims filed last week compared to the previous week, with a more than 103% increase. In addition, Tennessee led the nation in its increase in unemployment claims last week compared to the same time last year with 114% more claims filed.

Heck, we can't find employment, we can't afford food and housing, but we are MAGA and are not woke. Go Rockytop!

The score, with 6 minutes left in 2nd quarter, is 34 to nothing, nada, nil, zero.

What's the point? I know, I know, big bucks for ETSU. Hmmm, $575,000 is what Tennessee pays. Not sure that's enough.

The president "posted a parody meme referencing the 1979 film "Apocalypse Now" on the social media platform Truth Social, saying, '"I love the smell of deportations in the morning...Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR.'"
...
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker responded to Trump's social media post on X, writing, "The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city."

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also posted a response on X, saying, in part, Trump "wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution."

And Congress and the Supreme Court are letting him ignore our Constitution and the law. How long will this go on? How far will they let him go?

The president is our new pandemic!!!!! We need a vaccine. :)

President "discloses attack on small boat after Pentagon deploys warships to Caribbean to halt flow of cocaine."

It was a very small boat.

...John Feeley, a former U.S. ambassador to Panama who worked in anti-drug operations in Latin America, said the video shared by the [current] administration does not align with standard Coast Guard protocol for stopping boats believed to be carrying narcotics.

U.S. private sector hiring rose less than expected in August...

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey registered one of its worst levels for job openings in July since 2020, according to government figures released Wednesday.

“The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, in a press release.

Layoffs surged nearly 40 percent last month, with employers eliminating 85,979 positions — the largest August hit since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to research released Thursday

The President is sending national guard and troops to save Democratic cities from hard working immigrants.

What is this administration doing to save us from Chinese cyber attacks?

"... a sweeping cyberattack by a group known as Salt Typhoon is China’s most ambitious yet, experts and officials have concluded after a year of investigating it. It targeted more than 80 countries and may have stolen information from nearly every American, officials said. They see it as evidence that China’s capabilities rival those of the United States and its allies."

Kindergartners across the country are filing into classrooms this fall where they can expect lessons on the alphabet, numbers and patterns. In Tennessee, the state’s 5-year-olds will also learn to identify a trigger, a barrel and a muzzle as they’re introduced to rudimentary gun safety.

All students in Tennessee public and charter schools must begin annual firearm safety lessons this year after the state became the first to pass a law requiring the training. While the guidelines vary by grade, themes for all ages include safe firearms storage, school safety and injury prevention.

"No option to opt out."

Aren't we special?

From Southern Living, "This Underrated Tennessee Destination Is The Most Fun Fall Getaway."

"When you visit Knoxville, you’re always in for an amazing time. But in the fall, if you can catch the moment when the leaves on the trees begin to echo the orange of the stadium and the canopies along the streets burst into their autumn hues, you’ll find something truly special. Amid those seasonal wonders, the restaurants, galleries, shops, and studios—and the ingenious people behind them—continue to enrich the city’s landscape. Whether you come for a Saturday or spend a long weekend, it’s easy to marvel at the evidence of imagination in action around every corner—or to pick up a little bit of inspiration for yourself."

"Secretary Kennedy has fired thousands of federal health workers and severely weakened programs designed to protect Americans from cancer, heart attacks, strokes, lead poisoning, injury, violence and more. Amid the largest measles outbreak in the United States in a generation, he’s focused on unproven “treatments” while downplaying vaccines. He canceled investments in promising medical research that will leave us ill prepared for future health emergencies. He replaced experts on federal health advisory committees with unqualified individuals who share his dangerous and unscientific views. He announced the end of U.S. support for global vaccination programs that protect millions of children and keep Americans safe, citing flawed research and making inaccurate statements. And he championed federal legislation that will cause millions of people with health insurance through Medicaid to lose their coverage. Firing Dr. Monarez — which led to the resignations of top C.D.C. officials — adds considerable fuel to this raging fire."

"We are worried about the wide-ranging impact that all these decisions will have on America's health security."

Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Must Resign

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, is endangering the health of the American people now and into the future. He must resign.

It is absurd to have to say this in 2025, but vaccines are safe and effective. That, of course, is not just my view. Far more important, it is the overwhelming consensus of the medical and scientific communities.

Thanks, Bernie. We do appreciate your efforts.

Maureen Dowd: Our health secretary is a certified quack.