Adrian Sainz, Author at The Rapid City Post

Hernandez Govan, accused of orchestrating the killing of rapper Young Dolph, takes the stand to state that he will not testify on his own behalf during his trial in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Chris Day/Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network via Pool)

Jury deliberations begin in trial of man accused of organizing rapper Young Dolph’s killing

August 20, 2025

A jury has begun deliberating in the trial of a man charged with organizing the daytime ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in November 2021. The trial of 45-year-old Hernandez Govan began Monday in a Memphis courtroom. Govan is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He is not accused of shooting Young Dolph, but prosecutors claim he directed the two people who did so. Deliberations began Wednesday and will continue Thursday. Young Dolph, whose legal name was Adolph Thornton Jr., grew up in Memphis and was a rapper, independent label owner and producer.

Defendant Hernandez Govan, accused of orchestrating the killing of rapper Young Dolph, appears in court during his trial in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP, Pool)

Second trial in killing of rapper Young Dolph starts in Memphis

August 18, 2025

The trial of a man charged with organizing the daytime ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in 2021 is underway. Hernandez Govan faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted murder. He is not accused of personally shooting Young Dolph, but prosecutors claim he directed the two people who did. Young Dolph, whose legal name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was a rapper, independent label owner and producer who grew up in Memphis. He was in his hometown for a Thanksgiving event, handing out turkeys to families in need, when he was killed.

Memphis man who killed 3 in livestreamed shooting rampage pleads guilty

August 13, 2025

A Tennessee man has avoided a trial and a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to fatally shooting three people and wounding three others in a daylong series of shootings livestreamed on social media. Ezekiel Kelly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two dozen other charges in a Memphis courtroom on Wednesday. A Shelby County judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole, plus 221 years. The deal with prosecutors spared the 22-year-old from a capital trial. Kelly had pleaded not guilty in the September 2022 shooting rampage that led to a citywide shelter-in-place order during a search for him.

Darryle Dowell speaks during a meeting of town officials considering agreements to turn a closed prison into an immigration detention facility on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Mason, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

Tennessee town approves deals to turn closed prison into immigration detention facility

August 13, 2025

Officials in a rural Tennessee town have voted to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite loud objections from upset residents and activists during a contentious public meeting. The five-member Board of Alderman in Mason, plus Mayor Eddie Noeman and Vice Mayor Reynaldo Givhan, met Tuesday in a fire station garage to discuss converting the closed West Tennessee Detention Facility into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center run by CoreCivic Inc. When it was open, the prison was the Mason’s largest employer and an important economic engine for the town.

FILE - Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks to thousands during his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington. (AP Photo/File)

Things to know about the release of federal documents related to MLK’s assassination

July 21, 2025

Federal records related to the investigation into the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. have been released. Their release follows the disclosure in March of tens of thousands of documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In January, President Donald Trump ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about Kennedy’s assassination, while also moving to declassify federal records related to the deaths of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and King more than five decades ago. King was killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Relatives, authorities ask for public’s help with investigation of Ole Miss player’s fatal shooting

July 21, 2025

Authorities are asking for members of the public to provide surveillance footage and details from eyewitnesses as they investigate the fatal shooting of an Ole Miss football player in Memphis after a pool party. Corey Adams was an 18-year-old defensive lineman from New Orleans. Authorities say he was found with a gunshot wound inside a vehicle at an intersection in the Memphis suburb of Cordova on Saturday night. The shooting happened after a pool party attended by about 100 people, including Adams. About 40 rifle and pistol casings were found at the shooting scene.

FILE = The xAI data center is seen, May 7, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)

NAACP, environmental group notify Elon Musk’s xAI company of intent to sue over facility pollution

June 17, 2025

The NAACP and an environmental group say they intend to sue Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI over concerns about air pollution generated by a supercomputer near predominantly Black communities in Memphis. The groups on Tuesday accused xAI of pushing ahead to operate gas turbines in violation of the Clean Air Act. The turbines release air pollution near predominantly Black communities. Musk’s xAI says it is boosting the city’s economy by investing billions of dollars in the data center, paying millions in local taxes and creating hundreds of jobs. It also promises emission-reduction technology and is spending $35 million to build a power substation and $80 million for a water recycling plant.

FILE - A screen at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans honors Tyre Nichols before an NBA basketball game between the Pelicans and Wizards, Jan. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)

Federal judge recuses himself days before sentencing Memphis officers accused in Tyre Nichols’ death

June 13, 2025

The judge presiding over the federal case against five former Memphis police officers convicted in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols has recused himself from further proceedings, just days before four of them were scheduled to be sentenced. U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris issued a brief order Friday saying he has recused himself and returned the case to the court clerk for reassignment. He provided no further explanation. Four of the five officers convicted in the January 2023 beating that led to Nichols’ death are scheduled to be sentenced next week and the fifth on June 23.

FILE - Firefighters douse the historic Clayborn Temple, a landmark from the civil rights movement with ties to Martin Luther King Jr., with water after it caught fire, April 28, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht, File)

Fire at historic Black church in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say

May 21, 2025

Investigators in Tennessee say a fire that severely damaged a historic Black church that served as the headquarters for a 1968 sanitation workers’ strike which brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis was intentionally set. The Memphis Fire Department said Wednesday that the fire at Clayborn Temple was set in the downtown church’s interior. Flames engulfed the building in the early morning hours of April 28. It was undergoing a yearslong renovation at the time. Clayborn Temple hosted nightly meetings during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike. King came to support the workers that year and was assassinated in the city April 4.

Adrian Sainz.