• The final monthly fundraising totals are in for the mayor’s race, and the top two in the money race outpaced the remaining contenders by a very wide margin in money raised and personal loans. Early voting runs now through July 27, and election day is August 1.
• The Nashville Scene has a breakdown of the final stretch as the mayoral candidates head into early voting. ?
• Metro Nashville Police are searching for a man they are calling a serial AirBNB burglar because he targets short-term rentals in South Nashville. On particular property is said to be broken into seven times in the last year.
• Nearly 100 cats rescued from a house in Texas are on their way to Middle Tennessee and in need of foster care, the Nashville Humane Socity says. The organization will prove food and medical care to volunteers.
• Television and movie actor Chris Pratt was spotted last week at two downtown bars performing on stage.
• Many Middle Tennessee elected officials are criticizing the governor’s formal proclamation of Saturday as “Nathan Bedford Forrest Day,” as the former confederate general was a notorious slave owner and leader of the KKK. State law directs the governor to do so annually.
• A Vanderbilt University Medical Center doctor is said to have made a breakthrough in the development of an artificial kidney designed to help those in need of a transplant.
• Guitar manufacturer Gibson is moving its headquarters to downtown Nashville, along with about 100 jobs. The company’s new headquarters is said to be twice the size of its current one near Antioch. ?
• Americana television and radio show “Music City Roots” will be broadcasting from a new, purpose-built venue in Madison when it returns to the airwaves in 2020 called “The Roots Barn.” City leaders were on hand Thursday for the unveiling.
• Music City Center, the downtown convention center, is giving the National Museum of African American Music a $6 million gift, its largest single contribution to date. The museum is expected to open in May of 2020.
• Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was in the news for a comment he made on a podcast last week about his commitment to winning a Super Bowl and, well, sometimes we just don’t know, man. ✂️
• And finally, Nashville Zoo is welcoming a new red panda to its exhibit from a zoo in New York, hoping to breed the animals in captivity.

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