Good morning, Nashville. It's always a pleasure to start the week together.

• Today's weather: Too hot, with a high of 93.

This newsletter is 951 words — a 3.5-minute read.

A new public safety dashboard allows Nashvillians to track crime stats in their neighborhoods and citywide.

Why it matters: The dashboard wipes away opinion and zeroes in on actual crime stats.

Driving the news: The crime data dashboard is an initiative by the nonprofit Nashville Police + Public Safety Alliance, which launched a year ago.

• The project was launched in partnership with the Sycamore Institute.

What she's saying: "Our hope is that by making that data more accessible and easier to understand, it will help Nashville residents gain a clearer picture of what's happening in their city and their neighborhoods," Nashville Police + Public Safety Alliance CEO Pat Shea said in a press release.

• Last year, the Alliance released a public safety poll showing that a majority of residents feel safe, but also less so than they did five years ago.

By the numbers: Violent crime and homicides are down across the board in Nashville in 2025 compared to a year ago.

• Through August, there were 5,023 incidents of violent crime in Nashville, per the data. For all of 2024, there were 8,468 incidents.

Zoom in: The dashboard allows users to focus on neighborhoods across the city, and track an array of offenses, including assaults, burglaries and all property crimes.

• Coming soon, each neighborhood section will include residents' sentiments on public safety.
• The dashboard focuses on annual, quarterly and monthly crime data.

Zoom out: U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles criticized public safety in Nashville and suggested the National Guard should be sent here despite the trend this year of violent crime declining.

• Since Mayor Freddie O'Connell took office, funding for the police department has risen from $305 million to $345.9 million.

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President Trump announced Friday he's sending National Guard troops to Memphis, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.

Why it matters: Trump said he wants troops to address the city's persistently high crime problems.

• He has faced criticism for threatening to send the National Guard to blue cities in blue states while saying little about cities like Memphis with high crime rates in red states.

Driving the news: Trump called Memphis "deeply troubled" during an interview on Fox & Friends, He said the deployment may go beyond the National Guard — and could include the Army if needed.

The big picture: Memphis has the highest violent crime rate of any American city with a population of 100,000 residents or more, according to an Axios analysis of 2024 FBI statistics.

• The analysis also found Memphis had the country's fourth-highest homicide rate of 40.6 per 100,000 residents — six times the national average.

Caveat: Memphis saw a 13% drop in homicides in the first half of 2025.

Zoom in: Gov. Bill Lee initially resisted calls for the National Guard in Tennessee, but later said "nothing is off the table."

Between the lines: Tennessee Republicans — including Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Andy Ogles — have called for the National Guard in Memphis and Nashville.

• "It is important for the long-term success in Memphis to have additional and permanent federal law enforcement officers and agents who can work in conjunction with state and local officials," Rep. David Kustoff, a Republican who represents part of Memphis, told Axios.

Yes, but: Democrats have pushed back. In a Wednesday letter, state Rep. Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) said the move wrongly paints Memphis as a city needing "intimidation by military force."

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The Tennessee Titans' deflating losing streak continued yesterday at the team's home opener.

Why it matters: The Titans were the worst team in the league last year, and fans are desperate for forward momentum. Instead they slumped in their seats as another game slipped away in the second half.

State of play: The Los Angeles Rams quickly snuffed out some flashes of promise with a 33-19 victory.

The silver lining: Freshman quarterback Cam Ward dazzled the crowd just before halftime, darting around the field and lobbing his first-ever touchdown pass in the NFL. It was a beauty.

Yes, but: The Rams dominated the second half of the game, and the same old problems persisted.

• The Titans' offensive line continued to falter: Ward got sacked five times yesterday, bringing the team's sack total to 11 just two weeks into the season.

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