Ford announces changes that will impact BlueOval City

Good morning, Memphis!

This is Metro Editor Corinne Kennedy, and you're reading the Daily Briefing, our one-stop digital shop for the best Memphis stories from our award-winning Commercial Appeal team. And, as always, we're here to curate some of the best stories from some of the area's best journalists.

Ford Motor Co. announced several changes to its electric vehicle strategy on Wednesday, including bumping back production of its next-generation electric truck at BlueOval City in Stanton .

The $5.6 billion electric truck and battery project in rural West Tennessee was scheduled to begin production in 2025, with customer deliveries of its new EV truck model to begin in 2026. Now, both of those milestones will be in 2027, Corey Davis reports in this story .

Ford told The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday the reason for delaying production is because it wants to use lower-cost battery technology. The hope is the battery technology will allow Ford to reduce costs and help make the Ford full-size EV pickup assembled at BlueOval City , as well as the company’s entire electric vehicle business, more profitable.

Deadly crash prompts lawsuit: The mother of a teenage girl killed when Memphis police officers crashed during an unauthorized vehicle pursuit has filed a lawsuit against the Memphis Police Department.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of wrongful death and excessive force cases the department is facing, which include a $550 million lawsuit over the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Lucas Finton reports in this story .

The lawsuit stems from a car crash during a police pursuit in May 2023 that left a 17-year-old girl dead and a then-14-year-old girl seriously injured.

Health inspections: Ants, dirty surfaces and uncovered food were some of the violations recorded by health inspectors in six Shelby County restaurants in July.

The Tennessee Department of Health performed 395 health inspections of food-service establishments in Shelby County last month. The majority of restaurants inspected scored 90 and above, including more than 130 perfect scores of 100, Jacob Wilt reports here .

But not every restaurant did so well. Here are all six Shelby County restaurants that received a score of 74 or lower in July, listed in alphabetical order. Restaurants get a chance to correct issues, and all follow-ups on this list were completed in two to three weeks.

Here are a few other stories you should check out this morning:

• A former inmate of the DeSoto County Adult Detention Center was back in custody Wednesday morning more than two months after his escape from a courthouse in Hernando. Jacob Wilt has all the wild details here .
• The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve $2.3 million for the Whitehaven High School STEM building's continued construction , Jacob also reports in this story .
• Three women are dead, and seven other people are injured, after a Hickory Hill car crash Tuesday night, Lucas Finton reports in this story .
• In this story from the Democratic National Convention, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Sam Woodward take a look at how young Democratic leaders are shaping the future of the party. Memphis Mayor Paul Young weighs in on how the party is changing.

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ford announces changes that will impact BlueOval City