Protests of Nichols killing: The release of police bodycam and surveillance video showing five Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols, leading to his death three days later, provided a backdrop for demonstrations over the weekend in various U.S. cities such as Milwaukee, Oakland, Dallas, Baltimore, Phoenix and New York City. The five were members of the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion Unit, which was set up to target high crime areas. Memphis Police Director C. J. Davis disbanded the Scorpion Unit over the weekend in reaction to the Nichols beating.
Barrett Strong dead at 81: Singer and songwriter Barrett Strong, who with collaborator Norman Whitfield wrote a number of Motown Records hits, has died at age 81. Among the songs Strong helped create were “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Just My Imagination,” and “Money.”
Middle East violence: The Israeli government has torn down the house of a Palestinian who killed seven people outside of a synagogue as one step in punishment for the act. The cabinet of Prime Minister Netanyahu was discussing other measures and also approved going after the house where 13-year-old boy who shot and wounded two Israelis lives. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits the region beginning today in Egypt and then moves on to Israel.
Missiles for Ukraine:Â Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said in a weekend speech that Ukraine needs Western countries to supply it with long-range missiles. Zelenskyy said having the missiles would remove this possibility of the Russians using their missile launchers somewhere far from the front lines to fire on Ukrainian targets. An aide to Zelenskyy revealed that talks are underway about the possibility of the West supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles and military aircraft.
Jordan’s FBI claim:Â Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed on the NBC program “Meet the Press” yesterday that the FBI is being weaponized by the Biden Administration. He claimed that this is proven by the fact that the FBI seized classified documents from Donald Trump but didn’t seize them from Biden. “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd pointed out to Jordan that he was ignoring the fact that the reason the FBI seized the documents from Trump was that Trump refused for a year and a half to return them to the government and even lied about having them while Biden’s people fully cooperated and returned documents to the government immediately after they were found.
Debt ceiling:Â House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” said he’s looking forward to talks Wednesday with President Biden on the debt ceiling. While the Republicans have threatened to refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless there were cuts to programs such as Social Security and Medicare, McCarthy said that cuts to those two programs would not be part of the discussions.
Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams, dies at 64: Lisa Loring, who gained sitcom immortality as Wednesday Addams on the 1960s classic series “The Addams Family,” died Saturday at the age 64 following a stroke. Loring was six years old when she first starred as the youngest child of the creepy and kooky television clan. As an adult, Loring gained new fans by played Cricket Montgomery from 1980 to 1983 on the long-running soap opera “As the World Turns.”
Cover photo of Lisa Loring courtesy of ABC Publicity
