Writers’ strike: A tentative deal has been struck between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood producers that would end the five-month writers’ strike. The new contract would run for three years. It must be approved by the boards of the union’s east and west divisions and then by a vote of the union membership. SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, remains on strike with little progress reported in bringing both sides together.
 Mark Milley: In a social media post, Donald Trump calls for the execution of General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an article in The Atlantic, Milley confirms that after Trump lost the 2020 Presidential Election Milley called his counterpart in China and promised to warm him if Trump ordered an attack on China to start a war and create an excuse to suspend the Constitution and stay in power. Trump responded to the article on his Truth Social microblog by calling Milley’s action “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” In the article, Milley confirmed that Trump insulted a wounded veteran that Milley had brought to the White House to be honored with a medal. Miller said Trump complained, “Why do you bring people like that here?”
Russian admiral: Ukraine claimed today that the commander of Russia’s naval fleet in the Black Sea was killed in Friday’s missile attack on Back Sea Fleet headquarters in the Russian annexed Crimean city of Sevastopol. Russia had acknowledged that one person was killed in the attack. Ukraine said today that there actually were 34 Russian officers killed, including Admiral Viktor Sokolov. Russia today bombed the Ukrainian city Beryslav, killing two civilians and wounding two more. They were in an apartment building that was hit.
The storm Ophelia: The National Weather Service said Tropical Storm Ophelia caused significant flooding over the weekend from the Carolinas into New Jersey. About 13,000 customers were without power in New Jersey. Ophelia weakened and was no longer a tropical storm as of this morning, but a new tropical storm named Phillipe has formed about 1,100 miles off the West Coast of Africa.
GOP debate: The Republican National Committee says that Wednesday’s presidential primary debate will be carried on the internet by the website Rumble, which has been criticized for being a haven for conspiracy theories, hate speech and false stories identified as news. Fox Business Network and Univision are carrying the debate on cable. The Republican National Committee was criticized for having partnered with Rumble to carry this year’s first primary debate.
Menendez holds firm: New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, while giving up committee leadership, is holding firm to his position not to resign from the Senate in the wake of him and his wife having been indicted on bribery charges. New Jersey’s Gov. Phil Murphy is among the latest Democrats to call for Menendez to step down. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez today said he should resign. At a news conference this morning Menendez said that he would remain focused on issues such as funding the government and supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Cover photo by Eric Appel / Flickr Creative Commons
