- Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) who we think meant to reference Javert from Les Misérables in his weak explanation of why he won’t recommend an investigation of Bill Barr and John Durham to the Judiciary

Video footage of the police killing of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols has gripped the United States. 
 

• The Memphis Police Department released police body-camera and surveillance-camera footage of the traffic stop and killing of Nichols. The family’s attorney said Nichols was stopped by the five officers on his way home after taking photos of a sunset at a local park on January 7. The officers in question said he was suspected of reckless driving, but Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said that has not been substantiated. The video shows the five officers taking turns brutally beating, kicking, and punching Nichols, then using a taser on him, while he complied, pleaded for his life, and repeatedly called out for his mother. When they first dragged Nichols out of his car, he’s heard saying, “I’m just trying to get home.” Nichols died in the hospital three days later. 
   

• Nichols’s family held a press conference this morning, during which his mother RowVaughn Wells and his stepfather Rodney Wells said that they are satisfied with the second-degree murder charges against the officers, all of whom were fired last week shortly after the incident came to light. The two stated they had spoken with President Biden, and told reporters that they want peaceful protests after the footage was released, saying, “That’s what the family wants. That’s what the community wants.”
   

• Ben Crump, the Civil Rights attorney representing the Nichols family, thanked Memphis Police Chief Davis for her “swift” action in firing and charging the officers involved. All five officers face charges of not only second-degree murder but aggravated assault, kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. Chief Davis said she was horrified by the incident and that the actions of the five officers “defy humanity,” then likened it to the 1991 Rodney King beating by the LAPD.

The murder of Tyre Nichols has reignited a national conversation on police violence and the broader failings of the American justice system.
 

• The National Fraternal Order of Police used uncharacteristically harsh language today to denounce the five former Memphis police officers charged in Nichols’s death, even before the footage became public, calling the reported actions of the officers “a criminal assault under the pretext of law.” This language from the conservative, predominantly-White FOP is markedly different from their previous statements after similar killings, and it’s hard not to suspect that it’s because all five of the Memphis PD officers who killed Nichols are Black. FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was “appalled” after viewing the footage.
   

• We’ve seen progressive, reform-minded district attorneys like San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin and Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner become scapegoats for crime in their cities, but there’s little evidence to support that characterization. In the case of Memphis, it was another progressive District Attorney, Steve Mulroy, who’s the reason charges were filed so swiftly and harshly against the offending officers in the Nichols case. Mulroy ousted the county’s former Republican district attorney in August, a typical self-touted “tough-on-crime” official, and it’s difficult to imagine that the process would have been handled so judiciously if a conservative DA had been in place. 

There’s an all-too-familiar speechlessness that comes after yet another young Black American dies at the hands of law enforcement. What combination of words could possibly be sufficient? But we owe it to the memory of each and every person killed by extrajudicial state violence to not look away, to speak up, and to never stop fighting for an America where such horrors would be unthinkable.

The Trump 2024 campaign is running into a new problem as he continues his bid to take back the White House: nationwide Trump fatigue. 

A review of disgraced former president Donald Trump’s social media network Truth Social found that the website’s advertisers are almost exclusively “alternative medicine,” diet pills, gun accessories, Trump-themed souvenirs, and a whole slate of other things that should immediately be thrown in the trash. 

According to a new CNN poll, fewer than one-third of Americans believe that House GOP leaders are prioritizing the country’s most important issues. You mean the guys who want to investigate the “weaponization of the government” and eliminate the IRS to slash taxes on the wealthy? No. Couldn’t be them.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff visited Auschwitz today on the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp to remember victims and honor survivors as part of a larger campaign to promote Holocaust awareness and the Biden administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism. 

In related news, for the first time, a Russian delegation was not invited to a ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

Arizona Republicans decided that legislators should be exempt from the state’s open-records law, for totally legitimate reasons, we’re sure!

Authorities released video footage today of the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi by right-wing extremist David DePape in October of last year, after a judge ruled Wednesday that there was no reason to keep the video concealed from public view.

A new report shows that the Supreme Court did not disclose its longstanding financial ties with former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff even as it put him forth as an expert who “independently” validated the court’s investigation into who leaked the draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. That inquiry failed to identify the party responsible for the unprecedented leak, and Chertoff signed off on it. Newly-uncovered information shows that the court privately contracted with The Chertoff Group in recent years for security assignments to the tune of over $1 million, but the precise dollar amount couldn’t be determined, because SCOTUS contracts are not included in federal public-disclosure rules. This is just the latest scandal for the court’s conservative majority, which has repeatedly failed to disclose its ties to special-interest groups that might influence their decisions, which raises the question: should SCOTUS be allowed to have this level of opacity? Seems like no.

Quick question: do you know how much you’re spending on subscriptions? Americans think they spend around $80 a month on subscriptions, when most actually spend closer to $200. Most likely, you’re spending money on subscriptions you don’t even use. That’s where Rocket Money comes in.

 

Rocket Money (formerly known as Truebill) is a personal finance app that finds every subscription you’re paying for. Then you can easily cancel the ones you don’t want anymore with just a tap. Plus, Rocket Money sends you alerts so you don’t go over your budget. And, the app can even help lower your bills!

 

Over three million people have used Rocket Money, saving the average person up to $720 a year. Start managing your finances better by downloading Rocket Money today.

Scottish actor Alan Cumming said today that he is giving back his Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award citing the “toxicity of the empire.” Go off, (anti-monarchist) king.

One of the men charged with assaulting Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick at the January 6 insurrection was sentenced to over 6 years in prison today.

The FDA is easing the ban barring gay and bisexual men from donating blood after decades of protest against the discriminatory restriction, a holdover from the early days of the AIDS crisis.

The Federal Reserve is expected to finally end interest-rate hikes in March as inflation continues to cool.