Kerry in China, Kobe Bryant Out

World: Secretary of State John Kerry is in China urging leaders to put a lid on the bellicose rhetoric coming from their neighbor Kim Jong-un in North Korea. They also agreed to work toward eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula.

Game Over: Zack Greinke, the Dodgers’ highest paid pitcher, suffered a broken left collarbone in the brawl that took place Thursday night after he hit the Padres’ Carlos Quentin with a pitch. Greinke ended up at the bottom of a pile of players. He could be out for months and Quentin was suspended for eight games for starting the fight.

Season Over: Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant dropped to the court last night with what appears to be a ruptured Achilles tendon. If that’s what it is, Bryant is out for the season and possibly part of next year as well. At age 34, a frustrated Bryant posted on Facebook, “Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me.”

Weiner Dog: Tomorrow the NY Times Magazine features a political rehabilitation profile of Anthony Weiner, who famously tweeted a picture of his gray shorts veiling an excited member of Congress. Weiner, who is considering a run for Mayor of New York, cooperated with the writer after two years of low-profile living. In the article, he is contrite, honest, and self-examining, unlike the obscene, abusive man once described by staff and associates.

Obit Page: The manic improvisational comedian Jonathan Winters, popular in the 1960s and 70s, died at home in California at age 87. Rarely scripted, Winters made it up on the fly, populating his humor with invented characters; the elderly aunt Maude Frickert, Lance Loveguard the lothario, and Princess Leilani-nani, the world’s oldest Hula dancer. He had two television variety shows and played in movies including, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Unable to turn it off when not performing, Winters had two mental breakdowns early in his career and spent time in hospitals.  But he was brilliantly funny, even about himself. “I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.”

  • Maria Tallchief, who grew up on an Oklahoma Indian reservation and became a star of American ballet is dead at 88. She was married for a few years to the brilliant but difficult choreographer George Ballanchine.

England Mourns: “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” is headed for the top 40 in England following the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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