1. According to NPR, Gospel singer Joe Ligon died Sunday at the age of 80. He was the electric and vibrant frontman for the Grammy award-winning group Mighty Clouds of Joy, which helped bring gospel to the mainstream. Ligon was born in Troy, Ala. in 1936. He spent some time in Detroit, then moved to L.A., where he joined the Mighty Clouds of Joy and proved himself in the band. Gospel star Pastor Shirley Caesar says Ligon brought a remarkable energy to his performances. She adds that no gospel singers — herself included — ever wanted to follow Ligon and his Mighty Clouds of Joy. She says, “By the time Joe and the Clouds would’ve finished singing, there was really nothing left — the people were really ready to go home.”
2. According to Mail Online, President-elect Donald Trump met with football legend Jim Brown and all star linebacker Ray Lewis to hear a pitch about a program that serves African American communities. The football greats showed up at Trump Tower Tuesday for a meeting with the president-elect. Pastor Darrell Scott, of Cleveland, pitched Brown’s Amer-I-can nonprofit program, and spoke of the program for troubled kids inside the government under Trump. He said, “We talked about marrying or merging the Amer-I-can program with the Trump administration to make America great again.” It wasn’t immediately clear how the program could be merged with government programs or which ones were under discussion.
3. According to the Dallas Morning News, police recruiters are trying to bring in hundreds of new police officers in Dallas. Nearly 100 officers in the Dallas Police Department have quit or retired since October, according to multiple reports, worsening the department’s deficit of personnel. Interim Police Chief David Pughes told City Council members Monday night that the department wanted to fill the next academy class with 60 officers but has only hired 30 for the February class. The department is down to 3,252 officers and wold like to have at least 3,500.
4. According to the Tennessean, a Nashville police officer was shot early Tuesday morning at the Cumberland Inn, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. The officer injured has been identified as East Precinct officer Terrance McBride, a three-year veteran with the police department. McBride is in stable condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center, according to Metro Nashville police. He was shot in the shoulder while attempting to serve a warrant at the motel.
5. According to USA Today, a police affadavit alleges Morehead State’s men’s basketball coach battered two players while the team was in Evansville to face the Aces on Nov. 19. Sophomore Malik Maitland told Morehead State University Police that head coach Sean L. Woods backhanded him twice in the chest at halftime. Junior Soufiyane Diakite told MSUPD that Woods shoved him twice – once during a timeout and once at halftime. He also told police that he saw Woods strike Maitland. University police then alerted the Evansville Police Department of the allegations. Woods has been charged with battery, a class A misdemeanor. If found guilty, Woods could face up to one year in jail and fines up to $5,000. The university has suspended him with pay while they complete an internal investigation.
6 . According to the Associated Press, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James will be the executive producer of an HBO documentary on Muhammad Ali, who died earlier this year. The as-yet-untitled film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua, who also helmed the boxing drama “Southpaw” and “Training Day.” Fuqua will also produce. James has been a longtime admirer of Ali, the boxing great and social activist. James recently pledged a $2.5 donation to a new exhibit on Ali at the Smithsonian Institution. James’ SpringHill Entertainment, which he co-founded with business partner and close friend Maverick Carter, will produce the multipart film. HBO says the documentary will “explore Ali’s greatest triumphs and comebacks, painting an intimate portrait of a man who, against all odds, dreamed and achieved the impossible, over and over again.”
7. According to Reuters, Tiger Woods, who has not competed on the PGA Tour since August 2015, will return to the U.S. circuit at next year’s Genesis Open in Pacific Palisades, California, the former world number one announced on Tuesday. Woods, who competed earlier this month at the limited-field Hero World Challenge after a lengthy absence caused by chronic back problems, is a native of California and will be teeing it up in the event that marked his PGA Tour debut in 1992. The Genesis Open, which will be played at Riviera Country Club from Feb. 13-19, benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.
BCNN1 WP 