• At least seven tornadoes touched down in Tennessee over the weekend, causing extensive property damage leaving thousands without power. Unusually warm days in December preceded the outbreak.
• In Nashville, the worst areas hit were in Madison and South Nashville.
• The omicron variant of the coronavirus has been found in two separate cases in Shelby County. They are the first confirmed cases in Tennessee.
• Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered a new COVID antibody treatment that will soon be added a treatment option for patients with the virus and to prevent infection.
• The workers at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery have formally notified their management that they are seeking to form a union, citing that the new ownership has wide pay disparities at its other owned companies and has not offered a cost of living adjustment during the pandemic. If approved, it would be the first such distillery in the state to have union representation.
• Next year’s Metro School Board elections will have political party primaries after the state legislature passed a law that allowed them. Previously they were by statute non-partisan races.
• A website expected to launch later this week will shed light on road-related deaths in Nashville neighborhoods as part of the city’s ‘Vision Zero’ program. So far this year 35 pedestrians have been killed in collisions with automobiles.
• Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery has decided not to appeal an order by a Nashville judge to remove a man from death row after 20 years because of racial bias in jury selection and prosecutorial misconduct. Slatery said that while he disagrees with the arrangement worked out by Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk, he does not want to continue the fight.
• Maplewood High School and East Magnet High School had additional security on-hand Friday morning following online threats against them. Administrators believe the threats were an attempt to have classes canceled, but treated them the same for safety reasons.
• Nashville SC made several off-season moves this weekend, kicked off by announcing roster changes for who the team would retain for next season.
• The Tennessee Titans shutout the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars 20-0 Sunday afternoon at home to improve to 9-4, the first home-field shutout since 2000 . The team heads to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers next weekend.
• The Nashville Predators have strung together five wins in a row, beating the New York Islanders 4-3 Thursday, the Jersey Devils 3-2 Friday and the New York Rangers 1-0 Sunday, all on the road.  The team returns home tomorrow night to face the Calgary Flames.
• Police are reminding park visitors to lock their car doors and keep valuables out of sight after a string of break-ins at Percy Warner Park.
• And finally, here are some pictures of bobcat kittens spotted in Shelby Bottoms Park in East Nashville.

Photo by Mark Cameron. Want to see your photo featured here?