* Officials connect North Korea to the Sony hack, but are reluctant to pursue further in the face of other negotiations. * With screenings cancelled and no plans for video, killing The Interview could cost Sony $100 million. * Sony should sell The Interview to Netflix and become a hero in the face
* Pakistani city of Peshawar buries its dead after a Taliban attack at a school killed at least 140 children and staff. * Putin should look to Britain's Black Wednesday from the '90s to keep his ruble from falling too far. * Slipped inside the recent federal spending bill was
* Taliban attacks an army-run school in northwestern Pakistan, killing more than 120 children. * Despite state charges and Muslim skepticism, Sydney attacker professed himself an advocate of peace and a spiritual healer. * The New Yorker's archival photos of MLK's Selma march. * Inside the Ferguson movement, young
* ISIS began in 2004 at an American-run prison in Iraq—a golden opportunity for future terrorists. * Senate passes spending bill, but not without another shutdown scare from Ted Cruz. * Following the dismantling of Hong Kong's final Occupy site, protesters urge people to refuse to pay taxes in
* Senate to begin debate on a $1.1 trillion spending bill that narrowly passed last night, avoiding a government shutdown. * Related: Cromnibus spending bill passes over objection of liberal lights Warren, Pelosi. * See also: National Democrats consistently use liberal DC policies as bartering chips in federal disputes with Republicans. * Nurse
* Psychologists who developed the CIA's torture methods based their work on a study of inducing helplessness in dogs. * Navy debuts laser on Persian Gulf ship, too lethal to be used on humans. * US government infiltrates Cuba's hip-hop scene to turn rappers against their government. * Detroit&
* Terrific, terrifying interactive guide to 20 key findings learned from the Senate's torture report. * CIA's torture methods found to be unreliable and inefficient, compared to other methods of obtaining information. * Former Polish president reverses denials, says the country agreed to secret prisons but not torture. * George
* Marines placed on high alert, anticipating a backlash from today's Senate torture report on the Bush era. * Bush, former CIA officials condemn the torture report. * Related: The report is too little, too late for Obama's record; key aides muddled the approach from the get-go. * ACLU
* Republican attorneys general in at least a dozen states form secret alliance with Big Energy to fight environmental regulations. * The strange thing about Tony Blair's Christmas card is how the teeth seem to follow you round the room. * Nations track their citizens with third-party surveillance tools, to
* Loretta Lynch to lead inquiry into Eric Garner's death while Republican Senators vet her for attorney general. * Two weeks after the death of Tamir Rice, Justice Department finds pattern of excessive force by Cleveland Police. * De Blasio announces three-day retraining course for 22,000 New York City
