Read This, Skip That ....

December 22, 2014
HEARTBREAK
When NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot by Ismaaiyl Brinsley on Saturday, medics rushed to the scene. “I prayed and I prayed as I pushed,” Baron Johnson of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps tells Michael Daly. “If we could still be working on him now, we would be."
CONTRABAND
The Hermit Kingdom may hate Hollywood, but North Koreans devour Western movies, even when doing so puts their lives at risk. While North Korea is accused of orchestrating the Sony hack, that won't stop the black-market generation from getting their hands on James Bond and Charlie’s Angels, reports Lizzie Crocker.
WAR OF WORDS
New York police union head Pat Lynch slammed Bill de Blasio, claiming the mayor had blood on his hands for teaching his son that he needs to be more careful around cops because of his race. Lynch's remarks drove tensions between the police and City Hall to a new level, writes Michael Tomasky. There has never been anything remotely like the war the cops are waging right now against de Blasio.
CENSORED

The Pentagon is refusing to release a trove of graphic photos showing U.S. troops abusing detainees, arguing that doing so would play into ISIS’s hands. Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris told a federal court in a declassified declaration filed late Friday that all 2,100-plus photos should be kept from public view. Harris’ propaganda argument does not appear to meet the legal threshold for withholding images. Under a law enacted in the early days of the Obama administration, the photos are allowed to stay hidden only if the secretary of defense certifies that they could risk American lives. The law doesn’t say anything about the photos’ propaganda value.

SKIPPING

North Korea is refusing to participate in a historic UN meeting on the country’s abysmal human-rights record. The UN Security Council is set to discuss Pyongyang’s alleged crimes against humanity for the first time. However, North Korea is skipping out because of renewed international scrutiny brought by the Sony Pictures hack, which the country has been accused of orchestrating. The hack is also set to be discussed at Monday’s meeting. Though China is almost certain to veto any measures by the UN, the mere hint that Kim Jong Un might be responsible for human-rights violations outrages North Korean officials. North Korea already threatened the U.S. for any potential government punishments over the Sony hack.


ROYAL MESS
Spanish Princess to Be Tried for Fraud
Husband allegedly embezzled millions.
BEHIND BARS
Sydney Gunman’s Partner Sent to Jail
Amirah Droudis’ murder-charge bail is revoked.
WILD
Orangutan in Argentina Granted Rights
Considered a “non-human” person.
NO. 2
Obama to Pick Sally Yates for Deputy AG
Expected to announce Monday.
LAND DOWN UNDER
Family Saved After 10 Days in Outback
Rescuer said they were “pretty happy.”

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