The Feds:

We begin today in New York, where a weekend double-killing of two New York City police officers has poured gas on the divide between demonstrators demanding a change in policing procedures and the cops themselves. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is finding his relationship with his city’s cops are also at a low point. The gruesome crime appears to have been committed by a disturbed 28 year-old man who shot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore before traveling to Brooklyn where the two officers were slain. He later killed himself. Police union officials resorted to inflammatory rhetoric, suggesting de Blasio’s permissive attitudes about protests were to blame. The mayor himself has called on protests to cease until the two officers are laid to rest.

There is no shortage of commentary on this heinous episode, but Ta-Nehisi Coates wins that round. Read his assessment of the situation. Like now.

…And the World:

After threatening the US if it retaliates for hacking Sony Picutres, the Internet, or what Internet North Korea has, goes down.

The New York Times looks at failures of British and Indian intelligence agencies leading up to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

Pope Francis inveighs against the Vaitcan bureaucracy accusing them, among other ailments, of “spiritual Alzheimer’s.”

Tunisia has a new president.

Facebook caves to pressure from the Russian government and blocks an event page for a protests against the possibly impending incarceration of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The feathers fly in Israel’s election scheduled for March. Yet another poll shows Labor ahead, but the right-wing parties still winning more seats. Meanwhile, after former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres criticizes Benjamin Netanyahu for presiding over an Israel in which a third of its residents are poor, Likud, Bibi’s party, lashed back. Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog rode to the defense of Peres, who is among the last of the country’s leaders from its founding generation.

The Feds (cont’d):

President Barack Obama’s December seems far better than his November.

The Washington Post’s Katie Zezima profiles one of the negotiators behind last week’s historic shift in US-Cuban relations, Ricardo Zuniga.

US Rep. Michael Grimm, who won reelection by double digits last month, will plead guilty to felony tax evasion following his federal indictment earlier this year.

Little movement so far since the idea of expanding gamin in Connecticut was raised.

The Government Accounability Office says states will face either sharp deficits or tax increases to balance budgets in the coming years.

The State of Things:

In the twilight of his tenure, Governor Deval Patrick rode the new Knowledge Corridor route of the Vermonter from Springfield to Greenfield with US Rep. Richard Neal and other dignitaries. His administration was responsible pushing repairs to the line to reroute and speed up the trip to the Green Mountain State that used to take an out-of-the-way path. Formal service along the Connecticut River route with stops in Greenfield and Northampton starts December 29. Holyoke will begin service once its platform is complete next year.

Holyoke marked the anniversary of the slaying of Office John DiNapoli today.

Some feel Western Mass is getting short shrift from governor-elect Charlie Baker.

After being reassigned to Florida, incoming Senate President’s partner Bryon Hefner has quit his job with a public relations firm. The move came after criticism earlier this month.

The Boston Globe analyzes Governor Patrick’s imprint on the judiciary. The Globe’s Capital section profiled newcomers to Beacon Hill including the 413’s own Eric Lesser. Dude gets around, doesn’t he?

Longmeadow residents will get a shot at a special Town Meeting to declare a mulligan after rejecting a proposal to rezone the area around Longmeadow Shops and permit an expansion.

The Fourth Estatements:

David Carr writes about Sony’s decision to pull The Interview and the failings of Hollywood itself.

The Republican on the death of WWLP founder William L. Putnam. He died this weekend at the age of 90.

While the moves appear not to have solved Meet the Press’s problems, The Washingtonian looks at how David Gregory lost his job amid changes at the top of NBC.

Rolling Stone asks Columbia’s Journalism School to investigate what went wrong on its story about a rape on the campus of the University of Virginia.

City Slickers:

Leading off with a bit of vanity. We began our new segment “A Planned City” last week with an Editorial/Analysis piece on how the real and heartening news of Union Station’s renovation will be wasted if city decisionmakers do not begin thinking about what comes next right now and does so with modern, urban planning practices

Ron Chimelis explores the impact of Bud Williams’s Hanukkah-gate.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield will delay its decision on Cathedral after the appointment process for its stakeholder groups moves more slowly than expected.

Historic preservation remains a sticking point in building out MGM.

Twitter Chatter:

Truly a day like today makes choosing a tweet prize winner is difficult. We choose a more positive tone this day. With his governorship coming to a close, Deval Patrick can, as President Barack Obama recently said, affirm he has done right by the commonwealth—east and west. Could more have been done? Of course, but today’s ride up the Knowledge Corridor between Springfield and Greenfield is an excellent example of his impact and efforts to transform the state for the better. Today we award the tweet prize to Patrick’s official Twitter account (which will pass to Charlie Baker’s team next month) for its recognition of the progress, aboard a train taking the new route alongside one of the region and this project’s other champions, US Rep. Richard Neal. With only a few more tweet prizes between now and the end of his time in office, it only seems right to acknowledge him now and in this way.