‘This country still needs him’ Unfortunately, we’re starting your week, your last days of 2019, on a down note. As Paul LeBlanc of CNN reports, civil rights icon and US congressman John Lewis has announced that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Many on Twitter are sending their best wishes and prayers to the man who has spent a lifetime fighting for what’s right and now faces a different kind of battle. Tweets Abby Phillip, “Rep. John Lewis is an American hero. Prayers for him and his family as he fights stage 4 pancreatic cancer.” And Grant Stern notes, “John Lewis is the conscience of the House, and of this nation. I’m sure he will give that pancreatic cancer all the good trouble it can handle, and more. Wishing him a speedy return to good health.” 
In his statement, Lewis said, “So I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.” Greg Bluestein covers the news for the hometown paper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, quoting veteran Democratic strategist and Lewis aide Tharon Johnson, who said, “I still need him. This country still needs him. And if there’s anyone that can win this battle, it’s him.” Church shooting In a church just outside of Fort Worth, Texas, yesterday, a gunman killed two people before two members of the congregation fatally shot him. Dana Branham, Nataly Keomoungkhoun, Tom Steele and LaVendrick Smith have been following the story at The Dallas Morning News. As they report, “The FBI said Sunday evening that the gunman had been arrested in different jurisdictions but declined to go into detail about any charges he’d faced. Although the man had roots in the area, it appears he may have been transient.” Another horrific tragedy and hate crime In Monsey, a suburb of New York, five people were wounded in a stabbing as an intruder burst into the home of a Hasidic rabbi on Saturday night. Rebecca Liebson, Neil Vigdor, Michael Gold and Eliza Shapiro of The New York Times report that the violence occurred just as they were gathering to light candles for Hanukkah. “Another horrific tragedy and hate crime,” as Kara Swisher says. Jenice Armstrong adds, “We all should be outraged about this latest act of domestic terrorism.” At The Atlantic, Emma Green writes that The Monsey Attack Is a Turning Point for New York Jews. She shares, “I spent my day talking to Jews in Rockland Co., who are watching the escalation of anti-Semitism in New York and New Jersey, who feel very scared after the Hanukkah stabbing. ‘We are not safe as Jewish in New York,’ one woman told me.” Green adds, “It is profound that in New York, the largest hub of Jewish life in the world outside of Israel, Jews do not feel safe in their communities--whether in Brooklyn or the suburbs--especially if they look or dress visibly Jewish.” Targeting journalists Sorry, but we’re not going to lighten the mood just yet. At The Washington Post, Siobhan O’Grady shares data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which shows that in the past decade, at least 554 journalists have been killed worldwide, “including our great colleague Mick Dean Never Forgotten,” tweets Adam Boulton. O’Grady notes that ten of the at least 25 journalists killed in 2019 “were not killed in crossfire or on a dangerous assignment, but targeted and murdered, the committee said.” William Westhoven wants to know, “Do you care? Then why are you silent? And why do you snicker when he says ‘fake news’ and paints a target on our back?” The insane inner working of the Trump White House A New York Times investigation by Eric Lipton, Maggie Haberman and Mark Mazzetti takes us Behind the Ukraine Aid Freeze: 84 Days of Conflict and Confusion (25,000+ shares), and “To quote a Pentagon official cited in this report ‘I am speechless,’” says Sam Vinograd. Brian Stelter tweets some highlights: “New NYT reconstruct: Trump’s demands to withhold Ukraine aid ‘sent shock waves through the W.H. and the Pentagon, created deep rifts within the senior ranks of his administration’ and left key aides like Mulvaney ‘under intensifying scrutiny…’” 
Brendan Nyhan calls it “A peek into the insane inner working of the Trump White House - the acting OMB director is reduced to searching Google to figure out what article generated an impulsive presidential reaction that somehow became US policy.” John Harwood praises the “outstanding reporting that raises the question: who could possibly have persuaded Trump to so doggedly withhold military aid to the country at war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia?” Who indeed. The hits keep coming At The Washington Post, meanwhile, Rosalind Helderman, Tom Hamburger, Anthony Faiola and Josh Dawsey did some digging to explain how Giuliani got involved in back-channel talks with Venezuelan President Maduro. Helderman shares on Twitter, “On one end of the call: The socialist president of Venezuela. On the other: Trump’s personal attorney. When word filtered to the WH, there was worry. ‘We didn’t know why Rudy was involved.’” That’s right, “The hits keep coming,” as Barton Deiters tweets. And “In case it needs clarifying, the big takeaway here is that State Dept. won’t own or endorse Giuliani’s shadow diplomacy in a volatile region in which he has business interests ... again,” notes Aaron Blake. Simply devastating reporting “NEW: Six Marines were killed off the coast of Japan. The squadron got blamed. Confidential documents – that the U.S. Marine Corps asked us not to report on - reveal high-level failures and pleas for help that went ignored by senior leaders.” Robert Faturechi links to his reporting with Megan Rose and T. Christian Miller of ProPublica, Faulty Equipment, Lapsed Training, Repeated Warnings: How a Preventable Disaster Killed Six Marines. Charles Ornstein calls it “Simply devastating reporting and writing.” Adds Jessica Lustig, “A chilling, very hard read about the Marine air collision deaths off the coast of Japan last year that did not have to happen and the dire state of training and supplies.” We The People are getting hosed 
It’s not all bad news out there. For example, if you’re a corporate lobbyist, these are boom times. A new deep dive by Jesse Drucker and Jim Tankersley The New York Times reveals How Big Companies Won New Tax Breaks From the Trump Administration. The bottom line: As the Treasury Department prepared to enact the 2017 Republican tax overhaul, corporate lobbyists swarmed — and won big. As Stephanie Strom says, “Taxes are complicated but this story does a great job of explaining how We The People are, yet again, getting hosed.” Edmund Lee highlights the fact that “The big tax cut Trump touts as his signature legislative achievement was so sloppily written and pushed through that lobbyists had a field day, creating huge loopholes that will further increase deficit. Great reporting.” “I can’t stress this enough. The extraordinary new NYT report on how Trump’s tax law has facilitated more corporate tax avoidance and elite gaming goes directly to the core of one of Trump’s greatest betrayals,” tweets Greg Sargent. A haunting, beautiful piece We promise to get us all out of this downer mood in a moment, but first, you really should read this one. “A man shot his wife with Alzheimer’s, then killed himself. I wanted to understand their story. Turns out, it was one of love.” Corina Knoll tells their story in her new piece for The New York Times, Sweethearts Forever. Then Came Alzheimer’s, Murder and Suicide, and Motoko Rich warns, “Brace yourself. This is such a sad story. But @corinaknoll tells it so exquisitely. You will see the beauty.” Adds Mike Hixenbaugh, “The ending of this @corinaknoll story is as brilliant as the start. Such a haunting, beautiful piece. 👏👏👏” But also, we’re “Completely wrecked,” as Stephanie Hayes tweets. Beyond this particular story itself, though, is a bigger problem. Cynthia Ramnarace notes, “There’s so much to mourn here but mostly I’m angry about a system that does not provide enough support or recognition to the challenges of caregiving, both for spouses and adult children.” Like a fine wine 
Whew, OK. We promised some relief, so let’s start with The 100 best films of the decade: 2010-2019, according to contributors to Little White Lies (with illustrations by Giulia Sagramola). In total, more than 300 films were nominated by some 70 writers. The final ranking was done on a points system, with an extra point awarded for each subsequent vote a film received. Digital Editor Adam Woodward explains, “I wanted to take this opportunity to bring together some of our most cherished contributors past and present, and find out which films have endured and why. What were the films that really meant something to the people who make LWLies what it is.” Charlie Phillips says, “I love LWL so this is one retrospective list I will revel in. Saving this like a fine wine.” Adds Mike McCahill, “This may be the strongest ‘of the decade’ list yet published (and I say that not just because I contributed to it).” “The @LWLies Best of the Decade is here and it’s pretty fucking good - plus THOSE ILLUSTRATIONS!!” tweets Hannah Woodhead. A pretty decent pile of funny stuff 
If you need to lighten up just a bit more, may we suggest Vulture’s 207 Unforgettable Comedy Moments From the 2010s. Kathryn Vanarendonk shares, “I submitted exactly one thing to this list that’s 207 items long but I maintain my one thing is the most Important.” But “If you think this is a bad list or that we forgot important stuff, you can write up 207 of your own moments and I can’t wait to read it when you’re done! I think this is a pretty decent pile of funny stuff though,” says Megh Wright. In the meantime, “Spend the next ten years going thru all the clips from the past ten years!” Scott Aukerman suggests. Monday round-up - “Mitoshi Matsumoto, the most famous 7-Eleven convenience store owner in Japan, wants to do something unthinkable in his 24-hour, 7-day-a-week industry: Take a day off,” write Ben Dooley, and Hisako Ueno of The New York Times. They explain the consequences of Matsumoto’s decision in their new piece, A 7-Eleven in Japan Might Close for a Day. Yes, That’s a Big Deal.
- BBC Radio 4 tweets, “We brought together natural history broadcasting legend David Attenborough and global climate activist @GretaThunberg for the first time.” Listen to When Greta Thunberg met David Attenborough, and read about it at the BBC, Greta Thunberg’s father: ‘She is happy, but I worry.’
- Tony Romm of The Washington Post has the scoop that Facebook has disabled some misleading ads on HIV prevention drugs, responding to growing outcry. “But it didn’t set new rules or disable *all* ads, frustrating critics,” he notes.
- AP News’ Kathy Gannon and Rahim Faiez report that the Taliban council has agreed to a temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan, providing a window in which a peace agreement with the United States can be signed.
- Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post reports that Bruce Allen has been fired by the Redskins, and Scott Allen notices, “The Redskins’ record since Bruce Allen was hired late in the 2009 season: 62-100-1. He gone.”
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As we approach a new decade, it’s important for communicators to take time to reflect on the professional challenges they faced in 2019 and look ahead to the opportunities that await in 2020. Muck Rack’s 
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