SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

THE HORROR CONTINUES – FROM FOX:   Deflategate: Part 2, anyone? The infamous saga may have a sequel coming in the near future.  FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that the New York Giants alerted the league office that the Pittsburgh Steelers were using deflated footballs in Week 13. After the Giants forced two turnovers of the Steelers, they tested two footballs on the sideline. Both of them came back under league standards for PSI, so the Giants sent those footballs to the league office.  This may be the end of civilization as we know it.  What do we tell our children?

VENEZUELA HAS THE ANSWER – FROM AFP:  Caracas (AFP) - Ever since Venezuelan government agents put up a giant "Sale" sign in his storefront, crowds have been lining up outside Juan Vieira's shoe shop.  But he's having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit.  "What good is it to sell shoes if I'm giving away my product?"  Stuck in a nasty economic crisis, Venezuela is facing a Scrooge-worthy Christmas this year.  The world's highest inflation rate has gutted Venezuelans' incomes and chronic shortages have left them struggling to buy food, let alone presents.  Seeking to spread some cheer, President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government has set aside its distaste for consumerism and sent a small army of bureaucrats and soldiers to force more than 200 retail stores in Caracas to hold Christmas sales  Ah, the glories of socialism. I want to see Hollywood stars rush down there to boost the holiday spirit.  I think smashing windows and stealing things from the oppressor stores would work, don't you?

A SETBACK – FROM AP:   BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Syrian troops Sunday, according to both sides in the battle, scoring a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.  In winning back Palmyra, the extremist group appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a major government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.  Palmyra, with its towering 2,000-year-old ruins, holds mostly symbolic meaning in the wider civil war, although its location in central Syria also gives it some strategic significance.  ISIS has a history of reinventing itself and then becoming stronger.  It will not go away...unless Trump makes it go away.

December 11,   2016