Religious Attacks: Over the weekend a gunman killed two people in a Texas church and a machete-wielding attacker barged into a New York Hanukkah celebration and wounded five people. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the New York attack “an act of terrorism.”

  The Texas incident happened in the unfortunately-named town of White Settlement where a man pulled out a shotgun and fired before he was cut down by a volunteer security guard. Several parishioners carrying guns pulled their weapons.

  The shooter had a previous arrest record. There was no immediate word on whether he had any connection to the church, the West Freeway Church of Christ.

  In Monsey, NY, the assailant entered the home of a rabbi where a large number of people had gathered. One witness said, “At the beginning, he started wielding his machete back and forth, trying to hit everyone around.” Some people ran and others threw pieces of furniture at him. One victim is in critical condition.

  Police tracked down the suspect, 38-year-old Grafton Thomas, using a license plate number. Thomas has a record of mental illness.

Naming Names: President Trump retweeted a message that contained the name of what is believed to be the whistleblower whose complaint led to the President’s impeachment.

  On Friday night, Trump shared a Twitter post from @surfermom77, who describes herself as “100% Trump supporter.” That tweet prominently gave the name of a man suggested that he had committed perjury.

 The law says that the identity of the whistleblower should be protected, even though everyone in Washington probably knows who it is. The whistleblower works for US intelligence — we know that much — but the vengeful Trump wants the world to know who it is, and discourage others from coming forward.

  A name has been published before by conservative media outlets, including Breitbart News. Donald Trump Jr. has tweeted the name.

84 Days: The NY Times says senior aides to President Trump opposed his plan to withhold $391 in military aid to Ukraine with one of them saying, “expect Congress to come unhinged.” They did and the President was impeached.

  The Times story outlines the 84 days during which Trump held back money for sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, night vision goggles, medical and other equipment.

  The story says that Trump was opposed by Defense Secretary Mark  Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and John Bolton, the national security adviser at the time.

  The paper reports that “What emerges is the story of how Mr. Trump’s demands sent shock waves through the White House and the Pentagon, created deep rifts within the senior ranks of his administration, left key aides like Mr. (Mick) Mulvaney under intensifying scrutiny — and ended only after Mr. Trump learned of a damning whistle-blower report and came under pressure from influential Republican lawmakers.”

Diagnosed: Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a hero of the civil rights movement and towering figure in the House, announced that he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. 

  “I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life,” the 79-year-old Lewis said in a statement. “I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.”

  The chances of surviving advanced pancreatic cancer are slim. Lewis said, “I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon.” 

The Bulletin Board: US jets yesterday bombed five targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a rocket attack on Friday that killed an American contractor. — A Chinese scientist who claimed he had genetically altered two babies was sentenced to four years in prison for carrying out “illegal medical practices.” Dr. He Jiankui said he was preventing the transmission of the Aids virus to the infants from infected parents.

The Obit Page: Actress Sue Lyon, who at age 14 was cast in the title role of “Lolita” in the movie version of the Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, has died at age 73.

  Lyon was chosen out of 800 girls to play the part of the 12-year-old who was the subject of sexual obsession by college professor Humbert Humbert. A photo of Lyon wearing heart-shaped sunglasses with a lollipop at her lips was used as the movie’s poster and became the lasting image for the film even though the scene was never in the movie.

The Reading Room: Both President Barack Obama and Donald Trump have released books they recommend from their reading in 2019. We present the top 10 from each with no further comment.

Obama:

• “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power” by Shoshana Zuboff
• “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company” by William Dalrymple
• “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee” by Casey Cep
• “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo
• “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present” by David Treuer
• “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell 
• “Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli
• “Lot: Stories” by Bryan Washington 
• “Normal People” by Sally Rooney
• “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson

Trump:

•  “Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency” by Andrew C. McCarthy.
•  “The Case Against Socialism” by Rand Paul.
•  “The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free” by Rich Lowry.
•  “The Case for Trump” by Victor Davis Hanson.
•  “Choosing the Extraordinary Life: God’s 7 Secrets for Success and Significance” by Robert Jeffress.
•  “Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump” by George Papadopoulos
•  “Exonerated: The Failed Takedown of President Donald Trump by the Swamp” by Dan Bongino.
•  “Game of Thorns: The Inside Story of Hillary Clinton’s Failed Campaign and Donald Trump’s Winning Strategy” by Doug Wead.
•  “The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get” by Joe Ricketts.
•  “Inside Trump’s White House: The Real Story of His Presidency” by Doug Wead.

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