Sanctuary cities will be a focal point when the new president takes office. But these cities that promise a measure of protection from deportations were increasing in number long before candidate Trump emerged as a serious contender. "In 2012, there were a few dozen sanctuary communities; today there are around five hundred and fifty." What exactly can these cities do to protect someone from the federal government? In The New Yorker, the excellent Alex Kotlowitz takes a look at the possibilities and limits of the so-called sanctuary cities.

In a turn of events that would likely make him happy, Fidel Castro's death has left many Americans arguing how to view the totality of his legacy. Here's the NYT's obituary (which was mostly written years ago): "Fidel Castro, the fiery apostle of revolution who brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere in 1959 and then defied the United States for nearly half a century as Cuba's maximum leader, bedeviling 11 American presidents and briefly pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, died on Friday. He was 90." (Castro was one of last humans who made you wonder whether everyone dies in the end. I guess now we know.)

+ From an exploding seashell to tainted ice cream, here are 7 bizarre ways the US tried to kill or topple Fidel Castro. (They all failed until we threw 2016 at him...)

Aleppo is without hospitals, has very little food left, and a government takeover looks imminent as Assad (with the help of Russian airstrikes) has recaptured about 40% of the territory.

+ NBC News: "A mother and daughter whose tweets have offered heartbreaking insight into Syria's civil war were 'on the run' Monday as the pro-regime troops pushed into a rebel-held area of Aleppo."

"Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight." That was the ominous tweet sent to students and faculty at Ohio State as a person ran into people with a car before pulling out a knife and continuing his rampage. At least 9 people were hospitalized. The suspect was killed by police.

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." That was a weekend Tweet from our president-elect that ripped across headlines and through social media, and gave us yet another object lesson in how fake news travels.

+ WaPo called the claim "baseless" and gave Trump "four Pinocchios." The NYT said the claim "cited no evidence". But there's a more accurate word for baseless claims that cite no evidence. (Hint: It has three letters.)

+ "If fake news had the power to influence people's minds during the US elections, in a country with a well-established mainstream media landscape, what could it do in Myanmar, with a nascent news media, only recently freed from the military's stranglehold?" Buzzfeed's Sheera Frenkel with a very interesting look at the impact of social media in Myanmar: This is what happens when millions of people suddenly get the internet.

+ Speaking of fake news, today is your last chance to score the NextDraft Read Real News T-Shirt.

"At least six former players have said publicly that they were molested as boys in the youth programs, and the head of the English soccer players' union said Sunday that nearly two dozen more former players had come forward privately." According to the NYT, authorities in England's Football Association have started an inquiry into claims of sexual abuse in the English Youth Leagues. (Every now and then you can get a sense that a story is going to become massive. I get that sense about this one.)

"But, even if you did take a naked picture and send it to somebody, that's not necessarily reckless behavior. That's time-honored behavior! G.I.s going off to war used to have pics of their wife or girlfriend in a pinup pose. It's often part of intimate communication. It can be used as a weapon, but, the fact is, almost anything can be used as a weapon." The New Yorker on a woman focused on defending victims, not blaming them. The attorney fighting revenge p*rn.

In my lifetime, there have been two utterly massive news stories. News stories that riveted the public, obsessed the media, and that had endings that very few people expected. These stories took on lives of their own. They became bigger than anyone imagined. Race came into the stories. Gender came into the stories. Everyone was watching. And then there was a twist almost no one expected. The two stories had something else in common: A celebrity. Here's my take on OJ, Trump, and America's Achilles Heel.

"When she took it for validation to a used video game store in Charlotte, the young man behind the counter rustled open the plastic bag and beheld the game -- pristine in its cardboard box covered by much of the original cellophane -- coughing the words 'Oh my god.' He offered her all the money in the register for it. She turned him down." ESPN on a boring Nintendo game from 1987 that became the most coveted cartridge ever.

+ Why gamers spent 3-years-plus studying Grand Theft Auto's Mount Chiliad.

So let's say a retailer sends you something (or even several things) that you didn't order. Can you legally keep it? Yes.

+ The phrase Cyber Monday feels pretty antiquated. The few people who don't do all their holiday shopping online probably will after seeing what Black Friday did to a Nike outlet store near Seattle.