Intractable wars. A growing refugee crisis. An expanding economic divide. The endless exhaustion of the election and the transition reality show. The deaths of several beloved performers. The fake news. The real news we wished was fake. The festering hate. Billy Bush with Trump. Billy Bush with Ryan Lochte. Emails. Hacks. Leaks. A serious overuse of Emoji. It's been a long and divisive year. So maybe this is the perfect Friday to lead with Micah Osler's piece in The New Yorker: For the sake of the country, here are some politically neutral meerkat facts.

+ In 72,000 BC, "a Sumatran volcano erupted with the force of 1.5 million atomic bombs." It's still close, but I think that evidence proves that 2016 wasn't really the worst year ever.

"I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action. And we will -- at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be." As more reports indicate the Russian hack was directed right from the top, President Obama vows that US will retaliate. Obama took questions on this topic and other matters in his final end of the year media briefing.

+ NYT: "Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that the hacking attacks carried out by Russia against her campaign and the Democratic National Committee were intended 'to undermine our democracy' and were ordered by Vladimir V. Putin 'because he has a personal beef against me.'"

+ Russia continues to deny the accusations: "They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly."

Every Friday, I use this spot to share some ideas for what to watch, hear, and read -- from documentaries and TV shows, to music and the occasional product pick. As the holiday season approaches, many of you will have some extra time off. And you'll need it, because I've compiled all the picks into one remarkable year-end list. Ladies and Gentlemen: The 2016 Smart Binge, Music, and Book Guide.

"The NRA and the entertainment industry interact publicly as mortal enemies. But as the number of weapons shown in movies and TV steadily increases a co-dependence that keeps both churning is revealed." The Hollywood Reporter with a special report on the gun industry's lucrative relationship with Hollywood. Locked and Loaded.

Syria and Aleppo's depressing demise has been in the headlines a lot this year. The same is not true for Yemen, where citizens face a war on the ground and Saudi bombing from the air. From NYT Interactive: We Visited the Place the World Has Forgotten.

+ David Ignatius: Why America was bound to fail in Syria.

Donald Trump has named bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman as Ambassador to Israel. Friedman is not a fan of the two state idea, is extremely pro-settlement, and "has described J Street, the liberal Zionist lobbying group, as comparable to the 'Kapos during the Nazi regime.' The reference is to the prisoners forced to work as functionaries in the concentration camps."

+ Fox News analyst Monica Crowley, has been named senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. She has repeatedly suggested connections between Clinton aid Huma Abedin and Islamic extremists. Oh, and then there was that tweet.

+ Recode's Kara Swisher did some excellent reporting to find out who said what inside the Trump tech meeting.

+ It's not unprecedented that a non-spouse would assume to role of First Lady in the White House. And Ivanka Trump could be the most powerful first lady ever.

"If the bear's in the outer zone, the staff will try to scare it away by firing cracker shells—shotgun rounds that explode with especially loud bangs. If that doesn't work, they resort to rubber bullets or paint balls." From The Atlantic: Busy Times at the World's Largest Polar Bear Prison. (Among Polar Bears, there are no climate change deniers.)

The NBA family lost one of its most beloved figures this week as broadcaster Craig Sager passed away after a long battle with cancer. Gregg Popovich shared some emotional words. Steve Kerr called for a moment of joy. Players around the league wore crazy, colorful outfits in Sager's honor. This guy had a very real impact on his place of work. SB Nation collected some of the tributes: The NBA lost a legend in Craig Sager.

"Many young people don't feel safe in traditional shelters, staying with adults. Many have been verbally or physically abused, or robbed. The peer-to-peer model of young people helping young people really lowers that barrier for young people to come in the door." From KQED: Homeless U: First Shelter Just for College Students Opens Its Doors.

"Holiday wish lists for foodies and coffee snobs this year include Hario V60 ceramic pour-over dripper cones, highly sensitive digital brewing scales, burr grinders and, for stocking stuffers, bags of small-lot Ethiopian and Panamanian beans. (The truly optimistic are also including La Marzocco's mini Linea espresso machine, which retails for a cool $4,500.)" But back in the day, what the coffee snobs really wanted was a Mister Coffee. (I'm still holding out for a gender neutral model.)

+ Quartz: " In addition to his grace and military prowess, America's first president was known for confining his stronger opinions to private letters rather than public outbursts, for his love of the theater, and for having hands so large that he had to wear custom-made gloves." And George Washington was also determined to drain the swamp. But in this case, it was a real swamp.