The ISIS caliphate is already crumbling

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ISIS 10:21am ET

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It turns out that the Islamic State, which seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria this year, is not so good at the whole running a state thing. According to The Washington Post, areas under ISIS' control are rapidly falling apart due to severe mismanagement:

In the Iraqi city of Mosul, the water has become undrinkable because supplies of chlorine have dried up, said a journalist living there, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his safety. Hepatitis is spreading, and flour is becoming scarce, he said. "Life in the city is nearly dead, and it is as though we are living in a giant prison," he said.

In the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's self-styled capital, water and electricity are available for no more than three or four hours a day, garbage piles up uncollected, and the city's poor scavenge for scraps on streets crowded with sellers hawking anything they can find, residents say. [The Washington Post]

In many areas of Iraq and Syria, Islamic State militants were initially greeted as liberators from Shiite oppressors. It's not too hard to imagine residents changing their tune if living conditions continue to deteriorate.
- - Ryu Spaeth

Benched 4:42pm ET

West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett retires because of concussions

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Saying "it would be dangerous for me to be out there," West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett announced on Friday that he will sit out of Monday's Liberty Bowl against Texas A&M because of concussions.
The senior was knocked out in a 26-20 loss to Kansas State in November, The Associated Press reports, and he had not played since. Trickett said on Friday that he has sustained five concussions over the last 14 months, and he indicated that West Virginia's medical staff was not immediately made aware of all of the injuries.
"That was on me," Trickett said of not reporting all of the concussions. "If they would have known, they probably would have been more cautious about it, but I was trying to push through it."
Sophomore Skyler Howard will start for the Mountaineers (7-5) in the Liberty Bowl.
- - Sarah Eberspacher

Banned 4:22pm ET

Egypt reportedly bans Exodus: Gods and Kings film

Facebook.com/Exodus: Gods and Kings

Citing historical falsehoods and a pro-Zionist view, Egypt's culture minister reportedly said on Friday that Exodus: Gods and Kings will not be shown in the country, The New York Times reports.
"(Exodus) gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies, and that's why we have decided to ban it," Gaber Asfour was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
Morocco has also reportedly banned the film, which stars Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses. Variety reports that the film has already grossed $46 million in the U.S., along with another $62 million in 39 international markets, since its release in mid-December.
- - Sarah Eberspacher

This just in 3:57pm ET

Putin signs new military doctrine naming NATO as Russia's top threat

Ramil Sitdikov/Host Photo Agency via Getty Images

Saying increasing NATO forces near Russia's borders could be used for "political and military pressure," President Vladimir Putin signed a new military doctrine on Friday that names NATO as the country's top military threat. The doctrine points to "a buildup of NATO military potential and its empowerment with global functions implemented in violation of international law," as cause for concern, The Associated Press reports.
And unlike a 2010 version of Russia's military doctrine, the new document gives Moscow room to use precision conventional weapons "as part of strategic deterrent measures," although it does not outline exactly how or when the Kremlin would be able to resort to such actions.
NATO said it "poses no threat to Russia or to any nation," and that, "it is Russia's actions, including currently in Ukraine, which are breaking international law and undermining European security."
- - Sarah Eberspacher

This just in 3:27pm ET

Jazz clarinetist Buddy DeFranco dies at age 91

Legendary jazz clarinetist Buddy DeFranco died on Wednesday in a Panama City hospital, his family confirmed on Friday to The Associated Press.
DeFranco, who was 91, collaborated with musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Art Tatum, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. He had been named a Living Jazz Legend at at Kennedy Center ceremony, and he was recognized 16 times as the top jazz clarinetist in the world.
Below, take a listen to DeFranco's expertise in a couple clips of him and Terry Gibbs appearing on Jonny Carson's Tonight Show. The suits may be dated, but the performances are as stylish as ever. --Sarah Eberspacher

Onward! 2:43pm ET

Zookeepers send baby gorilla shunned by her mom to new zoo

In her first five months on earth, baby Kamina has become quite the traveler.
The gorilla was born at Oklahoma City's zoo in August, The Associated Press reports, but her mother failed to bond with the baby. Zookeepers there sent her to the Cincinnati Zoo, where human keepers worked with Kamina on developing proper gorilla behaviors. Alas, when she was recently introduced to two female gorillas there, the surrogate moms shunned her, too.

(Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden/Facebook.com)

So now, Kamina is headed for the Columbus Zoo, which has experience working with animals that have been ostracized by their biological parents. Let's hope third time's the charm and this baby has a happy — and settled — new year.
- - Sarah Eberspacher

eyes on russia 1:43pm ET

Visa, MasterCard stop servicing Crimea after sanctions

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Visa and MasterCard, the world's two biggest payment networks, both announced Friday they're stopping services in Crimea, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
"Visa is now prohibited from offering Visa-branded products and services to Crimea," the company said in a statement. "This means that we can no longer support card-issuing and merchant/ATM acquiring services in Crimea."
The move comes after a recent executive order from President Barack Obama. The U.S. has been imposing sanctions since Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.
- - Julie Kliegman

$$$$$ 12:34pm ET

Jennifer Lawrence is 2014's top-grossing actor

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Despite a repeat of her infamous Oscar fall, Jennifer Lawrence pulled off an impressive 2014. She tops Forbes' list of top-grossing actors this year.
Between Mockingjay and X-Men: Days of Future Past, J-Law's films raked in $1.4 billion (and counting!) at the box office. Her success didn't stop in theaters, either: Her Mockingjay song "Hanging Tree" was a Billboard hit.
Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Wahlberg all trail Lawrence on the Forbes list, with each of their movies grossing at least $1 billion this year.
- - Julie Kliegman

sneak peek 11:45am ET

Take a look back at 2014 on this week's cover of The Week magazine

You can browse all past covers here, and subscribe to The Week magazine in print here.
- - Samantha Rollins

North Korea 11:24am ET

U.S. to share North Korea intel with South Korea, Japan

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The U.S. will sign a joint intelligence-sharing pact with South Korea and Japan next week, officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
The U.S. already swaps intelligence with both nations, but under the new agreement, South Korea and Japan would be able to share information on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs via the U.S.
North Korea has made progress in manufacturing small, light nuclear warheads capable of reaching the U.S., South Korean officials say. The new agreement is designed to allow all three nations to respond more swiftly to North Korean provocation.
- - Julie Kliegman

surveillance nation 11:23am ET

NSA releases documents confirming a decade of illegal spying on Americans

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On Christmas Eve, the NSA released redacted documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the ACLU that confirm that the agency illegally spied on Americans for more than a decade. In addition to monitoring Americans' overseas communications, the NSA inappropriately and insecurely shared and stored data it collected about U.S. citizens.
While past NSA revelations have shown agents intentionally misusing their spying power for personal gain — like the case of an employee who monitored his foreign girlfriend's phone calls for a month — this report also includes at least one noteworthy tale of incompetence: An NSA agent spied on himself when he accidentally requested surveillance "of his own personal identifier instead of the selector associated with a foreign intelligence target."
- - Bonnie Kristian