QUOTATION OF THE DAY
"My aim is to turn my mustache yellow — I’ll smoke as long as my health allows it."
ISMAIL GUNGOR, an Istanbul lawyer and two-pack-a-day smoker who says he would like Turkey to allow licensed smoking establishments after a crackdown（厳重取り締まり） on outdoor smoking at the city’s cafes.

DECEMBER 13, 2016

（１）Senate and House Leaders Call for Inquiry of Russian Hacking in Election
Senator Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul D. Ryan said they supported the investigations, setting up a possible conflict with President-elect Trump.

（２）Syrian Government Moves Closer to Completely Controlling Aleppo
Government forces and their allies have squeezed（押し込める） fighters and civilians in rebel-held parts（叛徒支配地域） of the city into a sliver（一片） of territory, spokesmen said.

（３）Michael Flynn Is Harsh（すばらしい） Judge of C.I.A.’s Role
Mr. Flynn’s view that the C.I.A. is a political arm of the Obama administration isn’t widely shared in Washington but seems to have been internalized by Donald J. Trump.

（４）Trump Picks Rex Tillerson, Exxon C.E.O., as Secretary of State
In choosing the globe-trotting（よちよち歩きの） leader of an energy giant, the president-elect is dismissing bipartisan（二大政党の） concerns that Mr. Tillerson is too cozy（慣れ合いの） with Vladimir V. Putin.
・Trump Names Exxon Mobil Chief to Lead the State Dept.
• ・Meet Rex Tillerson, Trump’s Choice for Secretary of State
• ・Rex Tillerson, an Aggressive Dealmaker（ブローカー、取引仲介人） Whose Ties With Russia May Prompt Scrutiny

（５）Trump Joins Line of Critics of Costly Fighter Jet
His criticism of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, posted on Twitter, continued a pattern（模倣） in which the president-elect has targeted businesses for criticism and threatened presidential action.

（６）Rise in Infant Drug Dependence Is Felt（被る） Most in Rural Areas
Many more pregnant women are abusing opioids（アヘンの）, a new report suggests, putting a strain（格闘） on hospital neonatal（新生児の） units.

（７）Mexico Sees Murder Surge as Fracturing Gangs Do Battle
By the end of October, there were 17,063 homicide cases in Mexico, the highest rate since 2012. A strategy of targeting kingpins may have inadvertently set off a wave of gangland mayhem（身体障害）.　メキシコで殺人が増えている！

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The New York Times, which was among the news organizations to report that Mr. Abe would be the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor, also covered Mr. Yoshida’s stop in Hawaii but did not mention that he went to Pearl Harbor. Other Japanese publications left out the visit, too.　（本紙は吉田ハワイ訪問に言及していたが、パールハーバーには触れなかった。日本の新聞も。しかしアソシエイティッド・プレスは書いていた。）But The Associated Press reported it, saying in an article dated Sept. 13, 1951, that Mr. Yoshida “yesterday paid the first official Japanese call on Pearl Harbor since Dec. 7, 1941.” Toshikazu Inoue, the president of Gakushuin University in Tokyo, who has written extensively about Mr. Yoshida, said political conditions at the time probably contributed to the low-key nature of the visit. The signing of the treaty “was the main focus of attention, as a historic event and symbol that Japan had reconciled with the U.S. and rejoined the international community,” he said.

＊　A version of this article appears in print on December 10, 2016, on Page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Japanese Leader’s Pearl Harbor Visit May Not Be a First.

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60-Second Civics: Episode 2733, Changing the Size of the Supreme Court
Congress can change the size of the Supreme Court.
In what year did Congress change the size of the Supreme Court to its current size of nine justices?
a. 1801
b. 1863
c. 1866
d. 1869
Nicely done! Choice d is correct.