Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM

• (fake) NEWS: Made-up news stories played a role in the presidential election: who is to blame?

• Arts & Culture: a new play at Gonzaga pulls from The Simpsons for a reflection on the notion of stories.

• Health: a new study on the benefits of weed, Americans' access to healthcare and more.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Details continue to trickle out of the triple murder trial of Roy Murry as firefighters testify about their search for three victims engulfed in smoke and flames: A firefighter's empty helmet and flesh fused to the carpet. (Spokesman-Review)

• Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer and Coeur d'Alene Resort GM Bill Reagan are named in the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a 73-year-old woman. Margie Saunders died of hypothermia in 2014 because her apartment was too cold, according to the lawsuit. (Coeur d'Alene Press)

• Trump's picks: Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a conservative who has spoken critically of the Voting Right Act and has made other racist comments throughout his career — specifically during his time as U.S. attorney in Alabama — could be the next attorney general.

Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo will head up the CIA, and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn could be the next national security advisor. The New York Times calls Flynn an "anti-Islamist" who "believes Islamist militancy poses an existential threat."

• Police accountability advocates, public officials and leaders of local police unions met this week to discuss the Spokane Police Department's soon-to-expire union contracts. A good chunk of the forum focused on the investigative authority of police ombudsman Bart Logue. (Spokesman-Review)