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Although these are new findings and the research in this area is not yet settled, what this suggests is that similar to the way people become addicted to drugs or gambling, people may also become addicted to seeking retribution against their enemiesrevenge addiction. This may help explain why some people just cant let go of their grievances long after others feel they should have moved onand why some people resort to violence.

Its worth asking whether this helps explain Trumps fixation on his grievances and ways of exacting retribution for them. The hallmark of addiction is compulsive behavior despite harmful consequences. Trumps unrelenting efforts to retaliate against those he believes have treated him unjustly (including, now, American voters) appear to be compulsive and uncontrollable. The harm this causes to himself and others is obvious but seems to have no deterrent effect. Reports suggest he has been doing this for much of his life. He seems powerless to stop. He also seems to derive a great deal of pleasure from it.

The science of addiction provides another cautionary insight: Trumps revenge habit hurts not only himself and the targets of his retaliatory wrath, but the rest of us, too.

Like substance addiction, revenge addiction appears to spread from person to person. For instance, inner-city gun violence spreads in neighborhoods like a social contagion, with one persons grievances infecting others with a desire to seek vengeance. Because of his unique position and use of the media and social networks, Trump is able to spread his grievances to thousands or millions of others through Twitter, TV and rallies. His demand for retribution becomes their demand, causing his supporters to crave retaliationand, in a vicious cycle, this in turn causes Trumps targets and their supporters to feel aggrieved and want to retaliate, too.

What can be done? When a friend or family member has an addiction, the first priority is to take care of yourself, and the next step is to encourage the addict to seek help. This gets complicated when were talking about a president and an entire nation, but were already on our way. Weve recently held a nationwide electoral intervention with Trump, which has the dual benefit of helping to protect the country from further damage and shows him that his retaliatory behavior is no longer acceptable and needs to change. But addiction interventions are often risky and can backfire. That appears to be happening with Trump, who now seems even more aggrieved and more determined to use retaliation, raising the stakes.

There are no quick fixes with addiction. Were in for a long haul. Our society, and Trump, would seem to have little chance of healing until we (and he) realize how the politics of grievance is damaging us. Political parties and interest groups have come to rely upon inflaming grievances and stoking vindictiveness to generate donations and motivate voters. Media, entertainment and social networking giants also rely upon grievance and revenge-based content to attract viewers and users and increase advertising and sales. More people need to become savvy about how, why and for whose benefit they are being made to feel aggrieved and must decide to stop dealing in the drug of their own destruction.

We must also increase public education, from school age through adulthood, about healthy ways to process feelings of hurt or humiliation. The risk is not only political. The brains of millions of Americans have spent the past few years essentially being primed for revenge-seeking, and it can manifest in areas other than politics. Retaliation in response to grievances is the primary motive in intimate partner violence, youth violence and bullying, street violence, lone-actor attacks, police brutality, and terrorism. People and agencies interested in reducing murder rates, mass shootings, domestic terrorism, and other forms of violence should be focusing on revenge addiction.

Developing innovative prevention and treatment strategies for revenge addiction is essential. At Yale, we are studying a promising motive control (in contrast to gun control) method for preventing violence that allows people with grievances to put those who have hurt or offended them through imaginary but highly realistic criminal trials. We have found that this mental process, which we call the Nonjustice System, is actually a safe and satisfying way of controlling revenge cravings that works like a kind of methadone for revenge addicts. This method is not only for preventing violence; anybody struggling with grievances, even Trump, can benefit from it. It can be utilized in group settings, too, and were hoping to develop an app so more people can access it.

Assuming Trump does not seek help, what can we expect from him going forward? Tragically, more of the same. People suffering from addiction tend to experience relationship problems and conflicts, display periods of euphoria followed by depression and restlessness, and fail to meet their responsibilities or fulfill their professional obligations. They spend long periods of time obsessing over and planning ways to gratify their cravings, and engage in the addictive behavior despite the physical or psychological harm it causes. Although I have no idea what Trumps life is really like, from outside observation many of these indicators appear to be present.

Which is why there also must be compassion for Trump. One of the lessons learned with substance addiction is that it is a disease, a brain and behavioral disorder, not a moral failure, and shaming and punishment do not work. Attacking Trump for his retaliatory behavior only fuels it by making him feel more aggrieved.

Firm steps are necessary to limit the damage Trumps grievances are inflicting on this country. We all have a role to play in halting the cycle of grievance and retaliation. But in the end, he is a human being who needs help. It should be offered with the same care, compassion, and, yes, forgiveness, offered to anybody else whose lifeor nationis being torn apart by addiction.

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Opinion | What the Science of Addiction Tells Us About Trump - POLITICO

U.S. stock futures moved higher early Monday as markets indicated a rebound from a losing week. Investors were optimistic as the Covid-19 vaccine rollout began and Washington appeared a bit closer to hatching some sort of stimulus this week.

Dow Jones Industrial average futures rose 242 points, or 0.8%. The move pointed to an opening gain of more than 225 points. S&P 500 futures rose 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.5%.

A bipartisan stimulus plan could be introduced in Congress as soon as Monday, but split into two parts in order to improve its chances of approval, Reuters reported. The $908 billion bipartisan plan would be split into a $748 billion measure with money for jobless and small business and another part that includes the controversial measures including liability protections and state aid, Reuters said, citing a source.

"Politically, debate continues on another fiscal bill, which is much needed for much of the population, but will also create an even larger 'wall of cash' for consumers to spend as economies fully reopen," Tavis McCourt, institutional equity strategist at Raymond James, told clients on Sunday.

"It is abundantly clear the economy is slowing as local shutdowns continue, but any impact on the equity market has been limited so far. Whether this continues into 1Q is unclear, but our guess is pullbacks will be limited unless something materially changes in the vaccine story," he added.

Following the Food and Drug Administration's emergency authorization of Pfizer's vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield signed off on the drug, allowing inoculations to officially move forward for people ages 16 or older.

The U.S. has begun to ship the doses from a Pfizer facility in Michigan to hundreds of distribution centers across the country. The FDA is also slated to publish its assessment on Moderna's vaccine this week.

Shares of stocks that stand to benefit the most from a vaccine and economic aid led the gains on Monday in early trading. Carnival rose 5% in premarket trading. American Airlines gained 3%.

The Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled out amid some of the darkest days of the pandemic in the U.S. More than 2,300 coronavirus related deaths were recorded Saturday, following over 3,300 deaths Friday. New infections continue to explode, with more than 219,000 cases reported on Saturday.

Last week, stocks experienced their first down week in several months as legislators continued a standoff surrounding a Covid-19 aid package.

The S&P 500 fell nearly 1%, for its first negative week in three. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.57% for its first negative week in three and the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 0.7% for its first negative week in four.

The upcoming week is expected to be market moving with stimulus talks, Pfizer's vaccine rollout and a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Tesla also joins the S&P 500 on Friday.

The Fed kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, the central bank's final meeting of 2020. Economists have speculated that the Fed could make changes to its bond program. The Fed is currently buying at least $80 billion a month of Treasurys, and Fed officials have discussed what they could do to change that program at their last meeting.

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Dow futures jump 200 points to start the week on vaccine, stimulus hopes - CNBC

The UK competition regulator has launched a full in-depth investigation into the 31bn merger of Virgin Media and O2.

Liberty Global and Telefonica, the respective owners of Virgin Media and O2, struck a deal to merge their UK operations in May.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) made the decision after the companies requested it fast-track to a phase 2 investigation of the merger last month.

The CMA said it was moving to a full investigation because the merger could have an impact on competition in the telecommunications market.

There is sufficient evidence at an early stage of the investigation for the CMA to conclude that there is a realistic prospect that the transaction would result in a substantial lessening of competition in one or more markets, the CMA said.

The deal will create a new telecoms heavyweight by combining the UKs second-largest broadband network with the largest mobile operator. Virgin Media has 5.3 million broadband, pay-TV and mobile users, while O2 has 34 million mobile customers.

Virgin Media and O2 provide wholesale services to other mobile operators in the UK. The CMA is concerned that following the merger Virgin Media and O2 may have an incentive to raise prices or reduce the quality of those services, ultimately leading to a worse deal for UK consumers.

In 2016 the 10bn acquisition of O2 by Hutchison, which owns the mobile operator Three in the UK, was blocked by the European commission, a move supported by the CMA and Ofcom.

However, the Virgin-O2 merger is a more similar combination to BTs 12.5bn takeover of the mobile company EE four years ago, which was given the green light by the CMA.

The CMA was granted permission to investigate the deal, which values Virgin Media at 18.7bn and O2 at 12.7bn, in November after the European commission handed over the case to the UK regulator. Under European law, the biggest mergers are usually handled by regulators in Brussels.

However, the CMA asked to take the case because the deal only has an impact on UK customers and the time period of the investigation will go beyond the end of the transition period for when Britain leaves the EU.

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Virgin Media and O2 merger faces in-depth investigation by regulator - The Guardian

I'm taking the vaccine because I've got work to do too, especially for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Lister said he was looking forward to a relaxing holiday season, saying he was going to watch basketball, eat and spending time with his daughter.

Lister's wife, Felicia is from South Africa. They met in 2003 while he was working on a film in the country and got married in Cape Town later that year.

According to the The Sun, the pair had separated but did not divorce.

The actor, who was best known for playing Deebo in FridayandNext Friday, tested positive for Covid-19 four months ago, his managerCindy Cowan told TMZ.

She said he started feeling sick at around the same time his last interview was conducted.

He told friends he felt weak and was having trouble breathing. He cancelled his first scheduled day of filming for a new movie, she said.

On social media, many fans paid tribute to the actor, saying he would be dearly missed.

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US actor Tommy 'Tiny' Lister was eager to get the Covid-19 vaccine just days before he died - TimesLIVE

The same Russian government hacking group responsible for a security breach at FireEye compromised the Treasury and Commerce departments and other US government agencies, The Washington Post reported. The group, known as APT29, or Cozy Bear, was responsible for hacking the US State Department and the White House during the Obama administration, according to the Post, and is the group that officials believe targeted COVID-19 vaccine research over the summer.

Reuters reported that in addition to hacking Treasury and the Commerce Departments National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the hackers may have breached other US government entities.

Government officials considered the hack dire enough that the National Security Council held an emergency meeting at the White House on Saturday.

An NSC spokesman told Reuters that the government was aware of the reports, adding we are taking all necessary steps to remedy the situation. Its not yet clear exactly what information may have been stolen or which foreign government was involved. But the highly sophisticated hackers were able to break into NTIAs Microsoft Office software, tricking authentication controls in order to monitor staff emails for months, according to Reuters.

Microsoft released details on the methods used in the hack, late Sunday night. Microsoft says the hackers operating on behalf of an external nation state compromised SolarWinds Orion monitoring and management software giving attackers a foothold in target networks. Intruders were then able to impersonate any of the organizations existing users and accounts, including highly privileged accounts.

Both Microsoft and SolarWinds are making countermeasures available to customers to help detect, protect, and respond to the threat.

Several federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are investigating the breach.

Update December 14th, 4:47AM ET: Added details provided by Microsoft and SolarWinds.

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Hackers backed by Russian government reportedly breached US government agencies - The Verge