George Clooney says “Hollywood cowardice” led Sony pictures to bow to cyber-terrorism in not releasing The Interview, and that the press failed from the start in covering the news of the hack.

Top of the Alty World

“Hollywood Cowardice: George Clooney Explains Why Sony Stood Alone In North Korean Cyberterror Attack”—Deadline Hollywood

Improved relations with Cuba may mean the first steps toward ending the trade embargo with the country.—The Economist

ProPublica takes a look at the news stories China's government censors so that citizens can't see them.—ProPublica

New detention centers are being opened for surges of undocumented immigrant families—usually a mother and children crossing the border.—Mother Jones

Top of Alty Utah

A legislative task force rejected Governor Herbert's “Healthy Utah” Medicaid expansion plan.—Utah Political Capitol

The Salt Lake City Council and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker defiantly opposed a possible relocation of the state prison within the boundaries of the capital city.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Governor Herbert appoinrts Judge Constandinos G. Himonas to the Utah Supreme Court.—Utah Policy

LGBT anti-discrimination bill will be heard at the Legislature again, along with bills dealing with marriage and religious freedom.—Q Salt Lake

Rantosphere

John English at Utah Politico Hub calls out theater chains for bowing to terrorists in deciding not to exhibitthe film The Interview, after Sony pictures was hacked in what is likely considered state-sponsored cyber terrorism from North Korea:

Sony declared they won’t show the movie in Japan. Now the top five theater chains in America have all declared they will not screen it. So for the record, the top five terrorist-appeasing theater chains in America are Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark Cinemas, Carmike Cinemas, and Cineplex Entertainment.--Utah Politico Hub

The Long View

ProPublica and NPR team up to look into nonprofit hospitals that sue patients who are struggling with medical debt:

No one tracks how many hospitals sue their patients and how frequently, but ProPublica and NPR found hospitals that routinely did so in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Alabama, as well as Missouri. The number of suits is clearly in the tens of thousands annually. In Missouri alone, hospitals and debt collection firms working for them filed more than 15,000 suits in 2013.

Court records also revealed stark differences in how hospitals within each state pursued patients who couldn't pay their bills. In Missouri, a handful of hospitals, Heartland foremost among them, accounted for an outsized portion of suits. But many others, including the state's largest hospital, rarely, if ever, sued.

Heartland's aggressive tactics aren't because the hospital is strapped for cash. Despite being based in an economically struggling county of just 90,000, Heartland reported a $45 million profit last year and paid its chief executive $1.2 million, according to its annual report.—ProPublica