Good morning — just 361 days to go before Christmas!

On this date in 1890, as many as 300 members of the Miniconjou Lakota and Hunkpapa Lakota tribes were gunned down in South Dakota by soldiers of the 7th Cavalry — the Wounded Knee Massacre. The dead included unarmed men, women and children. Twenty soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; American Indian activists continue to demand that the US government rescind them.

Stat of the day: 20 — the number of states that will see their minimum wages increase on January 1, according to WaPo’s Niraj Chokshi. The District of Columbia will also see a hike.

Francis! –> Pope Francis is once again causing conservatives discomfort, signalling with a papal edict stressing the importance of combating global warming that he will play an active role in next year’s international climate negotiations. John Vidal reports for The Guardian.

“Serious” bird flu threat –> Hong Kong authorities confirmed a new case of the deadly bird flu virus, and raised its pandemic threat level to “serious.” NBC News has the details. Seventeen years ago today, the island began euthanizing all 1.25 million of its chickens in an attempt to arrest the spread of a previous deadly outbreak.

Disrespect –> Hundreds of New York police officers turned their backs on NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio when he spoke at the funeral of slain officer Rafael Ramos on Saturday. AP has the story. AND: Last week, Slate‘s Josh Voorhees noted that New York’s police union has gone to war with every mayor in recent history, “including law-and-order types Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani.” Tensions between the department and City Hall “predate de Blasio by at least two decades,” he writes. ALSO: At The Nation, Alex Vitale challenges the idea that protesters calling for an end to “broken windows” policing and greater accountability for officers are “anti-police.” He writes: “If I call and point out that the swings in the playground are broken, am I anti-parks?”

Results are in –> We’ve mentioned the experience Rialto, California, has had in the year since it gave body cameras to half its uniformed patrol officers. The official results are now in, with a study published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, and they are impressive: police use-of-force incidents fell by almost 60 percent and complaints against officers dropped by almost 90 percent. Brett Smith has the story at the science and technology website RedOrbit.

The year that was –> MoJo headlines 2014 as “the year we finally started to do something about climate change.” James West has more.

“Calculated misery” –> At The New Yorker, Tim Wu writes that in order for airlines to maintain their $31.5 billion in revenues from fees, they’ve got to make flying as uncomfortable as possible so that passenger will pay for things that used to be free, like legroom, checked baggage and snacks.

New faces pushing same old policies –> Steve Peoples reports for AP that the 2016 Republican presidential field is shaping up to be the youngest and most diverse in history, but the fresh faces are unlikely to bring back many of the minority voters the party has alienated.

‘Tis the listicle season –> GQ magazine: “America’s 20 Craziest Politicians.”

Capitol games –> At TNR, Dennis Jett writes that Senate Republicans are blocking the ratification of even the most uncontroversial international treaties.

Space news –> Billionaire Elon Musk is moving ahead with plans to dominate the emerging private space business, which he says will include a flight to Mars by 2030, followed by an attempt to colonize the Red Planet. Scott Powers has the details at the Orlando Sentinel. AND: A key feature of those plans is to land a rocket’s initial stage on a floating barge so that it can be reused in subsequent flights. CNN’s Jose Pagliery explains why such a feat would be truly remarkable. ALSO: At The Atlantic, Charles Fishman takes a fascinating look at life aboard the International Space Station.

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