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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court overseeing the case of a doctor accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled that a committee of experts should assess whether the fictional Lord of the Rings character Gollum is good or bad.

Bilgin Ciftci faces up to two years in prison for allegedly insulting a state official by juxtaposing pictures of Gollum and Erdogan on social media.

Lawyer Hicran Danisman told the AP Wednesday that she was forced to argue in court this week that “Gollum is not a bad character” because she got “nowhere” with a defense case based on freedom of expression.

Danisman said that prompted the judge to rule that a committee, including psychologists and movie experts, should provide an assessment of Gollum’s character.

Trial was adjourned until Feb. 23.

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OPEC, the 12-member oil cartel, is meeting once again to discuss their game plan for production on Friday in Vienna.

But while the cartel’s decisions over the past year looked pretty clear-cut, things aren’t on such firm ground this time around.

“The interests of member countries have perhaps never been so far apart,” writes Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. “While disagreements were evident at the June meeting, discontent with the pseudo-consensus appears more dire, with the low price environment further stressing the already highly stressed members of the cartel.”

Notably, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Algeria, and Venezuela — the “fragile five,” as Croft calls them — remain very high at risk, especially as Libya and Iraq are on the front lines of war.

As such, take a look at how each OPEC member is weathering geopolitical, economic, and security risks at the moment. The countries are listed from least to most high risk, with 10 being the highest.

Kuwait has a bunch of shock absorbers to protect it from lower oil.

Risk for next year: 2

Oil production last month: 2.82 mb/d

Oil production in July 2015: 2.83 mb/d

Kuwait has a high reserve-to-population ratio, “which has enabled it to survive the lower-for-longer environment relatively unscathed,” writes Croft. But Kuwait’s economy is more levered to oil than any other OPEC member — at nearly 60% of GDP.

Notably, on Sunday Kuwait named its finance minister, Anas Al Saleh, as acting oil minister.

Source: RBC Capital Markets

Qatar is more reliant on gas/LNG exports.

Risk for next year: 2

Oil production last month: 0.64 mb/d

Oil production in July 2015: 0.67 mb/d

Qatar has been able to remain “comfortable” in the short term — even with lower oil — because of its significant public finances. Additionally, it’s the least reliant on oil out of all the OPEC members, instead focusing on gas/LNG exports.

“Qatar’s challenge will emerge later this decade,” notes Croft.

Source: RBC Capital Markets

The United Arab Emirates sits in the “sweet spot.”

Risk for next year: 2

Oil production last month: 2.97 mb/d

Oil production in July 2015: 2.80 mb/d

The UAE’s fiscal and external buffers have helped limit the spillover effect from lower oil.

Moreover, “while the country is expected to record a deficit of 2.9% this year based on a $61.50/bbl oil price (the first since 2009), 2016 will likely see a return to surplus,” notes Croft, citing IMF figures.

Source: RBC Capital Markets

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LONDON (AP) — The latest developments regarding the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq: All times local.

3:30 p.m.

The U.S.-led coalition has been pounding Islamic State group targets near the militant-held Iraqi city of Ramadi. Iraqi forces have encircled Ramadi and this week asked the city’s civilian residents to leave — a sign that a major operation could be imminent.

The coalition says its aircraft conducted 15 airstrikes in Iraq on Wednesday, nine of them on IS targets near Ramadi, including fighting positions, vehicles, weapons and buildings. Also hit were IS group units and vehicles in Iraq’s north, outside the recently liberated town of Sinjar.

In Baghdad, coalition spokesman Col. Steve Warren says the strikes are in support of Iraqi operations to liberate Ramadi.

He says that “with the support of coalition air power, Iraqi forces recently seized the Palestine bridge, which completed the isolation of the city.”

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2 p.m.

The top NATO commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, says the bulk of Russia’s air operations in Syria are still directed against moderate opposition forces that oppose President Bashar Assad.

He said there’s been some shift in Russian tactics lately but the “vast majority of their sorties” are targeting moderate groups, not Islamic State extremists.

Breedlove said Wednesday that coalition forces “are not working with or cooperating with Russia in Syria” but have devised safety rules with Russia.

He says “we have established a safety regime — a series of tactics, techniques and procedures — by which the two groups, the coalition forces and the Russian forces, communicate and try to maintain safety.”

He says the coalition “is focused almost entirely” on fighting Islamic State extremists.

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1:50 p.m.

France’s finance minister is calling for tougher rules on imports of art works as part of efforts to dry up financing for the Islamic State group.

Minister Michel Sapin says Wednesday “we perhaps don’t speak enough of financing … by the sale of works of art” of the group. He said that trafficking of art looted by IS isn’t as big a source of money for the extremists as oil, but it is “one element.” He says ultimately it is “people in our developed countries” who buy the looted art, sometimes without knowing.

He said many countries control exports of art works, but there needs to be harmonized rules in Europe and beyond on imports too.

German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble said money-laundering rules should also be expanded to cover art.

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12:45 p.m.

Russia’s deputy defense minister says the Turkish president and his family are benefiting from illegal oil trade with Islamic State militants.

Minister Anatoly Antonov told reporters on Wednesday that Moscow has evidence showing that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are involved in the oil trade with IS and personally benefit from it.

Antonov and his colleagues at the defense ministry’s headquarters showed foreign defense attaches based in Moscow some satellite images purporting to show IS transporting oil to Turkey.

Erdogan has said he would resign if the accusations against him are proven.

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12:25 p.m.

Prime Minister David Cameron has opened a critical debate on whether Britain will take part in airstrikes in Syria, insisting that Britain could make a real difference in the fight against Islamic State militants.

But Cameron struggled to get through his opening remarks Wednesday as outraged opposition Labour Party lawmakers demanded he retract remarks at a closed-door meeting Tuesday in which Cameron branded opponents of the measure a “bunch of terrorist sympathizers.”

Lawmakers demanded an apology as the 10½ hour debate got underway, arguing the comment showed a lack of respect to those who disagreed with his policy.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond defended Cameron before the debate started, saying the comments weren’t aimed at long-time opponents of war such as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Hammond says Corbyn’s views were “obviously sincerely held.”

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12:20 p.m.

Secretary of State John Kerry has lauded British Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to go to parliament and seek approval for British strikes against IS in Syria.

Speaking at NATO headquarters, Kerry says “this is a very important step. We applaud his leadership.” The US envoy urged the British parliament to approve the request.

The British vote would authorize the Royal Air Force to launch air strikes against suspected IS positions inside Syria, allowing it to take a more active role in the U.S.-led coalition seeking to weaken the militants held responsible for attacks in Paris, Beirut, Egypt and elsewhere.

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11:55 p.m.

Authorities in Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya have organized classes to stave off Islamic State recruitment.

Thousands of Russian Muslim have joined IS in Syria, and some have taken senior positions. Local students in Chechnya say many of their peers are tempted to go to Syria because they believe in a true Islamic state there.

Islamic militancy has engulfed Russia’s North Caucasus region, the republic of Dagestan in particular, following two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya. While nearly 1,000 people are believed to have left Dagestan for Syria, the number of Chechen recruits is far lower.

Chechnya’s authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov said last month that less than 500 Chechens are believed to have joined IS and about 200 of them have been killed. Kadyrov has even offered to send thousands of Chechen fighters to fight IS.

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11:15 a.m.

The European Union is trying to close legal loopholes that allow people to travel to Syria or Iraq as foreign fighters and then launch attacks like those in Paris last month when they return home.

Around 5,000 so-called foreign fighters are thought to be in the EU or come from it, but only about 1,500 are listed on Europe’s criminal databases. The EU’s executive Commission unveiled proposals on Wednesday that would criminalize attempts to recruit or train people for extremist activities.

New measures would target those who travel within the 28-nation EU or abroad to work with extremists like the Islamic State group. Others would attempt to choke off access to funds and assets.

The proposals must still be debated and adopted by EU member countries and the European Parliament.

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11.05 a.m.

Belgian police have raided five more houses in the Brussels area early Wednesday and detained two people for questioning regarding the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead last month.

The raids targeted people who could have a link to Mohamed Abrini, who was seen driving with Paris fugitive Salah Abdeslam two days ahead of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, and Ahmed Dahmani, who is detained in Turkey.

None of Wednesday’s detainees have been charged.

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NEW YORK (AP) — The world-famous Rockettes are supposed to look alike, but fans this Christmas might do a double take — and then a triple-take.

Three long-legged, athletic sisters — including two identical twins — are in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular lineup. Landing a job among this high-kicking chorus line is very special. Can three come from the same family?

Meet Kristin, Lisa and Alison Jantzie, celebrating their fourth year as Rockettes together. The brown-haired, blue-eyed sisters are from the rural community of Lacombe, in Canada’s western Alberta province.

“It’s kind of wonderful to be onstage with your family,” said Alison, dance captain in the recent Broadway show “Gigi” with Vanessa Hudgens. “We’ve kind of made this a tradition for ours, obviously.”

Kristin, in her 11th Christmas show, was the first to be a Rockette. She and her twin, Lisa, technically the oldest by a few minutes, got their first professional jobs at age 18 at the Tokyo Disney Resort.

Kristin later auditioned for a touring production of the Rockettes in Los Angeles and got the job after showing her skills at tap, jazz and precision dance. Both of her sisters went to see her when the show went to Detroit in 2005.

Lisa looked at the stage and, well, saw herself: “When you see somebody you know doing something, it kind of does open your eyes to the possibility.”

Kristin’s sisters eventually joined her at Radio City Music Hall, but took their own routes. Lisa, who gravitates toward ballet, worked at the National Ballet of Canada and Alberta Ballet. She’s in her sixth Rockette show, and she and Kristin were in the recent spring Rockettes show.

Alison, the youngest, loves musical theater and studied at the Randolph Academy in Toronto. She acted in regional productions of “Cats,” ”High School Musical” and “Mary Poppins.” She’s in her fourth Radio City show.

The sisters are split into two rotating, 40-person casts — with Kristin and Alison in one and Lisa in the other.

Some weeks they’ll perform 17 shows a week, and having some sibling love is both helpful and motivating.

“It’s always fun to look across the rehearsal hall and catch their eye and be like, ‘OK, here we go, 5-6-7-8. Let’s begin!'” said Alison.

They live in New York now, no more than 20 minutes apart. Lisa and Kristin live in the same building, nine floors apart. They say being Rockettes together is a nice oasis from their completive careers, which sometimes pits them against each other.

The Jantzies — they have a brother who doesn’t dance — credit their mother with encouraging their dreams without ever being a stage mom. None of the sisters recalls taking a vacation that wasn’t dance-related.

Now every year at Christmas, the Jantzie family gets together in New York to celebrate. The sisters will look out from the stage and see some familiar faces. “Sometimes our family will wear their holiday sweaters. So we can sometimes pick them out,” Kristin said.

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Kabul (AFP) – Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was injured in a firefight following a verbal dispute at a meeting of militant commanders in Pakistan, officials said, exposing the deep divisions within the fractious militant movement.

“Mansour was seriously injured. He was rushed to hospital and we are not sure if he survived his wounds,” Sultan Faizi, the spokesman for the Afghan first vice president, told AFP.

An Afghan intelligence source confirmed his account, and insurgent sources also told AFP that Mansour had been injured. 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any such firefight took place.

Mansour was announced as the new Taliban chief on July 31, after the militant movement belatedly confirmed the death of Mullah Omar, who led the Islamist movement for some two decades.

But splits immediately emerged in the Taliban following his appointment, with some top leaders refusing to pledge allegiance to him, saying the process to select him was rushed and even biased.

Four people were killed in the firefight Wednesday, a Taliban source close to Mansour’s group told AFP, and a number of people injured. 

“Akhtar Mansour is among the injured but the extent of his injuries is not clear,” he said.

His account was confirmed by another Afghan Taliban source.

The meeting was at the home of Abdullah Sarhadi, a commander in Mansour’s group and a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who had been arrested after 2001 by the US, then released, the Taliban sources said.

He was arrested again later on by Pakistan, then released  sometime in 2012, they said.

“There were differences on some points which later turned into harsh words, then Sarhadi opened fire and the others returned fire,” the Taliban source said. 

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CHICAGO (AP) — The release of squad-car video showing a white Chicago police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times set off a dramatic chain of events, from days of demonstrations to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s firing of the city’s police superintendent.

But it’s unclear what will happen next.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says it is still actively investigating the case. Emanuel said Tuesday that the federal probe includes whether local authorities investigated the shooting properly, and that the city handed over all evidence in the case to federal authorities within weeks of the incident. Activists contend city and police department officials dragged their feet on the investigation and video release and perhaps even sought to cover up what happened.

Here’s a look at some unanswered questions about the case and what might be ahead:

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INITIAL ACCOUNTS

The video footage of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald’s fatal shooting the night of Oct. 20, 2014, contradicts initial accounts police officials gave.

Pat Camden, at the time a police union spokesman, described McDonald lunging at officers before shooting began, while a police statement just after the shooting said McDonald had refused to drop a knife and “continued to approach the officers.” Initial media reports based on police information suggested McDonald was killed by a single shot to the chest.

But the video shows McDonald walking down the middle of a four-lane street. He then appears to veer away from police as Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is now charged with murder, opens fire. The video seems to show McDonald with something in his hand. Prosecutors say a 3-inch blade recovered from the scene had been folded into the handle.

In a phone interview Tuesday evening, Dean Angelo Sr., the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7, agreed McDonald didn’t appear to lunge. But he also said McDonald did seem to slightly “square his shoulders” toward Van Dyke, which he says Van Dyke may have perceived as a threat.

He said Camden, who is still affiliated with the union but not as a spokesman, is currently declining interviews. He added that he hasn’t asked Camden about his initial comments because “one of the investigative agencies wants to talk to him,” so it wouldn’t be appropriate for the union to question him.

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LACK OF AUDIO

The dashcam video of the shooting initially released by the city has no sound, nor do videos released later from other police cruisers at the scene. But they typically should have.

Chicago police cars are set up so audio records along with video, police have said.

Sound is often critical to understanding what’s happening and why an officer or suspect acted the way they did, said Ed Primeau, a Michigan-based audio and video forensics expert.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi suggested that the absence of audio was most likely a technological glitch. In an emailed statement, he wrote: “As with any technology, at times software issues or operator error may keep the cameras from operating as they normally should.”

But Primeau said it is hard to believe none of the police vehicles had workable audio.

“It’s a red flag,” he said. “I see it all the time — not just by police, but by people trying to cover things up.” Most officers, Primeau said, would want to make sure the video equipment is working properly so “internal affairs or investigators know exactly what was going on.”

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MISSING VIDEO

Among witnesses who testified before a federal grand jury investigating the shooting was a district manager for a Burger King near the shooting scene.

Jay Darshane told reporters that several police officers entered his restaurant and viewed surveillance video. Police spent almost two hours going through the footage, Darshane said, and staff determined later that around 90 minutes of footage had been erased. He said the deleted portions included the timeframe when McDonald would have been shot.

The camera angle would not have caught the actual shooting, but it could have provided clues about how matters escalated or how officers treated the scene and witnesses afterward.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who approved the murder charge against Van Dyke, said that forensic testing was done on the Burger King video as part of the investigation, and that no tampering was found. In a statement, a spokesman for the independent police review board also said it had “no credible evidence at this time that would cause us to believe CPD purged or erased any surveillance video.”

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ONGOING INVESTIGATION

The U.S. attorney’s office has not specified what issues it’s investigating.

If it found evidence of a cover-up, any indictment would most likely involve a charge of obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum 20-year prison term and $250,000 fine on each count.

Another possibility is that prosecutors are looking into whether to charge Van Dyke with violating McDonald’s civil rights. Because the shooting resulted in the teen’s death, Van Dyke could face a maximum life sentence if convicted of such a federal charge.

Van Dyke’s attorney, Dan Herbert, maintains that Van Dyke feared for his life, acted lawfully and that the video does not tell the whole story.

On Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan requested that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate whether the Chicago Police Department’s practices violate federal and constitutional law. Madigan in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked that the investigation weigh, among other things, the department’s use of deadly force and whether a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing exists.

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Associated Press writer Hannah Cushman contributed to this report.

Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm .

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Harrison Ford didn’t reprise his role as Han Solo in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for nostalgia’s sake. He’s very clear that he was a hired hand.

Ford made an appearance on “The Tonight Show” last night and host Jimmy Fallon asked if the 73-year-old star got emotional from putting Solo’s costume on again.

“No, I got paid,” Ford responded. 

The actor also demonstrated the leg injury he receieved on set by using a Han Solo doll Fallon provided. 

“They closed the f—king door on me,” he “whispered” to Fallon before breaking pieces off of the doll.

During the course of the interview, the duo took a couple shots and did spit takes in response to saying J.J. Abrams’ name. Harrison Ford also joked about being nominated for but not winning an Oscar, and he completely destroyed an original Han Solo action figure.

You can watch the clip of Harrison Ford getting very honest and funny below: 

SEE ALSO: Harrison Ford has seen ‘Star Wars’ and says it’s ‘wonderful’

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Black Friday broke an FBI record for the number of firearms background checks.

The agency said Tuesday that it processed 185,345 background checks — roughly two per second — on the same day that three people were killed and nine others wounded in an attack at a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado.

The FBI received about 5 percent fewer background check requests on Black Friday in 2014, the agency said.

FBI background checks processed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System are conducted for gun purchases from federally licensed deals and for permits to carry guns. A background check does not mean a gun was purchased, but manufacturers rely on the background check statistics as a measurement of the industry’s health.

The FBI started processing background checks for potential gun owners in 1998 as part of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

The previous record for the most background checks in a single day was Dec. 21, 2012, about a week after 20 children and six adults were shot to death in a Connecticut elementary school. The week following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School saw the processing of 953,613 gun background checks.

After the Colorado shootings, President Barack Obama again called for stricter limits on the availability of guns.

“Enough is enough,” Obama said in a statement Saturday. He said the Planned Parenthood shootings showed the need to “to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war” for “people who have no business wielding them.”

Robert Lewis Dear, 57, is accused of killing a local police officer and two others in the shooting rampage. He is expected to be formally charged later this month.

Law enforcement officials have not disclosed details about multiple weapons found after Dear’s arrest.

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Stocks opened slightly lower for trading on Wednesday morning,

Near 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow was down 3 points, the S&P 500 was unchanged, and the Nasdaq was up 11.

The S&P 500 crossed above 2,100 for the first time in four weeks on Tuesday.

Near noon today, Fed chair Janet Yellen will give a speech at the Economics Club of Washington. She’ll also testify on the economy before a joint committee of Congress on Thursday. These will be her last public speeches before the Fed’s meeting later this month.

“Dr. Yellen won’t say anything which could be interpreted as seeking to front-run the outcome of the meeting; that’s not her style,” wrote Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson to clients. “But we expect her clearly to repeat that the Fed’s decision will depend on whether progress has been made since October towards the Fed’s twin objectives of maximum employment and 2% inflation.”

The Fed’s beige book with economic anecdotes from its districts will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Earlier today, ADP’s private payrolls report showed growth by 217,000 in November, beating the forecast for 190,000.

SEE ALSO: CREDIT SUISSE: This is the most bearish we’ve been on stocks in 7 years

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The marketplace-lending business has boomed in the post-financial-crisis era, with loan volumes swelling and the leading companies going public.

The growth of the market — which matches borrowers with investors, who purchase the loan ― has in part been predicated on an extended period of low interest rates.

Soon, though, market conditions will change. The Federal Reserve is being tipped to up interest rates in December.

That will create a key test for an industry that has ballooned in an era of low interest rates.

“There’s been a huge swath of the marketplace-lending universe that exists because no one can find yield,” said Mike Cagney, CEO of online lender SoFi.

‘No one can find yield’

Marketplace lenders such as SoFi, CommonBond, Lending Club, On Deck Capital, loanDepot, and a slew of other companies originate new loans and refinancing across asset classes including student debt, mortgages, and personal lending.

Return-hungry investors, such as hedge funds, have plowed into the market, accelerating its growth. Startups in the space generated more than $6.5 billion in loans in the US in 2014, according to BI Intelligence. PwC forecasts the market could grow to $150 billion by 2025.

To be clear, no one expects the Federal Reserve to move with any speed from its current zero-interest-rate policy to an environment where interest rates are at 4% 0r 5%. But each incremental increase in rates will put additional pressure on marketplace lenders, as it will introduce additional competition for investor dollars.

“I think what’ll be interesting is what happens when other securities start to yield,” Cagney said. “So when I can get paper that’s totally liquid, that’s yielding in high single digits, do I still have an appetite to buy marketplace loans at high single digits?

“I think what you’re going to see is — potentially — a higher cost of funds than purely the rate hike, because you’re going to have more competition for yielding paper that you just don’t have right now.”

We’re about to find out.

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