| Trump: Iran Is ‘Standing Down,’ but I’m Gonna ‘Punish’ It Some More Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:38 AM PST  President Donald Trump said Americans should be "extremely grateful" that Iran "appears to be standing down" a day after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a missile attack against two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. But Trump, in a televised address Wednesday, indicated that there will be no fundamental change in a U.S. policy of "confront and contain," in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's words on Tuesday—a policy that led to escalatory measures like the assassination of Iranian external defense chief Qassem Soleimani on Thursday, for which the missile attacks were Iran's initial revenge. While observers waited before the speech to hear of a diplomatic path away from a potential war, Trump instead announced a new wave of "additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime." He reiterated the unrealized goal of his "Maximum Pressure" campaign, launched in 2018: for Iran to functionally surrender, by changing its entire Mideast strategy of confrontation to American interests. Trump described it as "a deal with Iran that makes Iran a safe and peaceful place." But Trump began his address by issuing a new threat, that "Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon." It was an indication that his Maximum Pressure campaign, intended as a hardline alternative to the Obama administration's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had not changed Iran's behavior. And while the subtext of Trump's speech was that the U.S. does not seek a wider war, Trump repeatedly boasted of the power of the U.S. military, including its "big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast" missiles. Using the terminology of cultural grievance at times, Trump also excluded Iran from the "civilized world." And while he characterized the JCPOA as emboldening Iran to destabilize the Middle East, he elided Iran's conspicuous lack of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq during the period it was in force. Iran has shown no interest in taking the sort of deal Trump has offered. Instead, after Soleimani's assassination, Iran announced it would no longer abide by the uranium enrichment restrictions set by the JCPOA, dealing a further blow to the 2015 accord that the U.S.' European allies have attempted for years to salvage. Trump, on Wednesday, urged Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China—the other JCPOA signatories—to "break with the remnants" of a deal that conservatives view as the legacy of the Obama administration. Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted before the speech that its retribution for Soleimani will be to "kick all U.S. forces out of the region." A Sunday vote in Iraq's parliament, where Iran's influence eclipses America's, to evict U.S. forces represented a large step in that direction. But on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper vowed that regardless of the vote by a nominal ally, in a representative institution constructed by the U.S. during the 2003-2011 occupation, the U.S. would not leave. Iraq's caretaker prime minister has said U.S. forces ought to depart, prompting a threat of sanctions from Trump.Jarrett Blanc, who oversaw JCPOA implementation at the State Department during the Obama administration, characterized Trump's address as no deviation from the policy that brought the U.S. to the brink of war."The price of [Iran] coming to the table is partial sanctions relief. He took a step away from that," said Blanc, now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Trump has created a status-quo crisis. That's not sustainable."For now, U.S. officials appear content to wait and see whether Iran will escalate militarily in the coming days, something its mouthpieces indicated it seeks to avoid. "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression," Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted after the strikes, which left neither Americans nor Iraqis dead. But it is unknown what the U.S. will do beyond this next round of sanctions. Pompeo, Esper, and CIA Director Gina Haspel will spend the afternoon on Capitol Hill briefing legislators. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), announced last night that he will hold a hearing on Tuesday in which he has invited Pompeo to testify.Among the questions still surrounding the Soleimani assassination was the scope of the threat that the administration says the killing preempted. Pompeo had initially called it "imminent" but on Tuesday described it more as retribution for a week of escalated Iranian attacks that killed contractor Nawres Waleed Hamid of Sacramento and led to the seige of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Trump, on Wednesday, simply said Soleimani "was planning new attacks on American targets," a characterization far short of imminence.As is the case with so many national addresses by Trump, he dedicated a significant portion of his remarks on Wednesday morning to bragging and doing victory laps, and not only on his latest confrontation with Iran."Over the last three years, under my leadership, our economy is stronger than ever before and America has achieved energy independence," Trump said. "These historic accomplishments changed our strategic priorities. These are accomplishments that nobody thought were possible."To Trump and his team, last Thursday's strike was yet another one of those accomplishments, further proof that this president had one-upped prior administrations, particularly Trump's direct predecessor and political enemy. In the days since he ordered the killing of Soleimani, Trump has taken to boasting to friends and advisers how the death of the Iranian general is "bigger than Bin Laden," according to two people with knowledge of the president's private comments.His comment mirrored what he'd said in October about killing ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, another death that Trump insists is a greater success than the Bin Laden raid ordered by President Barack Obama.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| New York opens celebrity chef probe after sex assault deal Posted: 08 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST  Prosecutors in New York have said they will investigate celebrity chef Mario Batali after a business associate of his agreed to compensate former employees over sexual harassment allegations. New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office's probe of restaurateur Ken Friedman had unearthed information regarding Batali's alleged behaviour at a trendy Manhattan gastropub. Friedman, the majority owner of The Spotted Pig, will pay $240,000 to 11 women and give them a share of his restaurant's profits for ten years under a settlement negotiated by James, announced on Tuesday.
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| Japan defends its justice system against Ghosn's defiance Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:42 PM PST  Nissan's fugitive ex-boss Carlos Ghosn vowed to defend his name wherever he can get a fair trial at his first public appearance since being smuggled out of Japan last week, saying Wednesday he had fled a "nightmare" that would not end. Ghosn spoke to a room packed with journalists for more than two hours in the Lebanese capital, where he arrived after jumping $14 million bail despite supposedly rigorous surveillance — a bold and improbable escape that embarrassed Japanese authorities and has allowed him to evade trial on charges of financial misconduct. Combative, spirited, and at times rambling, he described conditions of detention in Japan that made him feel "dead ... like an animal" in a country where he asserted he had "zero chance" of a fair trial.
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| Warren Takes Aim at Biden With Plan to Bolster Bankruptcy Rights Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren rolled out a plan Tuesday to restore bankruptcy protections repealed in a 2005 law championed by Joe Biden, taking an implicit shot at the Democratic presidential front-runner just weeks before the first nominating contests next month.The 2005 law raised eligibility requirements and financial costs for Americans to file for personal bankruptcy, a last resort for many to eliminate debt. Warren's proposal would eliminate obstacles erected by that measure and allow Americans to clear out student debt in bankruptcy.Her plan would also allow people to protect their homes and cars in the process.The battle over the bankruptcy measure is part of a longstanding struggle within the Democratic Party between a business-friendly faction and a populist wing hungry for confrontation with Wall Street. In 2005, Biden, then a U.S. senator from Delaware, clashed with Warren, a Harvard law professor whose specialty was bankruptcy and who waged an unsuccessful campaign to thwart the legislation, which was enacted by President George W. Bush."I lost that fight in 2005, and working families paid the price," Warren wrote in her policy paper, saying that the law allowed banks to squeeze struggling Americans to bolster their profits.Her new plan, she said, would "repeal the harmful provisions in the 2005 bankruptcy bill and overhaul consumer bankruptcy rules in this country to give Americans a better chance of getting back on their feet."Although she doesn't mention his name, Warren's message in the policy paper is that Biden helped break the bankruptcy system and that she is trying to fix it. She cites the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency she helped create in 2009 before becoming a U.S. senator from Massachusetts.Warren has previously accused Biden and other proponents of the bankruptcy measure of siding with banks and credit card companies, which have a major presence in Delaware, over cash-strapped Americans.Warren said that if elected president, she would create a single bankruptcy system that would be available to all consumers. It would replace the two main types of personal bankruptcy that are available now and that she says are flawed: Chapter 7, under which individuals have to surrender their property, and Chapter 13 which requires debtors to enroll in multiyear repayments.Instead, Warren would offer a "menu of options" that she says would help cater to the needs of each case, including surrendering property or choosing to enroll in a payment plan."The 2005 bill imposed the same onerous paperwork requirements on a middle-class American filing bankruptcy that it did on a wealthy real-estate developer," Warren said. "My plan would make the bankruptcy system simple, cheap, fast, and flexible."Warren would also reverse the provision of the 2005 bill that requires people to seek prefiling credit counseling and would waive filling fees for anyone below the poverty line.She vowed to loosen the spending limitations on people who are in a bankruptcy process and make it easier to get relief from student loan debts in bankruptcy by making them dischargeable like other consumer debts. Her plan would modify the law to allow people undergoing bankruptcy to modify their mortgages, which is mostly prohibited.Warren vowed to increase accountability for creditors and crack down on bankruptcy practices that the wealthy and big corporations use to shield their assets. Her plan would ensure that assets placed in self-settled trusts and revocable trusts are not exempt from creditors' claims in bankruptcy.She would stop companies from collecting debts that are no longer valid and would allow people to sue creditors who try to collect debts that have already been discharged.Reinforcing ImageIn national polls, Biden has a consistent lead and Warren places third, behind Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But Biden is weaker in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where Warren is hoping for a strong finish that bolsters her prospects in subsequent states.Sanders also took aim at the former vice president over the 2005 legislation, saying Monday evening on CNN that "Joe Biden pushed a bankruptcy bill which has caused enormous financial problems for working families."The new Warren plan reinforces her image as a progressive candidate who's pitching herself as an anti-Wall Street crusader who sweats the details of policy. In her policy paper, she wrote that even with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "there are still serious problems with our bankruptcy laws today, thanks in large part to that bad 2005 bill."To contact the reporters on this story: Sahil Kapur in Washington at skapur39@bloomberg.net;Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The United States' allies warn Trump that terrorists 'would be the only winners' of war with Iran Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:12 AM PST  US allies are speaking out increasingly strongly against war with Iran as Trump raises his threats to Tehran.
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| India asks refiners to stop buying Malaysian palm oil after political row - sources Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:28 AM PST  MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has informally asked palm oil refiners and traders to avoid buying Malaysian palm oil, government and industry sources said on Tuesday, following Malaysian criticism of India's actions in the Kashmir region and its new citizenship law. India is the world's biggest buyer of the oil and palm oil inventories could spike in Malaysia, putting prices under pressure if Indian refiners reduce purchases from the country. Malaysian prices are the global benchmark for palm oil prices.
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| 5 Stunning Buildings in Africa Inspired by Nature Posted: 08 Jan 2020 12:35 PM PST |
| Russia Wants 50 of These Deadly 'New' Bombers Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:00 PM PST  Buying 50 Tu-160Ms could prove too expensive for the cash-strapped Kremlin. And that's assuming the contractor actually can build the giant, swing-wing bombers.
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| New York Post Reporter’s Identity Hijacked to Spread Pro-Iran Propaganda Posted: 08 Jan 2020 02:11 PM PST  Twitter suspended on Wednesday an account impersonating a New York Post reporter after it sent out a series of fake stories pumping out pro-Iranian regime propaganda and attacking adversaries of the Islamic Republic. The account was also linked through retweets and shared articles to another account impersonating a reporter—one from Israel. It too was taken down after sharing pro-Iranian regime propaganda.In recent years, Iran has beefed up its online disinformation activity, meddling in American politics and attempting to spread pro-Iranian regime narratives around the world. It's uncertain as yet who was behind the account. But if the account was run from the Islamic Republic, it would be consistent with a growing Iranian disinformation effort by the country's propaganda organs."Iran has readily embraced the use of online information operations to support its geopolitical objectives over the past few years, and has refined a vast array of tactics and sophisticated methods that it continues to hone and leverage today," Lee Foster—a senior manager for FireEye Intelligence's information operations analysis shop—told The Daily Beast. "The U.S. should expect that Iranian influence efforts surrounding the U.S. will increase over the coming days or weeks as political developments evolve." The New York Post account, @MarkMooreNYPost, stole the identity of a legitimate reporter who had no idea his identity had been hijacked and had nothing to do with the effort.Both the Post and the real Mark Moore declined comment for this story, but he confirmed to The Daily Beast that the @MarkMooreNYPost account and a number of the stories it tweeted were fake and not authored by him. Moore's actual account, @markmoore111, has not been used in years. The bio in the fake account is also wrong, according to Moore, and includes outlets like the New York Times, The Sun, and Fox News for which Moore has not written. The account tried to pass itself off as a legitimate New York Post reporter in part by tweeting out links to the real Mark Moore's stories that touched on Iran. But in addition to Moore's actual work, the account also published fake stories published on open platforms like Medium and The Odyssey Online throughout December 2019.The stories included fake news about traditional targets or Iranian foreign policy, including the dissident cult group the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) and Israel. One story posted to The Odyssey included a fake quote from the French ambassador warning pro-Israel lobbyists in Miami about "extremist movements in Jerusalem" trying to reclaim the tomb of the kings, an archaeological site in Jerusalem owned by France and considered sacred by Jews. A spokesperson for the French embassy confirmed that the quote and story were fake. Another story took aim at a frequent target of Iranian covert operations, the MEK, which set up a headquarters in Manez, Albania in 2016. In an article posted to Medium.com, the fake Moore wrote that the presence of the MEK in the country "could be a good cover for hiding money laundering, corruption and financial and economic scandals from the Albanian authorities" and jeopardize the country's prospects for integration with the European Union. Trump: Iran Is 'Standing Down,' but I'm Gonna 'Punish' It Some MoreAt least one story from the fake Moore persona strayed outside traditional Iranian foreign policy targets and lent support to Russian narrative. An article posted to The Odyssey in December included a fake quote from a member of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency board claiming that Russia's expulsion from international sports competitions for its state-backed campaign of doping was instead a possible "punishment from the United States for Russia's destabilizing actions in the international arena."Officials from the U.S. Anti Doping Agency confirmed to The Daily Beast that the quote was fake.Twitter also shut down an account using similar tactics on Wednesday after it mimicked a legitimate Israeli reporter from the left-leaning Ha'aretz newspaper."According to reports received by Haaretz, a US aircraft carrying American soldiers wounded by Iran's missile strike on Ain Asad Air Base, landed in Tel Aviv hours ago. Based on informed sources, 224 soldiers were taken to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Hospital," the account, running under the handle @KhJacki_E, wrote.The account impersonated veteran Israeli reporter Jack Khoury and tweeted out pro-Iran propaganda, including one of the stories published by the fake Moore account. And like the Moore account, it made use of open platforms like Medium to host its fake stories pushing Iranian regime-friendly propaganda.Twitter suspended the fake Khoury account Wednesday and in a statement to the Daily Beast said the account "was permanently suspended for violating our platform manipulation policy."The Daily Beast reached out to the real Jacki Khoury, a legitimate reporter whose identity was stolen by the fake @KhJacki_E and had nothing to do with its hoaxes, but did not receive a reply in time for publication. In a statement on Twitter, the real Khoury wrote that "A fake account impersonating me was pushing fake news with my name on it.Israeli reporters first flagged the account as inauthentic on Wednesday. It has since been suspended by Twitter. The phony missile casualties story tweeted out by @KhJacki_E is consistent with Iran's attempts to portray its missile strike in revenge for the U.S. killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani as more lethal than it actually was. Defense Department officials have confirmed that no U.S. personnel were injured in the attack but state-linked Iranian propaganda outlets have consistently tried to claim otherwise."80 US army personnel have been killed and nearly 200 more wounded" in the attack, read one such claim, from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked Fars News agency. Iranian official media have pushed the fake story of U.S. casualties because "the regime has boxed itself in," said Ariane Tabatabai, a Rand political scientist who studies Iran. "It came out immediately and talked about casualties, so it's not going to go back now and say it made a mistake and that there weren't any. Second, it serves its interest to promote this narrative that there were casualties. It can tell to its domestic audience that it showed strength, while clearly staying at a level of violence where the U.S. doesn't feel pressure to respond accordingly. It's win-win."@KhJacki_E has been pushing pro-Iran propaganda for months. In November, the account tweeted a fake story about a fake assassination attempt on the Israeli president. "According to reports from trusted sources, President Rivlin's assassination attempt was foiled a few hours before the election and a state of emergency has been declared around the presidential palace," the account tweeted.The bogus story claimed that Israeli Defense Force officers were part of the phony assassination plot inspired by rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh and in support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In another absurd twist to the fake storyline, the account claimed that a recent visit by U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman to Israel was "related to Americans' concern about some of the IDF's moves" in connection with the plot. The assassination attempt never took place and no state of emergency was ever declared. Nor did it succeed in getting much traction beyond the small network of followers. The @KhJacki_E also participated in an apparent Iranian campaign to spread a fake story about the MEK. In a similar use of tactics, a fake account impersonating a real person, an aide to French President Emmanuel Macron, claimed that France had decided to expel the leader of the MEK, Maryam Rajavi, from her home in France. The tweets briefly fooled legitimate news outlets into thinking that France, engaged in talks with Iran over its nuclear program, was taking a harsher line on the cult as a concession to Tehran. The account was quickly suspended and MEK followers denounced it as a fake on Twitter.But the @KhJacki_E account followed up on the fake French official's tweets with a short post on Medium.com's self-publishing platform. "MEK leaders' lack of presence in France would allow EU pressure on Iran during talks to half Iran's nuclear and missile activities," it wrote. "It looks like the operation was dedicated against MEK and Israel—what Iran sees as two main threats," said Kanishk Karan, a researcher at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Lab, which tracks online disinformation. "This was also a shift from their strategy of setting up websites to now using online publishing platforms to disseminate false information easily without raising suspicions, as newly setup websites raise alarms on authenticity and background." But while the messaging is consistent with Iranian aims and precedent, it's still as yet unclear whether the fake account was in fact run from the Islamic Republic. "We've seen Iranian operations impersonate journalists before. A lot of the time what they've been doing is creating fake personas just to spread regime propaganda," Ben Nimmo, director of investigations at the disinformation-tracking firm Graphika told The Daily Beast. But Nimmo cautions that "content is only ever a weak signal" for attribution. "What this accounts appears to have been doing aligns with one part of Iranian messaging but without technical evidence to support that, that's all you can say. It looks like an operation. The messaging would match an Iranian option but there are other options as well." The Daily Beast first began tracking a network of pro-Iranian trolls impersonating real officials following an Iranian propaganda attempt to implicate the family former National Security Advisor John Bolton in a bizarre fake money laundering scheme. In July, an account impersonating a real Toronto police officer interrupted a months-long streak of tweeting everyday news about Canadian police affairs with a wild allegation that Toronto police had begun an investigation into allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering involving Bolton's daughter and the MEK and published purported screenshots of bank records in support of the claim. The claims were clearly fake and quickly disproven.Trump administration officials told The Daily Beast that the effort was monitored by U.S. intelligence and attributed to Iran. Administration officials said that Iran had been engaged in a concerted effort to weaken Bolton's standing in the Trump administration during his tenure there.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Mexican authorities remove almost 100 Mexican migrants from border camp Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:33 AM PST  Mexican authorities on Tuesday removed almost 100 Mexican migrants seeking asylum in the United States from a camp in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, according to a Reuters witness, after state police threatened to separate parents from their children.
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| Top cleric urges supporters not to attack US as Donald Trump says regime has backed down Posted: 08 Jan 2020 02:54 PM PST  Latest news: All 176 passengers killed as Boeing 737 crashes near Tehran Iran brands Britain America's 'partner in crime' over Soleimani death US says attack planned by Soleimani was 'days' from happening More than 60 people die after stampede at general's funeral US bans airlines from flying over Iraq and Iran Two rockets hit Iraqi capital's Green Zone Subscribe to The Telegraph, free for 30 days A senior Iraqi cleric has urged supporters not to attack the United States, shortly after Donald Trump said Iran appeared to be backing down from its bellicose threats. "I call on the Iraqi factions to be deliberate, patient, and not to start military actions, and to shut down the extremist voices of some rogue elements until all political, parliamentary and international methods have been exhausted," said influential Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. It came after Donald Trump urged Britain and others to "recognise reality" and withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in response to an Iranian missile strike on US forces in Iraq earlier on Wednesday. The US president said Iran appeared to be backing down after it fired the 22 missiles, but announced fresh sanctions on Iran and he singled out the United Kingdom as one of the members of the ailing nuclear deal, urging Boris Johnson to follow America's lead and withdraw from the pact. Mr Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in 2018. "The very defective JCPOA expires shortly anyway and gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout," he told a press conference at the White House. "Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism...the time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognise this reality." He added: "They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal - or JCPOA - and we must all work together towards making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place." It came as US officials speculated that Iran 'aimed to miss' when it fired missiles at US forces, it emerged there were no casualties in the rocket barrage. Iraqi security forces find and collect the pieces of missiles as they gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces, at Bardarash district of Erbil in Iraq Credit: Andalou According to Bloomberg, a US official said that no Americans were killed in the strike, leading the Pentagon to believe that the Iranian regime was "aiming to miss." However, experts said the type of missile Iran used was notoriously unreliable, and that the regime may well have missed targets by accident. It came as Boris Johnson has said he opposes any "escalation of violence" in the Middle East, as he urged Iran not to repeat its missile attacks that struck US bases in Iraq overnight and called for them to back down from conflict. The Prime Minister, who added that there appeared to be no UK casualties following the strike on Western forces, called on Iran to pursue "urgent de-escalation." As details emerged of the retaliatory strikes, where 22 missiles were fired, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: "We urge Iran not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks, and instead to pursue urgent de-escalation." The rockets from Iran struck US targets last night, hitting two Iraqi airbases where American and coalition forces are based. Iran launched surface-to-surface missiles in attacks on the Ain al-Assad and Erbil bases as revenge for the killing of Gen Qassim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad last week. There are so far no reports of casualties, but it was Iran's most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the US Embassy in Tehran. The operation was codenamed "Martyr Soleimani". In a tweet, Donald Trump said: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! "We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning." In a sign that Tehran was seeking to draw a line under the recent escalation of tensions, Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said: "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression". Pieces of missiles are seen at the rural area of Al-Baghdadi town after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Credit: Anadolu Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has said the missile strikes were a "slap in the face" for Washington. The head of state reiterated added that the US may have 'cut off Soleimani's arm' but Iran would respond by 'cutting off your leg' in the Middle East region. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a branch of the Iranian army close to the country's supreme leader, has ordered the White House to "recall US troops" from the region. The Pentagon confirmed the attacks: "At approximately 5.30pm (EST) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq. "It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil." What we know so far Iran launches more than a dozen rockets at US bases in Iraq Al-Assad and Erbil bases targeted Trump tweets: "All is well!" and "So far, so good!" Price of oil leaps after attack Operation codenamed "Martyr Soleimani" No casualties reported Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said: "It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran." He said the attacks "targeted at least two Iraqi military bases" and that the US is "working on initial battle damage assessments". There are about 5,000 American troops in Iraq. Iran's ballistic missile range Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, and Mark Esper, the defence secretary, arrived quickly at the White House to brief the president. Mr Raab said: "We condemn this attack on Iraqi military bases hosting Coalition - including British - forces. He added: "A war in the Middle East would only benefit Daesh and other terrorist groups." Qassim Soleimani drone strike | Read more Oil prices jumped up after the attack. US crude was up 1.2 per cent to more than $63 a barrel, coming down slightly from a 4 per cent spike earlier. Gold reached a six-year high as worried investors headed for safe-haven assets. 10:52PM Foreign Sec describes 'busy afternoon' in Washington Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, held meetings with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo to discuss a way to cool the Iran crisis, as well as the US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and several member of Congress. Busy afternoon on the Hill meeting members of Congress from across the US political spectrum. They welcomed clarity on the UK's departure from the EU and our vision for a new trading partnership that can unleash huge joint ��������economic potential. pic.twitter.com/eDzQUV1g0c— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) January 8, 2020 10:45PM Top US general says Iran intended to hit Americans The chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has disputed reports that Iran deliberately avoided hitting Americans during its ballistic missile attack on US forces in Iraq. "I believe based on what I saw and what I know that they were intended to cause structural damage destroy vehicles and equipment and aircraft and to kill personnel," General Mark Milley told reporters on Wednesday. "That's my own personal assessment". Administration officials had privately suggested Iran had intentionally avoided firing missiles at American personnel, which would have further escalated tensions between Tehran and Washington. "Why were there no casualties? In my estimation from what I know now, I think it has more to do with the defensive techniques that our forces used as opposed to intent," General Milley added. 10:39PM Two rockets hit Iraqi capital's Green Zone Two rockets landed late on Wednesday in Baghdad's Green Zone, the high-security enclave where foreign embassies including the US mission are based, the Iraqi military confirmed. The US embassy may have been the intended target but there are no casualties. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. 10:34PM Republican slams 'un-American' handling of Iran crisis Republican senator Mike Lee has backed calls for restrictions on Mr Trump's war powers after receiving a cofidential intelligence briefing on the Iran situation , calling it the "worst briefing I've had on a military issue in my nine years" in the Senate. "It is not acceptable for officials within the [Trump administration]…to come in and tell us that we can't debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran. It's un-American. It's unconstitutional and it's wrong," he told reporters on Capitol Hill. .@SenMikeLee : "It is not acceptable for officials within the executive branch of government…to come in and tell us that we can't debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran. It's un-American. It's unconstitutional and it's wrong." pic.twitter.com/fVSE6b3EM0— CSPAN (@cspan) January 8, 2020 The Utah senator said he remained unsure whether Mr Trump was right to authorise the attack against Iranian general Qassim Soleimani because the officials giving the briefing did not offer specific details on the attacks the general was planning against the US. Mr Lee said the administration would not commit to new AUMF ( by which the US Congress authorises use of military force) or a cite a reason for coming to Congress before taking future military action. 9:10PM US House to vote to prevent Trump from Iran war The Democratic-led US House of Representatives will vote Thursday to prevent Mr Trump from war with Iran after he ordered the killing of a top general, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Ms Pelosi said that the Democrats will move forward as their concerns were not addressed in a closed-door briefing Wednesday involving Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 8:46PM Oil prices slump as Mideast conflict worries fade Oil prices tumbled and equity markets soared after Mr Trump said "Iran appears to be standing down" in a White House statement confirming no US troops had been harmed by Tuesday's missile strikes. The S&P; 500 and Nasdaq stock indexes hit record highs after Mr Trump's remarks and crude oil prices slumped. Gold had surged past $1,600 for the first time in nearly seven years in earlier trade before discarding gains as fears of a larger conflict abated, leading investors to move out of safe-haven assets as risk appetite returned. Brent oil futures slid off a four-month peak hit in frenzied early trade soon after the Iranian attack. "Once Trump spoke and suggested that this is basically done for now, risk took off. We're back to the all-time highs in the S&P; and accordingly, so-called safe assets sold off," said Jacob Oubina, senior US economist at RBC Capital Markets. 7:57PM NATO chief agrees allies can do more in Middle East NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg spoke with Mr Trump on Wednesday and agreed that the western allies should take a more prominent role in the Middle East. "The President asked the secretary general for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East," a NATO statement said, after the call between Washington and Brussels. "They agreed that NATO could contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism." 6:16PM Iranian cleric: Stand down Influential Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Wednesday the crisis Iraq was experiencing is over following de-escalation rhetoric from both Iran and the U.S. and called on militia groups not to carry out attacks. A new strong Iraqi government able to protect the nation's sovereignty and independence should be formed in the next 15 days and usher in an early election, the populist cleric said in a statement, adding that Iraqis should still seek to expel foreign troops, however. "I call on the Iraqi factions to be deliberate, patient, and not to start military actions, and to shut down the extremist voices of some rogue elements until all political, parliamentary and international methods have been exhausted," he said. 4:46PM Donald Trump's demand that UK and others withdraw from nuclear deal in full The very defective JCPOA expires shortly anyway and gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout," he told a press conference at the White House. "Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism...the time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognise this reality. They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal - or JCPOA - and we must all work together towards making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place. 4:38PM Trump: We do not want to use our weapons Mr Trump says he does not want to use military force against Iran but is ready to do so if necessary. He concludes by saying America is ready to embrace peace with the people of Iran. 4:36PM Trump: We no longer need oil from Middle East Mr Trump says he will ask Nato to become "much more involved" in the Middle East process. He claims the US is now energy independent and no longer relies on oil from the Middle East, and that US forces are "stronger than ever before." 4:34PM Trump: Britain and others must withdraw from Iran deal Mr Trump says Iran responded to the generous terms of the Iran nuclear deal by "chanting death to America" instead of saying thank you to Washington, adding that Iran's involvement in terrorism has only worsened since. He says Iran "must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism." Mr Trump calls on Britain and other European countries to withdraw from the Iran deal, as the US has already done. 4:32PM Trump: More sanctions to hit Iran Mr Trump says Soleimani would have carried out more attacks if he had not been killed and that "he should have been terminated long ago." He says the United States will "immediately" impose additional sanctions on the Iranian regime. 4:31PM Trump says Soleimani was a "reckless terrorist" Mr Trump says the killing of Qassim Soleimani was a step to stop a "reckless terrorist" from taking American lives. "He viciously wounded and murdered thousands of US troops," he says. 4:30PM Trump says Iran is "standing down." Mr Trump says Iran "appears to be standing down" which is a "good thing" for the rest of the world. He adds that a US early warning system detected the Iranian missiles which helped avoid casualties. 4:29PM Trump speaks President Trump says the American people should be extremely grateful and happy as no Americans were harmed in Iran's attack. "All of our soldiers are safe," he says. 4:27PM Trump discusses Iran with Johnson Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have discussed the missile strikes over the phone and agreed to "keep in touch," a Downing Street spokesman has said. 4:07PM Waiting for Trump View here of the podium where the US president is due to respond to the Iranian strike very shortly: Screenshot of President Trump's podium 3:52PM Busy day at the White House Mr Trump's statement is now open to all US media, which has led to a feeding frenzy to get a seat inside the room, according to White House reporters. As Mr Trump is one of the most unpredictable Presidents in US history, all eyes will be on this speech to assess whether the crisis with Iran will escalate further. 2:43PM Trump to speak out on Iran at 4pm UK time Donald Trump will address the nation in a speech at 4pm UK time, according to the White House. Stay with us for the latest updates. 2:18PM More details on bases hit by Iran Raf Sanchez in Jerusalem writes: Iran's missiles targeted the al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a smaller airbase near Irbil in northeast Iraq. Both are Iraqi bases which host Western military forces. Al-Asad ("The Lion") is the second largest airbase in Iraq after Balad airbase in Baghdad. It is home to around 1,500 Western military personnel, mostly Americans but also some British. The US flies fighter jets, drones, and transport aircraft from al-Asad. Mr Trump and his wife Melania visited the base on Boxing Day 2018 and addressed US troops there. The base was established by Iraq's Ba'ath regime in the 1970s and then taken over Western forces during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Irbil base is significantly smaller but was a key hub for coalition forces in the fight against the Islamic State (Isil). The base is in the Kurdish-controlled northeast of Iraq, meaning it is much harder for pro-Iran Shia militias to target with rocket fire. 2:04PM Safety warning for French in Israel French citizens in the Israeli city of Haifa have been urged to stay out of public places amid concerns they could be targeted by supporters of Iran. senior Iran figures have suggested Israel would be one of its key targets as part of retaliation for the Soleimani killing. 1:25PM 'No retreat' The Iranian president is quoted as saying the regime "won't retreat in the face of America." 12:13PM PM urges Iran to stop violence 'Iran should not repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks' Following an attack on US military bases, @borisjohnson says Iran should 'pursue urgent deescalation' https://t.co/MgJV0YQzChpic.twitter.com/bxsXZS6jRz— ITV News (@itvnews) January 8, 2020 12:11PM PM: There appears to be no UK casualties NEW: Johnson says "as far as we can tell" no casualties sustained by the US. Repeats there were no UK casualties PMQs— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) January 8, 2020 12:00PM Nato condemns bombing I condemn the Iranian missile attacks on US & @coalition forces in Iraq. NATO calls on Iran to refrain from further violence. Allies continue to consult & remain committed to our training mission in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/6PdXMZxSNB— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) January 8, 2020 11:41AM Iranian propaganda painting distorted picture of strikes Raf Sanchez in Jerusalem writes: To the outside world, Iran's "severe revenge" may look like a bit of a dud. No American troops were killed in the missile attack. At least one missile landed harmlessly in a field nowhere near its target. But inside Iran state media is telling a different story. State television reported that at least "80 American terrorists" were killed in the attack. Pro-government media is full of images of the ballistic missiles streaking through the night towards their targets. A doctored picture is circulating showing Ayatollah Khamenei in the control room as the missiles were fired (the photo is actually from several years ago). The supreme leader was able to appear before a crowd in Tehran this morning and say with a straight face that his forces had delivered "a slap in the face" to the US. This split screen reality - where Iranians and Americans are being told totally different things - improves the chances for peace. Both sides can potentially claim victory and move towards de-escalation if they feel they haven't lost face in front of their publics. 11:25AM Iranian President tweets warning to US General Soleimani fought heroically against ISIS, Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al. If it weren't for his war on terror, European capitals would be in great danger now. Our final answer to his assassination will be to kick all US forces out of the region.— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2020 This is a tweet from Iran's President, who appears to be mirroring President Trump's social media-led diplomacy. 10:59AM Expert: prepare for long proxy conflict An expert on Iranian affairs has warned the missile strike is likely to trigger a lengthy conflict waged by Iranian proxies against US allies. "Make no mistake about it: this is the beginning of a very prolonged confrontation between Iran and its proxies and the United States and its allies," Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said earlier in an interview with the BBC. He added that both sides appeared to be "climbing down" from direct conflict, but the situation remained unstable. 10:56AM Iran crisis is stemming aid flow, Nordic Refugee Council warns The escalating cycle of reprisals between the United States and Iran is threatening the delivery of aid to millions across the Middle East, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned Wednesday. "Tens of millions of people across the Middle East need humanitarian assistance. Most of them are already devastated or displaced by conflict," NRC chief Jan Egeland said in a statement. "Another confrontation among international and regional powers would be deadly for aid lifelines on the brink of collapse," he warned. The killing last week in a US strike in Baghdad of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani has touched off a bloody cycle of tit-for-tat violence between the two foes. Iran responded by firing missiles on a US air base in western Iraq overnight. Each side has warned the other that any new attack would trigger a fierce response. 10:45AM Early detection system spared US troops US troops scrambled into bunkers after an early warning that Iranian missiles were on the way, USA Today reports. The news website said that a National Security Base in Maryland detected the strike from 6,000 miles away, citing a defence official. The US says there have been no American casualties. 10:41AM Iraqi paramilitary vows response to Iranian strike Iraqi militia leader Qais al-Khazali says that now Iran has responded for Soleimani's death, Iraqi militias must respond for the death of one of their leaders alongside him. He says the Iraqi retaliation should be "no less than the size of the Iranian response". https://t.co/Wu7qE06dyc— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) January 8, 2020 10:27AM Iran strike: key questions answered Raf Sanchez, our Middle East Correspondent, has answers to the key questions following the Iranian missile strike. Is Iran's attack over? Iran is signaling that it does not plan further direct attacks against the US and is not looking for further escalation. "Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence," said Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister. "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression." What happens next? The ball is firmly in Donald Trump's court. The US president must decide if he's prepared to ignore the Iranian missiles and move on, in which case there is a good chance the cycle of escalation stops, or whether American credibility and his own political prestige demand that the US retaliates. If he chooses the second option we should expect more shooting in the days to come. Mr Trump is due to speak on Wednesday morning US time but his early response has been uncharacteristically relaxed. Is this enough to satisfy Iran's need for revenge? It will be a bit humbling for Iran if their "severe revenge" for Soleimani's death is essentially a fireworks show that didn't kill anyone. But there may also be sighs of relief in Tehran that no Americans were killed as the Iranian regime is eager to avoid a head-on war with superior US forces. And it can muddy the waters in the information war by suggesting to its own public that the Western media is lying that there were no US casualties. Meanwhile, it is likely to continue planning covert action against US interests. Is it politically possible for Trump to ignore the missiles? Mr Trump threatened last week to hit 52 targets in Iran in retaliation for any Iranian strike and his public image is built upon being the tough man who brooks no defiance from Iran. So it will be a bit of a political climb down for him to let these missiles go unanswered. But there is a political win here for Mr Trump if he chooses to take it. He doesn't want a war with Iran and he knows the American public doesn't either. 10:24AM Iran gave Iraq little warning of strike According to our Middle East Correspondent, Iraq says it was warned by Iran last night that a strike was incoming - but only when it had already begun. Iraqi govt says Iran informed them it was going to strike bases in Iraq but only as the strike was beginning i.e. no real heads up. Statement says Iraq "rejects any violation of its sovereignty" but makes no specific complaint about Iran hitting its bases. https://t.co/dP6amQhoN0— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) January 8, 2020 10:21AM EU Commission chief: Use of weapons must stop now The use of weapons must stop NOW to give space for dialogue. We are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks. There cannot be enough of that. We have established and timetested relations with many actors in the region and beyond to de-escalate the situation.— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 8, 2020 9:31AM Police "extremely alert" to any effect Iran crisis may have in UK Police are monitoring the crisis in Iran and are "extremely alert" to any effect it may have in the UK, the country's most senior officer has said. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told LBC that head of UK counter-terror policing Neil Basu has been in discussions with the security agencies and government bodies about the crisis. She told host Nick Ferrari: "It's a very worrying time clearly and we have lots of people of Iranian and Iraqi heritage and the surrounding areas in London, so there's lots for us to think about, lots for us to be alert to. "What I can say is so far in London we have had no issues directly associated with this, there was one quite small protest. "But of course we're extremely alert to what this could possibly lead to, but it's a very complex situation. At the moment there's absolutely no impact on London." Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Credit: Reuters Dame Cressida, herself a former chief of counter-terrorism policing, said the force is "very adept" at measuring possible domestic threats linked to international events. "Being the international city that we are, with the multiplicity of communities and also the threats that we have had to face over the years which change and morph all the time, we are very, very adept at seeing what's happening around the world, reaching out into communities and looking at the possible threats and risks that might come," she said. "That's what we're doing on a day by day basis, and in response to this." The UK's terror threat level remains at substantial, meaning an attack is likely. 9:24AM EU: This violence is in no one's interests Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign affairs chief, says: The latest rocket attack on airbases in Iraq used by US and coalition forces - among them European - are yet another example of escalation and increased confrontation. It is in no-one's interest to turn up the spiral of violence even further. 8:26AM Germany calls for end to 'spiral' of conflict Germany's defence minister condemned Iranian missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing coalition military on Wednesday morning, and called on Tehran to end a "spiral" of conflict. "The German government strongly condemns this aggression... it is now primarily up to the Iranians to refrain from further escalation," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told broadcaster ARD. 8:01AM Snap analysis: ball is in Donald Trump's court The muted missile strikes appear to be humbling for Iran. But Trump's next move will dictate where the crisis goes next, writes Raf Sanchez, the Telegraph's Middle East correspondent When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, ordered his military to retaliate for Qassim Soleimani's death he reportedly gave them three criteria: - The attack should be carried out openly by Iran's military, not some proxy group. - It should be aimed directly at US forces, not American allies or commercial interests. - It should significant but also small enough to avoid starting a full-blown war. Last night's missile barrage against US bases in Iraq seems to have met all three of those criteria and Iran is now signaling it doesn't want any further escalation. "Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence," said Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister. "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression." The Revolutionary Guard put out a more bellicose statement on what it called "Operation Martyr Soleimani" but said it would only launch more strikes if the US retaliated. It will be a bit humbling for Iran that their "severe revenge" for Soleimani's death was essentially a fireworks show that didn't kill anyone. But there may also be sighs of relief in Tehran that no Americans were killed. The Iranian regime now has video footage of its missiles lifting off into the night in defiance of the US, which will no doubt play on a loop for days on pro-government television. And it can muddy the waters by suggesting Western media is lying that there were no US casualties. The ball is now firmly in Donald Trump's court. The US president must decide if he's prepared to ignore the Iranian missiles and move on, in which case there is a good chance the cycle of escalation stops, or whether American credibility and his own political prestige demands that the US retaliates. If he chooses the second option expect more shooting in the days to come. 7:51AM 'A slap in the face of the US' Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has said the Iranian missile strikes on US bases overnight was a 'slap in the face' for Washington. The head of state reiterated that US troops should leave the region, saying the US and Israel were Iran's enemies. He also used his speech to rekindle attacks on the nuclear deal, saying that a renegotiation of the accord will only play into the US's hands. Khamenei added that the US may have 'cut off Soleimani's arm' but Iran would respond by 'cutting off your leg' in the Middle East region. He said Gen Qassem Soleimani was a "great, brave warrior" and "dear friend to us". 7:36AM US troops 'scrambled for cover' It is still unclear if US troops were injured or killed in the missile strikes - despite Donald Trump's claims that "all is good". Senior US officials have told USA Today that "the early warning system worked" at the Ain Assad base. According to the report "troops stationed at that base did have advance warning of incoming missiles so they were able to scramble for cover". The officials added that a hangar was damaged at the Ain Assad base. 6:58AM Raab: UK condemns "reckless and dangerous attacks" Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has condemned the "reckless and dangerous attacks" and called for restraint by Iran. He said: "We condemn this attack on Iraqi military bases hosting Coalition - including British - forces. "We are concerned by reports of casualties and the use of ballistic missiles. "We urge Iran not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks, and instead to pursue urgent de-escalation. "A war in the Middle East would only benefit Daesh and other terrorist groups." 6:49AM Rouhani to address nation Reuters is reporting that Iran's president, President Hassan Rouhani, will deliver a speech to the nation following the missile strikes on US targets in Iraq. President Rouhani will speak to Iranians today Credit: REUTERS 6:34AM Norwegian forces unhurt About 70 Norwegian troops were also on the Ain al-Assad airbase but no injuries were reported, Brynjar Stordal, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces told AP. Canadian forces, also on the base, were unharmed. 6:09AM Iraq confirms no casualties Iraqi military officials said there were no casualties among its forces following Iran's attacks. The military said that it recorded a bombardment of 22 missiles between 1.45am and 2.15am on Friday morning. Seventeen of them fell on the Al-Assad base. 5:56AM Iran claims '80 US casualties' Farc, Iran's state news agency, is claiming 80 US troops were hurt or killed in this morning's attacks. This seems highly unlikely, but it is clear that the Iranian media are in celebration mode. خبرفوری | یک مقام آگاه در اطلاعات سپاه: مطابق گزارشات دقیق منابع ما در منطقه تا این لحظه دستکم ۸۰ نظامی آمریکایی کشته و حدود ۲۰۰ نفر زخمی شدهاند که زخمیها بلافاصله با بالگرد از این پایگاه بیرون برده شدهاند. pic.twitter.com/bthOnMR3mz— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) January 8, 2020 Iran also claimed to have damaged helicopters, drones and other equipment at the Ain al-Assad air base. 5:35AM Passenger plane crashes in Tehran A plane carrying 170 people has crashed near Tehran shortly after taking off. All passengers and crew are believed to have died. It is not yet clear if the crash is related to the missile attacks in Iraq. Read more on that here. 2:58AM Trump's bizarre tweet: 'All is well! So far, so good!' In a bizarre tweet after hours of silence, Donald Trump said: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! "We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning." It sounds like he's off to bed for the night. All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020 2:45AM Iran: 'We will defend ourselves' Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, tweeted a statement that said: "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression". Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 8, 2020 2:43AM Democrats criticise 'needless provocations' Nancy Pelosi was handed a note about Iran's attack during a meeting of House Democrats and the Speaker left soon thereafter, according to people present. She later tweeted: "Closely monitoring the situation following bombings targeting U.S. troops in Iraq. We must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the Administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence. America & world cannot afford war." Democratic presidential candidates have also expressed their concern. Elizabeth Warren said: "This is a reminder why we need to de-escalate tension in the Middle East. The American people do not want a war with Iran." Joe Biden said: "I just pray to God as he [the president] goes through what's happening, as we speak, that he's listening to his military commanders for the first time because so far that has not been the case," he added. 2:21AM Flag for a flag After the US attack on Qassim Soleimani, Donald Trump tweeted the American flag. Moments after Iran launched dozens of missiles against US targets in Iraq, Saeed Jalili - an Iranian politician who is reportedly close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - tweeted an Iranian flag. pic.twitter.com/Nske7KLJVy— Saeed Jalili (@DrSaeedJalili) January 7, 2020 1:57AM Military jets seen over Baghdad - reports Military jets could be seen flying over the Iraqi capital, hours after Tehran's attack. Correspondents for Agence France-Presse saw jets cutting through the clouds over Baghdad but could not immediately identify the planes. 1:40AM Restricted flights over Persian Gulf - FAA The Federal Aviation Administration - the US body for regulating civil aviation at home and overseas - has issued an emergency restriction for Persian Gulf airspace following the attacks by Iran, citing "potential for miscalculation or mis-identification". 1:05AM First pictures: Iran's attack Iranian state media has released images that allegedly show its attacks on the US targets. An image from footage of the attack on Ain al-Assad shown on Iranian state television Credit: GETTY IMAGES 12:56AM Oil prices leap up after news of attack Oil prices spiked on Wednesday morning, rising over 4.5 per cent at one point after Iran's attack. The benchmark WTI jumped as much as 4.53 per cent to $65.54 a barrel before settling down slightly. Oil prices hit a six-year high on Monday Credit: BORIS ROESSLER/DPA 12:42AM Pentagon confirms attack The Pentagon has confirmed the attack: "At approximately 5:30 p.m. (EST) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq. "It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil." 12:28AM Iran: 'Any base is a target' Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the attack was in retaliation for the US killing of Qassim Soleimani. "We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted," it said in a statement carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. 12:20AM President 'monitoring' attack The White House press secretary has said that Donald Trump "has been briefed and is monitoring the situation" in Iraq after reports of airstrikes on a US and coalition base. We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team.— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) January 7, 2020
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| Husband of missing Connecticut mom charged with her murder Posted: 07 Jan 2020 02:34 PM PST  The story of Jennifer Dulos, a missing mother of five, gripped Connecticut and many around the country for months as police divulged a mountain of evidence against her estranged husband, but without filing a murder charge. After she disappeared May 24, Fotis Dulos gave interviews to national media outlets denying involvement and saying he hoped she was still alive. On Tuesday, Connecticut state police charged Fotis Dulos with murder, felony murder and kidnapping in connection with Jennifer Dulos' death, despite her body never being found.
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| Australia’s Wildfire Crisis: Key Numbers Behind the Disaster Posted: 08 Jan 2020 02:04 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Australia is in the grip of deadly wildfires burning across the country, triggering an emotive debate about the impact of climate change in the world's driest-inhabited continent. The unprecedented scale of the crisis, and images of terrified tourists sheltering on beaches from the infernos, has shocked many Australians.With summer only just beginning and the nation affected by a prolonged drought, authorities fear the death toll will continue to mount as more homes and land are destroyed. Here are some key details of the crisis:How many people have died?Since the fire season began months ago during the southern hemisphere winter, at least 25 people have died. Among the fatalities are volunteer firefighters, including a young man who died when his 10-ton truck was flipped over in what officials have described as a "fire tornado." Australia's worst wildfires came in 2009 when the Black Saturday blazes left 180 people dead.How big an area has burned?Massive tracts of land have burned. More than 10 million hectares (25 million acres) have been destroyed -- that's an area larger than Scotland. In New South Wales state alone, more than 5 million hectares of forest and bush has been destroyed, while more than 1.2 million hectares has been burned in Victoria. The fires are so large they are generating their own weather systems and causing dry lightning strikes that in turn ignite more. One blaze northwest of Sydney, the Gospers Mountain fire, has destroyed about 512,000 hectares -- about seven times the size of Singapore.The scale of the blazes dwarfs the California wildfires in 2018, which destroyed about 1.7 million acres, and about 260,000 acres in 2019.How many homes have been destroyed?Some 1,800 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales alone this fire season and the tally is rising daily as the fires continue to burn and authorities assess damage. Scores of rural towns have been impacted, including the community of Balmoral about 150 kilometers southwest of Sydney, which was largely destroyed before Christmas.What's the economic impact?The near-term cost is mounting. Toxic smoke shrouding Canberra has shuttered businesses and government departments and forced national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. to cancel flights. The direct impact on the economy from the fires will be between A$2 billion and A$3.5 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, stemming from factors such as lower tourism spending and lost agricultural production, said Terry Rawnsley, an economist at consultancy SGS Economics and Planning. Additionally, he estimates smoke haze in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra will cost another A$200 million to A$800 million as people reduce outdoor activities and get sick. Combined, the impact equates to a drag on GDP growth of between 0.1 and 0.25 percentage point for the 2019/20 fiscal year, he said. The Insurance Council of Australia says almost 9,000 claims worth A$700 million ($481 million) have been lodged.How has wildlife been affected?The University of Sydney estimates that 800 million animals have been killed by the bushfires in New South Wales alone since September and one billion have died nationally. The "highly conservative figure" includes mammals, birds and reptiles killed either directly by the fires, or later due to loss of food and habitat. The fires have raised concerns in particular about koalas, with authorities saying as much as 30% of their habitat in some areas had been destroyed. Images of the marsupials drinking water from bottles after being rescued have gone viral on social media.(Updates with new figure on animal deaths in last paragraph)\--With assistance from Jason Scott.To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Jason ScottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| CNN settles defamation lawsuit with Kentucky teen in Lincoln Memorial case Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:15 PM PST |
| Pakistan and China launch joint naval drills. Should India be concerned? Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST  A nine-day Sino-Pakistani naval exercise commenced in Pakistan's port of Karachi this week with the arrival of a Chinese naval task group. Find out what ships were in attendance.
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| Quake hits near Iran nuclear plant, injuring seven Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:26 AM PST  A magnitude 4.5 earthquake on Wednesday rattled an area less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant near the country's Gulf coast, a US monitor said. The quake, which had a depth of 10 kilometres, struck 17 kilometres south-southeast of Borazjan city at 6:49 am (0319 GMT), the US Geological Survey said on its website. State news agency IRNA said the earthquake was felt in Bushehr.
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| Iran threatens to hit American bases with medium- and long-range missiles Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:40 AM PST  Iranian military forces have said they are prepared to use medium- to long-range missiles to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East, in revenge for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was the commander of Iran's Quds Force.
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| Romney Becomes First Republican to Call on Bolton to Testify in Impeachment Trial: ‘He Has First Hand Information’ Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:18 AM PST  Senator Mitt Romney (R., Utah) said on Monday evening that he wants former White House national security adviser John Bolton to testify in the Senate impeachment trial against President Trump, but stopped short of calling for him to be subpoenaed."I would like to be able to hear from John Bolton," Romney told reporters on Capitol Hill. "What the process is to make that happen, I don't have an answer for you."Romney is the first Republican senator to openly call for Bolton's testimony. Democrats have sought to call on the former adviser as a witness for the trial, while Republicans have generally demurred.Senators Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska), both moderates, indicated on Monday that they would prefer to begin the impeachment trial before agreeing to call certain witnesses."I believe that the Senate should follow the precedent that was established in the trial of President Clinton," Collins told Politico. "I think that we will decide at that stage who we need to hear from.""We've got to get to the first place first," Murkowski said when asked if Bolton may be required to testify.During the House impeachment inquiry, Bolton had indicated that he wanted a federal court to clarify if he could be subpoenaed to testify before lawmakers. Bolton announced on Monday that he would be willing to testify if subpoenaed."The House has concluded its Constitutional responsibility by adopting Articles of Impeachment related to the Ukraine matter," read a statement from Bolton. "It now falls to the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation to try impeachments, and it does not appear possible that a final judicial resolution of the still-unanswered Constitutional questions can be obtained before the Senate acts.""I have had to resolve the serious competing issues as best I could, based on careful consideration and study. I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify," Bolton concluded.The House in late December passed two articles of impeachment against President Trump pertaining to his actions toward Ukraine. Bolton, a foreign policy hawk, was pushed out of the Trump administration in September.
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| 2 Mississippi men tried to cash in a lottery ticket for $100,000 after supergluing the winning numbers onto it, police say Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:18 AM PST  Police said two men signed the ticket and presented it to the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, but officials realized it was fake and called police.
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| Carlos Ghosn: I Have Documents Showing Nissan, Japan Officials Set Me Up Posted: 08 Jan 2020 07:48 AM PST  TOKYO—Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of auto giant Nissan, who was under house arrest in Japan until he escaped on Dec. 29, came out swinging at his two-hour press conference in Beirut today. In an effort to get back in shape after more than four months altogether in solitary confinement, he started training in boxing this summer in a gym in this city's Minato-ward. A 45-year-old banker who trained at the same place told The Daily Beast, "For a 65-year-old guy, he had quite a punch. Which is to say, when you hit the boxing mitt right, it makes a kind of delightful thwacking sound. That's a good hit. Ghosn was making a lot of thwacks." Today, Ghosn was parrying, jabbing, and hitting back with dignity and grace. There were no knockout blows and he pulled his punches on the issues of Japanese government involvement in his prosecution for alleged financial misconduct, but he was clearly on the offense and no one was able to back him into a corner. The press conference started at 10 p.m. Japan time and was watched worldwide. He had been scheduled to face trial in 2021. Ghosn tried to hold a press conference in April last year after more than three months in detention after the initial 2018 arrest. He was immediately re-arrested by prosecutors and put back in solitary, in an apparent attempt to muzzle him. He pointed out that the Tokyo prosecutors issuing an arrest warrant for his wife, Carole, on Tuesday appeared to be another attempt to make him shut up. Carlos Ghosn's 'Great Escape' Writes a Hollywood Ending to Japanese ImprisonmentAfter being kept quiet for months by Japan's prosecutors, under a Damocles sword threatening that if he held a press conference, he would be re-arrested and thrown into what he called "the pig box," Ghosn spoke out today. Ghosn asserted that he had "actual evidence" and documents that would show that Nissan executives had planned his downfall in conjunction with the Japanese government. He expressed his belief, at the conference, as he expressed to me last July, that he was set up for a downfall because Japan did not want Renault to take over Nissan. He named several Nissan executives as being instrumental in the attempt to put him in prison for the rest of his life. Ghosn said his treatment in a Japanese jail was brutal. He was confined to a cell with a tiny window and only allowed to shower twice a week, in solitary confinement. He was questioned eight hours a day without a lawyer present, or being informed of the charges against him. The prosecutors kept shouting at him to confess and told him if he would only confess that he would go free. "I was brutally taken away from my work as I knew it, ripped from my work, my family and my friends," he said. Ironically, the Japanese media, which except for a few periodicals, kept leaking information from Nissan and the prosecutors without scrutiny, was supposed to be completely shut out of the press conference. That was not quite the case but the usual swarm of Japanese media was not to be seen. Ghosn questioned whether his prosecution had been good for anyone. He pointed out the value of Nissan's shares had fallen severely and so had confidence in the automaker. When questioned as to how far the alleged conspiracy against him went, he minced his words and said, "I don't think Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was involved…"The Japanese government has been placing great pressure on the government of Lebanon to keep Ghosn in line, and requesting his extradition. When a Japanese reporter indirectly accused him of resenting Japan, Ghosn replied that he loved Japan and that he would hope the country could be improved, to a place where justice would be evenly distributed. In addition, after enduring months of being written up poorly by the Japanese press, he pointed out to the Japanese reporter talking to him that for a prosecutor to talk to the press is illegal but it happens all the time—accusing the prosecutors of also breaking the laws that they are supposed to uphold. It was an uppercut that made the Japanese press wince, from across the globe. Ghosn kept pounding in one point again and again: He was willing to face a trial but only in a venue where he could have a fair shot of proving his innocence. In Japan, with its 99.4 percent conviction rate, it seems like the fight would be fixed before it even started. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Serbian church protests 'suffering' of Serbs in the Balkans Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:56 AM PST  Orthodox priests led a procession through downtown Belgrade to the landmark St. Sava Temple, one of the world's largest Orthodox churches, to pray about the "suffering" of Serbs living in Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia and elsewhere in the Balkans. The demonstration featured religious iconography, including Serbian church flags and paintings. The focus of the protest was a religion rights law adopted last month by the Parliament of Montenegro.
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| In rebuke to Lebanese leaders, U.N. says "irresponsible" to leave country without government Posted: 08 Jan 2020 12:41 AM PST |
| Australian Aboriginal officials approve killing up to 10,000 feral camels Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:04 AM PST  Aboriginal officials in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in Australia agreed to an "aerial cull" of nearly 10,000 feral camels.
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| India Could Become the Next Breeding Ground for Radicalism Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  The way India has clamped down on Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state of India since August and the systematic violation of human rights there and across the country can only be described as state-sponsored Islamophobia.
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| An Iranian-American who fled during the 1979 revolution is commanding the US aircraft carrier posted to the region Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:16 AM PST  Capt. Kavon Hakimzadeh spent his early childhood in his father's home country of Iran, but the family was forced to flee during the 1979 Revolution.
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| Taiwan takes a sobering lesson from Hong Kong Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:04 AM PST |
| Warren Says Americans Do Not Want War With Iran: Campaign Update Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:42 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday called for de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East after Iran launched missiles at two Iraqi military bases that house U.S. forces."We have to start on a very sober note," Warren said at the beginning of a town hall in Brooklyn. "At this moment, my heart and my prayers are with our military and with their families in Iraq, and all around the world. But this is a reminder why we need to de-escalate tension in the Middle East."She added that "the American people do not want a war with Iran," a comment that was received by a standing ovation.Iran fired a series of missiles at two U.S.-Iraqi airbases early Wednesday morning Baghdad time, the Pentagon said, in the first Iranian response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike last week.Bloomberg, Trump to Air Dueling Super Bowl Ads (4:27 p.m.)Two of the billionaires running for president will run dueling television ads during the Feb. 2 Super Bowl.Michael Bloomberg's campaign confirmed that it would air a 60-second Super Bowl ad, first reported by the New York Times, and said it was part of a national campaign focused on President Donald Trump.The Trump campaign spent $10 million last week for 60 seconds of commercial time during the Super Bowl, according to a person familiar with the campaign, who asked not to be named discussing internal planning. Trump's campaign plans for the ad to air early in the game when viewership is typically at its highest, the person said, though it wasn't clear whether it would be a single 60-second ad or two 30-second spots. The Trump ad buy was first reported by Politico.The Bloomberg campaign declined to provide the cost of its ad, but the prices for 30-second spots on Fox Sports were going for as much as a record $5.6 million. The Super Bowl is the most-watched television broadcast.Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. -- Mark Niquette and Mario ParkerBiden Attends Fundraiser at Skadden Arps (2:03 p.m.)Former Vice President Joe Biden held a breakfast fundraiser at the law firm Skadden Arps in New York before his foreign policy speech on the situation in Iran.The event was hosted by Mark Angelson, the former vice chair of the now-suspended Biden Foundation, a philanthropic organization. Co-hosts included Asher Edelman, an art dealer and former general partner of Edelman LP who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in 2016, Mark Kaplan, counsel to Skadden Arps who served for seven years as president and chief executive officer of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., and Thomas Humphreys, a partner specializing in tax transactions at Mayer Brown.Tickets for the event attended by 115 were $1,000 for guests and $2,800 for sponsors who received a photo with the candidate. In his remarks, Biden said he believed that "all politics is the logical extension of human nature, personal relationships," adding that he expects to see more cooperation in the Senate were he to become president."I think you're going to see even Mitch McConnell changing some ideas or being more — how can I say — mildly cooperative." -- Emma KineryBloomberg Says He Won't Accept Donations (1:20 p.m.)Michael Bloomberg said he's unwilling to take even $1 donations because of the appearance he could be bought, even though that means he can't qualify to participate in Democratic presidential debates."You shouldn't go down that path if you're in my situation," Bloomberg, a billionaire who is self-funding his campaign, told reporters during a campaign stop Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia, with former Governor Terry McAuliffe. "I want to be, as you would say, squeaky clean, and this is a way to show that."The Democratic National Committee requires candidates to have at least 225,000 individual contributors to make the cut for the current round of debates. Bloomberg said he'd participate in future debates if the rules change and he's eligible.Bloomberg's decision to self-finance has drawn criticism from rivals including Elizabeth Warren, who relies on multitudes of small donors. She said on MSNBC on Monday that Bloomberg is "skipping the democracy part" of the campaign by not competing in the early nominating contests and that it's wrong for billionaires to try to "buy" elections. "If that's the case, then our democracy becomes something that only works for a tiny number of people, and it's going to shut everybody else out," Warren said.Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. -- Mark NiquetteDemocratic Convention CEO Rips Trump on Media (11:20 a.m.)The chief executive officer of the Democratic National Convention criticized President Donald Trump's treatment of the media Tuesday as he promised to work for reporters' safety at the party's July convention.At a media walk-through of the convention space in Milwaukee, Convention CEO Joe Solmonese said his goal was to protect convention-goers' safety and security."For three years now, we've seen the most powerful man in the world and the head of the Republican Party -- the president of the United States -- make an enemy of the press," Solmonese said. "He taunts you at rallies, encourages his supporters to berate and mistrust you and he challenges your patriotism. This is dangerous. This is fundamentally un-American. And for Democrats, this is unacceptable."Solmonese said he's confident that when the public gets "the facts -- just the facts -- straight from reliable media" they will see that the Democrats "are better suited to lead this country into the future than the current occupant of the White House." -- Emma KineryOil lobby takes on Democrats' Climate Plans (5:30 a.m.)The oil industry's top lobbying group on Tuesday is launching a campaign to counter attacks from 2020 Democratic hopefuls vowing to phase out fossil fuels.Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have called for banning fracking and curbing the use of fossil fuels as part of efforts to combat climate change. Other candidates have also outlined ambitious environmental plans.The American Petroleum Institute will air advertisements that highlight the industry's role in paring greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change while encouraging a truce in heated political debates over energy."We have different perspectives on the best way forward, but on issues that matter, like climate change, we're more alike than we think," one of the API advertisements intones over images of people hiking, jogging and commuting. "We want cleaner solutions, and that means working with each other."API representatives declined to detail the cost of the campaign, saying only it amounted to seven-figure spending. "No nation on earth has reduced annual carbon emissions more than we have," API President Mike Sommers is set to say Tuesday in prepared remarks at the group's "State of American Energy" event in Washington. "And we have the capacity, desire and grit to keep stepping up."COMING UP:Five Democrats -- Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Sanders, Warren and Amy Klobuchar -- have qualified for the next debate, on Jan. 14 in Iowa.President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally in Milwaukee on the same night as the debate, as well as a rally in Toledo on Jan. 9.The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will be held Feb. 3.(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)\--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Mark Niquette, Emma Kinery and Mario Parker.To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Judge threatens jail-time for Harvey Weinstein after producer caught texting in court Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:41 AM PST  A judge threatened to revoke bail and jail former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein after he was caught texting in court, marking a second explosive day in his trial for sexual assault charges.Jury selection is under way for Mr Weinstein's trial in New York, where he is accused of assaulting two women, one in 2006 and the other in 2013.
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| Ghosn lawyers in Japan refuse to comply with seizure warrant Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:16 PM PST  Lawyers for former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday refused to turn over a computer used by the auto tycoon before he jumped bail and fled the country last month. Prosecutors arrived at the offices of one of Ghosn's Japanese lawyers with a warrant for seizure of the machine -- only to be told to go away. Ghosn was out on bail in Japan on financial misconduct charges before he fled the country for Lebanon in late December.
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| Police, Secret Service mum after new incident at Mar-a-Lago Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:50 PM PST  There was an unspecified incident involving the Secret Service at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, but authorities would not say Tuesday what happened — the latest in a series of incidents at the club since the president took office three years ago. Palm Beach police records show officers were called to Mar-a-Lago on Monday night to assist the Secret Service but most of the report is redacted, including the name of the individual who was contacted. Police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said the Secret Service is the lead investigative agency in the matter and his department has no comment.
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| Russia's Putin makes rare visit to Syria, meets Assad Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:14 AM PST  BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin met Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, the Russian leader's second trip to Syria since Moscow intervened decisively on the Syrian president's behalf in the country's civil war. The visit comes at a time of heightened regional tension - Assad's other main military ally, Iran, has said it will retaliate against the United States for the killing of an Iranian general in a drone strike. Qassem Soleimani, who was one of the key figures in Syria's war as the architect of Iranian military operations in the Middle East, had just arrived in Iraq from Syria when he was killed by a U.S. drone on Friday at Baghdad airport.
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| Australian teens rescued a carload of koalas from an island where more than 25,000 of the animals have died Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:08 AM PST  In a video that has gone viral, teenager Micah Lovegrove and his cousin loaded at least six koalas into their car on Kangaroo Island on January 2.
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| Progressive Governments’ Economic War on the NRA Fails in Court Posted: 08 Jan 2020 03:30 AM PST  Some politicos just can't stop grandstanding, even if it means their court case goes down in flames. Consider what just happened in a federal court in Los Angeles.Not long ago, progressive state and local officials nationwide were vowing to take down the hated National Rifle Association by targeting its pocketbook. When city authorities in Los Angeles and San Francisco gave that idea a try, they were following the lead of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had unleashed New York financial regulators to go after the gun-rights organization's access to insurance and banking services.Now all three are facing a reckoning in court, based not on the Second Amendment but on the First. Without needing to even consider the issue of gun rights, federal courts are recognizing that boycotts enforced by government power can menace free speech and free association.The amusing part is that the public officials themselves are helping to provide the basis for these rulings by tweeting and speechifying about how much damage they intend to do the NRA.In December, a federal court in California granted a preliminary injunction against a Los Angeles ordinance requiring city contractors to disclose any business links to, or memberships in, the gun group. It found the evidence "overwhelming" that the city's intent in passing the law was "to suppress the message of the NRA."* * *Public officials have been on notice about this sort of thing for at least two decades, since the 1996 Supreme Court case Board of County Commissioners v. Umbehr. In that case, the Court held that a county's having terminated a government contract in retaliation for the contractor's persistent and annoying political speech could violate the First Amendment. Controversial and unpopular speech is protected speech; officials cannot yank a contract from some business, or threaten to, just because it has donated to, or partnered in some venture with, the Sierra Club, the NAACP, or the NRA.Lawyers for Los Angeles tried to defend their ordinance by saying all it did was require disclosures from contractors, which wouldn't necessarily amount to punishing or chilling speech. But this sort of First Amendment claim comes down to a question of intent. And the court found that the city's lawmakers had made their intent to suppress speech and association utterly clear. They had done so in the text of the ordinance itself, in its legislative history, and in the statements made at the time by its chief sponsor, Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell (Hollywood-Silver Lake).The ordinance starts off with a long preamble that, amid much demagogy, cites the NRA's $163 million (2015) in membership dues and asserts that those dues go toward foiling beneficent legislative ends. That helped establish nicely that part of the bill's aim was "to cut off revenue to the NRA because of its pro-firearm advocacy," as the court put it.Then there were O'Farrell's various pronouncements. Earlier in the year, he had motioned the city to "rid itself of its relationships with any organization that supports the NRA" and further moved that the city's chief legislative analyst "report back with options for the City to immediately boycott those businesses and organizations" that do business with the NRA "until their formal relationship with the NRA ceases to exist."Were doubt left about his intentions, O'Farrell's Twitter outbursts through 2018 told of his efforts to jawbone businesses such as FedEx and Amazon into cutting off business relations with the NRA, often tagging friendly accounts such as @everytown, @momsdemand, @shannonrwatts, and @bradybuzz. It was unnecessary to show that the city had actually cut off any businesses, or that any such businesses had cut ties with the NRA for fear of city displeasure. So long as the ordinance was intended to chill speech and association, as it was, it would fall.* * *San Francisco's similar ordinance, although also the subject of a brief challenge in court, collapsed as a practical matter even more quickly. The measure's tantrum-like preamble branded the NRA a domestic terrorist group, in a move calculated to draw wide national attention. The text of the ordinance proclaimed that the city should "take every reasonable step to limit those entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business with" the gun-rights organization. Commentators promptly pointed out that any such step would fail in court as unconstitutional.Soon thereafter, San Francisco mayor London Breed issued a memo clarifying that "the City's contracting processes and policies have not changed and will not change as a result of the Resolution" because only an actual ordinance can enact changes to city law. The NRA is suing anyway, but by the city's own account the measure at this point does nothing except beam out vain hostility.* * *Governor Cuomo was shrewder. He avoided the blatant statements of intent that tripped up his California counterparts. But did he retain enough deniability to survive a court challenge? In April 2018, he issued a statement saying he was directing "the Department of Financial Services to urge insurance companies, New York State-chartered banks, and other financial services companies licensed in New York to review any relationships they may have with the National Rifle Association and other similar organizations." Review such relationships for what, exactly? Well, "the companies are encouraged to consider whether such ties harm their corporate reputations and jeopardize public safety." In a press release, he made things a tad more explicit, saying that he was directing his financial regulators "to urge insurers and bankers statewide to determine whether any relationship they may have with the NRA or similar organizations sends the wrong message" (emphasis added).Those regulators, of course, have the discretion to make life very unpleasant for insurers and banks dense enough not to take the hint. Sure enough, the NRA in short order was cut off by some long-term business partners, notable among them one major insurer and one major insurance broker. The state declared that it had found regulatory infractions in NRA-branded insurance-affinity offerings, and in the ensuing settlements with the insurer and the broker it got them to promise never to do business with the NRA again, in New York or anywhere else. Yet at the same time, the NRA says, the state took no action against similarly marketed affinity products sold by others. Cuomo's financial regulator made things a little more explicit still: "DFS urges all insurance companies and banks doing business in New York to join the companies that have already discontinued their arrangements with the NRA."In November 2018, a federal court in New York found that all in all, there was enough plausible evidence of "direct and implied threats to insurers and financial institutions because of these entities' links with the NRA" to allow the group to proceed with a First Amendment suit. While Cuomo was of course free to express his own views, the Constitution would have something to say about it if he or his appointees had made veiled threats against banks and insurers to encourage them to disassociate from the NRA. The court also asked for more evidence documenting a selective-enforcement claim, and this summer, against stiff legal resistance from the state, the NRA succeeded in getting discovery of some state files. In a filing on December 20, the NRA said it had found new documentation of both the pressure and the selective enforcement.* * *One reason the California disputes went so well for the NRA is that the officials just couldn't help grandstanding at every turn in search of followers' applause. That's how O'Farrell, in Los Angeles, helped tweet his side of the case right out of court. But Cuomo, while he's been more circumspect, has not covered himself as thoroughly as he might have. "If I could have put the NRA out of business, I would have done it 20 years ago," he declared in response to one legal development.Tell us more, Governor.
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| What Trump Could Do To Scare Iran: Give Israel's Air Force B-52 Bombers Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:29 AM PST  A bad idea.
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| American families are paying a hidden $8,000 'poll tax' to cover their healthcare costs, 2 economists argue Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:31 AM PST  Two Princeton economists say that American families pay an exorbitant amount of money to access healthcare in the US compared to other countries.
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| Sanchez’s Fragile Coalition Targets Big Business in Spain Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:48 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Spain's first coalition government since before the rise of dictator Francisco Franco has vowed to make banks pay for the financial crisis. The question now is whether the fragile left-wing partnership can last long enough to make its mark.While leftist parties across the rest of Europe have been plunged into existential crisis, Pedro Sanchez is taking charge of an unexpectedly radical government in Spain after salvaging a disappointing result in November's election through a coalition deal with the anti-austerity group Podemos.The 47-year-old Socialist squeaked back into office for a second term on Tuesday after persuading 13 deputies from Catalan separatist group Esquerra Republicana to abstain in a confidence vote in parliament. That result gives the country a proper government for the first time in nine months but leaves the prime minister vulnerable to more turmoil in Catalonia as well as the resurgence of any tensions in his stormy relationship with Podemos Leader Pablo Iglesias.The new government's first test will be passing a budget for 2020, to include higher taxes for banks in a bid to recoup some of the 60 billion euros ($67.2 billion) Spain spent bailing its financial system during the economic crisis.The coalition's policies could make it one of the most left-wing administrations since Spain returned to democracy in the late 1970s, according to Ignacio Jurado, an analyst with political-risk consulting firm Quantio in Madrid. "But it remains unclear how much of it they are going to be able to implement," he said.Podemos was born from a wave of street protests in the spring of 2011 at the height of the financial crisis and came to embody the anger of the younger Spaniards who felt that their generation bore most of the pain instead of the bankers and politicians who were responsible.The party helped to end the dominance of the traditional groups -- the Socialists and the conservative People's Party -- who've dominated Spanish politics since the end of the dictatorship. The country has had no stable majority since Podemos won its first seats in parliament in 2015.The challenge for Sanchez and Iglesias, who was in tears after the confidence vote on Tuesday, is to forge a working government for the first time since the crisis redrew the country's political map."It is extremely complicated for Sanchez, but by no means is it doomed to inevitable failure," said Jordi Alberich, an economist and former head of Cercle d'Economia, a business lobby and think-tank in Barcelona. "It's all going to be about how much political trust is allowed to develop."In partnership with the Socialists, Podemos now has real power to reshape the Spanish society to benefit its supporters.Even after six consecutive years of economic growth, unemployment in Spain is still running at 14% and the youth unemployment rate of 33% is the highest in the European Union alongside Greece's. Average wages lag behind all the major economies in western Europe.Spain's Economy Can No Longer Rely on Easy Growth SourcesTo reverse the situation, Sanchez wants to bring in more protection for workers and a higher minimum wage as well as higher taxes on large companies to fund more social spending. There are also plans for rent controls and restrictions on real estate investors as the government tries to increase access to housing -- a complaint of young people for a generation.If he can create a stable foundation in domestic politics, Sanchez has a chance to raise Spain's profile on the European stage as the U.K. leave the EU and political divisions buffet Italy and Germany.But hanging over him, is the chronic situation in Catalonia.While most of those who led the 2017 attempt to force a split with Spain are now in jail, the political wounds of that crisis are still raw. Sanchez pledged a new round of talks with the regional government in order to secure the support of Esquerra for his investiture, but that arrangement could collapse at any moment."I don't care one bit for the governability of Spain," Esquerra lawmaker Montserrat Bassa told the parliament on Tuesday. Her sister Dolors is among the Catalan politicians currently serving jail terms.Sanchez is betting that a period of stability will allow him to reduce tensions in Catalonia and create the time and space for his social and economic policies to take effect. But to achieve that he'll need to achieve something unprecedented in modern Spanish politics, and forge a working relationship with a party that didn't exist a decade ago."A lot will depend on the extent to which Podemos realizes it's now in national government and not trying to run a town hall," said Alberich. "Above all, it's a test of political maturity."\--With assistance from Jeannette Neumann.To contact the reporter on this story: Charles Penty in Madrid at cpenty@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Ben Sills, Caroline AlexanderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Oregon woman sues Mormon church for $10 million for revealing husband's child sex abuse Posted: 08 Jan 2020 01:21 PM PST  A man confessed to child sex abuse to clergy, which led to his arrest. His wife is suing the church for violating "priest-penitent privilege."
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| Timeline set to get troubled flattop Ford to sea Posted: 08 Jan 2020 01:36 PM PST  In a message last month to the fleet, the Acting SECNAV pushed for a renewed sense of urgency to deploy the carrier.
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| Biden: Iran escalation shows Trump 'dangerously incompetent' Posted: 06 Jan 2020 09:49 PM PST  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's escalation of tensions with Iran proves him to be "dangerously incompetent" and puts the U.S. on the brink of war. Speaking in New York, Biden said Trump used a "haphazard" decision-making process to order the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and has failed to communicate the rationale to Congress or U.S. allies around the world.
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| Italy, Autostrade exploring ways to resolve concession stand-off: sources Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:28 AM PST  ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - The Italian government and Atlantia's motorway unit are exploring ways to break a stand-off over the group's road concession which some members of the ruling coalition want to revoke, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday. A senior government official said there were contacts with Autostrade per l'Italia and the office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was overseeing the issue, which has turned into a hot potato for Rome's fragile coalition government. A second source close to the matter spoke of "smoke signals" between the government and the company which were keeping open a communication channel through third parties.
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| California governor proposes more than $1 billion toward homelessness Posted: 08 Jan 2020 03:50 PM PST  Responding to a growing crisis on the streets of California's major cities, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday his state budget proposal would include more than $1 billion in funds directed at homelessness.
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| Heartbreaking photos show animals impacted by Australia's bushfires Posted: 08 Jan 2020 04:28 AM PST  As the bushfires in Australia continue to rage, they are taking a toll on animals as well as humans.
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| At least 63 Canadians dead in Iran plane crash Posted: 08 Jan 2020 05:05 AM PST  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed his government will get answers after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed, killing at least 63 Canadians, just minutes after taking off from Iran's capital. Trudeau said Wednesday 138 passengers on the flight were connecting to Canada. The flight included many international students who were studying at universities across Canada.
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| Even the Russians Think The U.S. Navy Would Defeat the Chinese Posted: 08 Jan 2020 11:47 AM PST  Konstantin Sivkov, a member of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, says superior U.S. reconaissance would give it the defining advantage.
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| The Other Attack on Americans That Has U.S. Forces Unnerved: Kenya Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:18 AM PST  LAMU, Kenya—One U.S. serviceman and two American private contractors were killed by the Somali militant group al-Shabab in a raid before dawn Sunday here on the coast near the Somali border, according to a statement issued by U.S. Africa Command. In the attack, launched at an airstrip used jointly by U.S. and Kenyan forces, two other American contractors were wounded. The serviceman was 23-year-old Specialist Henry Mayfield, from Chicago.At a moment of fast-rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, arguably the world's most sophisticated state sponsor of terrorism, even if there was no link to the American assassination days earlier of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, the Kenya attack was a grim reminder of the many far-flung locales around the world where American soldiers can be targeted, and the ruthlessness of the forces that have them in their crosshairs. There was another casualty of Sunday's attack as well: a civilian. Witnesses near the Lamu County town of Hindi report that at around 3 a.m. Sunday some 20-30 men on foot were ghosting their way through farms and woods, heading east—in the direction of Manda Bay military base. Mwalimu Chengo Ponda, a resident in his mid-thirties, stepped outside to investigate the commotion to find a small group close to his home. The marauders grabbed him and whisked him away. Some hours later, neighbors found Mwalimu's body lying in the bush, shot in the head.From the vicinity of Hindi, al-Shabab militants advanced to the Manda Bay naval base and airfield. Even while the attack was underway, the group released a communiqué claiming that its elite "Martyrdom Brigade" had "successfully stormed the heavily fortified military base" and taken control of one area, where it had inflicted severe casualties on both Kenyan and American personnel. The attack, the statement read, was part of al-Shabab's "Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Will Never Be Judaized" military campaign.(Soleimani, one might note, was the head of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, but the quest to put Quds/Jerusalem is as old as Islam, and an especially common reference point for those who claim to wage jihad.)At 5:30 a.m. that day, the Kenya Defense Forces issued a statement saying that a "security breach" had taken place at "Manda Airstrip," but that the breach had been successfully repulsed. The statement went on to say four "terrorist" bodies had been recovered.Witnesses in the area reported loud booms at intervals and plumes of smoke Sunday continuing at 6 a.m.Because Lamu County's civil-aviation airport, used by tourists, is also referred to as Manda Airstrip, confusion ensued immediately. Tour operators went into action, frantically trying to organize transport out of the Lamu Archipelago for guests. The commercial airport, much smaller and located on Manda Island, about six miles from the naval base, was not attacked.There's been ample speculation as to whether the Manda Bay attack had anything to do with the operation President Donald Trump ordered that killed Soleimani. Analysts say no. It would have been impossible, they note, to stage the coordinated Manda attack just two days after the U.S. drones did their work in Baghdad. The attack on the Kenyan base was, no doubt, long in the works. It might also be pointed out that Somalia's Muslims are Sunni rather than Shia, and al-Shabab is affiliated with al Qaeda, which also follows a Sunni current of Islam.But in the murky world of terrorism and Iran's covert operations, the Sunni-Shia divide is not always well defined. Soleimani's Quds Force minions have worked with the radical Sunni Taliban, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and even al Qaeda when it suited them. Since Soleimani's assassination, American politicians have emphasized that fact. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence claimed specifically that Soleimani was responsible for "terror attacks" in 2011 and a bomb plot in 2012 in Kenya. Alleged Iranians or Iranian agents have been in and out jail on various charges relating to plans to bomb the Israeli embassy in Nairobi. Vice President Pence tweeted, "Directed IRGC QF (Quds Force) terrorist plots to bomb innocent civilians in Turkey and Kenya in 2011."Al-Shabab's focus on Manda Bay likely was a response to the U.S. use of drones flying out of there, attempting to show that these death-dealing robots in the sky do not guarantee impunity for those controlling them on the ground. Drone strikes worldwide have increased under Donald Trump. Last year the U.S. carried a record 63 drone strikes in Somalia—and al-Shabab is striking back.The Manda Bay attack is the first al-Shabab has carried out on a U.S. military installation inside Kenya. It is also the first attack by Islamic militants made against a U.S. installation in Kenya since al Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy in 1998, killing more than 200 people.The Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) has carried out airstrikes in Somalia for a decade, and has been carrying out clandestine operations against al Qaeda in East Africa, as well as its local ally al-Shabab, at least since the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.Al-Shabab attacked a U.S. special forces base in Somalia on Sept. 30 after four of its militants were killed in three airstrikes in Somalia the previous day, according to U.S. Africa Command.Among the aircraft destroyed at the Manda Bay base were manned surveillance planes that collect data across the border in Somalia, as well as over Kenya's dense Boni forest, about 10 miles north of the Manda Bay base, where al-Shabab is thought to be hiding.Big Game: U.S. Soldiers' Secret Hunt for Jihadists in a Kenyan ForestThe intelligence, including the locations of villages, Shabab leaders and members, is then fed to armed unmanned Reaper drones. In the view of recent U.S. operations, it is no surprise that the group specifically targeted surveillance aircraft on the Manda airstrip. Also reportedly destroyed were aircraft operated by U.S. Special Operations Command and modified Havilland Canada Dash-8 spy aircraft, which carries the U.S. civil registration code N8200L.Northeast Kenya is no stranger to al-Shabab attacks, having suffered massacres of civilians at Mpekatoni and Garissa, as well as numerous bus attacks. Al-Shabab's operations in the region have been directed at both military and civilian targets, including many innocent bystanders like Mwalimu. Sunday's attack marked a rare event, however: a successful incursion into a military base, and—rarer yet—a U.S. installation. (The only other such attack came in 2016, when al-Shabab penetrated an African Union base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.) For all its lack of high-tech apparatus, al-Shabab remains resilient. Analysts attribute the group's success to its intelligence gathering on the ground, so very unlike the U.S. drones.Stig Jarle Hansen, analyst and author of Horn, Sahel and Rift: Fault-lines of the African Jihad, puts it like this: "The attack shows that Shabab is still able to hit Kenya inside its borders, and proves they can strike at U.S. personnel. But perhaps the attack mainly illustrates that Shabab can put a dent in the U.S. drone campaign in Somalia."That's a point worth remembering as we gird, it seems, for a new chapter in the war with terrorists. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Kansas City Sues Gun Manufacturer for Illegal Trafficking in First Such Suit in Ten Years Posted: 08 Jan 2020 06:48 AM PST  Kansas City, Mo. announced Tuesday that it is filing suit against a gun manufacturer and several firearms dealers, accusing the group of running a trafficking ring that supplied guns to known felons.The public nuisance lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, marks the first time a U.S. city has sued a gun manufacturer for illegal trafficking in over a decade.The city alleges that firearms manufacturer Jiminez Arms and local firearm dealers Conceal & Carry, CR Sales Firearms, and Mission Ready Gunworks aided and abetted in a gun trafficking ring run by former Kansas City fire captain James Samuels.Samuels was arrested in October and faces criminal charges of trafficking guns from 2013 to 2018, including to individuals he knew were felons who informed him they planned to shoot people. He has pled not guilty and remains in federal custody.The lawsuit states that Nevada-based Jimenez Arms repeatedly shipped dozens of firearms to Samuels "knowing that he was not a licensed dealer and knowing that he was going to resell these guns."Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has promised to curb gun violence in the city, cited a "significant problem with illegal gun trafficking in our city.""While a lot of our criminal justice partners certainly try to make sure that they root this out, that they address it, there are a lot of private actors that, each day, create new threats for the citizens of Kansas City — frankly to the citizens of our entire region," Lucas said."Gun dealers and manufacturers have a legal responsibility not to ignore suspicious purchasing behaviors that indicate illegal gun trafficking or straw purchasing," said attorney Alla Lefkowitz, of Everytown Law, which is representing Kansas City.Lawsuits against firearms manufacturers and dealers are few and far between since such businesses are generally protected under federal law from charges when their weapons are used to commit crimes. However, the city argues such protections do not apply when the businesses violate federal gun laws by selling weapons to people they know to be felons.
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