The Daily Moth 1-6-20
Updates on Iran conflict | Top News: Harvey Weinstein; John Bolton; Shabab attack | 5.8 Magnitude earthquake hits Puerto Rico | Deaf Australian family loses home from bushfires
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Monday, January 6. Hope your weekend was good. Ready for news?
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Updates on Iran conflict
Here are updates on the situation in the Middle East after President Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iran’s top general Qasem Soleimani.
The first — there was a huge funeral for Soleimani in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Tens or potentially hundreds of thousands of people wore black clothing and many carried photographs of Soleimani. There were some people who burned a US and Israeli flag.
On Friday, an Iranian general said they have identified 35 targets in the Middle East and Israel where they could attack Americans or their allies.
President Trump responded on Saturday by saying the U.S. would hit 52 Iranian sites very hard if they were attacked. Trump said he would attack sites that were important to Iranian culture.
There was criticism towards Trump’s remarks because it is considered a war crime or violation of international agreements to target historic and cultural sites.
The Iraqi parliament passed a resolution to expel more than 5,000 US troops from their country. The resolution was nonbinding, which means it can’t go into effect and is a symbolic act -- but it shows the feelings of Iraqi politicians. There were many Iraqi nationals who marched in the streets and called for the US to leave.
President Trump responded to the vote by threatening economic sanctions on Iraq if they ask them to leave and the repayment of billions of dollars spent on an air base. He said the sanctions would be worse than the ones imposed on Iran.
The Washington Post reported that the US military would reposition troops in Iraq in preparation for a possible withdrawal. But other officials said it is just movement of troops and it is not for withdrawal. So there was confusion on that.
Iran said they are abandoning a previous pledge to limit the production of nuclear fuel. But international nuclear inspectors said they are still at work in Iran and monitoring activity.
The US military coalition in Iraq said they are stopping their operations against ISIS so they can focus more on protecting themselves. There were 3,000 additional troops ordered to the Middle East and there could be 4,500 more troops.
CNN reported that the US military will deploy six B-52 planes to a base in the Indian Ocean to have them ready to respond to Iran if necessary.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they would introduce a “War Powers Resolution” to limit Trump’s military actions regarding Iran.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security/trump-vows-to-hit-52-iranian-targets-if-iran-retaliates-after-drone-strike-idUSKBN1Z4003
https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/us-iran-soleimani-tensions-intl-01-06-20/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/middleeast/trump-cultural-sites.html
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-01-05/iraq-parliament-expel-u-s-military-qassem-soleiman
https://www.axios.com/trump-iran-retaliation-iraq-sanctions-threat-air-force-one-bbd958b1-e886-43c7-8b27-9903dba28594.html
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Top News: Harvey Weinstein; John Bolton; Shabab attack
Here are three top news briefs.
The first — Harvey Weinstein was indicted on new sex crimes charges in Los Angeles. News broke about the charges as he appeared in his first day trial in Manhattan for rape and other sex crimes charges. He was on a walker because of recent back surgery. Weinstein used to be a powerful Hollywood producer until accusations and charges of sexual misconduct against him sparked the #MeToo movement. He faces a maximum of life in prison.
The second news — former national security adviser John Bolton said he would testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial if the Senate issued a subpoena. This is a big deal because Bolton knew a lot about the relationship Trump had with Ukraine and previously expressed concerns about it. He was fired by Trump in September after they had several clashes. Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has been resistant against calling witnesses for the trial, so we’ll see what impact Bolton’s willingness has on the process.
The third news — three Americans — a US service member and two contractors — died on Sunday in an attack on a military base in Kenya. The Pentagon has blamed the Shabab, an extremist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda. The New York Times reported that Shabab fighters used firearms to break into a base before being driven back by Kenyan and American troops. The three Americans have not been identified at the time of signing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-trial.html
https://www.axios.com/john-bolton-testify-trump-impeachment-trial-subpoena-485bbf06-344e-4140-a2d2-dacb14f10f26.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/africa/al-shabab-camp-simba-kenya.html
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5.8 Magnitude earthquake hits Puerto Rico
There was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Puerto Rico this morning. It caused a beautiful, famous stone arch called Punta Ventana to collapse. Look at this before and after photo — you can see that the arch is gone.
A local told the Miami Herald that she is sad because she frequently visited the beach as a child and that it was one of the biggest tourist draws in Guayanilla, which is on the southern coast.
A series of earthquakes have hit southern Puerto Rico since December 28. Today’s earthquake caused several homes to be knocked off their foundations and caused rockslides, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article238996843.html
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Deaf Australian family loses home from bushfires
The bushfires in Australia are still burning. At least 24 people have died and over 6 million hectares (over 15 million acres) have been burnt.
A family with deaf parents lost their home from the fires. Their names are Angus and Steph Johnston and they have three daughters who are hearing. They manage a dairy farm on 50 acres in a rural area in the southeastern part of New South Wales, which is one of the hardest-hit areas. The couple uses their voice to communicate with hearing people.
Angus said during New Year’s Eve, there were fires that approached his home and land. His wife and girls evacuated while Angus and his father stayed behind to defend the land. They used an ute (truck) and had two spray guns and they used it to fight the fires for themselves and their neighbors on New Year’s Day until January 3.
On January 4, it was was 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). Angus said his neighbors called him to alert him there was a fire at the bottom of a hill. Angus and his father and his neighbors fought it by taking turns until they ran out of water.
He said they thought they had it under control, but the wind changed and the fire started again. They rushed to get more water and fought the fire by spraying water behind the movement of the fire. He said there was thick smoke that burnt his eyes. He had a mask on to protect his lungs.
He said he did think he had a chance to save his home but the winds was going crazy with changing directions. He said there were multiple wildfire cyclones, that it was “super hot,” and that he got split off from his father. The fires grew in size and Angus said he couldn’t do anything, and had to leave. He said he couldn’t watch his “dream place” burn so he told his neighbors that he was “out of here” and for them to “get ready to defend their place.”
I will show you pictures of their home after it burned down.
[Pictures]
Angus said he felt like he failed and told his wife Steph that he was sorry, but Steph said he did an amazing job and she is proud of him. She said she is glad he is coming back to her because “a house and contents can be replaced, but he cannot be.”
I asked Angus why he wanted to stay and defend his land while others evacuated, that it must have been a big risk.
Angus said if he had to do it again he would, that he was not afraid of fires and thought they got lucky. He said this fire is the worst he’s ever seen.
Steph said the land around their home and farm used to have green, lush grass, but there was a drought since April 2019 that caused the land to turn dry and brittle, which was “perfect for fires.” She said there was a bushfire in 2018 that forced them to evacuate, but the fires this year came “faster, stronger, and made their own weather system.”
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology explained in a graphic that bushfires generate new clouds and storms, which cause unpredictable changes in fire behavior by causing downbursts of strong winds and/or lightning.
The Johnstons said they have a lot of support from their family and friends. They plan to rebuild and said their family who have different talents will help them and the new home will have things built in to help them fight fires better in the future.
Thank you for sharing your story. We’re touched by it and wish you the best of luck in the future with your recovery.
The Daily Moth is in touch with other deaf Australians who were impacted and we will share their stories this week.
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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