The Daily Moth 1-7-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Tuesday, January 7. Ready for news?
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More updates on conflict with Iran
Here are more updates on the U.S.-Iranian conflict.
Today at least 56 people in Iran were killed in a stampede during mourning marches for Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. This happened in his hometown of Kerman. The burial was delayed. The Washington Post reported that the procession route was crammed with massive amounts of people. Iranian news videos showed multiple people lying on the floor.
Several Iranian officials said they are discussing plans to carry out retaliatory attacks for the U.S. airstrike.
President Trump warned on Twitter on Monday that if Iran attacks “any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back…”
Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif said today that his visa request to attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York City this week was denied by the U.S. The White House said it was not the “right time” for Zarif to come.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the airstrike was an accomplishment, that they protected American forces, and that Trump is doing the right thing.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. is not seeking a war with Iran but is prepared to finish one. He also confirmed that the U.S. is not withdrawing troops from Iraq. He said Soleimani was a terrorist who was planning attacks on Americans.
Reuters did a report on 600 “mostly young” soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division who were loading their gear in trucks and walking into planes to deploy to the Middle East. One soldier said, “We’re going to war, bro!” They were ordered not to bring cellphones or video games out of concern that their positions could be leaked.
The U.S. Department of Transportation alerted U.S. commercial ships to be cautious when passing through waters near Iran. In the summer of 2019, there were six vessels that were attacked with three of them seized. The U.S. has blamed Iran for the attacks.
USA Today reported that there were many Iranians and Iranian-Americans who were detained and questioned at a Customs and Border Patrol station in Blaine, Washington — the Peace Arch Border Crossing.
A woman who was born in Iran, moved to Canada, and now lives in the U.S., Negah Hekmati, said she and her husband — who was also born in Iran — and their children were returning to Washington after a skiing trip in Canada on Saturday at midnight. They had a NEXUS border crossing card but was asked to go inside for an inspection. They ended up being in a room for five hours and noticed that other Iranian-Americans were also pulled aside for questioning and secondary inspections.
The CBP issued a statement that said the reports of them targeting Iranian-Americans were false and said the Blaine border crossing was understaffed because of the holiday season.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said he didn’t believe CBP’s excuses and that the “detentions” were unacceptable.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-live-updates/2020/01/07/896c70a2-30d5-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/07/politics/esper-iran-interview/index.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-usa-fort-bragg/were-going-to-war-bro-fort-braggs-82nd-airborne-deploys-to-the-middle-east-idUSKBN1Z616W
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/07/customs-and-border-patrol-deny-reports-detained-iranian-americans/2830330001/
https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC
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Fatal stabbing in Austin, TX
In Austin, Texas, a 27-year-old man, Dylan Woodburn, is accused of stabbing one man to death at a restaurant before committing suicide by jumping off from the restaurant’s building on Friday.
This happened on South Congress Ave, which is close to the state capitol and the Texas School for the Deaf.
It started on Friday morning when Woodburn allegedly struck a man inside of Bennu Coffee with a coffee mug. There was chaos and police were called to respond to a man who was standing outside with a large rock and threatening people. When an officer arrived, two people were holding the suspct down, but the officer’s duty belt somehow came undone, distracting him. The suspect broke free and ran to Freebirds World Burrito where he grabbed a knife and stabbed to death a 34-year-old manager named Johnathan Aguilar. He also stabbed a second employee.
The suspect then climbed to the restaurant’s roof and jumped head first into the ground. He was taken to a hospital but died Friday evening.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said they are investigating how the officer’s duty belt came undone.
Woodburn had an extensive criminal record and was homelessn. The attack appeared to be random.
Friends of Aguilar mourned his death, saying he was a genuine, caring and loving person. He leaves behind a wife and a son. His family started a GoFundMe that has raised almost $14,000.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) sparked debate by blaming Austin’s friendly policy on homeless people for allowing this to happen.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-accused-austin-stabbings-dies-fall-police-68116393?cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed
https://heavy.com/news/2020/01/dylan-woodburn/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-johnthan-aguilar-fund-for-wife-amp-son?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
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Senate leader McConnell to move ahead on Senate trial rules without Democrats
Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) announced today he has enough votes (at least 51) to move ahead with approving rules for President Trump’s impeachment trial without negotiating with Democrats -- who have demanded guarantees for witnesses to be called and for specific documents to be brought in.
McConnell said the trial rules should be similar with Bill Clinton’s trial in 1999, which held the question of calling witnesses until after the start of the trial.
McConnell said “phase one” of the trial would involve arguments from the prosecution, arguments from the defense, and a period of written questions.” The issue of witnesses will be discussed after the first part.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not yet transmitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate, so the trial can’t begin yet. Pelosi held them back so she could negotiate with Republicans. Democrats expressed concern that the Trump administration blocked information and testimony that was important to the impeachment, so they needed guarantees, but they don’t have enough power nor votes in the Senate.
At least two Democratic senators said Pelosi should send the articles so the trial can begin. The articles are abuse of power and obstruction of justice and it has to do with Trump’s request for Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son’s business dealings in Ukraine and the obstruction has to do with blocking the impeachment inquiry.
Pelosi is back on Capitol Hill today and we can expect her to make a decision on what to do soon.
https://www.axios.com/mcconnell-senate-trial-rules-b8598298-1ac1-495b-b928-824ce8d172e6.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-impeachment-live-updates/2020/01/07/e0f49d52-313b-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-impeachment-live-01-07-2020/index.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/07/mitch-mcconnell-democrats-senate-impeachment-trial-rules/2833336001/
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Iran hits two Iraqi airbases housing U.S. troops with a dozen ballistic missiles
This is big news. I’m sure you’ve already seen this on your phones or on social media. A few hours ago Iran fired more than 12 ballistic missiles at two air bases in Iraq that housed U.S. troops. They came in two waves. The bases are west and north of Baghdad. Iraq is a neighbor to the west to Iran. News videos and images showed a series of missiles being launched in the dark. Iran claimed responsibility for it and said it was “hard revenge” for the Trump-ordered airstrike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. It is not known what kind of damage there is. There are some reports of Iraqis hurt but no reports of Americans who were injured. The U.S. military confirmed the missile attacks and said it is clear they came from Iran. They are now working on damage assessments. Iran released an image that showed their supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, overseeing the attacks. It was thought that President Trump would address the nation tonight, but the White House said there would be no speeches. News reports said that Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were at the White House and have departed for the night.
Iran warned that if the U.S. bombed them in response to the missile strikes, they would target Dubai in UAE and Haifa in Israel. President Trump tweeted that “All is well!” He said there was assessment of casualties and damages going on and “so far, so good!” He said we have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world and that he would make a statement tomorrow. Trump had warned earlier this week that if Iran attacked an American base, they would quickly and fully strike back. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Iran committed “an act of war.” The Iranian foreign minister Zarif said the missile strikes were an act of self-defense and that they do not seek for escalation or war, but will defend themselves against any aggression. This could mean that Iran views the U.S. airstrike against their general, which probably came from one of the bases, as an attack and are now defending themselves by striking against their base. But the U.S. views the general as a terrorist and said he was planning attacks against Americans, so they did a pre-emptive strike against him. It’s two completely different viewpoints that just ratchets up the tension. This Iranian conflict is at a new and dangerous level. I will continue to follow this tomorrow and give you an update. That’s all for tonight.
https://www.axios.com/iran-rocket-attack-al-asad-soleimani-78d00f09-1208-491d-b382-f0c6e1fb5da9.html
https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/us-iran-soleimani-tensions-intl-01-07-20
https://www.foxnews.com/world/missile-attacks-target-us-forces-in-iraq-senior-military-source-says-iran-suspected
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That is all for today. see you tomorrow and stay with the light!