The Daily Moth 1-8-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, January 8. Ready for news?
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President Trump gives address on Iran conflict
President Trump gave an address this morning from the Grand Foyer at the White House with the Vice President, the Secretaries of State and Defense, and top military generals.
It was his first public, televised response after Iran launched more than 12 missiles at two Iraqi bases that housed US troops.
Trump opened his speech by saying as long as he is president, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
He said there were no American casualties after Iran’s missile strikes and that Iran appears to be standing down. He said Americans should be extremely grateful and happy.
Trump said the Iranian general that he ordered to be killed in an airstrike, Qasem Soleimani, was the “world’s top terrorist” and that the airstrike stopped him from planning additional attacks.
Trump blamed the Obama administration for giving Iran the funds needed to purchase the missiles through the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump said they would impose more economic sanctions on Iran. Trump called on other countries to follow him in breaking away from the Iran nuclear deal. He said he will ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East.
Trump closed his speech by saying the “United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”
It was a short speech. What we can learn from this is that the crisis will not escalate — at least for now.
The Washington Post reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps made claims that at least 80 US troops died.
AP reported that Iran gave a warning before launching the barrage of missiles. Iran’s Supreme Leader said the missiles were a “slap” and that they were not sufficient for revenge. He said he wants America to get out of their region.
CNN reported that several US government officials said they believed Iran intentionally targeted their missiles to hit areas that were not populated by Americans.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-attacks-trump-to-address-the-nation-after-missile-attack-on-u-s-troops-in-iraq-live-stream-2020-01-08/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-live-updates/2020/01/08/c835c218-31a0-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html
https://apnews.com/c7116313efdb56f4e928289faa1ad8cd
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-base-iraq-comes-under-attack-missiles-iran-claims-n1112171
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-blames-obama-iran-nuclear-deal-funding-iranian-missile-attack-against-us-forces-iraq-1481093
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Ukraine passenger plane crashes in Tehran, killing 176
On Wednesday morning in Iran, an Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane with at least 176 people on it crashed shortly after takeoff. There were no survivors. The plane was a Boeing 737-800.
BBC reported that Ukraine said the victims included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians (9 of them crew), 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Britons, and three Germans. Fifteen of them were children.
The plane took off from Tehran and was headed towards Kiev. The crash happened a few hours after after Iran fired multiple missiles towards two military bases in Iraq that housed U.S. troops.
It is not yet clear what caused the plane to crash. News images show shattered pieces of the plane on the ground, a burnt engine, many body bags, and crews inspecting the damage.
The New York Times reported that an Iranian news organization tweeted a video of a plane in flames going down and causing a bright flash as it crashed. They said it was the Boeing plane.
An Iranian government official said one of the plane’s engines caught fire and the pilot couldn’t control it.
There is some speculation that Iran shot down the plane, but there is nothing to confirm this.
Iran refused to send the “black boxes” to Boeing in America for flight data analysis. Instead Iran said they would work with Ukrainian officials.
BBC reported that at UIA and least eight different airline companies announced they would cancel or avoid flight routes that involved Iranian or Iraqi airspace.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky was on vacation in Oman when the crash happened and immediately left for Kiev. He said it was “horrible news from the Middle East” and sent his condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the victims.
The Boeing plane model that crashed is not the same as the problematic 737 Max model that is grounded worldwide, but it will bring more pressure to Boeing.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51029994
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Avalanche at Idaho ski resort kills two
There was an avalanche at the Silver Mountain Resort in Idaho that killed two people. Five other people were rescued.
Local law enforcement said they received reports of up to three separate avalanches. There were avalanche warnings at the time.
USA Today reported that searchers combed through the snow with probes and rescue dogs.
Spokesman.com reported that the deaths happened on Wardner Peak, which is 6,200 feet high. In the mornings before the mountain is open to skiers, crews throw bombs and ski in certain areas to try and trigger snow slides and make it safe for guests, but today it “didn’t work.”
There was heavy and rapid snow accumulation in the past few days that caused a slab of snow to sit on top of an older layer of snow, which increases the risk of avalanches.
An average of 27 Americans die in avalanches every year. During the 2019-2020 season, at least five people have died, including the two today.
It is recommended that skiers or snowboarders who want to take risks on steep mountains to wear an avalanche beacon.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jan/07/deadly-in-bound-avalanche-at-silver-mountain-highl/
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News Briefs: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle; Puerto Rico earthquakes
Here are two top news briefs.
The first — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they would “step back” as “senior” members of the Royal Family and split their time between the UK and North America. They want to become financially independent. They said they want to raise their son to be able to appreciate royal traditions and also have space to focus on their next chapter, which includes the launch of their new charitable entity. It’s a new direction.
Meghan had expressed in the past that she was under a lot of stress from all the attention of marrying into a royal family and admitted that she did not feel “okay.” Meghan is an American and has spent a lot of time in Canada, so their “North America” reference probably means that they will be in both Canada and the U.S.
The second news — Puerto Rico had another powerful earthquake yesterday, a 6.4 magnitude quake that killed at least one person and severely damaged many homes in the southern coast. A major power plant was damaged. It caused the island’s power grid to shut down for safety reasons, but Reuters reported that electricity is now slowly coming back for 1/3 of customers.
Some Puerto Ricans who live in the south part of the island slept outdoors out of fear that there could be another earthquake. There have been over a hundred earthquakes of varying magnitudes since December 28. Many people said they are fearful because they are used to hurricanes, not earthquakes.
https://twitter.com/i/events/1214981253092401152
http://news.trust.org/item/20200108102705-whjbu
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!