Airfield Used By U.S. Forces In Kenya Comes Under Attack By Al-Shabab Militants – NPR
Airfield Used By U.S. Forces In Kenya Comes Under Attack By Al-Shabab Militants – NPR

Al-Shabab fighters march with their weapons during military exercises on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2011.

Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP


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Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP

Al-Shabab fighters march with their weapons during military exercises on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2011.

Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP

Updated at 3:46 p.m. ET

A U.S. service member and two Department of Defense contractors were killed Sunday when the terrorist organization al-Shabab attacked a Kenyan airfield used by both Kenyan and U.S. forces.

Two Department of Defense members were also injured in the attack, according to United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). They are said to be in stable condition.

The attack by the Somali-based al-Shabab, which is affiliated with al-Qaida, was the group’s first against U.S. forces in Kenya, according to The Associated Press. The site of the attack, Manda Bay Airfield, is used by U.S. forces to provide training and counterterrorism support to partners in East Africa, as well as protecting U.S. interests in the area.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” said U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, the commander of U.S. Africa Command. “As we honor their sacrifice, let’s also harden our resolve. Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al-Shabaab who seeks to harm Americans and U.S. interests.”

Earlier in the day AFRICOM released a statement on the attack saying that working together with Kenyan forces, the attack at the Manda Bay Airfield had been repelled and the airfield cleared.

The Kenya Defence Forces released a statement saying that “The attempted breach was successfully repulsed” and that four “terrorists [sic] bodies” had been found.

“The airstrip is safe. Arising from the unsuccessful breach a fire broke out affecting some of the fuel tanks located at the airstrip. The fire has been put under control and standard security procedures are now on-going,” according to the statement.

Citing a report from Kenyan police, the AP reported that two small planes, two U.S. helicopters and multiple U.S. vehicles had been destroyed in the attack. AFRICOM released a later statement saying that “six contractor-operated civilian aircraft were damaged to some degree.”

The airfield attack by the al-Qaida-linked group follows a truck bomb in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Dec. 28 that left at least 79 people dead. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

A day after the bombing in Mogadishu, the U.S. military announced that at least four al-Shabab militants in Somalia had been killed in three separate airstrikes. The military said in a statement that the airstrikes “targeted al-Shabaab militants responsible for terrorist acts against innocent Somali citizens and coordinating with al-Qaeda.”

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2020/01/05/793752674/airfield-used-by-u-s-forces-in-kenya-comes-under-attack-by-al-shabab-militants

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5 dead, about 55 injured in Pa. Turnpike crash in Mt. Pleasant Twp.; highway closed in both directions – TribLIVE
5 dead, about 55 injured in Pa. Turnpike crash in Mt. Pleasant Twp.; highway closed in both directions – TribLIVE

Five people have died and about 55 others have been injured in an early-morning crash involving a tour bus on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant Township, authorities said.

The bus was traveling on a downhill curve, struck an embankment and flipped onto its side, authorities said. The crash also involved three tractor-trailers — two UPS trucks and a FedEx truck — loaded with parcels and a passenger vehicle, state police said. It occurred about 3:40 a.m. Sunday near mile marker 86 on the westbound side of the highway, officials said. Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha confirmed the fatalities.

The turnpike is closed in both directions between the Breezewood (Exit 161) and New Stanton (Exit 75) interchanges.

State police spokesman Stephen Limani said two people suffered critical but non-life-threatening injuries, and the rest of the injuries were less serious.

The tour bus, bound for Cincinnati from New Jersey, is owned by Z&D Tours of New Jersey, Limani said.

Many of the tour bus passengers were visiting the United States from other countries, according to Limani. Their home countries have not been determined, but some speak Japanese and others speak Spanish.

Investigators have yet to identify some of the deceased, Limani said.

“Because of the severity of the crash, and how entangled the vehicles are, we’re still working hard to get IDs on the individuals who have passed away,” he said.

As of 1 p.m., some of the bodies were still in the vehicles, according to Limani.

Police expect to release the names of the deceased as soon as they are available, but a full investigation of the crash and its causes could take weeks or months, Limani said.

Accident reconstruction experts will use tracking devices within the vehicles, inspections of the vehicles themselves and other evidence to investigate, Limani said.

Angela Maynard, a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky, said she was traveling eastbound on the turnpike when she and her driving partner came upon the scene.

“I looked up at that hill there, and I could see lights. It looked like a lot of them,” said Maynard, who called 911. “There was no fire, just a lot of smoke at that point.”

She and her co-driver got out of their truck to see if anyone was hurt. She could see one person lying on the ground, and another trapped in their truck.

“It was horrible,” she said. “I was trying to make sure everyone was OK.

“I walked toward the scene and saw one of the truck drivers laying near the barrier. I tried to keep him occupied, keep talking, until medical help arrived. He was in bad shape. He was floating in and out of consciousness.”

The roads were wet from snow but not especially icy, she said. Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colborn said at a press briefing at 10:45 a.m. that the roads had been treated and also said they were not icy.

The America Red Cross is assisting the victims, many of whom are without their luggage and passports because of the crash, Limani said.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure while they’re in our country, and they’re involved in this horrific incident, that we’re able to be compassionate and provide the things that they’re going to need outside of just medical treatment,” Limani said.

Numerous ambulance companies from Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties sent units to transport victims, following protocol for a “mass casualty incident,” said Westmoreland County Public Safety Director Bud Mertz.

Those who were injured were taken to numerous hospitals in the region, a Westmoreland Department of Public Safety supervisor said.

A total of 31 patients were treated at Excela Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, said Excela Health spokeswoman Robin Jennings. Four were transferred to Pittsburgh hospitals.

Jennings said the other 27 were treated and released in stable condition.

The ages of the injured ranged from 7 to 52. Nine are under the age of 18, she said.

Three patients are being treated at UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh and a child is being cared for at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, a UPMC spokeswoman said. Their conditions were not available.

Eleven more victims were taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. One is in critical condition, and the others are in fair condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

UPMC Somerset received 18 patients: 12 adults and six under the age of 18, according to a UPMC spokeswoman. All have been treated and released.

Leticia Moreta arrived at Forbes about 11:30 a.m. to pick up her children — Jorge Moreta, 24, and Melanie Moreta, 16 — who were on the bus. She said she did not have details about how the crash happened, only saying that her children were returning from visiting their father in New York. The children were in stable condition.

“I was devastated,” she said. “I was on my way to pick them up from Ohio.”

Omeil Ellis from Irvington, N.J., said his two brothers were on the bus.

Anthony Ellis, 39, was in surgery at 1 p.m. at an undetermined hospital. Quan J. Ellis, 17, was in stable condition at Excela Frick.

The family was waiting to see if he will be released and then plans on heading to the other hospital to visit Anthony.

“I was crying,” Omeil Ellis said. “I was like crazy crying. I’m still hurt.”

He added they were traveling to Ohio for work. His brothers left before him and he was going down a few days later.

“I’m just weak right now,” he said.

FedEx officials declined to discuss whether its driver was injured. Like UPS, both offered statements offering condolences and saying they are cooperating with investigating authorities.

After first responders arrived, Maynard said, she and other drivers were told to clear the scene before the turnpike closed.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators were called the scene, turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said.

Three deputy coroners also were on scene, Bacha said.

Debris caused the eastbound lanes of the turnpike to be closed.

Turnpike Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey said the turnpike followed standard protocol by shutting down the highway for 86 miles between New Stanton and Breezewood, rather than a shorter closure between New Stanton and Donegal, because the local communities are not equipped to handle the heavy flow of commercial traffic that would be getting on and off at Donegal.

Excela Health Frick Hospital Case Management has established a phone number — 724-237-6027 — for family members only, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety said. The American Red Cross is assisting victims and relatives of those involved in the crash and said anyone needing assistance can call 1-800-Red-Cross.

Renatta Signorini, Paul Peirce and Jacob Tierney are Tribune-Review staff writers. Staff writers Joe Napsha, Megan Guza and Megan Tomasic contributed. You can reach them at [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]

Source Article from https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/fatal-crash-on-pa-turnpike-in-mt-pleasant-closes-highway-in-both-directions/

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Trump vows to hit 52 Iranian targets if Iran retaliates after drone strike – Reuters
Trump vows to hit 52 Iranian targets if Iran retaliates after drone strike – Reuters

BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites “very hard” if Iran attacks Americans or U.S. assets after a drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader, as tens of thousands of people marched in Iraq to mourn their deaths.

Showing no signs of seeking to ease tensions raised by the strike he ordered that killed Soleimani and Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad airport on Friday, Trump issued a threat to Iran on Twitter. The strike has raised the specter of wider conflict in the Middle East.

Iran, Trump wrote, “is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets” in revenge for Soleimani’s death. Trump said the United States has “targeted 52 Iranian sites” and that some were “at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.”

“The USA wants no more threats!” Trump said, adding that the 52 targets represented the 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days after being seized at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 – an enduring sore spot in U.S.-Iranian relations.

Trump did not identify the sites. The Pentagon referred questions about the matter to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Among the mourners in Iraq included many militiamen in uniform for whom Muhandis and Soleimani were heroes. They carried portraits of both men and plastered them on walls and armored personnel carriers in the procession. Chants of “Death to America” and “No No Israel” rang out.

On Saturday evening, a rocket fell inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy, another hit the nearby Jadriya neighborhood and two more were fired at the Balad air base north of the city, but no one was killed, Iraq’s military said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Trump referenced an unusually specific number of potential Iranian targets after a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander had also mentioned a specific number of American targets – 35 of them – for possible retaliatory attacks in response to Soleimani’s killing.

General Gholamali Abuhamzeh was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying late on Friday that Iran will punish Americans wherever they are within reach of the Islamic Republic, and raised the prospect of attacks on ships in the Gulf.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there. … Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago. … Some 35 U.S. targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv are within our reach,” he was quoted as saying.

Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah militia warned Iraqi security forces to stay away from U.S. bases in Iraq, “by a distance not less than a thousand meters (six-tenths of a mile) starting Sunday evening,” reported Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV, which is close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Trump said on Friday Soleimani had been plotting “imminent and sinister” attacks on American diplomats and military personnel. Democratic critics said the Republican president’s action was reckless and risked more bloodshed in a dangerous region.

‘MALIGN INFLUENCE’

Trump’s provocative Twitter posts came only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter that he had told Iraq’s president that “the U.S. remains committed to de-escalation.” Pompeo also wrote on Twitter that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran and “underscored the importance of countering Iran’s malign influence and threats to the region.”

The White House on Saturday sent to the U.S. Congress formal notification of the drone strike – as required by law – amid complaints from Democrats that Trump did not notify lawmakers or seek advance approval for the attack. White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien defended the operation’s legality and said Justice Department lawyers had signed off on the plan.

Democrats sounded unswayed. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the notification document raised “serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification” of the strike.

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a strident Trump critic, wrote on Twitter that his threat to hit Iranian sites “is a war crime.”

“Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a ‘tough guy.’ It does not make you ‘strategic.’ It makes you a monster,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

With security worries rising after Friday’s strike, the NATO alliance and a separate U.S.-led mission suspended their programs to train Iraqi security and armed forces, officials said.

Soleimani, 62, was Iran’s pre-eminent military leader – head of the Revolutionary Guards’ overseas Quds Force and the architect of Iran’s spreading influence in the Middle East. Muhandis was de facto leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) umbrella body of paramilitary groups.

The attack took Washington and its allies, mainly Saudi Arabia and Israel, into uncharted territory in their confrontation with Iran and its proxy militias across the region.

The United States has been an ally of the Iraqi government since the 2003 U.S. invasion to oust dictator Saddam Hussein, but Iraq has become more closely allied with Iran.

The Iraqi parliament is convening an extraordinary session during which a vote to expel U.S. troops could be taken as soon as Sunday. Many Iraqis, including opponents of Soleimani, have expressed anger at Washington for killing the two men on Iraqi soil and possibly dragging their country into another conflict.

BODIES TAKEN TO HOLY CITIES

A PMF-organized procession carried the bodies of Soleimani and Muhandis, and those of others killed in the U.S. strike, through Baghdad’s Green Zone.

The top candidate to succeed Muhandis, Hadi al-Amiri, spoke over the dead militia commander’s coffin: “The price for your noble blood is American forces leaving Iraq forever and achieving total national sovereignty.”

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi also attended. Mahdi’s office later said he received a phone call from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and they “discussed the difficult conditions facing Iraq and the region.”

Mourners brought the bodies of the two slain men by car to the Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala, south of Baghdad, then to Najaf, another sacred Shi’ite city, where they were met by the son of Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and where Muhandis and the other Iraqis killed will be laid to rest.

Slideshow (5 Images)

Soleimani’s body will be transferred to the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan that borders Iraq. On Sunday it will be taken to the Shi’ite holy city of Mashhad in Iran’s northeast and from there to Tehran and his hometown Kerman in the southeast for burial on Tuesday, state media said.

The U.S. strike followed a sharp increase in U.S.-Iranian hostilities in Iraq since last week when pro-Iranian militias attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad after a deadly U.S. air raid on Kataib Hezbollah, founded by Muhandis. Washington accused the group of an attack on an Iraqi military base that killed an American contractor.

Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein and Maha El Dahan in Baghdad and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Ghazwan Jabouri in Tikrit, Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Nadine Awadallah in Beirut, John Chalmers in Brussels, and Kate Holton in London; Writing by Will Dunham, Mark Heinrich and Grant McCool; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security/trump-vows-to-hit-52-iranian-targets-if-iran-retaliates-after-drone-strike-idUSKBN1Z4003

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Top Republican suggests changing Senate rules to begin Trump impeachment trial within days – The Washington Post
Top Republican suggests changing Senate rules to begin Trump impeachment trial within days – The Washington Post

Here’s what you need to know to understand the impeachment of President Trump.

What’s happening now: Trump is now the third U.S. president to be impeached, after the House of Representatives adopted both articles of impeachment against him.

What happens next: Impeachment does not mean that the president has been removed from office. The Senate must hold a trial to make that determination. A trial is expected to take place in January. Here’s more on what happens next.

How we got here: A whistleblower complaint led Pelosi to announce the beginning of an official impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24. Closed-door hearings and subpoenaed documents related to the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky followed. After two weeks of public hearings in November, the House Intelligence Committee wrote a report that was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which held its own hearings. Pelosi and House Democrats announced the articles of impeachment against Trump on Dec. 10. The Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Stay informed: Read the latest reporting and analysis on impeachment here.

Listen: Follow The Post’s coverage with daily updates from across our podcasts.

Want to understand impeachment better? Sign up for the 5-Minute Fix to get a guide in your inbox every weekday. Have questions? Submit them here, and they may be answered in the newsletter.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-republican-suggests-changing-senate-rules-to-begin-trump-impeachment-trial-within-days/2020/01/05/4e5bebe6-2fdb-11ea-898f-eb846b7e9feb_story.html

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Fox’s Tucker Carlson breaks with colleagues and criticizes Trump’s strike on Iranian general – CNN
Fox’s Tucker Carlson breaks with colleagues and criticizes Trump’s strike on Iranian general – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/media/fox-news-iran-soleimani/index.html

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US government website hacked with pro-Iranian messages, image of bloodied Trump – USA TODAY
US government website hacked with pro-Iranian messages, image of bloodied Trump – USA TODAY

A federal website was offline Sunday after a hacker uploaded photos to the site that included an Iranian flag and an image depicting a bloodied President Donald Trump being punched in the face.

The images appeared on the Federal Depository Library Program program’s website late Saturday before the site was taken offline. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, said it was monitoring the situation.

“We are aware the website of the Federal Depository Library Program was defaced with pro-Iranian, anti-US messaging,” the cybersecurity agency said in a statement. “At this time, there is no confirmation that this was the action of Iranian state-sponsored actors. The website was taken offline and is no longer accessible.”

The statement added that “in these times of increased threats” all organizations should increase cyber monitoring, back up IT systems, implement secure authentication and have an incident response plan ready should a hack take place.

DHS also issued a two-week National Terrorism System advisory noting the U.S. drone strike in Iraq last week that killed Iran commander Qasem Soleimani. That led Iran and several affiliated extremist organizations to publicly state they intend to retaliate against the United States.

“Iran maintains a robust cyberprogram and can execute cyberattacks against the United States,” DHS warned. “Iran is capable, at a minimum, of carrying out attacks with temporary disruptive effects against critical infrastructure in the United States.”

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/05/iran-hack-homeland-security-website-hacked-image-bloody-trump/2818308001/

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Iraqi Lawmakers Urge End U.S. Troop Presence as Iran Mourns a Slain General – The New York Times
Iraqi Lawmakers Urge End U.S. Troop Presence as Iran Mourns a Slain General – The New York Times

But Mr. Raab also said that he had spoken to Iraq’s prime minister and president to urge a de-escalation of tensions in the region, and that he planned to speak to Iran’s foreign minister.

In particular, the Europeans are trying to persuade Iran to keep to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Mr. Trump pulled the United States out of in May 2018, reimposing harsh economic sanctions on Tehran. Since then, Iran has slowly abandoned its adherence to parts of the deal.

On Sunday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said Iran was ready to decide its next step to further roll back its commitments to the deal. The National Security Council would hold an emergency meeting Sunday evening to make a final decision about the nuclear deal, he said.

“There will be an important meeting tonight about decreasing our commitments in J.C.P.O.A., taking the fifth step and making a final decision,” Mr. Mousavi said, according to the state news agency IRNA, using the acronym for the nuclear deal.

The Europeans are also working to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. About one-third of the world’s oil tankers use the waterway, which Iran has intermittently threatened to close. Last July, Iranian forces boarded and seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait, trying to pressure the world to allow its oil exports despite American sanctions.

On Saturday, Britain’s defense minister, Ben Wallace, said he had ordered the country’s Navy to accompany all British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

France has also stepped up diplomatic initiatives to ease tensions. Mr. Macron spoke to President Barham Salih of Iraq and the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/middleeast/iran-general-soleimani-iraq.html

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5 dead, 60 injured in Pa. Turnpike crash in Mt. Pleasant Twp.; highway closed in both directions – TribLIVE
5 dead, 60 injured in Pa. Turnpike crash in Mt. Pleasant Twp.; highway closed in both directions – TribLIVE

Five people have died and at least 60 others have been injured in an early-morning crash involving a tour bus on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant Township, authorities said.

The bus was traveling on a downhill curve, struck an embankment and flipped onto its side, authorities said. The crash also involved three tractor-trailers — two UPS trucks and a FedEx truck — loaded with parcels and a passenger vehicle, state police said. It occurred about 3:40 a.m. Sunday near mile marker 86 on the westbound side of the highway, officials said. Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha confirmed the fatalities.

Angela Maynard, a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky, said she was traveling eastbound on the turnpike when she and her driving partner came upon the scene.

“I looked up at that hill there, and I could see lights. It looked like a lot of them,” said Maynard, who called 911. “There was no fire, just a lot of smoke at that point.”

She and her co-driver got out of their truck to see if anyone was hurt. She could see one person lying on the ground, and another trapped in their truck.

“It was horrible,” she said. “I was trying to make sure everyone was OK.

“I walked toward the scene and saw one of the truck drivers laying near the barrier. I tried to keep him occupied, keep talking, until medical help arrived. He was in bad shape. He was floating in and out of consciousness.”

The roads were wet from snow but not especially icy, she said. Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colborn said at a press briefing at 10:45 a.m. that the roads had been treated and also said they were not icy.

The turnpike is closed in both directions between the Breezewood (Exit 161) and New Stanton (Exit 75) interchanges.

What caused the bus to strike the embankment has not be determined.

“At the accident scene, (police) are conducting a reconstruction as we speak,” Colborn said. “We have no timetable yet for an opening of the turnpike, but it looks like it will remain closed for several hours.”

Officials with UPS and FedEx could not immediately be reached for comment.

Numerous ambulance companies from Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties sent units to transport victims, following protocol for a “mass casualty incident,” said Westmoreland County Public Safety Director Bud Mertz.

Those who were injured were taken to numerous hospitals in the region, a Westmoreland Department of Public Safety supervisor said.

Twenty-five people ranging in age from 7 to 52 were being evaluated at Excela Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, said Excela Health spokeswoman Robin Jennings. Two patients were to be transferred to a trauma hospital, Jennings said. Nine of the 25 patients are under the age of 18, she said.

Eleven victims were taken to Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville. One is in critical condition, and the others are in fair condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

UPMC Somerset received 18 patients: 12 adults and six under the age of 18, according to a UPMC spokeswoman. All have been treated and released.

Once first responders arrived, Maynard and other drivers were told to keep driving and clear the scene before the turnpike closed.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have been called the scene, turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said.

Three deputy coroners also were on scene, Bacha said.

Debris caused the eastbound lanes of the turnpike to be closed.

Excela Health Frick Hospital Case Management has established a phone number — 724-237-6027 — for family members only, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety said.

Renatta Signorini, Paul Peirce and Jacob Tierney are Tribune-Review staff writers. Staff writer Joe Napsha contributed. You can reach them at [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]

Source Article from https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/fatal-crash-on-pa-turnpike-in-mt-pleasant-closes-highway-in-both-directions/

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Trump’s trial: Lawmakers return to D.C., and here’s where things stand – NBC News
Trump’s trial: Lawmakers return to D.C., and here’s where things stand – NBC News

Lawmakers return to Washington on Monday after the holiday break — and will walk right into the face-off over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

The House voted to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on Dec. 18, making him just the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has not yet named the case managers — essentially the members of Congress who act as prosecutors during a trial in the Senate — nor has she sent the two articles of impeachment to the Senate. The president’s trial cannot get underway until she does.

Pelosi said she first wants assurances of a fair trial, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is demanding that witnesses be allowed to testify. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wants the issue of witnesses to be decided not now but later in the trial process, as it was during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in 1999.

Here’s where things stand and how they’re likely to proceed.

What happens next?

The Clinton trial rules, which were approved in a unanimous bipartisan vote, called for the House managers to make opening statements and lay out their evidence over 24 hours, and gave lawyers for the president 24 hours to put forth their defense. When their statements were done, senators were able to question the two sides by submitting questions in writing to the chief justice of the Supreme Court, who’s constitutionally mandated to preside over the trial. The chief justice read their questions aloud.

Senators were then able to vote to dismiss the case, or to continue and hear from witnesses. A motion to dismiss the Clinton case failed, and senators voted to have three witnesses give videotaped testimony. Snippets of their testimony were played on the Senate floor before closing arguments.

In the Trump trial, Democrats are concerned that the Republican majority in the Senate will toss the case against him without hearing from witnesses. Fifty-one votes would be needed to dismiss; there are 53 GOP senators.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks during a news conference after a weekly caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 17, 2019.Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

McConnell maintains what was fair for Clinton is fair for Trump. Democrats say there’s a key difference — Clinton largely cooperated with the investigation into his conduct, even testifying before a grand jury and turning over a blood sample to the special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr.

Some moderate Republicans have indicated they may want to hear from witnesses, while McConnell has not committed to calling any. At least two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, have suggested they are open to having witnesses testify.

What’s the holdup?

McConnell said on the Senate floor on Friday that “we can’t hold the trial without the articles” of impeachment and he suggested the Senate would conduct other legislative business until Pelosi sends them. Pelosi, he complained, is “trying to dictate our process.”

“That’s obviously a nonstarter,” McConnell said.

Trump has railed against Pelosi for not immediately sending the impeachment articles to the Senate. “The Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats said they wanted to RUSH everything through to the Senate because ‘President Trump is a threat to National Security’ (they are vicious, will say anything!), but now they don’t want to go fast anymore, they want to go very slowly,” Trump tweeted. “Liars!”

But Pelosi and Schumer have given no indication they plan to back down any time soon.

“Leader McConnell reminds us today and in previous days that rather than acting like a judge and a juror, he intends to act as an executioner of a fair trial,” Schumer said Friday.

If and when the two articles are sent to the Senate, the trial should begin fairly quickly. The Senate would vote on the rules and swear in Chief Justice John Roberts to preside. While the case can be dismissed by a simple majority vote, a two-thirds vote — 67 senators — is needed to convict and remove the president.

What about the prosecutors?

Pelosi would name an unspecified number of House members as case managers. (The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 had had seven case managers, while Clinton’s had 13.)

Pelosi’s picks have yet to be revealed, but Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., are expected to make the cut.

Freshman House Democrats also have been urging Pelosi to name Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan a case manager. Amash, an independent, quit the GOP last year after calling for the president’s impeachment.

“I really believe he will elevate the substance and the optics of the trial in the Senate,” Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. who is leading the effort, told NBC News in a phone interview.

What about the defense lawyers?

Trump’s team is expected to be led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who’s been strategizing with McConnell and other Senate Republicans. Cipollone is the lawyer who directed all executive branch employees not to cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer and a key figure in the House inquiry, said last week he’d “love to try the case” himself, but added, “I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case.”

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida on Dec. 21, 2019.Marco Bello / Reuters file

A source told NBC News that there have been discussions about adding famed attorney Alan Dershowitz to the Trump team. Dershowitz, whose clients have included O.J. Simpson and Jeffrey Epstein, was seen chatting with Trump at a Christmas Eve party at the president’s Florida resort. Giuliani was at Mar-a-Lago during the president’s vacation as well.

Rep. Mark Meadows, a close Trump ally, said GOP House members could help with the president’s case, too. “If I had to pick a team, I would say you get in Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, John Ratcliffe,” Meadows said in an interview with former White House adviser Steve Bannon. He added that it was important for Republicans to have “an A-team” defending Trump.

What about witnesses?

Schumer has named four people that Democrats want to testify: Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; Robert Blair, senior adviser to Mulvaney; former White House national security adviser John Bolton; and Michael Duffey, associate director for national security at the Office of Management and Budget.

All four were asked to testify during the House impeachment inquiry last year, but did not at the direction of the White House. Schumer said they all have “direct knowledge” of the administration’s decision to delay nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine.

Other possible witnesses Democrats might want to include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who both urged Trump in August to release the aid.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted that “Democrats keep playing stupid games” and that the House passed the articles of impeachment “based on testimony of certain witnesses.” “Senate has no duty to go beyond those witnesses in our trial,” Rubio said.

Republicans have not released a list of possible witnesses, but have hinted that they’d like to hear testimony from Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Trump had wanted Ukraine to investigate both of them because of the younger Biden’s lucrative work on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Some Republicans have also said they’d like to hear from the still-anonymous whistleblower who first filed the formal complaint about misconduct by the president that led to the House impeachment inquiry.

Trump tweeted last month that in addition to the Bidens, he would want Pelosi and Schiff to testify. Schiff has rejected those calls, but if he’s selected as a case manager, senators could submit questions for him to answer.

How long would a trial take?

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a top Trump ally, has said he thinks a trial would last about two weeks.

“We’ll listen to the House case, allow the president to make comments through his legal team, then we’ll vote, and the sooner the better for me,” Graham said after the House impeachment vote.

“I’ve made up my mind about the accusations.”

Source Article from http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/trump-s-trial-lawmakers-return-d-c-here-s-where-n1109811

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Al-Shabab attacks military base used by US forces in Kenya – AL.com
Al-Shabab attacks military base used by US forces in Kenya – AL.com

NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. military said the security situation was “fluid” at a Kenyan airfield used by U.S. forces after a pre-dawn attack Sunday by the al-Shabab extremist group. The attack destroyed U.S. aircraft and vehicles, Kenyan authorities said, and at least four attackers were killed.

It was not yet clear whether any U.S. or Kenyan forces were killed. A U.S. Africa Command statement said “an accountability of personnel assessment is underway.” The midday statement said the Manda Bay airfield was “still in the process of being fully secured.”

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, based in neighboring Somalia, claimed responsibility and asserted that “intense” combat with U.S. forces continued. The U.S. statement called the al-Shabab claims exaggerated and said U.S. and Kenyan forces repelled the attack.

It is the first known al-Shabab attack against U.S. forces inside Kenya, a key base for fighting one of the world’s most resilient extremist organizations.

A plume of black smoke rose above the base. Residents said a car bomb had exploded early in the morning. Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia told The Associated Press that five suspects were arrested and were being interrogated.

An internal Kenyan police report seen by the AP said two fixed-wing aircraft, a U.S. Cessna and a Kenyan one, were destroyed along with two U.S. helicopters and multiple U.S. vehicles at the Manda Bay military airstrip. The report said explosions were heard at around 5:30 a.m. from the direction of the airstrip. The scene, now secured, indicated that al-Shabab likely entered “to conduct targeted attacks,” the report said.

The U.S. military said only that “initial reports reflect damage to infrastructure and equipment.” The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the airstrip was closed for all operations.

Al-Shabab’s statement included photos of blazing aircraft it asserted were from the attack. A second al-Shabab claim issued hours later asserted that “ïntense close-quarters combat” against U.S. forces continued.

The military’s Camp Simba in Lamu county, established more than a decade ago, has under 100 U.S. personnel, according to Pentagon figures. U.S. forces at the Manda Bay airfield train and give counterterror support to East African partners, according to the military. A U.S. flag-raising at the camp in August signaled its change “from tactical to enduring operations,” the Air Force said at the time.

According to another internal Kenyan police report seen by the AP, dated Friday, a villager that day said he had spotted 11 suspected al-Shabab members entering Lamu’s Boni forest, which the extremists have used as a hideout. The report said Kenyan authorities did not find them.

Al-Shabab has launched a number of attacks inside Kenya, including against civilian targets such as buses, schools and shopping malls. The group has been the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes inside Somalia during President Donald Trump’s administration.

The latest attack comes just over a week after an al-Shabab truck bomb in Somalia’s capital killed at least 79 people and U.S. airstrikes killed seven al-Shabab fighters in response.

Last year al-Shabab attacked a U.S. military base inside Somalia, Baledogle, that is used to launch drone strikes but reportedly failed to make their way inside. The extremist group also has carried out multiple attacks against Kenyan troops in the past in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to Somalia to fight it.

This attack marks a significant escalation of al-Shabab’s campaign of attacks inside Kenya, said analyst Andrew Franklin, a former U.S. Marine and longtime Kenya resident.

“Launching a deliberate assault of this type against a well-defended permanent base occupied by (Kenya Defence Forces), contractors and U.S. military personnel required a great deal of planning, rehearsals, logistics and operational capability,” he said. Previous attacks against security forces have mainly been ambushes on Kenyan army or police patrols.

The early Sunday attack comes days after a U.S. airstrike killed Iran’s top military commander and Iran vowed retaliation, but al-Shabab is a Sunni Muslim group and there is no sign of links to Shiite Iran or proxies.

“No, this attack was no way related to that incident” in the Middle East, an al-Shabab spokesman told the AP. He spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

One analyst, Rashid Abdi, in Twitter posts discussing the attack agreed but added that Kenyan security services have long been worried that Iran was trying to cultivate ties with al-Shabab.

“Avowedly Wahhabist Al-Shabaab not natural ally of Shia Iran, hostile, even. But if Kenyan claims true, AS attack may have been well-timed to signal to Iran it is open for tactical alliances,” he wrote, adding that “an AS that forges relations with Iran is nightmare scenario.”

But a former member of the U.N. committee monitoring sanctions on Somalia, Jay Bahadur, said in a tweet that “the attack is far more related to AS wanting a do over on their spectacular failure at Baledogle four months ago.”

When asked whether the U.S. military was looking into any Iranian link to the attack, U.S. Africa Command spokesman Col. Christopher Karns said only that “al-Shabab, affiliated with al-Qaida, has their own agenda and have made clear their desire to attack U.S. interests.”

The al-Shabab claim of responsibility said Sunday’s attack was part of its “Jerusalem will never be Judaized” campaign, a rarely made reference that also was used after al-Shabab’s deadly attack on a luxury mall complex in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, in January 2019.

Source Article from https://www.al.com/news/2020/01/al-shabab-attacks-military-base-used-by-us-forces-in-kenya.html

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Exclusive: Iran’s response to US will be military — Khamenei’s adviser – CNN
Exclusive: Iran’s response to US will be military — Khamenei’s adviser – CNN

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/05/middleeast/iran-soleimani-khamenei-adviser-intl/index.html

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Australia’s Wildfires Are So Hot, They’re Generating Thunder and Lightning – Wall Street Journal
Australia’s Wildfires Are So Hot, They’re Generating Thunder and Lightning – Wall Street Journal

SYDNEY—Wildfires ravaging much of southeastern Australia burned so hot that they created their own thunderstorms and lightning—similar to conditions during a volcanic eruption or atomic bomb blast.

Firefighter Michael Brearley was leading the defense of Wingello, a small town around 100 miles south of Sydney when a huge cloud began to form in the distance on Saturday. He knew it was bad news: The area had barely seen a drop of rain for weeks.

…

Source Article from https://www.wsj.com/articles/australias-wildfires-are-so-hot-theyre-generating-thunder-and-lightning-11578214818

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First Suleimani Attack By ‘Iranian’ Hackers Hits U.S., Exposing ‘Noisy’ New Threat – Forbes
First Suleimani Attack By ‘Iranian’ Hackers Hits U.S., Exposing ‘Noisy’ New Threat – Forbes

It didn’t take long—the first attack on a U.S. government website hit on Saturday, a day after the killing of Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad. The fact there was an attack is not a surprise—speculation has been rife. And the style of the attack is consistent with the nature of the primary cyber threat we now face. Hackers claiming to be linked to Iran targeted a low-level domain—the website of the Federal Depository Library Program—defacing its home page, echoing Teheran’s threats of vengeance alongside imagery of President Trump, Ayatollah Khamenei and the Iranian flag. There is nothing substantive to link the hackers with the regime in Teheran. The FDLP website was taken down shortly after the attack—U.S. law enforcement is now investigating.

As I commented on January 4, Iran is a credible cyber player but its decision now is whether to unleash its most potent cyber weapons on tier-one U.S. targets—critical infrastructure, government sites, military targets—risking a catastrophic response from the much more capable U.S. cyber arsenal. Just as in the physical domain, there will be significant debate in Teheran as to just how far to push as this point. Despite the rhetoric and the unfurling of a highly symbolic red flag of vengeance over the Jamkaran Mosque, the strategists will be taking a more cautious approach.

Iran has shown before that it can retaliate against the U.S. by targeting industry with indiscriminate malware or through more targeted hacking attacks on strategic industries. Despite its investments, it is not yet capable of attacks on the most hardened of U.S. targets, but an attack on the FDLP shows that there is a vast array of targets that have not needed to apply serious-grade security measures before. And this isn’t simply a matter of technology hardening—think user training to avoid credentials theft through spear-phishing attacks or base-level malware.

Beyond that, a tier-one cyber attack—think energy supplies, transportation grid, military command and control—requires technical or human assets to be in place, preparation, software exploits. Iran has invested in such capabilities, but once those tools are triggered they are blown—you don’t get to reuse the same attack over and over. So that means a decision as to whether to shoot now or wait until later, if there is an escalation then such tools may be needed and may have more of an impact.

But, just as in the physical domain, Iran has thousands of proxy hackers, associated groups, sympathisers, even lone wolves. What we will now see are countless websites probed and explored for weaknesses. We will see this in the government and commercial sphere. Those associates will look to deface websites, plant warning, sow fear. It will be something of a free for all. Meanwhile, from a more centralised and structured perspective, attacks are likely to look for headlines. And, beyond it being the first since Suleimani, the Federal Depository Library Program doesn’t fit that bill.

For information security professionals responsible for ensuring the integrity of domains that might be seen as lower level targets, it’s worth applying extra defence mechanisms to ensure that such unsophisticated denial of service or defacement attacks cannot easily breach your sites or services.

In the meantime, despite it being likely that Iran will hold back from unleashing its most dangerous cyber tools, in addition to nuisance attacks it will likely seek headlines as well. Here we may see targeted denial of service or data destruction attacks on “legitimate” targets and, as the cybersecurity team at Check Point described this as “noisy and high volume, with Middle East hacking and activist groups joining the wave.” Also a number of headline-grabbing attacks on household names: “Iran will go for targets that create headlines—health, financial services, social media. The outcome will not be casualties, but hitting reputations, creating fear.” Clearly these will be harder to execute and we will only know they hit if we see evidence for ourselves.

There has been speculation that Iran may look to target senior officials as part of its headline vengeance, and here we touch on a different level of offensive cyber. The potential to breach data security and access travel plans or locational details falls within the remit. Offensive physical special operations are tightly integrated with material electronic information gathering. There will no doubt be additional security measures being applied to such information, and an onus on individuals to take more care than normal as to what its being posted online.

The real question, though, remains—will Iran defy strategic political and military logic and raise the stakes, deploying a seriously damaging cyber attack on a U.S. energy grid, healthcare, core services? Will it target Saudi Arabia or Israel? Despite the headlines that suggest such an attack may come, experts think it unlikely—it would prompt a devastating response. In the meantime, you can expect this space to become increasingly “noisy” as weaknesses in multiple websites and systems are exposed.

Source Article from https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/01/05/first-suleimani-attack-by-iranian-hackers-hits-us-exposing-noisy-new-threat/

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Exclusive: Supreme Leader’s military adviser says Iran’s response will be ‘against military sites’ – CNN
Exclusive: Supreme Leader’s military adviser says Iran’s response will be ‘against military sites’ – CNN

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/05/middleeast/iran-soleimani-khamenei-adviser-intl/index.html

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Skepticism mounts over evidence of ‘imminent’ threat that Trump says justified Soleimani killing – CNN
Skepticism mounts over evidence of ‘imminent’ threat that Trump says justified Soleimani killing – CNN

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/politics/trump-iran-soleimani-strike-concerns/index.html

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Al Shabab Says It Attacked Kenyan Base Used by U.S. – The New York Times
Al Shabab Says It Attacked Kenyan Base Used by U.S. – The New York Times

NAIROBI, Kenya — Al Shabab, the Somali terrorist group, on Sunday attacked a military base in Kenya that is used by both American and Kenyan forces, the militants said.

The group said in a statement that it had carried out a dawn raid on Camp Simba, across the Somali border in southeastern Kenya.

“There was an attack, but they have been repulsed,” Irungu Macharia, the commissioner for Lamu, where the base is situated, told Agence France-Presse. The official did not say whether there had been any casualties.

In a statement, the Kenya Defense Forces said that “four terrorists” had been killed. The military said that the insurgents had unsuccessfully tried to breach an air strip.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/africa/al-shabab-camp-simba-kenya.html

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Australia’s fires could change the country forever – NBC News
Australia’s fires could change the country forever – NBC News

The impact of these fires is also providing a stark warning about the kinds of natural disasters that can be exacerbated by climate change, which is lengthening wildfire seasons in Australia, according to Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

“It’s really shocking and really horrible and as much as I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ climate scientists have been warning about this for a very long time — especially in Australia,” she said. “We knew that if we have drought and a heat wave, the whole country is a tinderbox. We knew it was going to happen.”

She said the biggest wildfires of the season typically break out in January or February, rather than in the spring.

These earlier-than-usual blazes could portend a worrisome trend that is echoed around the world.

“If you look at places like Portugal and Spain, they are seeing fires during the year when they didn’t historically see them,” Stevens-Rumann said. “In California, it’s hard to find a month where there isn’t a bad fire. This is one of those big concerns with climate change, that these fires are going to continue to be an issue.”

The ability of animals to recover from Australia’s wildfires is also a concern. Scientists are estimating that more than half a billion animals have already died in the fires, a figure that Stuart Blanch, a forest and woodland conservation policy manager at the World Wildlife Fund-Australia, called conservative.

The estimate, based on the findings of a 2007 WWF-Australia report by Chris Dickman, a professor of ecology at the University of Sydney, noted that human activities — including the bulldozing of forests and other deforestation practices — had already taken a toll on many species.

Blanch said animals generally recover over the subsequent years and decades, but he added that Australia has not dealt with fires of this size and intensity before, and there are concerns that entire species or subspecies will be wiped out.

“Ecologists have much lower confidence that wildlife populations — particularly the 1,000 threatened species across the continent — will recover from such widespread and utter forest devastation,” he told NBC News in an email.

Climate change is adding further chaos to the system. As the planet warms and sea levels rise, some natural habitats are being permanently altered, outpacing the ability of plants and animals to adjust.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/australia-s-fires-could-change-country-forever-n1110301

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Some military families caught off guard as thousands of troops are deployed to the Middle East – CNN
Some military families caught off guard as thousands of troops are deployed to the Middle East – CNN

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/05/us/military-families-troops-deployed-us-iran-trnd/index.html

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Who was Qassem Suleimani of Iran, and what will his death mean? – Los Angeles Times
Who was Qassem Suleimani of Iran, and what will his death mean? – Los Angeles Times

The U.S. airstrike ordered by President Trump that killed Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the powerful and shadowy head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions and raises concerns about renewed conflict in the Middle East.

Here are some significant facts about Suleimani, his role in the region and what his death means for the U.S.

Who was Suleimani, and why was he important?

Suleimani was the longtime commander of Iran’s Quds Force, an external wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Suleimani played an important role in Iran’s national security decision making process — including weapons sales, training and financing armed groups in other Middle Eastern nations — and reported directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Suleimani’s strong influence and relationships with various militias and terrorist groups — which allowed Shiite-dominated Iran to build a network of non-state Shiite allies — helped expand Iran’s role in the region. His death, analysts said, is likely to result at some point in bloody retaliation.


Commander of the Quds Force for more than two decades, Suleimani earned his stripes while serving as a Revolutionary Gard divisional commander during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned the Quds Force for supporting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. But there were also moments when the U.S. found itself on the same side. Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, for instance, Iran reportedly gave the U.S. information to help forces overthrow the Taliban.

Suleimani also played a prominent role in the fight against Islamic State militants. In 2016, he was placed in charge of leading the Quds Force against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Despite operating out of the spotlight, Suleimani’s popularity in Iran grew over the last decade, and he emerged as one of the country’s most popular figures. A recent poll conducted in Iran by the University of Maryland revealed that Suleimani was ranked more favorably than President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

How was he a regional power player?

Suleimani was well known for his ability to cultivate personal relationships with various militia groups in the Middle East, including Shiite militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

In doing so, Suleimani has been credited by Iranian officials with being instrumental in building armed networks across the Middle East to help extend Iran’s regional influence. Starting in 2005, for instance, Suleimani coordinated Iraqi Shiite militias to fight against U.S. forces.


Why did Trump want him killed?

Trump told reporters Friday that he ordered the killing to prevent future attacks on Americans. The Department of Defense said in a recent statement that the reclusive commander was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

The Pentagon stated that Suleimani was behind an attack on a Kirkuk military installation in late December that resulted in the death of an American contractor and the wounding of four American troops.

Still, the question remains about who benefits from an attack that killed such a high-level figure.

The answer lies in Suleimani’s role in cultivating proxies over the years, which have at times provoked and worked against American interests in the Middle East. For instance, the U.S. Central Command declassified documents in 2015 that showed that under Suleimani’s leadership, Iraqi Shiite militants killed over 500 U.S. service members in Iraq between 2005 and 2011. Most recently, pro-Iranian militia members were behind the storming of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

Consequently, killing Suleimani sends Iran a warning to stop theprovocations. Even though Suleimani was not the sole decision maker when it came to Iran’s foreign policy objectives, said Ariane Tabatabai, a Middle East expert at Rand Corp., the death of a military figure who was instrumental in helping cultivate Iranian proxies sends a symbolic message to Iran.

Why is Suleimani’s death a big deal?

Suleimani’s death could quell the Islamic Republic’s ability to continue cultivating its network of militia groups and terrorist groups in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, analysts say. At the same time, it could eventually — if not immediately — result in retaliation.

Although Trump said Friday he disagrees that his decision to kill Suleimani would increase conflict in the already volatile region, analysts aren’t so sure. Tabatabai said Suleimani’s death introduces a new level of risk.

“This is unknown terrain that we are now going to discover as we deal with the situation,” she said.


Was Trump’s ordering of the U.S. airstrike that killed Suleimani legal?

Under the United Nations charter, there are three legal avenues that a country can use to justify military force against a foreign country.

  • A country can respond in self-defense if it has been on the receiving end of an armed attack
  • A country can assist an ally if it is attacked and requests help
  • If a country is involved in a civil war, it has the right to invite other countries to help

Based on statements the U.S. government has so far released claiming Suleimani intended to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq, various international law experts have different interpretations of whether the attack was legally justified.

Hina Shamsi, national security project director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that under the White House’s initial justification — that Suleimani was in the process of planning an attack on Americans working in Iraq — the airstrike would not have met the threshold under international law of “an act of self-defense against an imminent attack.”

She added: “After almost two decades of expansive presidential claims of authority to use force abroad, Congress needs to robustly exercise the oversight and restraining powers that are integral to our system of checks and balances.”


Jonathan Miller, a professor of international law and constitutional law at Los Angeles-based Southwestern Law School, has a different perspective.

“The U.S. can justify force against Suleimani if it feels that Iran was behind attacks on U.S. forces. The situation becomes more complex given that Iran often operates through proxies, but Iran is responsible for the conduct of its proxies if those proxies carry out attacks under its instruction,” he said.

“Of course any use of force in response to an armed attack must be proportional, but in this case we are talking about a very limited strike that focused on an individual whose command responsibilities directly involved him with the Shiite militia who were attacking U.S. forces.”

Are we on the path toward World War III? And how unlikely is the reinstitution of a draft?

The short answer: no and no.

Recent events might have some young people worried that the U.S. is marching toward war with Iran — “World War III” started trending on social media after Suleimani’s death was announced.

But the reality is that a direct conflict remains unlikely; even though the risk of miscalculation by the U.S. and Iran might be higher these days than in the past, neither side wants to end up in a direct conflict, Tabatabai said.

The same goes for reinstitution of a draft.

The U.S. has fought in at least three major wars since the Vietnam War, when the U.S. military draft drew to a close. In order for a draft to be reinstated, Congress would have to pass a law that would then be signedby the president.

Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-01-03/what-happened-in-iran-qassem-suleimani-trump

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China Replaces Its Top Representative in Hong Kong With an Enforcer – The New York Times
China Replaces Its Top Representative in Hong Kong With an Enforcer – The New York Times

In 2016, Mr. Xi put Mr. Luo in charge of cleaning up Shanxi Province, a northern coal-mining area plagued by corruption scandals. Mr. Luo oversaw a purge of the party’s senior ranks there, as a series of investigations documented broad misconduct.

Mr. Luo is an unexpected choice to run the Central Liaison Office because of his relatively advanced age, 65, and because he has already worked as a provincial-level leader in mainland China. He was also only a month into his latest job, in China’s national legislature, suggesting that the decision to send him to Hong Kong came together fast.

The Beijing leadership previously selected younger men with more expertise in the unique issues posed by Hong Kong, which has a different legal and economic system from mainland China because it was a British colony until its return in 1997 to Chinese sovereignty.

Like other Chinese provincial leaders, Mr. Luo has had some dealings with Hong Kong, especially over investment and business. He held talks with his predecessor, Mr. Wang, at least once, leading a delegation from Shanxi Province to Hong Kong in late 2018. On that visit, Mr. Luo also met the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, to discuss investment opportunities. But he appears to have no public record of ideas for ending the unrest in Hong Kong.

By contrast, Mr. Wang had spent most of his career as a Hong Kong specialist before he was named to run the office in Hong Kong in 2017.

When Mr. Luo stepped down as party chief in Shanxi, in November, he said he took pride in helping to clean up the province’s “political ecology” and overhaul its economy, two tasks that Mr. Xi may also want him to take on in Hong Kong. Mr. Luo also said then that he was most grateful to have the backing of Mr. Xi and other central leaders.

Mr. Wang and Mr. Luo are among the roughly 200 members of the Chinese Communist Party’s elite Central Committee, which gathers roughly once a year to discuss policy and review the performance of China’s political leadership.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/04/world/asia/china-hong-kong-wang-zhimin.html

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These Indiana twins were born just 30 minutes apart, but in different decades – CNN
These Indiana twins were born just 30 minutes apart, but in different decades – CNN

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/us/indiana-newborn-twins-different-decades-trnd/index.html

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