TOP STORIES

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Tuesday, January 7

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DOZENS KILLED IN FUNERAL STAMPEDE Iranian state television says 35 people have been killed and 48 injured in a stampede at a funeral procession for the general assassinated in a U.S. airstrike. The stampede erupted in Kerman, the hometown of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, where the procession was underway amid large crowds on Tuesday. [AP]

A BILLION ANIMALS FEARED DEAD IN AUSTRALIA'S FIRES Chris Dickman, an ecologist at the University of Sydney, told HuffPost that his original estimate of 480 million animals was not only conservative, it was also exclusive to the state of New South Wales and excluded significant groups of wildlife for which they had no population data. [HuffPost]

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U.S. BARS TOP IRANIAN DIPLOMAT, VIOLATING UN AGREEMENT Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s top diplomat, planned to come to the U.S. to address the United Nations Security Council in a meeting on Jan. 9, but was denied a visa. He had been expected to speak on the U.S. assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. [HuffPost]

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U.S. WARNS CITIZENS IN ISRAEL OF ROCKET FIRE RISK The United States warned Americans in Israel and the Palestinian territories to be vigilant, citing the risk of rocket fire. The alert issued on the websites of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. embassy in Israel did not specifically mention the killing of Qassem Soleimani, but referred to heightened tensions in the Middle East. [Reuters]

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WEINSTEIN CHARGED ON NEW SEX CRIMES Prosecutors in LA have brought an indictment against Harvey Weinstein, charging the producer with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents over a two-day period in 2013. The charges were filed the day Weinstein's trial began in New York on rape and sexual assault charges involving three women. [HuffPost]

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DEFYING TRUMP, PENTAGON SAYS NO TO CULTURE ATTACKS Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. would not target Iranian cultural sites if tensions with Tehran escalate into an armed conflict, contradicting President Donald Trump’s vows to hit the country “very fast and very hard” if Iran retaliates for the assassination of a military leader. [HuffPost]

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MAGNITUDE 6.6 EARTHQUAKE ROCKS PUERTO RICO An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck just off Puerto Rico, the largest in a series of quakes in recent days. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no significant threat of a tsunami to the region. [Reuters]

WHAT'S BREWING

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BERNIE BASHES BIDEN: BAD IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) escalated his offensive on fellow 2020 candidate Joe Biden, tackling his past positions on issues including the Iraq War. “Joe Biden voted and helped lead the effort for the war in Iraq, the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of this country,” Sanders told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. [HuffPost]

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EUROPEANS SET TO TOUGHEN IRAN RESPONSE European parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal could launch a dispute resolution process this week that might lead to renewed U.N. sanctions on Tehran, European diplomats said. Iran took a further step back from its commitments to the 2015 pact with six world powers by announcing on Sunday that it would scrap limits on enriching uranium. [Reuters]

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BOLTON SAYS HE'D TESTIFY IN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL “I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” former national security adviser John Bolton said in a statement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are still trying to work out an agreement on the rules for an impeachment trial. [HuffPost]

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JULIAN CASTRO ENDORSES ELIZABETH WARREN “There’s one candidate I can see who’s unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America’s promise will be there for everyone ― who will make sure that no matter where you live in America or where your family came from in the world, you have a path to opportunity, too,” former Housing Secretary Julián Castro said in a video endorsement. [HuffPost]

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NY GOV. PLEDGES $45 MILLION TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS FACILITIES Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said that the money from New York state will also protect private schools and cultural centers against hate crimes. Cuomo announced the funding at an interfaith solidarity march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday, following a flurry of anti-Semitic violence in New York before and during Hanukkah. [HuffPost]

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AFTER DEADLY FLOODS, FEW HEAR CLIMATE 'WAKE UP CALL'  Floods that killed 60 people in Indonesia’s capital after the biggest rainfall since records began should be a wake-up call to climate change in one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters, environmental groups said. But authorities see no greater impetus for more cuts to planned carbon dioxide emission reductions or other measures to address climate change. [Reuters]

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