TOP STORIES

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Thursday, January 9

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THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN In a just society, the architects of the ongoing, nearly 17-year-old war in Iraq — which has left an estimated half-million people dead — would face war crimes charges. Instead, they are the “experts” praising President Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate top Iranian military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani and offering the public insight on the way forward with Iran. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP HINTS AT NO ESCALATION Trump addressed the nation for the first time since ordering an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. He pledged to disrupt Iranian efforts to obtain nuclear material, announced additional sanctions on Iran, and said the U.S. wouldn’t escalate conflict with the country. [HuffPost]

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HOUSE TO HOLD SYMBOLIC VOTE ON STOPPING IRAN WAR Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the House would move forward with a vote on a resolution limiting the president’s war powers. “Last week, the Trump administration conducted a provocative and disproportionate military airstrike targeting high-level Iranian military officials,” Pelosi said in a statement that called the president’s War Power Act notification to Congress “insufficient.” [HuffPost]

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IRAN INVESTIGATORS: UKRANIAN PLANE DIDN'T CALL FOR HELP The crew of a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Iran never made a radio call for help and was trying to return to the airport when the plane went down, according to an initial Iranian report on the disaster that killed 176 people. [AP]

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OVER HALF OF PUERTO RICANS WITHOUT POWER More than half of Puerto Rico’s 3 million people remained without power on Wednesday after earthquakes killed at least one person and damaged about 300 homes. Thousands were sleeping outdoors, afraid more homes may collapse. Tuesday's quakes included the most powerful one to strike the U.S. territory in 102 years. [Reuters]

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AUSTRALIA ARSON MISINFORMATION UNDERMINES CLIMATE LINK Multiple Australian state police agencies have found limited evidence to suggest the major destructive wildfires in their states were ignited by arsonists, contradicting the international onslaught of misinformation suggesting otherwise. [HuffPost]

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PALACE REACTS TO HARRY AND MEGHAN STEPPING DOWN Buckingham Palace reacted to the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were stepping down as senior members of the royal family with a statement of its own. “Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage ... we understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues.” [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

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IRANIANS, IRANIAN-AMERICANS, DETAINED AT BORDER Heidi, an Iranian with a U.S. green card, and her girlfriend, who both qualify for expidited crossing, were two of more than 100 people of Iranian descent who say they were held without explanation at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Washington — in some cases for at least 11 hours. [HuffPost]

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ANGRY GOP SENATOR TRASHES IRAN BRIEFING Utah Republican  Sen. Mike Lee called the closed-door briefing ― led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, as well as other top Trump administration officials ― “probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I’ve seen in my nine years” in the Senate. [HuffPost]

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COURT BLOCKS TRUMP EFFORT TO LIMIT GREEN CARDS A federal appeals court in New York rejected a motion from the Trump administration that would have allowed it to implement a policy connecting the use of public benefits with whether immigrants could become permanent residents. [AP]

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WEINSTEIN DEMANDS NEW JUDGE Harvey Weinstein angered the judge presiding over his rape trial by breaking the rules that applied to everyone in the courtroom. In a letter Wednesday, Weinstein’s attorneys argued that New York State Supreme Court Judge James Burke's rebuke of the accused rapist demonstrated bias against their client. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP SEXUAL MISCONDUCT SUIT HEADS TO TOP NY COURT Former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos’ sexual misconduct lawsuit against Trump is headed to New York state’s Court of Appeals, which will consider whether Zervos can sue the sitting president. She claims Trump defamed her after she came forward in 2016 to accuse him of unwanted groping and kissing. [HuffPost]

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THE GOP'S LATEST SALVO IN ITS WAR AGAINST WOMEN The Equal Rights Amendment, which passed Congress in 1972 and would amend the Constitution to give women equal standing under the law, is on the verge of ratification. At the end of December, three GOP attorneys general filed a suit in a federal court in Alabama to block the ERA’s ratification, arguing that it’s not constitutional. [HuffPost]

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