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Stampede kills 32 at funeral for Iran general killed by US — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A stampede erupted on Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, killing 32 people and injuring 190 others, state television reported.
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, CNBC, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, VICE, The Week, New York Times, Соб … and Axios
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Iran is considering 13 ‘revenge scenarios’ over the death of General Soleimani as top official vows to create ‘historic nightmare’ for the US — Iran is considering 13 ‘revenge scenarios’ in retaliation for the US airstrike that killed General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, a top official has said.
Discussion:
Daily Mail


Iran's military displaying “heightened state of readiness,” U.S. defense official says
Discussion:
Redstate, USA Today and CBS Los Angeles

Live updates: Iran prepares to bury Soleimani after deadly stampede
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Politico

Defense secretary insists U.S. isn't withdrawing from Iraq after PM calls for timetable
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story

‘Tweets, threats and tantrums’: Biden tears into Trump's handling of Iran crisis
Discussion:
Breitbart

Iranian foreign minister fumes over reported visa denial for UN meetings in New York
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Hill, Foreign Policy, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Breitbart and Mediaite


McConnell prepares to move forward on impeachment trial rules without Democrats — Senate Republican leaders are preparing to move forward on a set of impeachment trial rules without Democratic support. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has locked down sufficient backing …
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Schumer vows to force votes on impeachment witnesses — Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that Democrats will force votes on witnesses at the start of the impeachment trial even as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has secured enough support to delay the decision until mid-trial.
Discussion:
Politico, National Review, UPI, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Political Wire and Redstate


Impeachment live updates: McConnell says he is ready to proceed with Trump impeachment trial …
Discussion:
Townhall, National Review, Houston Chronicle, Political Wire, Balloon Juice, Twitchy, Althouse and Common Dreams

McConnell Says He Will Proceed on Impeachment Trial Without Witness Deal
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway and Blue Delaware

Pelosi and McConnell Are Playing High-Stakes Poker
Discussion:
Redstate, New York Times and No More Mister Nice Blog


New incident at Mar-a-Lago under ‘criminal investigation’ by Secret Service — Palm Beach police say they are conducting an “open and active criminal investigation” at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's South Florida estate, following an unspecified incident Monday night.
Discussion:
Raw Story


Bloomberg Takes On Trump With a $10 Million Super Bowl Ad — Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured a 60-second advertising spot to be aired nationally during the game on Feb. 2, campaign officials said. — Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured …
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Trump to drop $10 million on Super Bowl ad — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is planning to drop $10 million to advertise during the Super Bowl, the start of a massive election-year spending spree that will intensify over the coming months, according to four people briefed on the plans.


Don't Tilt Scales Against Trump, Facebook Executive Warns — In an internal memo, Andrew Bosworth said he “desperately” wanted the president to lose. But, he said, the company should avoid hurting Mr. Trump's campaign. — SAN FRANCISCO — Since the 2016 election, when Russian trolls …
Discussion:
Boz and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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Lord of the Rings, 2020 and Stuffed Oreos: Read the Andrew Bosworth Memo — On Dec. 30, Andrew Bosworth, a longtime Facebook executive and confidant of Mark Zuckerberg, wrote a long memo on the company's internal network. — In the post, titled “Thoughts for 2020,” Mr. Bosworth …


Prosecutors recommend Michael Flynn serve up to 6 months in prison — Federal prosecutors recommended in a sentencing memo Tuesday that President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn receive a sentence of zero to six months in prison, arguing that he should not receive credit …
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Michael Flynn deserves up to six months in prison, U.S. Justice Department says in reversal for former Trump national security adviser — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday recommended that former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn serve up to six months in prison, reversing …
Discussion:
Law & Crime


The Nightmare Stage of Trump's Rule Is Here — Unstable and impeached, the president pushes the U.S. toward war with Iran. — There are no more adults in the room. — After three harrowing years, we've reached the point many of us feared from the moment Donald Trump was elected.
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, Washington Post, Defense One, Bangor Daily News, Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »
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Trump Inaugural Committee Donor to Plead Guilty to Obstruction — Zuberi back-dated check to donor, deleted emails, U.S. says — Lawyer says Zuberi will plead guilty for a second time — A fundraiser for President Donald Trump will plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation …
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6.4 quake strikes Puerto Rico, killing at least 1 amid heavy seismic activity — “We've never been exposed to this kind of emergency in 102 years,"said the governor as the island grapples with ongoing aftershocks and assesses the damage. — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico early Tuesday …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Politico and UPI
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Bernie Sanders can unify Democrats and beat Trump in 2020 — The first in a Vox series making the best case for each of the top Democratic contenders. … The case for Bernie Sanders is that he is the unity candidate. — The Vermont senator is unique in combining an authentic …
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Anatomy of a Screw-Up: The Story Behind the Letter Withdrawing Our Troops — In a letter dated January 6, Brigadier Gen. William Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq, wrote to his Iraqi counterpart with big news: The United States military was preparing to leave Iraq.
Discussion:
Slate, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Reason, The Morning Dispatch and CNN


Ricky Gervais, Man of the People — In a room filled with self-absorbed narcissists, one brave, slightly less self-absorbed narcissist had the balls to speak truth to power—and his name is Ricky Gervais. — If courage had a face, it would be a slightly overweight, pasty British multi-millionaire drinking a pint.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Daily Mail, americandigest.org, Spectator USA and Hollywood Reporter


Russian trolls are targeting American veterans, and Trump's government isn't helping, group says — The Trump administration has for nearly two years ignored mounting evidence that Russian operatives and other foreign actors were deliberately targeting U.S. troops and veterans …


Mysterious repeating fast radio burst traced to nearby galaxy — (CNN)Astronomers have traced the signal of an enigmatic repeating fast radio burst for only the second time — and it's in a spiral galaxy similar to our own, not so far away. — Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are millisecond-long bursts of radio waves in space.
Discussion:
ScienceAlert and UPI


Trump walks back targeting cultural sites: “I like to obey the law” — President Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday that he would obey international laws banning the targeting of cultural sites when considering how to retaliate against a potential Iranian attack.


Ball of Confusion — As noted below, in the broadest sense we know why President Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani: it was an attempt to dominate a weaker power by dramatically escalating a simmering conflict. This squares with how states act and it squares with President Trump's personality.


Muslim religious leader in Texas charged with sex crimes against four children — A well-known Islamic religious leader in Texas has been busted for sexually assaulting four children — though authorities believe he's victimized others. — Mohamed Omar Ali, a 59-year-old Somali national …


D.C. Council member Jack Evans to resign over ethics violations; was city's longest-serving lawmaker — Longtime D.C. Council member Jack Evans announced Tuesday that he will resign Jan. 17, ending a 29-year political career that helped revive a foundering city but in the end was deeply tainted by ethics violations.


Windshield … To stay connected with the campaign: — About Pete: — Pete Buttigieg is a husband, Afghanistan veteran, and the Mayor of his hometown, South Bend, Indiana. — Pete is running for president because this is a now or never moment for our nation.
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Caller and The Hill


Fox News's Tucker Carlson: In San Francisco, ‘Civilization Itself Is Coming Apart’ — Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson described San Francisco as a place where “civilization itself is coming apart.” — “The reality of that city we discovered when we spent …


Trump's Foreign Policy Is A Growing Point Of Contention In Democratic Primaries — Progressive House challengers see a chance to distinguish themselves following the killing of Qassem Soleimani. — Progressive candidates challenging Democratic members of Congress in primaries …
Discussion:
Common Dreams


Ivanka Trump's CES keynote address sparks backlash — Some critics say there are women with more technical experience who are better qualified to speak at the annual technology conference — LAS VEGAS — Ivanka Trump may face an icy reception today at one of the world's largest technology conferences …

Trump Is The Most Unpopular President Since Ford To Run For Reelection — Now that the 2020 election has gone from “next year” to “this year,” it's worth taking a step back and asking a question that we first posed in early 2017: How popular is Donald Trump?
Discussion:
Raw Story and Alternet.org

Republicans clear Wisconsin primary field for Trump — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans decided Tuesday to place only President Donald Trump's name on Wisconsin's primary ballot this spring, making it a challenge for any long-shot GOP candidates to run against him in the state.
Discussion:
The Hill and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel