TOP STORIES

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Friday, January 10

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IRAN MAY HAVE DOWNED PASSENGER PLANE U.S. officials believe that Iran mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines passenger plane amid hostilities with the U.S., killing all 176 people on board. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson supported the assessment. [HuffPost]

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HOUSE VOTES TO LIMIT IRAN WAR By a vote of 224 to 194, with three Republicans and one independent in support and eight Democrats against, the House approved the war powers resolution forbidding President Donald Trump from attacking Iran unless there’s an imminent threat or Congress declares war. [HuffPost]

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DAMNING BOEING CHATS REVEALED Boeing released hundreds of internal messages that raise serious questions about its 737 Max that was grounded in March after two fatal crashes. “This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys,” one unnamed employee wrote. [Reuters]

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AT TRUMP'S FIRST 2020 RALLY, HE DEFENDS SOLEIMANI KILLING  Trump defended his order to assassinate a top Iranian military leader, painting his decisions as commander in chief as a prime reason to reelect him. “By subsidizing Iran’s maligned conduct, the last administration was leading the world down the path of war,” Trump said. [HuffPost]

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ILHAN OMAR SHARES 'TRAUMA' OF WAR AFTER PTSD DISMISSED Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who fled war in Somalia as a child, is speaking out about the trauma of war for civilians ― and challenging the notion that post-traumatic stress disorder is an issue that only soldiers face. Omar was responding to Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who dismissed her mention of her own PTSD as “offensive” to military veterans. [HuffPost]

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JUSTICE DEPT. ENDS CLINTON INVESTIGATION, FOUND NOTHING  A Department of Justice inquiry into Hillary Clinton that began after conservatives demanded more investigations into the former Democratic presidential nominee is reportedly ending with no actual results. [HuffPost]

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6,000 DEAD FROM MEASLES OUTBREAK IN CONGO The death toll from a measles epidemic in Congo has surpassed 6,000, the World Health Organization said as it warned that more funds are needed to save lives during the world’s worst outbreak of the infectious disease. [AP] 

WHAT'S BREWING

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OLYMPIC COMMITTEE BANS POLITICAL GESTURES The International Olympic Committee said competitors in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be barred from making political gestures during the games. “It is important, on both a personal and a global level, that we keep the venues, the Olympic Village and the podium neutral and free from any form of political, religious or ethnic demonstrations,” the committee said. [HuffPost]

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EPA'S SUPERFUND PROGRAM IN SHAMBLES The number of sites on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List, which require long-term remediation, stands as 1,335 ― up from the 1,322 that then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said was “unacceptable” in 2017. The number of unfunded toxic cleanup sites has ballooned, from 12 in 2016 ― Obama’s last year in office ― to 34 in 2019. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP CONGRATULATES HIMSELF FOR CANCER DEATH DROP Trump tweeted “a lot of good news coming out of this Administration,” referencing an American Cancer Society report said that the rate of people dying of cancer dropped in 2017, for the 26th year in a row. The cancer society's CEO told CNN that the findings — even for 2017, the sole year Trump was in office during the study period — aren't connected to anything his administration did. [HuffPost]

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THE TESTIMONY THAT COULD SEAL WEINSTEIN'S CONVICTION Harvey Weinstein faces allegations in his trial that he sexually assaulted two women. But his conviction may hinge on the statements of three others who say he sexually abused them, too. [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. This week, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice made it clear that it opposes the amendment. [HuffPost]

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WILL HARRY AND MEGHAN ACTUALLY BE FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT? The financial workings of Her Majesty and Co. are more than a little complex. Their definition of “financially independent” is almost certainly a far cry from the general population’s. The Sussexes will no longer receive money from the Sovereign Grant for their formal office expenses -- but the grant itself, which comes out of the taxpayer's purse, is unlikely to change. [HuffPost]

BEFORE YOU GO