2020 January

Woman was worried before her plane crashed in Iran, her husband says. She called him 20 minutes before takeoff

She’d taken three weeks off from her job in Toronto to visit her mother and sisters in Tehran. Her vacation was over, and she was heading back to Canada to her husband, Hassan Shadkhoo. Her flight was leaving from Tehran to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev early Wednesday. ### “I spoke to her … 20 […]

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Baghdad locals unimpressed by US and Iran’s tit-for-tat fight on Iraqi soil: ‘We are students of war’

Just hours before, Iran had attacked US positions in Iraq. ### After years of proxy war between the US and Iran, this was a rare act of direct confrontation, but many Iraqis shrug it off. ### “Unfortunately, we are students of war,” said Nihad Issam, a mother-of-two. ### After decades of enduring cycles of violence, […]

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5 things you need to know to understand the Iran-US crisis

As diplomatic crises go, this ticks a lot of boxes. The US killed an Iranian general in Iraq — a country where it has kept a constant military presence since the 2003 invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein. ### However bad relations between the US and Iran had become under Trump, the killing of a military […]

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House passes bills to gain upper hand in race to 5G

The House on Wednesday passed a slew of bills aimed at giving the U.S. a leg up over China in the race to implement the super-fast next-generation wireless networks known as 5G.  The trio of bipartisan bills, which passed the House near-unanimously, would funnel U.S. government resources into steering international wireless policy while securing the burgeoning networks against cyberattacks and foreign influence.   The […]

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Massachusetts reports fourth vaping-related death

Health officials in Massachusetts on Wednesday reported the state’s fourth death from a vaping-related illness. According to state officials, the patient was a man in his 70s who reported vaping THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.  The case is among the 36 confirmed cases of vaping-associated lung injury that the state health department has reported […]

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On The Money: CBO projects $39B deficit rise in first quarter of 2020 | Grassley looks to rein in Trump tariff powers | IRS audits drop to lowest level in decades

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. See something I missed? Let me know at [email protected] or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N. Write us […]

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Graham calls Iran 'the cancer of the Middle East'

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamGraham mulls rule changes to start impeachment trial without articles Sunday shows – Pompeo makes rounds in defense of Soleimani strike Graham calls Iran ‘the cancer of the Middle East’ MORE (R-S.C.) called Iran “the cancer of the Middle East,” while saying he was glad one of the country’s top military […]

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Cotton introduces bill blocking intel sharing with countries relying on Huawei for 5G

Sen. Tom CottonThomas (Tom) Bryant CottonHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Cotton introduces bill blocking intel sharing with countries relying on Huawei for 5G GOP senators introduce […]

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Trump trade deal faces uncertain Senate timeline

President TrumpDonald John TrumpPence: Intelligence shows Iran directing militias not to attack U.S. targets Mnuchin aims to wait until end of 2020 to disclose Secret Service costs for Trump’s travel: report Pressure building on Pelosi over articles of impeachment MORE’s new North American trade agreement faces an uncertain timeline for approval in the Senate as […]

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Greta Thunberg questions newspapers that accept fossil fuel advertising

Activist Greta Thunberg questioned newspapers that accept fossil fuel advertising Wednesday, asking which will be the first international newspaper to step up and exclude those kinds of advertisements. Thunberg said she knows of only one daily newspaper, Dagens ETC in Sweden, that does not accept advertisements from fossil products and services. “Who will be the next […]

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