January 1, Trump Warns Iran After Attack on US Embassy in Iraq

This Day in History | 1972 

Baseball star Roberto Clemente dies in a plane crash.

Happy New Year’s Eve Middle Americans. 

It’s already 2020 in some parts of the world. Hard to believe that we are saying goodbye to another decade and hello to a new one.  

One story we are watching closely is unfolding in Iraq as I write this. The US embassy was a attacked by Iranian backed militias. The militias were returning from funerals for militants killed by US airstrikes. The airstrikes were in response to the death of a US contractor, killed by those same militias.  President Trump is vowing to hold Iran accountable. The question is how? 

We also have an update to the deadly Texas church shooting. The armed security guard who shot and killed the gunman at the Texas church was a firearms instructor.  And we have a tie at the top of Gallup’s new list of most admired American. 

Also make sure to check back tomorrow for our final update to our list of the top 7 stories of 2019.

Read all about it!

– Fraser Dixon 

Revelers Around the World Usher in the New Decade

(AP) – Revelers around the globe are bidding farewell to a decade that will be remembered for the rise of social media, the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement and, of course, President Donald Trump.

A look at how the world is ushering in 2020

Trump: Iran Will Be Held ‘Fully Responsible’ for Attack on US Embassy in Iraq

(CNBC) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday blamed Iran for planning an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and promised to hold Tehran “fully responsible.”

“Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”

“In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!” he added.

Read more here

Firearms Instructor Took Out Gunman at Texas Church Service

(AP) – Alarms went off in Jack Wilson’s head the moment a man wearing a fake beard, a wig, a hat and a long coat walked into a Texas church for Sunday services.

By the time the man approached a communion server and pulled out a shotgun, Wilson and another security volunteer were already reaching for their own guns.

The attacker shot the other volunteer, Richard White, and then the server, Anton “Tony” Wallace, sending congregants scrambling for cover. The gunman was heading toward the front of the sanctuary as Wilson searched for a clear line of fire.

Learn more here

Obama, Trump Tie as Most Admired Man in 2019

(Gallup) – Barack Obama and Donald Trump are tied this year as the most admired man. It is Obama’s 12th time in the top spot versus the first for Trump. Michelle Obama is the most admired woman for the second year in a row.

Each year since 1948, Gallup has asked Americans to name, in an open-ended fashion, which man and woman living anywhere in the world they admire most. This year’s results are based on a Dec. 2-15 poll.

Americans’ choice for most admired man this year is sharply divided along party lines: 41% of Democrats name Obama, while 45% of Republicans choose Trump. Relatively few Democrats choose Trump and relatively few Republicans pick Obama, while independents’ choices are divided about equally between the two men.

See the full results of the poll here

The 7 Biggest Stories of 2019

#7) The US Women’s National Soccer Team and Equal Pay Push 

#6) Internet Censorship

#5) Hurricane Dorian Slams the Bahamas, Barely Misses US

#4) The Streaming Wars Heat Up

#3) Investigating the Investigators

#2 Russia, Ukraine & Impeachment

Yes, we know these are technically different stories, but the way they have linked together tell us more about the Democrat’s strategy to hamper the president than what actually happened between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia, and the Trump presidency and it’s foreign policy towards Ukraine. 

The New York Time’s Peter Baker had an interesting take on impeachment vis a vis President Trump’s relationship with the GOP – you can read more about it here.