Monday morning news: January 6, 2020

U.S.-Iran tensions continue to increase » AUDIO: [Sound of Iran parliament]

Members of Iran’s Parliament chanting “death to America” in the wake of a U.S. airstrike that took out the country’s top military commander. 

Iran has vowed to take revenge, and on Sunday Iranian leaders said the country would no longer abide by any limits in the 2015 nuclear deal. 

The airstrike killed General Qassem Soleimani, the man who coordinated Iran’s proxy wars across the Middle East. The Pentagon said he gave the green light for an Iran-backed militia to attack the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve. 

The U.S. said there was plenty of American blood on Soleimani’s hands to warrant the action. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News Sunday…

POMPEO: We need to look no further than what he had personally done over the days before that when one American was killed on December 27th.   There’s no surprise. There’s plenty of public evidence about the bad behavior of Qassem Soleimani. He was a designated terrorist, and we did the right thing. 

Democrats in Washington are furious that the president did not consult any Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill before authorizing the strike. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Congress must assert its authority. 

SCHUMER: We do not need this president either bumbling or impulsively getting us into a major war. 

Meantime, some lawmakers in Iraq are also furious. Iraq’s Parliament voted on Sunday to call for U.S. forces to be expelled from the country. The majority of the 180 lawmakers present for the vote backed the measure—many were Shiite members. But nearly half of Iraq’s Council of Representatives abstained, including Sunnis and Kurds, who are thought to oppose the measure. 

The resolution is non-binding, but Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has voiced support for resolution, saying the U.S. attack that killed Soleimani violated Iraq’s sovereignty. 

Al-Shabab attacks U.S., Kenyan counterterrorism forces » Al-Shabab extremists overran a military base used by U.S. counter-terrorism forces in Kenya on Sunday killing three Americans. 

One service member and two Defense Department contractors died in the attack which also destroyed several U.S. vehicles and aircraft. A large plume of black smoke rose above the airfield Sunday and residents said a car bomb had exploded. 

Al-Shabab quickly claimed responsibility. The Kenyan government said security forces killed five attackers and authorities have arrested five other suspects. 

There is no known link between al-Shabab and Iran. 

At least 5 dead, 60 injured in crash involving passenger bus » A deadly crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Sunday killed five people and hospitalized 60 others.  

The crash occurred in the early morning hours roughly 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. 

Pennsylvania state trooper Stephen Limani said the bus was traveling on a downhill grade…

LIMANI: And the bus was unable to negotiate a corner. That bus went up an embankment, rolled over and then was subsequently struck by two tractor trailers. Another tractor trailer came and collided with those tractor trailers. And there was another passenger car that was also involved in this crash. 

Photos from the scene show the passenger bus on its side next to twisted tractor trailers, including a mangled FedEx trailer with packages spilling onto the highway. 

United Methodist Church announces church split proposal » United Methodist Church leaders from around the world have unveiled a plan to split the church and form a new denomination. The plan stems from a longstanding dispute over same-sex marriage and gay clergy.

A 16-member panel began working with a mediator in October and signed off on the plan last month. 

The proposal would create a “traditionalist Methodist” denomination. The new denomination would receive $25 million, and member churches would retain their assets.

The next step could come at the church’s General Conference in May.

Court agrees to keep TX baby on life support » A Texas appeals court has delayed a judge’s ruling that allowed a hospital to remove an 11-month-old girl from life support. 

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Fort Worth ordered Cook Children’s Medical Center to keep Tinslee Lewis alive until it can make a final ruling in an appeal brought by the mother, Trinity Lewis. 

Hospital spokeswoman Wini King said doctors are convinced there’s nothing more they can do for Tinslee. 

KING: She is in pain. She is sedated. She is paralyzed. She can’t move, and we’re trying to keep her as quiet as we can so that she doesn’t get any worse. We’re doing things to her, not for her. 

Tinslee was born prematurely in February with a heart defect and other severe ailments and has never left the hospital. 

But Trinity Lewis said she should be the one to decide whether to remove her from life support. She says her daughter sometimes smiles and squeezes her hand, though doctors contend those actions are not purposeful. 

The court has not yet scheduled a hearing in the case.

(KDKA TV via AP) This image from video provided by KDKA TV shows the scene near Greensburg, Pa. along the Pennsylvania Turnpike where multiple people were killed and dozens were injured in a crash early Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020 that involved multiple vehicles, a transportation official said. 

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