10 things you need to know today: January 4, 2020

(Image credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

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1. Thousands gather for Iranian general's Baghdad funeral procession
2. Trump says airstrike killing top Iranian commander was to 'stop a war'
3. U.S reportedly to deploy thousands of additional troops to Middle East
4. McConnell: Senate won't hold impeachment trial until Pelosi hands over articles
5. Australia calls up military reservists to help fight fires
6. United Methodist Church proposes split over same-sex marriage
7. Trump launches 'Evangelicals for Trump' coalition
8. Grand jury indicts Hanukkah stabbing suspect on 6 counts of attempted murder
9. Court rules Michael Jackson's accusers can sue his companies
10. NFL wild card weekend kicks off

last updated 4 January 2020

1. Thousands gather for Iranian general's Baghdad funeral procession

Thousands gathered Saturday in Baghdad for the funeral procession of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' elite Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. airstrike this week in Iraq. Many of the mourners were reportedly militia members donning their military fatigues and chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Iraqi militia commander Hadi al-Amiri attended the procession, which also honored Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and other Iraqis killed alongside Soleimani in the strike. Soleimani's body will reportedly make its way to Iran by Sunday after it's carried to Shiite holy sites in Iraq. The general's image has reportedly appeared on billboards on major streets in Iran, and a ceremony honoring him took place at a mosque in the Shiite holy city of Qom.

President Trump on Friday defended the drone strike that killed one of Iran's most powerful military leaders, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' elite Quds Force. Trump, who ordered the strike, defended the move, saying "we took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war." The Pentagon said the U.S. launched the strike because Soleimani was "actively developing plans" to attack Americans. Trump also warned Iran against retaliation, saying he is "prepared to take whatever action is necessary." Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned of a "forceful revenge." Soleimani's death sparked mass public mourning, though Trump administration officials said some Iranians celebrated his killing.

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The United States is reportedly set to deploy 3,000 additional Army troops to the Middle East after President Trump authorized a drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Thousands of troops will be deployed from the Immediate Response Force of the 82nd Airborne Division, with these forces having previously been on prepare-to-deploy orders. The killing of Soleimani, a major escalation of tensions with Iran, has drawn condemnation from Democrats. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the strike was necessary to disrupt an "imminent attack" in the region, although The New York Times, citing a Defense Department official, reports there "was nothing new in the threat presented by the Iranian general."

The Senate reconvened Friday after the holiday break, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said President Trump's impeachment trial remains at a gridlock. The House passed both articles of impeachment against Trump last month, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has since refused to hand them to the Senate until it agrees to hold "fair" trial. In a Senate floor speech, McConnell said Pelosi would not "hand-design the trial proceedings in the Senate." Pelosi has said she will hold off on sending the two articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial until it's clear whether McConnell will meet Democrats' demands for testimony from top White House aides who declined to answer questions in the House impeachment inquiry.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday that 3,000 reservists from the country's military will be called up to help fight the brush fires that have been spreading during one of Australia's worst wildfire seasons ever. The government is also deploying another naval ship to assist with evacuations. "Volatile" conditions in the southeastern state of New South Wales — where the fires have done serious damage — on Saturday include high winds and temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which will likely exacerbate the flames. The New South Wales fire department is expecting more houses will be lost over the weekend. In total, 23 people have died, more than 1,300 homes have been destroyed, and tens of thousands of acres of national park and forest land have burned since the fires began in September.

The United Methodist Church on Friday announced a proposed plan to formally split into two denominations, divided over support for same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT clergy. The proposal, hoping to achieve "reconciliation and grace through separation," creates a new "Traditionalist Methodist" denomination that will uphold the ban on gay marriage, separate from the denomination that opposes same-sex marriage discrimination. This fracture within the church will restructure the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination. The debate within the church escalated last year when leaders voted to reinforce the ban on gay marriage. Church leaders said the plan came as a "welcome relief" as the "line in the sand had turned into a canyon." The proposal will face a vote in May.

President Trump on Friday evening launched his "Evangelicals for Trump" coalition at a re-election campaign event at King Jesus International Ministry in Miami, Florida. During the event, Trump painted himself as a champion of religious communities and accused Democrats of pursuing an "extreme, anti-religious and socialist" agenda. Trump said religion was "under siege" and he would defend it against every Democratic presidential candidate, all of whom he said were trying to "silence our churches and our pastors." In light of the event, a non-profit group has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the megachurch because it may have violated non-partisan rules by holding a rally, although its pastor, Guillermo Maldonado, said the church does not take positions in political campaigns.

Grafton Thomas, the 37-year-old man accused of stabbing at least six people at a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi's house in Monsey, New York, last Saturday, was indicted Friday by a Rockland County grand jury on six counts of attempted murder. Thomas also faces three counts of attempted assault and two counts of burglary. He could face up to 25 years in prison if he's convicted on all charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office in White Plains, New York, has also brought federal hate crime charges against Thomas, who police said may have been involved in another, earlier stabbing attack against an Orthodox Jewish man in November.

A court ruled that two men who have alleged Michael Jackson sexually abused them when they were children can pursue legal claims against two of the deceased singer's companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures. Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who were featured in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, had previously sued the companies in 2013 and 2014 but their cases were thrown out in 2017 by a judge who argued they waited too long to file their claims. California's statute of limitations required claims of childhood sexual abuse to be filed before an accuser's 26th birthday, but a new law that came into effect Jan. 1 extended the timeframe until age 40, which will allow Robson and Safechuck to have their cases tried.

The NFL playoffs begin Saturday with two AFC wild card matchups. The 10-6 AFC South champion Houston Texans will host the 10-6 wild card Buffalo Bills at 4:35 p.m. E.T. on ABC and ESPN in a game that will pit Houston's talented young quarterback Deshaun Watson against Buffalo's vaunted defense. That game will be followed by a clash at 8:15 p.m. E.T. on CBS in Foxboro, Massachusetts, between the 9-7 wild card Tennessee Titans and the defending 12-4 Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, who won the AFC East again this season. The Patriots obviously have the experience on their side, but they've struggled down the stretch. Former Patriots star Mike Vrabel now serves as the head coach for the Titans.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.