Death to America: Protesters angry over US airstrikes chanted “Death to America” today as they attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad. The weekend bombing raid killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia. 

  The demonstrators set fires, threw rocks, covered walls with graffiti, and demanded that the US withdraw its forces from Iraq. The embassy staff withdrew to a safe room as some of the mob broke into the compound.

  Guards responded with teargas and stun grenades.

  The US airstrike in response to the killing of an American contractor has sparked a serious political crisis with Iraq as Iran tries to exert influence over the country.

  President Trump posted a threatening note on Twitter saying, “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”

Good Guy With a Gun: The shooting at a church in White Settlement, Texas on Sunday lasted about six seconds from the first shot to the last when the head of church security shot and killed the gunman.

  It is a rare case in which “a good guy with a gun,” as the NRA likes to say, ended the incident, but only after two innocent people were killed.

  After the 2017 attack on a church in Sutherland Springs that left 26 people dead, Texas passed a law allowing anyone with a concealed-carry permit to bring their gun to church. 

 Several other parishioners also were carrying guns. Jack Wilson, the head of security, later posted a message on Facebook saying “Evil does exist in this world.” He said, “I and other members are not going to allow evil to succeed.”

Moot Point: A federal judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit brought by former White House aide Charles Kupperman seeking guidance on whether he must comply with a congressional subpoena in the Trump impeachment inquiry

  US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington said Kupperman’s lawsuit was “moot” because the House withdrew the  subpoena seeking his testimony.

Kupperman is a former deputy to ousted national security adviser John Bolton.

  The decision, for the moment, delays c on clarification of the extent of Trump’s executive privilege.

Layoff Pain: Opioid deaths among people of prime working age are 85 percent higher in counties where American auto factories have shut down, according to new information published by JAMA Internal Medicine.

  The increase in opioid overdose deaths after plant closings was highest among non-Hispanic white men ages 18 to 34, followed by non-Hispanic white men between 35 and 65.

Wildfire: Thousands of Australians huddled along the  shoreline today as wildfires threatened their coastal homes. The country is suffering a wildfire apocalypse with record high temperatures and months of summer still to go. Photographs show residents sitting on the beach in folding chairs amidst a fog of smoke. 

Black Monday: Pat Shurmur of the Giants and Freddie Kitchens of the Cleveland Browns were the first NFL coaches sent to the showers yesterday after dismal seasons. The Giants finished 5-11 Sunday with their once-great quarterback Payton Manning standing on the sidelines in pouring rain. 

  In Kitchens’ first year with the Browns, their record is 6-10 and the owners decided not to give him a second chance.

  The first Monday after the end of the regular season is known as “Black Monday” in the football world — the day when losing coaches get fired. Jay Gruden of the Redskins and Ron Rivera of the Panthers didn’t even make it to Black Monday. They were sent packing in mid-season.

Thanks for the Meme-ories: We might take tomorrow off, depending on how we feel in in the morning. But as 2019 draws to a close, we’d like to thank the following for making it a great year: 

  Nancy Pelosi, The Constitution, Article I, Article II, Rudy Giuliani and his indicted associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin,  Marie Yovanovitch, Robert Mueller, Hunter Biden, his baby mama and his wife who are not the same person, Burisma, The FISA Court, Mitch McConnell, William Barr, Twitter, Devin Nunez, The Black Ledger, Harvey Weinstein, Anonymous, Mayor Pete, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, R. Kelly, Jussie Smollett, the Trade Wars, Paris firefighters, Rep. Katie Hill, Peter Luger steakhouse, Christianity Today, Jamal Khashoggi, Mohammad bin Salman, Polar Vortex, James Mattis, Stephen Miller, Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin, Jeff Bezos, Miley Cyrus, Huawei, Julian Assange, Kim Jong-un, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Brexit, AOC, The Fiji Water Girl, Hong Kong protesters, Deadspin,  Shepard Smith, Blackface, Vaping, The Deep State, Deep Fakes, Michael Cohen, Alec Baldwin, and of course, the man who makes news every waking moment, Donald J. Trump.

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