Disastrous Mistake: After first denying it, Iran has admitted accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people. “The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake,” President Hassan Rouhani said.

There was little doubt and no way Iran could deny it. US intelligence detected the firing of the Iranian interceptor missile and later picked up Iranian communications confirming what happened.

  Expecting a possible attack by the US, an Iranian missile battery appears to have been quick with the trigger.

  The Iranian military said the person responsible would face legal consequences. Anger among Iranians has bubbled up on social media. One journalist said, “They were supposed to take their harsh revenge against America, not the people.”

Empty Threats: President Trump says the reason he ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassim Suleimani was that Suleimani was planning an attack “on our embassy,” an assertion not backed up by US intelligence. Trump later expanded during a political rally in Toledo saying, “Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad.” Again, an assertion not backed up by US intelligence.

  Legislators from both parties have pressed for a detailed reason for the Soleimani hit, and have not gotten it. Trump’s antipathy to Iran … not all of it without reason — has destroyed years of relationship-building, ended the Iran nuclear deal, and indirectly resulted in the shootdown of the Ukrainian airliner.

  It has since been revealed that the US unsuccessfully tried to kill a senior Iranian military official in Yemen on the same day as the drone strike that killed Suleimani. It’s an indication that Trump had bigger ideas about crippling the Iranian military.

The Handover: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will deliver the articles of impeachment against President Trump in the coming week. She’s been holding out for a guarantee of a real trial in the Republican Senate, and hasn’t gotten it.

Pelosi still has to name what are called the “managers” in the trial, the people who act as prosecutors.

  Several Republicans, including Senate majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have publicly said the charges will be quickly swept away in the Senate. “In an impeachment trial, every senator takes an oath to ‘do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws,’” Pelosi said in a letter to House members. “Every senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the president or the Constitution.”

The Dwindling Crowd: Spiritualist Marianne Williamson has dropped out of the Democratic race for president. She never had a chance, but sometimes in the overpopulated debate panels she had the most sensible things to say.

  The major candidates are duking it out heading to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Bernie Sanders holds a tight lead in Iowa, according to a poll published by The Des Moines Register. Joe Biden, the leading candidate nationally, is putting on a big press to avoid an embarrassing finish in Iowa.

The Bulletin Board: Just after power was restored to most of the island, Puerto Rico was hit by another earthquake this morning with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0. Power had been restored to 95 per cent of the island before this morning’s temblor. —Payment for bad service. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who was fired last month after leading the company during the disastrous development of the 737 Max, will leave with a final payment of $62.2 million. — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the resettlement of refugees in his state yesterday, making it the first to reject refugees under an executive order issued by President Trump. “Texas has carried more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process and appreciates that other states are available to help with these efforts,” Abbott said.

The Obit Page: Georges Duboeuf, the French winemaker who created the worldwide Beaujolais Nouveau craze, has died in France at age 86. Duboeuf made a mass-market product out of the local tradition of making primeur, a quick wine made from the year’s new grapes. The marketing catchphrase was, “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive.” It’s a lot of hype for bad grape juice.

Fast Times: A giant tortoise named Diego credited with saving his species is being returned to the wild on the Galápagos Islands. Diego was one of 14 male tortoises used in a breeding program on Santa Cruz Island. He fathered about 800 offspring and coined a new pickup line, “I’m just trying to save the species.”