That the president does not have the authority for a war with Iran she says must ask for congressional approval if he intends to extend the conflict Kelsey Snell n.p.r. News the Capitol secretary of state says the u.s. Is prepared for possible retaliation including a cyber attack in response to the American air strike in Baghdad N.P.R.'s Pam Fessler reports officials are advising companies to pay special attention to threats against critical infrastructure Christopher Krebs head of the department of homeland security cyber security agency tweeted this morning that quote Given recent developments it's a good time for u.s. Businesses to brush up on Iranian cyber threats he said special attention should be paid to systems that control manufacturing facilities oil refineries and the energy grid u.s. Officials are also concerned about retaliatory attacks against American interests overseas but a cyber attack is one way or Iran could inflict serious damage inside the United States warnings were issued last year that Iranian hackers have stepped up efforts to find vulnerabilities in systems that control critical u.s. Infrastructure Pam Fessler n.p.r. News Washington you're listening to n.p.r. News in Washington from w a b e News in Atlanta I'm a meal moth that we have cloudy skies $58.00 degrees at $40.00 for only 3 states in the country prosecute 17 year olds as adults in the criminal justice system Georgia is one of them a group of lawmakers and advocates met today in hopes of changing that this year ima hurt reports it's known as quote raising the age including 17 year olds in juvenile justice programs as opposed to treating them as adults Marci mistreat runs the campaign for youth justice and has been promoting the reform across the country it feel like the moral argument has been won on this issue we know that most 17 year olds more like 16 year olds than they look like adults in terms of their arrest patterns is mostly very low level offenses. Sticking point is money can lawmakers find extra resources for an already overworked juvenile justice court system to handle additional cases lawmakers pledged in the meeting to keep working with stakeholders to find a path forward the legislative session starts January 13th am hurt w.a.b. News as of today the city of Atlanta Police Department is ending all police chases chief Erica Shields says In the meantime she is reviewing the department's procedures during chases at a news conference Shields said she can't justify costing someone their life in pursuit of an auto thief or a burglar when the courts quote aren't even going to hold them accountable about a month ago 2 friends and neighbors were killed while running errands when their car was hit by an s.u.v. That sped through an intersection on Atlanta's south side to 19 year olds in that s.u.v. Who were accused of carjacking someone hours earlier were charged with murder the weather forecast rain continues tonight overnight lows in the mid fifty's some widely spaced showers tomorrow than clearing skies by the afternoon this is w.e.v.e. News support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include the candy to fund supporting individual dignity and sustainable communities their investments in transformative leaders and ideas learn more at. A fund dot org Americans for the Arts. In this reminder there's more local news at our website w a b e or this is member supported. Atlanta's choice for n.p.r. It's 4 o 6. From n.p.r. News this is All Things Considered I'm Audie Cornish and I'm Melissa Chang the new started trickling out we have hugely consequential breaking news at this hour rocky state t.v. Is right about a quarter killing of someone the u.s. Government considers one of the world's most dangerous because of the money has the later on of a powerful elite branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that is called the Qods force then a cryptic tweet from President Trump no text simply a picture of the American flag the question is whether or not this is a confirmation from the United States side something we have not gotten yet and finally just before 10 pm the Pentagon released a statement at the direction of the president the u.s. Military has taken decisive defensible action by killing your house your soul I'm honest as the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps codes for general Salomone was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region that was part of the Pentagon statement on the strike today mourning in the streets of Tehran. And Secretary of State Maicon pale told c.n.n. The u.s. Is committed to deescalation in the region president trumps decision to remove Qassam Somali from the battlefield saved American lives there's no doubt about that he was actively plotting in the region to take actions a big action to see described it that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk Democrats swiftly question the ramifications of the strike here Senator Chris Murphy in an interview on Morning Edition today the worry here of course is that this is actually going to get more Americans not less Americans killed is caught some Sulaimani more dangerous as a martyr then he was alive as the functional leader of the Kurds force there will be were titles and finally in Florida this afternoon President Trump addressed the nation about the strike we took action last night just stop a war we did not. Just start a war now we're going to bring in some of the n.p.r. Team covering this story since it broke last night we have N.P.R.'s Tom Bowman he covers the Pentagon diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen and Franco dharnas who covers the White House welcome back. Hi thank you now here Frank I want to start with you what have we heard from the president beyond the comments just now well you know he said that had an imminent and sinister plot to kill Americans and that's why he had to order the strike he did not favor regime change the president said but that he was always going to protect Americans serving overseas he said the United States was ready to take further action and even had some targets identified he appeared to be you know responding to criticism against the attacks and the concerns that as we heard from some the Democrats of dragging a potentially dragging United States into another war Tom I want to follow up on this idea of identified targets the killing of the money came after several days of tense back and forth in the region can you walk us through the events that led up to this final strike Well 1st of all so the money has been killing Americans for years including u.s. Soldiers in Iraq back more than 10 years ago by using these very powerful bombs called peas are exposed explosively formed penetrators which could rip through the top as armor I was reporting there at the time and soldiers or Marines were deathly afraid of them and there's been talk over the years of targeting stolen money so why now because you have a more hardline administration and u.s. Officials say there were more and more rocket attacks on u.s. Forces in Iraq including one the cause of death of an American contractor in recent weeks in there was compelling intelligence of more imminent attacks according to Secretary of State might bump aoe and others prince of bully in Iraq but also officials say possible attacks in Lebanon and Syria so they decided to act in joint chiefs chairman General Mark Milley told reporters today some of the plots might still happen Franco do we have a sense of how this decision was made well we're still pushing for a lot of those details it was an option that was laid out earlier in the week we know that from. Senator Lindsey Graham who was golfing with the president in Florida on Monday they also met on Tuesday but the groundwork was laid some time ago when the administration listed the i.r.g.c. As a terrorist organization back in April that's something that had been rejected by previous administrations including President Ford of President George w. Bush and Barack Obama here's a column call who was one of Obama's national security advisers what's interesting is that something changed in the equation in the Trump miniseries I don't know where it came from the president himself or whether it was seen at the top of the Pentagon but that calculation earned kind of risk averse which I think occurred book of course mistakes made by mistakes and from you know something else so previous White Houses had worried about as collating this escalating to war and that carried over into the beginning of the Trump era and that was at least till earlier this year and remind us at this point who is on the national security team advising the president on this issue now well it used to be John Bolton he was known for being a hawk on Iran he was fired earlier this year he's been replaced by Robert O'Brian President Trump is also taking advice from Secretary of State Mike Pompei o who has also been steadfast hawk on Oran you know he continues to be very involved as we heard earlier today he was he almost exclusively carried the administration message earlier today Michelle telling Can we talk about why the pump a was out this morning talking about the attack and he said that he hopes this attack will deescalate the situation what's the logic there well what he's hoping is that Iran will finally get a message that the u.s. Is resolved to push back against Iran's bad behavior which has been building up as we've been hearing one official quite confidently told us quote We are now speaking in a language that the Iranian regime understands but you know Iran's supreme leader is vowing forceful really. And many diplomats are worried that this is actually going to escalate much further and that there's not really much of an off ramp here the Swiss ambassador to Iran who represents u.s. Interests there was summoned to the foreign ministry the ambassador we're told passed a message from the u.s. The Iranians say they've responded but we don't really know what's in those messages all we know is that there is that at least an open channel and pump a 0 as he'd been on the phone with his counterparts as well yeah I mean he's been talking to lots of foreign ministers all over the globe in the region in Europe the French and the British foreign ministers after their phone calls called for restraint they're also talking about ways to keep the Iranian nuclear program in check because remember the u.s. Left Iran nuclear deal and you know that there is also a lot of concern about what happens now in Iraq many there are furious that the u.s. Took this action on Iraqi soil and they are calling on the u.s. To leave it ministration officials point out that you know a lot of Iraqis have been protesting recently against Iranian Iran's influence in that country and want the u.s. To stay so diplomats are trying to work through all of this now and been on the phone quite a bit in the meantime how is the State Department bracing for a possible retaliation Well embassies across the Middle East have been beefing up security and I've also been issuing these security alerts urging Americans to remain vigilant I mean Iraq for instance the u.s. Is actually telling Americans to leave any way they can so we've been seeing these kind of alerts coming across the region from embassies before I let you all go what are your final thoughts what are you going to be looking for over the next several hours and days I want to start with you Tom Bowman possible retaliation from Iran against u.s. Soldiers or diplomats in the region particularly in Iraq. The Iranian leaders have promised forceful revenge and also as Michelle was alluding to the Iraqi parliament they'll be debating whether u.s. Forces should remain in the country she said there's anger in both the u.s. Strikes that violated the country's sovereignty to say Franco joining us from the White House what should we be watching for well I mean one thing that stood out to me was listening to Trump was how he appeared to be kind of laying out his doctrine for when he would take military action this is been a president who has campaigned and work to poll Americans out of conflicts in the Middle East this could frankly do the opposite Michael Singh who was the Middle East director in the George w. Bush administration told me that perhaps Iran misread the United States and thought it lacked the stomach to get more involved and Michele Kelemen for you I mean you've been following the relationship between the u.s. And Iran for such a long time what are you going to be looking for yeah I mean I was struck by how confident the. Administration officials were today you know they said that they can't say for sure that they've broken this cycle of violence but that they don't think it will be kind of as if this was the words of one devilishly in Jamie in January as it was under seal the money so they really think that taking out silly money that it it won't be as aggressive in Iran as we've seen before but you know that's not what most other experts in the region have been saying and I think the a lot of embassies are certainly bracing for some sort of reaction in the days and weeks ahead one other thing I know a lot of many people in Congress especially Democrats have been critical of the White House not reaching out to them in advance Franco did the White House have anything to say and defense of that well I mean you're hearing from the White House in in their response that this was something that they had to do Democrats continue to criticize the president for not coming forward and alerting the so-called Gang of. Vait oftentimes it is kind of a courtesy call to alert these top members of the top committees on both sides of the aisle the president doesn't did not do that now it is not up to do that but it is often seen as a kind of you know a good gesture to do that the president has done not done that in the past and he has not done that and he has said he's been worried about leaks but that's certainly something that's going to be continued to be discussed that's Franko Daniels covering the White House thank you thank you N.P.R.'s Tom Bowman on the Pentagon thank you for your time your welcome and Michele Kelemen covering the State Department thank you thank you for having me. Back. You're listening to All Things Considered from n.p.r. News it's 418 this is 90 point one w a b e Atlantis choice for n.p.r. I mean that in for Jim on this Friday afternoon thanks for joining us still to come this hour a product used by thousands of Georgians is the subject of a new band will bring you that story coming up in 15 minutes plus massive wildfires continue burning in Australia Cornish will visit with Mark walk I'm a volunteer firefighter about what it's like there on the ground the weather forecast rain continues with overnight lows in the mid fifty's tonight on Saturday some widely spaced morning showers than clearing skies and guessed the winds temperatures dropping into the upper forty's by Saturday afternoon and the mid thirty's by Saturday night on Sunday it will be sunny with highs in the low fifty's Currently we have mostly cloudy skies and 58 degrees in the city this is w a b e. Where a.t.f. Meets n.p.r. . Support for comes from one of Atlanta's oldest nonprofits the most trusted leader in senior care has innovative inpatient and outpatient therapy and rehabilitation services to help seniors recover and return to normal life activities and from Emory executive education at Emory University's course what a business school you can challenge and transform business with are short courses and certificate programs for professionals learn more at work smarter dot org slash . Iran threatens to hit back hard after u.s. Air strike kills the country's top military commander deadly bushfires ravaged Australia and its prime minister is feeling the heat Well I'm not surprised people are feeling very real or not you hear me out again any time anybody I'm Tods will like it's the Friday news round up that's next time on one end tonight at $1090.00 . It's 420 support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from the doors do charitable foundation whose sickle cell disease advancing cures program supports cutting edge research to cure sickle cell disease learn more it d.d. C f dot org. And from the George Lucas Educational Foundation creator of Edutopia and online resource dedicated to improving the learning experience for America's students with information and strategies about what works in k. Through 12 education learn more at Idea topia dot org. From n.p.r. News this is All Things Considered I'm Audie Cornish and I'm Elsa Chang a battle over a 25 year old murder case is headed to Missouri's highest court on one side St Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner Even though it was her office who convicted Lamar Johnson back in 1905 she argues that he should get a new trial because of new evidence on the other side Missouri State Attorney General Eric Schmidt says Garner doesn't have the right to demand that new trial joining us now to explain why she disagrees with that is the St Louis are going to turn he can garner welcome Hello how you doing very good Can we just 1st have you recount what was Lamar Johnson originally accused back then and what was he convicted of back in 1905 Mr Lamar Johnson was convicted of killing Mr Marcus boy and he was convicted of murder Mr Marcus Boyd but we have new evidence that came about in this case and what is that you have it is now the new evidence that came about was not only the sole eyewitness recanted his story we also discovered payments to that sole witness from our office in certain amounts that was never disclosed to the defense there was also letters that the other individuals wrote to Mr Lamar Johnson stated that they were the ones that committed the crime of killing Mr Marcus Boyd which was never disclosed later after the trial as well as credibility issues with another witness that was never disclosed to the defense that was used against Mr Johnson the prosecutor from your office who originally handled the case back in July 1905 he's called your office report quote utter nonsense and ridiculous what is your response to him. Well most responses not directly to him I say ask our prosecutors around the country as well as in my jurisdiction when you review a case and you find information that if you looked at it now you would not use to go forward on a case we all make mistakes and in this question is utterly ridiculous to think that prosecutors do not make mistakes and as ministers of justice it is our job that we correct the wrongs of past practices and in Mr Lamar Johnson's case I believe an innocent man was wrongfully convicted is it your argument that Missouri needs a mechanism to revisit an old case or is your argument that under current law in Missouri there is a mechanism and that the State Attorney General Eric Schmidt is simply misinterpreting the law is wrong about the law I believe we have a mechanism I know what is that mechanism I believe the mechanism was motion for new trial that is an issue for the Supreme Court to decide but I also believe that if the courts are saying we have no mechanism then we have to have the will to create that mechanism so I say both element I ask you though is short of legislative action in legislating a spin explicit mechanism for a case like this to get retried if the court in this case does side with the state attorney general does that close the door on revisiting other old convictions in Missouri I think you will make it difficult but I think we'll close the door on other convictions which is disturbing to me because as a prosecutor we have to pursue justice and we have to have a mechanism to review these convictions where we believe that innocent people are held in jail more than 30 other prosecutors across the country have joined you in your push for a new trial for Lamar Johnson are we seeing a shift here in how prosecutors think about their jobs their willingness to re-examine all cases do. I think there has been a shift over the last few years yes I believe there's been a shift I had over 34 prosecutors are around this country support me there from many different jurisdictions many different political affiliations and we have to really look at all cases we know that reform in the criminal justice system also means a meeting that we've done things wrong as prosecutors and that's why the conviction integrity units are so important not only in Missouri but around this country. Kim Gardner is the circuit attorney for St Louis Missouri thank you very much for joining us today thank you so much. Legitimate act of self-defense or illegal assassination that's a debate swirling around the killing of Iran's senior military commander Major General. The Iranian general was killed in a u.s. Drone strike in Baghdad last night President Trump says it was an act of self-defense because he says it disrupted an imminent threat to American lives many are questioning the move N.P.R.'s Jackie Northam reports Major General Qassam Sula Monny was believed to have the blood of hundreds of American lives on his hands secretary of state Mike Pompei o told c.n.n. That u.s. Intelligence found more attacks were on the way and needed to take defensive action and last night was the time that we needed to strike to make sure that this eminent attack that he was working actively was disrupted the u.s. Has fatally targeted other figures deemed a threat including Osama bin Laden and most recently Abu Bakar al Baghdadi the head of ISIS but Gary Solis a former professor of the law of war at West Point Sassoon Amani was the head of Iran's elite could force killed by a drone strike in a 3rd country Iraq let's say that General Milley our current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was killed by entering. Outside of Dulles Airport what would recon we call it murder and act of war could be described as an assassination and State Department official bristled at the characterization of killing as an assassination saying it considers those illegal Ashley Deeks a senior fellow at the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia's law school says there are a lot of unknowns to make a call about the legality of killing that includes just how imminent the threat was what was the threat that we thought that some of many others why is it in imminent threat of an armed attack and that would potentially justify the use of force against them but the administration has not given any details about the possible attacks or their time line John Ballenger is a former legal adviser to the State Department and the National Security Counsel during the George w. Bush administration he says under domestic law the president has broad authority under Article 2 of the Constitution to launch a preemptive strike it's clearly woful it's clearly a exercise of the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief and he takes 2nd is to use force in the national interest Ballenger says it's not certain what authorization the administration is going to use to justify military force against. That will become apparent when Trump sends a War Powers report to Congress the administration launched the strike on Sula money without notifying or consulting with Congress Bellenger says as far as international law is concerned the issue of legality becomes muddier it's generally in permissible under international law and the un charter to use force so in order for people to determine whether this is actually lawful as a matter of international law the administration needs to put out more facts as to why. They believe that Solomonic presented an eminent threat to the United States and u.s. Forces and that may be a hard sell to the Iranians but it could help make the trumpet ministrations case to other countries Jackie Northam n.p.r. News Washington. This is n.p.r. News. All things considered continues on 90 point one. Lanta Still to come on the program this hour Beetlejuice the star has been dimming reputably in recent weeks later speculation that it may soon explode N.P.R.'s Geoff Brumfiel does along in about 15 minutes to tell us what that extraordinary event might look like we have mostly cloudy skies $58.00 degrees in Atlanta at $429.00. Support for w.a.p. Comes from engineered solutions of Georgia a locally owned and operated foundation repair and water proofing company diagnosing damage and providing repairs to your home's foundation to keep your home dry and structurally sound repair dot com am from good measure meals a fresh locally prepared meal delivery service based in Atlanta since 2004 and believing that healthy should always be delicious suggested meal options posted on good measure meals dot com. On the next closer look the u.s. Infant and maternal mortality rate is called a crisis and healthy mothers healthy babies coalition of Georgia is working to improve access to prenatal and preventive health care for families also retail analyst John Haber analyzes this past holiday spending trends and gives his 2020 out of Scott closer look Monday at 190 point one. It's $430.00 and the news is next. Live from n.p.r. News in Culver City California I'm. Now in Palm Beach Florida speaking at his Mar-A Lago resort President Donald Trump is defending his decision to order an airstrike that killed top Iranian Aronian leader Qassam Sulaimani Christopher Krebs head of the department Trump told reporters that it was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and u.s. Personnel saying quote We take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over Meanwhile in Tehran Iranian leaders are promising to avenge the death of Cilla money who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guards elite Quds forces at the same time more than 3000 troops based in Kuwait are on alert ready to support an initial battalion of some 650 soldiers that were dispatched to the Middle East shortly after the clashes at the u.s. Embassy on New Year's Eve. In a suburb of Paris at least one person is dead and several others are critically wounded after a man attacked a visitor's with a knife at a public park police fatally shot the our man and later reportedly used a robot a robot to look for possible explosives on the body a Qur'an was apparently found in the bag of the man whose name has not yet been released investigators are still looking into the motive. The u.s. Government on Thursday began sending asylum seekers back to niggle this Mexico to await court hearings that will be scheduled roughly 350 miles away from Juarez Mexico authorities are expanding a program known as remain in Mexico that requires tens of thousands of asylum seekers to wait out their immigration court hearings in Mexico until this week the government was driving some sign seekers to Arizona this is n.p.r. News from w a b e News in Atlanta I'm a meal Moffitt mostly cloudy skies 58 degrees at 432 it has been a wet start to 2020 for the Atlanta area the National Weather Service recorded about an inch of rain in most parts of the city from Thursday morning until this morning Lawrenceville saw one and a half inches of precipitation during that time frame Marietta has recorded nearly 2 inches over the past 24 hours rain remains in the forecast for metro Atlanta through Saturday afternoon about 4 percent of Georgia adults use East cigarettes but they won't have access to those fruity flavors in the next month the Food and Drug Administration announced a plan yesterday to ban most flavors for cartridge based East cigarettes things saying those lower teenagers to vapor continue to use e. Cigarettes Health and Human Services secretary Alex aides are says this new policy is designed to target young smokers President Trump America's public health officials will not stand idly by as a new generation of Americans becomes addicted to tobacco products and legacy companies will have 30 days to stop manufacturing distributing and selling the flavored cartridge based ease cigarettes although tobacco or menthol flavored baby products can still be sold clothing manufacturer lands in and is facing a pair of class action lawsuits filed by hundreds of Delta Airlines employees the employees flight attendants in particular claim uniforms made by the company are causing serious medical problems including skin rashes and hair loss they began wearing those uniforms back in 2018 coming up in the 5 o'clock hour a conversation with trance. Taishan reporter for Business Insider Rachel pre-mix about the lawsuits and the uniform the weather forecast rain continues tonight with overnight lows in the mid fifty's on Saturday some widely spaced morning showers then clearing skies with gusty winds temperatures dropping into the upper forty's by Saturday afternoon and in the mid thirty's by Saturday night and this reminder there's more local news at our website w a b e dot org This is w a b e News. Jerry Herman the words and music for the legendary Broadway's same clothing Hello Dolly and chauffeur all on the next city director Adam Copeland will discuss generally Herman's career and legacy on Lois writes as Join us Monday had 11 am on w b c It's $435.00 support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Procter and Gamble maker of a line a daily probiotic supplement containing a gastroenterologist developed strain to support digestive health learn more at a line probiotics dot com from the Lang La foundation supporting justice equity and opportunity for all people to foster and sustain safe and healthy communities learn more at Langley dot org And from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For God org. From n.p.r. News this is All Things Considered I'm Audie Cornish and I'm else itching it is hard to overstate the influence of Qassam Su money the Iranian military commander killed by u.s. Drone strike in Iraq in Iran he was one of the most powerful people in the country the airstrike though took place in Iraq a country that wants to have good ties with both Iran and the u.s. And could be the setting for more violence between the 2 countries we turn now to Iraqi journalist he was on who's joining us from our below Welcome thank you so what do you think the death of costumes who are money means for Iraq well it's a major turning point I think Iraqis starting at decades on a completely new pay. With part of the Iraqi people are quite happy with what happened especially after the recent killing in the 8 administrations says of. Many Iraqis point fingers across absolute money for masterminding the oppressing of the uprising that took place who say many blame him for pressuring the Iranian backed militia to kill Iraqis absolutely yes you know sort of money has been passed of the political scene in Iraq says Really days of 2003 he was a roles in almost every starting from government formation name a prime ministers in the country fighting ISIS there was a point and try where she was on the ground on the American fighter jets were in the sky that's one point you had to work with the Americas through the Iraqi forces through his proxies from the militias so it's hard to see Iraq without as that sort of money in a negative way course but what about the political leadership in Iraq how are leaders there reacting to the news of death almost every leader in Iraq from President. Prime ministers 2 foreign ministers 2 leaders of political parties condemned the attack issued statements saying that this was unacceptable this was a act of aggression against Iraqi sovereignty but I think some of them deep down are quite satisfied do you think that they are condemning them and this is as a nation out of some fear of Iran. Absolutely this is the key motive I think for most of them some of them well no ill believe there's Oprah and it's regime and they want to push the parliament to pass and just ration to kick out u.s. Forces out of Iraq but this is politically impossible to impossible because the current government is a caretaker government and to the act of inviting foreign troops or disinviting them is the work of a fully fledged government and not 6 years taking what. As we have mentioned there have been extensive anti-government protests in Iraq over the past several months many of these protesters have been critical of Iranian influence in Iraq can you just describe for us how people have been reacting in the streets of Iraq to this airstrike it has been a unified response or has it been more splintered look if response to the news people would quite euphoric but certainly Syria. At. Its could me in that Iraq could become the battleground between Iran and the USA. This will be at the expense of the Iraqis and it could diminish any hopes for a fool but there's governance in the country on more stability but many protesters today saying that we have nothing to do with this and we hope that we do not become part of such. That is an Iraqi journalist he was most Mon thank you very much for joining us today. In Australia wildfires this season have killed at least 18 people and damaged hundreds of homes and the worst may yet be yet to come alongside the career of firefighters there are thousands of volunteers who are fighting the flames among them is Mark welcome He's a volunteer firefighter in Dubbo in western New South Wales he's been travelling to neighboring areas to help fight fires but I started by asking him what it's been like it how it is being times in the last couple of wakes that I've been woken up by smoke coming into the house and you wake up thinking it has something on fire inside and then you don't have a look outside and it's the winds of blinding this pretty heavy smoke fall it's it's kind of scary when when you get why cannot buy that you go out in the morning and you watch the sunrise it's just these big broad orange juice at the smoke you go out or not you can only see the very bright star Normally you can see it is amazing Milky Way smokes just obscuring everything now I understand you've only been with the volunteer service for a little more than a year this is very dangerous work what has it been like so far a lot of running around. You know whether you're driving at a truck on the horrid roads to get to a far. Ward off or of the trucks. Trying to get a break from the hate it's pretty exhausting at the end of the day you've got to lie down and you physically exhausted you just want to go to sleep but your mind is constantly taking over reviewing seeing sinking about the next cruise Ok what's going to be locked tomorrow you know sort of trying to do that planning. I understand 2 firefighters were killed last month when a tree fell on their vehicle another died when his truck flipped in a fire tornado how you live in Suffolk to how you handle yourself in the field it really heightens watching out for dangerous you know the most important thing about doing what we do is making show we come home it's so good and well to say the house if we don't come back then. That's that's sort of the bigger issue so you spend extra time watching the danger is watching out for your team members watching out for your mates and just making sure they're going to feel like there's enough support enough resources for those who are fighting the fires I'd probably personally suggest they could be more you know we could definitely do with more more aircraft I think you know especially when we look at some of the fog is in the mountains and some of the air is a extremely difficult to get into and those sorts of a calls that can get in are small and limited in what they can do but I understand our volunteer firefighters getting paid I mean it sounds like they would not be that people are putting forth their own model for lives I mean given the scale of what we have been seeing on the news is that enough I mean should should the government or companies be stepping up the government's just recently stepped up to offer volunteer some form of payment My understanding is that it's limited to showing a loss of income from your day jobs from a day jobs which you know it's going to help people that have been fighting for months on end what is your day job and what does your family think of what you're doing right now I'm a manager of a bunch of software engineers. I work from home which which is giving me the flexibility to volunteer and to go away for some of these fires you know my family just wants me to come home ultimately that want me to be saif they want me to go there to gather to help communities and I'll. People that are affected by that you know you do this because you don't have any other option and so you something happens in your house you want people to come and help you so this is I guess a way of paying it forward and going out there and helping other people that are in really big name Mark welcome thank you so much for your time and please stay safe thank you very much that's Mark welcome volunteer firefighter in Dubbo in western New South Wales. And you're listening to All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. As strong numbers are carefully watching a nearby star it's been behaving very strangely over the past few weeks and as N.P.R.'s Geoff Brumfiel reports stargazers don't even need a telescope to witness its remarkable change look up at the constellation or Ryan and there it is it's one of the shoulders and it's usually one of the brightest stars in the sky it's called bagel juice Edward Garden has been watching beta juice since Ronald Reagan was president 9 181980 Why do you feel like you have a relationship with Bagel G.'s that those Yeah I do. It's my star guide in has been keeping an eye on it from his perch at Villanova University where he's a professor of astrophysics it's not the only star he looks at but it's definitely his favorite a lot of stars I actually study that I pretty well know what they're going to do still yes I don't know no I don't so it's it's a puzzle to me you know I like I like puzzles unlike other stars battle Jews Brighton's them fades unpredictably and starting late last year guide and his colleague noticed something Badal juice just kept getting dimmer and dimmer except getting fan or beyond where we ever observed it we never observed that the sink Emily live back is an astronomer at the University of Washington she says the star has become so faded at this point anyone can walk outside and see for themselves it's very obviously Demmer than the star that would be in one of our Ryan's knees which is right all it does jump out to a star gazer that the constellation really looks different it looks so different that some have speculated Badal juice may be on the verge of a violent death unlike our sun which will burn for billions of years Badal juices lifespan is around just 10000000 years it's what's known as a red supergiant a roiling boiling star constantly pulsing and changing it's kind of this live fast die young version of stellar. Evolution says part of the reason astronomers are taking such an interest is that if they don't juices about it won't just fade away it will collapse and then explode in a huge spectacular supernova here on earth we'd get quite a show you'd see it in the daytime sky for weeks at night I believe it would be comparable in brightness to the full moon or something close to that I mean you'd be able to see a shadow cast by the brightness of the supernova so is it about well there are some other possibilities maybe the star just belched out some dust that's blocking our view at least for now and the truth is stars live and die on their own time scales not ours it could be getting ready to go supernova very soon but very soon could mean another 10000 years or 100000 years the sun maybe don't hold your breath but if you're out and of stark and you can see you might just want to keep an eye on Badal choose Geoff Brumfiel n.p.r. News. App for your mobile device you can also mean back and enjoy npr dot org optimized for the i Pad This is n.p.r. . You're listening to All Things. Considered here on 90 point one w. . Thanks for joining us that in for Jim the big story of the day the death of Iranian military leader. As the result of a u.s. Airstrike ahead Virginia Senator Tim Kaine joins id Cornish to talk about how lawmakers are reacting to the news tell you how events last night overseas may affect gas prices here at home on the roads this afternoon there's an accident blocking the right to lanes of I 75 northbound at South Marietta Parkway. And into cad County at Buford Highway 2 right lanes blocked by a vehicle fire rain continues tonight with overnight lows in the mid fifty's widely spaced morning showers tomorrow then clearing skies gusty winds to pitchers dropping into the upper forty's by Saturday afternoon right now cloudy skies 58 degrees in Atlanta at 449 this is member supported. Atlanta's choice for n.p.r. . Support. Comes from the original mattress factory now offering to hand. Both models combine the support of traditional inner spring with the comfort of memory. Riginal mattress dot com and from goodwill of north Georgia where your donations put your neighbors to work you can make good happen and donate today in just minutes at one of their 100 plus locations more good willing dot org. I mean inviting you to join me. In the blues and. In the blues day. Join me tonight at. 8. It's $450.00. From n.p.r. News this is All Things Considered I'm Elsa Chang And I'm Audie Cornish many Israelis are concerned congratulating President Trump for the assassination of a cousin. Israeli officials say the Iranian commander was personally responsible for directing attacks against Israel across the Middle East now Israelis wonder if Iran will eventually killing by attacking Israel N.P.R.'s Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv. It's a good morning says this conservative radio host on Israeli Army Radio Israelis woke up this morning to the surprising news that a u.s. Strike killed Qassam Sulaimani he's a household name in Israel and. The radio host says President Trump went the furthest any leader has ever gone against Iran since an Islamic state was formed there and 1979 he calls the lemony the head of the Iranian octopus throughout the Middle East for over 2 decades still a money head of Iran's elite could force could means Jerusalem which Iran has vowed to liberate from Israel Israeli officials say he spearheaded Iranian support for proxies fighting Israel Ramban Barak was formerly the deputy head of Israel's Mossad spy agency he spoke on Israeli radio this sword over the fact he's no longer alive certainly makes this area safe for force the former Israeli intelligence official says Sulaimani was actively involved in activities Israel considers some of its biggest threats like you Ronnie and forces gaining a foothold in Syria helping Hezbollah and Lebanon develop precision guided missiles and he clipping Palestinian militants in Gaza Israel and Iran are foes and for years Israel has been pushing the u.s. To act more forcefully against Iran but Israel also hopes not to take the blame for any military action against Iran so. It's good that it happened good that we didn't do it we need to be on alert and ready for any situation to take a month or 2 for the Iranians to. Spondon there was no doubt there were spontaneous Israel did go on alert today closing a ski resort near the borders with Lebanon and Syria which Israel has feared could be the target of an attack Israeli embassies reportedly were on alert about the only criticism of the attack among Israeli politicians came from a party of Palestinian Arab lawmakers in Israel's parliament they denounced the us as fomenting war and endangering lives it's unclear if Israel was told the attack was coming the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Secretary of State Mike Pompei Oh hours before the u.s. Strike today he prays Trump doesn't feel the money is responsible for the deaths of American citizens and many other innocent people he was planning more sort of President Trump deserves all the credit for acting swiftly forcefully decisively former Israeli military intelligence head most Yadlin tweeted that he doesn't think Israel is at the top of Iran's list of targets for revenge he thinks u.s. Positions in Iraq are an easier target as are the Saudis and he says Israel has shown in the past it would respond forcefully to any Iranian attack Daniel Estrin n.p.r. News Tel Aviv. The Democratic presidential campaign has been going on for more than a year but the real starting line is finally in sight the Iowa caucuses are one month from today N.P.R.'s Daniel Kurtz Lavan has been traveling around that state and she reports there's a lot of room for Iowa voters to change their minds in the next month Jodi Lindbergh caucused as a Republican in 2016 now she just wants to get President Trump out of office and so her daughter convinced her to go to a people who to judge a vent earlier this week but Lindbergh is still pretty far from supporting the former South Bend Indiana Mayor I just listen and everybody I just any honestly anything I thing. To get us out of the situation we're in this is something you learn from talking to Iowa Democrats a month from the caucuses that interest in a candidate and support for a candidate are 2 very different things undecided caucus goers are everywhere Here's University of Iowa student Sophie Stover who saw Bernie Sanders in Winterset this week I mean I'm considering Bernie but I haven't really decided yet I went and saw Pete and you know a couple weeks ago I really just haven't decided yet is the thing and retired teacher came Andresen who saw Joe Biden speak in Animo so I did and they wrote it down you know it narrowed it down to probably 3 this all isn't lost on the candidates Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar joked about indecisive voters and Johnston on Thursday night and I know there's a lot of people that say like things like oh you're in my top 3 yea on caucus night Iowans may get to pick more than one candidate Iowa Democrats don't vote at the caucuses they physically stand in a corner or sit at a table with the other people who support their candidate and then if their candidate doesn't get enough support they can go support someone else that process itself could help fuel in decision according to and sells or president of the I Will polling firm Selzer and Company and it's a bit of the caucus culture that especially on the Democratic side you may have to change your mind in the room on caucus night so keeping your mind open to whom else you might choose to go to is just a piece of the of the psychology of getting ready to go to caucus in 201640 percent of Democratic caucus goers said they didn't decide until the final month before the caucuses and late deciders help make the caucuses unpredictable the most common thing that we see happening is that during the days we're in the field with the final poll the lead will change Selzer points to 2004 when Howard Dean plummeted just before the caucus while John Kerry rose in 2008 Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama true. Added the lead back and forth in the final month so by February 3rd the current state of the race in Iowa could shift even dramatically right now the Iowa race doesn't look the same as it does nationally most notably buthe judges at or near the top of recent I will polls whereas he's 4th nationally this week he was making the case that he wants to appeal to disaffected Republicans as well as progressives I mean a lot of what I like to call future former Republicans and I want them to know how welcome they are it is campaign were any number of things could reshape this race in the final month fundraising totals at least show who has the most fuel Bernie Sanders just announced that he raised $34.00 and a half $1000000.00 last quarter considerably more than his opponents that kind of money could further swamp Iowa with political ads but then it's not clear how effective ads are beyond that candidates will of course blanket the state with the vents but those also only do so much Selzer points to the candidate with by far the most Iowa vents as evidence the 1st is John Delaney and he declared a long time ago he spent a lot of time here hasn't done much good clothes Shar has done the 2nd most events in Iowa and she's still not in the lead pack of candidates but it's not that events don't help at all they do change some minds after clubbish hours Johnston event Tim De Huckabee from Urbandale said that he had finally decided she's somewhat of a long shot but she's inspired me I'm going to go well I'm going to volunteer for tonight make up your mind. If this is truly do you know but even after a hard fought contest many of these caucus goers will enthusiastically support someone new in the general election Democrats in Iowa and elsewhere simply want to defeat Trump. Even n.p.r. News Des Moines. You're listening to All Things Considered. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Focus Features presenting Harriet based on the true story of Harriet Tubman directed by Casey lemons starring and featuring an original song by Cynthia revile and theaters now from the Pew Charitable Trusts working with states to develop data driven nonpartisan solutions for complex issues more information is available at Pew Trust's dot org from the Alfred p. 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It's very scary and it's putting a lot of stress on our daily lives reporter Brian Mann talks to his family in New York that's still ahead this hour during all things considered we have cloudy skies 58 degrees in Atlanta support for w a b e comes from kudzu and Company in Sandy Springs and kudzu antiques Plus modern in Decatur contemporary home furnishings antique sliding gifts and custom sofas you can discover everything for the home and the holidays are banned from Alliance theater presuming may be happy ending this award winning new musical imagines a bittersweet reawakening to the things that make us human directed by Tony nominee Michael org on stage January 21st tickets at Alliance theater dot org It's 5 o'clock. We did not. President defends the drone strike that killed the commander of Iran's Foreign Legion It's Friday January 3rd and this is All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. On Iran. And following the violent attack on. Family worried about. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Jack Speer embassies across the Middle East are warning Americans to be vigilant after the u.s. Killed a top Iranian general in a drone strike in Iraq N.P.R.'s Michele Kelemen reports the u.s. Is bracing for retaliation President Trump says he ordered the killing of Iran's Qassam silly money because according to the u.s. The leader of Iran's elite cuds force was plotting to kill Americans secretary of state might pay 0 defense the strike as holy lawful and a sign of u.s. Resolve but international diplomats are now raising concerns about a further escalation the u.n. Secretary general calls this a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint the u.s. Is urging its citizens to leave Iraq immediately embassies throughout the region are stepping up security and telling Americans to review their personal security plans Michele Kelemen n.p.r. News the State Department Democrats are criticizing the decision by President Trump to authorize the air strike the incident resurrecting what has been a longstanding debate between the 2 sides when it comes to Mideast policy House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff says he's concerned about the potential fallout from the attack if the has a broader strategy if you have to articulated if you have to explain to the Congress why that strategy lacks the support of our own allies and how this is somehow going to make us safer former vice president.