Depart Iraq immediately  Reporting from Baghdad Thursday afternoon, the AP's Qassim Abdul-Zahra filed Iraq: Rockets fired at Baghdad airport, 4 people killed.
Falih Hassan and Alissa J. Rubin with the New York Times added that according to Iraqi TV Reports, the Strike Killed a Powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander. Elizabeth Thomas at ABC News also wrote up those reports that Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force, had been killed in the targeted airstrike. A bit later, CNN’s Julia Hollingsworth updated that Trump had ordered the killing of the Iranian military leader. The New York Times provided live updates of the escalating foreign crisis, including Iran Promises Retaliation After U.S. Kills General. Hari Kumar tweeted: “Indian statement, ‘We have noted that a senior Iranian leader has been killed by the US. The increase in tension has alarmed the world.’” From Baghdad, the AP’s Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Zeina Karam added: Iran vows 'harsh' response to U.S. killing of top general. “Gosh, the things I sleep through,” Ellen Knickmeyer exclaimed. Defense secretary Mark T. Esper told the Washington Post that Iran and its proxies may be planning fresh attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq, according to Missy Ryan and Dan Lamothe. This is why the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued what Louisa Loveluck called “fresh U.S. travel advice in the wake of the Soleimani killing” - a Security Alert urging all Americans to "depart Iraq immediately.” Who was Qassem Soleimani?  “Who was...the powerful and shadowy 62-year-old spymaster at the head of Iran’s security machinery, killed by an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport?” Dan Bilefsky wondered. For the answer, read Tim Arango, Ronen Bergman, and Ben Hubbard’s obituary in the New York Times, which explains how the Master of Iran’s Intrigue Built a Shiite Axis of Power in the Mideast.
Writing in The Atlantic, Andrew Exum called Soleimani Iran’s Indispensable Man. So what happens next? Well, Barbara Slavin wrote in the New York Times that Qassim Suleimani’s Killing Will Unleash Chaos, insisting that the “biggest beneficiaries will be Sunni fundamentalists like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, which will be thrilled to see their two biggest enemies coming to blows.” Mehdi Hasan at The Intercept pointed out that Four Years Ago, Trump Had No Clue who Iran’s Suleimani Was. Now, He May Have Kicked Off WWIII. “...it’s mad that Trump is president at a time like this & mad that anyone thought he was a ‘dove,’” Hasan admitted. Plus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Trump carried out the strike on the Iranian commander without authorization from Congress and, according to Phil Helsel at NBC News, she wants details. And BuzzFeed News’ Ryan Brooks added that Trump’s Strike Has Drawn A Sharp Line Between The Democrats Running For President. Ben Smith thinks there’s a “decent chance we look back at today as the moment @BernieSanders locked up the Democratic nomination.” Elsewhere in the world  Because we’re never really done talking about Trump and Russia, Forensic News published a piece by Scott Stedman, Eric Levai, and Bobby DeNault which revealed that a Deutsche Bank whistleblower told the FBI that the Russian state-owned bank VTB underwrote Trump's massive Deutsche Bank loans.
Political strategist Dominic Cummings posted a few job openings on his own website telling folks ‘Two hands are a lot’ and urging them to apply to work as data scientists, project managers, policy experts, assorted weirdos… for his boss, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “Apply for a job at Number 10 [Downing Street]! Send your details to, er, a Gmail address and ‘frankly, it will [be] hard having a boy/girlfriend at all,’” Callum May tweeted. Laura McInerney added, “I hope this becomes a force for good. And it shows two things about Dom Cummings which I always found positive in education. One, he looks at things in new ways & genuinely looks for solutions. Two, he writes in a very honest straightforward way.” And Mark Lehain admitted he’d “been waiting for this.”
Novelist Richard Flanagan said Australia Is Committing Climate Suicide via an opinion piece in the New York Times. “A powerful piece of writing,” John Lyons hailed. At Bloomberg News, Neil Weinberg and Ben Bartenstein uncovered the Ghosn Getaway Jet’s Other Job: Ferrying Venezuela Gold to Turkey. “The company of choice for Carlos Ghosn's audacious escape was a Turkish charter operator whose aircraft have helped move tons of gold from Venezuela to Turkey,” Karin Matussek pointed out. [Ed. note: Ghosn's getaway was also the subject of yesterday's trivia question. Answer below.] A few more for your weekend  There’s a story in the New York Times about Hype House and the Los Angeles TikTok Mansion Gold Rush written by Taylor Lorenz. “I've never clicked on something so fast in my life,” Grace Panetta admitted.
Mississippi State Fired Head Coach Joe Moorhead, according to Brett McMurphy at Watch Stadium. Moorhead had only been in the job for two seasons. McMurphy tweeted: “His dismissal coincides with the team’s late-season swoon, discipline issues plaguing program thru out season & ‘he was not a great fit,’ source said.” And reporting for the Washington Post, Julie Zauzmer revealed that the United Methodist Church is expected to split over gay marriage disagreement, fracturing the nation’s third-largest denomination. | 
Muck Rack + Talkwalker CES 2020 happy hour 
Yesterday, we asked: Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan chairman who was under house arrest in Japan, was able to escape to Lebanon by reportedly hiding inside what?
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