Prophecy News Watch - January 13, 2020

Around the World
Iran admits downing of Ukrainian jet a 'mistake'
Iran conceded on Saturday to having made a 'disastrous mistake' in shooting down a Ukrainian airliner that was carrying 176 passengers, an allegation the regime initially denied.
Russia warship comes close to colliding with US ship in Middle East
An American Navy ship was approached by a Russian Navy ship in the north Arabian sea last Thursday when the Russian ship made an 'aggressive' maneuver, US officials said, Russian officials, responding by pointing the finger at the US.
Mark Esper: Iran 'probably and could have been' targeting 4 U.S. embassies
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday said Iran 'probably and could have been' planning to target the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and three other diplomatic facilities abroad in the days leading to the American strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Rocket Attack Hits Military Base in Iraq, Pompeo Calls Them ‘Continued Violations’
Several people were wounded on Sunday in an attack on the Balad airbase in northern Iraq that houses U.S. personnel, according to the Iraqi military. The incident was decried by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hours later.
As protests restart in Iran, demonstrators refuse to trample US, Israeli flags
Protesters gathered on the streets of Iran Sunday for a second day of demonstrations against the regime, prompted by the Iranian leadership’s belated admission that it accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner last week, killing all 176 people on board.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israel reportedly attacks Syria-Iraq border, thwarts shipment of Iranian ballistic missiles
Israeli aircraft attacked a truck convoy near the Syria-Iraq border in an effort to thwart the delivery of weapon systems to pro-Iranian militias, Arab media reported overnight Thursday. Israel has not commented on the incident.
Rare, 2,000-year-old Jerusalem measuring table reveals Temple Mount market
After discovering a highly rare, 2,000-year-old measuring table that was once used to assess wine or olive oil containers in Jerusalem, experts believe they've pinpointed the location of a crucial ancient market near the Temple Mount.

Inside the United States
Record 158,803,000 Americans Employed; 1.85M Year-to-Year Increase
'As we begin this new year, our economy is booming,' President Trump told a rally in Toledo, Ohio Thursday night. 'Wages are soaring, workers are thriving, and America’s future has never looked brighter.'
2020 will see two supermoons and a blue moon close to elections
The year 2020 will see 13 full moons, two supermoons, and a blue moon in October around the same time as the US Presidential election.
Planned Parenthood performs record number of abortions
Planned Parenthood performed a record number of abortions in 2018 and 2019, according to new data released by the organization, even while the overall number of abortions that took place in the US fell.
Virginia gun proposal puts concealed carry agreements with other states in jeopardy
Virginia Democratic Del. Dan Helmer filed a bill Wednesday that would give the commonwealth’s attorney general, Mark Herring, discretion over which states’ carry permits Virginia would continue to recognize.
Gallup: Americans' Ideology, 37% Conservative, 24% Liberal, 35% Moderate
Polling data from 2019 show that America is 'center-right' politically, with 37% describing themselves as 'conservative,' 35% saying they are 'moderate,' and only 24% stating they are 'liberal.'
House Passes Three Bills To Advance 5G and Cyber Security in US
A package of bills designed to give the United States an advantage over China in the race to employ 5G, the fastest wireless networks available, were passed by the House on Wednesday.

Christian News
Muslim herdsmen kill a dozen more Christians in Nigeria
Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed 13 Christians in Plateau State, Nigeria on Wednesday, Jan. 8, adding to a body count that has seen scores of Christian farmers murdered by the pastoralists in the last few years.
Grave of martyred pastor destroyed in Iran
The grave of an Assemblies of God pastor from Mashad, Iran--the same town in which Soleimani replacement Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani rose through the ranks--was destroyed this past December by the Iranian regime.