Your Evening Briefing

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Some fear U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to assassinate the second most powerful man in Iran may augur another major conflict in the Middle East. But the two nations have been effectively at war for some time. Since America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, Qassem Soleimani has challenged U.S. power with proxy militias in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. From a remove, he prosecuted a hybrid war against America without triggering a direct response from Washington. Now, the whole world awaits how, and where, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will deliver his grave promise of “severe retaliation.”  

Here are today’s top stories

Bobby Ghosh writes in Bloomberg Opinion that Soleimani, as the puppet-master of militias and terrorist groups, had the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands.

The Trump administration contends the assassination was to prevent what Secretary of State Michael Pompeo labeled an “imminent attack.” No evidence supporting the assertion, however, has been made public. Congress, with the exception of one Republican senator who was with Trump at his Florida resort, wasn’t consulted beforehand. Oil prices spiked and stocks fell.

On Capitol Hill, senators debated whether Trump should have briefed them first and whether he needs authorization for further attacks, given Congress’s war powers. They also discussed another constitutional issue: Trump’s looming Senate impeachment trial. Republican leader Mitch McConnell sought to defend his decision to coordinate the trial with the White House, despite his role as a juror.

If the Senate acquits Trump over his effort to have Ukraine interfere in the 2020 presidential race, Thomas Geoghegan writes in Bloomberg Opinion that Democrats can sue to prevent him “from going to any foreign government to fix the election.”

Federal Reserve officials said the U.S. economy will keep growing at a healthy pace despite the Iran confrontation and continuing weakness in the manufacturing sector. There are some who may differ: Nine states will likely slide into contraction in the next six months—the most since the financial crisis. The decline in manufacturing is also the worst since, you guessed it, the Great Recession.

McClatchy, the latest American newspaper publisher facing financial calamity, decided to hold off on paying some of its pensioners.

What’s Luke Kawa thinking about? The Bloomberg cross-asset reporter is considering inflation; specifically the kind that may result from rising oil prices after the killing of Soleimani. An uptick could impact headline pressures and crimp spending on other discretionary items, Luke warns. At the Federal Open Market Committee on Dec. 10-11, Fed officials said their monetary policy was likely to remain appropriate “for a time” even amid what they saw as persistent downside risks.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• Why Soleimani’s assassination may help Joseph Biden’s campaign.
• America won’t give up its vulnerable wireless voting machines.
• Tesla set a record for electric automobile deliveries.
• Businessweek: Venezuela’s latest problem is too many dollars.
• Turkey’s state banks are scrambling to prop up the lira.
• This billionaire mortgaged her company to get a $1 billion loan.
• Ex-Sequoia partner wins an extortion suit against ex-exotic dancer.

What you’ll want to read tonight

Ever wonder which are the safest, most on-time airlines? They are largely in one specific region of the world. A ratings group said it took into account factors including audits by government and industry bodies, crashes and serious incidents, profitability and fleet age. These are the winners.

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