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 | | | Happy New(s) Year Eve | | Trump will sign 'Phase One' of China trade deal. It's the last day of 2019. It's Tuesday's news. | | |
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| We're counting down the hours to 2020. Your smart home devices are always listening. And there's no Short List tomorrow, but we'll be back in your inbox Thursday 📧. |
| It's Alex with a New Year's resolution suggestion for faithful Short List readers: Watch USA TODAY's TikToks. |
| But first, you needed to do those errands, like, yesterday. Here's what is open and closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. |
| The Short List newsletter is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe here! |
Protesters break into US Embassy in Baghdad, shouting 'Death to America' |
| Demonstrators shouting "Death to America!" smashed their way into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad after U.S. airstrikes killed 25 fighters of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq. No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported at the protest. |
| • | Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who condemned the airstrikes, urged militiamen and their supporters to leave the embassy area and halt the violence. | | • | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the airstrike as a "decisive response" to a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that killed an American contractor last week. | | • | President Donald Trump, on Twitter, accused Iran of orchestrating the embassy attack and said the Shiite-led nation would be "held responsible." | |
 | | Members the Hashed al-Shaabi, a mostly Shiite network of local armed groups trained and armed by powerful neighbour Iran, smash the bullet-proof glass of the US embassy's windows in Baghdad after breaching the outer wall of the diplomatic mission. | | Ahmad Al-Rubaye, AFP via Getty Images | |
Trump says he will sign a 'Phase One' China trade deal Jan. 15 |
| Minutes before financial markets in the U.S. opened for the final day of the year , President Donald Trump announced he will sign a "Phase One" trade deal with China on Jan. 15. Trump made his vow to crack down on Chinese trade practices a major part of his 2020 election campaign, yet his administration has not provided documents detailing what the first phase of an overall agreement involves. When Trump and Chinese officials announced the Phase One agreement in mid-December, the United States agreed to shelve plans to impose tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to take effect Dec. 15. Trump said he plans to visit China soon to start talks on "Phase Two." |
What everyone's talking about |
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New year, new you |
| For the naysayers who believe it's impossible to stick to New Year's resolutions, listen up. It's all about one's mindset and, of course, motivation. Here's how to accomplish your New Year's resolutions, according to the experts: |
| Craft an appropriate, measurable goal: Instead of setting an objective of losing weight, get specific. Begin when you're actually ready: New Year's Day does not need to be ground zero. Make a habit of your resolution: If your resolution is eating healthier, decide on a time to meal prep and anything else needed in advance. Move on after slip-ups: Appropriately assess a backslide for what it is and what it is not – a flame-thrower to any and all improvement. |
Attacks on faith communities raise a familiar question |
| One man goes on a stabbing spree at the home of a rabbi during a Hanukkah celebration. Another opens fire with a shotgun inside a Texas church. When does hate become domestic terrorism? Should perpetrators be prosecuted as terrorists under the law? On one side: Though hate crimes can overlap with what is generally considered terrorism, having domestic terror as a separate prosecutable act recognizes it as unique. On the other side: Terrorism, along with hate, is changing. Instead of being organized by groups, many terror suspects are loners. If abused, such a law could be used against those with viewpoints, however radical, protected by the First Amendment. |
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Real quick |
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Hey, Google: Stop listening |
| Smart home devices from Google, Amazon and Facebook are engineered to listen for your commands and respond to them. Usually, they engage only when you say your "wake" word. But these devices are always listening – even when they're "sleeping." If that makes you uneasy, there's a simple fix: Turn off the microphones. Here's how to do it for each device. |
A break from the news |
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| This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. |
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