| Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: Australia scales up fire funding, Bolton amps up impeachment drama, and Samsung's flipping TV flops.  Fallout from Soleimani death grows Tensions are flaring between the U.S. and Iran following last week's assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. On Monday, the U.S. ordered more forces to the Middle East, in addition to the 3,500 deployed last week. On the same day, Pentagon officials mistakenly sent a letter to military leaders in Baghdad suggesting it would withdraw forces from Iraq. The memo, Army General Mark Milley said, was a draft and should never have been sent. More: - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday Iran must avoid further provocations after an emergency meeting to address the tensions.
- Thousands of Iranians packed the streets of Tehran to pay respects to Soleimani, with some chanting "Death to America."
- Iraq's parliament voted on Sunday to expel U.S. forces from the country. Trump responded by threatening "very big sanctions," saying Iraq would have to "reimburse" America.
- Trump doubled down on his threat to order airstrikes on 52 cultural sites in Iran, which could be a war crime under international laws.
$ignificant figures $1.4 billion. Australian PM Scott Morrison said the government would commit an extra A$2 billion and do "whatever it takes" to fight the country's devastating bushfires. 5.8-magnitude. A pre-dawn earthquake struck Puerto Rico Monday, followed by a 4.9 one, triggering small landslides and power outages and severely cracking several homes. 159. The number of sex offenses committed by Reynhard Sinaga, described as "the most prolific rapist in British legal history," who was sentenced to life in prison. Highly quotable "I am prepared to testify." Ex-national security aide John Bolton said he'd speak in Trump's impeachment trial if subpoenaed by the Senate after refusing to do so in the House. "Lady Justice is staring down." Rose McGowan tore into "super predator" Harvey Weinstein at the start of his New York trial. Later, he was charged with new sex crimes in Los Angeles. "Hear what she has to say." CES chief Gary Shapiro defended Ivanka Trump's Tuesday-slated keynote speech amid criticism that organizers overlooked female tech leaders. This is not normal Peak polarization. The U.S. presidential election poses 2020's top global risk, Eurasia Group said, arguing party divisions will delegitimize the vote that'll be seen as "rigged" by the majority of the electorate.  The future is now Smartphone-friendly TV. Among the glitzy gizmos unveiled at CES was Samsung's Sero TV that can flip from horizontal to vertical when users rotate a linked device. But instead of flipping in its debut, it fell flat.  What's good Sustainable aviation. Amid mounting industry pressure, JetBlue plans to become the first U.S. carbon-neutral airline by July in an effort to offset carbon dioxide emissions from jet fuel for all domestic flights.  Now that you're caught up... Tell your friends to sign up to receive the QuickTake newsletter five days a week, and follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Before you go: See the chance moment New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo rescued a driver from an overturned car on the BQE. Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach | 
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