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Workshop open to Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce members only

Friday, January 03, 2020 7:46 a.m. EST by Jim Measel

COLDWATER - (WTVB) - The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce and Ascension Michigan at Work will be hosting a workshop for Chamber members only next Thursday, January ninth that shows the importance of wellness in the workplace.

The workshop at the Chamber office on South Division starts at 12:00 noon and space is limited to 16 registrants.

The workshop is designed to show how creating a positive company culture focused on well being can create cohesiveness in a company.

There are still a few spots left. Chamber members can register on line at http://www.coldwaterchamber.com.

Jim Measel

Jim Measel is a Detroit native and a proud 1975 Redford Thurston High School graduate. He first came to WTVB in 1991 and has nearly 40 years of broadcasting experience in news and sports. Besides covering local high school sports, Jim has also covered Western Michigan University basketball and hockey as well as Hillsdale College football games. Some professional stops include working at radio stations in Indiana, Charlotte and Lansing as well as the Michigan Radio Network. He has also earned Associated Press awards for news coverage and sports play-by-play. Jim's favorite career highlights include interviewing such figures as Gordie Howe, Sparky Anderson, Tom Izzo, Bo Schembechler, Isiah Thomas, Vice-President Mike Pence, Lee Greenwood and Regis Philbin. When he is not working, Jim enjoys watching the Chicago Cubs and can rest in peace as they won the World Series. He also hopes the Lions will be able to get a chance to win a superbowl.

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BUSINESS BEAT: Chamber and Ascension Michigan hosting wellness workshop - WTVB News

Touching down at Baghdad international airport shortly after midnight Friday, Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was welcomed by an old friend, Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Also waiting to greet Soleimani, however, was an American MQ-9 Reaper drone loitering miles overhead.

Upon disembarking from the plane that an Iraqi security official said arrived from either Syria or Lebanon, Soleimani and Mohammed Ridha, a senior figure in the Hashed Al-Shaabi paramilitary force, were whisked away from the airport in two cars.

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As the vehicles headed down the airport access road, the drone unleashed four hellfire missiles that obliterated the cars and those inside them.

Surveillance footage aired on Iraqi television appeared to show the moment of the strike, in which a large explosion could be seen as one of the vehicles was apparently hit.

Ten people were killed in the blasts, according to Irans state TV, including five members of Irans elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Soleimanis son-in-law.

Soleimani, who was ripped to pieces by the strike, was identified only by a large ring with a red stone he wore on his hand, photos of which were widely published.

Hashed Al-Shaabi officials said they were unable to find the body of Muhandis, according to the Daily Mail.

It would not have been difficult for the US to track Soleimani, who since 1997 has headed the Quds Force, the overseas branch of the IRGC.

Image circulating on line reportedly shows Iranian general Qassem Soleimanis severed hand following his death in a US airstrike in Baghdad, January 3, 2020. (Social media)

Though long a shadowy presence, the military chiefs public profile had risen dramatically in recent years, with him visiting Iran-backed militia fighters on the front lines and becoming a national hero.

He didnt hide or live in a cave. On the contrary, he routinely traveled openly around the region, his face in full view, seen by the media.

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander, Qassam Soleimani, in an Iranian TV interview, October 1, 2019 (YouTube screenshot)

Three months ago, he gave his first major Iranian TV interview, in which he claimed that Israeli aircraft targeted him and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was responsible for killing and wounding thousands of Americans and many more in the region and was plotting to kill many more.

Soleimani had an outsized influence in Iraq, where in November AFP quoted sources saying he had chaired meetings in Baghdad and Najaf to rally Iraqi politicians amid mass anti-government protests, which have seen demonstrators rail against Irans role in the country.

Soleimanis killing came a week after an American contractor was killed in a rocket attack on a base in Kirkuk, which the US blamed on the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia.

In response, the US carried out airstrikes on Kataeb Hezbollah bases in Iraq and Syria, killing 25 of the groups fighters.

A reaper drone is displayed behind Vice President Mike Pence as he speaks to troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

On Tuesday, pro-Iran militiamen and their supporters broke into the US embassy in Baghdad, causing damage to the enormous compound but no American injuries, before withdrawing a day later.

President Trump subsequently warned Iran it would pay a BIG PRICE for the embassy attack, a threat he appeared to make good on with the strike the Pentagon said he ordered on Soleimani.

The US had closely followed Soleimanis movements over the last few months and could have targeted him before.

Iran Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani attends an annual rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, in Tehran, Iran February 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

It appears the US had been planning the strike for several days, even before the Tuesday storming of the embassy.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News he was informed by Trump while he visited him in Florida on Monday. The two played golf together.

I was briefed about the potential operation when I was down in Florida. I appreciate being brought into the orbit, Graham said. I really appreciate President Trump letting the world know you cannot kill an american without impunity.

Trumps son Eric also appeared to have had advanced knowledge, posting a tweet Tuesday that said Bout to open a big ol can of whoop ass, #DontMessWithTheBest #USAUSAUSA, before quickly deleting it.

And some world leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have been briefed ahead of the strike.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Netanyahu late Wednesday night, ostensibly to thank him for Israels support in efforts to combat Iran and after the attack on the US embassy in Iraq.

Tweeting Thursday morning, Netanyahu alluded to very, very dramatic things happening in our region.

I want to make one thing clear: We fully support all of the steps that the US has taken as well as its full right to defend itself and its citizens, Netanyahu wrote.

Moreover, we know that our region is stormy; very, very dramatic things are happening in it. We are alert and are monitoring the situation. We are in continuous contact with our great friend the US, including my conversation yesterday afternoon, the Israeli leader said.

Pompeo later said Soleimani was planning a big action that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk.

We know it was imminent, Pompeo told CNN. This was an intelligence-based assessment that drove our decision-making process.

The killing of Soleimani, who was often described as the second most powerful person in Iran, has opened a period of uncertainty for both the Middle East and the US.

Iran has promised to avenge his death. Its close ally, Lebanons Hezbollah terror group, said punishment for those responsible will be the task of all resistance fighters worldwide.

Many pro-Iranian groups in the region have the capacity to carry out attacks on US bases in the Gulf as well as against petrol tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz which Tehran could close at any moment.

In this picture released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, meets family of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in the U.S. airstrike in Iraq, at his home in Tehran, Iran, January 3, 2020. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

They could also strike US troops and bases currently in Iraq, Syria, other American embassies in the region, and target Washingtons allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia even countries in Europe.

The US has sent more than 14,000 troops to the region as reinforcements over recent months.

Washington announced 500 more would be sent after a pro-Iranian mob laid siege to its embassy in Baghdad this week.

And on Friday, a Pentagon official said another 3,000 to 3,500 troops would be deployed to the Middle East.

The US currently has 5,200 soldiers deployed in Iraq, officially to assist and train its army and ensure Islamic State does not reemerge as a force.

Israel was also bracing for a potential retaliation attack, with Israeli television reporting that the Defense Ministry put Israeli embassies and offices on high alert worldwide in the wake of Soleimanis killing and amid Iranian threats of revenge, some of which were directed at the Jewish state.

More:
Four hellfire missiles and a severed hand: the killing of Qassem Soleimani - The Times of Israel

WASHINGTON Vice President Mike Pencemay be "purposefully misleading" Congress about a September conversation betweenPence andUkraine's president, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee told Pence Tuesday.

In a letter to Pence, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., renewed the committee's request for the vice president to declassify information about the conversation that has been provided to the panel by Jennifer Williams, a foreign policy adviser to Pence.

Pence's office previouslyrefused the request in a Dec. 11 letter, saying it would serve no purpose.

But Schiff wrotethat if Williams' description of the Sept. 18 call between Pence and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is accurate, it "raises profound questions about your knowledge of the President's scheme to solicit Ukraine's interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election."

"And it would mean that the representation of your communications with President Zelensky, as described in your office's December 11 letter, may be purposefully misleading," Schiff wrote.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence wave to the crowd during the Trump rally in Giant Center in Hershey, Pa, Dec. 10, 2019.(Photo: Cameron Clark, York Daily Record Searchlight via USA TODAY Network)

A spokeswoman for Pence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, told MSNBC that "theres really not much value in releasing a transcript" of the call.

"We may end up releasing the vice presidents transcript," Short said. "But right now, why would we participate in this charade of a process?"

Live updates: McConnell rejects Democrats' proposal for Senate impeachment trial

Even as the House is expected to consider Wednesday whether to impeach President Donald Trump over the withholding of military assistance to Ukraine,House Democrats are continuing to pursue information they say may be relevant.

Williams, a State Department employee on loan to Pence's office, initially testified during a Novemberclosed-door briefing that Pence's Sept. 18 conversationwith Zelensky was a "very positive call." Pence reiterated to Zelensky that the delayed military aid had been released, according to Williams. She also testified that there was no discussion of the investigations that Trump had asked Zelenskyto undertake in aJuly 25 conversation.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in Warsaw, Poland on Sept. 1, 2019. A Washinton Post article published on Oct. 2, 2019 reported President Donald Trump used Pence in his attempt to pressure the new Ukrainian president to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, but is not conclusive on how much Pence knew about Trump's efforts.(Photo: Petr David Josek, AP)

When Williams was preparing for her Nov. 19 public hearing, she recalled additional information about the Sept. 18 call that she wanted to disclose "for the sake of completeness," according to the Intelligence Committee. But Pence's office told her the additional information was classified.

While Williams submitted the supplemental material to the committee in writing,it can't be publicly released unless it is declassified.

Jennifer Williams, a foreign policy aide to Vice President Mike Pence, 2nd from left, and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert for the National Security Council, arrive to testify on Nov. 19, 2019 before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a public hearing in the impeachment inquiry into allegations President Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)

Schiff wrote in Tuesday's letter that the information is directly relevant to the two articles of impeachment the House will considerand is relevantto the committee's ongoing investigation of Trump.

In the hot seat: Democrats in Trump districts wrestle with vote of conscience on impeachment

Pence's unwillingness to declassify the information, Schiff wrote, suggests he's protecting not just Trump, but himself.

Schiff asked Pence to respond to the letter by Thursday.

Democrats have so far not subpoened Pence for any information, despite their complaints that he has yet to provide a single document they've requested.

How much did Mike Pence know: Testimony suggests effort to flag concerns

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Democrats suggest Mike Pence may be 'misleading' Congress about his call with Ukraine - USA TODAY

President Donald Trump faces imminent impeachment by the House of Representatives, but that doesnt mean hell be removed from office. For the president to be ousted from the White House via impeachment, the Senate has to convict him with a two-thirds majority a tall order, given that its currently in Republican hands.

On Wednesday, the House will debate and likely vote on two articles of impeachment that the House Judiciary Committee approved last week. The articles charge the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, both of which are tied to the Ukraine scandal and Trumps urging of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden.

The House is widely expected to pass those two articles a handful of Democrats are expected to deflect and vote against impeachment, while Republicans will likely hold the line. But impeaching a president doesnt immediately result in their exit from the White House. (Remember Bill Clinton, anyone?)

Once the House votes, the matter moves to the Senate, which will weigh whether to convict the president. There will be a trial, over which Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will preside.

Beyond that, theres still some wrangling over what, exactly, the trial will look like. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to have one thing in mind, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants it to go another way. And, of course, GOP senators are dealing with the presidents wants (and tweets), too.

Voxs Matt Yglesias and Andrew Prokop laid out what is and isnt delineated by law in the Senates role in impeachment and the trial:

In this trial, the House of Representatives acts as a prosecutor and chooses certain impeachment managers to argue their case in the Senate. Then, the presidents lawyers are the defense team the president does not have to appear in person and historically has not. The chief justice of the Supreme Court presides and is responsible for making procedural rulings during the trial, but the Senate can vote to overrule his decisions.

Now, though this is referred to as a trial, it is, again, a political and not legal process, so it doesnt have to follow the ordinary rules and practices of a criminal trial. Again, its up the Senate to decide how to structure it for instance, they can call witnesses to give live testimony (as they did for Andrew Johnson), or decide not to (as they did for Bill Clinton).

However the trial is structured, it ends with senators voting on the two charges and Trumps removal from office would require 67 yes votes on one or both articles.

There are currently 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents (who generally vote with Democrats) in the Senate, meaning 20 GOP members would have to defect to convict Trump. Thats ... very unlikely to happen, to put it mildly. Multiple Republican senators have signaled that their minds are already made up on impeachment, and its unclear whether any, let alone 20, are going to vote to convict.

If the president were somehow removed from office, the line of succession would be as follows: Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. (That last scenario would mean a first lady Louise Linton.) In October, Yglesias went over nine possible impeachment scenarios, including the line of succession.

Conviction in the Senate is one way to remove the president, but its not the only one. Another option lies with the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, which would require action from the presidents own Cabinet. Earlier this year, Prokop explained how the 25th Amendment works:

Specifically, thats Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment states that if, for whatever reason, the vice president and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries decide that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, they can simply put that down in writing and send it to two people the speaker of the House and the Senates president pro tempore.

Then the vice president would immediately become acting president, and take over all the presidents powers.

Let that sink in one vice president and any eight Cabinet officers can, theoretically, decide to knock the president out of power at any time.

If the president wants to dispute this move, he can, but then it would be up to Congress to settle the matter with a vote. A two-thirds majority in both houses would be necessary to keep the vice president in charge. If that threshold isnt reached, the president would regain his powers.

If removing the president by impeachment is unlikely, this is an even more improbable scenario. Only two presidents have ever been impeached by Congress: Johnson and Clinton, neither of whom were convicted and removed from office. Richard Nixon resigned prior to his impeachment in the House, though he likely would have been impeached and later removed from office.

But the 25th Amendment has never been invoked to remove a sitting president. In other words, if Trump goes, it will probably be the result of the ballot box in 2020.

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Trump is likely to be impeached, but he wont be removed from office by the House impeachment vote - Vox.com

Vice President Mike Pence is expected to visit Israel in January for a ceremony marking 75 years to the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, an event that is expected to draw other world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Israeli officials hoped to see U.S. President Donald Trump at the event, but since he is expected to be in Europe for the World Economic Forum, there are ongoing talks between American and Israeli officials about Pence being the senior American representative instead.

The event, set to be held on January 27, is jointly organized by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial organization. In recent weeks, however, the event has become the center of tensions between the offices of Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over who will presented publicly as the "host" of the foreign dignitaries.

Rivlin's office is reportedly unhappy with Netanyahu's attempts to take over the international event for his re-election campaign. In this year's previous election cycles, Netanyahu has highlighted his diplomatic experience and rapport with Putin and Trump. According to sources, he finds it important to appear side by side with world leaders just one month before Israel's election onMarch 2.

The Trump administration is also aware of the political tension surrounding the event, and doesn't want Pence's visit to Israel to appear as an attempt on its behalf to help Netanyahu's re-election efforts, according to two people who are involved in the ongoing talks over Pence's visit.

Washington has been frustrated by the fact that several gestures taken by Trump toward Israel over the past year have been presented in the American and Israeli media as politically-motivated attempts to help Netanyahu. This includes Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in March, exactly two weeks before this year's first Israeli election. Despite the timing of the announcement, the White House denied claims that it was tailored to suit Netanyahu's political needs.

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Pence expected to visit Israel next month for anniversary of Auschwitz liberation - Haaretz