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40 Killed, 213 Injured In Stampede At Funeral For Slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani

Dozens have been killed and hundreds have been injured following a stampeded during a funeral for the slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in his hometown.

RELATED: Iran Claims ‘Killing Trump Is Not Valuable Enough To Compensate For Soleimani’s Blood’

The stampede took place this Tuesday in Kerman, as the procession got underway. Videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road while others could be heard screaming while trying to help them. Iranian state TV gave the casualty toll in its online report, citing Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergency medical services.

Authorities later delayed Soleimani’s burial, citing concerns about the massive crowd that had gathered, the semi-official ISNA news agency said. It did not say when the burial would take place. Even before the deaths, Soleimani’s final funeral procession was an hours-long and deeply emotional event. It was the latest mass outpouring of anger and grief across the country after the airstrike ordered by US President Donald Trump killed Soleimani and others near Baghdad airport in neighboring Iraq.

Since his death, Iranian officials vowed to avenge Soleimani, who was head of the Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was a hugely influential figure across the Middle East and looked at as a hero to Iranians who had restored national pride.

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RELATED: Iran Hints At A Potential Attack On All Of Donald Trump’s Properties

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At Least 1 Dead After Puerto Rico Gets Hit With 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake

Socialites, join us in sending prayers to folks out in Puerto Rico as it’s just been reported that a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck just before dawn on Tuesday, the largest in a series of quakes that have struck the U.S. territory in recent days and caused heavy damage in some areas, The New York Post reports.

RELATED: Puerto Rico Jolted By 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey noted that the quake hit the island at 4:24 a.m. It initially gave the magnitude as 6.6 but later adjusted it. The quake followed by intense aftershocks, including a 6.0-magnitude shock wave that also was felt across the U.S. territory. The Electric Power Authority reported an island-wide power outage and it was said that a tsunami alert was initially issued for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, that was later canceled.

Just before 6 a.m. Puerto Rico’s governor, Wanda Vasquez, told station Radioisla that there had been no immediate reports of deaths. However, new reports reveal that a 77-year-old resident in her city on the island’s southern coast died after a wall collapsed during the quake. This latest earthquake comes just less than 24 hours a 5.8-magnitude quake struck early Monday morning and collapsed a total of five homes in the southwest coastal town of Guánica and heavily damaged many others. It was also reported that the quake caused small landslides and was followed by a string of smaller temblors.

Fox News reported that one of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico happened back in October 1918, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing a total of 116 people.

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RELATED: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Off The Coast Of Oregon

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Iran Claims ‘Killing Trump Is Not Valuable Enough To Compensate For Soleimani’s Blood’

The head of the Guard’s aerospace program, Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh spoke about retaliation for the death of Iran’s top General Qassem Soleimani on state TV Monday.

RELATED: Iran Hints At A Potential Attack On All Of Donald Trump’s Properties

While speaking, he made it clear that killing President Donald Trump would NOT be enough retaliation for the death of Soleimani, suggesting that Iran’s response to the deadly US air strike would not stop with just a single attack.   

“Firing a couple of missiles, hitting a base or even killing Trump is not valuable enough to compensate for martyr Soleimani’s blood,” Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh said. “The only thing that can compensate for his blood is the complete removal of America from the region,” Daily Mail quotes.

Hajizadeh’s comments comes just shortly after an emotional funeral for Soleimani in Tehran that drew a crowd of millions. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was even seen weeping over Soleimani’s casket. He also demanded retaliation against America for the killing of the General.

Donald Trump has since maintained that he acted because Iran was planning to harm more Americans than they already have.

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RELATED: Iran Puts An $80M BOUNTY On Donald Trump’s Head Following The Death Of Qassem Soleimani

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Puerto Rico Jolted By 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake

On Monday morning, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook the entire island of Puerto Rico, causing power outages and major damage to homes.

According to the US Geological Survey, its epicenter was recorded around 6:32 a.m. at a shallow depth of 6 miles off the coast of the Caribbean island, 8 miles south of Indios, the agency said. It’s the latest in a string of earthquakes to hit the island’s southern region over the past several days.

RELATED: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Off The Coast Of Oregon

Angel Vazquez, who is the Emergency management director for the city of Ponce, 17 miles east of Indios, told The Associated Press that the shaking from Monday’s quake “lasted a long time.” “This is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on Dec. 28,” he said, ABC News quotes.

NBC notes that there was no tsunami threat, or any casualties had been reported. However, people had been forced outside of their homes, and afraid to go back inside. Meanwhile, thousands of residents lost power after the earthquake-affected some of the electrical substations in the area.

Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced urged people to stay composed in a tweet,

“Citizens must remain calm and have their action plans prepared to protect themselves,” Garced wrote on Twitter.

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RELATED: California Residents Brace For Possible Third Big Earthquake As Aftershocks Continue

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IG Model’s Account Gets Deactivated After Sending Nudes To Raise Money For Australia Bushfire Relief

A social media influencer has decided to help fight the Australia bushfires in a very interesting way.

Kaylen Ward, who also goes by “The Naked Philanthropist” says she raised an estimated $500,000 in just two days by offering naked photos in exchange for donations to wildfire relief funds. While speaking with Buzzfeed, Ward explained that since she already sells naked images of herself on her social media accounts, she might as well do the same for the cause after seeing devastating coverage of the blazes.

“I was expecting to raise maybe $1,000 but the tweet blew up,” she told BuzzFeed News on Sunday. “I was seeing all the posts on Twitter about the Australian fires and I was really concerned there wasn’t a lot of media coverage and not a lot of people donating,” she told the outlet.

RELATED: Pink To Donate $500K To Help Fight Australian Wildfires

Although it was a thoughtful move, Buzzfeed notes that Instagram has deleted her account because she violated their rules, since her photos were being shared. However, her Twitter account appears to be active and the news site notes that she has now hired a team of four people to help her sort through the thousands and thousands of DMs she’s received.

https://twitter.com/lilearthangelk/status/1213701836517126144?s=20

My IG got deactivated, my family disowned me, and the guy I like won’t talk to me all because of that tweet. But fuck it, save the koalas.

— THE NAKED PHILANTHROPIST (@lilearthangelk) January 5, 2020

Apparently, the 20-year-old and her team have been working around the clock to verify donation confirmations as best they can and reply with the promised nude, and despite her IG account getting deleted and being “disowned” by her family, Ward vowed to keep the effort going.

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RELATED: UPDATE: Koala Rescued From Australia Wildfires Dies

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Ferrari Crashes Into Restaurant Owned By Bravo Star Lisa Vanderpump

Earlier this Sunday, a Ferrari crashed into the front of reality star Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant in West Hollywood, damaging the building and causing minor injuries.

RELATED: Over 50 Hospitalized In Pennsylvania Turnpike Crash

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department, the vehicle somehow lost control and went crashing straight into the patio area of the restaurant. Photos from the scene show shattered glass and the damage to the front of the luxury car that smashed into her place.

The Bravo star took to Twitter earlier to let concerned fans know that no one had been injured. She tweeted, “No. We are not a Drive-Thru. Thank God no one was hurt,” she said before receiving the news that one had actually been sent to the hospital.

As of right now, the cause of the crash is currently under investigation. We will continue to keep you updated when more details have been shared.

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No. We are not a Drive-Thru. Thank God no one was hurt. pic.twitter.com/CpZoT1AFuV

— Lisa Vanderpump (@LisaVanderpump) January 6, 2020

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Thousands Chant ‘Death To America!’ While Vowing Revenge At Qassem Soleimani’s Funeral

Here’s what’s currently going on since top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was recently killed during an airstrike that was ordered by US President Donald J. Trump. Thousands of furious mourners have packed the streets of Baghdad earlier this Saturday for Soleimani’s funeral.

RELATED: US Claims Responsibility For Airstrike That Killed Iranian General And Seven Others

According to The Daily Mail, heartbroken and distraught supporters of Soleimani were chanting “Death to America” and “America is the Great Satan” as they walked beside the coffins of Soleimani, architect of Iran’s global military strategy, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Kataeb Hezbollah chief, in Baghdad who was also killed during the airstrike. As we previously reported, the pair had been riding in a two-vehicle convoy which was destroyed by three missiles from an American MQ-9 Reaper Drone outside Baghdad International Airport.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi condemned the strike and has threatened to order the expulsion of all US troops from the country after feeling violated. He called for measures to “protect Iraq’s dignity and sovereignty.”

President Donald Trump has said that he ordered the killing of Soleimani to actually prevent war, adding that the commander was plotting major attacks against Americans. He also pointed out that Soleimani has previously killed thousands of Americans.

“We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,” Mr. Trump said in his first public comments since the strike. So far, the U.S. has reportedly deployed 3,500 additional troops to the region to boost security, and the U.S. Embassy in Iraq urged all American citizens to leave the country immediately.

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RELATED: Trump Explains Why Iran’s Top General Qassem Soleimani Just Had To Die

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Trump Explains Why Iran’s Top General Qassem Soleimani Just Had To Die

On Friday, Donald Trump tweeted his first remarks since ordering the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, one of that country’s most powerful military and political figures.

RELATED: US Claims Responsibility For Airstrike That Killed Iranian General And Seven Others

In a tweet, Trump said, “Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!” The President said Friday morning, although it was not immediately clear what the president meant by the statement. A little later he followed up with another tweet that appears to explain why he thought it was best to act now.

“General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more…but got caught! He was, directly and indirectly, responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number….”

He added,

..of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself. While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!

….of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself. While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020

According to Fox News, the U.S. military is now planning to send 3,000 troops to the Middle East after the embassy attack, Soleimani killing.

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RELATED: US Claims Responsibility For Airstrike That Killed Iranian General And Seven Others

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Australia Urges People To flee As Fires Set To Surge Over The Weekend

Something terrible has been going on in Australia since September. Extreme heat and a prolonged drought have fueled large-scale fires across the continent. It has devastated states like New South Wales and Victoria, tearing across more than 14 million acres, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 19; including three volunteer firefighters, according to BBC.

RELATED: UPDATE: Koala Rescued From Australia Wildfires Dies

As of the new year, the blazes have also killed about half a billion animals, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, Business Insider reports. The blazes are so large and widespread that satellites in space can easily photograph them from orbit!! Things are expected to get even worse as officials claim the fires are going to spread out of control over the weekend. As of this Friday, Australian officials have declared a new state of emergency, with authorities making a final plea for people to flee bushfire-affected areas in three states before the onset of extreme conditions become so dangerous that firefighters may be unable to defend their towns.

Professional firefighters have been the first in line to battle the flames. There’s also help coming from the US, Canada, and New Zealand have even sent firefighters to help. In addition to that, Australia’s police, military, and navy are involved in rescue and evacuation efforts. Meanwhile, folks out in Australia are pleading for help with some displaced people sharing videos of them trying to escape while others are sharing the little to nothing they have left due to the fires. There is a number of organizations and volunteer services that are aiding in the firefighting and recovery efforts for affected communities. Here are a few websites accepting donations for those who are currently in need of help.

As CNN has noted, you can help by giving to the Salvation Army Australia, which launched a disaster appeal. They’re providing shelter and meals to evacuees and front-line responders. Also, the St. Vincent de Paul Society Australia is requesting money to help evacuated families cover bills and rebuild. CNN also provides more links to sites that are accepting donations.

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RELATED: Over $1M Raised For The Koala Burned In Bushfire Fundraiser

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