93-3-WMR Audio on Demand presents the Preston and Steve Show podcast.

And now, Preston and Steve's news updates with Kathy Romano.

It is Wednesday, January 8th.

Good morning, Kathy.

Good morning in the news this morning.

Iran struck back at the United States for the killing of a top Iranian general early Wednesday firing a series of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases, housing U.S. troops in a major escalation that brought the two longtime foes closer to war.

Iranian State TV said it was in revenge for the U.S. killing of the Revolutionary Guard General Qasam Soleimani, whose death last week in an American

drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying. A U.S. official said that

there was no immediate reports of American casualties, though the buildings were still being searched.

The Americans were in bunkers at the time of the attack. The strikes which came as Iran buried Soleimani

raised fears that the two longtime enemies were closer to war, but there were some indications that there would not be any further retaliation on either side, at least in the short term.

All as well, President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after the missiles attacks, adding so far so good regarding casualties.

Soleimani's killing in the strikes by Iran came as tensions have been rising steadily across the mid-east after Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. They also marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly rather than through proxies in the region. Iran initially announced only one strike,

but U.S. officials confirmed both. U.S. defense officials were at the White House likely to discuss

options with Trump who launched the attack on Soleimani while facing an upcoming impeachment trial

in the Senate. A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday just minutes

after taking off from the Iranian capital's main airport,

turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all people on board.

The crash of Ukraine's international airlines came hours after Iran launched the ballistic missile attack on the Iraqi base housing the U.S. soldiers.

But the Ukrainian and Iranian officials said they suspected

a mechanical issue brought down the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The plane carried 167 passengers

and nine crew members from different nations. Ukraine's foreign minister, Vadim Priseko,

...