New Year's Eve to be windy and snowy, protesters break into U.S. embassy in Baghdad, and other headlines

By Josh Kelety

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ON INLANDER.COM

NATION: Keith Thomas Kinnunen, the gunman who killed two congregants at a Texas church before he was shot and killed by a member of the church's security team, had an extensive criminal history, according to law enforcement.

SPORTS: Ryan Woolridge is among the best point guards that the Gonzaga Bulldogs have ever had, Will Maupin writes.

IN OTHER NEWS...

Bombing backlash
Protesters broke into the compound of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday and lit fires in response to American airstrikes in Iraq and Syria that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend. The protesters didn't enter the embassy buildings and later withdrew from the compound. (New York Times)

Widespread criticism
Iraqi officials also slammed the U.S. airstrikes, calling the military action a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. They also expressed fear that the move could create a proxy war on the ground in Iraq. U.S. officials, meanwhile, say that the strikes were a response to rockets launched at an Iraqi military base last Friday that killed an American contractor and wounded four American and two Iraqi service members. (New York Times)

New year, new mayor
Nadine Woodward was sworn in as mayor on Monday, though she will not legally become mayor until Jan. 1. In her speech, Woodward reiterated her priority of moving the downtown police precinct to a more central location and accused the city of "warehousing" and "enabling" the homeless. (Spokesman-Review)

A blustery end to 2019
The Spokane area could experience rain and up to a inch of snow by the end of New Year's Day, as well as 40 mile-per-hour gusts, according to the National Weather Service. (Spokesman-Review)