- Trump selects Rick Perry to be Energy Secretary. When Perry was a presidential candidate in 2012, he ran on a platform that said he will shut down the Department of Energy. Perry famously could not remember the name of this agency during a debate when he was asked what departments he planned to shut down. [Link]
- Trump picks John Bolton to be Deputy Secretary of State. Bolton was Ambassador to the UN under Bush. [Link]
- Trump has picked Stephen Miller to be a senior policy advisor to the President. Miller was an aide on the Trump campaign. [Link]
- The Supreme Court declines to hear a case about a Colorado law that requires out-of-state companies to give records of online purchases to the government. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law did not violate the Commerce Clause earlier this year, upholding the law. [Link]
- Police in Bakersfield California kill a 73-year-old man with dementia. The police officer shot the man 7 times. The officer believed the man was holding a gun, but he was actually holding a wooden cross. [Link]
- The Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund halts all withdrawals from the fund as too many people were trying to get their share of the pension before the pension was out of money. This announcement came after $500 million had been withdrawn from the fund since August. Dallas police report that many officers have resigned over the past few months because of the problem with the pension fund. [Link]
- Flint Michigan will switch its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Residents are warning that the Flint River is equally polluted. [Link]
- The White House has approved $700 million in weapon sales to Qatar. The sale will go through unless blocked by Congress. [Link]
- A deal has been reached between the Syrian rebels and the Syrian government to end the 4 year battle for Aleppo. The rebels will give up their remaining territory in Aleppo and leave the city. [Link] While a deal has been reached, some rebels have not left Aleppo yet. They have concerns about the government supported Shia militias not implementing their portion of the deal yet. Some reports of fighting continue to come from Aleppo. [Link]
- An estimated 450,000 people have been killed in the Syrian Civil War that started in 2011. [Link]
- A report from UNICEF says, “At least one child dies every ten minutes in Yemen because of preventable diseases such as diarrhea, malnutrition, and respiratory tract infections.” [Link]
- The US will stop some weapon sales to Saudi Arabia out of concerns for Saudi’s indiscriminate bombing of Yemen. Officials say the US will not sell Saudi Arabia guidance systems that turn dumb bombs into smart bombs. The US made no announcement about ending other weapon sales, stopping America’s role in the Saudi blockade of Yemen, or not refueling Saudi warplanes going to Yemen to drop bombs. [Link]
- 11 headless bodies were found in Aden, Yemen. It is unclear who beheaded the men, but both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda operate in Aden. [Link]
