- Tom Price has been confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary. The vote was 52-47 with all votes cast along party lines. [Link]
- The Army will spend an additional $300 million on bonuses and ads to recruit an additional 6,000 troops. This was put in place by a law passed last year and signed by Obama. [Link]
- The FBI has anti-terrorism agents investigating the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters. [Link]
- Hamas has named Yehiya Sinwar to be the leader in Gaza. Sinwar was a top military commander for Hamas and was imprisoned in Israel until a 2011 prisoner swap freed him. Sinwar is seen as a hardliner. [Link]
- Somalia is facing a famine after a severe drought for two years. 6.2 million Somali are in need of humanitarian assistance with 300,000 children acutely malnourished. The presence of the terrorist group al-Shabab will make aid delivery more difficult. [Link]
- US airstrikes in the Helmond Providence of Afghanistan kills 22 civilians. The airstrikes that occurred last week, killed mostly women and children. [Link]
- The Afghani military is starting a new operation to eliminate ISIS from the Nangarhar Providence. The operation will have support from the US military. This is the fourth operation to eliminate ISIS from the Nangarhar Providence. [Link]
- Turkish President Erdogan says that Turkish troops have entered the city of al-Bab. After retaking the city from ISIS, Turkey plans to work to retake Raqqa from ISIS. [LinK]
- Saudi airstrikes hit a family home in the city of al-Mocha killing six civilians. Saudi Arabia had declared that the city of al-Mocha was 100% under their control a few days ago. The airstrike also severely wounded a doctor who runs a local NGO. [Link]
- Yemenis with cancer are being forced to the black market in an attempt to find medications for treatment. The Saudi blockade has prevented many medications from entering the country. When medications can be found, most Yemeni do not have enough money to pay for the medication and must rely on charity. [Link]
