- Trump says he no longer plans to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. [Link]
- Steve Mnuchin has been confirmed as Treasury Secretary. The vote to confirm Mnuchin was 53-47. [Link]
- General Micheal Flynn resigns are National Security Advisor. Flynn’s resignation comes due to phone calls he had with the Russian Ambassador to the US before Trump took office. Keith Kellogg will replace Flynn in an interim role. [Link]
- Arizona officials are investigating a cosmetology student for giving free haircuts to homeless people without a license. [Link]
- An Indiana town is trying to force its poor residents to sell their property by fining them excessive amounts. The town is issuing $50 per day fines for code violations that include chipped paint and weeds over eight inches. The fines are mailed to the property owners, but the fines start adding up the date they are issued. Some owners have over $1000 in fines before they even receive the notice they have been fined. There is a private developer who is trying to buy the properties being targeted with the fines, and the local government is likely issuing the fines in an attempt to get the property owners to sell their property to the developer for cheap. [Link]
- From October 1 – January 31 the federal government collected over $1 trillion in tax revenue. That sets a record for the most tax revenue collected in the first quarter of a financial year. The federal government still ran a $156 billion deficit during this time. [Link]
- An inmate waiting for his trial at a Massachusetts prison writes a letter explaining the disturbing conditions at the prison. He says that inmates who ask for mental health assistance are put in a small cell with no mattress and only a hole to defecate in. The prisoners are naked while in this cell and the cells are kept cold. The prisoners never receive mental health treatment and are kept in these cells till they no longer request treatment. [Link]
- The US places sanctions on Venezuela’s Vice President for drug trafficking. This will prevent US citizens and businesses from transacting with the vice president. [Link]
- Turkish strikes on al-Bab have killed 60 civilians in the past 6 days. Turkey has been fighting ISIS for control of the city for over a month. [Link]
- Syrian rebel groups continue to fight for territory. Recent fighting has been between jihadist groups who side with al-Qaeda, and other jihadists groups who side with ISIS. [Link]
I released the first episode of Foreign Policy Focus yesterday. This is my new podcast focusing on foreign policy issues and current events. Listen Here
