- Scott Pruitt has been confirmed to head the EPA. Pruitt is currently suing the EPA as Oklahoma’s Attorney General. [Link]
- An Arizona sheriff overturns a rule put in place by his predecessor, Joe Arpaio, that allows immigrants to be detained for over the maximum 48-hours. [Link]
- Senator Graham says 2017 will be “a year of kicking Russia in the ass.” Graham is supporting several anti-Russia pieces legislation. [Link]
- 1,000 US troops in Poland will be positioned only 85 miles from the Russian border. [Link]
- The Senate is looking to pass new sanctions against Iran for testing a medium-range ballistic missile. The sanctions have bipartisan support. [Link]
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pulling back on some settlement expansion after meeting with Trump. [Link]
- The Iraqi government dropped leaflets over Western Mosul letting civilians know that the offensive against ISIS is about to begin. It’s estimated that there are about 650,000 civilians in Western Mosul. [Link]
- The US has increased the number of sorties it’s flying over Mosul each day to 30-50. The US has already bombed all the bridges that connect East and West Mosul, making it nearly impossible for civilians to flee Western Mosul. [Link]
- Three Iraqi children were killed when one child accidently stepped on a roadside bomb left there by ISIS. [Link]
- This article looks into Trump’s policy in Yemen so far. The article also suggests that Trump will soon approve a sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia. [Link]
