- Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta, was a district attorney in Miami and gave a very lenient plea deal to Jeffery Epstein. Under the plea deal, Epstein was given 13 months in prison but was allowed to work from home during the day. Epstein was required to register as a sex offender. Epstein was accused of trafficking underage girls and having sex with them. [Link]
- The House is making changes to the GOP Obamacare replacement bill in hopes it will pass a vote in the House today. [Link]
- The Senate is working to pass a bipartisan bill that will increase sanctions on Iran. [Link]
- International sanctions on North Korea are leading to a decline in the amount of food aid sent to the country. [Link]
- The Sangin District in the Helmond Province has been taken by the Taliban. The district is key to holding the province. Since 2001, more Marines have died fighting in that district than any other in Afghanistan. [Link]
- The US will buy 300,000 fewer barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia in March. The reduction in oil bought by the US is part of Saudi Arabia’s decrease in production of oil. [Link]
- The article details that crisis that awaits the children of Mosul as they fill the beds of emergency hospitals. [Link]
- US airstrikes have killed over 230 civilians in a single neighborhood in Mosul. One strike alone destroyed a large building full of civilians killing 130. [Link]
- The UN believes there are still over 400,000 civilians trapped in West Mosul. [Link]
On Foreign Policy Focus #18, I give non-interventionists some arguments to use for talking to Republicans. The message of noninterventionism can be sold to a conservative crowd. Conservatives are in a great position to move the GOP platform. I also update Tillerson, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. LISTEN HERE!!
