- Seattle is suing the federal government for threatening to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities. [Link]
- A longtime State Department employee has been charged with lying to the FBI about gifts she received from China. [Link]
- States that have legalized medical marijuana have seen a 25% decrease in opioid-related deaths. [Link]
- Trump informed Congress that he plans to sell 19 F-16s to Bahrain. The sale had been halted by Obama over human rights concerns. [Link]
- A suicide bomber uses an oil truck as a weapon at a checkpoint in Baghdad. The bomber killed at least 17 and was likely a member of ISIS. [Link]
- The US is dropping 500 bombs on Mosul each week. [Link]
- US Generals warn that more civilians will die in Mosul. [Link]
- The Syrian government took a small town from ISIS near Aleppo. The town was important to ISIS strength in the region. [Link]
- Turkey’s Prime Minister announced an end to the Turkish military operation in Syria. He did not say if Turkey will withdraw Turkish troops from Syria or if Turkey will start a new military operation. [Link]
- Germany releases a statement on its involvement in the bombing of a Raqqa school that killed at least 33 civilians. The German statement on the bombing contradicts the US statement. Germany admits they lacked intelligence that ISIS was using the school. [Link]
- The Central Command chief joins General Mattis in calling for an escalation of US involvement in Yemen based on a false narrative. [Link]
On Foreign Policy Focus#20, I discuss several current events related to foreign policy. I update civilians continuing to die from US airstrikes against ISIS. I explain why Assad and Israel threaten each other over Israel bombing Syria. I break down the US is boycotting UN nuclear weapons talks and a few more stories. LISTEN HERE!!