- The man who entered a DC pizza restaurant with a gun hoping to free imprisoned sex slaves has been sentenced to four years in jail. [Link]
- The Senate releases their version of the Healthcare bill. Four Republican Senators are refusing to vote for the Senate bill without changes. Without at least two of those Senators changing their vote, the Republicans will be unable to pass the bill. [Link]
- Jeff Sessions has asked Congress to get rid of rules that prevent Federal funding from being used in marijuana cases in states that have laws that allow marijuana users. [Link]
- A bipartisan Senate bill will amend the Controlled Substance Act to prevent the DEA from going after marijuana in states where it has been legalized. [Link]
- Congress proposes a Pentagon budget that is $37 billion more than the budget Trump requested. [Link]
- F-35 flights at Yuma Airbase have been suspended due to a software issue. The issue is expected to be corrected quickly. [Link]
- The King of Saudi Arabia named his son to be Crown Prince. [Link]
- Saudi Arabia issues Qatar a list of demands that must be met before diplomatic relations can be reestablished. The demands include shutting down Al-Jazeera and cutting ties with Iran. [Link]
- At least seven people have been killed by an explosion in Somalia’s capital. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. [Link]
- The UN secretary-general is calling for an end to the war is South Sudan. [Link]
- The Islamic State group in Afghanistan originated as Pakistan Taliban. [Link]
- Russia’s Foreign Minister says that Russia believes the ISIS leader has been killed. Several reports in the past claimed the ISIS leader had been killed but turned out not to be true. [Link]
- Gareth Porter explains the history of US and its Middle East allies arming Syrian jihadists. [Link]
- A group of seven State Department employees are going to Syria to help to resettle people. [Link]
- In Yemen, the US claims to have killed three al-Qaeda members with a drone strike. [Link]
- About 500 civilians remain in areas of Marawi that are controlled by an ISIS-linked group. [Link]
- In Venezuela, protesters outside of a military base were fired upon by soldiers. One person was killed by gunfire. 76 people have died in this round of protesting in Venezuela. [Link]
Will Porter return to Foreign Policy Focus to update the wars in Afghanistan and Syria. Will discuss his recent articles on events in Afghanistan. Will’s articles are on the US looking to send an additional 4,000 troops to Afghanistan and General Mattis admitting the US is not winning in Afghanistan. Will also explains the crazy events in Syria. LISTEN HERE!!