US News

• The UN Specia Rapprator for torture says Chelsea Manning is being tortured. [Link]
• Missouri police extorted $2.6 million from motorists by threatening to take them to jail or signing papers that forfeit their assets. [Link]
• Alex Jones was ordered by a judge to pay $100,000 in a case brought against him by a parent of a murdered Sandy Hook child. [Link]
• The Army determined that the app Tic Tok is a security threat and banned soldiers from using it. The Chinese made app was previously used by the Army effectively to recruit from Generation Z. [Link]
• Gold Star families are suing several defense contractors that operated in Afghanistan. The lawsuit claims the contractors paid money and gave other support to the Taliban in exchange for not being attacked by the Taliban. [Link]

Ukraine

• Russia and Ukraine begin working on a new prisoner swap deal. [Link]

North Korea

• Kim Jong-un announced North Korea is no longer bound by any self-imposed moratoriums on nuclear program testing. Kim has warned since April North Korea will leave the unofficial ‘freeze for freeze’ status North Korea and the US engaged in since the 2018 Olympic games. Kim says North Korea will release a new weapon soon. [Link]

Israel

• Netanyahu seeks immunity from the corruption he is facing. Netanyahu needs majority support in parliament to receive immunity. [Link]

Syria

• The Syrian Observatory for human rights reports just over 11,000 Syrians were killed in 2019. The dead includes 3,500 civilians. This is the lowest total since the war in Syria broke out. [Link]

Iraq

• On New Year’s Eve, protesters broke in the US Embassy in Baghdad. As protesters were ongoing, Pompeo warned the US it will defend the embassy. [Link]
• Trump and US lawmakers blame Iran for the protesters at the US Embassy in Iraq. Trump says Iran will be held fully responsible. [Link]
• The protesters rushed into the compound and then entered the lobby of the embassy. The US reports no staff was injured. [Link]
• Protests resumed on New Year’s Day. Protests subsided after the Shia militia leadership called for protests to end. [Link]
• DefSec Esper says the US deployed more forces to protect the US Embassy in Iraq. [Link] The forces include 100 additional Marines at the embassy and 750 paratroopers in the region. [Link] Reports say the US is preparing to deploy another 4,000 troops to the Middle East. [Link]
• The US suspends public operations at the embassy. [Link]