US News

• Trump pardoned or granted clemency to several non-violent drug offenders before leaving office. [Link]
• Twitter banned the account of the Chinese Embassy in the US. [Link]
• Biden officially invited Taiwan’s ambassador to the US to his inauguration. A Taiwanese ambassador has never received an official invite. [Link]
• Biden will sign 17 executive orders when he takes office. The orders will halt work on the border wall, end the “Muslim ban,” and extend student loan payment and foreclosure moratoriums through September. [Link]
• A new study finds that military sonar may contribute to whale strandings. [Link]

Biden’s Cabinet 

• Avril Haines was confirmed as Director of National Intelligence after she reassured Sen. Tom Cotton that she would not look to hold anyone in the CIA accountable for torturing people to death. [Link]
• Biden’s Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken says he is unfamiliar with the details of the US-Taliban agreement, and the Biden admin will need to ‘thoroughly access’ the agreement. [Link]
• Blinken said the Biden admin will end military support for Saudi’s war in Yemen in ‘short order.’ Blinken also said the Biden team will look at Trump’s last-minute designation of the Houthi as terrorists. [Link]
• Biden’s Department of Homeland Security nominee says the threat of domestic extremism is one of the greatest challenges for DHS. [Link]

Iran

• Iran reports producing about 500 grams of 20% enriched uranium a day. [Link]
• Iran says the “ball in the US court” on reviving the JCPOA. [Link]

Middle East

• Israel announces permits to build 2,500 new settler homes in Palestine. [Link]
• The UAE signed an agreement with the US to buy 50 F-35s and up to 18 drones. The deal was signed before Trump left office. [Link]
• An ISIS suicide attack killed 32 people in Baghdad. [Link]
• An important faction of the Iraqi parliament is pushing for the government to expel US forces from Iraq. [Link]
• 150 people have been killed in recent fighting around Hodeida, Yemen. [Link]