US News
- Jack Dorsey announces his resignation as Twitter’s CEO. [Link]
- A House committee is set to look at several bills reforming Section 230. [Link]
- Apple will notify users if their phones were hacked by state actors. [Link]
- Chrystul Kizer is facing homicide charges in Kenosha for killing a man who attempted to rape her. [Link]
Covid
- Biden instructs federal agencies to be ready to move as quickly as possible to approve new vaccines for new covid variants. [Link]
- Pfizer will ask the FDA to approve boosters for 16 and 17-year-olds. [Link]
- The White House informs public sector unions it will not begin aggressive measures against the unvaccinated – like unpaid leave and firings – until early 2022. [Link]
- The Supreme Court refuses to hear a case brought by eight Boston area hospital employees who were fired for violating their employer’s vaccine mandate. [Link]
- A federal judge blocks Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in ten states. [Link]
- Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rejects a request from Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to exempt the OK National Guard from the federal vaccine mandate. [Link]
- The VA is the second most unvaccinated federal agency. Over 50,000 employees are unvaccinated and 42,000 are requesting an exception. [Link]
Russia
- Latvia calls for a permanent NATO troops presence and wants Patriot missiles. [Link]
- Belarus is planning war games with Russia near its border with Belarus. [Link]
- Ukraine’s foreign minister says his country is on high alert for a Russian-backed coup or Russian invasion. [Link]
China
- The US-China Commission issues a hawkish report to Congress about the US-China relationship. [Link]
- Taiwan has secretly developed the ability to build a fleet of submarines. [Link]
- The Pentagon plans to make upgrades to its bases in Guam and Australia to build up military forces against China. [Link]
Afghanistan
- The World Bank is attempting to use $500 million in Afghan funds to slow the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. However, US sanctions remain a major issue. [Link]
Israel
- Israel has passed intelligence to the US and European countries claiming to show Iran plans to enrich uranium to weapons-grade. [Link]
- Over 100 Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are at immediate risk of losing their homes to Israeli demolition. [Link]
- Israel is likely selling kamikaze drones to Morocco. [Link]
Iran
- Iran’s foreign minister says there is no way his country would return to the JCPOA without lifting Trump-era sanctions. [Link]
- Indirect talks to save the JCPOA resume in Vienna. [Link]
- Israel urges the world not to give in to Iranian blackmail. [Link]
- The NYTs reports Israel was behind a cyberattack in Iran that crippled the country’s gas stations. [Link]
Middle East
- Syrian Kurds protest over militias affiliated with the US-Backed Syrian Democratic Forces conscripting their underage daughters. [Link]
- Saudi Arabia carried out several strikes against Yemen’s capital over the weekend. [Link]
- The Pentagon appoints General Micheal X. Garrett to investigate a 2019 strike in Syria that killed scores of civilians. The NYTs recently revealed the strike and how the Pentagon covered it up. [Link]
