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]

Africa

• The European border agency is aiding the Libyan Coast Guard in intercepting migrants attempting to reach Europe. [Link]
• Chad’s government announced an amnesty for nearly 300 rebels. [Link]
• Ugandan forces work with the Congolese army to target the ADF militia in the Congo. [Link]