US News
- Facebook will crack down on vaccine misinformation. [Link]
- Cass Sunstein joins Biden’s DHS to craft immigration policy. [Link]
- A proposed House bill will make gun ownership highly regulated and establish a gun database. [Link]
- A federal appeals court ruled it was unconstitutional for police to arrest a man for refusing to shop his ID. [Link]
- Biden signed 28 executive orders in his first two weeks as president. [Link]
- The US has spent over $300 million to deploy National Guard troops to DC. The deployment will cost nearly $500 million by mid-March. [Link]
Foreign Policy
- The US will rejoin the UN Human Rights Council. [Link]
- Biden is looking to strengthen ties with India to combat China. [Link]
- The US carried out drills in the South China Sea with two carrier groups. [Link]
- The US will meet with the Philippines to discuss the status of US troops deployed to the Philippines. [Link]
- The Biden administration is considering a plan to take small steps with Iran to return to the JCPOA. [Link]
Afghanistan
- Two attacks in Kabul killed five people. The Taliban said they were not responsible for the attacks. [Link]
- No US combat troops died in Afghanistan for a full calendar year. [Link]
Syria
- The UN is asking 57 countries to take back their citizens who remain in Syrian camps. The 10,000 people are women and children whose husband/father is accused of being an ISIS fighter. [Link]
- Syria said it would be open to talks with the US if US policy changed. [Link]
- US convoys continue to enter northeast Syria. The regular convoys suggest Biden isn’t altering Trump’s Syria policy. [Link]
- The Pentagon says US troops are not in Syria to protect or develop oil fields. However, US troops are stationed close to oil fields. [Link]
