US News

• A judge orders Chelsea Manning to be released from jail. Manning has been imprisoned for over a year for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury. [Link]
• WikiLeaks says the grand jury in the Assange case has been disbanded. [Link]
• The House passes a bill that extends three mass surveillance and data collection programs. Trump is considering vetoing the bill at the encouragement of Republican Senators. The Senators have pushed for FISA reform to be included with the reauthorization. However, the reforms were left out of the House bill.  [Link]
• Bureaucratic hurdles are preventing more private labs in the US from testing for the Coronavirus. [Link]
• The F-35 still has hundreds of flaws. Over 800 problems have not been corrected and 160 flaws the Pentagon has no plan on how to fix it. [Link]

Afghanistan

• CENTCOM head Gen. McKenize says the Taliban need to reduce violence to move forward. [Link]
• Gen. McKenzie says that during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan special forces will take the combat role of troops exiting the country. [Link]

Iraq

• Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias were behind the attack on an Iraqi base that killed two Americans and a British soldier. Esper said all options were on the table for a response. [Link]
• Trump authorizes the Pentagon to retaliate against Iran. No proof has been given that Shi’ite militias were behind the attack or that the attack was supported by Iran. [Link]
• The Pentagon said the US bombed five Iranian backed Shia militias in Iraq. The US targeted weapons depots. [Link]