US News

• The cop who murdered Ashli Babbitt will not face charges. [Link]
• More than a dozen states are looking to nullify unconstitutional gun laws. [Link]

Russia

• Biden announced a large new round of sanctions against Russia. Biden will not permit US firms from buying Russian bonds and sanctioned dozens of Russian entities. Biden also expelled Russian diplomats and authorized the further sanctioning of any sector of the Russian economy. The US, UK, EU, and Canada also sanctioned eight Russians over Crimea. [Link]
• Russia held war games in the Black Sea while Ukraine held tank-based war games near Russia’s border. [Link]
• The US will not be deploying two warships to the Black Sea. The US received permission from Turkey to deploy ships to the sea but says it never planned to deploy them. [Link]
• Belarus warns about a NATO troop build-up near its border. [Link]

India

• India and Pakistan engaged in secret talks hosted by the UAE. [Link]

Afghanistan

• Secretary of Defense Austin confirms that the US will continue to fund the Afgan Air Force and pay the salaries of Afghan security forces. [Link]
• The NYT reports the US will continue counterterror operations with airstrikes after troops exit Afghanistan. The US is working to redeploy the troops leaving Afghanistan to a central Asian country. Turkey will leave soldiers in Afghanistan. The US could leave Afghanistan as quickly as three months from now, however, the withdrawal date will depend on Taliban attacks. [Link]
• The CIA Director Bill Burns says the ability to collect intelligence in Afghanistan will decline once US troops withdraw. [Link]
• The Taliban plan to create a “nightmare” for the US as Biden announced the US will miss the May 1 withdrawal date. [Link]

Middle East

• Biden has decided to move forward with a $23 billion weapon sale to the UAE. Trump pushed the sale at the end of his administration when Biden took office he paused the sale for review. The sale includes F-35s and Reaper Drones. [Link]
• An explosive drone targeted US soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan. A Turkish soldier was killed in a rocket attack at a nearby base. [Link]
• Four people were killed by a car bomb in Iraq. [Link]
• The State Department claims Yemen isn’t under a blockade. [Link]
• Some migrants from the Horn of Africa are returning home after traveling to Yemen in hopes of reaching Saudi Arabia. [Link]