US News

• CrowdStrike never produced a final report on their investigation into the DNC servers. The CrowdStrike draft reports were critical in advancing the Russiagate conspiracy theory. [Link]
• Trump resends the nomination of Patrick Shanahan for Secretary of Defense. Mark Esper will take over as acting Defense Secretary. [Link]
• The new acting Defense Secretary is a long time China hawk and a former Raytheon executive. [Link]
• A Department of Defense official accepted a job from Amazon while helping to influence the Pentagon to award Amazon a $10 billion contract. [Link]

Russia

• Russia says it has thwarted American cyber attacks. [Link]

Iran

• Mathew Bunn explains how the US and Iran can cool tensions. [Link]

Yemen

• Pompeo kept Saudi Arabia off of a State Department list of countries that use child soldiers. Human rights groups have documented Saudi backing child soldiers in the Yemen War. [Link]
• The UN says there has been no Houthi at the ports in Hodeida for a month. [Link]  
• The UN is threatening to cut some food aid to Houthi controlled Yemen. [Link]
• Gunmen killed 41 people in Mali. The massacre one of many in ethnic violence plaguing Mali. [Link]
• ACLED finds over 90,000 people have been killed during the Yemen War. Saudi airstrikes are responsible for 67% of civilian deaths. [Link]

Africa

• At least 161 people have been killed by ethnic violence in the Congo. [Link]
• Militants in Nigeria kill 34 people. [Link]
• Thirty people were killed by a suicide bomber in Nigeria. Boko Haram or IS is likely behind the attack. [Link]
• 1.8 million in South Sudan are in an emergency need for food. [Link]