Choose wisely: They either can go against their principles by supporting what critics decry as a slush fund or they can oppose a president who just ended the careers of two of their fellows in the primaries. For now, they’ve taken to yelling at Todd Blanche, who will need their support if he wants to drop the first word from his current job title of acting attorney general.
Entry burn: The U.S. is making plans to stop processing international travelers and cargo at major U.S. airports in “sanctuary cities,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. Airline, travel and business groups predict chaos at Newark Liberty airport for tourists, Americans returning home and crucial cargo shipments.
Realignment: Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is moving Armenia closer to the West after decades in Moscow’s orbit. As elections draw near, Russia has tried to undermine Pashinyan’s re-election bid disinformation campaigns and an influx of tens of thousands of Russian-Armenians to sway the vote, sources said.
What we know: Trump said Friday he would discuss it at a White House meeting. A senior Iranian source said an agreement was close. Benjamin Netanyahu has told confidants in private conversations that he has little ability to influence Trump’s decisions on Iran. Also in the mix: Israel seized more Lebanese territory and warned thousands to flee their villages as its forces crossed the Litani River.
50-bed unit: The U.S. said it would open the center at an air-force base in central Kenya to serve Americans who were exposed to the virus but remained asymptomatic. Many Kenyans oppose the plan and a legal-advocacy group sued, saying the center could endanger public health.
Latest figures: The World Health Organization said there were 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and that 223 people are suspected to have died because of the virus. And from the Reuters Fact Check department: 'Hanta' does not mean 'scam' in Hebrew.
Health: The American Cancer Society is recommending an option from Guardant Health that can detect whether genetic material from a tumor is circulating in a person’s blood. Note that the ACS also says that the old-fashioned colonoscopy screening remains the gold standard.
Insurance: More Americans are dropping out or being kicked off Obamacare health insurance for non-payment in past years, particularly in Kentucky and Idaho. The decline was largely due to pandemic-era subsidies expiring, which dramatically raised the cost of the plans.
No free drink: Italian hotels can refuse to serve their guests tap water, Italy’s highest court ruled. A tourist sued the five-star Hotel Sassongher in Corvara after it refused to give her tap water during meals, instead offering mineral water for 7 euros a bottle.
Voters incorporated: A Delaware judge ruled that the beach town of Fenwick Island was not diluting human votes by allowing companies and other legal entities that own property to cast votes in municipal elections.
