Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Trump says no 'definitive' agreement with Netanyahu, US talks with Iran to continue Israel has joined Trump's 'Board of Peace,' Netanyahu says Cash-strapped Hamas members sell their weapons as financial crisis bites, reports say Iran says it won't negotiate over its missile capabilities Deaths in Iran’s crackdown on protests reach at least 7,000, activists say New York Post Editorial: Iran’s rulers plainly fear US strikes — Trump should prove them right Russian war losses now exceed recruitment, Western officials say Zelenskiy says deal on territory is focus of next talks with US Lebanon to decide on plan to control arms north of Litani next week, minister says China's Xi makes rare public reference to recent military purges Bloomberg’s Hal Brands: Putin, Xi and Trump are launching a freedom counterrevolution How hate groups and terrorists use gaming platforms to recruit young childrenIn The News
Israel
For many members of Australia’s Jewish community, this week’s visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog was a source of comfort after 15 people were killed in an antisemitic terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump said after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday they reached no “definitive” agreement on how to move forward with Iran but he insisted negotiations with Tehran would continue to see if a deal can be achieved. – Reuters
Israel has joined U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during his visit to Washington where he met Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. – Reuters
Five months after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that its prisons were failing to provide enough food for Palestinian detainees and ordered conditions be improved, emaciated prisoners are still emerging with tales of extreme hunger and abuse. – Reuters
The United Nations Development Programme began clearing a huge wartime garbage dump on Wednesday that has swallowed one of Gaza City’s oldest commercial districts and is an environmental and health risk. – Reuters
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for a “firm response” from the United States and the international community to Israel’s plan to tighten its control of the occupied West Bank. – Agence France-Presse
Lawmakers continued to debate the controversial government bill that aims to establish a politically-appointed committee to investigate the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7 attack during a Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee meeting on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF will not launch an offensive against the white pickup trucks spotted approximately 100 meters from the Israel-Egypt border, a report said on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
The Prime Minister’s Office has requested that the word “massacre” be removed from the title of a bill that proposes to establish a national day of commemoration for the October 7 Hamas attacks. – Jerusalem Post
The United States Embassy in Jerusalem on Thursday denied media reports that it plans to open a consular service branch in Efrat, a Jewish settlement in the West Bank with a large base of US citizens. – Times of Israel
Reports emerging from Gaza in recent weeks point to an unusual and potentially troubling development for Hamas: some members of the terrorist group, facing severe financial hardship, are allegedly selling weapons or military equipment to survive. – Ynet
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of President Donald Trump’s allies and a staunch supporter of Israel, welcomed Wednesday’s meeting at the White House between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. – Arutz Sheva
In a joint operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) last week, terrorist Basam Hashem al-Fatah Himouni was eliminated. Himouni, originally from Hebron, was a central figure in Hamas’ terror network and had been operating against Israel for over two decades. – Arutz Sheva
The ISA and the National Cyber Directorate announced on Wednesday that they thwarted hundreds of cyberattack attempts over the past year carried out by Iranian intelligence operatives. – Arutz Sheva
The Rafah Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt continues to operate under a newly implemented arrangement that combines Palestinian and Egyptian management with remote Israeli security oversight. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: As he laid a wreath at the site of the Bondi Beach mass shooting on Monday, Herzog said, “When one Jew is hurt, all Jews feel their pain.” He was not only speaking a universal truth that has been lost amid the infighting among Jews both in Israel and abroad. But he also, in an understated and compassionate manner, reaffirmed Israel’s centrality in the Jewish world. – Jerusalem Post
Harley Lipman writes: For Israel, this represents a significant diplomatic opportunity. A country whose innovation diplomacy was once crushed by oil politics now finds itself essential to the post-oil future. The silicon handshake offers what traditional trade never could: not peace through consumption, but partnership through creation. And in that partnership, Israel doesn’t just participate – it contributes essential capabilities that few others can match. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
The Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to the Middle East as the U.S. military readies for a potential attack on Iran, according to three U.S. officials. – Wall Street Journal
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Wednesday that it had called on Iran to immediately free activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi from prison. Mohammadi, 53, who has been imprisoned repeatedly in her three-decade campaign for women’s rights, was last week sentenced to a new prison term of 7-1/2 years, a group supporting her said on Sunday. – Reuters
Iran’s missile capabilities are its red line and are not a subject to be negotiated, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Wednesday, as Tehran and Washington eye a new round of talks to avert conflict. – Reuters
France will increase the number of visas for Iranians seeking asylum as a result of the recent crackdown by Iranian authorities, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday. – Reuters
The death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday. – Associated Press
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted an aggressive post on social media on Wednesday evening targeting billionaire Miriam Adelson, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, in response to claims she made regarding Iran. – Arutz Sheva
After midnight, one evening in late January, a doctor ushered a young man with a mangled hand into her car and sped to a private clinic on the outskirts of Tehran. She took back roads to avoid security checkpoints, where hulking officers were strip-searching passengers to look for injuries or any evidence of their participation in the uprising that had recently swept the country. – New Yorker
Editorial: Meanwhile, Iran’s spoketrolls bluster about consequences if US forces strike to undermine the regime — a clear sign that Tehran believes America might be able to make a difference, and so erase President Jimmy Carter’s shameful passivity as the murderous mullahs seized power in 1979. This doesn’t mean mass US bombing is called for, and certainly not American boots on the ground. But US intelligence ought to be able to identify some blows we can strike to help hasten the disintegration of the Islamic Republic. Trump urged the brave and noble people of Iran to protest and promised the United States would have their back. It’s time to make good on those vows: Give this repulsive regime the final shove it needs to collapse. – New York Post
Joseph Epstein writes: The United States should expand border security cooperation with Azerbaijan. If the Iranian regime falls—an outcome that seems increasingly possible—the resulting instability could send refugees streaming across borders. Azerbaijan sits at a critical juncture: any spillover could threaten the Middle Corridor, the lynchpin of trans-Caspian trade. Proper screening and border management will be essential to prevent extremists from exploiting chaos. – National Interest
Russia and Ukraine
Russia pounded Ukraine with drones and ballistic missiles overnight on Thursday, further battering its energy system and leaving tens of thousands in the capital Kyiv and the cities of Dnipro and Odesa without heat, power and water, officials said. – Reuters
Russia will keep observing the missile and warhead limits in the expired New START nuclear treaty with the United States as long as Washington continues to do the same, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that new U.S. restrictions on the role of Russia and other countries in Venezuela’s oil business were blatant discrimination. – Reuters
Russia plans to fly its tourists out of Cuba in the coming days and then suspend all flights until a jet fuel shortage eases, aviation regulator Rosaviatsia said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Russia sustained around 9,000 more battlefield losses in Ukraine than it was able to replace last month, according to assessments from Western officials, signaling progress for Ukraine’s ambition to inflict heavier damage on the front line. – Bloomberg
A growing number of Russian companies are lining up for state aid and tax relief, just as the Kremlin is wrestling with a widening budget deficit from its war in Ukraine. – Bloomberg
Russia bolstered its diplomatic presence in Africa by diverting envoys from Europe after being forced to downsize its presence there, according to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. – Bloomberg
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he accepted a US offer to host another round of talks next week to end Russia’s war, with negotiators likely to zero in on the difficult issue of territory. – Bloomberg
Bohdan Vitvitsky writes: Talankin, the quiet and unassuming teacher turned filmmaker, is its self-titled “Mr. Nobody.” His movie, now available on several streaming services, is an intentional reveal about today’s Russia, but it may also reveal that our administration’s approach to Russia’s war against Ukraine is, to put it diplomatically, uninformed. That war is not in any sense analogous to disputes about real estate or development. The movie also exposes that earlier claims that the war had something to do with NATO enlargement were altogether delusional. – The Hill
Middle East & North Africa
Lebanon’s government will decide next week how to move to the second phase of a plan to extend its authority and place all arms under state control in areas north of the Litani River, its information minister said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed efforts for regional de-escalation and stability in a phone call, the Emiri Diwan said on Wednesday, as Washington and Tehran pursue diplomatic solutions to Iran’s nuclear program. – Reuters
Egypt appointed General Ashraf Salem Zaher Mansour as its new defence minister, a presidency statement said on Wednesday, as part of a relatively limited cabinet reshuffle. – Reuters
The leaders of Turkey and Greece voiced their desire to resolve longstanding maritime disputes hobbling ties during discussions in Ankara on Wednesday, as the NATO allies and historic rivals try to build on warming relations. – Reuters
A Turkish court sentenced well-known talent manager Ayse Barim to 12 years and six months in prison on Wednesday on the charge of aiding an attempt to overthrow the government, Demiroren news agency reported. – Reuters
Syria’s president, interior minister and foreign minister were the targets of five foiled assassination attempts last year, the U.N. chief said in a report on threats posed by Islamic State militants released Wednesday. – Associated Press
At least five people have died in clashes between supporters of Yemen’s main separatist group and local security forces, with more than two dozen others injured, officials and separatists said on Wednesday. – Associated Press
US forces have withdrawn to Jordan from Syria’s Al-Tanf base, where they had been deployed as part of the international coalition against the Daesh group, two Syrian military sources told AFP on Wednesday. – Agence France-Presse
Korean Peninsula
Three more investors have joined Greenoaks and Altimeter in their legal challenge against the government of South Korea, alleging discriminatory treatment of e-commerce firm Coupang (CPNG.N), and other U.S. companies. – Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to be taking steps to consolidate his daughter’s position as successor, and there are signs she is providing input on policy matters, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday, citing a spy agency briefing. – Reuters
South Korea’s former interior minister was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for abetting then-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law in 2024. – Associated Press
China
China could launch investigations into French wines or impose “reciprocal tariffs” on EU products if the French government pushes for tariffs on Chinese goods, a social media account affiliated with Chinese broadcaster CCTV said on Wednesday. – Reuters
China’s military has grown stronger in the past year in its fight against corruption, President Xi Jinping told the Chinese armed forces on Wednesday, making a rare public reference to the graft probes linked to the country’s top generals. – Reuters
China’s chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang met Mexico’s Deputy Economy Minister Vidal Llerenas in Beijing on Monday, in the first face-to-face talks since Mexico imposed higher tariffs on Chinese imports, drawing warnings from Beijing. – Reuters
China harshly condemned Taiwan after it congratulated Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on her big election victory, highlighting its testy relationship with both Tokyo and Taipei. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The Hong Kong courts are de facto subsidiaries of the Communist Party. The legislation would allow the Secretary of State to shut down these Hong Kong trade offices. The guilty verdict for Ms. Kwok’s father comes days after Hong Kong sentenced 78-year-old publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison. The bogus case against Mr. Kwok is another reminder that even the most routine financial activities can be dangerous in Hong Kong if Beijing targets you. – Wall Street Journal
Hal Brands writes: Trump argues that these measures will bring national rejuvenation. He’s surely right that some post-Cold War habits — the tendency to treat allies as strategic protectorates, the emphasis on globalization over economic security — are out of date. Yet it’s also possible that the chaos Trump is causing, not least within the Western community that convenes at Munich, will throw doors open for Xi and Putin, who hated the post-Cold War era because they hated American hegemony. The counterrevolutionaries have won, for the moment. They may struggle violently against one another over what comes next. – Bloomberg
South Asia
At least one sign of change is evident on streets of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, even before the votes are cast on Thursday in the first general elections since millions of protesters toppled the country’s authoritarian government in 2024. The once blue and green uniforms of its police officers are now gray and brown. – New York Times
India has ruled out relaxation of a ban on e-cigarettes that would have allowed heat-not-burn tobacco products, dealing a blow to a lengthy private lobbying campaign by Philip Morris International for New Delhi to permit such devices. – Reuters
Militants killed five police officers in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, police said, as the South Asian nation grapples with a rising wave of Islamist violence. – Reuters
Sadanand Dhume writes: If you’re an optimist about Bangladesh, you will hope that Mr. Rahman is able to keep the Islamist Jamaat at bay. Should he win the election, his most pressing tasks as prime minister will include restoring law and order, gaining investor confidence and repairing ties with India, which have been in free fall since Ms. Hasina’s ouster. If those aren’t his priorities, Kissinger’s characterization of Bangladesh might have been prescient after all. – Wall Street Journal
Rana Ayyub writes: Europe needs India as a market, as a strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific and as part of its effort to reduce dependence on China. Europe finds itself not just hedging against American uncertainty but also competing for relevance in a relationship where Washington often sets the pace. In that sense, Trump was the ghost at the Republic Day parade in India — not because he was absent but because the uncertainty he represents is already reshaping alliances. – Washington Post
Asia
Pro-Palestine protesters rallied in Melbourne on Thursday on the final day of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s trip to Australia, following protests in the capital Canberra and violent clashes between protesters and police in Sydney. – Reuters
Taiwan plans to send officials to assess U.S. rare earths deposits with a goal to have such minerals refined on the island, Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said on Wednesday. – Reuters
A female teacher died on Thursday in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai district after a gunman opened fire at a school where she worked, the provincial administration said on social media. – Reuters
Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley is facing a leadership challenge less than a year into the role, after a senior figure in her shadow cabinet said she was not the right person to lead the conservative Liberal Party and resigned to challenge her. – Reuters
Kazakhstan on Wednesday announced a March 15 referendum on a new constitution that could allow President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, currently barred from ruling beyond 2029, to remain at the helm of Central Asia’s largest economy. – Reuters
Three people were killed and several injured in shootings in two areas of Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua, including near the operations of gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia, authorities said. – Reuters
A landmine explosion wounded three Thai soldiers near the Cambodian border, in an incident that risks undermining a fragile ceasefire between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. – Bloomberg
Indonesian leader Prabowo Subianto is expected to sign a much-awaited US tariff agreement when he flies to Washington next week to attend President Donald Trump’s inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace. – Bloomberg
Europe
If there are Russian submarines “all over the place” near Greenland, as President Trump has said, the crew of this Spanish frigate aims to find them. Deep within the warship, behind a locked door in a windowless control room called the Combat Information Center, seasoned sub-hunters listen for sonar pings flagging an undersea target. – Wall Street Journal
A Dutch court ordered an investigation into alleged mismanagement at Chinese-owned semiconductor company Nexperia and upheld the suspension of its chief executive in a move that risks reigniting European tensions with Beijing. – Wall Street Journal
It’s no fun relying on other countries for your energy needs when major powers start using their resources as a bludgeon. Europe is finding that out the hard way, again. The European Union doesn’t have the rich energy deposits of the Middle East or America. – Wall Street Journal
Making a striking foray into the South Caucasus, a region Russia has long viewed as in its sphere of control, Vice President JD Vance this week offered Armenia and Azerbaijan a slew of trade and security deals that could loosen dependence on Moscow and shrink the sway of neighboring Iran. – Washington Post
The police in Britain said Wednesday that they had spoken to prosecutors as they weigh whether to formally investigate Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, over accusations that he shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein while working in an official trade envoy role. – New York Times
France’s foreign minister has notified prosecutors about a middle-ranking French diplomat who had ties to Jeffrey Epstein and is suspected of transferring United Nations documents to the late convicted sex offender. – Reuters
Lawyers for Kosovo’s former President Hashim Thaci said on Wednesday that he should be acquitted of war crimes charges that allege he masterminded a violent political power grab by the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army in the late 1990s. – Reuters
The Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights watchdog, said on Wednesday it has agreed to lift the diplomatic immunity of its former Norwegian secretary general, allowing police to investigate his links to Jeffrey Epstein. – Reuters
Kosovo’s parliament voted in a new cabinet on Wednesday led by nationalist Prime Minister Albin Kurti, after more than a year of political deadlock in Europe’s youngest state, officials from Kurti’s party said. – Reuters
Britain recorded a 4% rise in antisemitic incidents in 2025, making last year the second worst on record, with the number of incidents spiking on the days following a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October, a charity said. – Reuters
The European Union must simplify its regulations to make the bloc more competitive against the likes of the United States and China, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of summits of EU political and business leaders. – Reuters
Poland has charged an 18-year-old man with preparing an attack on a school and being motivated by his support for Islamic State, special services spokesperson Jacek Dobrzynski said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a large U.S. delegation this week to the Munich Security Conference where increasingly nervous European leaders are hoping for at least a brief reprieve from President Donald Trump’s often inconsistent policies and threats that have roiled transatlantic relations and the post-World War II international order. – Associated Press
French President Emmanuel Macron returned to his “Made in Europe” push on the eve of a key European Union meeting, putting him at odds with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over how best to tackle Europe’s economic woes. – Bloomberg
Lithuania’s prime minister signaled openness to a demand by China to restore diplomatic relations, marking a potential turn in the Baltic nation’s fraught relationship with the world’s No. 2 economy. – Bloomberg
France was calling for the resignation of the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories over comments she made targeting Israel at a conference, the French foreign minister said on Wednesday. – Agence France-Presse
Emil Avdaliani writes: Of course, to have a comprehensive South Caucasus strategy, the US will need to have Georgia on board too after a freeze in relations following the outcome of its 2024 election that the Biden administration heavily criticized. It’s notable that Vance talked to Georgian officials during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan; the ruling party claimed the brief discussions had been positive. The central theme at the moment is clear, however. The US is on the way up in the South Caucasus, and Russia is struggling to find a response. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Africa
Nigeria’s military said on Wednesday that about 200 U.S. troops due to arrive in the coming weeks would not take part in combat action and that Nigerian forces would retain full control over all security decisions. – Reuters
A 70-year-old passenger on a plane that crashed on the seashore in Somalia’s capital described horror and panic on board before the aircraft made a dramatic landing in knee-deep water, with all crew and travellers unharmed. – Reuters
Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie and seven others linked to a doomsday sect were issued with new charges on Wednesday over the deaths of 52 people whose bodies were found in shallow graves in southeast Kenya in 2025, a court charge sheet showed. – Reuters
The Democratic Republic of Congo will look for other partners if its minerals cooperation framework with the U.S. does not lead to concrete projects, the country’s mines minister said. – Reuters
A drone strike at a mosque killed two children and injured 13 others in Sudan ’s central region of Kordofan early Wednesday, a local doctors group said, as the country’s civil war continues. – Associated Press
The Americas
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that “enormous progress” is being made with Venezuela’s regime in the transformation of its decrepit oil industry, but that the objective is an end to sanctions and a transition toward democracy. – Wall Street Journal
The person accused of opening fire at a school and home in British Columbia on Tuesday, killing eight and injuring roughly two dozen others, was an 18-year-old previously known to law enforcement, authorities in Canada said. – Wall Street Journal
Colombian presidential hopeful and self-described “outsider” Abelardo De La Espriella would launch a military offensive to restore security and boost the economy, he told Reuters on Wednesday. – Reuters
The Inter-American Development Bank will provide $1.3 billion in funds to El Salvador in 2026, IDB President Ilan Goldfajn said following a meeting on Wednesday with President Nayib Bukele to discuss economic development programs. – Reuters
Venezuela’s attorney general Tarek Saab said on Wednesday he hopes an amnesty law being considered by the National Assembly legislature will ensure a “100% pacified” country where the crimes included in the bill are never repeated, as he insisted that those in prison are not political detainees. – Reuters
Voters across Barbados headed to the polls on Wednesday to cast ballots in the Caribbean island nation’s general election in which Prime Minister Mia Mottley will seek a third term, facing off against opposition leader Ralph Thorne. – Reuters
Argentina’s Senate early Thursday gave its overall approval to a labor overhaul that is considered crucial to President Javier Milei’s shock therapy program after hours of debate that unfolded in the shadow of a mass protest outside Congress. – Associated Press
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds a five-point advantage over right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil’s October election, a new poll released Wednesday showed. – Bloomberg
Lizette Alvarez writes: The Cuban diaspora wants to help. Large, rich and powerful, it can assist in rebuilding Cuba — but it must check its lust for revenge at the door. […] I’ve been to Cuba many times as a reporter, and each time, it felt like home. Cubans are Cubans wherever they are, with their sense of humor, kinetic energy, love of music. The “chispa,” as we say — the spark; that is our bond. It’s time to find a way forward that will unite all Cubans in freedom. – Washington Post
United States
In the early hours of Jan. 3, energy magnate Harry Sargeant III was in bed at his waterfront Florida mansion, struggling to fall to sleep. He had uncharacteristically forgotten to turn his phone off, and was startled when text messages and news reports began flooding in of a surprise U.S. military raid in Venezuela. – Wall Street Journal
The U.S. State Department has begun paying Afghans to repatriate as it attempts to close a camp in Qatar where they have been stranded for years, the top State Department official for South and Central Asia told lawmakers on Wednesday. – Reuters
Five Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to use free trade agreement talks with Canada and Mexico to crack down on Chinese automobiles in those countries. – Reuters
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday narrowly backed a measure disapproving of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a rare rebuke of the president and leaders of his party in the Republican-majority House. – Reuters
The Trump administration on Wednesday expressed concern that China was costing Peru its sovereignty in solidifying control over the South American nation’s critical infrastructure, a blunt warning after a Peruvian court ruling restricted a local regulator’s oversight of a Chinese-built mega port. – Associated Press
President Donald Trump will unveil plans to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain US coal-fired power plants as he seeks to drive domestic reliance on the fossil fuel. – Bloomberg
Cybersecurity
Taking a page from the child molesters’ playbook, hate groups and terrorist organizations are exploiting games like Minecraft and Roblox and other popular online platforms to recruit a new generation of extremists, researchers say. – New York Times
Another Department of Homeland Security shutdown would hamper the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s ability to respond to threats, offer services, develop new capabilities and finish writing a key regulation, its acting director told Congress Wednesday. – CyberScoop
From litigation to federal prisons to criminal investigations, artificial intelligence appears to have touched nearly every corner of the Department of Justice in the past year. – FedScoop
A cyberattack last year on a prominent Georgia-based healthcare company leaked the sensitive information of 626,540 people, according to a new filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. – The Record
Defense
The Marine Corps has big plans in 2026 to advance toward fielding a drone wingman to collaborate with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. – Military Times
The U.S. Navy wants long-range strike drones that can be launched from destroyers and other warships that lack large flight decks, according to a Defense Innovation Unit solicitation. – Defense News
Morgan Bazilian and Jahara Matisek write: Supercharging the American defense industrial base requires rewriting the political economy of defense production itself. It means treating procurement as a capital signal, not a paperwork exercise. It requires embedding AI in factories. Building a distributed arsenal with allies is a much better strategy than pursuing self-sufficiency. Industrial power is built through contracts, incentives, and infrastructure. Until those foundations change, every call to “supercharge” the defense industrial base will remain a slogan in search of a strategy. – National Interest