Dec 29, 2017

James Mattis' plan for ISIS in 2018

Haley Britzky

Defense Secretary James Mattis. Photo: Keith Lane / Getty Images

Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Friday that the Islamic State is a "brand with a diminishing appeal" for terrorists. Here's part of his 2018 plan for handling ISIS:

  • Continue training troops and local police with the Iraqi government to handle terrorism: "We need to drive this down to the point where it can be handled by local authorities...But right now, it is still very much a military intelligence type of operation."
  • Shifting U.S. troops to a "stabilizing effort focused on supporting the diplomatic approach" in Syria and Iraq, including reopening schools, working with police, and setting up water systems.
  • Hunting down ISIS fighters who have escaped Raqqa into the Middle Euphrates River Valley. Mattis said ISIS fighters "have not proven they can stand against the Iraqi security forces..."

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Orion Rummler

Mass shooting in Milwaukee: What we know

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012. Photo: John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images

Six people died in a shooting at the Molson Coors Brewing Company in Milwaukee on Wednesday, including the gunman, Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at a Wednesday evening press conference with local police.

Details: All of the victims worked at the brewery complex, as did the shooter who died of "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," police confirmed in a statement late Wednesday.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Axios

Coronavirus updates: South Korea case count tops 2,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

33 people in California have tested positive for the coronavirus, and health officials are monitoring 8,400 people who have recently returned from "points of concern," Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,850 people and infected over 83,000 others in some 50 countries and territories. The novel coronavirus is now affecting every continent but Antarctica, and the WHO said Wednesday the number of new cases reported outside China has exceeded those inside the country for the first time.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 8 hours ago - Health
Dave Lawler

Syria's darkest chapter

Family room without a family, in Idlib. Photo: Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The worst humanitarian crisis of Syria’s brutal civil war is colliding today with what could be the war’s most dangerous geopolitical showdown, after at least 29 Turkish troops were killed in an airstrike.

The big picture: The fighting is taking place in Idlib in northwest Syria, where a ferocious Syrian and Russian offensive has displaced 1 million civilians and infuriated Turkey, which borders the region.

Go deeperArrow10 hours ago - World