Jan 12, 2018

Saudi women allowed to attend a soccer game for the first time

Female Saudi supporters attend their teams football matchat the King Abdullah Sports City. Photo: STRINGER / AFP / Getty Images

Women in Saudi Arabia were, for the first time, allowed to attend a soccer game at a public stadium in the kingdom, according to the New York Times.

Why it matters: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in October he aims to return Saudi Arabia to "moderate Islam." He has allowed women to drive, and per the Times has "placed women in prominent positions they would have never held before."

But, but, but: Women at the soccer game still had to sit in "family sections," NYT reports, which was separate from all-male sections.
Go deeper: The race to gender equality between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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Orion Rummler

29 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump says he will campaign against Lisa Murkowski after her support for Mattis

Trump with Barr and Meadows outside St. John's Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. on June 1. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump tweeted on Thursday that he would endorse "any candidate" with a pulse who runs against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Driving the news: Murkowski said on Thursday that she supported former defense secretary James Mattis' condemnation of Trump over his response to protests in the wake of George Floyd's killing. She described Mattis' statement as "true, honest, necessary and overdue," Politico's Andrew Desiderio reports.

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Dave Lawler

50 mins ago - World

The president vs. the Pentagon

Trump visits Mattis and the Pentagon in 2018. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty

Over the course of just a few hours, President Trump was rebuffed by the Secretary of Defense over his call for troops in the streets and accused by James Mattis, his former Pentagon chief, of trampling the Constitution for political gain.

Why it matters: Current and former leaders of the U.S. military are drawing a line over Trump's demand for a militarized response to the protests and unrest that have swept the country over the killing of George Floyd by police.

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Sara Fischer, Ursula Perano

1 hour ago - Economy & Business

New York Times says Tom Cotton op-ed did not meet standards

Photo: Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

A New York Times spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that the paper will be changing its editorial board processes after a Wednesday op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), which called for President Trump to "send in the troops" in order to quell violent protests, failed to meet its standards.

Why it matters: The shift comes after Times employees began a coordinated movement on social media on Wednesday and Thursday that argued that publishing the op-ed put black staff in danger. Cotton wrote that Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act in order to deploy the U.S. military against rioters that have overwhelmed police forces in cities across the country.

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