Oct 16, 2017 - Politics & Policy

Trump says U.S. 'not taking sides' in Iraq clashes

Trump speaks with reporters in the Rose Garden after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Photo: Evan Vucci / AP

President Trump, asked today about clashes between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Iraq said: "We don't like the fact that they are clashing. We're not taking sides, but we don't like the fact that they are clashing."

Why it matters: The Kurdish military accused Iranian-backed forces of ramping up the pressure on the Kurds in the region in the first place, per Newsweek. After Trump's decision to de-certify the Iran deal without fully pulling out, Tehran is likely watching the U.S. stance in the region closely. Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer said Trump's failure to take sides in the dispute could be a "[b]ig green light" for the Iranian government to increase its influence in Iraq.

Go deeper: Dispute between Kurds, Iraqi government escalates in Kirkuk

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Sara Fischer, Ashley Gold, Kyle Daly, Dan Primack
4 hours ago - Technology

Trump tightens screws on ByteDance to sell Tiktok

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump added more pressure Friday night on China-based TikTok parent ByteDance to exit the U.S., ordering it to divest all assets related to the U.S. operation of TikTok within 90 days.

Between the lines: The order means ByteDance must be wholly disentangled from TikTok in the U.S. by November. Trump had previously ordered TikTok banned if ByteDance hadn't struck a deal within 45 days. The new order likely means ByteDance has just another 45 days after that to fully close the deal, one White House source told Axios.

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Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m. ET: 21,056,850 — Total deaths: 762,293— Total recoveries: 13,100,902 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m ET: 5,306,215 — Total deaths: 168,334 — Total recoveries: 1,796,309 — Total tests: 65,676,624 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC: Survivors of COVID-19 have up to three months of immunity —Fauci believes normalcy will return by "the end of 2021" with vaccine — The pandemic's toll on mental health — FDA releases first-ever list of medical supplies in shortage.
  4. States: California passes 600,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
  5. Cities: Coronavirus pandemic dims NYC's annual 9/11 Tribute in Light.
  6. Business: How small businesses got stiffed — Unemployment starts moving in the right direction.
  7. Politics: Biden signals fall strategy with new ads.
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Alexi McCammond
10 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Harris: "Women are going to be a priority" in Biden administration

Sen. Kamala Harris at an event in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In her first sit-down interview since being named Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris talked about what she'll do to fight for women if elected VP, and how the Democrats are thinking about voter turnout strategies ahead of November.

What they're saying: "In a Biden-Harris administration women are going to be a priority, understanding that women have many priorities and all of them must be acknowledged," Harris told The 19th*'s Errin Haines-Whack.

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