The U.S. will block Turkey from purchasing F-35 aircraft and halt the training of Turkish military pilots, the AP reports. The move comes in response to Turkey's plan to buy an advanced Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Our thought bubble, per Axios' Dave Lawler: Turkey is a NATO ally, but relations with the U.S. have deteriorated sharply amid conflicts on a variety of issues, including Syria. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hedged his bets by growing closer to Moscow, and antagonized Washington in the process. This relationship is on increasingly shaky ground.
A group of Democratic senators today introduced a draft resolution opposing possible Israeli annexation of the West Bank and affirming U.S. support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Why it matters: This is an attempt to deter Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from putting his rhetoric on annexation into action. The resolution has no Republican backers and is unlikely to pass, but will nonetheless send a message to the Israeli government. It comes as the Trump administration prepares to launch its Middle East peace plan.
If Israel succeeds in its reported attempts to block the U.S. Senate from expressing support for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, the result could further destabilize the Middle East and endanger American interests across the region.
The big picture:Support for a two-state solution has been U.S. policy since the George W. Bush administration, as it could ensure Israel remains a Jewish-majority democracy while also providing justice for the Palestinians. This bipartisan consensus has broad political support among the American electorate.
Russian protest band Pussy Riot will be playing a concert in Alabama to benefit Planned Parenthood and the Yellowhammer Fund, which works to secure funding for women seeking an abortion throughout the state, the AP reports.
Why it matters: The most restrictive abortion laws in generations are currently spreading across America's red states, setting up what could be a precedent-smashing Supreme Court challenge to Roe v. Wade. Alabama specifically has banned abortions at any stage of pregnancy, barring serious risk to the mother, and with no exceptions for rape or incest. Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a lawsuit challenging the ban.
