Axios

The Washington Post has joined human rights advocates in condemning the Biden administration's argument that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has immunity in a lawsuit filed against him over the 2018 killing of Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The latest: Fred Ryan, the Post's publisher and CEO, said in a statement Friday that President Biden is "granting a license to kill to one of the world's most egregious human-rights abusers who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi."

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating, his spokesperson said Friday, as the UN climate talks entered overtime at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The big picture: Major issues remain in the negotiations, which were supposed to wrap up Friday. Kerry's positive COVID test significantly limits the normally hands-on diplomat's ability to maneuver in the fraught final talks.

The Pentagon’s top policy official warned America's partners in the Middle East on Friday that cooperating too closely with Beijing on security issues could damage their cooperation with Washington.

Why it matters: The remarks by Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain signaled the administration's concerns about growing Chinese influence in the Gulf and the broader Middle East.

The Kremlin aims to secure the release of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in any prisoner swap with the U.S., a senior Russian official told the news agency Interfax on Friday.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has said the two countries have been in talks about a potential deal to bring home two "wrongfully detained" American citizens in Russia: WBNA star Brittney Griner and Marine Paul Whelan.

Swedish investigators said Friday they found explosive residue at the site of mysterious blasts that hit the Nord Stream pipelines and concluded that the leaks were caused by "gross sabotage."

The big picture: Four ruptures were discovered in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines at the end of September, causing leaks in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark that created extensive environmental damage.

North Korea's military test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday morning local time that landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japanese officials said.

Why it matters: The missile that can carry nuclear warheads had a range that could hit the U.S. mainland, Japan's defense minister said, per the BBC. It was the North Korean military's second ICBM launch reported this month.

"Bae," "vax," "verbing" and "zonkey" are among some 500 new words added to the Scrabble dictionary.

Driving the news: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary released its seventh edition of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary this week, adding new words to the game for the first time since 2018.

A former senior aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was convicted Thursday after being found guilty of helping to funnel illegal foreign campaign contributions from a Russian national into former President Trump's 2016 campaign.

Driving the news: Jessie Benton, 45, orchestrated a scheme to conceal the illegal foreign donation with another GOP operative, per the Justice Department. Benton, the husband of Paul's niece and a veteran Republican staffer, faces up to 20 years in prison. His attorney told the Washington Post Benton "maintains his innocence and plans to appeal."

One of Russia's most prominent TV hosts fumed this week at what he saw as an act of defiance from allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Russia's answer to NATO.

Driving the news: While Belarus voted against a UN resolution calling on Russia to pay Ukraine war reparations, Russia's other four treaty allies — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — all abstained.

The Biden administration is preparing for the possibility of mass migration from Haiti by expanding a migrant center on Guantanamo Bay and looking into the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos for temporary new holding sites, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Haiti has been beset by gang violence, fuel shortages and a recent cholera outbreak. For months, the administration has held informal planning meetings on how to hold potentially hundreds of migrants at a time, before quickly returning them to the beleaguered island.

WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence at a penal colony outside Moscow, AP reports.

Driving the news: "Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment," her lawyers said in a statement obtained by AP.

Several European countries are taking steps to protest Qatar's hosting of this year's World Cup, which has long been shrouded in controversy.

Driving the news: Since FIFA announced Qatar as the 2022 World Cup host, the Gulf nation has been repeatedly criticized for its human rights record and the environmental costs of holding the tournament in the region.

Latinos and Spanish speakers are getting better access to key mental health services thanks to several recent initiatives.

Why it matters: Suicide rates increased in 2020 for Latinos and Black non-Hispanics, according to CDC data released yesterday.

Latinos and Latinas were behind critical work that allowed NASA to launch the uncrewed Artemis I mission to the Moon this week.

The big picture: Only 5.7% of NASA's workforce identifies as Latino or Hispanic, but many have had a major influence on the agency in the past few years.

The International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors on Thursday passed a resolution censuring Iran for not with cooperating with the agency's investigation into traces of uranium found at three sites not declared by the Iranian government.

Why it matters: It's not the first resolution passed by the board against Iran over the issue, but it hints at possibly referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council for failing to fulfill its nuclear obligations, Reuters reports.

Mexico City is betting big on digital nomads despite concerns that they're driving up rental costs and pricing locals out.

State of play: Data from Mexico's National Institute of Migration shows a record number of Americans have migrated to Mexico since the pandemic began. Many come to work remotely because the cost of living is so much lower than in the U.S.

The initial draft for a COP27 agreement out this morning omits calls for phasing down all fossil fuels, which means the fraught meeting may not move beyond coal-focused goals from last year's summit.

Why it matters: The 20 pages of preliminary text released by the Egyptian COP president in Sharm el-Sheikh are a blank slate on how to compensate vulnerable nations for climate damages.

Three men with links to Russia were convicted in a Dutch court Thursday over the 2014 downing of a passenger plane that killed all 298 people on board, AP reported.

The big picture: Investigators say Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile system over rebel-held eastern Ukraine. The plane was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. Most of the passengers on board were from the Netherlands.

A crucial grain deal allowing shipments of Ukrainian grain to leave the country's ports was extended on Thursday for another 120 days.

Why it matters: The deal — which was set to expire on Saturday — has been key to helping alleviate the deepening food crisis around the world that was further aggravated by Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports in the first few months of the war.

ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, JORDAN — A whole generation of Syrian refugees are living out their lives — working, getting married, having children — in a camp that was supposed to be a temporary refuge while they fled their country’s civil war.

Why it matters: This camp is not a sustainable long-term option. It was never designed to be one, and the makeshift facilities here are nearing the end of their lifespan — but there are still roughly 80,000 Syrians with nowhere else to call home.

North Korea's military fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea on Thursday and warned of a "fiercer" response to U.S. efforts to bolster defense ties with South Korea and Japan.

Driving the news: The warning was in response to President Biden's trilateral meeting last week in Cambodia with leaders of South Korea and Japan, whereafter a joint statement pledging deeper ties and condemning Pyongyang for its recent missile tests was issued.