Greetings Operation Freedom listeners and subscribers,

I am pleased to present today’s briefing summarizing the latest developments in global affairs.

1. The United States has issued a warning advising American citizens to depart Iraq immediately due to escalating attacks on U.S.-associated targets by Iran-aligned militias across the country.

2. In Venezuela, the U.S. Embassy in Caracas has been reopened for the first time in seven years following the arrest of former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are awaiting trial for narco-terrorism charges in New York City.

3. A bomb explosion occurred at a Jewish school in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, in what authorities have described as a deliberate attack against the Jewish community.

4. In the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, President Donald Trump has urged Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to continue working despite the loss of their first full paycheck, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown entered its 29th day.

5. Sebastián Marset, a suspected Uruguayan drug trafficker and one of South America’s most wanted criminals, has been arrested in Bolivia by local authorities, assisted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

6. Lastly, President Donald Trump has nominated Sarah B. Rogers, a State Department official, to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), with the aim of stabilizing its leadership.

Briefing Provided by: The Operation Freedom Press Corps