Plus, a resignation in Congress.
Today’s read: 2 minutes.
I’m traveling today, so this is an abbreviated Tangle just to keep you in the loop. The newsletter will be back in earnest tomorrow, but I wanted to be sure you didn’t miss some of the big news over the weekend.
Photo: Flickr / thierry ehrmann
The big story.
Over the weekend, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted terrorist, killed himself during a raid. Al-Baghdadi was the face of ISIS, which at times has controlled as much land in Syria and Iraq as there is in the entire United Kingdom. As U.S. forces entered a compound in northern Syria where al-Baghdadi was hiding, he fled into a tunnel and detonated a suicide vest. Al-Baghdadi’s death was a huge win for President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, but it came with plenty of complications. Trump reportedly didn’t consult Democrats on the House intelligence committee about the raids, and rumors quickly spread that he was golfing when the raid happened, even though he later posted a picture of him watching the event live. Last night, POTUS attended the World Series in Washington D.C. and was booed by the crowd. Many Republicans thought it was a distasteful reception in the context of al-Baghdadi’s death. The Kurds, our recently abandoned partners in the region, were also a big part of the raid that helped kill al-Baghdadi, resurfacing tension about how poorly we’ve treated a respected ally. You can read more here.
Here is some coverage and commentary on the raid:
Also in the news…
Democratic Rep. Katie Hill is resigning from Congress after details of an alleged relationship she had with a staffer surfaced. The relationship was a violation of House ethics rules, recently passed during the #MeToo era, but brought a whole new controversy with them: revenge porn. Details of Hill’s relationship only came to light after nude photographs of her were published in a British tabloid and a conservative news outlet. Hill has accepted responsibility for some of the allegations and denied others, saying the photographs were leaked by her estranged ex-husband as an abusive ploy. You can read more about the story here.
Tomorrow…
Tangle will be back in its typical form, giving you a full update on the latest news with commentary from both sides (plus, my take). For now, if you want to support the newsletter, feel free to forward this email to a few friends. If someone forwarded you this, you can subscribe below.