SCOOP: U.S. officials scramble to stop major Internet firms from ditching FISA obligations with only hours to go before the law lapses. Shane Harris and me. wapo.st/3xKD6X2

NEW: Kurt Campbell, the No. 2 State Department official, met with Niger’s Prime Minister today & *accepted his demand that U.S. troops withdraw from the West African country* a move the US has long resisted that will transform Washington’s counterterrorism posture in West Africa

Cambodia lied to the world, surprise surprise. Chinese navy ships are already operating out of Ream Naval Base.
rfa.org/english/news/c…

When asked about accusations that Israel violated Leahy Law, which concerns human rights violations of countries that receive U.S. military assistance, Blinken said “You’ll see results very soon. I’ve made determinations. You can expect to see them in the days ahead.”

'A regional intelligence source with knowledge of Iran's potential reaction to Friday's strike, which was carried out by Israel according to a US official, said that direct state-to-state strikes between the two enemies were 'over.'' edition.cnn.com/middleeast/liv…

Russia's military death toll in Ukraine has now passed the 50,000 mark. In the second 12 months on the front line - as Moscow pushed its so-called meat grinder strategy - we found the body count was nearly 25% higher than in the first year.
bbc.com/news/world-688…

“For Putin it's absolutely natural that he should try to create the maximum number of problems for the US' said Mikhail Khodorkovsky “The task is to take the US out of the game & then destroy NATO. This doesn’t mean dissolving it, but create the feeling that it isn’t defending them”

'Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the US, & leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from American dominance, according to a secret Foreign Ministry document.' washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/…

Big BMD milestone: 'For the first time in combat, guided-missile destroyers fired missiles developed to intercept ballistic missiles during the U.S. response to the Iranian attack on Israel' news.usni.org/2024/04/15/sm-…

This is significant:  

Biden made clear to Netanyahu that the US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran, MJ Lee to me on the air just now.

Pentagon frustrated by lack of notice from Israel in Syria strike. Scoop by Missy Ryan Dan Lamothe wapo.st/3UfS5kk

Japan may be the U.S.’s most important ally, writes The Post's @Ishaantharoor wapo.st/49ziM8h

Great piece of embed reporting by @alexhortontx: In the Arctic, American commandos game out a great-power war wapo.st/43T682w

Last night, US officials suggested Iran's response would be calibrated to avoid triggering a US response.

This suggests a strike on Israel is likely, but that it won't cross the threshold by including Iran's own missiles fired from its own territory. politico.com/news/2024/04/1…

Gen. Chris Cavoli, commander of US European Command, tells HASC that the Russians are currently firing 5 times as many artillery shells as the Ukrainians on the battlefield, and that number will go up to 10 to 1 “in a matter of weeks' as the Ukrainians continue to ration.

'We're…

U.S. sends Ukraine thousands of Iranian-made weapons seized before they could reach Houthi militants in Yemen. @AlexHortonTx wapo.st/49uq9xx