Politics

Via Disobedient Media

Offering the first official glimpse of the parameters of Trump's "wall" along the US-Mexican border, an internal Department of Homeland Security report seen by Reuters reveals that the structure would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take some three and a half years to construct.

Since the air war against the so-called Islamic State kicked off in August 2014 ,the United States has spent just under $11 billion financing it. According to the most recent Pentagon figures, Statista'a Niall McCarthy reports that the bill for the campaign hit $10.99 billion as of December 31, 2016. On a daily basis, the cost of operations against the terrorist group averages $12.5 million. Since 2014, the cost of flying operations has reached $4.4 billion while $2.4 billion of munitions have been expended against ISIS targets.

In a decision that will hardly come as a surprise, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has unanimously (including one GOP appointee) ruled for the U.S. to remain open to refugees and visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries while the Trump administration fights to reinstate a travel ban in the name of national security.

Israel struck a Syrian military position after a tank shell landed in an open area in the occupied Golan Heights. The IDF fired on a Syrian government position on Wednesday night after a tank shell landed in uninhabited Israeli territory during reported clashes between Syrian government and rebel forces. The shell casued no casualties. The IDF did not specify how it attacked the Syrian post, but Syrian media said that Israeli helicopters attacked the position. Press TV reports: Tel Aviv has targeted the region several times over the past few years.