War

President Donald Trump has ordered the CIA to halt all support for ISIS militants in Syria, in a show of solidarity to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The White House told the Central Intelligence Agency to halt arming groups associated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – a rebel group opposed to Assad that has strong ties with ISIL. Intelnews.org reports: For several years, the CIA has provided training and other forms of assistance to rebel groups in Syria, such as the New Syrian Force, which operate under the umbrella of the FSA.

Shortly before the market close on Thursday, retailers stumbled on one single Reuters headline: Trump says he supports "some form" of border tax.

As Reuters elaborated, President Donald Trump on Thursday spoke favorably about an export-boosting border adjustment tax proposal being pushed by Republicans in the U.S. Congress, but did not specifically  endorse it. Trump had previously sent mixed signals on the proposal at the heart of a Republican plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code for the first time in more than 30 years.

President Vladimir Putin has said the deployment of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier group to Syria was his own idea. The Russian president says he does not intend to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs, but wants to deal with jihadists and international terrorists who pose a threat to Russia. RT.com reports: Russia’s aircraft carrier group from the Northern Fleet inflicted significant damage to extremist groups in Syria, Putin said at a meeting with the officers who distinguished themselves during the operation in the Mediterranean near Syria’s shores.

With each passing day it's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the apparent breakdown in communications between the Trump White House and his various agency chiefs.  Earlier this morning we noted one of the more egregious communication mishaps since Trump took the White House in which Kellyanne Conway told MSNBC that General Michael Flynn enjoyed the "full confidence" of the President just hours before he was fired (see "Kellyanne Conway Blasts CNN Reports That She's Been "Benched" From TV Appearances").