World

We are learning more about the death of Alexei Navalny, who according to the governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands, was murdered by Russia with a type of frog poison. The news comes from a joint statement released by the nations on Saturday. The NATO countries said they were "confident" the Russian dissident had been poisoned by the Russian government. The statement continued by stating that they believed the murder was done with a "lethal toxin" known as epibatidine, which is found in South American poison dart frogs, which are not native to Russia. 

We are getting the latest reactions this week after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the nation of Cuba and authorized new measures aimed at choking off the island’s oil supplies. Trump’s executive order from January said Cuba poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security. LiveNOW's Austin Westfall is interviewing Connor Pfeiffer, Senior Director of Government Relations for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. This follows reports that two Mexican Navy ships, carrying humanitarian aid, have arrived in Cuba as the island’s energy crisis worsens. 

We are now learning that Iran dominated the agenda in Wednesday’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reports indicate that both leaders signaled that diplomacy with Tehran remains uncertain. LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall and Prof. Alon Burstein from the @Israel-Palestine-Report are discussing today’s meeting and what comes next for Iran and the Middle East. 

We are seeing reports today that the United States and Russia are closing in on a deal to continue to observe their nuclear arms reduction treaty that expires this week. From what we are hearing now, both President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin still haven’t officially agreed to a deal surrounding nuclear arms. LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall is speaking to Andrea Stricker, a Nuclear Proliferation Expert with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 

We are learning more this week as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Muscat, Oman ahead of US-Iran talks. The talks are scheduled to take place on Friday morning in the Middle East. “The leadership of Iran at the clerical level does not reflect the people of Iran. I know of no other country where there’s a bigger difference between the people who lead the country and the people who live there,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters this week. LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall is learning what comes next for relations between the two nations with Hal Kempfer, a retired Marine Intelligence Officer.