Crosstalk: April 16, 2018

The following is a sample of news stories that Jim brought to the attention of listeners this week on Crosstalk:

--President Trump puts Syria military strike on hold while considering options.
--Russia has moved at least 11 navy ships deployed in Syria out to sea in the event of a U.S. military strike.
--A U.S. guided missile destroyer, the U.S.S. Donald Cook, is already in position off the coast of Syria with 75 Tomahawk missiles on board.
--British Prime Minister Theresa May is willing to join military action against Syria even without the consent of Parliament.
--A non-governmental watchdog agency protested the appointment of Syria as chair of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, a forum on chemical weapons that will be held next month.
--Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg gave testimony before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees. Jim aired a portion of that which contained questions from Senator Ted Cruz.
--Facebook threatened the Voice of Europe for criticizing migration.
--Ann Ravel, the former Democratic chair of the Federal Election Commission, who controversially pushed to regulate the Internet during her time leading the commission, is now suggesting that a new government enforcement agency be established to help tech companies discover questionable communications from social media sites in order to find alleged disinformation campaigns.
--President Trump judicial nominee Wendy Vitter's personal pro-life views were under scrutiny from several Democratic senators at her Wednesday confirmation hearing.
--House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he will retire from Congress when his present term is finished.
--President Trump pardoned Scooter Libby, the former aid to Vice President Dick Cheney.
--Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein personally approved the FBI raid on President Trump's attorney Michael Cohen.
--Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey lectured CIA Director Mike Pompeo who is a Secretary of State nominee.
--The Counsel on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) thanked Senator Booker for confronting Pompeo for his views on Islam. However, they were silent concerning his views on homosexuality.
--The President of China cuts import tariffs on cars and opened China's markets wider in response to President Trump's tough trade rhetoric.
--President Trump signed an executive order aimed at welfare reform.
--President Trump is forming a task force to look at the viability and operations of the United States Postal Service.
--Newly installed National Security Advisor John Bolton cleaned house during his first week at the job.
--EPA Chief Scott Pruitt received several death threats during the first few months of his tenure at the agency.
--Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that he'll challenge Senator Bill Nelson setting up a battle that will help decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.