What recent military sales are being discussed between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump says the U.S. plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports the Saudi crown prince is expected to meet Trump at the White House tomorrow.
President Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to discuss the fighter jets as well as security and efforts to normalize relations with Israel.
No, I am planning on doing that. You want to buy? You've been a great ally. They've got to like us very much. Look at the Iran situation, what we did in terms of obliterating their nuclear capability. Yeah, I will say that we will be doing that. We'll be selling F-35s.
Experts say the sale of F-35s would change the military balance in the region while raising questions about Washington's long-held position of maintaining Israel's, quote, qualitative military edge, which was signed into a 2008 law. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.
The Trump administration says it is blowing up suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S., The strikes are a big change from what the U.S. has done for decades. And as NPR's Ryan Lucas reports, current and former officials are questioning their legality.
So I spoke with nine current and former officials for this story. They are all people who spent much of their careers focused on transnational criminal organizations and drug trafficking. So they have a lot of experience. They are not fans of drug cartels. They all questioned the legality of the Trump administration's military strikes. Many of them referred to the strikes as murder.
And they point out that there's no due process here for the folks who are being killed. Now, the Trump administration, for its part, disagrees. It says these strikes are lawful and that the president is acting under his Article 2 powers as illegal. commander in chief and in self-defense.
The Justice Department said in a statement that the administration is committed to ending drug trafficking and said that these leaks are from disgruntled employees.
NPR's Ryan Lucas reporting, an investment company owned by billionaire Peter Thiel has sold its $100 million stake in chipmaker NVIDIA. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, it's adding to investor fears that the artificial intelligence industry is in a financial bubble.
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