BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin met Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, the Russian leader's second trip to Syria since Moscow intervened decisively on the Syrian president's behalf in a civil war. 
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) said President Donald Trump supports al Qaeda during the Democratic debate Thursday night. 
A new advertisement currently running on cable news channels urges President Donald Trump to take concrete action to stop Russia and Iran from helping Syrian president Bashar al-Assad slaughter scores of innocent civilians in the war-torn city of Idlib. 
The United States confirmed that it sees evidence that embattled Syrian President Bashar al Assad is gearing up to again use chemical weapons attacks against his citizens in a protracted and bitter war that has caused scores of casualties in the war torn country. 
It is not just a moral stain on humanity for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to remain in power, but also a major threat to American and allied interests. 
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) released a presidential campaign ad this week which denounces regime change wars while showing a clip of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's military dropping barrel bombs on a Syrian city. 
A victory for Nicolás Maduro, coupled with Bashar al-Assad's conquest over the same time period, would send a clear message to dictators and rogue regimes around the world: fight with as much brutality as possible and you will get your way, without having to be held accountable; the West will condemn you but do nothing more. 
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's (D., Hawaii) campaign criticized "media giants ruled by corporate interests" in a fundraising email sent out on Saturday. The email also suggests journalism is being used against her campaign in a manner akin to 1950s-era McCarthyism. 