NEWS FLASH

U.S. Finalizes Arms Deal With Bahrain | Last month, human rights groups urged members of Congress to block the Defense Department’s $53 million arms deal to Bahrain because of the gulf nation’s human rights violations during its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters earlier this year. Five senators even wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking to delay the deal because of human rights concerns. But a State Department official said today that the U.S. has finalized the deal with Bahrain, claiming that “Congress has expressed no opposition to this sale.”