US News:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration signed off Thursday on selling more than $1.3 billion in artillery to Saudi Arabia, giving a vote of confidence to the Saudi military as young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concludes a marathon tour of the United States.
Since Prince Mohammed arrived in the U.S. two weeks ago, the administration has green-lighted more than $2.3 billion in arms sales to the kingdom, including more than $1 billion in missiles while the crown prince was in Washington. The latest deal includes about 180 Paladin howitzer systems, artillery-firing vehicles on tracks. The vehicles look like a combination of a tank and a cannon, and launch 155mm shells.
The Trump administration told Congress on Thursday that it plans to approve the sale, the State Department said, triggering a 30-day window in which lawmakers could act to try to stop it. Typically, the administration obtains informal approval for such deals from key lawmakers before making them public, indicating that Congress is unlikely to act to block the sale.
