Obama and Merkel shared the stage Thursday Later, Merkel will attend NATO meetings alongside Trump Former President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday mounted a staunch defense of their brand of liberal global democratic politics amid a surge of populist feeling around the world. Obama and Merkel met in Berlin in front of a massive crowd at the biennial congress of the German Protestant Church, on a day when the German Chancellor will also greet current US President Donald Trump, who is the epitome of many of the political trends they abhor. Obama, in the first event overseas linked to his new global foundation, and his host, beseeched young people not to give up on the idea that politics could forge meaningful change, though both ruefully reflected that campaign trail promises often were not fully realized once in power. Related article 1 day, 2 presidents: Merkel meets with Obama, then Trump And, in a nod to the uneven boons of globalization that have divided societies and enabled the rise of outsider nationalist candidates in the US and in Europe, they said more needed to be done for those who have been left behind. Obama did not mention Trump directly or weigh in on any of his specific policies, in keeping with his desire not to get pulled into a political confrontation with his successor. But many of his remarks on immigration, health care, foreign aid, the economy, education, threats to the international order and to human rights clearly spelled out a worldview that is at odds with that of the current president. And the fact that many thousands of young Germans turned out to applaud him was testimony to the former president’s enduring appeal in parts of Europe, where the Trump presidency is being viewed with dread. Obama and Merkel had a conversation about democracy, civic engagement and faith a few yards away from the place where the Berlin Wall wound around the Brandenburg Gate as it divided the city between 1961 and 1989. Merkel held up her own experience growing up in the East to show how even great political change is possible. The former US leader, who counts Merkel as among his closest political friends and allies, warned that “progress” towards universal health care made during his presidency was in peril as Republicans try to repeal his signature domestic achievement. “My hope was that I was able to get 100% of people health care while I was president. We didn’t quite achieve that, but we were able to get 20 million people health care who didn’t have health care,” he said. “Certainly, I have some regrets,” he said, adding that he had hoped to do more. “Obviously some of the progress that we made is now in peril … but the point really is for those 20 million people, their lives have been better,” Obama said. “We have set a standard that people can build on.” Obama was appearing at the biennial congress of the German Protestant Church. Thousands of people crowded in front of the Brandenburg Gate and down the green space known as the Tiergarten to see Obama and Merkel in a scene reminiscent of his 2008 campaign speech that he delivered at the Victory Column monument nearby. Snipers took up positions on the rooftops overlooking the iconic Berlin landmark amid a tight security operation just a few days after a suicide bombing in Manchester, England. Obama also addressed the question of refugees – hundreds of thousands of which have flowed into Germany from the Middle East and undocumented migrants, a key issue in the last US election that still roils American politics. He said that as President he had faced a dilemma. “In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child,” Obama said. “You can’t distinguish between them in terms of their worth or inherent dignity.” “We can’t isolate ourselves. We can’t hide behind a wall,” Obama said, in what will be seen as an oblique reference to the southern border wall Trump is insisting he will build. Obama also spoke out strongly against what he said was xenophobia and nationalism that have been simmering in modern politics, warning, “we have to push back against those trends that would violate human rights or that would suppress democracy.” The former president praised foreign aid funding, saying it was vital to eventually alleviating the need to take military action in unstable areas of the world. Again, he was adopting a position at odds with that taken by Trump, whose first budget cuts foreign aid and hikes investments in the military. Related article Trump at NATO: What to watch Merkel, who will encounter Trump later on Thursday at the NATO summit in Brussels, discussed how political change can sometimes come about more slowly than people wanted but said that it required perseverance over a period of years to get things done. “For decades maybe, people laughed about there won’t be a German reunification – but it happened,” Merkel said. Merkel also referenced the need to spread the benefits of globalized economics more evenly. The success of populist politicians like Trump and the runner-up in the French election, Marine Le Pen, exploited a feeling that urban elites were profiting from the interlinked global economy while blue collar voters had been left behind. “We will only be able to live in a good and peaceful society if everyone is doing well. That is what we mean when we say inclusive growth and we have to understand this and invest in this,” Merkel said. Obama concurred: “One of the major questions that this generation and future generations will have to face s the growing gap in opportunity and increasingly inequality that we are seeing between nations and within nations.”

Obama and Merkel's liberal global democratic politics


The Axe Files, featuring David Axelrod, is a podcast distributed by CNN and produced at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. The author works for David Axelrod. Zakaria says Vladimir Putin's dislike of Hillary Clinton may be personal In this episode, he talks about why he initially supported the 2003 Iraq invasion If Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to influence the outcome of the US presidential election, as some reports have suggested, his longstanding antipathy toward Hillary Clinton would be a principal motivation, says one of the leading journalists covering global affairs. “The reason I think it’s plausible is, Putin really dislikes Hillary Clinton. It’s personal,” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria told David Axelrod on “The Axe Files” podcast, produced by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN. Zakaria said that Putin feels “a certain kind of disdain for Hillary personally” that he says may stem in part from Clinton’s gender. But what Zakaria is certain of is that Putin believes Clinton encouraged political opposition to his reelection efforts in 2012, which he viewed as attempted regime change. Zakaria also said that given Russia’s surreptitious political activities in other parts of the world, particularly Europe, “It’s not so far-fetched to imagine that there’s some efforts along the same lines” happening in America. Turning to the Middle East, Zakaria argued that the United States cannot establish more security at home and abroad by attempting to police longstanding sectarian conflicts in foreign countries. “It’s a ruinously expensive task (to) get involved in adjudicating the disputes between Sunnis and Shia and creating political order,” Zakaria said. “We want some kind of clean, satisfying solution here. There isn’t,” he said. Zakaria, who hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN and writes a column for The Washington Post, said the US has a limited ability to control the ongoing turmoil in Iraq and Syria, which stems from decades of sectarian repression. “These are huge, historical transformations taking place in these societies. Maybe these countries will not exist 15 years from now,” Zakaria said in a conversation that took place before the debate. “The idea that we could put a finger on that dike seems very unlikely.” Zakaria touched on a number of issues with Axelrod, including his searing and honest self-examination of what caused his initial support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq (“I probably look at it as the single biggest mistake I made in my life”); the impact our presidential candidates will have on NATO’s future (“Broad continuity with the foreign policy of America from Truman through Reagan” or “a complete upending of the world order the United States has created since 1945”); and how the vitally important Asia-Pacific region will view the United States’ reliability as a global ally if Congress fails to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. To listen to the whole conversation with Zakaria, click on http://podcast.cnn.com. To get “The Axe Files” podcast every week, subscribe at http://itunes.com/theaxefiles.


President Donald Trump still isn’t buying that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Even as his intelligence chiefs unanimously told a Senate panel Tuesday that Russia meddled in 2016 and is planning to do so again in 2018, three sources familiar with the President’s thinking say he remains unconvinced that Russia interfered in the presidential election. While this issue is separate from the question of whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Russian officials, to Trump the issues are interwoven, the sources say. He views the notion that Russia meddled in the election as an argument that he had help to win, and that he didn’t win the election on his own. Trump’s view contradicts his intelligence chiefs, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and FBI Director Chris Wray, who all testified – again – on Tuesday that they supported the intelligence community’s January 2017 assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Related article US intel chiefs unanimous that Russia is targeting 2018 elections “There should be no doubt that Russia perceives its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 US midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations,” Coats said at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats. Trump has been skeptical about the intelligence assessment that Russia meddled ever since he was first briefed on the issue during the presidential transition. But that skepticism has endured even after Trump hand-selected his own intel chiefs and they reiterated the conclusions of their predecessors. Trump has only begrudgingly acknowledged that Russia may have interfered in the election. In a press conference as president-elect, Trump said, “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia. But I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people.” At a June 2017 press conference in Poland, he again said Russia meddled in the election, but added that “other people and other countries” likely did as well. More often, Trump has cast doubt on accusations of Russian meddling. He has questioned whether the Russians were responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee, and he has called the entire “Russia story” a hoax perpetuated by angry Democrats. He even convinced Pompeo to personally meet with a conspiracy theorist who denies that Russia hacked the DNC. Related article US intel chief says risk of global conflict highest since Cold War Trump caused a stir during his trip to Asia when he suggested that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials that his government meddled in the election. Trump and Putin met several times on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vietnam. “Every time he sees me, he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’” Trump said. “And I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it.” But members of Trump’s cabinet have bucked Trump and sided with the intelligence community including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who said in October: “When a country can come interfere in another country’s elections, that is warfare.” Tuesday’s hearing was the latest opportunity for Democrats to pounce on the conflicting messages coming from the intelligence chiefs and their commander in chief. Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, urged the intelligence officials to convince Trump that the issue of collusion was separate from election meddling. Related article FBI director contradicts White House's Porter timeline “I understand the President’s sensitivity about whether his campaign was in connections with the Russians, and that’s a separate question. But there is no question – we’ve got before us the entire intelligence community, that the Russians interfered in the election in 2016 – they’re continuing to do it, and they’re a real imminent threat to our elections in a matter of eight or nine months,” King said. “My problem is I talk to people in Maine who say the whole thing is a witch hunt and a hoax because ‘the President told me’,” he added. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, asked whether the steps the intelligence community was taking to counteract Russia’s election interference efforts had been directed by Trump. “Not specifically directed by the President,” Wray said. CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed reporting


Pelosi said it was "inside baseball" and a constitutional issue GOP front-runner Donald Trump escalated his attack against Cruz on Wednesday House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t say Thursday whether she thought Cruz was a “naturally-born” citizen when asked about it at her weekly press conference. She waved off weighing in, saying it was “inside baseball” and a constitutional issue. But she also made a point of pointing out that Arizona Sen. John McCain – who was born outside the U.S. mainland in the Panama Canal Zone at a military base – was born in U.S. territory versus Cruz, who was born in Canada, saying “perhaps there is a distinction.” GOP front-runner Donald Trump escalated his attack against Cruz on Wednesday while the Texas senator sought to move past the hits and maintain his status as a favorite to win the Iowa caucuses. In separate interviews with CNN, Trump and Cruz squared off over the businessman’s comments – reported Tuesday in The Washington Post – that the senator’s birth in Canada could pose a “big problem.” Trump told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Cruz, whose mother was a U.S. citizen, should go to court and ask a judge to rule that he’s eligible to run for president. “How do you run against the Democrat, whoever it may be, and you have this hanging over your head if they bring a lawsuit?” Trump said in an interview that aired Wednesday on “The Situation Room.” For his part, Cruz said he is certain that he never owned a Canadian passport, pushing back sharply on the idea that there is any legal controversy whatsoever. “Of course not,” Cruz told CNN’s Dana Bash, as his campaign bus traveled from Sibley to Spirit Lake close to the Iowa-Minnesota border. “Yes, I’m sure. The media, with all due respect, love to engage in silly sideshows. We need to focus on what matters.” He went on: “The legal issue is straightforward,” he said, calling it a “non-issue.” “Listen, the Constitution and the laws of the United States are straightforward. The very first Congress defined the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad as a natural-born citizen.” Experts largely agree that Cruz, who was born an American citizen thanks to his mother’s nationality, is eligible to serve as president. The U.S. Constitution requires that presidents be “natural-born citizens,” which Cruz is alleged to not be, as he was born in Canada. Cruz has the backing of most legal experts and U.S. case law, according to a 2011 Congressional Research Service study. CNN’s Theodore Schleifer and Eric Bradner contributed to this report.


16 people were killed in the suicide bombing in the Maelbeek metro station 16 were killed at the airport in twin bombings an hour earlier An order to close the Brussels metro ahead of the deadly March terror attacks on the network failed to reach relevant authorities, in part because an email from Belgian federal police was sent to the wrong address, a parliamentary commission has heard. The commission, established to investigate the March 22 bombings and whether they could have been prevented, heard this week that the senior police official in charge of Brussels’ metro networks first learned more than an hour before the deadly bombing at Maelbeek metro station that the explosions at the city’s airport were a terror attack. Related video Source: Paris, Brussels attackers eyed Euro 2016 At 8:03 a.m. local time – five minutes after the twin blasts at Brussels’ Zavantem airport that killed 16 – Jo Decuyper, chief of railway police for the Brussels region, was informed by military sources at the airport that the blasts were suicide bombings, the commission heard. A third attacker struck the Maelbeek metro station in central Brussels at 9:11 a.m., killing 16 others. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks. Brussels airport suicide bomber identified as ISIS jailer The commission heard that a federal alert was issued by Belgium’s Federal Crisis Center at 8:50 a.m., including an order to close the metro and the main railway stations in Brussels – but it never reached the relevant authorities. Related video A memorial inside Brussels' Maelbeek metro station Seventeen minutes later, at 9:07 a.m., federal police sent Decuyper an email ordering the closure of the Brussels metro network until noon, the commission heard. But, Decuyper told the commission, it was sent to his personal email address, and he did not see the message until after the attacks. Even if he had seen the message, it would have made no difference, as “at least 30 minutes” were needed to evacuate the metro network, he told the commission. It was only after the explosion at 9:11 a.m. that the station was closed and the network evacuated. Maelbeek station reopened on April 25. Healing after terror: Brussels airport departure lounge reopens Investigators say the same ISIS network was behind the Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people in November, and the Brussels suicide bombings. Related video See 'the man in the hat's' hideout The Belgian prosecutor said last month that the network initially planned to strike again in France but changed its target when French investigators appeared to be closing in on those responsible for the Paris attacks. The Brussels bombings took place four days after the arrest in the city of Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Paris attacks. The Belgian-born French citizen is currently facing charges in a Paris court of participation in terrorist murder, and taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization. Swedish citizen Ossama Krayem has been charged in connection with both the Brussels and Paris attacks, with a Belgian prosecutor calling him “omnipresent” during the planning of both plots. Mohamed Abrini, a Belgian-Moroccan who was arrested in Brussels last month, has also been linked to both attacks.


South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was stranded inside his car for hours on Friday, surrounded by an angry mob opposing the deployment of an advanced missile defense system in Seongju county in the country’s south. The South Korean military announced on Wednesday that it will place the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the county, which is about 250 kilometers southeast of the capital Seoul. It said the placement could ensure the safety of country’s population from North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. But many of the county’s 45,000 residents - mostly farmers - strongly oppose the decision, citing health and environmental concerns. They said officials never consulted them before announcing the decision. Prime Minister Hwang visited Seongju county on Friday in an attempt to ease their anger. “I apologize again for not informing you prior to the announcement,” Hwang told the county’s residents. His address was broadcast live on CNN affiliate YTN. Hwang tried to assure the residents that THAAD was safe, saying “if this harms your safety by even just a little bit, our government cannot deploy this. No, we won’t deploy this.” But the protesters weren’t satisfied. YTN broadcast video of protesters throwing eggs and water bottles at Hwang, which stained the Prime Minister’s suit. His aides and security guards tried to block the flying objects with umbrellas and their bare hands. Hwang was later stranded in his vehicle for six hours after angry protesters and a tractor surrounded his convoy, according to YTN. Tension in the Korean peninsula escalated to a new high earlier this year, after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and fired a long-range rocket, which South Korea called a long-range missile test. The U.S. and South Korea announced in February they were formally discussing deploying THAAD and said last week it would place it in South Korea. North Korea responded to the THAAD announcement with new threats on Thursday. The country’s state-run news agency KCNA published an article that said Pyongyang would strengthen its nuclear force and its “merciless sword of justice will cut off (South Korean President) Park Geun-hye’s windpipe… despite her attempt to cling (to the) coattails of foreign forces.”


Salvatore Giunta became the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam war President Obama awarded him the medal at a ceremony in 2010 On October 25, 2007, Salvatore Giunta and his 173rd Airborne Brigade team went on a night patrol in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan and stepped into history. The unit was ambushed and came under Taliban fire from all directions. In the heat of the battle, 22-year-old Giunta did something almost unimaginable. President Barack Obama described what happened that night at a White House ceremony three years later as Giunta stood ready to become the first living recipient of the nation’s highest award for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor, since the Vietnam War. “Sal sprinted ahead, at every step meeting relentless enemy fire with his own. He crested a hill alone, with no cover but the dust kicked up by the storm of bullets still biting into the ground. There, he saw a chilling sight: the silhouettes of two insurgents carrying the other wounded American away – who happened to be one of Sal’s best friends. Sal never broke stride. He leapt forward. He took aim. He killed one of the insurgents and wounded the other, who ran off.” But almost immediately Giunta felt the weight of the honor. And last week, he took another extraordinary step. At a ceremony in Vicenza, Italy honoring the storied history of the brigade, Giunta pulled out his medal and handed it to the brigade, saying he wanted the medal to be with them: “I want this to stay here in Vicenza, Italy with the 173rd to the men and women that earn this every single day through their selflessness and sacrifice,” he told the audience, which was full of young troops. The brigade’s leadership was moved by the gesture: “The first thing that came to mind is like, ‘Are you sure you want to do that?’ And he said ‘yes,’” Sgt. Major Frank Velez told CNN. “There was a few gasps in the crowd and it was folks just going wild. ‘That is incredible. This just really happened.’” But for Giunta it was something he deeply felt he wanted to do. “I am not here because I am a great soldier. I am here because I served with great soldiers,” he told the crowd. The tale of what happened that night has become stuff of Army legend even in the 173rd, which is one of the most decorated units in Army history. But even in 2010, just before the White House ceremony, Giunta continued to feel the grief and pain of what happened in the valley. “That whole time frame lasted, I don’t know two minutes, three minutes, five or six lifetimes, I don’t know,” he recalled. While Giunta managed to rescue his badly wounded friend, Sgt. Joshua Brennan, back from the insurgents, Brennan ultimately succumbed to his injuries. In 2010, Giunta told CNN, “I’ll think about it and it hurts. But to say it out loud makes it that much more real, and I feel like I’ve said enough. I know it’s real but sometimes I can trick myself and not think about it for a while.” Now a decade on, the medal will be on display with the troops of the 173rd Airborne, exactly where Salvatore Giunta wants it to be.


Tim Kaine interrupted Mike Pence repeatedly and pressed the Indiana governor to defend Donald Trump's controversial statements Pence deflected attacks against him and Trump to instead hit Hillary Clinton The next debate is between Trump and Clinton, Sunday at 9 p.m. ET For one night, Mike Pence put a calmer, gentler face on the 2016 Republican ticket. And Tim Kaine’s pestering style helped him do it. But the Indiana governor’s big night in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate might not transfer to his running mate, Donald Trump. Kaine – Hillary Clinton’s number two – spent his night throwing all of Trump’s most politically damaging lines at Pence and asking him to explain them. For the most part, Pence passed, dismissing his “pre-done lines” and “insult-driven campaign.” Here are five takeaways from the vice presidential debate: The Indiana governor – once a self-styled “Rush Limbaugh on decaf” radio host – was in full talk-radio mode Tuesday night. Kaine, meanwhile, should switch to decaf. His interruptions – one after another after another – were so distracting that it often detracted from the substance of the debate and made policy conversations hard to follow. Related video Reality check: Kaine accused Trump of insult-driven campaign The Virginia senator was trying to mimic Vice President Joe Biden’s style against Paul Ryan in 2012 – but Kaine can’t pull off lines like “malarkey.” And Pence, who honed his skills reacting calmly to angry callers on his radio show, knew exactly how to deal with it. An unflappable Pence benefited from the contrast and won the night – with 48% of those who watched it saying he had the best night, compared to 42% saying Kaine won, per a CNN/ORC poll of debate viewers. Pence, however, had a different take when speaking about the debate Wednesday in Harrisonburg, Virginia. “From where I sat, Donald Trump won the debate,” Pence said. Kaine was determined to spend the night throwing out as many of Trump’s controversial and incendiary remarks as possible, hoping that some would sink in for the large audience watching Tuesday night. And at the same time Pence was accusing Clinton and Kaine of running an “insult-driven campaign,” Trump was on Twitter, attacking Fox News host Megyn Kelly and retweeting supporters who said Kaine looked like a “fool” and an “evil crook out of the Batman movies.” Related article Who won the vice presidential debate? Kaine spent much of the debate lobbing Trump’s own words at Pence. At one point, Kaine accused Trump of “shooting himself in the foot” by attacking a Latina former Miss Universe; claiming to know more than the generals about fighting ISIS; trash-talking Sen. John McCain’s military service; supporting a “personal Mount Rushmore” of dictators and believing “the world will be safer if more nations have nuclear weapons.” Trump had indeed said those things. Pence deflected, saying Kaine’s attack had “a lot of creative lines in it.” And Kaine shot back: “See if you can defend any of it.” The vice presidential nominee split – sometimes in big ways – from the top of his own ticket. The most glaring example: Russia. Related article Kaine, Pence debate: CNN's Reality Check Team vets the claims Pence called Vladimir Putin a “small and bullying” leader – and denied that Trump has praised Putin, even though Trump has offered kind words about the Russian president throughout the entire campaign, repeatedly labeling him a “strong leader.” Kaine also reminded Pence that he praised Putin as well. Pence told CNN’s Dana Bash last month that it was “inarguable” that Putin is a stronger leader than President Barack Obama. Pence goes further than Trump on Syria military action He also suggested the United States “should be prepared to use military force” against the Syrian government if Russia doesn’t stop supporting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Pence also said that “what America ought to do right now is to immediately establish safe zones” to protect Syrian refugees – a departure from Trump, who has praised the idea of safe zones but put the burden on Middle Eastern countries to establish and maintain them. The major policy splits between Trump and Pence pose a series of new questions about their foreign policy that could dominate the next week – and become the most important result of the vice presidential debate. Pence displayed a discipline that Trump did not in the first presidential debate: He didn’t take the bait. When Kaine threw a litany of attacks on Trump in Pence’s direction, Pence often scoffed, batted them away and moved on – never addressing them directly, never helping Kaine to make Trump’s most incendiary words sink in. And always turning the conversation back to Clinton. The problem: Part of Pence’s role is defending Trump. Related article Pence goes further than Trump on Syria military action While Tuesday night’s debate helped Pence, it’s not clear that those gains will transfer to Trump. Post-debate, social media was abuzz that the debate was Pence’s 2020 coming-out party. The ambitious Indiana governor eagerly attacked Clinton, but by often letting Kaine’s attacks on Trump go untouched, he did nothing to ease the political challenge those criticisms have posed for Trump’s campaign. But did Pence do too well? Related article VP debate: 11 awkward one-liners, attempted zingers and missed jabs A senior Trump campaign aide told CNN’s John King: “The media is saying Pence won, but didn’t really defend Trump. That isn’t sitting well with the boss.” Trump was frusturated by the reviews after his first debate with Clinton. A long-time Trump friend said, “what I worry about is him hearing Hillary Clinton and Mike Pence are better debaters than him. That isn’t what he likes to hear.” And when Kaine attacked Trump’s June 2015 remarks that Mexican immigrants are “rapists” and “criminals,” Pence – in a remark that could deepen the campaign’s trouble with minorities – complained: “You’ve whipped out that Mexican thing again.” Vice presidential debates are proxy affairs – all about defining and defending the top of the tickets. So the political histories of Pence and Kaine weren’t mined at all. That moderator Elaine Quijano of CBS was uninterested in the would-be veeps’ backgrounds was clear when the topics of trade and gay rights never came up. Sticking firmly to script, Elaine Quijano loses the debate Related article Pence to Kaine: 'You whipped out that Mexican thing again' Both have flip-flopped on the Trans-Pacific Partnership – ditching their support for the 12-nation trade deal to embrace Trump and Clinton’s opposition to it, without ever offering detailed explanations for their reversals. Pence signed a “religious freedom” law that set off a national debate about what should happen when LGBT rights and business owners’ religious beliefs come into conflict. He wasn’t even asked about it — and Kaine didn’t mention it either. The night’s topics and performances underscored that 2016 is really all about two of the most famous figures in American life: Trump and Clinton. They’ll be back in the spotlight Sunday night in St. Louis for the town-hall debate.


Obama's visit comes after Donald Trump lambasted trade deals Obama is meeting Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau President Barack Obama sought to reassure his counterparts in Canada and Mexico Wednesday that a potential Donald Trump presidency wouldn’t throw cross-border ties into turmoil, even as he pushed back on the GOP candidate’s platform. Expressing confidence that immigration wouldn’t be shut off and trade deals would persist, Obama argued against the type of protectionist policies that Trump has espoused on the campaign trail. And he cast the presumptive GOP nominee as a failed historical archetype. “We’ve had times throughout our history where anti-immigration sentiment is exploited by demagogues,” Obama said. “The language is identical. But guess what? They kept coming, and they kept coming because America offered possibility for their children and grandchildren.” Related video Three world leaders leads to one awkward handshake Convening a final North American leaders’ summit even as the U.S. presidential contest throws crucial cross-border issues into dispute, Obama and his counterparts discussed trade, security and climate change during a day of talks in the Canadian capital. But during an afternoon press conference, Trump was the topic du jour. Reporters quizzed Obama, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extensively about the candidate’s vow to construct a border wall and withdraw from free trade deals. Obama’s visit comes just a day after Trump lambasted the agreements that have linked the U.S. and its northern and southern neighbors in tight trade ties, vowing to withdraw from the much-maligned NAFTA agreement while insisting he’d also scuttle Obama’s proposed replacement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Expected Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton also now opposes TPP. “The prescription of withdrawing from trade deals and focusing solely on your local market, that’s the wrong medicine,” Obama said Wednesday, acknowledging fears of globalization were well founded. “What we have seen are trend lines of growing inequality and stagnant wages and a smaller share of growth going to workers and a larger portion going to the top,” Obama said. “That’s a real problem.” Like all of his meetings with foreign leaders in the past year, Obama was ready to face questions about Trump, who kicked off his campaign one year ago accusing Mexicans of being rapists and criminals. Pena Nieto has sharply criticized the presumptive GOP nominee, even comparing his style of politics to dictators like Hitler and Mussolini. He’s dismissed outright the suggestion that Mexico would fund Trump’s proposed border wall, as the presumptive nominee has called for. On Wednesday, Pena Nieto reiterated his opposition, though he said he was prepared to work with whomever is election U.S. president. “Political actors, by using populism and demagoguery, they choose the easier way to solve the challenges of today’s world,” he said through a translator. “Things are not that simplistic.” Trudeau has been more circumspect, saying he’s ready to work with whoever is elected in the United States. “I look forward to working with whomever the American people elect as their president in November,” he said. After an hour of talks with Pena Nieto earlier in the day, Obama used a photo spray to push back on Trump’s anti-immigrant language, heralding the contributions of Mexican-Americans. “The United States is not just a friend and neighbor of Mexico but the very character of the United States is shaped by Mexican Americans who have shared our culture, our politics, our business,” he said. “All too often we’re hearing rhetoric that ignores the enormous contributions that have been made by Mexican Americans and the enormous strengths we draw from the relationship.” Meanwhile, Obama and fellow world leaders continue to size up the ramifications of last week’s vote in the United Kingdom to exit to European Union, a topic that’s certain to come up in the conversations in Canada. RELATED: Trump slams globalization, promises to upend economic status quo And the President is still assessing Tuesday’s terror attack at Istanbul’s international airport, yet another incident of global terror that has intruded into planned conversations with world leaders. Recent trips to Asia, South America and Europe have been similarly overshadowed. Obama remarked on the attack Wednesday, saying the U.S. was “heartbroken” at the violence. Beyond the current pressing issues, it’s a meaningful visit to Canada for Obama, not only as his last “Three Amigos” summit but also as a final-year return to the site of his maiden presidential foreign trip in 2009, when he flew Air Force One out of the country for the first time for meetings with then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. For one of the first times, the 54-year-old Obama found himself sharing a stage Wednesday with two leaders younger than him. Fostering ties with the United States’ two contiguous neighbors has never been Obama’s top agenda item. He’s focused instead on pivoting American foreign policy to the Asia-Pacific and managing various crises in the Middle East and Northern Africa. While Wednesday’s summit didn’t come with the same high stakes Obama faces when he meets with NATO leaders in Warsaw next week, the meeting does carry significance for a president looking to cement his legacy. Nightcap: Trump takes on Clinton — and Big Business — on trade | Sign up To those ends, the leaders announced ambitious new agreements meant to curb climate change, a priority for Obama. That includes setting a target of producing half of the continent’s power from renewable energy sources by 2025. Currently, the three countries together generate 37% of their power from clean energy sources like nuclear, wind, solar and hydro power. Related video Obama, Trudeau trade Bieber jokes It’s a breakthrough made possible by Trudeau’s election a year ago; his successor Harper was a skeptic of global climate deals, and disagreements between Canada and the U.S. over the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported Canadian oil through the United States, led to an abrupt cancelation of the “Three Amigos” summit in 2015. After years of delays, Obama finally killed the deal last year. While the burden of reaching the clean power target will fall on Obama’s successor, the President’s top climate adviser, Brian Deese, said market forces would also drive progress. “I think that the transformation of the American energy sector that’s underway is going to continue, and that has been driven by some of the policy choices that this president has made, but it’s also being driven by market forces that are bringing down the cost of clean energy at rates that even the smartest analysts weren’t predicting only a couple of years ago,” Deese said. The leaders also discussed plans to replace the much-maligned North American Free Trade Agreement with Obama’s preferred TPP trade deal – a measure that’s faced fierce political opposition and is currently awaiting congressional approval. Obama is likely to attempt to reassure his counterparts the deal will eventually pass, though how and when remain unclear. Both the Republican and Democratic presumptive nominees oppose the TPP, and 2016 candidates frequently have railed against free trade on the campaign trail. Republican Donald Trump has blamed the deals for flat wages and job losses, while Democrat Hillary Clinton reversed her support NAFTA, an agreement her husband secured as president. Anti-trade sentiment helped drive the “Leave” campaign in Britain that backed the Brexit referendum, and even Obama has acknowledged recently that politicians must do more to help workers hurt by globalization. RELATED: How a bill becomes a wall with Mexico Both Mexico and Canada are parties to the massive TPP, which is still awaiting approval from Congress. The Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he’ll wait until November’s general election to bring the 12-nation trade agreement of Pacific nations up for a vote. Trump on Tuesday said he would withdraw from the plan should it be approved by lawmakers. “Our politicians have aggressively pursued a policy of globalization – moving our jobs, our wealth and our factories to Mexico and overseas,” he said during a speech in Pennsylvania. “Globalization has made the financial elite who donate to politicians very, very wealthy. I used to be one of them. Hate to say it, but I used to be one of them.”


Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard met with President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team Monday. Gabbard, who backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, is being considered for jobs at the Defense Department, State Department and the United Nations, a source told CNN. Gabbard stepped down from her post as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee earlier in the year to support Sanders – and fight Hillary Clinton – in the primaries. She stood by Sanders through the Democratic convention, only announcing she would vote for Clinton days after the convention ended. “President-elect Trump asked me to meet with him about our current policies regarding Syria, our fight against terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as other foreign policy challenges we face,” Gabbard said in a  statement. “ I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the President-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government – a war which has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes in search of safety for themselves and their families. She added, “While the rules of political expediency would say I should have refused to meet with President-elect Trump, I never have and never will play politics with American and Syrian lives.” Gabbard is not the first Democrat to meet with Trump. Trump met last week with corporate education reformer Michelle Rhee, the former schools chief of Washington, who is being considered for education secretary. If Trump picks Gabbard or Rhee for his administration, it would mark an about-face for the incoming president, who promised in October that Democrats would not serve in his Cabinet. Also expected to meet with Trump today at Trump Tower are former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and Newt Gingrich. CNN’s Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report


Prince William arrives in China on Sunday after visiting Japan China has embraced British culture, especially TV shows like "Downton Abbey" Trip presents diplomatic test for Prince William Prince William arrived in Beijing on Sunday – the first visit to China by a senior member of the British Royal Family in  three decades – and he might have been expecting a dose of culture shock. But chances are he’ll feel right at home. From television shows and etiquette lessons to private schools and mock Tudor housing developments, China has been embracing British culture with a passion. Chinese viewers are captivated in their millions by shows like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Downton Abbey,” with the former’s star, Benedict Cumberbatch, so popular he has his own Chinese nickname – Curly Blessing. The fascination with Edwardian England depicted in Downton has created a growing demand for butlers, and the country’s elite are donning tweeds and taking up deer stalking. “Downton Abbey depicts traditional British, high-class lives. It something that I and many other Chinese are curious about,” said student Cherrie Zhang. It’s not just television shows. Affluent Chinese parents are sending their children to British schools after some of the most notable names in British education have established campuses in China. Harrow, Wellington College and Dulwich College have all opened sister schools in the country. And the obsession with British culture has taken a bizarre turn in Thames Town, a housing development on the outskirts of Shanghai that resembles a quaint English town, complete with replica red telephone booths. It’s crucial that Prince William capitalizes on these cultural ties during his high-profile visit, which is being viewed as the first real test of his diplomatic skills. “It will tell us something about how he will handle one of the most important diplomatic relationships when he comes to throne,” said Kerry Brown, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Sydney and a former British diplomat. “And I think China will put some capital in his visit because this guy is not a politician, who come and go, but (someone who) will be around for quite a while.” Cultural exports are viewed as a growth area that the prince can promote. China spent 17 million pounds on UK TV programs and formats in 2013, a 40% increase on the year before, but they form a small part of the overall trade balance. And while London has been successful in attracting Chinese investment, UK companies have not thrived in China the same way as some of their U.S. and German counterparts. Previous trips by Royals have been gaffe ridden. When the Queen and Prince Philip spent time in China in 1986, the Queen’s husband caused offense when he told a group of British students: “If you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.” Prince Charles, William’s father, has never visited China but described the country’s leaders as “appalling old waxworks” during his visit to Hong Kong in 1997. His close ties with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, have also angered China’s leaders. Prince William will visit Beijing’s Forbidden City, attend the Chinese premiere of the British-produced children’s animated movie “Paddington” in Shanghai and launch a campaign to celebrate British innovation during the three-day trip. Before China, he is spending three days in Japan. The prince will also get a chance to champion one of his favorite causes – combating the illegal trade in wildlife –  when he visits an elephant sanctuary in southwestern China “If he can make some kind of link in China, if he can instinctively show he gets it, that could be an important thing,” Brown said. But the relationship between the UK and China comes laden with “stacks of historic baggage,” Brown adds, and the prince will have to tread carefully, particularly over the former colony of Hong Kong, where the push for a free vote has strained ties between Britain and China, the current landlords. British lawmakers were denied permission to visit the city on a “fact-finding” mission last year amid heated pro-democracy protests. What’s more, it’s not clear how much “star power” Prince William has in China, especially without his glamorous wife Kate, who at eight months pregnant won’t make the trip, and his young son George. An informal survey conducted by the UK’s Telegraph newspaper in Beijing showed that many struggled to recognize the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – one thought the couple were in the movie “Titanic” – and there are fears his visit will struggle to attract interest among ordinary Chinese. “The Royal Family are not really a big deal to me,” said Zhang, the Downton Abbey fan. Serena Dong in Beijing contributed to this report


Editor’s Note: Ed Husain is a commentator and writer specializing in Islam, the West, and the modern Middle East. The opinions in this article belong to the author. Ramadan is a month of spiritual reflection for Muslims, writes Ed Husain ISIS and jihadists have a flawed interpretation of history and scripture, he writes The 30 days of abstaining from food, water and sex during the daytime is a month of spiritual reflection for Muslims around the world. But this Ramadan, we have hundreds of people killed in many different countries by ISIS murderers. They kill in the name of religion and God. Why? Here in Europe, we no longer take religion and religious beliefs seriously. This loss of our heritage also stops us from fully grasping the kind of mind that leads to slaughter in the mistaken name of divine sanctity. Unless we understand it, we can’t challenge the extremism. ISIS, al Qaeda and other jihadist terrorists believe in an Islam of literalism, anger, activism and political control. Most Muslims now and throughout history observed an Islam of contemplation, piety and inner goodness. At the core of Salafi-jihadist violence is an extremely literalist reading of history and scripture. An ISIS magazine published before Ramadan named it “the month of martyrdom” and called upon its readers to “maximize the benefit you receive on the day of judgment.” Ordinary Muslims believe that God doubly rewards us for our worship, Quran recitals and abstention from food. Salafi-jihadists argue that this “double reward” applies to martyrdom, war and death. They do so with evidence, but their interpretation of that evidence is flawed. Related video How the 'town crier' kickstarts Ramadan Salafi-jihadists look to 7th-century Arabia and the Prophet Mohammed’s life with a dogmatism that bemuses most Muslims. Two events from the life of the prophet are misunderstood by ISIS, but used successfully to drive their Ramadan killing craze. In the Ramadan of 624, the Prophet Mohammed’s small community of Muslims in Medina fought the pagan idolaters of Mecca. Only 313 Muslims stood valiantly against a thousand disbelievers. This first battle of Islam, known as Badr, took place inside the holy month because the pagans had violated peace agreements between the prophet and themselves. The Battle of Badr was a defensive war after 10 years of the first Muslim community being killed, tortured, expelled from their homes and threatened, even when in exile. That context is missing in a global war that ISIS has declared based on literalism of citing Badr. Why attack Europe when Muslims thrive and prosper here and are free to worship the one God? Salafi-jihadists from ISIS and other groups also cite that the prophet in 634 conquered Mecca. Therefore radical groups should seek glory and conquest in the month of Ramadan. In their literalism again, they overlook that the prophet rode into Mecca on a mule, his head lowered in humility and his thousands of companions slowly reciting prayers. They were not raiding Mecca and enslaving its men, raping its women and killing en masse as Julius Caesar had done across Gaul. The prophet forgave his torturers and declared an amnesty. It is this spirit of magnanimity and kindness that resonates with most Muslims, but ISIS and others miss the point. Related video Ramadan ad wants to 'bomb hatred with love' Finally, ISIS and Salafi-jihadists cite the verses of the Quran that declare “Kill them wherever you find them” as evidence for perennial warfare. Ramadan is the month in which Muslims believe that large parts of the Quran were revealed to the prophet. Every night, Muslims recite significant portions of the Quran in Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan. Of the 114 chapters of the Quran, 113 start with “In the name of God most compassionate, most merciful.” Again and again, the Quran reinforces that the prophet is a mercy and a light, and directs us to shun anger, evil, killing, warfare. In that wider context of compassion, most Muslims see Ramadan as the month of peace. When fasting, picking an argument is forbidden and a believer is expected to say “Innani Sa’im” (I am fasting – and thus abstaining from worldly pursuits). The verses that permit and encourage fighting have a specific application. Just as Britain’s wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill said of the Nazis that “We will fight them on the beaches.  We will never surrender,” so it is with scripture. It pains me to have to explain my faith, my personal observations, my relationship with God because a dark and sinister movement seeks to steal this jewel away from me. In this angst, I am not alone: A music video put out by Gulf Arab Muslims has gone viral because of its religion-based condemnation of ISIS. We in the West should not shy away from arbitrating between the Islam of anger and activism, and that of purity and peace. The future of the world depends on it.


Thousands of Buddhists gather in Seoul to pray for reunification The two Koreas have been partitioned since the end of World War II Spiritual leader: 'The separation has been causing pain for the people' As the sun set over South Korea’s capital, the usual cacophony of sounds associated with a bustling major city was replaced by human voices – hundreds of thousands of them, chanting peacefully. An estimated 300,000 Buddhists descended on central Seoul on Saturday evening local time, packing the blocks around the Gyeongbokgung – the main royal palace – to pray for peace and reunification with the North. The event was staged to mark the 70th anniversary of Korean independence, and it brought together Buddhist leaders from around the world. In a rare interview with CNN, the spiritual leader of the Jogye order of Korean Buddhism – the country’s largest sect – the Supreme Patriarch Jinje, said it was also the anniversary of Korea’s separation. “The separation has been causing pain for the people,” he said. “To solve this problem, we are focusing on peace for the Koreas during this Buddhism meditation assembly. The purpose of this meditation is to bring peace to all the people – people of the whole world.” READ: Defector: Kim out within three years South Koreans on the whole are not particularly religious. But for the approximately 20% of South Koreans who practice Buddhism – according to a 2014 study by Gallup Korea – Master Jinje is a key spiritual figure. Hwang Yeon-gyeong traveled from Seongnam on the outskirts of Seoul to join in the event. “With the mercy of Buddha, we should come together as the same people and I hope we can realize peaceful reunification,” she said. This is a goal that has eluded politicians and diplomats for decades. Related video North Korea test-fires submarine missile U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Seoul to discuss security on the peninsula. With North and South Korea technically still at war, recent reports out of Pyongyang have done little to ease tensions and anxiety south of the demilitarized zone that separates the two neighbors. North Korean state media hailed the successful launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine just over a week ago – an event Kim Jong Un called a “miraculous achievement.” South Korean defense officials estimate the North could have a fully operational submarine armed with ballistic missiles in four to five years – though many analysts are skeptical about this. Then, there were reports from South Korea’s spy agency that Kim had his defense minister purged and executed – though officials in Seoul cannot confirm this. READ: Is Kim hastening his own downfall? We asked Master Jinje what role Buddhism could play in reunification efforts, especially since the only religion in North Korea is the Kim dynasty itself. Related video Reports: Top N. Korean official publicly executed “In North Korea, there are 500 years of Buddhism rooted in every person’s heart,” he said. “We are carrying the spirit of mutual help and I believe there will opportunities for people to open up their hearts in the future. That is why we should not neglect, but rather help each other.” He said leaders from the North and South met recently in China and that Buddhists had been working to restore temples in the North. Korean Buddhists also promised more humanitarian aid programs. But the Supreme Patriarch would not expand on whether Buddhists planned to play a more active role – perhaps take a leaf out of Pope Francis’ book, after the Vatican’s contribution to bettering relations between Cuba and the United states; or look to the pivotal role German church leaders played during that country’s reunification. But his approach is more spiritual. “When we practice our daily asceticism,” he said. “We make all conflicts in our heart disappear. “By instilling these ideas in all people and the people of the two Koreas, I’m confident that all envy and conflict will disappear and that the reunification of the two Koreas will be quickly realized.” For the Buddhist leader, peace begins from within.


Their choice is notable because Trump criticized Michelle Obama for the same decision in 2015 Several female leaders visiting the country have shed headscarves in recent years First lady Melania Trump and first daughter Ivanka Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saturday morning sporting an absence of headscarves. Their choice of dress during the first stop on President Donald Trump’s inaugural trip abroad is notable because Trump criticized first lady Michelle Obama for making the same decision two years earlier. Related video President Trump Receives Royal Saudi Welcome President Barack Obama and the first lady visited Saudi Arabia in 2015 to pay respects to the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and meet the newly appointed monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. But Michelle Obama attended without wearing a headscarf, drawing notice back in the United States about her lack of a traditional head covering in the conservative country. Trump weighed in on his preferred platform, Twitter, saying, “Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted. We have enuf enemies.” Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted.We have enuf enemies When asked why the Trumps went without scarves, the White House responded that they were not required to wear them. Although they decided to forgo the headwear, both women were dressed conservatively in long pants and dresses. Several female leaders have shed the scarf in recent years, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. President Trump was lavished with extravagant royal pomp here Saturday, an elaborate start to a trip meant to bolster international partnerships but which aides now hope can reset a scandal-pocked narrative back home. The President’s stop in the enthusiastic Saudi capital is the first in a nine-day, five-country swing across the Middle East and Europe. The itinerary will take Trump to the capitals of three of the great world religions and introduce him to the grueling pace of presidential foreign travel. Air Force One touched down in mid-morning at the King Khalid airport in Riyadh, where Trump was greeted on a red carpet-bedecked tarmac by King Salman and other high-level Saudi officials. The grand welcome, which featured a military brass band and a fighter jet flyover, demonstrated just how highly anticipated Trump’s arrival was in this Middle Eastern kingdom. “Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” Trump tweeted shortly after his arrival. “Looking forward to the afternoon and evening ahead.” Trump and the 81-year-old Salman were seen in friendly conversation inside the Royal Terminal just after Trump touched down, and the two leaders shared a long drive from the airport to central Riyadh, where the President is staying. Shortly afterward, the pageantry continued inside the Saudi Royal Court, where Salman presented Trump with a gilded necklace and medal, the country’s highest honor. The distinction also was bestowed upon Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.


One of the first uses of a trove of Facebook data on tens of millions of Americans that has thrown Facebook and Cambridge Analytica into crisis this week was in 2014 by a super PAC run by John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, two former Cambridge Analytica employees told CNN. The Bolton super PAC and Cambridge Analytica signed a $454,700 contract in the summer of 2014. The contract, obtained by CNN, outlined how the data firm would provide the super PAC “behavioral microtargeting with psychographic messaging.” The contract stated that the data would be collected in accordance with the law. Psychographic profiles are used to predict people’s interest, values, and opinions – Cambridge Analytica used the predictions to target voters with advertising. Related article House and Senate committees request Facebook's Zuckerberg testify The predictions were based on Facebook data that Cambridge University scientist Aleksandr Kogan sold to Cambridge Analytica, according to Christopher Wylie,  who worked for the company in 2014, and another person who worked for the company but does not want to be named. Kogan told CNN that he provided Cambridge Analytica with data on 30 million Americans. Facebook said in doing so, Kogan lied to them and breached its policies. Kogan said he believed he was acting within Facebook’s guidelines. The super PAC and Cambridge Analytica say they were unaware the data shared with them was in violation of Facebook policy. The Bolton PAC was one of the first beneficiaries of the data, both sources said, and Cambridge Analytica used the data to help produce ads for the super PAC. Related article Bannon says he doesn't remember purchasing Facebook data at Cambridge Analytica A spokesman for the super PAC denies knowing of any alleged impropriety by Cambridge Analytica. Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration, was mulling a 2016 presidential bid when his super PAC hired Cambridge Analytica. In the 2014 midterms, the super PAC backed candidates including Republican Senate contenders Thom Tillis and Tom Cotton – both of whom also hired Cambridge Analytica and went on to win their races. Documents provided to CNN show how the SCL Group, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, outlined how to target voters in Arkansas, where Cotton was running for US Senate in 2014. Entitled “Arkansas Priority Persuasion Clusters,” it split Arkansas voters into five groups and outlined what messaging would resonate with them. Related article Facebook Fast Facts One ad by Bolton’s super PAC for Cotton focused on patriotism, leadership and on the candidate’s military service. Wylie said that ad was primarily targeted at “cluster two” of Arkansas voters, which consisted of males in their 40s to 60s who cared most about national security and the economy. Among the “image guidelines” outlined by SCL Group to appeal to this group was a picture of Cotton in military uniform – similar pictures appeared in the ad. Another Bolton super PAC ad said “our world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place,” citing Iraq, Russia and ISIS, before asking “what’s next?” Related article Zuckerberg on whether Facebook affected 2016 election results: It's 'really hard' to tell In one example involving New Hampshire voters, a cluster of 35- to 55-year-olds, mostly female, was described as “polite and concerned with remaining in the good graces of others.” SCL Group suggested messages showing figures getting along well should be targeted at this group. Wylie said that messaging was designed to exploit people’s “mental vulnerabilities.” Cambridge Analytica was the brainchild of conservative billionaire Robert Mercer and conservative activist Steve Bannon, who later helped run the Trump campaign and served as chief strategist in the White House. Related article John Bolton has decade-long association with anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller Federal Election Commission records show Bolton’s super PAC paid Cambridge Analytica more than $340,000 during the 2014 midterm elections cycle. Mercer donate $1 million to the super PAC in that same period. The Mercers also donated to the Tillis and Cotton campaigns in 2014. Tillis said Cambridge Analytica played a “relatively small part” in his campaign when he spoke to reporters Tuesday. CNN has reached out to Cotton for comment. Data on Americans was gathered through a Facebook personality test app built by Kogan. The app not only gathered information from those who used it, but also from their Facebook friends. Related article Bolton says his past comments are now behind him as he gears up for White House role One point on an agenda that CNN obtained of a meeting between SCL and another contractor that worked for the Bolton PAC read, “SCL able to harvest substantial and useful information on people from Facebook, with permission.” Cambridge Analytica said when it learned a year later in 2015 that Facebook had determined that Kogan had breached Facebook’s policies, Cambridge Analytica deleted the data Kogan had provided them. CNN’s Curt Devine and Marshall Cohen contributed to this story.


UK's Foreign Secretary met Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner yesterday Boris Johnson is the UK's highest profile pro-Brexit politician UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is to meet key Congressional leaders in Washington today including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Bob Corker and Senator Mitch McConnell, the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. Johnson arrived in New York on Sunday where he held meetings with Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, the President-elect’s son-in-law and close adviser during the transition, a UK Foreign Office official confirmed. He will not meet with Rex Tillerson – the nominee for US Secretary of State – as the protocol is to wait until after the confirmation process, which is due to begin later this week. Related article Cabinet hearings: What to watch this week Johnson, a former mayor of London, was given his current position following the narrow success of 2016’s referendum to leave the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit. A former journalist and television personality, he was the highest profile supporter of the “Leave” campaign. He is the UK’s first Foreign Secretary to also be an American citizen. He was born in New York, and holds dual citizenship. In 2014, Johnson acknowledged he was disputing a demand for capital gains tax from the US tax authorities, which ultimately he paid. In February 2015, he announced his intention to give up US citizenship to prove his loyalty to the UK, but so far there has been no indication he has done so. Johnson, a member of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, has been critical of Trump in the past. Responding to the President-elect’s comments in 2015 that parts of London are “so radicalized that the police are afraid for their own lives,” Johnson said: “The only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump.” The US trip also follows a remark from UK Prime Minister Theresa May to Sky News that Trump’s comments about groping women were “unacceptable.” However she voiced hopes that the relationship between the two countries could flourish during his presidency. Related article Kerry poker-faced as press takes Johnson to task for 'outright lies' Johnson may find Trump’s team more in line with his views and style than that of President Barack Obama. The foreign secretary’s statements about the current administration made for at least one awkward public encounter when he held a joint press conference with his US counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry. Although Johnson has knocked Trump in the past, he has also defended him from criticism in Europe. After his victory in the presidential election, Trump took the unorthodox step of suggesting the pro-Brexit politician Nigel Farage be named the UK’s envoy to the US. May declined to extend the position to Farage. Trump confirmed earlier this weekend that May, who ascended to the country’s highest democratic office following the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron in the wake of the Brexit vote, would visit him in the coming spring. I look very much forward to meeting Prime Minister Theresa May in Washington in the Spring. Britain, a longtime U.S. ally, is very special! “I look very much forward to meeting Prime Minister Theresa May in Washington in the Spring. Britain, a longtime US ally, is very special!” Trump tweeted. CNN’s Carol Jordan contributed to this report.


Program note: CNN’s “Declassified” reveals the story of Russia’s secret network of deep-cover spies living in the United States on Saturday July 22, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The Kremlin refused to be drawn on whether the alleged hacks were the work of government actors Russia alleged that Vladimir Putin's website has been targeted On the day the US awaited the testimony of former FBI chief James Comey on the Russian election hacking saga, Moscow said it had observed hacking attempts launched against it from US territory “every day.” Speaking Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to be drawn on whether the alleged hacks were the work of government or non-government actors. “Hacking attacks that are being carried out from the territory of the United States are recorded every day. Including attacks on the president’s website. It’s true,” Peskov told reporters. Read: Comey just went nuclear Asked if his information indicated the attacks were carried out by intelligence agencies or unaffiliated hackers, Peskov said, “I wouldn’t like to amuse the public by saying that official Washington is behind it. A hacking attack carried out from the territory of some country cannot mean that the authorities have anything to do with it.” Five things to watch: The Comey hearing State Department Spokesman Heather Nauert said the Russian claim “does not surprise me” and dismissed it as “propaganda.” Messages left with the National Security Agency and White House were not immediately returned Thursday. Peskov’s statement comes hours before Comey appeared before the Senate intelligence committee in one of the most eagerly awaited hearings in decades. He followed through on expectations that he would publicly contradict aspects of US President Donald Trump’s accounts of their private conversations, characterizing some of the president’s comments as lies. His testimony represented a pivotal moment in the saga of Russian election hacking and alleged collusion by Trump aides that has cast a dark shadow over the opening months of the new administration. Comey faced questions about whether Trump abused his power in demanding loyalty from the former FBI chief. He was also grilled on claims the President obstructed justice by asking him to shut down part of the bureau’s Russia probe. Read: James Comey claims his moment at hearing But while the US appears to be gripped by the case, Peskov insisted Moscow will not be paying much attention to the hearing in Washington. “We are much more interested in the summit of the state leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization which takes place in Astana today and tomorrow,” Peskov added. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending the Astana meeting. CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Nicole Gaouette contributed to this report. Tim Lister reported from Moscow. James Masters wrote from London.


The perfect bar, like the perfect cocktail, is a careful balance of ingredients. New York’s Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog (30 Water St, New York, NY 10004) – named World’s Best Bar in 2016 – has the mix just right. “A true great of the modern era,” according to award organizers Drinks International, the Irish bar opened in Manhattan’s financial district in 2013. Ireland is known as “the land of a thousand welcomes,” but that hospitality has been counterfeited in spit ‘n’ sawdust Irish pubs around the world. “It’s been pigeon-holed as an inferior product,” explains Jack McGarry, who owns the Dead Rabbit with fellow Northern Irishman Sean Muldoon. But “we’ve traveled all over Ireland and there’s a world-class hospitality.” CNN traveled with Muldoon and McGarry to their hometown of Belfast for a pub crawl around the drinking spots that inspired them to create the world’s best bar. MORE: What it’s like to drink in the world’s best bar “In the heart of Belfast city center, you have six really good bars we’d recommend,” says Muldoon, “All within five minutes’ walk.” 32 beautiful reasons to visit Ireland And, adds McGarry, they’re all “very different versions of an Irish pub.” The diversity of pubs in the Cathedral Quarter, they say, is unmatched on the island, north or south. This compact but rich offering extends to the rest of Northern Ireland: there are mountains, forests, castles, rolling glens and sandy beaches all within an hour’s drive of the city. If you want to combine Belfast with a trip around the rest of the island, Dublin is just two hours south by train or car. The Dead Rabbit’s picked up Tales of the Cocktail awards for World’s Best Bar, World’s Best Cocktail Menu and in 2013 McGarry won International Bartender of the Year. But the men first started collecting gongs when they worked together at Belfast’s five-star Merchant Hotel between 2006 and 2010. “During our time here, it was the most awarded cocktail bar in the world,” says Muldoon. “That’s what put us on the world stage.” The Merchant still has the same drinks menu today, although some of the recipes have changed. Muldoon recommends the absinthe-dashed White Zombie. For the new cocktail bar they’re most impressed by, try Rita’s in the Linen Quarter. The Merchant Hotel, 16 Skipper St, Belfast BT1 2DZ; +44 28 9023 4888 Rita’s, 44 Franklin St, Belfast BT2 7GE; +44 28 9024 8000 A golden den of twinkling lights, antique mirrors and pub memorabilia, the Duke of York pub is a Belfast institution and home to the city’s best selection of whiskeys. A quick stroll down a cobbled alley takes you to owner Willie Jack’s latest venture, The Friend at Hand whiskey shop and museum. It holds 600 Irish whiskeys, 200 of which are for sale. Muldoon and McGarry are working on a book, a whiskey drinker’s guide to Ireland, and during our tour we’re accosted more than once by people keen to talk about their new whiskey brands. Willie Jack is working on his own range. He already has plans to launch “the first Belfast gay whiskey” – named Pride, Not Prejudice – in anticipation of Northern Ireland legalizing same-sex marriage. When creating the Dead Rabbit, Muldoon and McGarry wanted to combine the world-class cocktails they’d created at The Merchant with the relaxed atmosphere of the Duke of York. “A pub for us is about inclusivity and respect for all,” says Muldoon. “That’s what we love about Irish pubs.” Duke of York, 7-11 Commercial Court, Belfast BT1 2NB; 028 9024 1062 The Friend at Hand, 36 Hill Street , Belfast BT1 2LB; 02890 329969 “When I’m back in Belfast,” says Muldoon. “I like to go for a good pint of Guinness or a small whiskey.” Guinness famously doesn’t travel well, so a pint of the black stuff is a must-try on home turf. But it’s not just about the blockbuster stout. There’s a great range of local craft beers at The Garrick, The John Hewitt (51 Donegall St, Belfast BT1 2FH) and Bittles Bar (70 Upper Church Lane, Belfast BT1 4EL). Founded in 1870, the traditional three-room layout of the Garrick was a model for the Dead Rabbit’s Taproom, Parlour and Occasional Room. Its contemporary drinks menu is complimented by a well-executed food offering. The Garrick is “an old, traditional sort of bar,” says Muldoon, but thanks to owner Colm Oates, “it’s got a young heart driving it.” The Garrick, 29 Chichester St, Belfast BT1 4JB; +44 28 9032 1984 The Spaniard’s tiny downstairs bar is crammed nightly with bright young things, attracted by a lively music playlist and a diverse drinks menu specializing in rums. It was here 10 years ago that a 17-year-old McGarry approached Muldoon and told him he wanted to work with him at The Merchant. Downstairs is decked out like a rock bar, while the upstairs is a high-kitsch shrine filled with religious iconography. Why The Spaniard works, says Muldoon, is that owner Janine Kane takes chances. “She’s not afraid of controversy.” Kane has another bar around the corner, Muriel’s (12-14 Church Lane, Belfast BT1 4QN). You’ll spot it by the bras hanging from the ceiling. The Spaniard, 3 Skipper St, Belfast BT1 2DZ; +44 28 9023 2448 Before Dead Rabbit, the world’s most famous Irish-American bar was Cheers, Sam Malone’s fictional Boston bar. But for Jack McGarry, there really is a bar “where everybody knows your name.” “When somebody says home to me, I always think of Kelly’s. It’s where my family drink.” Built in 1720, it’s one of the oldest pubs in the city – the United Irishmen met here to plot the 1798 rebellion against English control – and its white vaulted ceilings, live traditional music and roaring turf fires are a welcome respite from the February evening chill. Says McGarry: “You’ll see proper, genuine Belfast characters in here, albeit great ones and also rough ones.” Troublemakers are given short shrift by owner Lily Mulholland, who has run the bar since 2004. Kelly’s Cellars, 30-32 Bank St, Belfast BT1 1HL; +44 28 9024 6058 A short taxi ride out of the city, The Crown and Shamrock is a rare example of an old-style rural Irish pub. Run by sisters Frankie McAlinden and Rosemary O’Boyle, it’s been in the same family for three generations, but is now on the market for sale. Simply decorated with wood-paneled walls and net-curtained windows, it sticks to the Irish pub traditions of no background music and no hot food. (Although visitors might be lucky and get free plates of sandwiches and cocktail sausages passed round at the end of the night). The Wednesday night traditional music sessions are legendary. When we visit, one of the musicians performs a composition in honor of the night’s special guests: “The Dead Rabbit.” The Crown and Shamrock, 584 Antrim Rd, Newtownabbey BT36 4RF; +44 28 9083 2889 Muldoon and McGarry both grew up in Ardoyne, a predominately working class Catholic area of north Belfast. Maddens is a city center version of “the sort of [neighborhood] bars we grew up in,” explains Muldoon. “It’s famous for its live music” – there is traditional Irish music every night and while we’re there a violinist starts up at the bar  – and it attracts “a very regular, loyal crowd.” “Any tourists we get is word of mouth,” says owner Brian McMullan. The buzzer on the door – now a nostalgic quirk – is a relic of the security cages that were once commonplace in Belfast pubs during the sectarian violence of the late 20th century. Maddens, 74 Berry St, Belfast BT1 1FJ; +44 28 9024 4114 Leave your corned beef and cabbage at the door. There’s a growing foodie scene in Belfast and plenty of local produce to sample. Muldoon and McGarry are fans of Mourne Seafood Bar – with branches in Belfast and the seaside village of Dundrum – and the city is home to two Michelin-starred restaurants. Belfast native Stephen Toman is head chef at Ox, which hosted a pop-up at Dead Rabbit in 2016. The well-established Deanes – the family of restaurants which includes the Michelin-starred EIPIC –  is planning a collaboration with Dead Rabbit later this year. As for pub snacks, the Duke of York sells traditional bags of dulse (seaweed): an acquired taste. The most popular pub treat is Tayto cheese and onion crisps – a snack so venerated you’ll find images of Mr Tayto all over Belfast’s airports, greeting weary travelers home. Ox, 1 Oxford St, Belfast BT1 3LA; +44 28 9031 4121

Northern Ireland pubs and hospitality sector


British chef Stephen Port found guilty of drugging, raping, killing four men Police under investigation for handling of the case, concern homophobia at play It could be the plot of a TV murder mystery – except viewers might struggle to believe the killer could keep getting away with it. Over 15 months, Stephen Port, a 41-year-old chef from a working class east London borough drugged, raped, and killed four gay men he met on dating apps. He then dragged their bodies a few hundred meters from his flat, planting drugs and even suicide notes penned in his own handwriting to make it appear as if they had overdosed. Anthony Walgate, 23Walgate, Stephen Port’s first victim, was originally from Hull, northern England, but came to London to study fashion. He worked as a male escort to help fund his studies.After overdosing him with GHB, Port dumped his body and called the police, saying he had found the dead man by chance. Port was tracked down through his phone number, and after he was found to have lied to police, he was charged and later jailed for eight months.Gabriel Kovari, 22Originally from Slovakia, police say Kovari came to London “to begin a new life.” He moved into Port’s apartment after they met on a dating website, and the killer agreed to put him up on the sofa, rent free. Kovari’s body was found by a dog walker in a graveyard, some 500 meters from Port’s flat. He was propped up against a wall, wearing sunglasses, next to a bag of his belongings.Daniel Whitworth, 21Whitworth, a trainee chef, met Port through the Fitlads dating site. His body was found by the same dog walker in the same spot as Kovari. His phone was missing and Port had placed a fake suicide note in his hand, in which he appeared to confess to the death of the young Slovakian the month before. Jack Taylor, 25Forklift truck driver Taylor lived with his parents in east London, not far from Port’s home. After drinking with friends in a local gay club, he went home and saw his father, before hooking up with Port on gay dating app Grindr and taking a taxi to his flat. His body was found near the graveyard, in similar circumstances to Whitworth and Kovari. Three of the victims were found slumped in the same churchyard – two of those discovered by dog-walker Barbara Denham. A fourth victim was found at the entrance to Port’s block of flats. “The serial killers which are most difficult to catch are transient – they kill in one part of the country, then another,” explained David Wilson, professor of criminology at Birmingham City University. “But Stephen Port was not a transient serial killer. He killed in his flat, then dumped the bodies 300 meters away. They were all young men who died the same way,” he told CNN. “The idea that it wasn’t linked beggars belief.” On Friday Port was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of fashion student Anthony Walgate, 23; Gabriel Kovari, 22, originally from Slovakia; fellow chef Daniel Whitworth, 21; and forklift truck driver Jack Taylor, 25 – crimes that Port denied. London’s Metropolitan Police admitted there may have been “missed opportunities to catch Port sooner” during the spate of murders between June 2014 and September 2015. The force is now reviewing the deaths of dozens of men who also used sex-enhancing drugs, amid concerns that cases previously dismissed as drug overdoses could be further victims. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has also launched an investigation into police handling of the case. Leading gay rights activist Peter Tatchell questioned whether homophobia and class played a role in police conduct. “If four young middle class women had been murdered in Mayfair, I believe the police would have made a public appeal much sooner and mounted a far more comprehensive investigation,” he said, referring to a wealthy area of inner London. If four young middle class women had been murdered in Mayfair, I believe the police would have made a public appeal much sooner Peter Tatchell “The killing of low income gay men in working class Barking was treated very differently – police officers stand accused of class, gender and sexuality bias.” Criminologist Wilson agreed that the case had “a great deal to do with the persistence of homophobia generally and within the police.” However he added that one group of female victims similarly ignored by the police were sex workers. “It was some way down the line before the continuing disappearance of women in Ipswich started to have an impact on public consciousness,” he said of the 2006 Ipswich murders of five prostitutes by serial killer Steven Wright. “One of the sad things is that everyone is equal before the law – but the level of policing they get is often dependent on other issues.” When Benjamin Cohen, chief executive of LGBT news site PinkNews, was contacted by a friend of victim Gabriel Kovari asking him to investigate a link between the Barking murders, he says police dissuaded him from pursuing the story. “They told us there wasn’t a link between what was at that point three deaths,” Cohen told CNN. “Essentially, they gave the indication it would be a bad idea for us to report anything as it would cause people to be fearful. “They were saying the deaths were not in suspicious circumstances,” he added. “But if it were three young women murdered in Islington or Hampstead and they had an inquiry from the Daily Mail, I cannot believe that would happen,” Cohen said of the high-end London boroughs. Chillingly, it was Port who called the police pretending to be a bystander who spotted the body of his first murder victim Anthony Walgate. He was later arrested but only charged with perverting the course of justice and jailed for eight months. Port went on to kill three more men, and Cohen expresses disbelief that police were able to let the killer slip through their fingers so easily. “I can imagine Netflix making this into a 10-part series where the murderer just keeps getting ignored,” he said. Prosecutors said Port targeted victims on Grindr and other gay dating sites and apps, then plied them with drinks laced with fatal amounts of the drug GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as liquid ecstasy. He then raped them while they were unconscious and before they died, according to testimony at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey. Port dragged the bodies not far from his home and planted drugs on or near their bodies to make it look as though they had overdosed. Related article Chemsex, drugs and death: The lawyer who lost his lover Cohen believes another reason why police may have overlooked the serial killer’s involvement, was “because of the use of the drug GHB and its prevalence among the gay community.” “It’s quite a problem in the gay community in London, of people using these drugs in chemsex,” he said of the group sex sessions often organized through dating apps. GHB, along with crystal meth, is often associated with chemsex due to its ability to induce heightened arousal, sexual stamina, and reduce inhibition. Read more: What is chemsex? “But the thing that’s odd to me is, you don’t have chemsex by yourself, you have chemsex with someone else,” said Cohen. “So if all of these people had been taking this drug, they must have been sleeping with someone to do it.” That person was a lot closer than they thought. CNN’s Hilary Clarke contributed to this report


Russian President Vladimir Putin, a dog lover, was presented Wednesday with a puppy as a belated birthday gift from the leader of Turkmenistan. Television coverage showed a delighted Putin, who celebrated his 65th birthday on October 7, holding and kissing the dog, named Verny, or “Faithful” in Russian, during a meeting in Sochi, Russia. The alabai, a top Turkmen-bred variety of the Central Asian shepherd dog, joins the Kremlin’s growing kennel. Foreign leaders from Japan and Bulgaria have also gifted Putin puppies, but the President’s most beloved dog was a black Labrador named Koni, a present from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. “As far as bad moods go,” Putin said once, “of course I have them like any other person, but in those cases I try to consult with my dog Koni – she gives me good advice.” Koni was famous for terrifying German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a meeting in 2007. Photos of the meeting showed Merkel, who was once attacked by a dog, looking apprehensive as Koni approached. Putin told a magazine many years later: “When I found out that she doesn’t like dogs, of course I apologized.” Some of the German press corps thought it had been a deliberate ploy to intimidate Merkel. Last year, Putin introduced another of his dogs, a large Akita called Yume, to Japanese journalists at the Kremlin. They smiled warily as Yume’s barking reverberated around the hall, before Putin calmed her with some treats. “You were right to take caution,” Putin said reassuringly to the journalists. “Yume is a no-nonsense dog.” Yume, which means Dream, had been a gift from Japan in thanks for Russian help after the 2011 earthquake. In 2013, Putin was photographed rolling in the snow with Yume and a Karakachin dog called Buffy that he was given by the Bulgarian President. Karakachins are large Bulgarian sheep dogs that look like Saint Bernards. The Russian leader’s dogs are all big, reflecting his tough-guy image. Former US President George W. Bush recalls Putin ridiculing the Bushes’ dog Barney, a little Scottish Terrier. Bush recalled Putin saying: “You call that a dog?” A year later, he went to visit Putin at his dacha outside Moscow. As Bush recounted in his memoir, “Decision Point,” “A big black Labrador [Koni] came charging across the lawn. With a twinkle in his eye, Vladimir said, ‘Bigger, stronger, faster than Barney.’ ” Bush wrote that he’d told the story to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who replied: “You’re lucky he only showed you his dog.”


By the time Rolls-Royce unveiled its one-of-a-kind Serenity Phantom at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, it was already one of the most buzzed about debuts of the international showcase. Rendered opalescent with glossy mother of pearl paint and detailed with polished bamboo and smoked cherry wood, it was immediately hailed as “the world’s most beautiful Rolls-Royce” and “fit for royalty.” But it’s what’s inside that truly captivated: The entire interior – from the seats to the headliner – was upholstered with pastel blue raw silk, sourced from Suzhou, one of China’s silk embroidery capitals, and woven in one of the UK’s oldest mills. Delicate flowers, a riff on Japanese royal robes and chinoiserie, were embroidered and hand-painted throughout. This intricate beauty befit an opulent palace living room, or a priceless couture gown. “With the fabric, the beauty of it, you just have to stop what you were thinking about and enjoy the moment,” says Cherica Haye, the 31-year-old color and textiles maven who helped conceive the interiors. It was she who designed the distinctive floral motif and hand-painted the flowers within. “It brings you down from 100 to a normal level. With materials you can do that.” Haye is part of Rolls-Royce Bespoke, a studio of craftsman and artisans charged with designing the marque’s most ambitious, and expensive, custom models. Initially trained in fashion at Central Saint Martins – the prestigious London college that counts Alexander McQueen and John Galliano as alums – she’s elevating auto interiors to new heights. While studying textiles at Central Saint Martins, the Londoner had already mapped out her career: she would become a master of fabric innovation, and then take her skills to the storied ateliers of Paris. “I wanted to be head of material development and design at Dior,” she says, laughing, at the Rolls-Royce headquarters in the south of England. “I don’t even know if that exists, but that’s what I wanted to do.” It was only when she started her Master in Fiber, Textile and Weaving Arts at the Royal College of Art, by then weary of the competitive nature of the fashion industry, that she decided to shift her focus to automotive design, driven by her dream of someday owning a Jaguar. Instead of interning, she developed conceptual textiles for the likes of Jaguar, Kia and Audi, submitting samples she’d developed as part of her course work. Her talents eventually caught the eye of Rolls-Royce design director Giles Taylor.  Impressed by her graduate portfolio, which incorporated unique woven horsehair blends and incorporated traditional Japanese dyeing techniques, he invited her to join his team less than a year later, when they were set to begin work on their most beautiful project yet. Related article 44 years of car design: General Motors' Ed Welburn shares his secrets But Haye is quick to point out that she’s not  the only one coming to vehicular design from an unexpected background. Michelle Lusby, for example, who worked with her on the Serenity interiors, comes from an illustration background. Other team members have been handpicked from the worlds of tattooing, sign-making, yachting, saddlery, and costume design. Cross-pollination and interdisciplinary collaboration, it seems, are the foundation on which all projects rest. “There’s a constant coming together of different disciplines, but what strings us together is that we’re all design,” she explains. “You just have to have an eye, and that’s what connects… Not everybody’s taste is going to be the same, but you have to have that.” If anything, she finds that her background might have left her better prepared for her current position than people think. Like the luxury fashion industry, bespoke auto design calls for endless creativity and problem-solving. And, as in a couture house, her current clientele is catered to in every way, their every whim and request met regardless of the effort or expense. Related article See this car? It was designed by a woman And most importantly, both fields allow her to work with and develop unique textiles, which remains her true passion. “At heart, I’m a textiles designer that specializes in color, in material makeup, in material innovation. Not just the overall feel of it, but to the minute, micro level. I do color, I do material overlaying, material-making, designing,” she says. “It seems pretty dreamy, eh?”


Editor’s Note: Vava Tampa is the founder of Save the Congo!, a London-based campaign tackling the human tragedy engulfing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The opinions expressed in this column belong to the author. Tampa: Obama has bagged no tangible African success. In fact, his much-discussed and oversold Africa policy is in jeopardy Yet all is not lost -- he still has one chance to secure his legacy in Africa In 2009, seven months after entering the Oval Office, President Obama pledged a new Africa policy. ”Africa,” he declared in the Ghanaian Parliament, “doesn’t need strongmen. It needs strong institutions.” Pro-democracy activists like me took this seriously – and for good reason. Africa’s strongmen have caused the deaths of millions. The bloodiest killing field has been Africa’s Great Lakes region, where political strongmen have responded to instability in the 20th and 21st centuries by committing crimes against humanity and, in some cases, genocide. In my beloved Congo – Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country – over 5.4 million people were killed between 1998 and 2008 in wars and proxy wars, the International Rescue Committee says. These wars continue to claim an estimated 45,000 lives a month, according to the UN’s Ross Mountain, with 1,100 women and young girls reportedly raped every day. Related gallery 100 moments from Obama's presidency In neighboring Rwanda, 800,000 people were slaughtered in the space of three months during the Tutsi genocide in 1994. And in Burundi, which was the scene of on-and-off wars and mini-genocide between 1962 and 2005, over a million have been killed. Thousands more have been killed recently in a repressive campaign to suppress political opponents, which is undoing many of the gains made since the Arusha Accords in 2005 and raising the prospect of another all-out war. These are the nightmares that many of us believe inspired Obama’s new Africa doctrine. And when Donald Trump takes over at the end of this month, I hope he makes “supporting strong institutions instead of strongmen” his priority in Africa. Fast-forward to 2017, with barely a few weeks left until end of his mandate, and President Obama has – by most accounts – bagged no tangible African success. In fact, his much-discussed and oversold Africa policy is in jeopardy. It wasn’t supposed to go this way, of course. What went wrong? In short, he didn’t stand up to strongmen. Washington totally failed to twist the arm of Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza enough to stop him from clinging to power beyond his constitutional term limit. It then failed to put in place conditions that would make it very difficult for other strongmen in the region to follow suit. The implication and long-term consequences of this failure are only now becoming clear. West of the Congo River, Sassou Nguesso has, through actions that may be legal on paper but morally wrong and politically dangerous, followed suit and changed Congo-Brazzaville’s constitution to cling to power. Paul Kagame in Rwanda has, through similar maneuvers, managed to change his country’s constitution so that he can cling to power even before his term, which expires at the of 2017, comes to an end. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, dozens were killed in protests when President Joseph Kabila attempted to do the same thing. Related article Black Lives Matter, but only if they're American The list may very well go on. What happens next is anybody’s guess. But all is not yet lost. Africa’s Great Lakes, the region that seems pitifully prone to strongmen and mass killing – and where Washington has squandered opportunities to support strong institutions, as Obama promised in Ghana – is the very place that Obama can still guarantee his legacy in Africa. But only if action is taken before he leaves office. The crisis in Africa’s Great Lakes region – anyone who has studied the region will tell you – is like a three-legged stool: knock off one leg and the stool will fall. In other words, victory in Congo could bring an end to the reign of strongmen in the region and beyond. And to help secure victory at this crucial juncture we need Washington to impose “life-changing” sanctions on the things and people Kabila values most: his family, their fortune and their ability to move freely in Africa and across the globe. Some might argue that – in the wake of the recently-signed power-sharing deal brokered by Congo’s Catholic Church that would end his rule – imposing sanctions would make Kabila combative. Mixing shrewd diplomacy with threat of sanctions, some have argued, is better. That argument is flawed. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook Indeed, what Kabila’s actions over the past two years tell us is this: he has no intention to step down and he will continue to crush anyone who questions his legitimacy. Imposing “life-changing” sanctions, at least for the recent killing of pro-democracy protesters, will not only send a powerful message to Kabila that further targeting of protesters will come at a price, but will also give Rassemblement – the opposition’s main umbrella group, which signed the power-sharing deal with Kabila’s camp – leverage to push for a peaceful creation of a transitional government, as well as preparation for a free and fair presidential election at the end of this year as conditions for sanctions are being eased. This can only be secured by Obama. Failure to do so could have pernicious consequences – both for Congo’s pro-democracy movement, and, of course, for Obama’s own Africa legacy.