Editor’s Note: Chude Jideonwo is co-founder and managing partner of RED, which holds the continent’s largest portfolio of youth brands, with footprints across 26 African countries. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. If you’ve visited Kigali, you may have noticed it. Many of my friends have. The fierce pride people have in Africa’s most dramatic turnaround story in a generation. People speak of the genocide and the new peace with freedom, with satisfaction, with a look-at-us-now flourish. But then there is the confusing reticence, suspiciously looking like fear, in discussing the democracy they have now. Taxi drivers aren’t as keen to speak to the 14-year political dominance of the wiry figure who oversaw Rwanda’s transformation. Paul Kagame is an ex-solider, one who has seen and shed blood. The people appear to know that in their very bones. It is rare to find a Rwandan who will criticize their President (famous for press and opposition crackdowns) openly - to a tourist, at any rate. Is it possible that this is only love? Is it possible that love can lead to silence? One is not sure. All we have are the facts. That the country whose genocide claimed the lives of one million in 1994 has risen to have the highest percentage of women in parliament, a GDP growing 8 percent on year on average, between 2001 and 2014, ranking 11 on the 2015 Mo Ibrahim Index of Governance, steep declines in poverty and, since 2005, a drop in income inequality indexes; on track to becoming a middle-income country by 2020. Yes, Rwanda is a modern miracle. Lazarus, come from the dead. So, after two constitutional terms, it was enough for Kagame to take a victory lap. And many of us have been waiting for this living legend to gracefully office, and enter a space of global acclaim. We, Africa’s besotted young, hang on to every word when he speaks, we applaud like puppies at the World Economic Forum when he schools Africa’s weakling leaders on how to lead, we host conferences and seminars in and out of his country that break down his vision into repeatable models. You can’t blame us. This is an oasis in a continent desperately, desperately in need of inspiration. He has shown Africa’s leaders that it can be done. So, how do we take the news that Kagame – on 18 December won, overwhelmingly, a referendum (“I can only accept,” he says with the unmistakable smugness of Africa’s myriad sit-tight leaders) to lead the country for another term of seven years, in 2017, and then two five-year terms after? How do we take the news of constitutional amendments effected to benefit one individual? I look at my country, Nigeria. I continue to insist that, despite allegations of personal corruption (yet unproven in any courts and which he denies), Olusegun Obasanjo was the best president we ever had, at least in my lifetime. Under this president, anti-corruption agencies found bite, dead government institutions began to breathe, the extractive industries found transparency, customs restructured for efficiency, privatisation opened the field for global businesses to play ball, and our creative industries finally began to flourish. Indeed, much of the foundation of our democracy, with its economic progress and social mobility came under Obasanjo. They remain so, despite the relentless assault of the clueless, because of the clarity and stubbornness with which he created institutions built to last. One wonders what would have happened if he had succeeded at his own third term desires – opposed vehemently, and with good reason, by the entirety of Nigeria, including myself. I can wager a bet that Nigeria would have fared better than the twin curses of Umaru Yar’Adua who took a job he was too ill too perform, and Goodluck Jonathan, who took over a job he shouldn’t have. You look at Ghana, where, online, its citizens complain daily of a leadership that has lost its way. After its set of visionary leaders stepped down (and I must agree, if my two visits to that country last year count for anything). You look at South Africa, after Mandela, with Zuma and what he has done with the iconic ANC. You look at Libya, and how its today is worse than anything it ever saw under its dead dictator. You wonder at the utility of term limits if they limit the capacity of visionary leaders. Because, indeed, what use is democracy as a system of government – what use is any system of government – if it does not deliver development, growth, jobs, hope on the rise? Germany, after all, has its chancellor serving a third term. Roosevelt lead the United States into a four term. So, one wonders if Kagame will succeed this third time. And why it must be him. One wonders why he can find no one else in his country who can continue what he started. One wonders if he can avoid Mugabe’s trap and build a new model of sustainability where others have failed. Because, indeed, one cannot find any sit-tight African leader who has sustained whatever progress he (they are always men) rode to dictatorship with. One wonders why our continent must always make decisions between democracy and development. Why can’t we have easy choices? And then one wishes to deliver a subtle warning to Kagame. That this is not just about him, and it is not just about his country. Rwanda gives so many of us reason to believe that it is possible - in our own countries, and for our continent. Kagame reminds us that change is possible, that governance can be noble, that politics, in its purest form, can yet be a force for good. He cannot afford to be making a solely selfish decision. Too many of us are counting on Rwanda. A pointless power-grab will sorely break our hearts. Africa Rising? Tell that to the millions still trapped in poverty


No claims of responsibility in Friday strikes At least 55 people have been injured Suicide attackers in Afghanistan killed nearly 60 people at two mosques Friday – one in the Afghan capital of Kabul and the other in the central province of Ghor. At least 39 people died and 45 were wounded in an assault on a Shiite mosque in Kabul, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. The attacker detonated his suicide vest in Imam Zaman mosque in the early evening, police said. At least 20 people were killed and 10 were injured in an attack on a Sunni mosque in Ghor province, west of Kabul, Danish said. Abdulhai Khatebi, Ghor provincial spokesman, said the attacker detonated his suicide vest during worship services in the late afternoon. The mosque is in the province’s Doleena district. Related article ISIS claims suicide attack at mosque in Afghan capital The US State Department condemned the attacks in a statement Friday, as well as others that took place in Afghanistan earlier in the week. “In the face of these senseless and cowardly acts, our commitment to Afghanistan is unwavering,” said Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the State Department. “The United States stands with the government and people of Afghanistan and will continue to support their efforts to achieve peace and security for their country.” The two attacks are the latest in the country, where Afghan and coalition forces have been squaring off for years with Islamic militants, including the Taliban and ISIS – both Sunni movements. Sectarian tensions have raged for some time between members of the Sunni and Shiite denominations of Islam. But there were  no immediate claims of responsibility for Friday’s attacks. ISIS has claimed responsibility this year for other attacks on Shiite mosques. Related article America's inevitable war is now an invisible one The violence comes a day after Taliban militants stormed a base in Kandahar, in the south, and killed dozens of Afghan troops, the country’s Defense Ministry said. The ministry said 43 of the base’s 60 troops died in the attack. A further nine were injured, six are missing and two were not harmed. Ten attackers were killed in the assault. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, according to a statement from the group’s spokesman, Qhari Yosouf Ahmadi. Taliban raids on Afghan military installations aren’t uncommon. In April, a deadly raid on a northern army base left as many as 140 feared dead. That attack was revenge for the deaths of two Taliban officials in the region, a spokesman for the group told CNN. Related article 41 people, including chief, killed in attack on Afghan police headquarters On Tuesday, at least 41 people were killed and scores were injured in an attack on police headquarters in the Paktia provincial capital of Gardez, located in eastern Afghanistan. Two car bombs exploded at the gate of the police headquarters, Danish said. Afterward, five attackers entered the building and a five-hour gunfight ensued. CNN’s Ehsan Popalzai reported from Kabul, with Joe Sterling writing and reporting in Atlanta. CNN’s Ammar Albadran, Holly Yan, Euan McKirdy and Dakin Andone also contributed to this report


The latest Democratic presidential candidate is running to Hillary Clinton’s left on foreign policy, but when it comes to questions about her emails and foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation, Lincoln Chafee sounds like a Republican. Related gallery Politicians who switched parties Chafee pointed to what he described as Clinton’s “long record just going back over decades of questionable ethical practices,” pointing not just to recent questions over Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, but also to the decades-old Whitewater scandal on Thursday in an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.” “It seems like it just never stops,” Chafee said. “Anytime you’re running for office…trustworthiness is a main concern of the voters,” Chafee said Thursday on CNN’s “New Day.” Chafee hinted at a recent CNN/ORC poll that showed 57% of Americans believe Clinton is not honest and trustworthy, up from 49% in March. RELATED: Poll: New speed bumps for Clinton Those numbers came as Republicans have continued to hammer Clinton on her use of private email housed on a personal server during her time as secretary of state and over foreign donations made to the Clinton Foundation during that same time. “Those poll numbers and that perception of untrustworthiness, it just cannot sweep away. It’s something very, very important no matter what office you run for,” Chafee said. Related video Who is Lincoln Chafee? Clinton’s other two primary opponents, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, have looked to set up a contrast with Clinton but have been warier of attacking Clinton, notably on the questions swirling around the Clinton Foundation and her email use. But Chafee hasn’t hesitated, even before he formally announced his candidacy Wednesday. RELATED: Iraq War focus for Lincoln Chafee campaign launch Chafee is also going after Clinton’s record on foreign policy, calling her a “hawk” in the interview Thursday. And he is saying that Clinton’s vote in favor of the Iraq War in 2002 – which she has since called a mistake – should disqualify her from carrying the Democratic Party banner into the 2016 general election. “I would submit to the Democrats across the country we are going to be compromised in trying to win the election in 2016 if our nominee supported the war in Iraq,” Chafee said Thursday. “In 2016, this should be a republican war, a Republican mess (in Iraq).” He said he plans to raise questions about how the U.S. got “into this endless tragic quagmire” in Iraq and “who made the mistakes that got us there.” Not Chafee, he would argue, as he voted against authorizing military intervention in Iraq when he was a U.S. senator. Chafee said he would present himself as the candidate who wants to “wage peace,” not war. He is also running on a less common presidential platform: bringing the metric system to the U.S., which he said would ring “big economic benefits” to the country. RELATED: Lincoln Chafee: Go bold, go metric


This again? President Donald Trump has a unique talent – and taste – for making bad situations worse. For making wild claims, then failing to back them up. He was at it – once again – on Wednesday morning when he tweeted about his now controversial Tuesday evening conversation with the widow of an American soldier killed in Niger. That last sentence alone would’ve been enough to set off a five-alarm fire in any past White House. “Damage control mode,” or whatever you want to call it, exists for a reason. But the Trump presidency approaches that concept with disdain. Where his predecessors wielded fire extinguishers, Trump prefers a flame tosser. And so, he woke up, apparently took in the reviews of his chat, and tweeted this: Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad! But first, a quick rewind. How did we get here? In brief: reporters asked Trump on Monday why he hadn’t spoken out about four soldiers killed nearly two weeks earlier during an ambush in West Africa. He didn’t quite answer, but did say he planned to call their families. (Yes, there was more, but let’s keep focused.) A day later, Trump made contact with the wife of slain Sgt. La David Johnson. Then, according to the family and Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, who listened in to their exchange, Trump offered this chestnut: “(Johnson) knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt.” Whatever the particular context, the path forward here – both as a matter of political course and simple manners – was pretty simple: Say sorry, or nothing, and move on. But those things are anathema to Trump. He doesn’t apologize or keep quiet and, by his own admission, is incapable of letting criticism pass. And we learned a while back that there are no exceptions for the families of US soldiers killed on the battlefield. So Trump beat on, tweeting against the current of decency, accused the congresswoman of lying and – here’s the most important part – suggested that he had “proof” to back up his claim. As per usual, he did not provide any evidence to verify its existence, nor did he characterize its form. Is it a tape? A transcript? Did he record the conversation? Related article Sarah Sanders says Dem lawmaker's comments are 'appalling and disgusting' The answer is no, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. On Wednesday afternoon, she was asked by CNN’s Sara Murray about the “proof,” and told reporters in the briefing room that “there were several people in the room from the administration that were on the call, including the chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly.” In short, no audio record – meaning Trump’s evidence begins and ends with his word and those of his aides. Again, even taking Sanders at her word, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. This President’s priors all but guaranteed it. Back in May, he tweeted that James Comey, the FBI director he’d fired days earlier, “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” A 40-day wild goose chase later, Trump conceded he’d been bluffing. James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! And then there was the false accusation he leveled against former President Barack Obama back in March. “Terrible!,” he tweeted, in the voice of friend calling you up to share some upsetting gossip. “Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! A day later, Sanders, then a deputy to former press secretary Sean Spicer, claimed Trump was simply repeating what he’d read in the papers or seen on television. “Everybody acts like President Trump is the one that came up with this idea,” she said. “There are multiple news outlets that have reported this.” That was, of course, false. Trump and his staff offered increasingly painful deflections and head fakes thereafter. The first and perhaps most memorable came when Spicer parroted a Fox News analyst’s charge – which the network’s news division ran away from – that Obama had outsourced the job to British intelligence, which drew the UK’s prime minister and its GCHQ into the mess. They quickly and crossly denied it and the White House duly backed off. Both Comey and NSA director Mike Rogers would also shoot down Trump’s claim during sworn testimony on Capitol Hill. In her comment to reporters on Wednesday, Sanders, like her predecessor, breathed some new air into this latest round. By naming Kelly, the chief of staff and father to a son killed in combat, as one of the people “on the call,” Sanders drew one of the administration’s top officials into the morass. Kelly is probably mindful enough to stay mum, but the questions now have new legs – and the situation as whole seems ripe to further deteriorate.


"I don't think he can continue as attorney general," Richard Painter told CNN Painter says he is puzzled by Sessions' initial denial A former top ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House said Thursday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should leave his post after it was revealed Sessions met twice with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 campaign, then denied it under oath in his confirmation hearings. “I don’t think he can continue as attorney general,” Richard Painter told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.” “I don’t think he was truthful with the Senate. He did not provide provide full and complete information.” After news of Sessions’ contacts with the Russians first broke on Wednesday night, Painter tweeted that the attorney general could come under stricter legal scrutiny. “Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail,” he wrote. Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail https://t.co/qH0s6sTMJ9 Sessions has strongly pushed back against the reports, saying he never discussed campaign-related issues with anyone from Russia. “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign,” he said in a statement Wednesday night. “I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.” Asked by NBC News Thursday morning if he would recuse himself in investigating any potential ties between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials, Sessions said he would do so “whenever it’s appropriate.” Speaking on “New Day,” Painter also puzzled over Sessions’ initial denial, saying the question posed by Minnesota Sen. Al Franken was not complicated and that Sessions had been misleading in his response. Democrats call for Sessions to resign over meetings with Russian envoy, some Republicans calls for recusal “He didn’t tell the truth,” Painter said. “He needed to to disclose the communications that he had with the Russians, if he indeed did have communications with the Russians. That was the clear point of the question.” “This is serious stuff what’s going on with the Russians,” he added, tying the latest controversy to the dismissal of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was asked to resign after news of his conversations with the Russian ambassador before the inauguration were made public. “We’ve already had one member of this administration have to resign for lying about contacts with the Russians … and now we have another one who seems to have trouble telling the truth about what he’s saying to the Russians, and that’s just not acceptable,” Painter said. Wednesday night, Sessions’ spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores, said there had been nothing “misleading about his answer” in his January testimony as he “was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign – not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee.” But Painter said he considered it odd that Sessions, as a member of that particular committee, would be making contact with the Russian ambassador. “I don’t understand why a member of the Senate Armed Services committee is having unilateral discussions with the Russians,” he said. “That’s a big problem in the Senate Armed Services Committee if that’s going on and you have at least one senator (Claire McCaskill) willing to say she’s not doing that.” In a tweet Thursday morning, McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, said: “I’ve been on the Armed Services Com for 10 years. No call or meeting w/ Russian ambassador. Ever. Ambassadors call members of (the Foreign Relations Committee).” I've been on the Armed Services Com for 10 years.No call or meeting w/Russian ambassador. Ever. Ambassadors call members of Foreign Rel Com. McCaskill, however, has also tweeted in the past about discussions with the Russian ambassador. In January 2013, she wrote: “Off to meeting w/ Russian Ambassador. Upset about the arbitrary/cruel decision to end all US adoptions, even those in process.” Off to meeting w/Russian Ambassador. Upset about the arbitrary/cruel decision to end all US adoptions,even those in process. Thursday morning, McCaskill acknowledged she met with the Russian ambassador as part of discussions about the Iran nuclear deal and blamed Twitter’s character limit on her tweet earlier in the day. “One-hundred-and-forty characters are tough. The word ‘from’ should have been in there but I didn’t have room,” she said, adding that she never had a one-on-one meeting with the ambassador and calling for Sessions to step down. CNN’s Ashley Killough contributed to this report.


Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount with Lockheed Ultimately, the two sides were able to reach an agreement President Donald Trump signed a nearly $110 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Saturday, signaling the United States’ renewed commitment to its alliance with the Gulf kingdom and desire to bolster its counterterrorism partnership. The deal was finalized in part thanks to the direct involvement of Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser. He shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call. Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis’ visit to the White House on May 1 – a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time. The New York Times first reported the exchange between Kushner and Hewson. On Saturday, near the end of Trump’s first day in the kingdom, the two leaders inked a deal greenlighting a $109 billion defense deal, which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said was a component of $350 billion in economic and defense investments between the two countries over the next 10 years. Lockheed’s Hewson was on hand Saturday in the cavernous Riyadh ballroom where Trump and Salman made the deal official. The company was “proud to be part of this historic announcement that will strengthen the relationship between” the US and Saudi Arabia,” Hewson said. The sales authorized under the deal would bolster Saudi Arabia’s security, provide an economic boon to both countries and “strengthen the cause of peace in the region,” she added. The deal was a welcome sign for Saudi Arabia, which had grown nervous about the strength of its alliance with the US as President Barack Obama signed the nuclear deal with Iran and signaled a potential rapprochement with the Persian nation, which is fiercely at odds with Saudi Arabia. Trump, by contrast, has castigated Iran as a destabilizing power and criticized the nuclear deal, instead seeking to bolster partnerships with Sunni Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia – which Trump demonstrated by making his first foreign trip as president here. In a statement, a White House official called the defense deal “a significant expansion of the over seven-decade long security relationship between” the US and Saudi Arabia. “This package of defense equipment and services support the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats while also bolstering the Kingdom’s ability to contribute to counterterrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on the US military to conduct those operations,” the White House official said. Ultimately, the two sides were able to reach an agreement on a weapons package that amounts to nearly $110 billion in tanks, fighter jets, combat ships and the THAAD missile defense system, according to the White House. Related article What Trump should not do when he meets Saudis It is unclear how much the Saudis will be paying for THAAD, but Trump called it a “billion-dollar system” last month when the US deployed the advanced missile defense radar to South Korea. While calling the head of a major defense company and simply asking for a lower price is widely considered an unorthodox negotiation tactic, Kushner’s hands-on approach has drawn comparisons to when then-President-elect Trump criticized the stealthy F-35 fighter jet for being too expensive, and Hewson gave her “personal commitment” to cut the cost of the program in February. And the details of how the call took place also provide a window into Kushner’s role during negotiations with the Saudis and the range of his influence on matters of foreign policy as a whole. During last year’s presidential campaign and later during the transition, Kushner was identified by Trump’s team as the principal point of contact for foreign governments looking to either congratulate the new US leader or begin diplomatic talks. The 36-year-old commercial real estate magnate started building a relationship with members of the Saudi royal family shortly after the election, a source told CNN, and was on hand when Trump hosted the deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in March. Issues of foreign diplomacy evolved into an interagency effort once the administration began, according to a source, and Kushner’s role in negotiating the arms deal was just one part of an larger effort that included the State Department, Department of Defense and National Security Council. Related article Trump's Secretary of Everything: Jared Kushner But the scope of Kushner’s influence on matters of foreign policy have remained in the spotlight through the early months of Trump’s presidency. CNN reported last month that multiple White House and administration officials said Kushner had eclipsed nearly all of Trump’s West Wing and Cabinet advisers in terms of influence and established himself as the key envoy for those outside the administration. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at the time that Kushner was working jointly with the State Department to manage the administration’s foreign affairs. “He’s continuing to work with them and facilitate an outcome. But he brings a perspective to this, and began doing that during the transition. But again, it’s not a binary choice where he’s doing this at the expense of somebody else.” CNN’s Betsy Klein and Elise Labott contributed to this report.


The former astronaut has been released from a hospital in New Zealand He was evacuated from the South Pole due to his medical condition Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin has been released from a hospital in New Zealand and is on a flight back to the United States, according to a tweet from his manager, Christina Korp. Aldrin, 86, was hospitalized in Christchurch on December 2 after being evacuated from the South Pole when his medical condition deteriorated. He was part of a tourist group visiting Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station through luxury tourism company White Desert. The trip was expected to last through December 12. He had congestion in his lungs and was told not to take the long flight home until it had cleared, Korp posted on Aldrin’s website. “I started to feel a bit short of breath so the staff decided to check my vitals,” Aldrin said on the website. “After some examination they noticed congestion in my lungs and that my oxygen levels were low which indicated symptoms of altitude sickness. This prompted them to get me out on the next flight to McMurdo and once I was at sea level I began to feel much better.” A White Desert doctor and the US Antarctic Program doctor decided an evacuation would the best precautionary measure, according to a release from the company. The tourism operator made a request for a medical evacuation to the National Science Foundation, and it agreed. Related article Buzz Aldrin is 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' as he recuperates Aldrin was placed on the first available flight to McMurdo Station, on the Antarctic coast. A US Antarctic Program doctor traveled with him. From McMurdo, another flight took Aldrin to New Zealand. “I’m extremely grateful to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their swift response and help in evacuating me from the Admunsen-Scott Science Station to McMurdo Station and on to New Zealand. I had been having a great time with the group at White Desert’s camp before we ventured further south,” Aldrin said. “I really enjoyed the time I spent talking with the Science Station’s staff too.” Seven Corners, the travel insurance company responsible for Aldrin’s care, worked directly with Aldrin to monitor on-site medical care and arrange travel for his family, according to a statement from the company. They also helped coordinate his transportation with a medical escort back to the US. See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. Aldrin was eager to visit the South Pole to cap his personal exploration achievements, according to Korp. After all, he had spacewalked and was the second man to walk on the moon in the 1960s, traveled underwater to see the Titanic in 1996 and visited the North Pole in 1998. And to scientists, Antarctica’s conditions are similar to what they expect on the surface of Mars. “I didn’t get as much time to spend with the scientists as I would have liked to discuss the research they’re doing in relation to Mars,” Aldrin said. “My visit was cut short and I had to leave after a couple of hours. I really enjoyed my short time in Antarctica and seeing what life could be like on Mars.” Aldrin also honored his friend, former astronaut and US senator John Glenn, who died Thursday. Related article John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, dies at 95 “As I sit in hospital and just heard that my friend John Glenn has passed away, I feel fortunate to be recovering from my own illness, but saddened that we lost another space pioneer and world icon,” Aldrin said on his website. Aldrin met Glenn in 1953, when Aldrin was a fighter pilot in South Korea and Glenn was the Ops officer. They would meet again as astronauts. He said the last time they saw each other was at former astronaut Neil Armstrong’s memorial in 2012, but they had kept in touch by phone and email. “I was very saddened to hear that John was ill over the past year,” Aldrin said. “Since he was the last remaining Mercury astronaut, I was always lobbying him to encourage the Apollo guys to do regular reunions annually since we’re not getting any younger. I am very sorry that he has departed us with his wisdom. I join that crowd of people and the entire nation and the world in paying homage to his service.”


The founder of a popular neo-Nazi website who encouraged his readers to launch an avalanche of hate toward a Jewish woman says the victim could simply have ignored the phone calls, texts and social media messages. Andrew Anglin made the arguments in court documents submitted by his lawyers in response to a lawsuit that seeks to hold him liable after using his website to encourage his thousands of readers to contact Tanya Gersh. Most of the messages contained hate-filled language and centered on the fact that Gersh is Jewish. Anglin wrote that it shouldn’t matter what Gersh thought of the words sent to her after his article in the Daily Stormer, as, he claims, it was all free speech protected by the First Amendment. Gersh, with the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is suing Anglin for “invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of Montana’s Anti-Intimidation Act.” That suit was filed in April in the US District Court for Montana. Anglin and his legal team are asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed, largely because of the First Amendment. “[Gersh] clearly would prefer not to hear the words of Mr. Anglin and his alleged readers, but liberty demands that they remain free to speak them,” according to Anglin’s latest legal argument filed with the court. Gersh said she received a voice mail with the sound of gunshots. There were letters sent to the home she shared with her husband and young son, who also received messages on social media. Gersh earlier this year told CNN she was haunted and threatened by the images, and feared for her and her family’s life so much that they debated fleeing the state because the threats felt so real. “The response may have been voluminous and crude, but defendant is not liable for the speech of his readers,” Anglin’s motion reads. The troll storm began after a dispute between Gersh and fellow Whitefish, Montana, resident Sherry Spencer. Spencer is the mother of white nationalist Richard Spencer. Gersh became a target for hate after contacting tenants of a building owned by Sherry Spencer, warning them about possible protests over her son’s views. When Sherry Spencer called to ask her advice, Gersh said, she advised her to sell the building and donate money to a human rights group as a way to defuse tensions. Gersh said she offered to help Spencer sell the property. Sherry Spencer eventually accused Gersh in a public blog post of threatening her livelihood. She wrote that Gersh told her protesters and media would turn up and drive down the building’s value if she didn’t sell. Related article An avalanche of hate: How a Montana mom became the target of a neo-Nazi troll storm That is where Anglin came in. He began writing about the case on the Daily Stormer, calling what Gersh did “extortion.” He encouraged his troll army to tell Gersh what they thought of her and on his website he posted her personal information and ways to reach her. His supporters did so by the hundreds. One way Anglin defends himself is to say Gersh could have simply not checked her phone to avoid messages or social media. “Social media, email, and telephone messages are not directed to a home — they are directed to distant cloud computer  servers  to  which  the  individual  must  affirmatively  reach  out  to  acquire.  Unlike mail, delivered by the government daily to the home, plaintiff need not reach out and check her electronic and telephonic messages, from home or elsewhere,” the response reads. Another angle of the defense is to deny the Holocaust – a baseless claim that often appears on the Daily Stormer to infuriate Jews and rally Anglin’s supporters. In his legal response, Anglin demands the court take his mindset into consideration when looking at the intent of the imagery created of Gersh, and those sent to her.  Some of those images included pictures of Gersh and her son’s faces manipulated to appear to be on the gates of a Nazi concentration camp. “In defendant’s mindset, there are no gas chambers; there are no ovens; there are no mass killings of Jews,” Anglin and his lawyers argue in the court document. “To the speaker, these are fictional metaphors, a ‘threat’  as true as a ‘Star Wars’ fanatic sending Death Star-blowing-up – Vulcan imagery to a ‘Star Trek’ fan. It may be hateful, but it is no true threat.” In response to Anglin’s brief,  Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called Anglin’s mindset “one of Holocaust denial and pernicious anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.” Greenblatt argued that defense shouldn’t be allowed. “Under the law, Anglin should not be able to hide behind coded language and keyboards, tearing a person’s life apart because of their race or religion and then be able to claim that his speech was protected because of his own mindset.” CNN asked Anglin’s attorney Marc Randazza about the claim of the Holocaust denial as a defense. “It doesn’t matter that this guy denies the Holocaust happened, it doesn’t matter that he’s a bigot. In fact, it matters more,” Randazza said. “There is no greater way than to preach your love for the First Amendment then to take on a case from someone whose speech you abhor.” Anglin says other statements made toward Gersh are not threats that imply violence. He explains that one comment, telling Gersh a “goylash” was coming, is merely self-referential. The term goy means a non-Jew, and the phrase goylash is often used by the alt-right when calling for a backlash by non-Jews against Jews. He says that statements that people were going to find Gersh or ruin her did not imply violence. They simply stated that people could find her through public means, and threats could be financial. “There is nothing violent about looking to see what a person does in public, and it was only publicly available information that had been presented about plaintiff,” Anglin argues. Anglin also defends himself against a charge of intimidation under the Montana Anti-Intimidation Act by claiming the law itself is over broad. But even if it weren’t, “Nothing in the alleged threats cited … suggests anything other than hyperbolic insult.” Greenblat, the Anti-Defamation League CEO, said he sees it differently. “Anglin has the First Amendment right to post a wide range of hateful and false ramblings online, but we all have a right to be free from what any reasonable person would understand to be a true threat,” Greenblatt told CNN. “It is crucial that the courts keep up with the technology and the state of hate today.” Anglin also argues the court has no jurisdiction in this case, because he was not living in the United States during the time of the alleged threats. Anglin submitted voter registration records in which he asks that mail be forwarded to Krasnodar Krai, in Southern Russia. Anglin checked a box that said he did not know when he was going to return. He maintains in court documents he continues to live abroad, and therefore, the lawsuit should be thrown out. Related article Neo-Nazi site founder says 'troll storm' is protected speech, wants lawsuit dismissed In the legal document, Anglin and his team wrote: “Like Samuel Adams, Mr. Anglin behooved his readers to adhere to the law and keep within its bounds.” In the request for dismissal, Anglin calls the lawsuit “an affront to the First Amendment.” The SPLC said its attorneys are reviewing the motion. CNN’s Sara Sidner contributed to this report.


Ty Dolla $ign released his new album "Campaign" last week He addresses policy brutality with his brother, Big TC Ty Dolla $ign wants to make America “wavy” again. The Los Angeles rapper, who launched his new album “Campaign” last week, joined forces with the Hip Hop Caucus’ “Respect My Vote!” campaign to fire up millennials and encourage them to get to the polls in November. “Wavy” is a slang word used to describe something that is positive, and when he performed at MTV’s “Wonderland” LIVE Show last month, Dolla $ign was surrounded by Donald Trump-like campaign signs that read, “Make America Wavy Again.” “I’ve been tuning into the election and I think it’s important for my community to vote,” the rapper, whose legal name is Tyrone William Griffin, Jr., told CNN in a recent phone interview. “I’m using my platform to help out a little bit, you know. It’s only right.” While he says his efforts to get millennials to the polls is non-partisan, the “Blasé” rapper said he personally plans on voting for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. “Hillary, yeah, she lied about a couple of things, but wouldn’t you rather have somebody who lies like every single human being instead of a racist?” Dolla $ign said. “We know who to vote for and she’s got a good squad behind her. Let’s get it,” he added. Dolla $ign said that along with Trump’s criticism of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, he “cannot forget” comments that the Republican presidential nominee made about some Mexican immigrants and his plan to build a massive wall along the US southern border. A message left with Trump’s campaign seeking comment was not returned. “To me, it’s 2016 about to be 2017. I can’t believe there’s still a racism factor,” he said, referring to the recent police shooting of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rapper is hoping that the next president will build on President Barack Obama’s efforts to address criminal justice reform and work to combat police brutality. Dolla $ign dedicated his 2015 album, “Free TC” to his brother Gabriel “TC” Griffin, who is currently serving a life sentence in California after being convicted of one count of first-degree murder. Big TC maintains his innocence and Dolla $ign said that proceeds from the album have been dedicated to fight for his brother’s defense. “I just recently got to go see (my brother) for the first time since hes been in the penitentiary last week with this organization called “Schools not Prisons,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get him out. God is great.” The rapper tackles these issues in “Campaign” with the help of Big TC, who is a rapper in his own right, having also appeared on YG’s “My Krazy Life” by recording his vocals straight from prison. Most recently, TC appears on “Campaign” in the single, “No Justice.” “‘No Justice’ is a song that (TC) made right off the top of the head and it happened to be on tempo. My brother is really talented,” Dolla $ign said. “We’re standing for something and it feels good to be able to have my brother on my project,” he added. YG seizes mantle of rap’s most outspoken Donald Trump critic


Here’s what you might have missed on CNN today: – In a big win for President Trump, House Republicans have voted to dismantle pillars of the Affordable Care Act and make sweeping changes to the nation’s health care system. – The President signed an executive order to allow more politics into the pulpit. (You can read the full order here.) – In royals news, Prince Philip, the 95-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, will retire from public life. Here are some pros and cons to working into your 90s. – Two Russian bombers, flanked by a pair of fighter jets, were intercepted by stealth US F-22 aircraft off the coast of Alaska. – President Trump’s first foreign trip will include visits to the Vatican, Israel and Saudi Arabia. – Former President Obama weighed in on the upcoming French election by endorsing centrist politician Emmanuel Macron. – These are the best companies for working dads. – Watch this video that fact-checks the White House on the Mexico border wall. (Spoiler alert: What Sean Spicer said isn’t true.) – Bad hangover? This gin was recalled for having too much alcohol. – May the Fourth be with you! We found Darth Vader alive and well and working as a hospital tech in Tennessee.

House Republicans' vote to dismantle pillars of the Affordable Care Act


Jake Turx said he was surprised by Trump's reaction to his question about anti-Semitism Turx recounted an earlier exchange he had with Trump, "he was very friendly" A Jewish reporter who was called a liar and told to sit down by President Donald Trump after he asked about the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States says he is still hopeful. “The Trump campaign and transition and now administration have been extremely forthcoming in reaching out to the orthodox Jewish community,” Jake Turx, a reporter with Ami Magazine told CNN’s John Berman on “Anderson Cooper 360.” “I remain extremely confident that they are going to sit down and meet with community leaders and figure out what can be addressed.” Turx told Berman that his question to the President was to simply get his administration’s position on how they will try to curb anti-Semitism. Turx prefaced his question by saying that he has not seen anyone in his community that would accuse Trump or his staff of being anti-Semitic. Related article Trump tells Jewish magazine's reporter to 'sit down,' blames anti-Semitism on 'the other side' “See, he said he was going to ask a very simple, easy question, and it’s not,” Trump interrupted at his press conference on Thursday. Turx said he was caught off guard by Trump’s reaction to his question. “We’re professional reporters,” Turx said. “We’re trained to not have any kind of emotional attachment and not allow any kinds of feelings interfere with our jobs, so surprise is something I’m not supposed to be and here I am admitting on national television I was somewhat surprised.” Turx added he had a good relationship with the President, citing his last encounter with Trump. “Just a day earlier, less than 24 hours earlier, when he escorted Prime Minister Netanyahu out of the White House,” Turx said. “I got a chance to just shoot a question at him and it was very simple: what is his message about how the meetings went and what does he want the orthodox Jewish community to know. He was very friendly.” Reporter who clashed w/ Trump: I remain hopeful that the Trump administration will address anti-Semitism in America https://t.co/yDXRiv2AS3


British royal couple arrive in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan They enjoy a private audience with the country's young King and Queen Bhutanese prince guides the visiting royals in art of archery, Bhutan's national sport The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent time Thursday with another glamorous young royal couple  when they received a private audience in Bhutan’s capital with the King and Queen of the remote Himalayan kingdom. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 36, and Queen Jetsun Pema, 25 – often compared to the photogenic young British royal couple – met with Prince William and his wife, Catherine, at the Tashichho Dzong, a Buddhist monastery and fortress in the Bhutanese capital, Thimphu. The duke and duchess, on the first day of the Bhutan leg of their weeklong visit to India and the kingdom, were ushered into the Dzong amid great fanfare with a traditional welcome procession known as a Chipdrel, and they later received a blessing at a temple. The Duke and Duchess arrive at the Dzong in Thimphu to meet The King and Queen of Bhutan #RoyalVisitBhutan pic.twitter.com/h3i88rmFRv They then visited Thimphu’s open-air archery venue and tried their hand at the tiny Buddhist kingdom’s national sport under the guidance of Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, the Bhutanese king’s younger brother. TRH tried their hand at the national sport, as well as other traditional Bhutanese games #RoyalVisitBhutan pic.twitter.com/355OzfhCHj In Bhutanese archery, participants aim at small, colorful wooden targets positioned 145 meters (475 feet) away, according to an official statement detailing the itinerary of the royal tour. The Duchess of Cambridge wore an outfit made from traditional Bhutanese material. The duke and duchess were then scheduled to have a private dinner with Bhutan’s King and Queen at Lingkana Palace on the grounds of the Tashichho Dzong. The Duke and Duchess with The King and Queen of Bhutan #RoyalVisitBhutan pic.twitter.com/7diwsZ4yzC Prince William and Catherine are on the fifth day of their tour to India and Bhutan, their first trip to the South Asian countries. So far they have visited Mumbai, New Delhi and Kaziranga National Park in the Indian state of Assam. Duke and Duchess of Cambridge play cricket with legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar On their second and final day in Bhutan, the couple are scheduled to take a 5- to 6-hour hike to the Tiger’s Nest monastery, a cliffside temple complex built in 1692 that’s more than 3,000 kilometers (more than 1,860 miles) above sea level. Bhutan is a remote nation of about 750,000 that borders India and China. It’s known for its stunning Himalayan scenery and the concept of Gross National Happiness, in which the country seeks to develop in accordance with Buddhist spiritual values rather than along a capitalist model.


The House and Senate voted to overturn Obama's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act There are concerns that JASTA could open the US to similar lawsuits from people in other countries Top congressional leaders from each party expressed buyer’s remorse Thursday about a controversial new law that was enacted over President Barack Obama’s objections that allows 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia. Just one day after these lawmakers led the first override of a veto during Obama’s presidency they publicly called for making changes to the law. But even as they admitted they agreed with some of the White House’s concerns, GOP leaders quickly blamed the President for “dropping the ball” for failing to engage with Congress on the legislation before it passed. The White House didn’t hold back in its criticism after both the House and Senate voted decisively on Wednesday to overturn Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, also referred to as JASTA. The President called the vote Wednesday “political” and his spokesman ripped the move as the “single most embarrassing thing” Congress has done in decades. EXCLUSIVE: Obama says Congress made a ‘political vote’ overriding his veto of Saudi lawsuit bill Echoing concerns raised by the White House that the measure could open the US to similar lawsuits from people in other countries, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the law needs to be changed to ensure that US troops are protected. “I’d like to think there is a way we can fix it so that our service members do not have legal problems overseas while still protecting the rights of the 9/11 victims,” Ryan said at his weekly news conference. The speaker voiced his own reservations about the bill earlier this year, saying people needed to look at the unintended consequences. But he explained that he ultimately decided to allow a House vote on it because “you want to make sure that the 9/11 victims and their families get their day in court.” Asked if Congress would try to fix the law when it returns for a post-election session, Ryan replied, “I don’t know.” OPINION: Will Saudis seek revenge for Congress’ veto override? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking at a separate news conference, shared Ryan’s concerns. “It appears there may be some unintended ramifications of that and I do think it’s worth further discussing,” he said.  “But it’s certainly is not something that was going to be fixed this week.” McConnell said Obama didn’t reach out to him until this week, which was after the bill had passed both chambers, been vetoed, and was facing an override vote that clearly was going to succeed. “That was a good example of the failure to communicate early about a piece of legislation that was obviously very popular,” McConnell said. McConnell explained that lawmakers were very focused on the needs of the 9/11 families and didn’t take the time to think through the consequences. “Because everyone was aware who the potential beneficiaries were, but nobody focused on the potential downside in terms of our international relationships. And I just think it was a ball dropped,” McConnell said. “I wish the President – and I hate to blame everything on him and I don’t – but it would have been helpful had…we had a discussion about this much earlier than the last week.” RELATED: Trump Hill backers: Stay away from personal Clinton attacks White House press secretary Josh Earnest blasted lawmakers for their second thoughts and said there were ample warnings from the administration of the dangerous consequences of the law. “What’s true in elementary school is true in the United States Congress: ignorance is not an excuse,” Earnest said. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, typically one of the White House’s strongest allies, voted to override the President’s veto and told reporters she was never pressed by the President to help prevent it from being overturned. She called the President’s concerns about potential fallout with allies “legitimate” and acknowledged, “I do think that perhaps it could have been written in a little bit of a different way that addressed some of the concerns. The families did think that they made changes but not to the satisfaction of the President obviously.” Pelosi disagreed with the President’s remark that it was a “political vote.” While she said she didn’t see his comments, she said the timing of Congress taking up the measure was because the families of the terror attacks pressed for it to pass around the 15th anniversary of the deaths of their loved ones. RELATED: Harry Reid: Trump is GOP’s ‘Frankenstein monster’ Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is expected to be the next Democratic leader next year, is the chief sponsor of the legislation. The New Yorker said he was open to changing the law but not in any way that could hurt the 9/11 families, many of whom are his constituents. “So I will look at anything,” Schumer said at a news conference. “But it has to be something that doesn’t weaken the bill and limit the rights of these families to get their day in court and justice.” Schumer spoke while standing next to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who was lobbied this week by Obama to sustain his veto, and his was the lone senator to do so. Reid even read aloud to a meeting of his Democratic caucus a letter Obama had written to him outlining his concerns with the bill. Asked to explain his thinking, Reid declined. “No, no. I’ve got my friend here. I’m not going to talk about it,” he said. One senator who wanted to talk more about the legislation before it became law was Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Corker said he tried to arrange a meeting this weekend with Senate leaders, Obama, and Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss “a better route” for the legislation. “We were unable to get the meeting,” a frustrated Corker said on the floor. “For reasons that still are unknown to me, that was not achievable. There was no desire whatsoever to sit down and meet.” RELATED: Ryan: ‘I’m tired of divided government. It doesn’t work very well’ Earnest said the White House had spoken to Corker. “He’s going to have to explain to his constituents why he supported a piece of legislation that he claims to harbor significant concerns about,” Earnest said of Corker. Corker spearheaded a letter Wednesday signed by 28 bipartisan senators raising concerns with the law and saying they would consider changes to it, a particularly unusual missive on the day the President’s veto was turned back. “Every one of those senators that signed the letter voted for the bill, including Sen. Corker. So obviously they thought it was better to have the bill than not,” Schumer noted. As for Obama calling his vote politically-motivated, Schumer rejected the charge. ‘I look at the families, it’s hardly political to me,” Schumer said. “I’ve worked with these families for five years. I feel their pain.” CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.


"Donald Trump is destroying the credibility of the Office of President 140 characters at a time," Durbin said Durbin also criticized Republicans' Obamacare replacement plan President Donald Trump’s Twitter usage is “destroying” the credibility of the office of the President, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said Tuesday. “Donald Trump is destroying the credibility of the Office of President 140 characters at a time,” the Illinois Democrat told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day.” “This charge that he has made about some wiretapping before the election without a scintilla of evidence has been refuted not only by the former president but the national head of intelligence and the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.” CNN has reached out to the White House for a response. But Trump has previously alleged via Twitter, without providing evidence, that former President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of his phones during the campaign. After Trump asked Congress to investigate his claim, Durbin said Republicans are taking up Trump’s call to investigate to create a distraction from concerns about the Trump campaign. “The Republicans in Congress still want to take this seriously. Why? So they can avoid a serious investigation, an independent, transparent investigation, of the Russian involvement in the last election,” he said. House Republicans introduced a bill Monday that would scrap Obamacare’s individual mandate, a major pillar of the law, replacing it with refundable tax credits for individuals to purchase health insurance.  It would also restructure Medicaid and defund Planned Parenthood. But Durbin said the plan could ultimately hurt Americans. “As you start looking at it more carefully and closely, we realize that millions of Americans will lose their health insurance, and many who will have health insurance will not have a policy that is as protective today as we have under the Affordable Care Act,” he said. Durban said Republicans have not factored in the financial impact of their new health care plan. “The Republicans, always the guardians of the national treasury, issued this report without any score and any determination of its impact on our budget deficit by the Congressional Budget Office,” he said.


Scientist: Fossils once renamed should again be classified as Brontosaurus Study took five years and involved visits to 20 museums worldwide Everybody loves a good comeback story – especially one that’s dino-sized. After its name was booted from science books for more than a century, a new study suggests that the Brontosaurus belongs to its own genera, and therefore deserves its own name. O.C. Marsh first named the Brontosaurus in 1879, after he received 25 crates of bones discovered at Como Bluff, Wyoming, according to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.  Similar to, though not as large as the Apatosaurus discovered a couple of years prior, Marsh named the dinosaur, “Brontosaurus,” or “thunder lizard.” Apatosaurus had three sacral vertebrae in its hip region and Brontosaurus had five, according to the museum’s website, so Marsh gave the dinosaurs two different names.  Later it was discovered that the number of sacral vertebrae is related to age: as the animal gets older, two of the vertebrae fuse to the sacrum. Paleontologist Elmer Riggs concluded in 1903 that the Brontosaurus was really a young Apatosaurus, and therefore must go by that name, according to the museum. Emanuel Tschopp, a paleontologist at the Nova University of Lisbon, Portugal, led this latest study, which took five years and included visits to 20 museums in Europe and the United States to collect data. By examining “500 anatomical traits,” Tschopp said he was able to “reconstruct the family tree” of Diplodocids – the family Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus belong to. Tschopp “looked at every single specimen,” according to Jacques Gauthier, curator of vertebrate paleontology at Yale Peabody Museum and “noted their characteristics,” plugging data into an algorithm that revealed “five species in the group of Diplodocids.”  Two of them are Brontosaurus-like and three are Apatosaurus-like, Gauthier said. While his findings have earned the excitement of Brontosaurus fans everywhere, Tschopp said he is “expecting a debate about the case of Brontosaurus.” “We think we have good evidence,” he said, “But I know there are other research groups that do not completely agree.” For Gauthier, Tschopp’s discovery means changes are coming to the original Brontosaurus skeleton that has lived at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History since 1936. “We’re definitely going to have to change the label,” he said.


The disconnect between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about a lot more than bad personal chemistry. Their relationship, which will be played out in all its dysfunctional glory during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week, founders on a deep ideological divide and a sharply conflicting world view. A long, steadily worsening showdown between the rivals is coming to a head in the tense final stages of talks between world powers and Iran in pursuit of a nuclear deal backed by the U.S. but opposed by Netanyahu. Related gallery Netanyahu's life in pictures READ: Will Netanyahu’s speech to Congress backfire? Netanyahu’s visit is highly unusual. Not only will he not meet with Obama, but he is taking the most prominent stage outside the White House available to a foreign leader in Washington and directly campaigning against one of the president’s top second-term priorities – a nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu appears to have concluded that the proposed agreement is so bad that, in a highly unorthodox move, he will actively join Obama’s political adversaries in an effort to derail the president’s Iran deal-making. The Israeli leader will make the case against the proposed deal in an address to Congress on Tuesday, against the wishes of the White House, at the invitation of GOP House Speaker John Boehner. The speech, likely to delight Republicans, who are also trying to thwart Obama’s Iran diplomacy, will be the starkest illustration yet of the estrangement between Netanyahu and Obama. “Each one is convinced that the other one doesn’t get the other side’s core interests,” said David Makovsky, a former advisor on Secretary of State John Kerry’s Middle East team. “Beyond all the grievances and the slights, that is the fundamental issue.” Related video Frayed edges showing in U.S.- Israel relationship SEE ALSO: Has Israel lost the Democratic Party? Both Obama and Netanyahu see themselves as historic figures, elected at fateful moments in the lives of their nations. Obama sees his mission as ending foreign land wars, putting the campaign against terrorism on a sustainable footing and honoring John F. Kennedy’s dictum that the United States should “never fear to negotiate” with its enemies. Netanyahu believes he is “entrusted with the awesome responsibility of ensuring the future of the Jewish people and the future of the Jewish state” against an existential threat from Iran’s nuclear program. In his more optimistic outlook, Obama, the first African-American president, puts his faith in the power of aspirational political movements and grass roots organizing. He ran for office arguing that recent approaches to foreign policy had not worked — hence his willingness to engage U.S. enemies. But Netanyahu has a more hardened view of the world, forged by decades in Israel’s treacherous neighborhood, the threats Jews have faced throughout their history and his close ties with foreign policy hawks who believe that military strength and vigilance are the best ways to ensure security and peace. “I do think that it is important to understand this is more than simply a little personality clash,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group in Washington. “It really is a fundamental disagreement over policy and it reflects the underlying world views that are held not just by the two men but by the two camps in each country,” Ben-Ami said. Obama and Netanyahu have never been friends. And now their personal antipathy is beginning to infect national political ties, which are as bad as they have been for decades. Related video Feinstein: Netanyahu doesn't speak for all Jews RELATED: Feinstein calls Netanyahu ‘arrogant’ Obama and Netanyahu did not set out to have a bad relationship, and there are plenty of instances where world leaders who did not like each other still worked well together. But this feud has certainly made it easier for both sides to question the other’s motives and to see deliberate slights even when none are intended. Related video Have U.S.-Israel relations ever been this bad? Yes. Their differing personality traits almost guaranteed a collision. Obama has an author’s temperament. He doesn’t enjoy politics and seeks to avoid public confrontations. Netanyahu is blunt, a skilled wheeler-and-dealer and a bruiser in the tradition of Israel’s in-your-face politics. And one trait they share, a deep confidence in their own convictions, only increases their head-butting. “I sometimes wonder if we have a situation where we have someone who is a law professor and is very cerebral and has this universal sense of how things are supposed to unfold under international law,” Makovsky said, referring to Obama. “On the other side, you have someone who is convinced he lives in a region called the Middle East and believes that a lot of the categories that they teach in law school are not always applicable in this neighborhood.” Their disconnect has played out in testy photo ops, and even in an over-the-top stroll, with jackets slung over their shoulders, on the baking runway of Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv in 2010, in an apparent bid to scotch reports that the leaders were at odds. But events soon belied the encounter. Obama was caught in 2011 on an open mic complaining to then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy about Netanyahu after Sarkozy branded the Israeli leader a “liar.” Last year, an anonymous quote attributed to a senior White House official calling Netanyahu a “chicken sh**t” caused a storm. Administration officials, meanwhile, were furious over what they saw as several patronizing lectures on Jewish history and the threat from Iran that Netanyahu delivered before the cameras to Obama in the Oval Office. And Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, just before the Israeli election on March 17, is seen by critics in the administration and elsewhere as at least in part another attempt to play politics, following what the White House perceived as his open backing of Mitt Romney during Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. The administration also largely blames Netanyahu for blowing up its two thwarted efforts to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. They see him as having appeased right-wing elements in his fragmented coalition by endorsing settlement building on lands Palestinians envision as part of their future state at the expense of talks between the two sides. But the most consequential dispute between Obama and Netanyahu is on Iran. Both men have placed the Islamic Republic at the center of their political projects and understand that they can only achieve the legacy they seek by outmaneuvering the other. “I don’t want to be coy. The prime minister and I have a very real difference around Iran,” Obama said earlier this month. Netanyahu weighed in on Saturday before leaving for the United States. “I respect U.S. President Barack Obama,” he said, but warned that he had an obligation to make clear his fears about Tehran’s nuclear program. Obama has tried to coax Iran out of decades of hostility towards the United States, which it sees as the “great Satan,” and has made historic gestures by speaking to President Hassan Rouhani on the phone and carrying out a correspondence with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that Rouhani is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and sought to bring attention to what Israel considers deceptions by Tehran over its nuclear program and violations of international restrictions on its activities. Details of a proposed nuclear deal with Iran ahead of a deadline for a framework agreement next month have widened the divides. Moshe Arens, a former Israeli defense minister, said that while Netanyahu is convinced that the proposed deal is dangerous, Obama doesn’t agree: “He thinks it is the best he can get at the moment. My impression is that he doesn’t want to get into a confrontation with Iran at the moment.” The U.S. president has long warned that the kind of “perfect” deal that Netanyahu envisages – which would completely strip Tehran of centrifuges and nuclear infrastructure – is not realistic. The administration argues that the deal being negotiated would keep Iran in a box, freeze the “breakout” period at which it could race to a bomb at around one year and include monitoring and inspections that would thwart any covert bid by Tehran to make a nuclear weapon. Administration officials have also argued that diplomacy is preferable to a military strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, reasoning that such an approach would only set back its ambitions for several years while jeopardizing the willingness of the international coalition to maintain sanctions key to keeping Iran in check. Netanyahu, however, considers the deal taking shape in the talks a “bad” one and says the idea of lifting sanctions that have Iran “on the ropes” is nonsensical. He has also pointed to Iran’s duplicity – concealing entire nuclear sites, for instance – as reason to doubt that Iran could be effectively monitored and that the breakout period could be limited if Tehran maintains facilities for nuclear production. Obama has repeatedly said that he will never allow Iran to get a nuclear bomb and threaten the Jewish state. But Netanyahu’s trip to Washington appears to indicate that the prime minister doesn’t trust that assurance. In a wider sense, Obama and Netanyahu are also at opposite ends of a debate on the use of U.S. power that emerged as a fault line in American politics after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Netanyahu’s Likud Party is a much better fit with neoconservatives and Republican hawks who prospered in the early years of George W. Bush’s presidency than with Obama’s doctrine of “strategic patience” when deploying U.S. power abroad. “I think Bibi has always been close to the American right, it is partly where he got his political education,” said Daniel Levy, who worked as an advisor to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. And from the start, it was clear that the two figures’ political ideologies were not in line. During the 2008 campaign, Obama told a Jewish group that “there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, then you’re anti-Israel.” That, he told them, “can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel.”


NEW: Iranian official thinks start of missile deliveries will occur before end of year, state media reports Russia says progress in nuclear talks means embargo no longer needed "We don't believe it's constructive at this time for Russia to move forward with this," U.S. says Russia has lifted a ban on the sale of a sophisticated air-defense system to Iran, drawing criticism from the United States and Israel. “The big concern in the West … and especially in Israel is that these Russian missiles will be able to help shield Iran’s nuclear facilities from any future airstrikes,” said CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the move Monday to end the ban on shipping the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran was prompted by the recent progress in talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. The ban had been in place since 2010. “We are convinced that at this stage, there’s no more need of such an embargo, Russia’s separate voluntary embargo,” Lavrov said, according to the Russian news agency Tass. The decision was also applauded by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who called the move “a step in the right direction.” “We are looking to ever expanding our relationship with our neighbors, as well as with the rest of the world,” Zarif said in Madrid, alongside his Spanish counterpart. “But Russia is an important neighbor for us, an important partner.” Another Iranian official, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, said his country will receive delivery of the air-defense system by the end of the year, Iranian state media reported. U.S. officials were unimpressed. “We don’t believe it’s constructive at this time for Russia to move forward with this,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a news conference. Secretary of State John Kerry raised the U.S. government’s concerns over the sale in a phone call with Lavrov on Monday, Harf said. But shipment of the weapons system could begin at any moment after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Monday lifting the ban, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Tass. “The decree stipulates … no delays,” Peskov said, adding that it states that “it comes into force on the day it was signed.” The Israeli government, which opposes the preliminary agreement that was reached on Iran’s nuclear program earlier this month, said the Russian move was a troubling sign. “Even as Iran disavows article after article in the framework agreement that was announced last week, the international community is beginning to ease restrictions on it,” Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement. “This is the direct result of the legitimacy that Iran is receiving from the nuclear deal being made with it.” Lavrov insisted that the S-300 missile system “is of a purely defensive nature.” “It is not designed for attacks and will not put at risk the security of any regional state, including Israel, of course,” he said, according to Tass. But Steinitz offered a different interpretation. “Instead of demanding that Iran desist from the terrorist activity that it is carrying out in the Middle East and throughout the world, it is being allowed to arm itself with advanced weapons that will only increase its aggression,” he said. The framework agreement on Iran’s nuclear program announced earlier this month after lengthy negotiations between Tehran and world powers was considered a breakthrough by many observers. But it faces stiff opposition from some quarters, including Israel and members of the U.S. Congress. Negotiators also have to reach a comprehensive deal by the end of June, with uncertainty still clouding several key issues such as the pace at which sanctions on Iran would be lifted. U.S. officials have said that military force remains an option to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons but that the aim is to achieve the goal through negotiations. “We have the capability to shut down, set back and destroy the Iranian nuclear program and I believe the Iranians know that and understand that,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told CNN last week. It’s unclear to what extent the sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran would affect the U.S. capability – or that of other nations like Israel – to strike Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Harf said Russia’s lifting of the ban on the sale shouldn’t create divisions in world powers’ efforts to reach a final deal with Iran. “We don’t think this will have an impact on unity in terms of inside the negotiating room,” she said. The countries negotiating with Iran are the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – plus Germany. Harf also said the United States doesn’t believe the shipment of the Russian missile system to Iran would violate any U.N. Security Council sanctions. Iran, meanwhile, welcomed Moscow’s announcement. “The expansion of cooperation [with Russia] and improving cooperation with other neighboring countries in various fields can be very effective in establishing sustainable stability and security in the region,” Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said, according to Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency. CNN’s Salma Abdelaziz, Elwyn Lopez, Alla Eschchenko, Emma Burrows, Greg Botelho, Oren Lirbermann and Jennifer Deaton contributed to this report.

Russia's lifting of the ban on the sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran


Much has been written about how President Trump’s election has had a profound impact on the Republican party. What’s drawn less attention – but deserves more! – is how Trump is affecting Democrats. Sure, we’ve seen coverage of how Trump’s election has emboldened the liberal left whose call for confrontation at all times has become the rallying cry of the party. (This New Yorker profile of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer describes the rapid evolution from compromise to confrontation well.) What’s drawn less attention is how Trump’s presidency has convinced liberals that every bad thing whispered about any Republican is, by default, true.  Consider that in the last week alone, liberal outrage has been sparked on (at least) four occasions by alleged incidents that simply aren’t accurate. As the House was voting on the American Health Care Act, Vice News’s Alexandra Jaffe spotted cases of beer being brought into the Capitol. She tweeted about it: Cases upon cases of beer just rolled into the Capitol on a cart covered in a sheet. Spotted Bud Light peeking out from the sheet That tweet became the basis of an outrage campaign among liberals. This headline, from Mic, is indicative of the early coverage: “Republicans celebrated taking away Americans’ health insurance with cases of beer.” (Mic has since changed the headline to: “Reports of beer delivery to GOP health care celebration called into question.”) Less than a half hour later, Jaffe tweeted again, noting that the beer wasn’t, in fact, for a celebration party for House Republicans. (She had never implied it was.) Here are the beers. Asked if they were going to a GOP conference meeting & he said "no, different meeting," no further details pic.twitter.com/ugS8oW4kGj Didn’t matter! By then, the idea of Republicans cracking beers while voting to take away health care from millions of people was already surging across the Internet. (Look at how many retweets Jaffe’s original tweet received versus how many the second tweet got.) Immediately following the passage of the AHCA last Thursday, a talking point emerged: If this bill became a law, being raped or sexually assaulted would qualify as pre-existing conditions and, therefore, would make it much harder for the victim to get health insurance. Not so, according to Washington Post Fact-Checker Michelle Ye Hee Lee, who gave the claim “Four Pinocchios” – meaning it was “totally false.”  Wrote Lee: “The notion that AHCA classifies rape or sexual assault as a preexisting condition, or that survivors would be denied coverage, is false…this claim relies on so many factors — including unknown decisions by a handful of states and insurance companies — that this talking point becomes almost meaningless.” The Federal Communications Commission announced that it was investigating complaints following late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert’s controversial comments about President Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Liberals cried foul, insisting that the Trump administration was trying to stifle criticism – an abrogation of the 1st amendment.  More like standard operating procedure, according to CNN media reporter Frank Palliotta. As an FCC spokesman told him: “We review all consumer complaints as a matter of standard practice and rely on the law to determine whether action is warranted. The fact that a complaint is reviewed doesn’t speak one way or another as to whether it has any merit.” The firing of White House chief usher Angella Reid, the first woman to hold that job, was seized on as the latest piece of evidence that Trump and his administration was nothing more than an old boys club – openly hostile to women and minorities. Turns out, according to Axios reporting, that Reid got along well with the President and First Lady but was far less popular with the staff of the White House she oversaw. “When her departure was announced to the residence staff yesterday morning, workers burst into applause,” Axios reported. In each of these four instances – and all of these have been in the last week! – liberals, fueled by Twitter outrage, jumped to conclusions that portrayed Trump and other Republicans in the poorest possible light. And, on each occasion, the fuller story either totally or mostly rebutted the version of the story the left had seized on. Trump’s presidency presents Democrats with lots and lots of legitimate issues on which to push back – from the travel ban to the ongoing questions about Trump officials’ ties to Russia to the president’s refusal to release his tax returns. By embracing every single tweet or whisper as yet another piece of full-proof evidence of just how terrible Republicans are, Democrats run the risk of appearing like the boy who cried wolf to the public –  and in the process taking some steam out of the very legitimate questions they are asking about the Trump administration.


Salma Hayek wants to close the pay gap in Hollywood, but she acknowledges that it’s going to take a lot of work to make that happen. “Pay disparity is going to take a while,” Hayek said at the Women in Motion panel at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. “Because they still want to pay you the exploitative salary they paid you before.” Related: How Hollywood can continue to advance the equal pay conversation After joining Cate Blanchett and 80 other women on the steps of the Palais on Saturday to call for gender parity across all industries, Hayek sat down a for the panel in which she reiterated the need for equality in the movie industry. Blanchett said the 82 women represent the total number of female directors who have walked those steps since 1942 compared to the 1,866 male directors who walked those steps in the same period. “It’s an adjustment, we need to all start adjusting and work together,” Hayek said. “But also the actors have to work together because if the male actors are asking for such big numbers, that part of it belongs a little bit to the women and in the past it was never given and the movie doesn’t get done because they cannot pay the actors what they were making…The actors have to say ‘OK, time’s up, I had a good run but now it’s time to also be generous with the actresses in the films.’” On Monday, Cannes Film Festival artistic director, Thierry Fremaux, signed a pledge to promote gender parity and transparency at the festival. “We will be more engaged,” Fremaux said to the press, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We must question our history and our habits. The world has changed and needs to change even more.” Hayek, who has been vocal about the alleged mistreatment she was subjected to by Harvey Weinstein, said that although she’s glad to see women speak up against imbalances of power, she wishes it hadn’t taken so many years. “We should have been angrier sooner,” she said. “We should have come together sooner.” Hayek says that the Me Too movement can be empowering for men as well. “It is a very exciting time for men now,” Hayed said. “Because men have the opportunity to rethink what it means to be a man, and this comes with a lot of freedom.”


The families of Canadian diplomats in Cuba will return home permanently due to unexplained health concerns, Canada’s government announced Monday. Cuba will now be designated an “unaccompanied post” meaning that the families of diplomatic staff will not be able to live with them while they are assigned to the country. “The Government of Canada continues to investigate the potential causes of unusual health symptoms reported in 2017 by some Canadian diplomatic staff and dependents posted to Havana, Cuba,” Global Affairs Canada wrote in a statement. “The symptoms include dizziness, headaches and lack of ability to concentrate, amongst others.” The US State Department evacuated non-essential personnel and families from Cuba in 2017, after claims a sophisticated device that operated outside the range of audible sound had been used in an “acoustic attack” on US embassy staff, with Canada also reporting “unusual symptoms affecting Canadian and US diplomatic personnel and their families in Havana.” After more than a year of inquiries, State Department and federal investigators were unable to attribute the source or cause of the ailments, apart from that they “were most likely related to trauma from a non-natural source.” At least 24 diplomats and family members were affected, some with damage that they may carry for years, officials testified at a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing in January. While the incidents remain a mystery, State Department officials who testified said they believe Cuba has clearer information about who is behind what they classified as “attacks” on US diplomats working on the communist-run island. The Cuban government has called the alleged attacks “science fiction” and complained that Washington has not shared much in the way of medical details or let their investigators inspect the diplomatic residences where many of the incidents took place. In its statement this week, Global Affairs Canada said the country “has a positive and constructive relationship with Cuba and has received close cooperation from the Cuban authorities since health concerns of Canadians serving in Cuba first surfaced in the spring of 2017.” Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet commented on Canada’s withdrawal of diplomatic families. CNN’s Laura Koran contributed reporting.


Trump leaves China for Vietnam on Friday Xi emerged from last month's Communist Party Congress the most powerful Chinese leader in a generation Outside the Great Hall of the People here on Thursday, President Donald Trump watched with an unmistakable air of satisfaction as cordons of Chinese troops marched stiff-legged in his honor, an eight-cannon salute preceding their parade. It was just the latest display of elaborate pageantry put on by his Chinese hosts, and inside the cavernous state edifice two hours later, the outsized display of flattery appeared to pay off. Instead of lashing China for trade practices he once compared to rape and theft, he praised the country and its powerful leader, Xi Jinping, for cunningly exploiting the US to benefit his own citizens – and harm American workers. “Who can blame a country for being able taking advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens?” Trump said as Xi watched on from a few feet away. Nervous laughter rippled through the crowd of Chinese and American business executives, whose firms are inking new deals here in a spectacle meant to demonstrate Trump’s negotiating prowess. Related article Trump once trashed China. Now, they're friends “I give China great credit,” he added. “In actuality, I do blame past administrations for allowing this trade deficit to take place and grow.” Trump reaffirmed his position Friday morning, tweeting: “I don’t blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the U.S. on trade leading up to a point where the U.S. is losing $100’s of billions. How can you blame China for taking advantage of people that had no clue? I would’ve done same!” I don’t blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the U.S. on trade leading up to a point where the U.S. is losing $100's of billions. How can you blame China for taking advantage of people that had no clue? I would've done same! It was a remarkable show of deference to Xi, who emerged from last month’s Communist Party Congress the most powerful Chinese leader in a generation. And while US officials downplayed the significance of the remark, it nevertheless laid bare the lengths to which Trump is prioritizing his personal chemistry with his counterparts here as he seeks to advance an agenda of isolating North Korea and brokering new trade deals. Trump’s praise for his Chinese counterpart wasn’t limited to the remarks at the signing ceremony for the $250 billion in US-Chinese business deals. At the top of a bilateral meeting, the accolades dripped from Trump’s mouth as he expressed his gratitude for the welcome mat Xi had laid out. They had an “absolutely terrific” dinner. It was a “very, very great honor” to be together. The military display was “magnificent.” And their relationship? “A great one.” Trump did not avoid pointing out China’s “unfair trade practices” and its “theft of intellectual property,” but his conclusion that the imbalance in the US-Chinese trade relationship was the fault of his predecessors ignored the role of China’s system of state-run enterprises and limiting market access policies. Related article Trump: 'I don't blame China' for taking advantage of US on trade Trump’s discussions with Xi yielded no immediate signs that the structural changes needed to rebalance the relationship were coming. “There was a little bit of tongue in cheek in that characterization, but there was also a lot of truth to it,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in explaining Trump’s remark. “I think what the President was just reflecting on is, look, we are where we are because previous administrations, whether through benign neglect – which is my own characterization of it – or for whatever reasons allowed this to happen.” Trump’s absolution of Chinese blame on trade matters, a day after the anniversary of his election, were a stunning statement from the man who vilified China at every turn during the presidential campaign, accusing the country of having “raped” the US and branding it as an “economic enemy.” Trump has held few consistent positions on policy issues during his decades of flirtation with a presidential run, but his stance on China has long been a notable exception. Trump, Moon set to take questions in SeoulAs Trump lands in Seoul, 3 US carriers prepare for drill‘Wild card’ Trump heads into North Korea’s line of sightTrump’s Asia challenge: Be tough on trade and unified on North KoreaTrump in Japan: His first stop in Asia Trump, Moon set to take questions in SeoulAs Trump lands in Seoul, 3 US carriers prepare for drill‘Wild card’ Trump heads into North Korea’s line of sightTrump’s Asia challenge: Be tough on trade and unified on North KoreaTrump in Japan: His first stop in Asia His long-held view of China as an economic boogeyman became a central part of his “Make America Great Again” campaign platform that promised a rebirth of US manufacturing. “We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country and that’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world,” Trump told a campaign crowd in May 2016. But Trump’s heavy-handed criticism of China was often also mixed with a similar dose of criticism for US officials, whom he accused of getting outmaneuvered by Chinese negotiators. “You can win against China if you’re smart. But our people don’t have a clue. We give state dinners to the heads of China. I said why are you doing state dinners for them? They’re ripping us left and right. Just take them to McDonald’s and go back to the negotiating table,” Trump told a crowd in the first summer of his presidential campaign. While Trump publicly took a more conciliatory approach to China, several thousand miles away in Michigan, his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, carried forward the mantle of Trump’s past criticism, warning that the country is a “dictatorship that sees us as an enemy to be defeated.” With that backdrop, it remains unclear how Trump’s more measured approach to his old campaign trail villain will go over with his base, including those blue-collar voters in Michigan who are counting on Trump to take a hardline against China – and are still listening to Bannon. So far, it appears Trump’s formula for winning against China amounts to excessive praise and, at least publicly, absolving China of blame for its role in crafting policies that have disadvantaged the US. Trump also avoided putting his host in an uncomfortable position, making none of the demands his past three predecessors have made that Xi take questions alongside him from independent journalists. Touring Asia this week for the first time, Trump has found plenty of leaders willing to satisfy his craving for praise. Facing political headwinds back home – including sagging approval ratings, an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia, and this week a resounding defeat for Republicans in state elections – Trump has basked in the thrall of making new friends. In Tokyo, Trump was greeted by custom hats ordered up by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that read “Donald and Shinzo: Make Alliance Even Greater.” The two men signed them with markers as reporters looked on. Two days later in Seoul, the President’s campaign slogan surfaced again. “President Trump’s election victory one year ago is already making America great again,” President Moon Jae-in announced during a toast ahead of a state dinner. From Riyadh to Paris to Beijing, world leaders have consistently returned to Chapter 1 of the Trump textbook as they prepare for a visit from Trump: flattery will get you everywhere. Whether he’s being feted by sword wielding dancers or reviewing rows of French troops, Trump has relished formal state welcomes and the importance they confer upon him as he jets aboard Air Force One to global capitals. Even before Trump took office, his eye toward a presidential reception proved unsparing. When President Barack Obama was denied a set of carpeted air-stairs from which to descend Air Force One at the start of last year’s G20 talks in Hangzhou, China, Trump declared at a campaign rally that such an indignity wouldn’t happen on his watch. “If that were me,” Trump said, “I’d say, ‘You know what folks, I respect you a lot, let’s close the doors, let’s get out of here.’ “ When Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, the stairs were there.


France has a new president. Learn more about him and everything else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.) French voters elected centrist Emmanuel Macron as the country’s next president, sending a strong pushback against the wave of populism sweeping Europe and the US. Macron won 66% of the vote against far-right rival Marine Le Pen. This was also a rejection of France’s mainstream political parties. Macron – who had never held elected office before and who will be France’s youngest leader since Napoleon – eschewed the country’s traditional Socialist and Republican political groups and fought for the presidency under the banner of his own self-built party. So what does his election mean for the rest of us? The EU is breathing a big sigh of relief, but we’ll have to wait and see how well Macron works with President Trump. The two have differing world views, to say the least. Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls are finally free after being kidnapped by Boko Haram three years ago. They were released over the weekend in a swap between the Nigerian government and the terrorist group. In exchange for the girls’ release, the government freed five Boko Haram commanders. The girls are in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, where they will meet the country’s President. This group of girls were among the 276 schoolgirls snatched by Boko Haram fighters in April 2014. The mass kidnapping sparked worldwide outrage and a social media movement – #BringBackOurGirls. More than 100 of those girls are still missing. When it comes to politics, Barack Obama’s pretty much been on mute since leaving office. But he spoke up in Boston this weekend while accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. In a speech, he tried to rally the troops to help save his health care law. The former President urged lawmakers to have the courage to “champion the vulnerable and the sick and the infirm.” Meanwhile, the heat is already on for some GOP House members who voted for the new health care bill. A political ratings system adjusted midterm election probabilities following the health care vote – and 20 GOP “yea” voters saw their districts start to lean a little more left. As if tensions between the two countries weren’t high enough, North Korea said this weekend it had detained another American. Kim Hak-song is thought to be the fourth American in North Korean custody and the second from the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. Kim’s alleged crime is a familiar charge from the North Koreans – suspicion of “hostile acts” against the regime. Kim was in a rural area doing agricultural work with the university’s farm. Texas is a very conservative state when it comes to politics, and it’s staying true to form with one new law and a new bill. The new law, signed over the weekend by Gov. Greg Abbott, bans sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State. The law sets criminal and civil penalties for local governments and law enforcement agencies that don’t comply with immigration laws. Fines against local governments could hit up to $25,500 a day. Additionally, state lawmakers are set to vote on a bill today that would let faith-based adoption agencies turn away prospective parents if the agencies found their religious views unacceptable. Critics call that blatant discrimination; supporters say the bill only protects the religious liberty of the adoption agencies. People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Round and round Don’t know what a fidget spinner is? Don’t worry, if you have kids they already know (and they know why schools are trying to ban them). Nifty name There’s a new “Justin Trudeau” in Canada. He’s not a politician (yet), but rather the newborn son of Syrian refugees who wanted to thank the Prime Minister. That’s so Florida An Air Force space plane woke up snoozing residents on Florida’s space coast with a sonic boom. Just another morning in the Sunshine State! Taken in When a Vancouver restaurant offered up a free sandwich for Liam Neeson, the actor put his “very particular set of skills” to good use. And the winner is … The MTV Movie and TV Awards aren’t really about the winners. But if you do care who won, here’s the list. Here’s what’s happening later Speaking out Ex-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates will finally get to testify before a Senate panel this afternoon. She’ll probably say that she warned the White House about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s connections to Russia weeks before he was fired. The White House won’t like that because it contradicts several claims they’ve made on the issue. Hey, trying to sleep here! A deaf cat gets kind of ticked off because he can’t figure out who woke him up from a nap. But all’s forgiven when he realizes it was just his human. (Click to view)