Abu Khatallah faces 18 charges related to the deadly violence that began on September 11, 2012 The attack killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans Donning gray pants, an untucked white button-down shirt and long gray beard, Ahmed Abu Khatallah silently took notes and sipped water inside a packed Washington courtroom on Monday as prosecutors outlined a case that will attempt to paint him as the ringleader of the 2012 terrorist attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Abu Khatallah “didn’t light the fires or fire the mortars, but is just as guilty” for planning the attack, setting it in motion and getting others “to do his dirty work,” federal prosecutor John Crabb told jurors in his opening statement. Related article Benghazi suspect set for trial, details of secret raid revealed But the defense ardently refuted Crabb’s claims that Abu Khatallah “hates Americans with a vengeance” and facilitated the attack that killed four Americans during its opening remarks on the first day of trial. The evidence will show Abu Khatallah – the only Benghazi suspect currently in US custody – is not guilty and that he “was just someone who could be blamed,” said defense attorney Jeffrey Robinson. Abu Khatallah faces 18 charges related to the deadly violence that began on September 11, 2012, including the murder of an internationally protected person, providing material support to terrorists and destroying US property while causing death. During the attack, assailants armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades first blasted through the main diplomatic mission before setting it ablaze, according to 2014 court papers. Related article Benghazi Mission Attack Fast Facts Stevens and State Department information officer Sean Smith died there. A coordinated mortar assault on a nearby annex killed security officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, both CIA contractors and former US Navy SEALs. “Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens choked to death by thick black smoke. Sean Smith choked to death by thick black smoke. Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were ‘blown apart by mortar fire,’ ” Crabb said while vividly describing the attack that took place more than five years ago. Special agent Scott Wickland, a regional officer with diplomatic security who was living at the mission, recalled the events of September 11, 2012 as the first witness to testify in the trial. Wickland was visibly emotional as he described Stevens as “very personable” with a warm manner was “not normal” for an ambassador. Around 9:45 p.m. on September 11, Wickland said he heard chanting down the street from the mission and then calls of “Allah Akbar.” As guards scrambled to put on their protective gear and get their guns, Wickland said went to notify Stevens – who had already gone to bed – of a possibly escalating security situation. Wickland then said he directed Stevens and IT official Sean Smith to a safe room in one of the compound’s villas. There was gunfire, explosions and “bloodcurdling screams” on the radio, according to Wickland, who told the jury, “I knew we were under attack.” The doors of the villa were then blown open and attackers entered the compound armed with AK-47s and other assault rifles, he said. Related article Benghazi suspect Abu Khatallah pleads not guilty When the attackers could not blast open the gates of the safe room, they set the villa on fire, Wickland said. With smoke filling the safe room, Wickland told the jury that he tried to lead Stevens and Smith to the bathroom so they could get some air but quickly realized they were not behind him. He tried to feel around and yell for them but he couldn’t find them – searching until he was out of air and almost collapsed. As Wickland went outside to escape the smoke he said he was fired upon by grenades. He repeatedly entered the compound to search for Stevens and Smith until he was out of breath only to be met with a barrage of grenade fire each time he exited the compound. Unable to locate Stevens and Smith, Wickland told the jury that he said to himself “I’m going to search for them until I’m going to die.” Wickland then said he waited for a lull in the gunfire and climbed a ladder to the roof where he stayed alone for a very long time and continued to take fire – unable to make contact with anyone on the radio. Just when he thought everyone was dead, one of the special afents, David Ubben, called Wickland on the radio and said “are you alive? “I don’t know how many times I thought I was going to die, but this was a piece of hope that I was going to survive,” Wickland told the jury. Court adjourned for the day as Wickland was still on the stand and the prosecution is expected to resume his testimony on Tuesday. Abu Khatallah emerged from years in prison under the regime of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to form an Islamist militia and later became associated with Ansar al-Sharia, a group US officials blamed for the 2012 attack. Believed to be in his 40s, Abu Khatallah became the face of the militant attack and a top target for the US after he cultivated a celebrity profile in its wake, meeting with journalists and granting interviews. On Monday, prosecutors highlighted evidence they said will show Abu Khatallah not only orchestrated efforts to gather weapons ahead of the attack but will also show he rushed the gates of the mission armed with an AK-47 rifle and fuel canisters which were used to set the building on fire. The prosecution ended its opening statements by reiterating that Abu Khatallah was motivated by his hate for Americans and concerns that the US mission in Libya served as a “spy nest” – a point that echoed claims made in pre-trial documents. “The defendant’s participation in the attack was motivated by his extremist ideology,” prosecutors said in the documents, which also alleged that Abu Khatallah “voiced concern and opposition to the presence of an American facility in Benghazi” days prior to the attack. However, the defense argued that Abu Khatallah was not a radical terrorist but rather a “Libyan patriot” who fought to free the country from Gadhafi. According to Robinson, Khatallah was at a friend’s house when he heard about the attack and “went to see what was going on.” He did not attempt to block people from going to the attack site but was only acting to try and protect those present from gunfire, Robinson said, adding that Abu Khatallah never went to the CIA annex and was at home when the mortars hit. The defense also discussed Abu Khatallah’s 12 days in isolation after he was captured during a secret raid in June 2014. While he was interrogated aboard a Navy ship during transport from Libya to the US, the defense said Abu Khatallah made certain statements and blamed bad translation for his answers. They also emphasized that he cooperated with interrogators without an attorney present.


A statement from the congresswoman's office released Tuesday night said she would "personally reimburse the cost" News of Gabbard's secret trip broke in January Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard says she will pay out of her own pocket for the cost of her recent heavily criticized trip to Syria. A statement from the congresswoman’s office released Tuesday night said she would “personally reimburse the cost” despite the fact that the trip met the requirements of the House Ethics Committee. The trip’s funding was initially not disclosed, but a statement said the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Ohio sponsored it. Since then, the backing from this organization has been put into question and The Atlantic reported the group’s former executive director and board member Bassam Khawam personally paid for it. “The congresswoman has decided to reimburse … for the trip because it has become a distraction from the important issue at hand – do the American people want their taxpayer dollars to continue to be used in support of militant groups working hand-in-hand with al Qaeda and ISIS in the effort to overthrow the Syrian government?” the statement read. News of Gabbard’s unannounced trip broke in January. Once she was back in the US, Gabbard confirmed she had met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In addition to the source of the trip’s funding, Gabbard has faced criticism for her meeting with Assad. Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger blasted Gabbard on Facebook. “To say I’m disgusted would be an understatement,” Kinzinger wrote. “By meeting with the mass murderer of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Tulsi Gabbard has legitimized his dictatorship and in turn, legitimized his genocide against the Syrian people - the murdering of 50,000+ innocent children among the nearly half million total slaughtered by his regime.” To say I’m disgusted would be an understatement.  By meeting with the mass murderer of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Tulsi... “When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt that it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace,” the Hawaiian congresswoman told CNN’s Jake Tapper. Gabbard has been an advocate for keeping Assad in power. Last year, Gabbard told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that she didn’t “think Assad should be removed.” “If Assad is removed and overthrown, ISIS, al Qaeda, Al Nusra, these Islamic extremist groups will walk straight in and take over all of Syria … they will be even stronger,” Gabbard said. The congresswoman served two tours in the Middle East as a member of the Army National Guard, according to her website.


The institution that awards the Nobel Prize for Literature is mired in a sexual and financial scandal so deep that this year’s prize may be postponed for the first time in more than seven decades. In recent weeks, six members of the Swedish Academy – one of Sweden’s most highly respected cultural bodies – have stepped down, including the head of the institution, Sara Danius. The flurry of withdrawals is potentially catastrophic for the 230-year-old academy, whose members, elected by secret ballot, must be approved by the King and traditionally hold their positions for life. With just 10 remaining active members, the group is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the fate of this year’s literature prize, even though historically, 12 members have been required for a quorum. In 1943 – the last time the literature prize was postponed – it was the height of World War II and the Nazis ruled much of the European continent. This time, the crisis centers on Jean-Claude Arnault, a French photographer and husband of poet Katarina Frostenson, one of the six academy members to step down. Arnault, a leading cultural figure in Sweden, is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment, first reported in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter late last year. In an emailed statement to CNN, Arnault’s lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, said his client denies all the allegations. The academy is also under fire for contravening its own conflict of interest regulations by providing funding to the Kulturplats Forum, a cultural center run by Arnault and Frostenson. The scandal, reaching to the heart of a globally respected institution and rooted in a country hailed as a model for gender equality, has sent shockwaves around the world. Last November, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, 18 women came forward to accuse a man, later identified as Arnault, of a range of sexual misconduct between 1996 and 2017. Two of the 18, Gabriella Hakansson and Elise Karlsson, spoke on the record. CNN has not independently verified the women’s claims. The following day, the academy’s permanent secretary Sara Danius said that the institution had cut all ties with Arnault in light of the reported allegations and additional claims that some academy staff and members’ relatives had experienced “unwanted intimacy” at the hands of Arnault. An independent investigation carried out by a Swedish law firm in the following months found that financial rules had been breached in the funding of Arnault’s cultural forum and revealed that “unacceptable behaviour by (Arnault) in the form of unwanted intimacy had indeed taken place, but the knowledge was not widely spread in the Academy.” Related article Harvey Weinstein's toughest fight is looming But the team of lawyers also discovered that the academy had received a letter in 1996 outlining alleged sexual assault at Arnault’s cultural forum, indicating that November was not the first time that at least some members of the Academy were aware that the photographer’s name had been connected with misconduct. In its statement, the organization said it “deeply regrets that the letter was shelved and no measures taken to investigate the charges.” Ebba Witt-Brattstroem, the former wife of Horace Engdahl, permanent secretary of the academy from 1999 to 2009 and currently a member of the Nobel Committee for Literature, has also cast doubt on the claim that its members were largely unaware of Arnault’s alleged misconduct. “Everyone knew and you were supposed to think nothing of it,” she told CNN. She was “not at all surprised” when she read about the allegations in November. “It was very well known all over in the cultural field. People knew that young women weren’t supposed to go close to him.” Witt-Brattstroem is also one of several people who allege that Arnault touched Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria inappropriately at a Swedish Academy event over a decade ago, an allegation that Arnault denies. Witt-Brattstroem told CNN that the alleged incident took place in December 2004. Members of the academy and royal family had dined together following the academy’s annual public meeting and were conversing over drinks when Witt-Brattstroem claims she saw Arnault “caressing the back of the Crown Princess,” who she said was standing next to her at the time. The princess’ minder “was there in a second and grabbed him away,” said Witt-Brattstroem. She also claims that her then husband and leader of the Swedish Academy, Horace Engdahl, was standing nearby and witnessed the incident, which Engdahl denies. In an email responding to a request for comment, Engdahl told CNN that he had “heard the anecdote, told by a member of the academy at a later date, but I was not myself witness to the situation. I’m not sure that it ever occurred or if it did, that it happened the way it has been told.” Witt-Brattstroem also claims Engdahl was later asked by the royal household to ensure the Crown Princess was “never in the same room as Arnault” at the same Academy event in December 2006. Asked if that was true, Engdahl did not comment. Margareta Thorgren, spokeswoman for the Swedish Royal Court, refused to comment on any of the claims regarding the Crown Princess. The Swedish Academy did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CNN regarding the allegations against Arnault and the subsequent investigations. The allegations are having a crippling effect on the reputation of the academy, one of Sweden’s most prestigious institutions. “I don’t believe that it is possible to award the Nobel Prize this year,” said Witt-Brattstroem. “I don’t know if an author would even consider accepting a prize from this organization.” Related article The sexual harassment blind spot you don't know about On April 11, King Gustaf, whose namesake founded the Academy in 1786, intervened. “The controversy that has emerged within the Swedish Academy is very unfortunate and risks seriously damaging the important work carried out by the academy,” he said in a statement. Seven days later, amidst a spiraling crisis, he announced his intention to change the academy’s regulations – in place since 1786 – to allow members to resign. It is unclear when that could take effect. “The Swedish Academy really is in a crisis and His Majesty is the highest protector of the Academy,” Thorgren, the royal spokeswoman, told CNN. He took that step “so it was possible for the Academy to go on with the important work it does,” she said. But those who have stepped down have done so for drastically different reasons, revealing deep rifts within the group. In early April, three members reportedly withdrew in protest that Frostenson, Arnault’s wife, had not been removed from the institution. A week later, Frostenson stepped aside, as did Danius, the group’s leader, reportedly at the request of the remaining members. A sixth member announced her withdrawal in late April, but the academy did not announce the reason. Two further members of the institution are currently inactive. Ida Ostensson, founder and president of the Swedish equality foundation Make Equal, believes the academy needs fundamental, structural change if it is to continue its work successfully. She sees “an old patriarchal institution” that needs to be brought up to date (it has had just nine female members since its inception in 1786 – and three of those have recently stepped down, leaving just two). “To cancel the Nobel Prize or delay it – it’s not enough,” she said. Alongside hundreds of others, she demonstrated outside the Swedish Academy on April 19 in support of Danius, who had stepped down as permanent secretary the previous week. Ostensson believes Danius was pushed to take the blame for the Arnault scandal. “It’s just one more time a woman has to leave because of a man,” she said. But she’s glad that the scandal has re-energized the #MeToo campaign in Sweden, a campaign whose aims Ostensson has been advocating for years, but, until last October, without the benefit of a viral hashtag. #MeToo is a powerful movement in Sweden, Ostensson explains. She recalled the first weeks after the movement’s inception when thousands of women were using industry-specific hashtags to tell their stories: “Every day there was a new hashtag; everything from prostitutes to journalists, lawyers, builders, teachers.” “It’s not a bigger problem in Sweden (than elsewhere),” she said. “It’s because we are a feminist country – that’s why we can organize and speak out… Where there are women and where there are men, there are going to be problems.” Witt-Brattstroem agrees. “For all women, from whores to princesses, it’s the same. It really has to do with you having a female body.”


NATO says it is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in violence in Ukraine Reports speak of a military build-up of armor in separatist areas, fomented by a recent spike in border clashes Tension is once again growing over Crimea, with Ukraine ordering its troops to be on the “highest level of combat readiness.” The order came after Russia accused Ukraine on August 10 of launching a militant attack at “critically important infrastructure.” It marks another fraught moment in relations between the two nations which have been greatly strained since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. A NATO official told CNN that it is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in violence in eastern Ukraine and called on Russia to reverse its “illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea.” So what has caused the latest spat and what will happen next? CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh answers the key questions. Are things coming to a boiling point? It’s always very hard to tell. The Kremlin likes to keep its intentions that way. But certainly we’ve seen months of reports of a military build-up of armor in separatist areas, fomented by a recent spike in clashes along the border between separatist areas and Ukraine’s front line with them. Related article Ukraine: Everything you need to know about how we got here These spikes happen periodically but this week the Russian security services – the FSB – claimed to have disrupted a plot by Ukrainian military intelligence to attack inside the Crimean peninsula that Russia controls, and that two of their servicemen were attacked in a failed Ukrainian incursion. Ukraine says the plot claim is nonsense. But Putin has used it to declare further peace talks as “pointless,” and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has put his military in the east on high alert. It’s not been this bad since open warfare in 2015. Why now? Outside of the Crimea incident, critics of Russia say it has long wanted a land bridge between the areas of Donetsk they control and Crimea. Sustaining Crimea has proven difficult as they can only supply it from the Russian mainland using ferries. Related video Displaced Ukrainians need aid If you buy into the idea, that this land bridge has always been Russia’s plan, why now? Well, Russia has involved itself in another conflict the West needs an end to – that in Syria. It is perhaps a higher priority to the White House than Ukraine, given the links to ISIS. The Kremlin may think it has helpful leverage there to increase its chances in lessening Western sanctions if it moves against Ukraine. Coupled with that, Ukraine’s not been handling itself that well. Nationalists form an increased part of the frontline ranks, and sentiment has gotten uglier against the media too, leading one Ukrainian official to quit after details of journalists who worked in separatist areas were leaked and published online. Its European allies have grown impatient with the pace of reform. It all leads to more rather than fewer questions about how much automatic support Kiev can expect if its front lines blow up again. Has the power shifted? Not really. Russia always had a vastly superior army backing up and often fighting for the separatists. Ukraine has improved its military but remains underfunded and without the Western support it wants. There have been some assassinations of leading separatist figures and failed attempts in separatist ranks lately, which observers have interpreted as actions to consolidate Moscow’s control. The separatists have had over a year to boost ranks and equipment since their last clashes in Debaltseve – a frontline city of eastern Ukraine – and Russia is a master of the long game. Ukraine has been too swamped in chaos to have kept up as an adversary. Who are the main players? Putin calls the shots and separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko carries them out. Poroshenko on his side will face increased pressure not to yield, with a strong nationalist sentiment you may hear voiced through former POW Nadia Savchenko. Is anyone doing anything about it? Western sanctions against Russia over Crimea stay in place. So will those over Donetsk. But Russia seems to be weathering the impact domestically, blaming the economic damage on a Western conspiracy. Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have had their powers limited and much of the fighting happens at night when they aren’t around. So, in short: no,nobody’s doing much about it, hence why it’s slipping so fast. This is a land war on the European continent involving a nuclear power, with a serious grievance against NATO. The stakes are very high, even though the West’s desire to get involved is low.


The United States combined with the armed forces of the United Kingdom and France early Saturday to carry out airstrikes against the chemical weapons facilities maintained by the regime of Syria. Here are some of the weapons they used: Britain contributed four Tornado fighter jets armed with Storm Shadow cruise missiles to the operation, the UK’s Ministry of Defense said. Officials later said Typhoon fighter jets also participated in the mission. The jets took off from RAF Akrotiri, the Royal Air Force base on Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, and targeted a Syrian chemical weapons site in Homs, the British Ministry of Defense said. The twin-engine Tornado GR4 is the United Kingdom’s main ground-attack aircraft, and they were armed with Storm Shadow missiles, an air-launched weapon that carries a 400-kilogram (900-pound) warhead as far as 400 kilometers (250 miles). That means the Tornadoes will not have been required to fly far, and would not have needed to cross into Syrian airspace to launch their strikes. The British jets fired a total of eight Storm Shadow missiles, Pentagon officials said. The office of French President Emmanuel Macron posted video on Twitter of its Rafale fighter jets taking off for the Syria mission. Décollage, cette nuit, des forces armées françaises qui interviennent contre l’arsenal chimique clandestin du régime syrien. Déclaration du Président de la République @EmmanuelMacron : https://t.co/HNSK0FmZIO pic.twitter.com/DEAW7R50aC The French defense minister, Florence Parly, said the jets flew from bases in France. Like the British Tornado, the twin-engine Rafale could be armed with Storm Shadow missiles that can fly for more than 250 miles. This means jets could strike without having to fly over Syria and avoid anti-aircraft defenses. US officials said French Mirage jets were also used in the attack and that the French aircraft fired a total of nine missiles. Pentagon officials said the US Air Force used two B-1B bombers in the Syria strike. Live blog: Latest developmentsUS and allies launch Syria strikesWhat we know and don’t know After Syria strikes, now what?Weapons used in strikes on SyriaTrump’s rationale highlights contradictions Live blog: Latest developmentsUS and allies launch Syria strikesWhat we know and don’t know After Syria strikes, now what?Weapons used in strikes on SyriaTrump’s rationale highlights contradictions The four-engine B-1s fired 19 air-launched JASSM cruise missiles, which carry 450-kilogram (1,000-pound) warheads and have a range of more than 370 kilometers (230 miles). That means the B-1s would not have needed to expose themselves to Syrian air defenses to make their strikes. The defense sources did not say from where the B-1s flew, but Air Force media earlier this month showed the bombers arriving at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, on the Arabian peninsula. The Pentagon said three US warships and one submarine using Tomahawk cruise missiles participated in the Syria strikes. From the Red Sea, the cruiser USS Monterey fired 30 Tomahawks and the destroyer USS Laboon launched seven more. Meanwhile, the destroyer USS Higgins fired 23 Tomahawks from the North Arabian Gulf. Watch as @USNavy #sailors aboard #USSJohnWarner (SSN 765) launch a Tomahawk land attack missile on April 14, the from the #MediterraneanSea as part of a multi-national strike operation against the Syrian government. @subgru2 pic.twitter.com/0ynZsRjjPc The attack submarine USS John Warner fired six Tomahawks from the Mediterranean Sea. The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Virginia-class submarines carry dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles). The Tomahawk cruise missile has been the military’s go-to weapon in operations such as the one conducted Saturday. It was also used a year ago when the United States fired nearly 60 Tomahawks at a Syrian airbase following a previous use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. The Tomahawk is carried by the dozens by US and British warships, including cruisers, destroyers and submarines, and is capable of delivering a 1,000-pound warhead. It is designed to fly extremely low and can navigate around defenses using its on-board guidance systems. Its target can also be changed mid-flight through communication with controllers. France fired three cruises missiles from one its multimission frigates in the Syria strikes, the Pentagon said. Tir d’un missile de croisière naval depuis une de nos frégates multimissions cette nuit en Méditerranée. Objectif : un site de production d’armes chimiques du régime syrien. pic.twitter.com/A4hO0EtkvQ The multimission frigates are some of the newest in the French naval fleet and are armed with the MdCN (Missile de Croisière Naval) cruise missile, with 16 launch tubes for them on each ship. The range of the missiles is secret. The missile’s manufacturer describes them as having “very long range” while various industry websites put the range at 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Ryan Browne, Saskya Vandoorne and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.


Sailors had been taken from vessels in the southern Philippines on March 26 Militant group Abu Sayyaf had demanded a ransom for their release President Joko Widodo says the sailors are expected back in Indonesia Sunday night Ten Indonesian sailors who had been held hostage by Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines were released Sunday, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo announced in a televised statement. The hostages, who had been held since March 26, were in “good condition,”  and were expected to arrive in Jakarta on Sunday night, he said. Who are Abu Sayyaf? Widodo thanked the Philippines government and the various parties who helped secure the release of the hostages. Four Indonesians were still being held, and the Indonesian government would continue to work to secure their release, he said. Officials in Sulu province in the southern Philippines released photographs of the men having a meal after being released. The sailors were abducted from the Brahma 12 tugboat and the Anand 12 barge in the waters off the southern Philippines in March. The barge was carrying 7,000 tons of coal. A person claiming to be a member of the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group contacted the ship owners demanding a ransom, Indonesian officials said. Abu Sayyaf also made headlines for the killing of Canadian John Ridsdel last week. Related video Canadian hostage killed by militants in the Philippines Ridsdel had been held hostage along with three others since they were abducted from a resort in the southern Philippines in September last year. Militants kill Canadian hostage in the Philippines The others, Norwegian national Kjartan Sekkingstad, Canadian national Robert Hall and Filipina Marites Flor remain in Abu Sayyaf’s custody, according to officials. The violent extremist group seeks to establish an independent Islamic state on Mindanao, the southernmost major island of the predominantly Catholic Philippines. The Philippines military has made inroads in recent years in thwarting the group’s terrorist bombing campaigns, prompting a shift in focus by the group to kidnappings for ransom. Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Washington-based Center for Strategic International Studies, said last week that “after about 15 years of a pretty harsh crackdown by the U.S. and the Philippines, what they’ve basically become is a criminal group made up of a few hundred who engage in extortion and kidnapping.” Journalist Georgia McCafferty contributed to this report.


The missile traveled roughly 4,200 miles after launch from  Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The test launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from a Navy E-6 Mercury jet. The US Air Force test-fired an unarmed long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, Wednesday, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command. Deployed from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the missile traveled roughly 4,200 miles to a test range near the Marshall Islands. An Air Force statement called the test “an important demonstration of our nation’s nuclear deterrent capability.” The test launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Airborne Launch Control System on a Navy E-6 Mercury jet, according to the Air Force. The US regularly tests its intercontinental weapon system to verify its accuracy and reliability – with launches scheduled long in advance, according to defense officials. But while the Air Force has conducted a similar missile test as recently as February 7, Wednesday’s launch is notable in that it occurred amid rising tensions and military flexing over North Korea’s own nuclear program. The Minuteman III is traditionally known as the only land-based leg to the US nuclear triad. But Wednesday’s test highlighted the Air Force’s ability to also launch the intercontinental ballistic missile from controls in an aircraft – a measure primarily used in a back-up role in case another deployment system fails. “Today’s test launch used an intercontinental ballistic missile pulled randomly from a silo on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, which was then transported and reassembled at Vandenberg, and launched by crew members,” the Air Force statement said. The other two parts of the triad are the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers. First deployed in the 1960s as part of the U.S. nuclear deterrent program, the Minuteman system is supposed to ensure that missiles can be launched quickly and at any time. Missiles are dispersed in silos and connected to an underground launch control where crews are on standby around the clock. The United States currently has 450 Minutemen III missiles in silos at Warren AFB, Malmstrom AFB in Montana and Minot AFB in North Dakota, according to the Air Force. CNN’s Barbara Starr contributed to this report.


Congressional and federal investigators are probing Russia's meddling into the US elections Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is seeking immunity for his testimony Former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s offer to testify in return for immunity from prosecution hovered over the investigations Friday into Russia’s communications with top aides to President Donald Trump. Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, said late Thursday that Flynn would testify in exchange for immunity. And Trump himself supported Flynn’s request for immunity Friday morning in a tweet, saying, “Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion!” Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion! But as of Friday afternoon, it did not appear that investigators had accepted his offer. A Democratic source said that Democrats on the intelligence committee are resistant to the offer. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said Friday it was too early to say whether they would agree to Flynn’s request, but put Flynn’s offer in greater context. “We should first acknowledge what a grave and momentous step it is for a former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States to ask for immunity from prosecution,” Schiff, who later went to the White House as part of the House’s investigation, said in a statement. A spokesman for House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said that House investigators have spoken with Flynn’s lawyer about bringing him in for questioning, but that immunity was never discussed. RELATED: Who is Devin Nunes? The House intelligence committee “had a preliminary conversation with Michael Flynn’s lawyer about arranging for Flynn to speak to the committee,” Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said. “The discussions did not include immunity or other possible conditions for his appearance.” Spokespersons for the Senate intelligence committee declined to say Friday if the panel would accept Flynn’s offer, but a Senate intelligence committee source said it seemed unlikely, although it was too early to say with certainty. Law enforcement officials told CNN Friday there is no indication the FBI is interested in talking to Flynn again or giving him any kind of immunity. The FBI has already talked to him and nothing at this point to indicate anything has changed or that they reached out to talk to him again. Any decision to offer Flynn immunity would come from US Attorneys and Department of Justice, not the FBI, officials explained. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Friday that Trump believes Flynn should testify before lawmakers and “get the story out” about his ties to Russia. “He believes that Mike Flynn should go testify,” Spicer said during the briefing. “He should go up there and do what he has to do to get the story out.” Spicer said he wasn’t going to offer Flynn advice on asking for immunity from the podium, but said Flynn should take every “precaution” in order to get his story out. In a letter sent Thursday, Trump’s top White House lawyer invited the highest-ranking lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees to view classified materials, which it said had been uncovered in the “ordinary course of business.” After reviewing the documents at the White House on Friday, Schiff said in a statement that they were the same documents shown to Nunes by a pair of White House staffers last week. “While I cannot discuss the content of the documents, if the White House had any concern over these materials, they should have been shared with the full committees in the first place as a part of our ordinary oversight responsibilities,” Schiff said. “Nothing I could see today warranted a departure from the normal review procedures, and these materials should now be provided to the full membership of both committees.” CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.


Guterres was previously PM of Portugal and head of the UN's refugee agency Eastern European nations had felt that it was time a candidate from their region won Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is set to become the next United Nations secretary-general, after the 15 Security Council members agreed to put his name forward to a formal vote. Guterres, who was head of the UN’s refugee agency for 10 years until 2015, emerged as the Security Council’s runaway favorite after the latest in a series of straw polls on Wednesday. Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the UN and current Security Council president, told reporters that Guterres would face a vote in the Security Council on Thursday. “Today, after our sixth straw poll we have a clear favorite, and his name is Antonio Guterres,” he said. The secretary-general of the UN is appointed in a two-stage process. A candidate is first recommended by the Security Council, and must then be approved by the 193-member General Assembly. Thirteen candidates entered the race, necessitating a series of straw polls held by the Security Council to encourage a thinning of the field and to help to settle on a single candidate. In every ballot, the 15 Security Council members assessed each candidate by voting either “encourage,” “discourage” or “no opinion.” In the latest vote, Guterres received 13 “encourage” votes, no “discourage” votes and two votes of “no opinion.” "A historic scene" - Security Council says Antonio Guterres is clear favourite for next Secretary-General https://t.co/icPlWF1MOZ #RusPres pic.twitter.com/HjMMXykGe5 The next closest candidates, Vuk Jeremic of Serbia and Miroslav Lajcak of the Slovak Republic, each received seven “encourage” votes and six “discourage” votes, while Bulgaria’s Irina Bokova received seven “encourage” votes and seven “discourage” votes. Guterres, 67, will replace the incumbent secretary-general, South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term ends on December 31. While there is technically no limit to the number of terms a secretary-general may serve, none has held office for more than two terms. Guterres, a trained engineer who worked as an assistant professor before entering politics in 1974, led his country from 1995 to 2002 as head of the Socialist Party. From 2005 to 2015, he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He is credited with cutting costs at the agency during his tenure, as well as lifting its performance as it grappled with the migrant crisis. A practicing Catholic, Guterres remarried after his first wife died of cancer, and has two children. In Guterres’ vision statement in applying for the position, he wrote of the challenges facing the world in terms of rising inequality, terrorism and organized crime, climate change and the proliferation of armed actors internationally. He wrote that the UN was “uniquely placed to connect the dots to overcome these challenges,” but that change and reform was needed. “People in need of protection are not getting enough. The most vulnerable, such as women and children, are an absolute priority. We must make sure that when someone sees the Blue Flag, she or he can say: ‘I am protected’.” Speaking to reporters in Lisbon, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he had congratulated Guterres. “It is great for the United Nations because the best one was elected, and we many times have the feeling internationally that because of imbalances, weights and counterweights, not always the best is chosen. Here the best one was chosen,” he said. “This is very good for the world, very good for the United Nations, and it is very good for Portugal.” The ambassadors to the UN for the US and the UK – both veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, along with Russia, China and France – welcomed the result. Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, said that “in the end there was just a candidate whose experience, vision and versatility across a range of areas proved compelling. People united around a person who has impressed throughout the process and has impressed across multiple axes in his service in Portuguese politics and at the helm of UNHCR.” Matthew Rycroft, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, paid tribute to the seven women who had run for the role. While it was “high time” for a woman secretary-general, he said, “it’s fair to say that Antonio Guterres has come through this new and improved and more transparent process at the top of the league of the thirteen who competed.” He said the world needed a strong secretary-general who would “provide a convening power and a moral authority at a time when the world is divided on issues, above all like Syria.” “And I think that Antonio Guterres has demonstrated at the hearings and throughout this process that he is the person to do that.” Just spoke to @AntGuterres to congratulate him personally & on behalf of UK. Delighted he will be #NextSG. Lots to be done, together Human Rights Watch welcomed the selection of Guterres, with the group’s UN director, Louis Charbonneau, describing him as “an outspoken and effective advocate for refugees with the potential to strike a radically new tone on human rights at a time of great challenges.” Guterres has long been the front-runner for the role. Prior to Wednesday’s vote, the candidate considered his closest potential rival was Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva, who only entered the race last month after that government said its other candidate, Bokova, had failed to win enough support in earlier straw polls. Despite Guterres’ clear lead, it was thought he could potentially face a veto from Russia, which had said it wanted a woman candidate, and would back an Eastern European nominee. But Georgieva, currently serving as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, ended up back in the field, with five “encourage” votes, eight “discourage” votes and two votes of “no opinion.” There was a strong sentiment among Eastern European nations that it was their region’s turn to produce the next secretary-general, based on an informal notion of a rotation system – although this is not provided for in the UN charter. Many of the 13 candidates for the role hailed from Eastern Europe. CNN’s Richard Roth, Alessandra Castelli, Hilary Clarke and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report.


Last month, CNN’s Richard Quest spent eight days almost completely airborne. The task at hand? Fly around the world in eight days, exclusively on budget airlines. The globe-trotting adventure is showcased in two special editions of Business Traveller. The first saw Quest travel east from London to Singapore. The second installment, first airing on CNN International on May 12 at 0930 BST/1030 CET and now available to watch online, sees Quest and his team make it to Australia, cross the dateline, and return to their starting point in London. During his journey, Quest accepted viewer challenges on social media. Using the hashtag #flywithquest, you sent him to the base of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, across Wakiki’s golden sands and tasked him with eating some of the world’s more unusual local delicacies. There were more than 3,000 #flywithquest posts, with the U.S., Australia and the UK being the most involved. Here are some of our favorite challenges. MORE: Why did the historic Boeing 747 cross the road? Mission accomplished @christineadair! Quest snapped pics with cabin crew around the world, from the pilots that steer the ship, er plane… To the cabin crew that keep the peace: From Australia… To Malaysia: MORE: Low-cost airlines: They changed the world – but what next? Business Traveller fans had no shortage of food advice for Quest during his journey. The infamously pungent fruit is a local delicacy in parts of Asia, and while at Singapore’s Changi Airport, he found some (though judging by his face we’re guessing it wasn’t to his taste): This Dubai camel burger seemed much more to his liking. And of course, what would an Australian meal be without some Vegemite? MORE: Travel fails: Tourists who went to the wrong airport What’s a round-the-world trip without some sightseeing? Quest got his adventurer hat on while hitting Prague’s historic stone bridge… Posed in front of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building… And felt the sand beneath his feet in Hawaii. His final landmark challenge was at New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, shortly before his return trip to London. MORE: How much would you pay for a flight upgrade?


Immigration detention center was due to close Tuesday, October 31 Alternative sites have been offered but the men say it's not safe to leave Hundreds of refugees holed up in an Australian-run immigration detention center on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG), are refusing to leave despite being denied access to food and water. Around 700 refugees and asylum seekers, detained in the center for years, say if they leave they risk being attacked by locals who don’t want them living in their town. In April 2016, the PNG Supreme Court ruled the refugees, who were not allowed to leave the center, were being deprived of their personal liberty. Soon after, the gates were opened but many chose to remain inside. The Australian and PNG governments then announced the center would be closed on October 31. A final notice distributed Tuesday said that accommodation and services had been transferred to other locations, and the refugees, all of whom are men, had until 5 p.m. local time to move or “be liable for removal.” The guys have jerry-rigged water catchers and have enough water for a few days at least. Their big concern is safety. pic.twitter.com/V5qGsqaS6q The refugees spent Monday ahead of the closure filling up empty bottles and bins with rainwater. Food hasn’t been distributed since Sunday, and many say they’re hungry and scared. Electricity to the center was switched off on Wednesday, the refugees said. “They are terrified, it’s not about the facilities, it’s about their safety. These men are terrified of violence if they stay in the detention center and they are terrified of violence if they leave,” said Daniel Webb, from the Human Rights Law Center in Australia. From behind the prison fence A. shares his fears of another attack against refugees in #Manus with @schuetze_k @amnestypress pic.twitter.com/ClO4grHzPV The center, which re-opened in 2012 as an offshore processing site for asylum seekers found in Australian waters, is being returned to the PNG Defence Force, which owns the land. The notice distributed ahead of the closure said: “All power and water will cease. There will be no food supplied – and no dinner service this evening.” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday that PNG had provided alternative accommodation for the men, with “food, water, electricity and medical services.” She said the Australian government was in “constant communication” with its PNG counterparts and expressed support for the PNG plan. “We are there to support PNG,” she said. Extra PNG police officers had been deployed to Manus Island, according to Chief Superintendent Dominic Kakas. However, he told CNN that force wouldn’t be used to move the refugees. “There will be no use of force or harm done to the refugees. We will not be forcing them to go. They will do so freely and willingly,” he said. An injunction has been filed in PNG Supreme Court to stop the closure, according to Melbourne-based barrister Greg Barns. An emergency hearing is expected Wednesday morning. More than 300 Manus Island residents have signed a petition calling for the refugees and asylum seekers to be relocated in Australia, according to the Refugee Action Coalition. They say they don’t want the men, from places like Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Myanmar, to be living so close to the town. Lorengau has a population of just 6,000 people, and the arrival of hundreds of outsiders has caused suspicion and fear. The Australian government, however, remains adamant that the men will never be settled in Australia. Refugees remaining in the center have been asked to move to two other locations – the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Center or West Lorengau House – both provided by the Australian government at a cost of up to $190 million (A$250 million dollars) a year.  Asylum seekers who haven’t been found to be refugees are being asked to move to a third location, Hillside House. The men say their safety is at risk at all three centers, which they claim don’t offer the same level of security as the fenced detention center. A recent report from Human Rights Watch said the men had been “frequently assaulted” by “groups of local young men, often intoxicated and sometimes armed with sticks, rocks, knives, or screwdrivers.” In a strongly worded statement issued Tuesday, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said “the constant claims of the IMAs and advocates about their situation in Manus are nothing more than subterfuge.” “They have long claimed the Manus RPC was a ‘hellhole’ – but the moment it was to be closed they demanded it to be kept open,” Dutton said. IMAs refers to “Illegal Maritime Arrivals,” the name Australia gives to asylum seekers who arrive in the country’s territorial waters by boat. Lawyers say the use of the term “illegal” in relation to asylum seekers who arrive by boat is an invention of the government, as it’s not an offense to seek asylum. Dutton also directed his anger towards Australian Greens Senator Nick McKim, who on Tuesday visited the detention center to reassure the refugees that their message was being heard. “Senator McKim’s duplicity is breathtaking,” Dutton said in the statement. “Senator McKim claims to care for these men, but continues to provide them with false information and uses them for cheap political stunts to build his public profile.” McKim rejected suggestions he was using the situation for his own political purposes. Nick mckim is in the Camp now pic.twitter.com/iW5WqBAtJM The center was originally opened in 2001 as part of then Prime Minister John Howard’s “Pacific Solution,” to process asylum seekers in offshore facilities. It was closed in 2008 by the Labor government, but reopened in 2012 after a rise in the number of boat arrivals to a peak of 300 in 2013, carrying more than 20,500 people. Two years later, the government announced that boat arrivals had stopped. The government has suggested that relaxing the policy would encourage other asylum seekers to attempt the treacherous journey, leading to more deaths at sea. Conditions at the center have been the subject of a number of damning reports from human rights advocates, including the United Nations. CNN’s Zahra Ullah and Sandi Sidhu contributed to this report.


Al-Harith reportedly carried out a car bombing in Iraq Monday Blair said he was paid compensation by a subsequent UK government Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has defended his attempts to secure the release of a UK citizen from Guantanamo Bay after reports that the former detainee carried out an ISIS suicide attack in Iraq this week. ISIS on its media affiliates claimed that Abu-Zakariya al-Britani – a British citizen who initially went by Ronald Fiddler and later took the name Jamal Udeen al-Harith – detonated a car bomb at an Iraqi army base southwest of Mosul this week. While a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said there had been no independent verification that the attacker was the former Guantanamo detainee, an official told CNN that UK intelligence services believe with “high confidence” that the bomber killed near Mosul was the former British inmate. CNN affiliate Channel 4 has verified the identity of the man through a family member as al-Harith, a 50-year-old from Manchester. Blair confirmed Wednesday that al-Harith was paid compensation by a subsequent UK government in 2010 for his time in the US detention facility, but did not confirm how much he was given. “The fact is that this was always a very difficult situation where any government would have to balance proper concern for civil liberties with desire to protect our security, and we were likely to be attacked whatever course we took,” Blair said in the statement. Al-Harith spent more than two years imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay before being released in 2004 after pressure from the UK government led by Blair. “The reason it did take a long time for their release was precisely the anxiety over their true affiliations.” Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also defended the government decision, telling Sky News that the government at the time was being attacked from both the right and left “suggesting we were being harsh and reasonable” for not pressing the US on UK citizens in Guantanamo. Al-Harith gave a harrowing account of life at the prison to a European Coucil parliamentary hearing in 2004, saying he had been regularly tortured, being forced to sit in stress positions, deprived of food and water, and given injections of unknown substances. In the same hearing, he said he had never “never engaged in any kind of fighting or planning or participating in any kind of violence or terrorist behavior.” Related article First on CNN: GOP senators push Trump on 'expansion' of Guantanamo Bay According to US government figures, 122 of the 693 people released from Guantanamo Bay by mid-July 2016 went on to commit terrorist or insurgent activities. A further 86 are suspected of such activity, according to the figures, compiled by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence,. President Obama campaigned fervently to close down Guantanamo Bay before his election in 2009 but, faced by opposition in Congress,  failed to do so over his eight-year leadership, though he reduced the number of detainees to 55 by the end of his second term in office. President Trump has vowed to keep it open, and is being pressured by Republican Party senators to expand it. CNN’s Ryan Browne, Lindsay Isaac, Stephanie Halasz and Eliza Mackintosh contributed to this report.


Editor’s Note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN who focuses on climate change and social justice. Follow him on Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to his email newsletter. Donald Trump’s decision on Thursday to abandon the Paris Agreement is apocalyptic. That’s not overstatement when the very health and survival of the planet is at stake. This could be the US President’s most lasting and damaging policy decision – a moment that reverberates from the present through future generations, who will be left with the unjust burden of cleaning up the mess we are making of the Earth. The best hope, as I heard again and again at recent climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, is for the rest of the world to rally toward a 100% clean energy future in spite of the United States and the current administration. China and the EU appear poised to take the lead there. And if that fails, there are always the 21 young people who are suing Trump and his administration in federal court over the climate crisis. But right now – in the immediate wake of the news that the United States plans to join Nicaragua and Syria as the only countries who aren’t parties to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius and avoid climate catastrophe – I don’t want to emphasize the thinnest of silver linings. I want to help you understand what’s at stake here and just how nonsensical this move is for Trump. To that end, I’ve compiled a rapid (and by no means exhaustive) list of 31 of the MANY facts Donald Trump is ignoring in deciding to walk away. The Earth has warmed about 1 degree Celsius since the Industrial Revolution. Burning fossil fuels, raising cattle and chopping down rainforests all create heat-trapping gases. More than 97% of climate scientists agree. It’s peer-reviewed science. Rising seas, mass extinction, super droughts … it’s not good. Already, Miami Beach, Florida, is raising street levels and installing pumps. The Marshallese word for hello also means “I love you” and “You are a rainbow.” A home fell off the thawing coastline in Shishmaref, Alaska. Rising seas, drought, conflict – all are expected to displace people. On average, they’re two months longer than in the 1970s, according to the Union for Concerned Scientists. In India, 2,330 people died in a 2015 heatwave. Scientists say we probably contributed. A crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf grew 11 miles – just this week. “We’re as good as dead,” a young mother in Madagascar told me. Warming is a driver, and 75% of species could disappear in coming centuries. Much of that is attributable to coal-fired power plants and cars. It’s the biggest historical climate polluter. And currently the second-biggest per year. That’s nearly 40 billion metric tons per year, says the Global Carbon Project. Even if it probably doesn’t seem that way right now. Stanford’s Mark Jacobson says the US can do it with existing technology. Eating beef is bad for the climate, as is clearing the rainforest. The country is also the world’s biggest solar market, and renewable energy investor. The third biggest annual polluter is considering all new electric cars by the 2030s. One analysis says solar could be cheaper than coal in a decade. There are now many more US jobs in solar than coal, for instance. Iowa produced almost 37% of its electricity from wind in 2016. More than 750,000 of them, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. It’s been called the “north star” for climate action, a global peer pressure effort. Trump could have pursued his own energy agenda while staying in the accord. India and China are doing better than expected, possibly offsetting an increase in US pollution. It’s not just Apple – ExxonMobil, too. That’s according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria: “The United States resigned as the leader of the free world.” Want to add to this list? Tweet links/maps/data to me. I’m @jdsutter. (Also: A big thank you to Ed Maibach at George Mason University for help with the framing of several of these.)

Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris Agreement


A multi-national crowd was dining when terrorists invaded the trendy restaurant in a diplomatic enclave of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The attackers took hostages and exchanged gunfire with police until soldiers moved in and killed the militants. Killer’s father: ‘That’s not my son’‘God wants you to die’Attackers ‘normal, regular guys’‘Bangladesh was never like this’New video purports to show siegeAttackers were all BangladeshiU.S. students among those killedWitnesses describe scene in cafeThe terror groups vying for influence Killer’s father: ‘That’s not my son’‘God wants you to die’Attackers ‘normal, regular guys’‘Bangladesh was never like this’New video purports to show siegeAttackers were all BangladeshiU.S. students among those killedWitnesses describe scene in cafeThe terror groups vying for influence Twenty-one people inside the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe were killed, along with two police officers and four terrorists. The slain victims included nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, three Bangladeshis and one U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi origin. Here’s what we know about the victims: Indian national Tarishi Jain, 19, was a sophomore at University of California at Berkeley. She had started an internship at a bank in Dhaka just weeks ago. She’d lived in Dhaka before, attending the American International School in Bangladesh’s capital while her father worked in the city as a textile merchant, UC Berkeley said Saturday. “She was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart,” said Sanchita Saxena, director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Bangladesh Studies. “Our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and the entire Berkeley community.” Fellow student Hannah Nguyen worked with Jain in the sales department of EthiCAL, a student-run apparel company. “All of the times we had meetings, she had a way to make people feel happy, and she had a great spirit about her,” Nguyen said. “Her smile was contagious.” Related gallery Hostage situation in Dhaka Nguyen said her friend’s death makes terrorism more than a headline. “We hear about these attacks and now it’s brought home. It’s extremely personal,” she said. “This reminds us that it’s always a good time to tell someone how important they are.” Jain intended to major in economics and had begun an internship at Dhaka’s Eastern Bank Limited, working on e-commerce growth, in early June, UC Berkeley said. India’s minister of external affairs, Sushma Swaraj, offered her condolences to Jain’s family, adding that “the country is with them in this hour of grief.” Berkeley hosted a vigil on campus Tuesday to honor Jain and other victims of the attack. Mourners share thoughts of slain UC Berkeley student Tarishi Jain at conclusion of vigil in Sproul Plaza pic.twitter.com/t8kSHOiZTU .@kron4news friends sharing stories of #TarishiJain killed #DhakaAttack #vigil @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/pv8CMxIcIC Abinta Kabir, one of two Emory University students killed in the attack, was a “treasure to this world,” her childhood friend Emma Louisa Jacoby told CNN. Kabir, of Miami, Florida, was a sophomore at the Atlanta-based university’s campus in Oxford, Georgia. She had been visiting family and friends in Dhaka, the university said. Like Jain, Kabir had attended the American International School in Dhaka before college, Jacoby said. “Her work ethic was always inspiring to me. She was incredibly goal-oriented and committed to her work and extra curricular activities, and an amazing athlete on top of that,” Jacoby told CNN. “Everything she achieved, I can say she earned.” Devika Harlaka, a college friend, said Kabir was extremely generous. “I remember going for dance practice one day and I desperately needed black leggings, and mine were in the wash so I just knocked on her door and she just gave me her leggings, even when we weren’t that close,” Harlaka wrote on Facebook. “When I graduated Oxford, she … made me a little candy bag with sweets and wrote me a card about how much she would miss me and how in such a short span of time we had become so close and had so many inside jokes.” Florida Gov. Rick Scott directed U.S. and Florida state flags across the state to be flown at half-staff Sunday to mourn Kabir. Faraaz Hossain, who was from Dhaka, was a 2016 graduate of Oxford College near Atlanta and a student at Emory’s Goizueta Business School. A friend from high school said he was voted prom king and class president. His friend told CNN he was very humble and one of the most responsible people she’d ever met. Another friend, Rifat Mursalin, said he got to know Hossain, a fellow Bangladeshi, through a school project. “My first interaction with Faraaz was when he reached out to me and offered to help me on a project I was working on,” Mursalin said. “And that serves as a testament to the kind of person he was. You know, always very loving, caring, helpful and extremely outgoing.” He added, “We are still in disbelief and shock that the two places I consider home – Dhaka and Emory University – are both shaken by this tragic atrocity.” “The Emory community mourns this tragic and senseless loss of two members of our university family,” the university said in a prepared statement Saturday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out on behalf of Faraaz and Abinta and their families and friends for strength and peace at this unspeakably sad time.” Makoto Okamura, 32, was one of seven Japanese nationals confirmed dead.  They were all having dinner at the cafe when the terrorists struck. “Everybody loved him. He is a good man,” his father, Komakichi Okamoto, 71, told Japan’s TV Asahi. Okamura was engaged to be married, Asahi reported. One of their dinner companions, management consultant Tamaoki Watanabe, survived. Ishrat Akhond, known by her family as Leila, was full of warmth and always joyful, her uncle told CNN. According to her LinkedIn profile, Akhond worked as a human resources director. She was also a painter and curator who had helped design art galleries, according to Mak Khan, her uncle. She loved music and attending concerts. Family members are devastated, shocked and in denial over her death, Khan said. “She was like a bird in an open sky,” he said. Claudia Maria D’Antona, 56, was one of nine Italian citizens confirmed dead. Originally from Turin, she had spent most of her adult life in the Far East, first in India and then in Dhaka, sister Patrizia D’Antona told told CNN affiliate Sky TG24 news channel. She lived in Dhaka with her husband and business partner, Gian Galeazzo Boschetti, who missed the attack because he was on a phone call, according to the Italian channel. “Claudia was someone who loved life. So strong, but capable and so open. She was so giving to others. When she was at a table, she was the life of the party, she could connect to others so quickly and (was) such a good listener,” said her sister, Patrizia D’Antona. Simona Monti, 33, was pregnant and planned to return to Italy this week and move to Magliano Sabina, where her family lives. Monti was at the cafe to say farewell to her friends. “She was just such a free spirit, wasn’t scared of anything. And even a little stubborn,” her brother, Don Luca Monti, told Sky TG24. “She was a citizen of the world, her desire to travel, her curiosity. And even in this experience of death there’s a spiritual testament not only to our family but the whole nation and all of humanity, it’s that of being open without limits to everything that in the world is good, beautiful, just and true.” Marco Tondat, 39, left Cordovado, Italy, one year ago in search of work, his brother Fabio Tondat told CNN affiliate Rai24 news channel. He found a job in Dhaka as a supervisor at a textile company. He was set to return on July 4 to Italy, where his 5-year-old daughter was waiting for him. “He was my only brother. We lost our father and now I lost my brother. They took him from me,” Fabio Tondat told the Italian channel. “He was a great guy. Loved life. He left a year ago to embark on this adventure … and unfortunately the epilogue was such.” Nadia Benedetti, 52, was originally from Viterbo, according to Sky TG24. A managing director of StudioTex Limited, she had been living in Bangladesh for 20 years and was dedicated to her job. Before Dhaka she lived in Nepal. “She was wonderful, she was courageous and fearless. She didn’t care that there were attacks,” granddaughter Giulia Benedetti told Rai24. “On the contrary she’d keep moving forward – even in the toughest moments, she would keep going. “It’s thanks to this strength of hers (that) others benefited, too. She had found work for so many others there in Bangladesh.” Adele Puglisi, 54, was a quality control manager for Artsana, which makes infant care and beauty products, according to Sky TG24. She lived in in Catania, Italy. She was in Bangladesh for work. Cristian Rossi was originally from Italy’s Udine province, according to Sky TG24. The father of 3-year-old twin daughters, he worked as a buyer for an Italian company with an office in Bangladesh before starting his own business. Claudio Cappelli, 45, was a resident of Lombardy, Italy, with his wife and 6-year-old daughter, according to Sky TG24. He worked for a textile company and was in Dhaka on business. The mayor of Cappelli’s hometown said the news of his death “hits hard.” “I didn’t know him personally, but it’s a citizen of our city and we are sending a big hug to the family.” Vincenzo D’Allestro, 46, was born in Switzerland and lived with his wife in Naples, Italy. He traveled often for his job in the textile sector, which had brought him to Dhaka. Maria Riboli 34, lived in Solza, according Sky TG24. She leaves behind a three-year-old daughter. She was in Dhaka on a business trip for a textile printing business. Neighbors in Solza told the television network they were too upset to talk. The Japanese government released the names of its seven citizens killed in Dhaka. No ages were given. Koyo Ogasawara Makoto Okamura Yuko Sakai Rui Shimodaira Hiroshi Tanaka Nobuhiro Kurosaki Hideki Hashimoto CNN’s Alexandra Field, Jareen Imam, Adrienne Shih, Tony Marco, Peter Dailey, Sabrina Khan, Yoko Wakatsuki, Alba Prifti and Livia Borghese contributed to this report.


Women were being driven from Paris-Le Bourget Airport north of the city Robbery is just the latest in a spate of high-profile crimes in the French capital Two Qatari sisters were robbed north of Paris by masked men who took jewelry and other personal effects worth an estimated 5 million euros ($5.3 million), officials say. The women were being driven from Paris-Le Bourget Airport to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport when two masked men intercepted their car Monday, said the general secretary of the Bobigny prosecutor, who according to protocol did not wish to be named. Forcing the vehicle to stop, the robbers sprayed tear gas at the driver and manhandled the women before taking their suitcases containing the valuables, the official said. The Banditry Repression Brigade, a special police unit within the Interior Ministry, was set to interview the women. Related article Kim Kardashian's hours before robbery detailed on social media The case is the latest in a spate of recent high-profile robberies, or attempted robberies, in the Paris region. On October 3, American reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was tied up and robbed at gunpoint of an estimated $10 million worth of jewelry in a luxury private apartment in Paris’ 8th Arrondissement by men dressed as police officers. And this month, masked attackers accosted Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat and her French boyfriend in the hallway of his apartment building in Paris’ 16th Arrondissement. Related article Bollywood star tells how she fought off Paris attackers The three attackers sprayed tear gas at the couple, pushed the actress to the ground and tried to grab her bag, but fled empty-handed after the two fought back. Two years ago, gunmen brandishing automatic weapons robbed a Saudi Embassy convoy carrying a Saudi prince to Paris-Le Bourget Airport, taking 250,000 euros and diplomatic documents, French police said at the time. Journalist Oceane Cornevin reported from Paris, and CNN’s Tim Hume reported and wrote from London.


The United States is withdrawing assistance from northwest Syria as the Trump administration reviews hundreds of millions of dollars in stabilization aid to Syria, a State Department official has told CNN. The withdrawal of assistance comes as the US-led military coalition battles the remaining elements of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley along the Syrian border of Iraq. “Two-hundred million dollars of stabilization assistance for Syria is currently under review at the request of the President,” the official said in a statement to CNN. “Distinct from that amount, U.S. assistance for programs in northwest Syria are being freed up to provide potential increased support for priorities in northeast Syria, as will be determined by the outcome of the ongoing assistance review, including the D-ISIS campaign and stabilization efforts.” While the US-led coalition has cleared the country’s northwestern region of ISIS, al Qaeda-linked groups such as the Nusra Front still maintain a foothold there, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government has been consolidating gains in territory there that it had lost to rebel forces, raising questions about what the US withdrawal of aid will mean for Syria’s future. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said it is time for Arab allies in the region to take responsibility for Syria in order to allow the United States to focus on priorities on the home front. But there is concern that a withdrawal of US development and reconstruction aid could curtail American influence to reach an outcome in line with longer-term US interests. The development ultimately could benefit “the Russians and other actors in that region, like the Iranians,” by allowing them more influence in the long-term, said retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, a CNN military analyst. The lack of US involvement in northwest Syria could also give terrorist groups like the Nusra Front a base from which to mount terror operations and exploit the volatile political situation to their benefit, Leighton said. CBS News first reported the withdrawal of the aid. The move to review stabilization efforts across Syria could also complicate the effort to assist in the country’s reconstruction and any related leverage over a political solution to the civil war. “It is clear that Russia’s interests in Syria are Russia’s interest and not those of the wider international community,” Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversees US military operations across the Middle East as head of US Central Command, told a congressional committee earlier this year. Trump said last month he was eyeing a conclusion of the US military campaign in Syria, where about 2,000 troops are working to finish off the remaining elements of ISIS. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford have both warned against a hasty withdrawal from Syria like the 2011 pull-out from Iraq that helped create the conditions that allowed ISIS to take over a sizable portion of the country in 2014. There is also concern about how US military allies on the ground in Syria, who were instrumental in reclaiming ISIS-held territory, would view a precipitous withdrawal of US investment in Syria. Such a move would “reverberate for decades to come that the United States is not a trusted partner,” Leighton said, adding that US commitments in the region could be seen as temporary, thereby “limiting the ability of the United States to project power” in the region going forward. CNN’s Laura Koran contributed to this report


The Senate voted 56-43 on Monday to end a Democratic filibuster of President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, allowing a final confirmation vote for the former ExxonMobil CEO to take place this week. Lawmakers pushed Tillerson one step closer to confirmation, possibly Wednesday, despite calls by Senate Democrats to delay the procedural cloture vote until they had a chance to question Tillerson about Trump’s controversial immigration executive order. Senate Democrats also used Monday’s vote as an opportunity to pound away at Trump’s anti-immigration executive order and demand its repeal. “President Trump’s Muslim ban is unconstitutional and un-American,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California. “Poor execution of this executive order has resulted in chaos and confusion.” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas rejected Feinstein’s call to repeal the order and insisted that it is not a “Muslim ban” but a temporary pause on immigration from seven nations. “Here is the minority shedding crocodile tears over Trump’s immigration policy,” said Cotton, adding he believes his Democratic colleagues could to improve safety in the US by voting to confirm Tillerson and Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. Democrats said they intend to question all pending Trump nominees on whether they support the executive order in the wake of criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle since its implementation. Last week, Tillerson won the backing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be secretary of state when it voted 11-10 along party lines to send his nomination to the full Senate. In the committee vote, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had been a long hold-out and potential “no” vote after he raised concerns about Tillerson’s views toward Russia and human rights. But the Florida Republican announced the day of the committee vote that he would support the nomination. If Rubio had voted no, it could have stalled Tillerson, although GOP leaders planned to move his nomination to the floor regardless. Democrats have catalogued a series of concerns about Tillerson, including his stance on Russia and relationship with President Vladimir Putin, human rights, how long he would recuse himself from decisions that could affect ExxonMobil, and the oil company’s track record of doing business with despots.


Israel is the second leg of his first foriegn trip as president He landed in Tel Aviv President Donald Trump landed in Israel on Monday for the second leg of his first foreign trip as president where he will tackle the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, address regional security issues and reaffirm the US’ commitment to its alliance with Israel. The visit is the second of three stops on the President’s schedule aimed at highlighting the importance of the world’s three largest monotheistic religions. He arrived in Israel after visiting Saudi Arabia, home to the two holiest sites in Islam, and will next head to the Vatican, home of the Catholic Church. “Young Israeli and Palestinian children deserve to grow up in safety, and to follow their dreams free from the violence that has destroyed so many lives,” said Trump, in remarks alongside Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem on Monday. “Thank both you and Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu for your commitment to achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” Trump told Rivlin. “I also look forward to discussing the peace process with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.” After landing in Tel Aviv, Trump will head to Jerusalem for a series of meetings, speeches and symbolic visits. Day 1: Day 2: Netanyahu has demanded his government ministers attend Trump’s arrival ceremony Monday morning after several of them said they were going to give it a pass, one of the ministers’ offices said. The office source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the visit, told CNN that a number of ministers intended to skip the ceremony at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport because it is expected to be brief, and Trump is only expected to shake the hands of Netanyahu and Rivlin. Neither Israelis nor Palestinians expect much from Trump visit When Netanyahu realized the number of expected ministerial no-shows, however, he made attendance mandatory, the minister’s office told CNN. US-Israeli tensions over Trump’s revelation to Russians? This is the unexpected cloud that may hang over Trump’s visit. It comes a week after the US alliance with Israel was put to the test amid reports that Trump divulged highly classified intelligence obtained by the Israelis during his meeting with the Russian foreign minister. Abroad, President Trump’s reality collides with candidate Trump’s words The US-Israeli intelligence cooperation agreement is one of the most significant relationships in the world and Trump’s decision to reveal information the Israelis did not want shared could make for tension during Trump’s visit. Neither the US nor Israel have confirmed the source of the intelligence was indeed Israel, as widely reported, but the Israelis have publicly refuted any talk of friction in the relationship. Israeli Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer reaffirmed Israel’s “full confidence in our intelligence sharing relationship” after the bombshell revelation. Asked if Trump planned to apologize for sharing the Israeli intelligence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday aboard Air Force One en route to Tel Aviv: “I don’t know that there’s anything to apologize for.” “To the extent the Israelis have any questions, or clarification, I’m sure we’re happy to provide that,” Tillerson said. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be at the top of the President’s agenda as he meets with leaders from both sides. Trump, for his part, has ramped up expectations, expressing his optimism that a peace deal can finally be brokered to end the nearly 70-year-old conflict and even suggesting a resolution may not be so difficult to obtain after all. “It is something that I think is, frankly, maybe, not as difficult as people have thought over the years,” Trump said last month during a meeting with Abbas. Trump and his advisers have made reviving peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians a top foreign policy priority and the US president will be looking to demonstrate some progress toward that goal on the other end of the trip. Trump has pitched himself as a “mediator, an arbitrator or a facilitator” to help both sides to reach a lasting peace settlement and has resisted laying out specific conditions for a peace deal. Trump shocked longtime observers of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process earlier this year when he declined to endorse a two-state solution to the conflict, breaking with stated US policy under his past two predecessors Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like,” Trump said during a joint news conference with Netanyahu at the White House in February. “I’m very happy with the one that both parties like. I can live with either one.” Tillerson said the administration believes that the increasing threat of Islamist extremism is proving to be a unifying force. “That is unifying,” Tillerson said. “That there’s something larger going on that’s affecting all of us. We need to try and come together to address that. I think that creates a different dynamic.” Related video White House statement on Israel is significant “I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit,” Trump told Netanyahu at the White House in February. Trump’s remark during that news conference is the clearest statement of policy on the issue from the administration to date. And it leaves open a slew of questions that Trump may be pressed to address while he is in Israel and in the West Bank. Israelis on edge before Trump visit Trump did not specify whether the US is urging Israel to halt only new settlement activity, or even construction to expand existing settlements. And he also hasn’t said whether his request to halt settlement activity – already more modestly stated than past presidents – applies to East Jerusalem. Tillerson on Monday declined to say whether Trump would pressure the Israelis on settlements, simply promising that “settlements are part of the overall peace discussion.” “There are a number of elements that have presented challenges to the peace process in the past, settlements is clearly one of those,” he said. Trump was considering recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announcing plans to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv during his trip. But he faced a mountain of pressure not to do that in recent weeks from foreign policy officials at the State Department, Pentagon and in the intelligence community, as well as from Arab diplomats. They all warned that the move would inflame tensions in the region and add an obstacle to peace talks before they even got off the starting block. Trump’s 1989 trip to Israel that never was Administration officials told CNN last week that Trump would not announce the embassy move during the trip, but did not rule out making the declaration in the future. Trump will be the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism. But Trump is currently scheduled to visit the site without Israeli officials by his side – with US officials keenly aware of the sensitivities surrounding the holy site, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as part of their territory. The US has left the status of Jerusalem as a whole to a final status peace settlement. But Trump’s visit to the wall comes after US officials who met with Israeli officials to arrange Trump’s visit sparked off a controversy by contending that the Western Wall was part of the West Bank – which is not the US’ policy. White House press secretary Sean Spicer would only say the West Wall is in Jerusalem, without clarifying whether the administration believes the Western Wall is in Israel. Tillerson on Monday also would only say: “The wall is part of Jerusalem.” Still, Trump’s visit to the wall will be a symbolic statement about the Jewish people’s connection to Israel, and Jerusalem in particular. Trump has talked a lot about the importance of walls and as he makes his way to the West Bank city of Bethlehem to meet with Abbas, Trump will confront one perhaps even more controversial than the one he has vowed to build on the US-Mexico border. The barrier separating Israel from the West Bank has been a years-long source of tension between Israel and the Palestinians. While Israeli officials contend the barrier, built during the suicide bombings of the Second Intifada, is a crucial security measure to prevent terrorist attacks, Palestinians have protested it for its impact on economic activity and because its route has, at times, cut into land the Palestinians claim as their own. The portion of the barrier that sits on the edge of Bethlehem is particularly visible – a 30-foot-high wall with political graffiti art adorning its concrete slabs. Palestinians call this “the apartheid wall.” CNN’s Amir Tal and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.


Rep. Mike McCaul's border bill requires 'physical barriers' and technology The plan would add 5,000 border agents and 5,000 customs officers The top homeland security Republican in the House unveiled a border security bill Friday that would codify President Donald Trump’s border wall, boost resources for Border Patrol and authorize the National Guard and Defense Department to provide support to those efforts. The Border Security for America Act by Texas Rep. Mike McCaul is a scaled back version of a bill that McCaul had been working on with fellow Texan Republican Sen. John Cornyn, as CNN first reported. Drafts of that bill that circulated earlier this year were more than three times as long as this border security bill and included more aspects of immigration enforcement. The border-focused bill from McCaul would require “physical barriers” and technology to be deployed on the Southern border, would increase air and marine patrols, would add 5,000 border agents and 5,000 customs officers, would waive polygraph requirements for a narrow set of Customs and Border Patrol applicants and would mandate an entry-exit system for entering and leaving the United States that collects biometric information. Other provisions in the bill include authorizations for the National Guard and Defense Department to loan troops and supplies to the border security effort with reimbursement from the federal government – though they would not be authorized to do immigration enforcement tasks. Related article First on CNN: Border lawmaker teams up with Silicon Valley on 'smart wall' The measure may be controversial, though there is precedent. In 2010, President Barack Obama deployed 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southern border to fight drug crime and provide intelligence, and in 2014 then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry sent troops his state’s border with Mexico amid a surge of undocumented immigrants. The bill would allow for the National Guard and military to engage in activities like building, intelligence gathering and surveillance. There are no provisions allowing for the troops to be involved in law enforcement activities. The legislation would also require the department to conduct a security assessment of the Southern border and submit strategic plans for securing it going forward. What the bill’s path forward is unclear. McCaul, as chairman of the House homeland security committee, has plenty of political capital within the House and has shown an ability to get bills passed in the Republican-dominated chamber. The bill has more than 40 Republican co-sponsors. But in the Senate, where legislation typically requires 60 votes to advance, Republicans have to convince eight Democrats. They have signaled they won’t support any border security efforts without compromises on protecting at least some undocumented immigrants who are already here, and are hesitant to give the President a win on his border wall. Related article First on CNN: Texas lawmakers working with Trump admin on immigration bill Cornyn’s office did not comment on its plan for the counterpart the Republican was working on with McCaul earlier this year, but pointed CNN to comments the senator made this week to a reporter in Texas about wanting a “comprehensive” piece of legislation. “I’ve been working for months with my colleagues in the Senate and on the House side to come up with a proposal that we now have proposed to the Department of Homeland Security, and we’ve been getting technical corrections and suggestions from them,” Cornyn said. “But my hope is that we’ll be able to roll out this comprehensive border security bill that includes infrastructure like the President wants but is part of an overall solution that actually will get the job done.”


Rochester JCC one of at least five to report threats on Jewish holiday One person has been arrested in connection with a small portion of this year's calls At least five North American Jewish centers reported bomb threats Sunday as Jews observed the religious holiday of Purim. None of the threats proved real in the latest wave of intimidating acts targeting the Jewish community. For some centers, though, it was not their first ordeal. The Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center in Rochester, New York, was evacuated Sunday morning for the second time in less than a week. The center was hosting a “warming center” for people whose homes had lost power when the bomb threat came, Executive Director Arnie Sohinki said. It reopened without incident a few hours later after receiving an all-clear from law enforcement, Sohinki said. he would not provide further details, citing the police investigation. “We are open. We will remain open. Whoever is doing this doesn’t realize this only makes us #stronger, ” the center said in a Facebook post. “All are welcome to join us at the JCC.” The Rochester JCC was one of several Jewish institutions to receive a bomb threat on Sunday. The threats coincided with the Jewish holiday of Purim, a festive commemoration of the defeat of a plot to exterminate Jews in ancient Persia. Other locations reporting similar threats included Indianapolis Jewish Community Center in Indiana; the Jewish Community Center of Greater Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada; and The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All reopened a few hours later without incident. The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston also received a bomb threat – its second in three weeks, Executive Vice President Joel Dinkin said. The center, which received the threat via email, was not evacuated. Related article Jewish center bomb threats: What the callers said The threats were the latest acts in a recent wave of anti-Semitic incidents across the United States. Museums, houses of worship, advocacy groups and cemeteries have been targets of bomb threats and vandalism as federal officials work with state and local authorities to find those responsible. One person has been arrested in connection with a small portion of the calls. The head of police intelligence for New York City said he believes one person is responsible for most of the nationwide calls and the rest are the work of copycats. CNN was unable to confirm or corroborate his theory. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials have said they believe many of the threatening calls originated overseas. Sunday’s incidents bring the number of threats since January in the United States and Canada to 154, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The Louis S. Wolk JCC also received a bomb threat on Tuesday, March 7, the same day another center in Syracuse and the Anti-Defamation League’s New York City headquarters received threats. No devices were found at the locations and the centers reopened soon after. After the first bomb threat, the Rochester center had opened its doors to those who lost power in a winter storm blanketing the Northeast. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the bomb threat “despicable” given the center’s service to the community. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the incident “cowardly,” especially on a holiday weekend celebrating “the resiliency of the Jewish people.” “Like all New Yorkers, I am profoundly disturbed and disgusted by the continued threats against the Jewish community in New York. As New Yorkers, we will not be intimidated and we will not stand by silently as some seek to sow hate and division. New York is one family, and an attack on one is an attack on all,” he said in a statement. Cuomo said he would direct state police to investigate the bomb threats in conjunction with federal officials. Last week, Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio increased a reward for information on hate crimes – not just bomb threats – to $20,000. The FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division vowed to investigate possible civil rights violations in connection with the threats. “The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence, and will ensure this matter is investigated in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner. As this matter is ongoing, we are not able to comment further at this time,” the federal agency said. CNN’s Kwegyirba Croffie, Sara Ganim and Laurie Ure contributed to this report.


South Korea said this month it would shut down the joint industrial park Pyongyang said it drove tensions to the "furthest  extreme of confrontation and war" South Korea accused North Korea of funding weapons programs with wages intended for workers at an industrial complex. In a statement Sunday, South Korea’s Unification ministry said North Korea was spending 70% of wages destined for workers at Kaesong Industrial Complex . “North Korea’s party, government and military is earning foreign currency [cash, USD] … [it is] being spent for nuclear and missile development, idolization and luxury goods,” the statement said. The Kaesong complex lies north of the Demilitarized Zone, which divides the two Koreas. Related video CNN visits last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation Around 125 South Korean businesses employing some 52,000 North Korean workers have operated there in a rare example of cooperation between the two neighbors. The workers’ wages – said to total around $90 million a year – have been paid directly to Pyongyang. Read more about Kaesong Seoul announced this month it was closing the complex following North Korea’s “extremely provocative act” of launching a long-range missile after a nuclear test. Related video Fallout from North Korea's rocket launch Pyongyang responded by saying it would expel all South Koreans from Kaesong and freeze assets there. A government committee said Seoul’s “dangerous declaration” drove the situation on the Korean peninsula “to the furthest extreme of confrontation and war,” according to North Korean state media. South Korea subsequently accused the North of giving South Koreans a “very short deadline to leave.” It also said the North is illegally freezing South Korean companies’ assets. Last week, the director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California said money from the complex could have been used by North Korea for its nuclear program. Related video Ranking North Korean official executed by regime? David Kang said North Korea’s nuclear program could be funded indirectly by Kaesong. “I think the larger point is that North Korea has not responded to any sanctions,” he said. ” The one jewel that nobody has really wanted to touch is this joint economic zone.” Seoul’s decision to shut the Koreas “biggest symbol of engagement” showed how fed up the country was with its northern neighbor, he said. The two Koreas have technically been at war since hostilities began in 1950. An armistice was signed three years later. But in 2013, the North declared the ceasefire agreement invalid. CNN’s Euan McKirdy and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.

South Korea's decision to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex