The memo argued that "most Americans don't believe deportation is a viable policy" The findings differ sharply from Trump's positions Donald Trump’s new campaign manager once made the case to Republicans that the party should embrace a comprehensive immigration bill and legal status for undocumented immigrants – differing sharply with the GOP candidate’s hardline stance on the issue. Kellyanne Conway, who was named Trump’s campaign manager Wednesday morning, co-authored a 2014 polling memo for the pro-immigration group FWD.us touting the benefits of a sweeping overhaul bill that would have created a 13-year pathway to citizenship for roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants. The memo, which was signed by Conway and 15 other GOP pollsters, argued that “most Americans don’t believe deportation is a viable policy” and that there is an “overwhelming consensus” for “some kind of legalization” for people in the United States illegally. The pollsters made the case that there is “broad support” for the bill that Trump now strongly opposes but Hillary Clinton supports. “Supporting this new immigration reform proposal should be good electoral politics for Republicans,” the memo said. The findings differ sharply from Trump’s positions, which include a wall built on the border with Mexico, deporting millions of people here illegally and “extreme” vetting of people entering the United States. It also breaks from the reported direction Trump will take his campaign in the final stretch, doubling down on his populist and nationalistic policies and law-and-order message. Emails to Conway and the Trump campaign were not immediately returned. The ‘street fighter’ who’s now running Trump’s campaign The memo highlights the lingering GOP divide over how to approach the hot-button issue of immigration, with the business community strongly backing a comprehensive approach and party activists saying such a sweeping bill would provide “amnesty” to lawbreakers. But the findings from Conway and the other GOP pollsters said that – by a 2-to-1 margin – voters did not believe the comprehensive bill amounted to amnesty. “Passing immigration reform gives Republicans an opportunity to gain the support of the remaining quarter” of Hispanic voters who are undecided, the polling memo said. “Doing so solves a serious problem in a way that Americans, including Hispanics, overwhelmingly support – and improves Republicans’ standing with swing voters now, in the next presidential election, and for years to come.”


Russian Embassy in London says 'White Helmets' win was an #OscarMistake Syrian Civil Defense organization says it acts "neutrally, impartially and for all Syrians" Sunday’s awkward and embarrassing best picture announcement wasn’t the only thing the Academy got wrong, according to the Russian Embassy in London. Reacting to “White Helmets’ winning for Best Documentary Short, the embassy sent a backhanded compliment tweet congratulating the film’s “actors.” The only problem with the tweet is that none of the people in the film were acting. “Russia welcomes #Oscars award for “White Helmets” film. Indeed, they are actors serving an agenda, not rescuers. #OscarMistake.” Russia welcomes #Oscars award for “White Helmets” film. Indeed, they are actors serving an agenda, not rescuers. #OscarMistake pic.twitter.com/RsQesgZ4Te The 40-minute documentary film follows three rescue workers with the White Helmets – also known as the Syrian Civil Defense – who train in Turkey to provide emergency medical assistance to civilians caught in Syria’s civil war.  According to the group’s Twitter page, the volunteers have saved more than 85,000 lives in the conflict. On its website the Syrian Civil Defense organization says it acts “neutrally, impartially and for all Syrians,” but Russian media outlets, such as RT, claims there are allegations that the group has “ties to terrorist organizations.” The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office didn’t respond to the Russian Embassy’s remarks, but directed CNN to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s tweet congratulating the White Helmets on the Oscar win. Congratulations to White Helmets @SyriaCivilDef team for #Oscar2017 winning documentary. UK supports their heroic work in #Syria pic.twitter.com/p7jWoZtfk2 Congratulations to White Helmets @SyriaCivilDef team for #Oscar2017 winning documentary. UK supports their heroic work in #Syria


In a collection of never-before-published photographs from 19th century Japan, two men are seen crafting traditional Edo-period pipes called “kiseru.” Another scene shows a group of apprentice geishas performing popular dances, their colorful kimonos tied up to aid their flowing movements. The images were captured by the Italian Felice Beato, one of the first Western photographers allowed into the once-reclusive state after it opened to the world in the 1850s. Traveling around the country to document its people, customs and landscapes, Beato took inspiration from Japanese wood block prints and collaborated with local watercolor artists to develop a unique style which saw him apply colored paint onto black and white prints. Now, a new book is bringing some of Beato’s photos to light for the very first time. Depicting beauty ideals and traditions, from tattoo-covered samurais to ancient tea ceremonies, “Lost Japan” offers a look inside a rarely-seen period of the country’s past. “Until 1900, Yokohama (where Beato was based) was one of the most international cities in the world while Japan was still a country entirely to discover,” wrote author Rossella Manegazzo, “and in this sense photography played a crucial role.” Female beauty was among the subjects most commonly explored in Beato’s pictures, which include striking images such as a woman on an evening stroll with stark white makeup and an umbrella. Both Western and Japanese photographers would use young Japanese women as models to recreate daily life in the country’s so-called “pleasure districts.” “What was exotic was sought after, and the white skin of the Japanese women – along with their peculiar hairdos, the kimonos, and their everyday objects – represented what was most highly desirable,” wrote Manegazzo. Resembling a style of art known as “fuzokuga,” or “genre painting,” which depicts the disappearing crafts and traditions of Edo-period Japan, Beato’s photos portray domestic scenes including weaving and pipe smoking. His portraits of everyday figures, like rickshaw drivers and letter bearers, show the different strata of Japanese society at the time. “(The photos) represent a veritable classification of customs and traditions,” wrote Manegazzo, “as well as of the types of people who inhabited pre-modern Japan.” “Lost Japan” by Rossella Manegazzo, published by Electa, is out now.


NEW: Pentagon commends Turkey for joining coalition efforts against ISIS Turkey joined coalition operations against ISIS on Friday night, its foreign ministry says Turkish warplanes previously carried out unilateral strikes against ISIS positions in Syria in July Turkey launched its first airstrikes against ISIS in Syria on Saturday as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the extremist group, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The participation of Turkish air forces in coalition operations was formalized and signed on Monday, according to the ministry. As part of the framework of the agreement, Turkey, along with coalition aircraft, began joint operations Friday night against ISIS targets in Syria. The targets were deemed to represent a security threat for Turkey, the ministry said. Turkish warplanes bombed ISIS positions in Syria for the first time late last month, but the airstrikes were then part of a unilateral effort and not as part of the U.S.-led coalition. The Turkish strikes in July were carried out without going into Syrian airspace, according to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Friday’s Turkish Air Force strikes were fully integrated into systems for managing coalition air operations. “We commend Turkey for its participation in counter-ISIL air operations alongside other Coalition nations in the international campaign to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL,” he said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS. Turkey’s new willingness to take the fight to ISIS comes after months of reluctance from Ankara to act. The shift in stance follows intense international pressure and an attack last month by an alleged ISIS suicide bomber in the Turkish town of Suruc, near the border with Syria, which killed 34 people including the suicide bomber. It also allowed the United States to launch manned airstrikes from a base in Turkey against ISIS forces in Syria earlier this month. Q&A: Why has Turkey reversed itself on ISIS? CNN’s Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and national security producer Jamie Crawford contributed to this report.


The mogul brought up a small section of the deal that he said obligated mutual defense Trump's reading of the meaning of the provision was off, according to State Department Real estate mogul Donald Trump is known for bragging about his ability to negotiate, and he has been hitting President Barack Obama hard over the Iran nuclear deal. But one of Trump’s major arguments against the deal is actually incorrect, according to its key architects. He criticized the agreement for not returning Americans held prisoner in Iran and for the length of time before inspections, but he also raised what he called a little-known point of the deal. “There’s something in the Iran deal that people I don’t think really understand or know about,” Trump said. “And nobody is able to explain it that if somebody attacks Iran, we have to come to their defense. And I’m saying, does that includes Israel? And most people say, yes. They don’t have exclusion for Israel. So, if Israel attacks Iran according to that deal, I believe, the way it reads unless they have a codicil or they have something to it, that we have to fight with Iran against Israel.” Trump was apparently referencing Section 10 of Annex III of the deal, which covers civil nuclear cooperation. That says that Western nations party to the deal will work with Iran on areas including: “cooperation through training and workshops to strengthen Iran’s ability to protect against, and respond to nuclear security threats, including sabotage, as well as to enable effective and sustainable nuclear security and physical protection systems.” But his reading of the meaning of the provision was off, according to the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry’s senior adviser for strategic communications Marie Harf said the language was routine for nuclear agreements. “This provision of the JCPOA is designed to help bring Iran’s nuclear security and safety practices in line with those used by other nuclear programs around the world,” Harf told CNN. “The IAEA provides this kind of training routinely, as it is in the interest of all countries that nuclear material be safeguarded from theft and terrorist attacks – the types of ‘sabotage’ in question. This would be the focus of any such assistance by the P5+1 or other states. Nevertheless, this provision does not commit any country to engage in this kind of routine nuclear security cooperation, and it is absurd to suggest it [commits] anyone to ‘defend’ Iran’s nuclear facilities.” The Trump campaign did not respond to CNN request for comment on the critique. Kerry himself also testified before Congress that nothing about the provision compels the U.S. to side with Iran against any attack. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, also a Republican candidate for president, asked about this very point in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in July. “If Israel conducts an air strike against the physical facility, does this deal, the way I read it, does it require us to help Iran protect and respond to that threat?” Rubio asked. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist who helped negotiate the deal, said it categorically does not. “The purpose of that is to be able to have longer-term guarantees as we enter a world in which cyber-warfare is increasingly a concern for everybody, that if you are going to have nuclear capacities, you clearly want to be able to make sure that those are adequately protected,” Kerry added. “But I can assure you, we will coordinate in every possible way with Israel with respect to Israel’s concern.” “So, if Israel conducts a cyberattack against the Iranian nuclear program are we obligated to help them defend themselves against the Israeli cyberattacks?” Rubio asked? “No, I assure you that we will be coordinating very, very closely with Israel as we do on every aspect of Israel’s security,” Kerry said. “I don’t see any way possible that we will be in conflict with Israel with respect to what we might want to do there. And I think we just have to wait until we get to that point.”


Spicer said Tuesday he hasn't talked to Trump about the hacking US intelligence agencies agree Russia is to blame President Donald Trump is known for his blunt talk – on everything ranging from trade to immigration and the fight against ISIS. But throughout the 2016 campaign, and now in the White House, there’s one topic that he’s been less forthcoming about – Russia’s role interfering in the US election. He’s answered questions about attempts to hack the 2016 election many different ways throughout the campaign and since ascending to the presidency – even speculating during a debate last year that it “could be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds.” The unanimous assessment of the US intelligence community is clear: Russia orchestrated a series of hacks and cyberattacks to meddle in the 2016 election and help Trump beat Hillary Clinton. Intelligence agencies have not concluded that Russian efforts made a difference in the election result. Only once has Trump clearly pointed the finger at the Russian government, and as recently as Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer dodged reporters’ questions on whether Trump holds that belief. Here is a timeline of Trump’s comments about Russian interference in the election: The Trump campaign said the Democratic National Committee probably hacked itself as a distraction. “We believe it was the DNC that did the ‘hacking’ as a way to distract from the many issues facing their deeply flawed candidate and failed party leader,” Trump said in a statement, Politico reported. “Too bad the DNC doesn’t hack Crooked Hillary’s, 33,000 missing emails.” Trump, in an interview with Larry King that aired on on the Kremlin-run RT, dismissed claims Russia hacked the DNC, and dismisses the notion that a Russian operation to disrupt the 2016 election is underway. LARRY KING: Putin recently said that the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s emails was a public service. You agree? TRUMP: I don’t have any opinion on it. I don’t know anything about it. I don’t know who hacked. I’m not sure who – I mean, you tell me, who hacked? Who did the hacking? But I have absolutely no opinion on that. I don’t know, I haven’t heard that statement. KING: US intelligence and law enforcement agencies reportedly are investigating whether Russia launched a covert operation to disrupt the 2016 election. What do you make of that? TRUMP: I don’t know. I’ve been hearing about it. I’ve been reading about it. I think it’s probably unlikely. I think maybe the Democrats are putting that out, who knows? But I think that it’s pretty unlikely, but you know, who knows? I hope that if they are doing something, I hope that somebody is going to be able to find out, so they can end it, because that would not be appropriate at all. Trump dismissed allegations that Russia is behind the DNC hack during the first presidential debate. From debate transcript: “As far as the cyber, I agree to parts of what Secretary Clinton said, we should be better than anybody else, and perhaps we’re not. I don’t think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She’s saying Russia, Russia, Russia. Maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China, but it could also be lots of other people, it also could be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? “Now, whether that was Russia, whether that was China, whether it was another country, we don’t know, because the truth is, under President Obama we’ve lost control of things that we used to have control over. We came in with an Internet, we came up with the Internet. And I think Secretary Clinton and myself would agree very much, when you look at what ISIS is doing with the Internet, they’re beating us at our own game. ISIS. “So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyberwarfare. It is a, it is a huge problem. I have a son. He’s 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers, it’s unbelievable. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it’s hardly do-able. But I will say, we are not doing the job we should be doing, but that’s true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better, Lester, and certainly cyber is one of them.” At the second presidential debate, Trump dismissed claims that Russia is behind the hacks, questioned whether there are any hacks in the first place and said he has no business in Russia. From debate transcript: “But as far as other elements of what she was saying, I don’t know Putin. I think it would be great if we got along with Russia because we could fight ISIS together, as an example. But I don’t know Putin. But I notice, anytime anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians are – she doesn’t know if it’s the Russians doing the hacking. Maybe there is no hacking. But they always blame Russia. And the reason they blame Russia because they think they’re trying to tarnish me with Russia. I know nothing about Russia. I know – I know about Russia, but I know nothing about the inner workings of Russia. I don’t deal there. I have no businesses there. I have no loans from Russia.” Trump claimed no one knows who did the hacking during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think the Democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country,” Trump said. “They have no idea if it’s Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place,” he said. “I mean, they have no idea.” Trump questioned whether Russia was behind election hacks. “If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?” he tweeted. If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Trump suggested again that Russia may not have been behind the hacking. “I just want them to be sure, because it’s a pretty serious charge,” Trump told reporters at a New Year’s Eve party in Mar-a-Lago, according to The Guardian. “And if you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong.” Trump referred to Russian hacking as “so-called” on Twitter. “The “Intelligence” briefing on so-called “Russian hacking” was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!” he tweeted. The "Intelligence" briefing on so-called "Russian hacking" was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange! Trump claimed “somebody hacked the DNC” in a tweet. From Twitter: “Somebody hacked the DNC but why did they not have “hacking defense” like the RNC has and why have they not responded to the terrible……” Somebody hacked the DNC but why did they not have "hacking defense" like the RNC has and why have they not responded to the terrible...... Trump said the DNC was only “supposedly hacked by Russia.” “The Democratic National Committee would not allow the FBI to study or see its computer info after it was supposedly hacked by Russia……” he tweeted. The Democratic National Committee would not allow the FBI to study or see its computer info after it was supposedly hacked by Russia...... Intelligence heads briefed Trump on Russian hacking and the dossier, CNN reported, and Trump again declined to say clearly that Russia was behind the election-related hacks “While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations including the Democrat National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines,” Trump said in a statement following the briefing. “There were attempts to hack the Republican National Committee, but the RNC had strong hacking defenses and the hackers were unsuccessful.” Trump said for the first time he believes Russia was behind election hacks during a news conference. “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia. But I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people,” Trump said during a news conference as President-elect. “And I have to say this also, the Democratic National Committee was totally open to be hacked. They did a very poor job. They could’ve had hacking defense, which we had. And I will give Reince Priebus credit, because when Reince saw what was happening in the world and with this country, he went out and went to various firms and ordered a very, very strong hacking defense. And they tried to hack the Republican National Committee and they were unable to break through.” Trump said he’s neutral regarding WikiLeaks and Julian Assange’s actions during the 2016 election in an interview with The Associated Press. “When Wikileaks came out, all I was just saying is, ‘Well, look at all this information here, this is pretty good stuff.’ You know, they tried to hack the Republican, the RNC, but we had good defenses. They didn’t have defenses, which is pretty bad management. But we had good defenses, they tried to hack both of them. They weren’t able to get through to Republicans,” Trump told the AP. Asked if he supported what Assange did, Trump said: “No, I don’t support or unsupport. It was just information. They shouldn’t have allowed it to get out.” Hackers could have been China or “a lot of different groups,” Trump said on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” “Knowing something about hacking, if you don’t catch a hacker, OK, in the act, it’s very hard to say who  did the hacking,” the President told CBS. “With that being said, I’ll go along with Russia. Could’ve been China, could’ve been a lot of different groups.”“ Trump said he wants to get to the bottom of Russian election hacks in an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt. “I think that we have to get back to work but I want to find out – I want to get to the bottom. If Russia hacked, if Russia did anything having to do with our election I want to know about it,” Trump said. When Hold said US intelligence has said Russia is responsible, Trump said: “I’ll tell you this – if Russia or anybody else is trying to interfere with our elections I think it’s a horrible thing and I want to get to the bottom of it and I want to make sure it will never ever happen.” Spicer said Tuesday he hasn’t asked Trump whether he believes Russia interfered in the election. “I have not sat down and talked to him about that specific thing,” Spicer said during the press briefing. Asked if Trump agrees with the finding of the intelligence agencies, Spicer repeated: “I have not sat down and asked him about his specific reaction to them, so I’d be glad to touch base and get back to you.” CNN’s Adam Chan contributed to this report.


British authorities have now identified all three men behind Saturday night’s rampage at London Bridge – and are investigating whether others were involved. At least seven people were killed and another 48 people were wounded in the attack. Within eight minutes of the first emergency phone call, officers shot dead all three suspects in Borough Market, a popular restaurant and bar district nearby. This is what we know about the attackers so far. – Butt was a British citizen who was born in Pakistan, London’s Metropolitan Police said. Police and MI5 – the UK’s security and counterintelligence agency – were familiar with him, but there was no intelligence to suggest the weekend attack was being planned, Met Police said. – Authorities said Butt was from the east London area of Barking. He was working at reception of a local fitness center. – Butt appeared in a 2016 documentary called “The Jihadis Next Door,” which told the story of Abu Rumaysah, the Londoner who has appeared in recent ISIS propaganda. – Butt, who also used the name Abdul Zaitun, is believed to have associated with the outlawed radical Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, co-founded by notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary. – Al-Muhajiroun has been linked to the radicalization of a number of UK-based terrorists over the years including several of those behind a fertilizer bomb plot thwarted in the UK in 2014. – CNN’s Sandi Sidhu met Butt several years ago while reporting in London. She said that while he would attend meetings, he rarely spoke up and was not at the helm of the group. – Al-Muhajiroun has also been linked to Michael Adebolajo, one of the men convicted of slaying British soldier Lee Rigby near a military barracks in southeast London in 2013. – Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said Butt verbally assaulted him the day after Rigby’s death. “Butt called me a “Murtad” which means traitor in Arabic and accused me of being a government stooge when I confronted Anjem Choudhury about him supporting terrorism and my public campaign against Lee Rigby’s murder,” Shafiq said in a statement Monday. Live updates: Seven dead in attackHorrified diners hid from man with knifeTrump touts travel plan after London attackIn brief: What we know and don’t knowVideo: How attacks unfolded In photos: London Bridge terror attack Live updates: Seven dead in attackHorrified diners hid from man with knifeTrump touts travel plan after London attackIn brief: What we know and don’t knowVideo: How attacks unfolded In photos: London Bridge terror attack – Butt “infrequently” attended Jabir bin Zayd Islamic Centre in Barking, that mosque said in a statement. “We did not know him well, his name was not known to us, it has been brought to our attention that some years ago after interrupting a Friday sermon he was asked to leave the mosque,” the statement said. – Neighbors in Barking told CNN that they had recognized Butt as one of the three dead attackers from Saturday night. They described him as a quiet family man who kept to himself. – Barking resident Erica Gasperri said she had reported Butt to police after she saw him teaching local children about Islam and showing them how to pray. – Other neighbors have told CNN that Butt had joined a mosque nearby after he severed ties with another community following an argument. – Butt briefly worked for Transport for London, the entity that oversees the city’s public transport system. He was a trainee customer services assistant with London Underground for less than six months, before leaving in October, according to a Transport for London spokesperson. – Redouane also used the name Rachid Elkhdar – He had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, Met Police said. – Like Butt, Redouane lived in the east London area of Barking, police said. – Unlike Butt, Redouane was not previously known to authorities. – Like the other two perpetrators, Zaghba lived in east London, Met Police said. – He is believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent and was not a subject of police or intelligence interest, police added. –  Italian police tell CNN Zaghba became a person of interest after he was stopped at Bologna Airport in March 2016 on suspicion of attempting to travel to Syria. Zaghba – traveling on an Italian passport – had tried to board a flight bound for Istanbul. Police also found extremist material on his cellphone. He was stopped from departing Italy but there was insufficient evidence to arrest him so authorities filed a report and placed on a watchlist. – The Ireland connection. A source briefed by an Irish counterterrorism official told CNN that one of the London attackers had a connection to Ireland after state media reports that an Irish ID card was found on the body of one of the London attackers. But it’s not clear which attacker may have had the Irish ID. Irish authorities are assisting the Metropolitan Police in their investigation but refused to comment further. – What could have been done to prevent this attack. Questions are being leveled at UK security and intelligence services about the possible lack of response or action given that at least one attacker – Butt – was well-known to authorities due to his links to al-Muhajiroun and reports of his radicalization. Authorities had investigated Butt in 2015 but there were no indications of an imminent attack and the probe was downgraded. – How these men knew each other. – Whether others are involved. Raids continue in east London and Pakistan on Tuesday, with detectives arresting a man at an address in Barking. Twelve others arrested after the attack have since been released without charge, police said. – What their movements were before the attack. – How they were radicalized. In the attack’s aftermath, British Prime Minister May identified the Internet as a breeding ground of extremism. Whether the web actually played a role in the attackers’ radicalization is still unknown. CNN’s Carol Jordan, Melissa Bell, Paul Cruikshank and Sebastian Shukla contributed to this report.


Happy Pi Day! Here’s what you might have missed on CNN today: – It’s been one month since the Florida school massacre, and students across the country walked out of school to protest inaction over gun laws. Here’s a recap of the walkouts, and here are some of the best photos from the day. – Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering whether to fire former FBI Director Andrew McCabe, days before he is eligible to retire and collect a pension. – The Pennsylvania special election winner still has not been called, though Democrat Conor Lamb appears poised to claim victory. – President Donald Trump will name a TV personality as the his new economic adviser. – The UK will expel 23 Russian diplomats after concluding Russia is responsible for the attempted murder of a former spy. – Stephen Hawking, considered by many to be the world’s greatest scientist, died at 76. See his extraordinary life in pictures. – Remember when HUD Secretary Ben Carson said he didn’t select a $31,000 dining set for his office? Well, emails show the opposite to be true. – United Airlines admitted the death of a dog that was asked to travel in an overhead bin was a “tragic accident.” – Angela Merkel has been sworn in as Germany’s chancellor for a fourth term. – The actress who played Queen Elizabeth in “The Crown” was paid less than her on-screen husband. – Looking to make a big move? Here’s the happiest country in the world.


Pakistan vehemently denies mutilating Indian soldiers Tensions have been high in Kashmir since late last year The bodies of two Indian soldiers allegedly killed while patrolling the Kashmir border were flown home Tuesday, as the Indian Army vowed revenge for what it called a “despicable act.” India has accused Pakistani soldiers of mutilating the soldiers’ bodies on May 1 after firing rockets and mortars along the Line of Control (LOC) in the Poonch district of Kashmir. Asked whether the soldiers killed by artillery fire, an Indian Army official said the cause of death was unclear, adding that more information would come from the autopsy. The official declined to go into detail about how or exactly when the mutilation occurred. In a statement, Pakistan’s army vehemently denied that Pakistani troops had crossed the border or mutilated the soldiers. It said was “a highly professional force and shall never disrespect a soldier even Indian.” “Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LOC and expect same from other side and hope prudence is exercised,” another statement added. The two soldiers killed were named, by India, as Paramjit Singh and Prem Sagar. They had been part of a nine-member patrol team, according to K.N. Choubey of the Border Security Force. One other soldier had been injured, he said, but was in a stable condition. As the nation mourned the two soldiers’ deaths, India’s finance minister, who’s recently taken on the defense portfolio, expressed his anger in a tweet. “The act of killing and mutilating the bodies of two of our soldiers is the most reprehensible and barbaric. The sacrifice will not go in vain,” Arun Jaitley said. “We have fullest confidence in our armed forces who will react appropriately,” he added. Tensions over Kashmir last flared in September 2016 when militants from Pakistan killed 19 Indian soldiers in an army base in Uri, a remote area near the Line of Control. Shortly after, India responded with “surgical strikes,” which it said targeted terrorist cells across the de-facto border shared with Pakistan in Kashmir. Pakistan insisted that no incursion had taken place into the territory it controls, saying there had only been an exchange of fire. At the time, it promised a “forceful response” if there was a repeat of the operation. CNN’s Sophia Saifi contributed to this report.


As you may have noticed, CNN Travel has published a list of the best cities to visit in 2018. That list, put together by our partner Lonely Planet, includes San Juan, Puerto Rico as one of those destinations. San Juan is colorful, beautiful and rich with history. But it would be foolish not to acknowledge that the entire island of Puerto Rico was recently devastated by Hurricane Maria, with large swaths of the island still lacking water, electricity and other basic supplies. So why leave it on the list? Editors from both CNN Travel and Lonely Planet agreed that despite its current challenges, the capital city of San Juan still has much to offer visitors. When natural disasters strike popular tourist destinations, two schools of thought often spring up. Some cancel their trips and avoid the area altogether, not wanting to consume resources better allocated to locals. Others join immediate relief and recovery efforts and drop everything to reschedule trips and visit the affected areas. Both of those are okay, but we believe there’s a middle way. About two-thirds of the island’s hotels have reopened – more than 100 properties, according to the Puerto Rico Travel Company, the island’s official government-funded tourism board. Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2018 That doesn’t mean everything is back to normal. Some hotels are existing on generator power and have cut back on extras like room service. Others have fewer staff than usual due to employees needing to help out at home or having fewer transportation options. Yet San Juan’s airport and cruise terminals are open and running at their usual capacity. CNN correspondent Leyla Santiago, who is from Puerto Rico and based in Mexico City, returned to the island to report on Hurricane Maria and its aftermath. She notes that while the island is still rebuilding, thoughtful tourists are being welcomed with open arms. “If you go, you need to know what the hotel situation is like,” Santiago says. “They’re operational, but that doesn’t mean they have everything. The elevators might not be working, the electricity might go out. They will treat you like royalty because they want every dollar, but you should have a solid, realistic set of expectations.” Santiago brought many items with her to distribute to relatives and friends in Puerto Rico and suggests that travelers do the same–that includes water filters, batteries, feminine hygiene products, voltage adapters, inverters and portable Wi-Fi devices. After all, there’s no better way to endear yourself to your hosts than by helping out. Beyond hotels, though, many businesses are back up and running in the capital city. Jose Izquierdo, executive director of the Puerto Rico Travel Company, is based in San Juan and stayed there through the hurricane. “The situation on the island is complicated, but improving,” he tells CNN Travel. “San Juan has withstood attacks and invasions.” That doesn’t mean that everything is back to normal. As the capital and business center, San Juan was the first place in Puerto Rico to get many resources. Other major attractions, such as El Yunque National Park, “need time to heal” and are not welcoming visitors. “What we really want to do is focus on the new profile of visitors–people who travel with a purpose,” says Izquierdo. “We’re already seeing them. It’s not only isolated groups coming down here. It’s a cohesive effort. Hotels are coming up with ideas to package (voluntourism) opportunities and channel help throughout the island, and we’re partnering with the private sector as well.” But that doesn’t mean you can’t combine your volunteering with enjoying the natural beauty and history of the island. Santiago took a break from covering the story of the hurricane’s aftermath go for a run along the coast. And both she and Izquierdo advise buying a kite from a street vendor and taking it out on the windy beach near the El Morro fort–longtime a popular activity for kids and adults alike. Many businesses are also open again, including Pirilo, a wood-oven pizzeria on Calle Tanca in Old San Juan, where Santiago recommends the beef-and-plantain pizza. One of Izquierdo’s favorite haunts, Cigar Lounge on Fortaleza St, was open for business the day after the hurricane thanks to a generator. “Old San Juan is truly a magical place,” Izquierdo says of his hometown. “San Juan is a blend of the old and the new; it’s a modern and accessible city with historic flavor, and the Spanish Colonial history blends with our American citizenship and the Puerto Rican culture and food and music. “I think this area will shortly again be thriving.”


300,000 South Korea soldiers to take part in joint military drills Marines storm beach aboard assault vehicles in a mock amphibious landing U.S. general says exercises to "deter" North Korea Amid blasts of explosives and camouflaging smoke, U.S. and South Korean marines and sailors stormed a beach aboard assault vehicles Saturday in a mock amphibious landing. The carefully choreographed drill begins a much larger, eight-week series of annual joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. They take place against a backdrop of growing tension and missile tests just across the Demilitarized Zone in North Korea. South Korea’s defense ministry spokesman is calling the maneuvers “the largest scale ever,” involving 300,000 South Korean troops and at least 17,000 from the U.S. Small detachments of forces from Australia and New Zealand also participated in Saturday’s operations. The annual exercises have traditionally led to a ratcheting up of tensions with Seoul’s northern neighbor. The last several months have been particularly contentious, after North Korea claimed to have tested its first hydrogen bomb and fired a satellite into orbit. Both actions violate numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.  They led to a rare moment of unity on the Security Council earlier this month, when member states unanimously agreed to a new resolution punishing Pyongyang with additional sanctions. Since then, North Korea continued to show its displeasure, firing short range projectiles off the peninsula’s eastern coast and revealing new weapons the regime claims to be miniaturized nuclear bombs. U.S. says North Korean submarine missing Filming joint US-South Korean military exercise in Pohan pic.twitter.com/EhyY5N2jlE According to a U.S. military statement, the United Nations Command informed the Korean People’s Army in North Korea about the “non provocative nature” of this year’s joint military exercises. But North Korea has responded with a threat of a “preemptive nuclear strike.” “As the joint military exercises to be staged by the enemies are regarded as the most undisguised nuclear war drills aimed to infringe upon the sovereignty of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its military counteraction will be more preemptive and offensive nuclear strike to cope with them,” Pyongyang’s state-run KCNA news agency announced on March 7th. North Korea said Saturday the military exercises were “reckless” and its forces would “go over” the operation for preemptive retaliatory strikes at those involved in the drill, according to KCNA. The U.S. general in charge of Saturday’s amphibious assault exercises insisted the drills were not related to the latest spike in tensions. “We’ve been planning for this exercise for over a year,” said Brigadier General John Jansen of the U.S. Marines. But, he added that the exercises should also serve as a deterrent to North Korea. “At the end of the day, we sincerely believe in peace through strength, and it is in the strength of our alliance that we believe that we can deter and avoid war.” Since an armistice was signed by warring parties bringing an end to the Korean War in 1953, the U.S. has kept tens of thousands of troops deployed in South Korea. CNN cameraman Brad Olson films start of simulated amphibious assault #korea pic.twitter.com/0sfJVSZ4pS The U.S. mission, according to the U.S. Forces Korea webpage, is “to deter aggression and if necessary, defend the Republic of Korea (ROK) to maintain stability in Northeast Asia.” Hundreds of Korean police officers were deployed around the beach and coastal villages where the military demonstration took place. They held back scores of flag-waving demonstrators. Some of them traveled hours by car overnight to protest against the exercises. “This drill is not defensive. It’s an act of war,” said Choi Eu Na, a member of a group that calls itself Anti-War Peace Action. “I wish this aggressive stance, including that of North Korea, would stop hostile drills and start a peaceful atmosphere.” In the early afternoon, a C-130 military plane disgorged troops in parachutes. They floated down onto a hillside cleared of foliage, within sight of rows of protester flags labeled “No War” and “Proceed with Peace Treaty.” Though an armistice was signed more than 60 years ago, North and South Korea are still technically in a state of war.

U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises


Cheryl Rofer is a chemist who spent 35 years working on environmental cleanups everywhere from Estonia to Kazakhstan, disassembling and decommissioning nuclear weapons, and overseeing the destruction of chemical weapons. But unlike international journalists, she is not on the list of people invited this week to witness the destruction of North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site. “I was hoping you were going and I could talk you into bringing me along,” she said to CNN. The small contingent of international journalists invited into North Korea have arrived in the country and are on their way to Wonsan, a city on the country’s east coast. No weapons inspectors or individuals with any kind of expertise were expected to attend the event, which North Korea has said would “ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test.” When it made the announcement on April 20, the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Seventh Central Committee declared that the country had “realized nuclear weaponization,” and to ensure the end of all nuclear testing it would “discard” the test site in the north. Journalists from the US, China, Russia and the UK have all been invited to witness the event. They’re expected to view the activity from a distance, without any real opportunity to get a sense of what might have happened inside Punggye-ri’s tunnels. Bruce Bechtol says evidence that might have been collected will now be lost to the world. “It’s kind of like a murder scene where they let people like you and me trample around in it, it’s the same concept,” said Bechtol, a professor of political science at Angelo State University who has authored several books on North Korea. “The North Koreans have conducted all these tests here, every single weapons test, so if they let experts in to look at these tunnels before they let anyone else in that would be potentially for us an intelligence boon,” he said. Some observers have said that the site had become partially unusable anyway due to the damage incurred after six nuclear tests since 2006, while others say the site was still in operation only months ago. Regardless of its operating status, there is still much to be gained from allowing experts in to look around and collect various residue, says Rofer. “If I were going I would want to bring some capability of taking samples, and I would also want to bring a geologist with me. I’d want to have a radiation counter, I would want to go into the tunnel to see if parts of it have caved in in the back, and I would want to take radiation measurements.” All those samples and tests could yield information on the kinds of weapons that were being tested, she said. “Isotope measurements could tell you about the design of the device, it would tell you what kind of bombs they’re making, what they’re making them out of, how much uranium and plutonium is in the bombs. We might be able to infer what they’re planning and the shape of their progress,” she said. All of that information, experts say, could then be fed back to negotiators to give them a stronger hand in dealing with the Kim regime, including giving them the ability to know whether they are truly extracting concessions, or just cosmetic changes. The prospect of such a public demolition gives Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a sense of déjà vu. “A lot of this reminds me of the theater of when they destroyed the cooling tower under the Bush administration, and the media was invited to observe the tower exploding and gave a good visual which the Bush administration and the Kim family promoted,” she said. “It’s not irreversible, they eventually found a different way to cool the reactor.” In 2008, North Korea destroyed a water cooling tower at a facility state officials admitted to using to extract plutonium to build nuclear weapons. The massive explosion at the Yongbyon facility was meant to symbolize the end of Pyongyang’s nuclear program. During that time, under pressure from restrictive sanctions and international isolation, the North Koreans were more forthcoming about the extent of their program. Along with the journalists invited to watch the event were US State Department officials and observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency, CNN reported. Among the disclosures North Korea made at the time about its nuclear program was the revelation that it had produced roughly 40 kilograms of enriched plutonium, something the US State Department said was enough for about seven nuclear bombs. In response, then-US President George W. Bush said he would lift some US sanctions against North Korea and remove it from the administration’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. It later emerged that the North Koreans had been building a separate facility to continue producing fissile material without disclosing it to international authorities. Last November, President Donald Trump returned North Korea to the state sponsors of terrorism list. The world is missing an opportunity in allowing North Korea to unilaterally dismantle the site without having a chance to inspect it first, says Cheon Seong Whun a visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “It’s very critical evidence that helps us understand the history of North Korea’s nuclear program, and if North Korea is sincere about giving up its nuclear weapons,” he said. “What they have to do is provide all necessary information and documents to the international community and then invite UN inspections, North Korea doesn’t have to dismantle this on its own, this isn’t something that should be done in haste.” Cheon, a former South Korean government official who worked in the defense and unification departments, argues rather, that North Korea might be destroying the site now to avoid providing access to it down the road, possibly as part of a concession from a summit with Trump that is planned for June 12 but currently looking uncertain. “North Korea’s arbitrary action to dismantle this facility on its own, this is not something that we can believe is part of North Korea’s declared aim of denuclearization. It’s nothing more than destroying evidence.” For longtime North Korea observers, another indicator of Kim Jong Un’s motives lie in the timing of the scheduled demolition – it’s happening at the same time South Korean leader Moon Jae-in is visiting President Trump at the White House. “Look at the timing,” said Cheon. “This is the time Moon is meeting Trump in Washington, this isn’t just a coincidence, he wants to take advantage of this event with political propaganda.” Rofer believes even if parts of the tunnels are blown up, they can always be unearthed later should the North Koreans want to reuse the site. “It is absolutely correct that we [the international community] seem to be making all the concessions,” she said.

North Korea's dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site


Mueller sent a notice, called a document preservation request, to White House staff Request includes text messages, emails, notes, voicemails and other communications Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked the White House to preserve all documents relating to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort had with a Russian lawyer and others, according to a source who has seen the letter. Mueller sent a notice, called a document preservation request, asking White House staff to save “any subjects discussed in the course of the June 2016 meeting” and also “any decisions made regarding the recent disclosures about the June 2016 meeting,” according to the source, who read portions of the letter to CNN. The letter from Mueller began: “As you are aware the Special Counsel’s office is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump.  Information concerning the June 2016 meeting between Donald J Trump Jr and Natalia Veselnitskaya is relevant to the investigation.” Related article Trump reshuffling legal team The preservation request is broad and includes text messages, emails, notes, voicemails and other communications and documentation regarding the June 2016 meeting and any related communication since then. On Wednesday, the White House counsel’s office sent a notice to White House staff informing them of the document preservation request. A second source confirmed to CNN the letter was sent to White House personnel. Such notices are frequently sent in the early stages of investigation and puts those who receive it on notice of the need to hold on to the material and specifically not to destroy documents that could be relevant to the investigation and requested in the future. Related article For Trump, it always comes back to the tax returns A White House spokeswoman told CNN they don’t comment on internal communications and the special counsel’s office declined to comment. CNN reported last week that the White House scramble to respond to revelations about Donald Trump Jr.’s emails may have exposed the aides involved to special counsel scrutiny about what they learned about that meeting. White House aides and Kushner’s legal team began strategizing late last month over how to manage the disclosure of newly discovered emails setting up the June 2016 meeting, according to sources close to Kushner’s legal team. Their public relations efforts culminated in a series of stumbles in response to inquiries from media outlets about the June 2016 meeting. Related article Trump tests the limits of presidential power Some of the President’s closest aides, who were traveling with him back from Europe helped strategize about a response for Trump Jr., according to people briefed on the matter. The New York Times first reported on the crafting of the statement. A sensitive legal matter such as this would normally have been handled by the attorneys, given that it was about the Russia investigation. But the President’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, who is designated to handle personal legal issues, was not traveling with the President and was largely uninvolved, according to the people familiar with the matter. The Times reported last week that the President himself approved the statement, raising the possibility the President may have opened himself up to new legal issues not covered by attorney-client privilege. Jay Sekulow, the President’s attorney, denied that Trump was involved. “I wasn’t involved in the statement drafting at all, nor was the President. I’m assuming that was between Mr. Donald Trump Jr., between Don Jr. and his lawyer. I’m sure his lawyer was involved, that’s how you do it,” said Sekulow in an interview on CNN’s New Day.


Immigrant from Argentina says she was brought to United States at age 7 Financial troubles kept her from renewing her DACA status, friend says She spoke out on behalf of young undocumented immigrants like herself who want legal status. Now she’s in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Daniela Vargas, 22, was arrested Wednesday after sharing her family’s story – including her father and brother’s arrest last month by ICE officers – during a news conference in Jackson, Mississippi. Moments before her arrest by ICE, Vargas had advocated for young people who, like herself, were brought to the US illegally as children, then qualified for a temporary reprieve from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. Recipients often are called DREAMers, a reference to the DREAM Act, which if approved by Congress would give DACA participants permanent legal status. Related article Trump keeps DACA but chips away at barriers to deportation “The path to citizenship is necessary for DACA recipients but also for the other 11 million undocumented people with dreams,” Vargas told reporters. “Today, my father and brother await deportation, while I continue to fight this battle as a DREAMer to help contribute to this country, which I feel that is very much my country.” President Donald Trump has identified DACA as an exception to sweeping new orders mandating aggressive enforcement of immigration laws. But new rules issued by the Department of Homeland Security make clear that no undocumented immigrants will be exempt from deportation proceedings. Vargas said she arrived in the United States with her family at age 7 as an undocumented immigrant from Argentina and later was granted DACA status, which lasts two years. Her attorney, Abby Peterson, said Vargas’ DACA status expired in November. She could not immediately afford the minimum $495 renewal application fee, Peterson said, and put off the process until last month. The government recommends DACA recipients apply for a renewal between 150 and 120 days before their status expires. Days after she reapplied, her father and brother on February 15 were taken into ICE custody at their home. Bill Chandler, executive director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, said he was among immigrant advocates at the scene. “We stood vigil outside of the house for about five hours,” Chandler said. “ICE was trying to persuade Daniela to come out of the house. Of course, she refused. They went and got a search warrant. … Then they decided to break into the house and confront her.” “She was terrified, locked in a closet, ICE pounding on her door, asking what she was supposed to do,” a friend, Angela Stuesse, said. “And I was also terrified. And that went on for hours.” Related article Trump admin sets stage for mass deportations Vargas convinced the agents she was “a DACA person,” Chandler said. “But they threatened her and said they’re going to come back and get her.” Even so, Vargas, who aspires to be a university math teacher, wanted to speak out this week about recent ICE raids, Stuesse said. “She thought sharing her story might help people,” she said. But shortly after Vargas left the news conference, she encountered federal officers. “Just after she spoke, ICE agents retaliated,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, advocacy director for United We Dream, on a conference call Thursday with reporters. “ICE agents tracked her down and knocked on her window. And what we know they said is, ‘You know who we are, you know why we’re here.’ “Because her DACA was expired, ICE agents played a game of gotcha with her life,” Martinez said Vargas appreciates the opportunities afforded her in America, her lawyer said. “Like so many immigrants, she doesn’t take this country for granted,” Peterson said. “She has pursued an education, she works hard, she pays her taxes. She is a very deserving individual.” Stuesse, who has known Vargas since she arrived in Mississippi 15 years ago, described her as “a great kid.” “She was a member of the band; she plays the trumpet,” Stuesse said. “She got a scholarship to keep going to band for community college but couldn’t pay for the rest of the expenses.” Vargas now manages a small store in Mississippi, Martinez said. ICE confirmed Vargas is in custody: “US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took Daniela Vargas, 22, an unlawfully present Argentinian citizen, into custody March 1, during a targeted immigration enforcement action in Jackson, Mississippi.” Peterson said she has not yet spoken with Vargas but will represent her with federal authorities. CNN’s Nick Valencia and Catherine Shoichet contributed to this report.


President Donald Trump has thrown another twist into the North Korean summit saga, announcing he will meet with leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 after all – and raising some concern that history may be repeating itself. Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday with former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol for about 90 minutes – the highest-level North Korean official to visit the US in 18 years – and sent him off with a smile and a handshake. The prospect of a summit instead of the pre-emptive war that many feared just a few months ago drew praise. But, in comments to reporters on the South Lawn afterward, Trump set down markers that seemed to shift the US position in ways analysts said could undermine Washington’s leverage. RELATED: Trump says Singapore summit with Kim is back on Trump told reporters he would not add extra sanctions on Pyongyang and would no longer use the term “maximum pressure” – the international sanctions regimen designed to squeeze North Korea. While US officials had said Pyongyang must denuclearize and take action to show it’s serious, Trump was vague about North Korea’s commitment to do so, even as US intelligence services warn that some of Pyongyang’s gestures toward dismantling its weapons programs might be nothing more than propaganda. And where the administration once talked about a nuclear deal and one summit, Trump on Friday stressed that this is “a process” that will go on for some time: “I told them today, ‘Take your time. We can go fast. We can go slowly.’ “ For many Korea watchers and national security analysts, it had a familiar ring: a wily North Korean regime parlaying a willingness to talk and the eagerness of its interlocutors into long drawn-out negotiations that give it recognition, concessions and validation. Related article Kim's tunnel explosions a goodwill gesture? Not so fast “Right now, it seems President Trump’s North Korea policy is in a state of flux,” said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, a foreign policy think tank. “The Trump strategy now seems to be to cajole the North Koreans into a potential nuclear deal,” Kazianis said, by showing Pyongyang that America can guarantee its security and provide massive economic assistance. “While that may work, my great fear is that North Korea will do what it has always done: Pocket the concessions and economic aid and never give up its nuclear weapons,” Kazianis said. “President Trump must be cautious and not fall in the traps that the Kim regime have successfully laid for American presidents for decades.” Related video N. Korean official departs WH after meeting Joel Wit, co-founder of 38 North, an authoritative website that tracks North Korea, saw no reason for pessimism. “My reaction is he’s now doing everything he should be doing in the run-up to a summit,” Wit said of Trump. “He’s toning down his rhetoric, he’s emphasizing positive things and he’s just on a glide path to what he hopes will be a successful meeting.” Trump emphasized the positive with reporters Friday, even as he discussed sanctions. He said he looked forward to lifting them one day and that wouldn’t happen until North Korea denuclearized, but then he softened his rhetoric. Hundreds of new sanctions that are ready to go will be put on hold, the President said. “Why would I do that when we’re talking so nicely?” he added. “I don’t even want to use the term ‘maximum pressure’ anymore, because I don’t want to use that term because we’re getting along,” Trump said. “You see the relationship. We’re getting along.” In fact, the US has not been deploying maximum pressure, said Bruce Klingner, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. And in recent weeks North Korea has been building a buffer against US sanctions by cultivating its relationships with South Korea, China and Russia. Klingner points out that the Trump White House, like previous administrations, has declined to use secondary sanctions to target China for doing business with North Korea. “Maximum pressure has not been maximum because Trump, like his predecessors, continues to pull punches on enforcing US law,” said Klingner. Another concern is that in publicly announcing he’s backing away from the term, Trump is sending a signal that could undermine the international pressure that does exist. “I think many people are going to feel that not using the phrase ‘maximum pressure’ signals an end to the sanctions campaign that is premature,” said Scott Snyder, director of the program on US-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. “It means that the North Koreans are getting relief in return for dialogue, when what we need is relief in exchange for action.” Related video Critical meetings in 3 countries ahead of possible Trump, Kim summit Action is what US officials had been saying they needed to see. “If we’re going to have a summit, they’re going to have to make clear what they’re willing to do,” a senior State Department official, briefing reporters this week, said of the North Koreans. “They have to denuclearize. … We need action. Yeah, we need a commitment.” But the standards for a summit seemed to have shifted Friday, when Trump was asked whether Kim Jong Un is committed to denuclearizing. “I think so,” the President said. “He’d like to see it happen.” Trump added that Kim “wants to be careful. … He’s not going to run and do things.” It didn’t sound like an endorsement of the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization that US officials have been calling for. “It seems the United States still has not convinced North Korea to abide by CVID,” Klingner said. Klingner, a former CIA deputy division chief for Korea, pointed out that even as Trump and Kim Jong Un have agreed to meet, the two sides may not be any closer to agreeing on a common interpretation of the term denuclearization. North Korea, he said, attaches great conditionality to the term. As a self-proclaimed member of the nuclear club, Pyongyang’s position has been that it will go to zero nuclear weapons only once all other members of the club do as well – a nonstarter. That concerns analysts such as Snyder, who said that “many people were hoping the administration would continue the talks after tangible steps in the direction of denuclearization.” North Korea did make a grand gesture recently, inviting reporters to witness the detonation of underground nuclear test tunnels – but the US intelligence community now says the performance might have been more theater than reality. US intelligence and international arms control officials say preliminary analysis of North Korea’s detonation indicates the explosions were not strong enough to destroy the tunnels. A US official with knowledge of the findings told CNN that portions of the tunnel complex may remain usable. Related video N. Korea tunnel explosions appear superficial On Tuesday, CNN reported that US intelligence assessments conclude that while Kim could give up some weapons in negotiations with the US – including warheads and missiles – he may not be willing to give up the capability to regenerate his program. On Friday, Trump emphasized that this is just the beginning of a long process. “June 12th, we’ll be in Singapore,” he said. “It will be a beginning. I don’t say and I’ve never said it happens in one meeting. You’re talking about years of hostility, years of problems, years of, really, hatred between so many different nations.” Trump predicted a “a very positive result in the end.” Analysts and Korea experts say it’s too soon to tell. They point to the familiar dance developing between clever North Korean negotiators and US counterparts eager to nail down a  deal – a dance that has ended in failure in the past. One significant difference this time, Snyder said, is the talks are starting not with low-level negotiators but with Trump himself. “What we don’t know is whether it will be different because we’re doing it at the top level,” Snyder said. CNN’s Michelle Kosinski contributed to this report.


New: A toddler born to one of the girls was also released, officials say No Boko Haram fighters released in exchange for freed girls, source says The militants kidnapped 276 girls from school in 2014 Boko Haram militants handed over 21 Chibok schoolgirls to authorities Thursday after a series of negotiations, Nigeria’s government said, in the first mass release of any of the more than 200 girls and women kidnapped from their school two years ago. The 21 were freed before dawn in the northeastern Nigerian town of Banki, near the border with Cameroon, a source close to the negotiations said on condition of anonymity. They are said to have been among the 276 girls and women, ages 16 to 18, that Boko Haram militants herded from bed in the middle of the night at a boarding school in Chibok in April 2014 – a kidnapping that spurred global outrage. A child born to one of the girls and believed by medical personnel to be about 20 months old also was released, according to the Nigerian president’s office. As many as 57 girls escaped almost immediately in 2014, and one was found this spring. Just under 200 remain unaccounted for after their release. September: Chibok girls’ parents react to new Boko Haram video The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government brokered the deal between the Islamist militant group and the Nigerian government, said Mallam Garba Shehu, spokesman for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The release is “a result of the round-the-clock efforts by the administration to put a closure to the sad issue of the (kidnappings),” Nigerian information minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed told reporters in Abuja. Related video Chibok girls' abduction: a timeline of events “We see this as a credible first step in the eventual release of all the Chibok girls in captivity,” Mohammed said. Terms of the deal were not immediately announced, but no captive Boko Haram fighters were released in exchange for the girls, the source with knowledge of the negotiations said. August: Video of Chibok girls released; parents react These are the 21 released Chibok women and girls, according to Nigeria’s government:Blessing AbanaComfort AmosDeborah AndrawusMaryam BasheerMary Usman BulamaGlory DamaSaratu EmannuelAgnes GapaniAsabe GoniComfort HabilaRahab IbrahimRebecca IbrahimDeborah Ja’afaruJummai JohnMaryamu LawanGlory MaintaRebecca MallamSaratu MarkusHelen MusaPindah NuhuLugwa Sanda After their release, the former captives went to meet with the governor of northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state, and later taken to the central Nigerian city of Abuja, Borno officials said. “We welcome reports … of the negotiated release of 21 of our abducted #ChibokGirls today,” the Nigeria-based #Chibokgirls campaign said in a statement. “Following this development, we trust that our government will continue to work to keep the safety, security, and well-being of the other girls a high priority. “We further urge the international community to continue to support our government’s effort to rescue all other abducted Nigerians, so that parents, the Chibok community, the nation, and the world can finally put an end to this nightmare once and for all.” May: Chibok girl found after two years as Boko Haram captive Nigerian authorities identified the girls as Mary Usman Bulama, Jummai John, Blessing Abana, Lugwa Sanda, Comfort Habila, Maryam Basheer, Comfort Amos,Glory Mainta, Saratu Emannuel, Deborah Ja’afaru, Rahab Ibrahim, Helen Musa, Maryamu Lawan, Rebecca Ibrahim, Asabe Goni, Deborah Andrawus, Agnes Gapani, Saratu Markus, Glory Dama, Pindah Nuhu and Rebecca Mallam. In Abuja, the girls were met with hugs from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. On Twitter, Osinbajo wrote: “Dawn, dusk, almost a 1000 days. Twenty-one of our girls are back. It is my joy to welcome you home. The nation has been waiting for you.” Dawn, dusk, almost a 1000 days.Twenty-one of our girls are back. It is my joy to welcome you home.The nation has been waiting for you. pic.twitter.com/iNummDG8rU Chibok is in Borno, where Boko Haram is strongest. The militants were believed to have taken their captives to the dense Sambisa forest, a reputed Boko Haram stronghold. The terror group, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in March 2015, aims to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa’s most populous nation, which has a Christian-majority south and a Muslim-majority north. The 2014 kidnapping prompted global figures such as Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai and US first lady Michelle Obama to support a #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media. The release comes amid an apparent split in the terror group, with ISIS introducing an alleged Boko Haram leader in the summer even as Boko Haram’s longtime chief maintained that he still was in charge. The students’ release also comes amid pressure from the girls’ families on the Nigerian government to secure their freedom from whomever still held them. The pressure increased as Boko Haram, or groups claiming to represent it, issued videos over a period of months showing some of the kidnapped students, apparently to prove to the government that some were alive and to make demands, such as the release of captured Boko Haram fighters. Related article Boko Haram: A bloody insurgency, a growing challenge This includes a recording, believed to have been recorded in December, that CNN exclusively obtained in April showing 15 of the girls. Another video, addressed to the girls’ families in August, shows 50 girls wearing headscarves. A father of one of the captives told CNN that his daughter and other Chibok students were in the video. In that recording, a militant says that 40 girls were married off. The militant claims some girls were killed in a Nigerian airstrike. A Boko Haram insider told CNN in August that despite the leadership split, longtime leader Abubakar Shekau still controlled the Chibok girls and was thought to be hiding in the forest. April: Boko Haram releases ‘proof of life’ video Beyond the 57 who escaped soon after their capture, the first Chibok student to be recovered was Amina Ali Nkeki, who was found on the outskirts of Sambisa forest in May. She was with a man she had married in captivity – allegedly a Boko Haram fighter – and their baby daughter. The man, who told a witness that he, too, had been kidnapped by Boko Haram, was detained by Nigeria’s military. Amina Ali told CNN in August that she was held hostage by Boko Haram for more than two years, and was married off a year into her ordeal. Ali said that she didn’t know where her husband was taken after his detention, but that she wanted to be reunited with him. “I’m not comfortable with the way I’m being kept from him,” the 21-year-old said at an undisclosed location in Abuja. Ali said that a dozen captives died in a bombing more than a year ago. Related article Escaped Chibok girl: I miss my Boko Haram husband For a year after they were taken, the abducted girls were kept together, she said. Then some of the teenagers – including her – were “given” to the terrorists as wives. She said her desire to see her mother again gave her courage to flee camp. Asked how she felt about becoming a mother herself while in captivity, her face clouded over and, speaking through an interpreter, she said: “I don’t want to answer.” Mohammed, the Nigerian information minister, said that Thursday’s release was “not a swap.” “It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides,” he said. According to the Global Terrorism Index released last year, Boko Haram was the world’s deadliest terrorist group in 2014, before it pledged allegiance to ISIS, the terror group that controls parts of Syria and Iraq. That year, the GTI said, Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths, compared with ISIS, which was responsible for 6,073. CNN’s David McKenzie, Bryony Jones, Nima Elbagir and Ibrahim Sawab contributed to this report.


NEW: San Juan resident says damage is incredible, with God's help he will rebuild Dominica PM says there is no power, limited ways to communicate, no running water The large eye of Hurricane Maria lumbered toward the popular vacation islands of Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas on Thursday, leaving Puerto Rico and its Caribbean neighbors battered, drenched and largely without power. The core of Maria, a major hurricane, is forecast to pass just east of the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas early Friday. The Category 3 storm has sustained winds of 125 mph, the US National Hurricane Center said. In just 24 hours, Maria dumped almost 40 inches of rain on parts of Puerto Rico, where millions of residents won’t have power for months. Most of the island saw more than a foot of precipitation as Maria turned streets into raging rivers. The storm brought down trees and poured up to 6 inches of rain on the Dominican Republic as the eyewall passed to the east. Many Puerto Ricans spent Thursday cleaning up. A man in the La Perla area of San Juan told CNN he still had his faith. “It’s incredible … but I believe in God, and we can do anything with the help of God,” Roberto Caballero said. CNN teams in San Juan saw that some shops were open. All had long lines. Maria has brought misery to many Caribbean Islands and death to Dominica, where at least 15 people were killed when the storm passed earlier this week, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Here’s the latest on Maria’s destruction, and what’s next. Although Maria is drifting away from the Dominican Republic, parts of the country are still seeing hurricane conditions, the National Hurricane Center said. “A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 4 to 6 feet” in parts of the Dominican Republic – where rivers were still swollen from Hurricane Irma, forecasters said. Haiti, on the western part of the island, could see a storm surge of up to 3 feet. Maria will likely strengthen as it moves across warm water, endangering low-lying islands with enormous storm surges. And the Turks and Caicos could see as much as 20 inches of rainfall, the hurricane center said. A post shared by Ilya Kislitsyn (@master_ilya_kislitsyn) Maria could affect the US East Coast by early next week with high surf, dangerous rip currents and windy conditions. Depending on its path, the system could also bring rain from the mid-Atlantic to Massachusetts, CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said. Puerto Ricans might not get power back for four to six months, said Ricardo Ramos, the CEO of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. “The system has been basically destroyed,” Ramos told CNN. He said hospitals and water systems will get priority power restoration. The island’s largest airport, the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, will be open to commercial traffic Friday, according to Aerostar Puerto Rico, which manages the airport near San Juan. Emergency generators will power the limited operations, and there will be no air conditioning, the operator said. President Donald Trump told reporters that he will visit Puerto Rico, a US commonwealth, but did not detail when. “Puerto Rico was absolutely obliterated,” Trump said. “We’ll work with the governor and the people of Puerto Rico.” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said Maria is the “most devastating storm to hit the island this century, if not in modern history.” Puerto Rico has been through a long recession and is deeply in debt. Before the storm hit, the state-owned power grid was “a little bit old, mishandled and weak,” the governor said. Retired Army veteran Manuel Torres called Maria’s devastation the worst he’d ever seen. His mother’s house in La Perla, an oceanfront community in old San Juan, was destroyed. Emerging after the storm had passed, Torres found the three-story home reduced to two stories. Angela Magaña, a UFC fighter who lives in the area, said neighbors were helping each other. “We need cleanup, water, food, and generators,” she told CNN. “There are a lot of old people here who are going without necessities. We need to rebuild and restructure, and we need prayers. Any kind of help we can get because it’s a mess right now.” This was taken an hour after #HurricaneMaria passed over Puerto Rico. Now there are flash flood warnings across the entire island. @CNN pic.twitter.com/CAHMMTNgzF Dozens of families were rescued from flooding Thursday in Levittown, near the capital city of San Juan, a spokeswoman for the Puerto Rican governor tweeted. The Puerto Rican National Guard was still searching for others in need of rescue, she said. Cassidy Spooner, a tourist from Jacksonville, Florida, came upon animals as she was checking out the damage in Luquillo on Thursday. “The dog was looking for food. I saw her find raw bacon in the street and eat it,” she said. Spooner told CNN she saw kittens and cats near a house nearby that appeared to have cat food, but the felines looked skinny and scared. Neighbors were trying to take care of the animals, she said. Army Reserve Brig. Gen Dustin Shultz told “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” there are 4,500 reserve soldiers on Puerto Rico to assist the National Guard. Prime Minister Skerrit said Dominica was almost completely devastated. “First of all, every village in Dominica, every street in Dominica … is affected by the hurricane,” he told ABS TV/Radio, based in Antigua and Barbuda. “We have no running water, no electricity, no power, we have very limited communication services.” Skerrit’s own home was demolished in the storm. There is desperate need for food, water and medical supplies on the island of 73,000 residents, officials said. Related article Dominica knocked to its knees by Hurricane Maria “The need is great,” said Philmore Mullin, head of Antigua and Barbuda’s National Office of Disaster Services. “We know of casualties, but not in detail. We’ve heard of many missing, but we just don’t know much at the moment.” Skerrit is “homeless” and “bunking up in an area called St. Aroment,” government spokesman Charles Jong said. A flight Wednesday over Dominica showed thousands of trees had been snapped and were strewn across the landscape, leaving the island stripped of vegetation. CNN also saw evidence of dozens of mudslides, although not in population centers. The usually blue-green sea in many places had turned a muddy brown. Maria also annihilated homes on the US Virgin Islands. On Thursday, Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp announced a 24-hour curfew, effective immediately, on the four main US Virgin Islands – St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island. Related article Living through two hurricanes has been the ordeal of our lives “Your presence on the roads during the curfew hours will only hamper clean-up efforts and could delay the distribution of critically needed supplies,” Mapp said. One of the hardest hit islands was St. Croix. Maria didn’t just obliterate homes, it knocked out vital communication lines, resident Murillo Melo said. “Here on the island and on the mainland, people are trying to get in contact with friends and relatives,” he said. “People are desperate to get some news from their friends and relatives.” Instagram post not found. Post has been removed or is no longer public. Trump declared the US Virgin Islands a major disaster area and ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts. CNN’s Steve Almasy, Marilia Brocchetto, Intisar Seraaj, Alla Eshchenko, Layla Santiago, Alexa Miranda, Monica Serrano, Michael Holmes, Dominique van Heerden, Cassandra Santiago and David Siegel contributed to this report.


Editor’s Note: Emine Erdoğan is the First Lady of the Republic of Turkey. The opinions in this article belong to the author. The Rohingya Muslims, an ancient community in Myanmar and currently the largest group of stateless people in the world, have been at risk for decades, writes Emine Erdoğan, Turkey's first lady. The Rohingya Muslims, an ancient community in Myanmar and currently the largest group of stateless people in the world, have been at risk for decades. A recent increase in violent attacks against this minority, however, has claimed more than 1,000 lives since August 25 and has forced tens of thousands of civilians to seek refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. To prevent what could possibly be the next genocide, Turkey has stepped up its diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in the area. Before it’s too late, other world leaders must follow suit. The Rohingya Muslim community’s plight did not start yesterday. Having been deprived of citizenship under the 1982 citizenship law, members of that minority are  prohibited from taking part in civil and political life – banned from  voting and holding office in Myanmar. To make matters worse, they live under dire economic conditions that affect all aspects of everyday life. Related article Rights groups accuse Myanmar of 'ethnic cleansing' in Rohingya crackdown To be clear, what has been happening in Myanmar represents a clear violation of Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates that the national government must protect and respect the human rights of everyone regardless of their race, color, sex, language, religious convictions, opinions and origins. Likewise, the arbitrary restrictions on the Rohingya community’s rights are incompatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. In recent years, there has been an uptick in violence against Rohingya Muslims, which has resulted in mass displacement and a large number of casualties. In 2012, when I first traveled to Myanmar, close to 200 people – most of them Rohingya Muslims – had been killed in clashes. Over the past year the security situation further deteriorated as tens of thousands of people had to choose between near-certain death and seeking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh, which faces major economic challenges itself. Related article The Rohingya don't want our anger -- they want our help The humanitarian crisis is impossible to ignore: According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 18,500 Rohingya Muslims had arrived at Bangladeshi refugee camps by the end of August. The United Nations now puts that number at more than 400,000. During my visit to the Kutupalong refugee camp near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border last week, Rohingya Muslims – most of them women and children – told me haunting stories about the deaths of their relatives and loved ones. Some were forced to watch as their husbands were executed. Others saw their villages being burned to the ground. It was clear that they depended on the compassion of others to survive. Turkey’s approach to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar reflects our proven commitment to assist fellow human beings in need. As of today, our country remains the world’s second-largest provider of humanitarian assistance. In addition to hosting close to three million Syrian and Iraqi refugees within our borders, to whom $25 billion worth of services and aid has been provided since 2011, we have helped to address crises in distant parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Turkey follows the most recent developments in Myanmar with deep concern. However, expressing concern alone isn’t enough to make a difference on the ground. In an effort to address pressing problems in the area, Turkey has taken a number of diplomatic and humanitarian steps in recent weeks. Having reached out to the leaders of Bangladesh and Myanmar, we delivered 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the Rohingya Muslim refugees. Last week, I personally oversaw the distribution of humanitarian aid and spoke with survivors and eyewitnesses. At the same time, we pledged to cover the costs of hosting Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh and expressed our intentions to build new housing at the border to improve the living standards of refugees. Turkey, however, cannot be reasonably expected to address the situation alone. This is why world leaders must follow suit and get behind a comprehensive, long-term strategy to broker a permanent solution. Related article They fled for their lives. He didn't survive As a first step, we must ensure the safety of Rohingya Muslims by offering financial incentives to the government of Bangladesh, which remains the only safe haven for the persecuted minority. Moving forward, the international community must work with the government of Myanmar to ensure the Rohingya Muslim community will be granted citizenship and their safe return to their native land is guaranteed. The fact that Rohingya Muslims live in a remote part of the world doesn’t make their lives less valuable, their experiences less painful or the situation less dire. Humanity must not fail the Rohingya Muslims as it failed the hundreds of thousands of innocent people who perished in Srebrenica and Rwanda. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with officials from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others, are fully committed to finding a solution. As for the rest of the world, the time to act is now.

Turkey's efforts to address the Rohingya crisis


Trump reuses a line from his campaign The FBI disclosed it is investigating Trump's campaign last week Amid an expanding chorus of questions about interaction between Russian officials and his own advisers during the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump resurfaced attacks in a set of tweets Monday night alleging improper Russian ties for both former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On Twitter, Trump wrote: “Why isn’t the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Bill & Hillary deal that allowed big Uranium to go to Russia, Russian speech….” About 10 minutes later, the President completed the message, writing, “…money to Bill, the Hillary Russian ‘reset,’ praise of Russia by Hillary, or Podesta Russian Company. Trump Russia story is a hoax. #MAGA!” Why isn't the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Bill & Hillary deal that allowed big Uranium to go to Russia, Russian speech.... ...money to Bill, the Hillary Russian "reset," praise of Russia by Hillary, or Podesta Russian Company. Trump Russia story is a hoax. #MAGA! The House Intelligence Committee, as well as its Senate counterpart, are investigating Russia’s alleged attempts to influence the election, including any possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. FBI Director James Comey disclosed publicly last week that the FBI is doing the same. The evening Twitter references recalled a Clinton controversy documented in The New York Times two years ago. Trump’s campaign made the same claim last fall when he was competing against Clinton to become president. Nick Merrill, a former Clinton campaign spokesman, immediately refuted Trump on Twitter and linked to a fact-checking website. Because it's not true. That's the reason Mr. President.https://t.co/ombdUI4Bit https://t.co/XszGZ0Wzp5 The State Department under Clinton was one of several agencies that signed off on a deal that included the Russian atomic energy agency. During the period of the deal, a Russian investment bank tied to the deal paid Bill Clinton for a speech and the Canadian chairman of the entity being sold to Russia moved funding to the Clinton Foundation. Former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta had been a member of the board of a Russian energy company. Trump followed his Clinton tweets with one disparaging the House Freedom Caucus, and another pledging the Democrats would work with him on health care after the imminent collapse he expects Obamacare to have, adding “We are in very good shape!” The Republican House Freedom Caucus was able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. After so many bad years they were ready for a win! The Democrats will make a deal with me on healthcare as soon as ObamaCare folds - not long. Do not worry, we are in very  good shape!


GOP leaders haven't commented on a potential override were Trump to veto the legislation The bill contains sanctions against North Korea, Iran and Russia Anthony Scaramucci, Donald Trump’s new communications director, told CNN on Thursday that the President may veto bipartisan sanctions against Russia, breaking with the widespread approval the sanctions received on Capitol Hill. “He may sign the sanctions exactly the way they are, or he may veto the sanctions and negotiate an even tougher deal against the Russians,” Scaramucci said on CNN’s “New Day,” calling Trump’s strategy on sanctions part of his “counterintuitive, counterpunching personality.” Congressional negotiators reached a deal Wednesday night to send new sanctions, paving the way to send a bill to Trump’s desk that slaps Russia with new sanctions and limits Trump’s ability to alter them. Senate foreign relations committee Chairman Bob Corker, asked by reporters on Thursday about the comment, dismissed Scaramucci’s suggestion that Trump could veto the Russia sanctions bill. Corker, R-Tennessee, said he’s spoken with both the President and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in recent days and has no reason to believe Trump could veto the bill. “I had a conversation with the President just in the last few days, I’ve talked to Tillerson Tuesday night. I don’t think that’s real,” Corker said. “I just can’t imagine – you look at the vote count.” The deal cameafter Corker and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy publicly disagreed on the future of the sanctions, raising questions about whether the bill would reach Trump’s desk before he left for recess in August. Related article Russia sanctions bill hits yet another snag The House overwhelmingly passed sanctions against Russia, North Korea and Iran on Tuesday, with only three votes against the action. After raising questions about the North Korean sanctions in the legislation, Corker agreed to a deal where the Senate will pass the Russian sanctions and send the bill to Trump. In exchange, McCarthy pledged to take up future North Korean sanctions that come from the Senate. The Trump White House’s response to sanctions has run the gamut, with multiple Trump administration officials raising questions about whether the actions undermined the White House. After the House passed the bill, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was reviewing the legislation but supports “tough sanctions.” Related article Huckabee Sanders: White House supports sanctions bill “While the President supports tough sanctions on North Korea, Iran and Russia, the White House is reviewing the House legislation and awaits a final legislative package for the President’s desk,” she said. Former press secretary Sean Spicer, who resigned his post earlier this month, said last month that Trump was still reviewing the possible sanctions but that the administration had concerns about Congress eroding the administration’s authority to determine such actions. “I think our main concern overall with sanctions is how will the Congress craft them, and any potential erosion of the Executive Branch’s authority to implement them,” Spicer said last week. The fact that the bill looks to limit Trump’s ability to alter them comes after Democrats and some Republicans have raised concerns about whether Trump is considering giving back Russia two compounds in Maryland and New York that were seized by the Obama administration for their 2016 election interference. CNN’s Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.