Fifteen civilians are among the 18 people killed, Ivory Coast's President says A statement from the Elysee Palace says four French citizens are among the dead Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims responsibility The United States and France have pledged assistance to Ivory Coast as the West African nation investigates a terror attack that left at least 18 people dead. Gunmen stormed three hotels Sunday in the beach resort city of Grand-Bassam about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the country’s largest city, Abidjan, officials said. Foreign nationals, including four French citizens and a German woman, were among the dead. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility on a social media account tied to the group. Three soldiers and 15 civilians were among those killed, President Alassane Ouattara said as he visited the sites of the attack. Three terrorists also were killed in the attack, the Ivory Coast presidency said on its Facebook page Monday, citing Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko. On Sunday, Ouattara had given the number of terrorists killed in the attack as six. No information was immediately available Monday clarifying the discrepancy. Ouattara declared three days of national mourning. He urged Ivorians to come together and to not give in to fear. “I condemn in the strongest terms these heinous and cowardly attacks on innocent people,” he said. “Ivory Coast will not be intimidated by terrorists.” The attack began shortly after midday Sunday when the beach at Grand-Bassam reportedly was packed with people swimming, relaxing and eating at beachside cafes. The area is popular with wealthy Ivorians and Westerners, particularly on weekends. Security surveillance footage from one bar shows the confusion as shots rang out, causing people to flee. Moments later, a gunman in a waistcoat calmly walks by, firing his AK-47. Isaac Ouattara, a hotel manager who was there that day, said he saw three men wearing jeans and white shirts shooting as they walked down the beach. “I was standing on the balcony. I saw everything. They shot a man, then a woman. They were shouting “Allahu akbar!” he said. “One of the gunmen was injured in the leg, so the other two just shot him dead.” Photos posted by Twitter user @lopezdobe showed ammunition magazines and grenades on the ground near the scene. #Urgent : Attaques sur une plage a #Bassam à 40 km d'#Abidjan. équipements oublié sur place par les terroristes. pic.twitter.com/ymTUIzz5yA The United Nations joined the U.S., French, German and other governments in denouncing the attack. Among the victims was a German woman, Henrike Grohs, 51, who worked as a director of a local German cultural association. French President Francois Hollande had earlier said that at least one French citizen was killed in the “cowardly attack.” In a statement later Monday, the Elysee Palace said four French nationals were killed. It was not clear from the statement if the number of dead rose or if they are included in the 18 confirmed deaths. The White House also condemned the attack “in the strongest terms,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. The United States and France have pledged their support to the Ivorian government to help find out who was responsible. The French interior and foreign ministers were scheduled to travel to Abidjan on Tuesday, according to the statement. Sunday’s violence was the third major attack on hotels in West Africa claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb since November. In January, gunmen attacked the Hotel Splendid and Cappuccino Cafe in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, while an attack took place in November on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali. Related video Who are Africa's most dangerous terror groups? Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al Qaeda’s North African offshoot known as AQIM, has its roots in Algeria. The group has been stepping up attacks after a downturn in activities. Ryan Cummings, director at Signal Risk, an Africa-focused risk management company, said the recent attacks were evidence of a resurgence. “They’ve executed attacks on hotels before, but none at the level of sophistication or as spectacular as have been in recent months,” he said. He said the chosen targets reflected the group’s pronounced “anti-French” focus. “They’re almost ticking off major hotels within Francophone West Africa, specifically hotels that are quite popular with French citizens,” he said. Targeting French interests had been a priority for the group since France launched, at Mali’s request, Operation Serval, a U.N.-sanctioned ground and air operation against jihadists in 2013. It was succeeded in August 2014 by Operation Barkhane, a broader French anti-terror mission targeting Islamists in the Sahel, with a 3,000-strong force headquartered in Chad. While Serval was successful against Islamist militants in Mali, subsequent operations have been less effective, allowing militants across the region to reconsolidate, he said. The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist organizations, said in an analysis of Sunday’s attack that AQIM had “escalated its operations in West Africa, specifically targeting Europeans, as well as other foreigners, in hotels and resorts.” But targeting Westerners isn’t the only goal, according to SITE. “AQIM is also competing with ISIS for reassertion and dominance in West Africa, among other regions,” the group said. Opinion: ‘Sham democracy’ is fueling Africa’s terrorism CNN’s David McKenzie, Robyn Kriel, Archith Seshadri, Stephanie Halasz, Alex Felton, Jennifer Deaton and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.


Prince Harry spoke alongside Sir Elton John at AIDS2016 The prince urged for people not to become complacent in ending AIDS In 1987, a photograph of Princess Diana shaking the hand of a man with AIDS helped to break down stigma around the illness. Nearly 30 years later, Prince Harry is highlighting the need to continue fighting the stigma persisting around today’s AIDS epidemic, particularly among teenagers. Prince Harry joined Sir Elton John on stage Thursday at the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, and praised the work of leaders including Nelson Mandela and his own mother, for the fight against the disease. “When my mother held the hand of a man dying of AIDS in East London hospital, no one would have imagined that just over a quarter of a century later, treatment would exist that could see HIV-positive people live full, healthy loving lives,” he said. But he warned that many are winding down the battle too soon. “We now face a new risk, a risk of complacency,” he said. His words echo the same concern presented by other world leaders, activists and scientists throughout the conference as international funding for research and development has dropped along with funds for treatment and prevention programs. But the prince particularly fears for the future of the epidemic among adolescents – aged 10 to 19 – for whom AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, and the second leading cause of death globally. Related article Prince Harry gets tested for HIV to raise awareness His own charity, Sentebale, founded in partnership with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, has been working to improve and support the lives of children affected by HIV in Lesotho since 2009 and recently began working in Botswana. “Children living with HIV grapple with severe medical, emotional and social challenges all at once,” the prince said, adding “It is all too common for a 12-year-old boy or girl to be forced out to work so they can provide for their brothers and sisters having lost one or two parent to AIDS.” He spoke of his own insights from working in Lesotho and the difference he has witnessed first-hand from helping children feel supported. The prince went on to declare it was now time for everyone to “step up” and address the problems that fuel and result from today’s epidemic. In 2014, an estimated 2 million adolescents between the age of 10 and 19 were living with HIV worldwide. Deaths relating to AIDS among adolescents have tripled since 2000, while going down in all other age groups. Related article HIV cases rise in 74 countries in last decade The prince voiced that young people worldwide need to be educated and empowered to take control of their health, and that society needs to change to get rid of the stigma circling the disease today. His passion to end the AIDS epidemic was praised by Sir Elton John who, in his own speech, said he could not relate to teenagers in the way Harry can and praised him for following his mother’s determination to “make the world a better place.” See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. UNAIDS have set the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, but many in the field feel this may not be achieved. The prince thinks young people can make it happen. “In helping young people to fight HIV, we will not just be ending his epidemic,” he said. “We’ll be changing the direction of history for an entire generation.”


Defense Secretary James Mattis begins his second year in the Trump Administration with perhaps just one absolutely crucial task – stopping President Donald Trump from going to war against North Korea. Along with Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mattis will spend the next few weeks walking a fine line. The two must assure the President that there are credible US military options to stop North Korea if it comes to war and they launch a missile at the US or an ally, while at the same time continuing to make clear what a disaster a war would be. How both men navigate this political minefield in the second year of the Trump White House may move them far outside the cocoon-like zone they operated in during the first year of the administration when they kept largely out of the public eye. The urgency of the situation is growing in some quarters of the administration as concern about Kim Jong Un increases. Look no further than a recent statement by CIA Director Mike Pompeo who told a Washington audience last week that “North Korea is ever closer to being able to hold America at risk.” The CIA has concluded that North Korea could be just a “handful of months” away from being able to put a nuclear warhead atop a missile that could hit the US. Related article Top US general warns of 'tough' North Korean ground war That assessment may well be the reason that in December, national security adviser HR McMaster said the potential for war with North Korea is “increasing every day.” Nobody claims North Korea is likely to attack. But if Kim simply tells the world he’s got that capability, what does the US do? What if he test fires a missile with a warhead even into the ocean? What if he conducts some type of atmospheric test? Could any president of the United States allow that to happen? There is one major caveat. If sanctions pressure Kim so much that he cannot afford to continue his weapons development efforts, that could push off any US decision for months. Right now, the Pentagon is not betting on it. Mattis, in a joint appearance with the South Korean defense minister last week, said North Korea is “a threat to the entire world.” For the last year, it’s been no secret that Mattis and Dunford have taken pains to control their public appearances. Both men feel a relatively low profile with limited exposure to the media will not only keep them in Trump’s good graces, more importantly it will preserve their influence with him. Related article Asia under Trump: How the US is losing the region to China However, critics privately suggest working for “an audience of one” who always wants to be in the headlines means not interacting with the American people as much as some of their predecessors have. Both men are always careful to defer to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s efforts to press for diplomatic pressure on North Korea through sanctions. But there may now be cracks in that carefully constructed effort. The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller apparently feels no such political pressure to keep from speaking his mind. Last week he warned America, and its Marines, that war with an enemy like North Korea “will be a very, very kinetic, physical, violent fight over some really, really tough ground and everybody is going to have to be mentally prepared.” Neller did not directly address recent tweets by both Trump and Kim about their respective “buttons” that they could push to launch military attacks, but he did say that war with North Korea would be a “different sort of fight” that wouldn’t just involve “a bunch of things flying around.” Related article Doomsday Clock: Nearing the stroke of madness Neller’s remarks may in fact signal the beginning of a more public conversation that Mattis and Dunford may not be able to avoid, not just about North Korea but also a myriad of issues they have not been talking about much. Both men are scheduled for extensive congressional testimony on the upcoming defense budget. They will have to defend more than $500 billion in spending for new ships, aircraft, and weapons. A nuclear review scheduled to be published this week is expected to call for development of low yield nuclear bombs – a move likely to infuriate China, Russia and Kim. Trump’s new emphasis on being ready to counter Russia and China will also draw attention. One concern, is this may distract from the “war on terror.” In just the last week in Kabul, three devastating attacks against a local base, a hospital and a hotel have called into question the ability of the Afghan government to secure its people after 16 years of US support. Nearly $1 trillion in spending, nearly 2,000 Americans dead and over 20,000 wounded and the Taliban still has influence over 40% of the population – 13 million people. In addition, an obscure border war between Turkey and Syria is threatening to catch US troops in their crosshairs and open up a new safe haven for ISIS. The risk of Pentagon leaders not continuously talking to the American people becomes even more critical when there is a crisis. Related article CIA warns Kim Jong Un could use nukes as 'coercive' tool The October ambush of a Green Beret led team in Niger in October and killing of four US troops sparked intense debate about the role of US special operations forces in the war against ISIS and al Qaeda. They are risking their lives not just in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, but also in Yemen, Libya, Somalia and other remote areas. The Niger mission remains classified pending an investigation. But the questions arising from what went wrong on that mission and others are not going away in year two of the Trump administration. When the President stands before Congress and touts success in America’s war and that we have the strongest military ever, he may be right. But then again, without more discussion and transparency, how would we know?


From all corners of a nation they come, often walking for hundreds of miles barefoot: Ethiopian Orthodox Christians on a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Their destination is Lalibela in the north of Ethiopia. A town of approximately 20,000 people, Lalibela’s population swells five-fold in the first days of January, pilgrims converging to celebrate Genna (or Ledet) – Christmas according to the Ethiopian calendar. What they’re here for is to take a path from darkness into the light; through 800 years of history and enter a “New Jerusalem” – tangible, permanent and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But most of all, they’re here for God. In the 12th century AD King Lalibela, Ethiopian leader and Christian, ordered the building of a second Jerusalem when the original was captured by Muslims in 1187 AD. The result was 11 interconnected churches, carved into the mountain by hand. But unusually, Lalibela’s churches were dug straight into the ground. Hewn out of solid rock, perhaps best known is the Church of St George, shaped in a Greek Orthodox cross. Nearly impossible to see at a distance, the impressive feat – completed in 23 years – provided a safe space for Christians to pray, hidden from Muslims invading from the North. Related article The Mundari: The tribe dying for their cows A concealed treasure in the Horn of Africa, photographer Tariq Zaidi deployed his camera as he followed the pilgrim route in and around Lalibela earlier this year. “I’m astonished that everybody doesn’t know about this place,” he says, remembering that among the throng there were perhaps 100 foreigners. “It’s a gem that is hidden at this point in time.” He recalls the majesty of the architecture and beauty of the region, but most of all its people. “They’re very poor, very humble,” he says. “They come for the pilgrimage hopefully once in their life if they can afford it. Many people have walked across the country, with almost nothing with them.” In the lead up to Genna, pilgrims, both men and women, sleep out on plastic sheets in a particular area of the town. Related article In the shadow of jihad, nomadic life across the Sahara hangs by a thread “Thousands of people are just lying there,” says Zaidi. “[But] it’s not like a refugee camp; there’s an amazing atmosphere. They are singing and dancing, reading their bibles and prayer books. They’re so happy – ecstatic – to be there and be part of this unique celebration.” Zaidi describes the local community coming out to help pilgrims, feeding them and even help wash weary feet. When the sun goes down, thousands of candles are lit and the praying continues. “It’s very beautiful, poetic – even romantic – in a way very few things in our world are,” says Zaidi. “They all support each other.” The activities of Genna eve begin at five in the morning. Pilgrims, dressed in white, make their way to the 13 churches, navigating between them using interconnected tunnels 40 feet beneath the ground. Related article Inside the dark world of trophy hunting There’s symbolism at play, explains the photographer: “There’s one particular passage in the network that is very long. I’ve got no idea how long it is – I’d guess 300 meters – and it’s pitch black. “There’s only one way in and one way out. There’s no turning back, and when you come out you come out literally at the door of the church. I was told that this corridor, like many others, was experiencing darkness going into the light – coming out into Heaven, effectively.” Mixing with the pilgrims and priests – who stay in each church and are the only people to wear color – Zaidi says the experience was “like going back in time;” a place and tradition untouched by modernity. “In some of the ceremonies you’re standing in a 12 inch by 12 inch space,” he recalls. “You can’t move in any direction. You’re there until it ends – even if you pass out you’re not going to fall.” When nightfall comes pilgrims pray en masse by the light of candles and the stars. Most continue to celebrate through until daybreak. Related article Making waves: Meet KK, the only female surfer in Sierra Leone “That night was one of the most magical things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zaidi says. “I’m not a religious person at all… but I was moved to tears by watching these ceremonies.” The following day the pilgrims filter out of the town, and Lalibela contracts once more. Until next year, it will remain a relatively little-known heritage site. However the memory remains. “If you want to be moved by mankind, moved by religion, go there,” implores the photographer. “If you’re not moved to tears by the devotion, spirituality and kindness of these people, nothing will move you. It truly is a remarkable experience.”

Ethiopian Orthodox Christian pilgrimage to Lalibela


North Korea and Malaysia have banned each other's nationals from leaving each country Two Malaysians left North Korea Thursday, but nine remain Four Malaysian diplomats and their family members are stuck in North Korea, and there’s not much their government can do to get them out. All nine of them are pawns in the diplomatic fight that’s followed the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, who was killed in a Malaysian airport in February. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak accused Pyongyang of holding Malaysia’s citizens “hostage” and retaliated by issuing a similar ban for North Koreans in Malaysia. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters Tuesday discussions were underway with Pyongyang for the safe return of their citizens. But is there anything else that can be done? “Right now there are no good options,” said Ming Wan, a professor of government and politics at George Mason University in Virginia. “They (the Malaysians) are stuck.” Whatever path he chooses, Malaysia’s Prime Minister finds himself in a situation no other Malaysian leader has ever faced. “There has never been a case of Malaysian diplomats being trapped in a tit-for-tat with another country,” said Yang Razali, a Malaysian politics expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Fortunately for Najib, the trapped Malaysians appear to be safe. They are free to carry on with their lives, Najib said Wednesday. But they’re not free to leave. Here are three options the Malaysians might consider, going from least plausible to most likely. With foreign diplomats trapped in a hostile country, the situation has some parallels to the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979. But an operation like the one depicted in the movie “Argo” likely wouldn’t work, says CNN national security analyst Steve Hall. The film tells the real-life story of a CIA agent who staged a fake movie to smuggle Americans out of Iran. The Malaysians would have to try to sneak inside what is essentially a police state that’s closed off to the rest of the world. “Now that it’s become so public and everybody knows what’s going on, I really think the clandestine, covert way to smuggle people out – and especially that many on both sides – I don’t know that it’s doable,” said Hall, a former CIA chief of Russia operations. “I don’t know that any intelligence professional could actually recommend it as a reasonable way to go forward.” The North Koreans probably have a better shot at getting their folks, Hall says – they’re much less predictable than the Malaysians. With Pyongyang, “you can’t really rule anything out,” said Hall. “It’s just so unpredictable, it’s hard to know what the North Koreans are going to do.” Malaysia could accede Pyongyang’s demand by publicly guaranteeing the safety of North Koreans in Malaysia and hope North Korea allows its citizens to leave. But that’s not likely. Who was Kim Jong Nam?The world’s most mysterious family treeWhy would North Korea want him dead?Security footage appears to show moment of attackSuspect in death of Kim Jong Nam seen wearing ‘LOL’ shirt North Korea’s history of secret killings and kidnappings Who was Kim Jong Nam?The world’s most mysterious family treeWhy would North Korea want him dead?Security footage appears to show moment of attackSuspect in death of Kim Jong Nam seen wearing ‘LOL’ shirt North Korea’s history of secret killings and kidnappings Pyongyang barred the Malaysians in North Korea from leaving unless Kuala Lumpur fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case involving Kim’s death. “We have not taken any negative action against North Korea. What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon,” Najib said Wednesday, the first time Malaysia had publicly blamed North Korea for killing Kim Jong Nam, an allegation Pyongyang denies. That doesn’t sound like a man willing to give up. But there may be domestic politics at play here. With a general election looming in Malaysia – the Prime Minister must call one before August 2018 – Najib can’t afford to look weak, Razali told CNN in an email. He already has two Malaysians on their way back. The pair, who worked for the United Nations’ World Food Programme, were able to leave Pyongyang Thursday, according to a WFP spokeswoman. It’s not known how many North Koreans are in Malaysia. The two countries could reach an agreement. Despite the depiction of North Korea as a “hermit Kingdom,” it does have relationships in Asia. “We like to imagine North Korea in the West as a hermetically sealed country, but throughout Asia they have far more flexibility and freedom of operation than you’d like to imagine,” says Alexander Neill, a senior fellow for Asia Pacific security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Najib says he’s willing to negotiate. Malaysia will not sever diplomatic ties with North Korea to keep a line of communication open, he said. But Malaysian officials are not sure what exactly North Korea is now demanding, according to Najib. Early in the investigation, Pyongyang demanded Kim’s body back. It’s still in Malaysian custody, and police said they won’t release it until someone provides a DNA sample. By keeping the Malaysians from leaving, North Korea has strengthened its hand. While there are also North Koreans being barred from leaving Malaysia, Neill says Pyongyang does not have the same approach to human rights as most of the rest of the world does. “They are known to have an entirely different approach to the sanctity of human life and human rights due to the nature of the regime. And it is a brutal regime,” Neill told CNN. North Korea is accused of carrying out hundreds of extrajudicial killings, operating gulags that house more than 100,000 people and abducting people across Asia. But there are a few people North Korea cares about. Three of its nationals are believed to be holed up in the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They’re wanted for questioning in connection with Kim’s murder, and may have access to sensitive or compromising information that Pyongyang doesn’t want to get out. Releasing them might secure the release of Malaysia’s own citizens, but police have made it clear that they’re not going to let the North Koreans within the embassy leave easily. International pressure is an option, but a difficult one. The litany of sanctions levied against North Korea to curtail its nuclear program don’t appear to be working. “This is yet another indication that the North Korean government is acting in a way that should be a concern for the international community,” said Wan, the professor at George Mason University. China, Pyongyang’s most important partner, could help push the country to negotiate. But Beijing doesn’t wield as much influence over Kim Jong Un as it did over his father and grandfather, experts said. “I don’t see anybody being able to pressure them,” said Wan. “I think we’re going to have to watch this for a while.” CNN’s Marc Lourdes, Zahra Ullah and journalist Salhan Ahmad contributed to this report


More than 100,000 people protested in Athens on Sunday, angry over a possible compromise to a long-running dispute with its Balkan neighbor over its use of the name Macedonia. Protesters traveled from across the country to the Greek capital, where they waved flags and chanted slogans, including “Macedonia is Greek” and “Hands off Macedonia.” Police said about 140,000 protesters were in attendance Sunday. The protests come after Greece and Macedonia restarted talks last month to resolve a dispute that began more than two decades ago. Earlier this month, UN negotiator Matthew Nimetz voiced optimism the two countries could end the dispute this year. Leaders of the two countries have also said progress has been made in settling the dispute, with indications that an agreement could include a composite name with a geographical or chronological qualifier, which would still include “Macedonia.” The dispute began after the small Balkan country, for decades a part of the former Yugoslavia, gained independence in 1991 and wanted to call itself Macedonia. However, Greece has objected to use of the name, arguing it could imply territorial claims over the northern Greece region of the same name, something Macedonia denies. Opponents believe their neighbors are Slavs, with no linguistic or cultural connection to the Greek region of Macedonia, which was the home of Alexander the Great. Macedonians argue they are living in part of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia and have cultural ties to it. Because of Greece’s objections, Macedonia joined the United Nations in 1993 as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM. Greece, a member of both NATO and the European Union, has also repeatedly blocked any NATO or EU ambition for its neighbor, both significant goals for consecutive Skopje governments.


National Archives directed to release 2,800 records Law enforcement and foreign affairs agencies asked that some records be redacted Trump directed agencies that requested redactions to re-review their reasons for keeping the records secret within 180 days President Donald Trump on Thursday agreed not to release the full tranche of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, acquiescing to last-minute requests from national security agencies that some of those records remain secret. Related article The JFK assassination files: Live updates The US government released over 2,800 records Thursday night in an effort to comply with a 1992 law mandating the documents’ release, but kept roughly 300 files classified out of concern for US national security, law enforcement and foreign relations. In a memo, Trump directed agencies that requested redactions to re-review their reasons for keeping the records secret within 180 days. Still, Trump’s decision to keep some documents secret is likely to keep conspiracy theories alive, fueling those who have long questioned official conclusions about the assassination and argued that the government has helped cover up the truth. On Friday morning, Trump pledged the government would release more of the secret files, but did not commit to making them all public. “JFK Files are being carefully released. In the end there will be great transparency. It is my hope to get just about everything to public!” Trump tweeted. JFK Files are being carefully released. In the end there will be great transparency. It is my hope to get just about everything to public! An initial review of some of the previously classified documents shed some light on the circumstances surrounding the Kennedy assassination. One document revealed that the CIA intercepted a call Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald made to a KGB officer at the Russian Embassy in Mexico less than two months before killing Kennedy and that CIA agents speculated that he might be a KGB agent. Oswald spoke to an “identified KGB officer,” Russian Consul Valeriy Vladimirovich Kostikov “in broken Russian.” The report says “It is not usual for a KGB agent on a sensitive mission to have such overt contact with a Soviet Embassy,” but adds “such contact in official installations may be caused by the agent’s own carelessness.” The files also revealed new information about threats the FBI received against Oswald after he was arrested. Hoover said on November 24, 1963, he “received a call in our Dallas office from a man talking in a calm voice and saying he was a member of a committee organized to kill Oswald,” information the FBI shared with the Dallas chief of police. “He again assured us adequate protection would be given. However, this was not done,” Hoover said. Oswald’s killer Jack Ruby has maintained that he acted alone and it was not clear if Ruby had made the threat to the FBI’s Dallas office. Trump teased the release of the documents twice in the last week, but did not make clear whether he planned to allow the full release, though he noted in a Saturday tweet that he would allow the release of documents “subject to the release of further information.” The long anticipated release of the #JFKFiles will take place tomorrow. So interesting! In his letter, he says more information should eventually be released. “The American public expects and deserves its government to produce as much access as possible to the John F. Kennedy assassination records,” he wrote. RELATED: President Trump’s memo on the release of JFK documents “I am ordering today that the veil finally be lifted” on the records, the memo said. “At the same time, executive departments and agencies have proposed to me that certain information should continue to be redacted because of national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns. I have no choice – today – but to accept those redactions rather than allow potentially irreversible harm to our nation’s security.” Trump is permitted to block the release of certain documents if he finds “an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement or conduct of foreign relations” and if “the identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure,” according to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. The deadline comes 25 years after the enactment of that law, which mandated the release of all government documents related to the Kennedy assassination in an attempt to quell conspiracy theories that have long swirled around the assassination. But as deadline day came on Thursday, US intelligence and law enforcement agencies continued to make last-minute requests, resulting in a “messy” process in the final hours of the deadline, a senior US official told CNN. The White House did not receive all of the requests until mid-day Thursday. That left Trump’s aides scrambling to funnel all of the information to the President, who had only a few hours to decide how to proceed. Administration officials said the sensitive information that will remain redacted for now relates to “intelligence, law enforcement and other details.” That includes the identity of individuals involved in the investigation into the assassination, their roles as informants to law enforcement  and information about foreign partner organizations that were involved in the investigation, a senior administration official said. Related article The conspiracy theorist in chief has the keys to the national archives “The President heard those justifications from the agencies that requested the continuing postponement and he acknowledged that information … requires protection,” the official said. Agencies requesting continued redaction of certain documents will need to submit a report to the US Archivist by March 26, 2018, explaining why those documents meet that standard, the White House said. Documents determined to not meet those standards will need to be released by April 26, 2018. By setting a new deadline in 180 days, Trump’s team is hoping to enforce greater accountability from the agencies to get them more thorough accounting for their reasoning on keeping some of the records redacted. Historians who have closely studied the Kennedy assassination have said they do not expect the documents to reveal any bombshells or to contradict the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald was solely responsible for killing Kennedy. Still, the files will give Americans a fuller picture of how the 35th US president was killed and the ensuing investigation into his assassination. Related article More than 50 years of theories: JFK file release imminent “There’s going to be no smoking gun in there,” Gerald Posner, the author of “Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK,” told CNN’s Michael Smerconish on Saturday. “Anybody who thinks this is going to turn the case on its head and suddenly show that there were three or four shooters at Dealey Plaza – it’s not the case.” “Oswald did it alone,” Posner continued. “But what the files are doing and why they’re important to come out is they fill in the history of the case and show us how the FBI and CIA repeatedly hid the evidence.” The CIA and FBI documents could also shed new light on Oswald’s mysterious trip to Mexico City weeks before the assassination. The files could also reveal new details about US involvement in attempts to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro, notably the CIA’s alleged ties to the mob as part of that effort. Trump has been encouraged allow the full release of the files by several Republican figures in the lead-up to the document dump deadline. 25 yrs ago Cong said all gov records abt JFK assassination shld b released this month unless Pres blocks No reason 2 keep hidden anymore 1/3 “No reason 2 keep hidden anymore,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tweeted earlier this month. “Time 2 let American ppl + historians draw own conclusions.” The President’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone, an avid JFK assassination conspiracy theorist, also privately urged Trump to allow the full release of the documents. Stone Thursday night said Trump’s decision “has the inadvertent effect of fueling suspicion and skepticism.” “If the documents aren’t embarrassing, then why withhold them?” Stone told CNN. “The issue is it shows the treachery of the Central Intelligence Agency who recruited (Lee Harvey Oswald), who trained him and who placed him.” CNN’s Eli Watkins contributed to this report.


Page told the committee he was invited to speak in Russia after joining the campaign Page says that he sought permission for his trip ahead of time Carter Page’s six-plus hours of testimony before the House intelligence committee makes clear senior members of the Trump campaign were aware of the former Trump foreign policy adviser’s July 2016 trip to Russia – and Page may have had interactions with more Russian government officials beyond what he’s previously acknowledged, according to a transcript of the interview released Monday night. Page told the committee he was invited to speak in Russia after joining the campaign – a similar pattern to foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who was approached by a professor connected to the Russian government after the professor learned he was advising the campaign. In the interview, Page says that he sought permission for his trip ahead of time and asked for advice about his remarks at a university, and afterward he offered to provide a readout to the campaign. Page also floated the idea that Trump travel to Russia in his place to give an Obama-like foreign speech. Related article Exclusive: Carter Page testifies he told Sessions about Russia trip The testimony reveals new details about how Page kept people in the campaign informed about interactions he had with Russians, as well as more details about his Russian contacts beyond his encounter with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich during his July 2016 trip. Page has always maintained he went to Russia as a private citizen and unrelated to the campaign to meet with academics and deliver a lecture, in which he stated that he was not there to represent Trump. But an email Page sent to Trump campaign officials suggests he might have gone beyond simply giving the campaign a heads up, according to an excerpt read by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California. “Please let me know if you have any reservations or thoughts on how you’d prefer me to focus these remarks,” Page wrote in an email to Trump campaign officials. Page claimed this was purely a courtesy and not to officially coordinate with the Trump team, and that he understood from the reply that the campaign wanted to remain uninvolved. Page also described his conversation with Dvorkovich as a “private conversation.” Page informed senior campaign officials Corey Lewandowski, Hope Hicks and JD Gordon about his trip ahead of time. Lewandowski, who was Trump’s campaign manager, told Page he should go if he wanted to, given it was not affiliated with the campaign. “If you’d like to go on your own, not affiliated with the campaign, you know, that’s fine,” Page recalled during the interview. Related article Schiller tops list of high-profile witnesses before House Russia investigators Page also told the committee that he had mentioned to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions – now Trump’s attorney general – about his coming July 2016 trip to Russia, CNN first reported last week. After the trip, Page offered the campaign a readout, according to the transcript, and he spoke then to national co-chairman Sam Clovis, whom Page said separately asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement. “I’ll send you guys a readout soon regarding some incredible insights and outreach I received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the presidential administration here,” he wrote, according to an email quoted by California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel. Page insists that the reference in his post-trip email regarding “insights” was describing things he learned from speeches given at the event. The new window into Page’s interactions with the Trump campaign came under an unusual arrangement that he requested. The interview was conducted in the committee’s secure spaces, but the transcript was made available publicly Monday night. In another atypical move, Page did not bring an attorney to his interview. Lawmakers have described his testimony as meandering, at times confusing and contradictory. In his testimony, Page also suggested he met briefly other government officials in addition to Dvorkovich, when he gave a speech in Moscow in July 2016. Page said at the event there were also “a couple of legislators” and “there may be some senior government officials.” Page described his encounters as “greetings and brief conversations.” Page returned to Russia in December 2016, and he told the committee that Dvorkovich stopped by a dinner he was attending, which was the second time they met. In a statement, Schiff said that Page “was forced to acknowledge that he communicated with high-level Russian officials while in Moscow.” Related article Senate intelligence chair on Papadopoulos: Had 'constant contact with his legal team' Page raised the idea of Trump traveling to Russia to make a foreign policy speech with Gordon, who was running the foreign policy adviser team, and another adviser, Walid Phares. “The idea there was bearing in mind Barack Obama’s speech as a candidate in Germany 2008. That was what I was envisioning,” Page told lawmakers. In his email to the two advisers, Page wrote about Trump: “If he’d like to take my place (on a trip to Russia) and raise the temperature a little bit, of course I’d be more than happy to yield this honor to him.” Gordon, a former Pentagon spokesman, told CNN Monday night that he didn’t recall all of Page’s emails because of the thousands of messages he received as a national security adviser. But he added: “I discouraged Carter from taking the trip to Moscow because it was a bad idea. Since I refused to forward his speech request form for approval, he eventually went around me directly to campaign leadership.” Page’s suggestion bears some similarity to a proposal from Papadopoulos, who cooperated with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to lying to investigators last week. Papadopoulos separately pursued arranging a trip for Trump during the campaign. Page testified that he wasn’t aware of Papadopoulos’ intended plans. After Page said that he was invited to Moscow for his July 2016 university lecture after he joined the campaign, Schiff asked him if he would be surprised to learn that the Russians only expressed interest in Papadopoulos after he was announced as a campaign foreign policy adviser. The court papers detailing the charges against Papadopoulos for making a false statement to the FBI stated that Papadopoulos was only contacted by a professor with ties to Russia after the professor learned he was affiliated with the campaign. In the testimony, Page acknowledged that he praised Gordon and others on the Trump policy team over language proposed in the Republican platform about Ukraine and lethal weapons. “As for the Ukraine amendment, excellent work,” Page said in an email to six Trump campaign advisers – including Gordon – after the platform committee made the changes ahead of the Republican National Convention. Page was not, himself, a member of the committee. He told the House intelligence committee he was just expressing his opinion, and that the advisers too were offering opinions as informal volunteers.  Page said he never spoke with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort about the Ukraine amendment. Trump campaign officials stepped in to block delegates from changing the platform to include a call for the US to provide the Ukrainians with arms to fight Russia-aligned militias. Related article Mueller's charges complicate the Hill's Russia inquiries During his sworn testimony, Page denied a key claim from the infamous dossier but acknowledged talking to a high-ranking official from the Russian energy giant Rosneft. The dossier, written by former British spy Christopher Steele, claimed that Page secretly met with a senior Russian energy executive during his trip to Russia in July 2016. The dossier says that the meeting with Igor Sechin, president of state-run Rosneft, was meant to broker a deal to lift US sanctions on the multi-billion dollar company in return for the Kremlin helping Trump win. No public evidence has emerged to corroborate this specific claim in the dossier. Page repeated the same denial, now under oath, that he has made many times on TV: “Not only have I never met him, he is the – he’s one of the top energy industry officials in Russia,” he said. But under further questioning, Page acknowledged having a conversation with a separate high-ranking official from Rosneft during his controversial trip to Russia in July 2016. Page said he spoke with Andrey Baranov, Rosneft’s head of investor relations. But he says that he doesn’t recall having any conversation with him about sanctions. He said he didn’t remember whether Baranov gave him any documents, though he said Baranov might have given him “an investor relations presentation” but “nothing more substantive than that.” They made plans to meet up, Page said, because they were friends when he lived in Russia in the mid-2000s. Page lived in Russia for a few years while working as an energy consultant. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt, there was never any negotiations, or any quid pro quo, or any offer, or any request even, in any way related to sanctions,” Page said of his meeting with Baranov. The Russian government owns a majority stake in Rosneft and Russian President Vladimir Putin has considerable influence within the bank. Sechin is a longtime friend and loyalist to Putin. The Treasury Department sanctioned Rosneft and Sechin after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. A month after the election last year, Page met with Baranov and another Russian man, an unnamed banker with Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, for lunch at Goodman’s Steakhouse in Moscow. He said he showed them slides on his laptop from the speech he was about to give in Moscow, and they discussed the election’s results. Page also said he had “recently been in contact” with Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein and other senior Justice officials regarding the “multiple outstanding requests” he made to get more info about FISA warrants reportedly used against him by the Obama administration. In addition, Page said he was interviewed by the FBI four or five times in 2017. Previously, he had said those interviews happened in March. Page denied any collusion during the interview, saying he “played no role in any government active measures in the 2016 election other than being a target of the Obama administration’s efforts to support (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign.” The only discussion he could recall where WikiLeaks came up, he said, was during a TV interview with RT in London on October 24. The host and staffed mentioned “in passing” that it “might be potentially interesting.” Page was also interviewed last month by the Senate intelligence committee as part of its probe into Russian election meddling, but that transcript is not being made public. After Page’s July 2016 trip, the FBI grew concerned that he had been compromised by Russian operatives, US officials previously told CNN. Marshall Cohen, Brian Rokus and Liz Stark contributed to this report.


Clinton enters the third and final debate in Las Vegas in a position of strength Polls increasingly point to a decisive win for the Democratic nominee on Election Day Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman believes Donald Trump’s current scorched-earth strategy is the cause of his plummeting poll numbers. After Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon promised that the Republican nominee’s slate of guests for Wednesday night’s debate – among them Barack Obama’s half-brother – were “just an appetizer,” Clinton’s own campaign chief, John Podesta, said “there’s no depth to which they can’t go.” “But his whole crew and cast of characters there – (Trump deputy campaign manager) David Bossie, Bannon, etc. – I’m sure they’re encouraging more antics like what you saw in the second debate from Donald Trump,” Podesta told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday. “But look, I think we’re ready for anything and, again, I think this is a strategy that that’s driving Trump down and has produced that lead.” Clinton enters the third and final debate in Las Vegas in a position of strength. Polls increasingly point to a decisive win for the Democratic nominee on Election Day, with traditional Republican strongholds such as Arizona, Georgia, Utah and Texas emerging as competitive battlegrounds. It’s been a remarkable fall for Trump since the second debate earlier this month in St. Louis, a nasty affair that came days after the publication of a videotape in which the real estate mogul can be heard making vulgar remarks about women. After the Trump campaign arranged a pre-debate press conference with women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, neither candidate shook hands after taking the stage that night. (They did, however, shake hands at the conclusion of the debate.) On Wednesday, Podesta said he wasn’t sure if the two would exchange a handshake at the third debate. “We would like the appropriate courtesies of normal debates, but what you saw in the debate in St. Louis is they don’t recognize those normal courtesies,” Podesta said. “I think we’ll see what we get tonight. She didn’t shake his hand at the beginning but she did at the end. So we’ll see tonight.” Podesta declined to confirm the authenticity of the thousands of emails released by WikiLeaks that were stolen from his account. He avoided answering Blitzer’s direct questions about emails containing transcripts of Hillary Clinton’s speeches to Goldman Sachs. Instead, Podesta kept the focus on intelligence reports indicating that the Russian government was behind the hack. The Clinton campaign has asserted that the breach was an effort by the Russians to tilt the election in favor of Trump. “This is the Russians trying to interfere with our election,” Podesta said. CNN’s Adrienne Shih contributed to this report.


Editor’s Note: Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst, a former homicide prosecutor and media law professor. He is “of counsel” to two law firms:  Edelman & Edelman, PC and Callan, Koster, Brady & Nagler, LLP. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. As many as 18 million Americans may have had personal data hacked due to invasion of federal databases Callan: Massive breach of federal employees' personal data shows the need to make officials step up the level of security During the past few weeks, much of the nation was mesmerized by the daring escape of two convicted murderers from a maximum-security prison in upstate New York. The saga ended with one of the fugitives dead from gunshot wounds while the other convict is in custody recovering from wounds of his own. Two prison employees have been charged with aiding and abetting in the escape. The prison break is the kind of case that the law and law enforcement have dealt with for decades. It’s straightforward and the courts know how to assess blame and hold people responsible. Less clear is the 21st century kind of crime that has played out more quietly in Washington. In a United States Senate hearing room, the director of the federal Office of Personnel and Management, Katherine  Archuleta, and James Trainor, acting assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, engaged in a heated dispute about whether hackers had successfully stolen sensitive personal information of only 4.2 million, or the FBI’s larger estimate of 18 million, federal employees and other assorted American citizens. Either way, it’s a staggering incursion into some extremely private information. U.S. officials have asserted that Chinese hackers are the culprits in the data theft. The stolen information included Social Security numbers, health and family data, and even detailed background information customarily listed on federal employment applications. Much of the data theoretically could be used by foreign government agents to humiliate or blackmail federal employees in a quest for intelligence secrets. Making the story worse was the information revealed in the congressional hearing that suggested gross negligence and a reckless disregard for the cyber safety of federal employees and the American public by the officials responsible for safeguarding the data. According to the Washington Post, congressional questioners asked why the data was not encrypted and why no changes were made after the agency’s inspector general recommended shutting down computer security systems considered vulnerable – a number of which had not been certified as meeting security standards. The New York Times reported that state-of-the-art security procedures were not used to limit access despite the sensitivity of the data. And agency officials said some of the systems were decades old. The hackers, if they are based in China, are unlikely to ever be brought to justice in the United States. A year ago, five members of China’s People’s Liberation Army were indicted in a Pennyslvania court on 31 counts of violating federal law by hacking U.S. businesses and other entities, but the defendants in that case were charged in absentia and are not subject to U.S. authorities. That could well be the case here too. What about the U.S. officials who didn’t correct vulnerabilities in the computer system? Attaching criminal or civil liability to the people or federal agency who failed to prevent this egregious breach of cyber security is theoretically possible under current American law, but would be difficult.  Yet in the end, the threat of a criminal investigation and a civil lawsuit might be the pressure needed to force reforms. To prove a crime, prosecutors would have to have an identifiable victim who has suffered identifiable injuries. Right now, the actual damage that the breach has caused federal employees is unclear. Other countries would undoubtedly handle such a big breach of cyber security in a very different manner than our kindly federal authorities. In North Korea or China itself, we can be reasonably certain that whoever was responsible for permitting such a breach of security would have already been placed in front of a firing squad. Can Washington keep your data secure? No one, of course, is suggesting such draconian measures in the United States, but at the very least the American public has the right to expect accountability and the construction of effective defenses immediately. It will probably surprise many that American law offers few ways to punish those responsible for failing to prevent such a spectacular breach of U.S. cyber security. In some respects, the situation in Washington is similar that of a soldier on guard duty abandoning his or her post. Under Article 113 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the soldier would be subject to court-martial. The punishment in peacetime would be a dishonorable discharge and up to a year in prison, or even the death penalty in time of war. Here, the federal cyber sentinel seems to have fallen asleep at the digital gate. But in truth, criminal punishment for even gross negligence in the performance of employment duty rarely exists in civilian life. A civil lawsuit by victimized federal employees may bring some relief to them, but the breach here demands a firmer response. If officials are brought up on departmental charges for failing to prevent the hacking, their lawyers will undoubtedly claim, perhaps with justification, that they didn’t have the funding or the staff needed to fully protect the federal database. They would further assert that the rapid advance of technology has given an edge to a hacker army supported by China. Still, holding people responsible for their actions when the stakes are high – when American citizens suffer grievous injury as a result of corporate fraud and irresponsibility – is a policy now being implemented by the Justice Department. Recently, creative prosecutors have used fraud statutes to lodge criminal charges against food industry executives in food poisoning and adulteration cases involving peanut butter and eggs. The Department of Justice has also recently taken an aggressive stance by launching criminal probes against Toyota of Japan and the Takata Corporation in connection with product liability claims in the auto industry. GM is now under the DOJ microscope regarding the ignition system used in some GM vehicles. Manhattan’s media-friendly U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara, recently fired a warning shot in the direction of Corporate America, telling the Wall Street Journal: “The first line of defense is self-policing within the company. The second is regulators… When all those things have failed, prosecutors come along with the blunt hammer. That does get some attention in the boardroom.” Perhaps it’s time that Mr. Bharara use his hammer to place Washington on notice that cyber security is an urgent priority. Just as the American public has the right to expect the auto industry to provide safe and effective air bag and ignition systems; it has the right to expect an effective cyber security program from its government. Funding, personnel and leadership are all required now. In this raging cyber war, perhaps governmental employees should be held accountable just like our young soldiers in the field. Otherwise, China’s future weapon of choice might be built with stolen American secrets and it won’t be a hammer. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion. Read CNNOpinion’s Flipboard magazine.

U.S. federal officials responsible for cybersecurity


The top U.S. and Iranian diplomats met for the first time since their countries reached a historic nuclear deal in Vienna The pair also discussed regional instability in Syria and Yemen, along with the status of detained and missing U.S. citizens in Iran. The top U.S. and Iranian diplomats met on Saturday for the first time since their countries reached a historic nuclear deal in Vienna. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif sat down in New York at the United Nations to discuss the path forward for the implementation of the agreement, which lifts sanctions against the Iranians in exchange for their pledge to not pursue nuclear weaponry. Congressional Republicans have tried to stop the deal, which they say would aid U.S. enemies. The pair also discussed regional instability in Syria and Yemen, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, along with the status of detained and missing U.S. citizens in Iran. “I view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries to play an important role in trying to resolve some of the very difficult issues of the Middle East. We need to achieve peace and a way forward in Syria, in Yemen, in the region itself, and I think there are opportunities this week, through these discussions, to make some progress,” Kerry told reporters. RELATED: Who are the American detained, missing in Iran? Zarif, however, said he hoped to focus primarily on the nuclear agreement. “We hope that by its full implementation – its good faith implementation – we can dent some of the mistrust that has existed over the past many decades. So that is my priority,” he said. “But the situation in the region, the unfortunate developments in Saudi Arabia over the last week, have been disastrous and we need to address them. We will address them in the proper international forum.” CNN’s Laura Koran contributed to this report.


Website boss tells CNN that teen didn't seem radical to him The teen, who lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, is accused of helping a slightly older adult travel to Syria Teen, whose name was not disclosed, was taken into custody last week, officials say A 17-year-old Virginia student has been charged with helping recruit for ISIS, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The teen, whose name was not disclosed, was taken into custody last week, the officials said. Prosecutors are seeking to charge him as an adult but currently have charged him as a juvenile, one of the law enforcement officials said. The case remains under seal.  It was first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday. The Post, citing officials and neighbors, reported that investigators spent more than a month watching the teen and his home before he was arrested. The teen, who lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, is accused of helping a slightly older adult travel to Syria. The adult is believed to have joined ISIS there, a separate law enforcement official said. The teen is also accused of distributing ISIS messages to a network of contacts, one of the officials said. The teen is an “intelligent kid,” a man who hired him to write for a digital currency news website said Wednesday evening. Dustin O’Bryant, the editor of the website Coin Brief from Alabama, said: “He did not come across as radical in any way.” The teen wrote freelance articles for the website for seven months last year. He was told not to bring religion into his writing, O’Bryant said, adding he had noticed the young man had written online posts about his faith. The teen complied, he said. The website editor said he was “extremely, extremely surprised” to learn of the arrest from reporters calling him. He hadn’t spoken to the teen since February, when the young man said he was dealing with personal matters but wanted to start writing for the website again at some point this year. Give me two weeks to three months, the boy told him. O’Bryant said he is shocked by the charge. “I hope there’s some sort of misunderstanding here, and that he didn’t know what he was doing,” he said. He added that he didn’t realize the teen was in high school because he had college courses on his resume. More than 20,000 foreigners have gone to fight for ISIS, the radical Islamist group that controls portions of Iraq and Syria, experts have told Congress. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said 180 Americans have tried to go to fight in Syria. It’s unclear how many of those were attempting to join ISIS. It was also unknown if the man the teen allegedly helped is a U.S. citizen. The names: Who has been recruited to ISIS from the West Others have been prevented from going there or providing support. Also Wednesday, a 21-year-old California man arrested last summer was indicted, changed with attempting to support terror and other counts. Adam Dandach, of Orange, California, was accused by the FBI in the indictment of attempting to provide himself and material support to work under the direction and control of ISIS. He will be arraigned March 16. California man accused of trying to join ISIS In February, three men from New York – Abdurasul Juraboev, 24; Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19; and Abror Habibov, 30 – were arrested and charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. An unsealed criminal complaint accused one of the men of discussing a potential attempt to assassinate President Barack Obama. One had discussed hijacking a flight and handing it over to ISIS, the complaint said. Four women from Colorado have been accused of attempting to join ISIS. Three Denver teenagers, who investigators say were recruited via social media, were stopped in Germany in October and sent back to the United States. After being arrested in spring 2014, Shannon Maureen Conley was one of the first Americans sentenced for conspiracy to support ISIS. Two men who have appeared in horrific ISIS propaganda videos could be from the United States or Canada, according to analysts. The individuals, both of whom are shown wearing masks covering everything but their eyes, spoke in what sounded like North American accents. One was in a video entitled “Flames of War,” which shows the execution of a handful of men. The other militant is the speaker in ISIS’ first propaganda video out of Libya, which ends with the graphic beheading of more than a dozen Egyptian Christians. CNN’s Brian Todd and Pamela Brown reported from Washington. CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reported from New York.


Canadian PM commends Castro as "legendary revolutionary and orator" Critics say Trudeau glossed over Castro's human rights record Twitter mocks Trudeau with fake tributes to despots and fictional villains Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tribute complimenting Fidel Castro as “remarkable” and a “larger than life leader who served his people” drew criticism and derision. Commentators viewed Trudeau’s statement as gushing and tone-deaf – one that ignored the Cuban leader’s human rights abuses and record of political oppression. It inspired parody tributes with the hashtag #TrudeauEulogies. In his statement, Trudeau expressed “deep sorrow” after learning of “the death of Cuba’s longest serving president.” “Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.” “While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for ‘el Comandante’.” Can Cuba move on?Castro, Mao: Communists that never saw eye to eyeHe survived 600 assassination attemptsTrump marks passing of ‘brutal dictator’Opinion: Socialism should die with CastroMourning in Castro’s hometownCrowds flood Little Havana in MiamiHis life in photosCastro’s death brings joy and griefWhat now for US-Cuba relations?CNN Español’s full coverage Can Cuba move on?Castro, Mao: Communists that never saw eye to eyeHe survived 600 assassination attemptsTrump marks passing of ‘brutal dictator’Opinion: Socialism should die with CastroMourning in Castro’s hometownCrowds flood Little Havana in MiamiHis life in photosCastro’s death brings joy and griefWhat now for US-Cuba relations?CNN Español’s full coverage Cuba’s relationship with Canada is friendlier than the one it shares with the United States. As the Embassy of Canada to Cuba says on its website, “Canada-Cuba relations can be traced back to the 18th century, when vessels from the Atlantic provinces of Canada traded codfish and beer for rum and sugar.” Canada and Cuba have maintained uninterrupted diplomatic relations ties since 1945. Canada is Cuba’s largest source of tourists; Canadians visit Cuba like Americans visit Mexico. The two countries are trade partners and they engage in educational and cultural exchanges. Trudeau added that his late father, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau “was very proud to call him a friend.” Castro had been an honorary pallbearer at his father’s funeral. The statement concluded: “We join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.” The prime minister’s statement had Sen. Marco Rubio asking: Is this real? “If this is a real statement from the PM of Canada it is shameful & embarrassing,” he tweeted. Is this a real statement or a parody? Because if this is a real statement from the PM of Canada it is shameful & embarrassing. https://t.co/lFXeqU7Ws0 US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who fled Cuba with her family when she was 8 and became the first Cuban-American elected to Congress, was not impressed with Trudeau either. “I’ve been reading his sickening love letter to dead Fidel Castro and I’m thinking, ‘Sure, you did not lose a loved one to an execution squad. You did not lose a loved one to the gulags in Cuba,’ ” Ros-Lehtinen said. “The only thing that Fidel has been successful in, has not been health nor education, or human rights or democracy, it’s been holding onto power – which is easy to do when you don’t have elections,” she said. Sen. Ted Cruz, whose father was born and raised in Cuba, called Trudeau’s tribute “disgraceful.” Disgraceful. Why do young socialists idolize totalitarian tyrants?  Castro, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot -- all evil, torturing murderers.  #truth https://t.co/mYJonVK7JB People mocked Trudeau penning rosy prose in honor of despots like Benito Mussolini, Kim Jong Il and Joseph Stalin. “Today we say goodbye to Mr. Mussolini, the former Italian prime minister best known for his competent train-management,” tweeted a Canadian political commentator. Another person tweeted an image of a dark North Korea contrasted with a brightly lit South Korea and wrote: “Kim Jong il will always be remembered fondly for his leadership and contributions on climate change.” Kim Jong il will always be remembered fondly for his leadership and contributions on climate change. #trudeaueulogies pic.twitter.com/aMoAC2vssm And Joseph Stalin really helped with “eradication of obesity in Ukraine,” another chimed in. "Mr. Stalin's greatest achievement was his eradication of obesity in the Ukraine through innovative agricultural reforms." #TrudeauEulogies Spoof Trudeau eulogies also poured in for Montgomery Burns, Darth Vader and the Joker. "While controversial, Mr. Burns will be remembered for his fight against childhood obesity." #trudeaueulogies #trudeaueulogy pic.twitter.com/qXrgPAuW3u "While controversial, Darth Vader achieved great heights in space construction & played a formative role in his son's life" #trudeaueulogies I extend my heartfelt sympathies to the family of The Joker, a revolutionary who always had a smile on his face. #trudeaueulogies CNN’s Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report.


On a January weekend in 2015, an Israeli missile streaked across the country’s northern border into Syria. Among seven people killed were Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of one of Hezbollah’s founders, and a senior commander from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hezbollah’s response was fierce. Rockets rained down for days on the northern Israeli countryside, with the Iranian proxy exchanging fire with Israeli forces near the border. Hezbollah fired five anti-tank missiles at an Israeli convoy on the border, killing two soldiers. As tensions soared along the border, a Spanish soldier serving as a UN peacekeeper was killed in the crossfire. The Middle East appeared to be sliding toward another regional war, but it did not happen. Both sides pulled back, choosing not to escalate the situation further. Instead, Israel and Hezbollah returned to the same routine, if tense, state under which the border has existed for years. Related article Netanyahu says he has proof of secret Iranian nuclear program Three years later, and tensions are back. In fact, the situation has already deteriorated much further than it had in 2015. It’s no longer Israel confronting Hezbollah in a form of proxy war with Iran. Now, Israel and Iran face each other with Syria as the setting for their rivalry. What was for so long a war of words and covert actions between Israel and Iran risks moving closer to open confrontation. When an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace in February, it marked the beginning of a new phase between Israel and Iran – two adversaries vying for regional positioning. It has become one of the biggest subplots in Syria’s seven-year civil war, with the potential to draw in even more actors, including, if the situation escalates enough, Russia and the United States. Israel shot down the drone and struck the base in Syria, known as T-4, from which it was controlled, losing an F-16 fighter jet to Syrian air defenses in the process. The exchange made one thing clear: Israel and Iran appear to be on a collision course. A battle that used to be carried out through proxies – Israel fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon – has been replaced by near-direct confrontation. Another, more recent airstrike on the T-4 military base – a strike pinned on Israel – killed at least seven Iranian nationals. Related article US and Israeli officials intensify the drumbeat against Iran A strike this past weekend that targeted Syrian military positions has all the hallmarks of an Israeli attack, though no one has yet blamed Israel. Airstrikes hit bases near Hama and Aleppo, with the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying 26 people were killed in the strike, most of them Iranian militiamen. Iran denied an attack killed its fighters, according to the state-run Tasnim News Agency. Nevertheless, Iran sees Israel’s strikes in Syria as a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. Iran is Syria’s biggest ally, supportive of President Bashar al-Assad. Iran has offered military assistance, technology and equipment to Assad as he tries to maintain his own position while fighting Syrian rebels and ISIS. With the strikes attributed to Israel growing more frequent and more brazen, Iran has vowed to respond. Hossein Salami, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, issued a harsh warning during Friday prayers, seen as a key signaling tool for the Iranian regime. “I say this to the Zionists, we know you very well. You are very vulnerable. You have neither depth nor backing. Your mischief has increased. Listen and be aware any war that might happen, rest assured will bring about your disappearance.” Israel has taken Iran’s threat seriously, holding multiple security cabinet meetings in recent weeks to discuss tensions in the north. A CNN reporter in the Golan Heights also witnessed what appeared to be a buildup of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and more in the country’s north. “Iranian retaliation is on its way,” says retired Israeli Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, the executive director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies in Israel. He notes two conflicting positions over Syria, in “the strategic position and determination of Iran to build advanced military forces in Syria, and the Israeli determination not to let that happen.” Neither side has shown a willingness to compromise. Related article Trump vents at Merkel and asks for advice on Putin Israel views with growing alarm Iran’s presence in Syria, with the country’s leaders reiterating Israel’s position: It will not allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria. While Syria might be suffering the fog of war, elsewhere Israel sees a surprising array of clearsighted neighbors and allies, creating favorable conditions to act. Israel feels it can rely on unwavering support from the administration of US President Donald Trump, as the American President sees eye-to-eye with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iran deal. In the past two weeks, the head of US Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel visited Israel, newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman met the US secretary of defense and national security adviser in Washington, and Netanyahu spoke with Trump on the phone. All of that took place before Netanyahu launched his strongest attack yet on the Iran nuclear deal, in a theatrical prime-time presentation. Standing in front of a screen that was taller than him, Netanyahu accused Iran of decades of lies and deception about the country’s nuclear ambitions. Citing a trove of files apparently taken from Tehran that he says prove Iran tried to mislead the world about its program, Netanyahu asked: “Why would a terrorist regime hide and meticulously catalog its secret nuclear files, if not to use them at a later date? Iran lied about having a nuclear weapons program. Iran continued to preserve and expands its nuclear weapons know-how for future use.” Additionally, the Saudis view Iran just as the Israelis do: a major threat to the region that is the Middle East’s primary concern. Meanwhile, Egypt is focused on its own domestic issues and the security of the Sinai Peninsula. In other words, two key regional players who formerly had a tendency, in Israel’s eyes, to place too much focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are looking elsewhere now. “I know one thing for certain. We will not allow the Iranians to base themselves in Syria and there will be a price for that. We have no other choice,” Liberman said recently. “To agree to an Iranian presence in Syria, it’s agreeing to the fact that the Iranians will put a noose around your neck.” At a conference in New York this past weekend, Liberman insisted Israel still had liberty to act over Syria, even after it lost a fighter jet earlier this year. Syria is a fractured country, but even in its shifting sands, Iran and Israel have drawn their red lines.


Program note: Explore the music tied to iconic moments in history: CNN Original Series “Soundtracks” premieres Thursday, April 20, at 10 p.m. ET. At 19, British photographer David Magnus was invited to shoot a still relatively unknown pop group called The Beatles during a concert at a Buckinghamshire private school. Needless to say, they didn’t stay unknown for much longer. The Fab Four would go on to be one of history’s most influential and critically acclaimed musical acts – and Magnus, who became a friend of the band, would be there to capture their career milestones. “Nobody expected that these four talented lads from Liverpool would go on for what is now 54 years,” Magnus, now 72, told CNN in an email. “Looking back at that weekend and the time I spent through the years with The Beatles, I now realize how incredibly fortunate I was  to spend so much time with them.” Revealed: Unseen photos from Mick Jagger's racy film debut In June 1967, the band invited him to Abbey Road Studios (then known as EMI Studios) the weekend they recorded “All You Need is Love” for the BBC’s “Our World,” the world’s first live, international satellite production, and the first time they’d performed the song in public. Fifty years later, the public can see Magnus’ behind-the-scenes photos from that weekend at his new exhibition, “The Beatles Unseen: Photographs by David Magnus,” at London’s Proud Chelsea gallery. While rehearsals were professional and productive, Magnus describes the recording itself as a party, with the band having decorated the space with balloons and streamers, and invited celebrities like Mick Jagger, The Who’s Keith Moon and Marianne Faithfull to attend. New intimate photos reveal Freddie Mercury's private world Magnus was given free rein to shoot what he saw fit, from tea breaks at the canteen to Paul McCartney painting a sign for his Aunt Milly, who was visiting family in Australia, to see during the broadcast. (It read “COME BACK MILLY!”) “It was reportage with The Beatles, and I was able to achieve this style of photography with them, having built up over the years a bond of trust between us,” he said. Two weeks ago, Magnus brought a group of American friends to the famed zebra crossing outside of Abbey Road Studios, made famous by the cover of the band’s 1969 album of the same name. Unforgettable photos of psychedelia and debauchery from the golden age of LSD He was struck to see a large crowd already gathered, “the majority of whom were not even born when The Beatles were making their music.” “Their music is just as popular today as it was,” he said. “It has transcended the generations.” “The Beatles Unseen: Photographs by David Magnus” is on at Proud Chelsea in London until May 14, 2017.


US President Donald Trump has voiced his displeasure with the deal The refugees are held in Papua New Guinea and Nauru The Australian refugee deal that US President Donald Trump once derided as “stupid” and “horrible” is happening. The first group of refugees being held at Australian offshore detention centers on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island will leave for the US in the “coming weeks,” the Australian government has confirmed in a statement. “There will be about 25 (refugees) from both Manus and Nauru, will be going to the United States and I just want to thank again President Trump for continuing with that arrangement,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in an interview with CNN’s Australia affiliate Seven News. Under the terms of the arrangement, refugees selected by the Australian authorities for resettlement in the US are not guaranteed entry into the country. They must first pass a strict vetting process – which can take months. An official at the US State Department told CNN on Wednesday that to date, they have determined one individual meets resettlement requirements and will be moved in “the coming weeks.” The official said he expects the first batch of approved refugees to be notified within days. “We expect refugees to travel to the United States in the coming weeks,” the official said. Related article Australia agrees to pay $70 million to Manus Island detainees Trump made it clear to Turnbull he was not a fan of the deal during their first phone call following Trump’s inauguration in January, details of which were later revealed in a leaked transcript published by the Washington Post in August. “I am the world’s greatest person that does not want to let people into the country. And now I am agreeing to take 2,000 people and I agree I can vet them, but that puts me in a bad position. It makes me look so bad and I have only been here a week,” Trump said. “This is a big deal,” Turnbull responded. “It is really, really important to us that we maintain it. It does not oblige you to take one person that you do not want.” “This is a stupid deal. This deal will make me look terrible,” Trump said, adding later “I think it is a horrible deal, a disgusting deal that I would have never made.” The deal was negotiated by former US President Barack Obama and involved the transfer of 1,250 refugees from Australia in exchange for a group of Central American refugees from camps in Costa Rica. Towards the end of their phone call, Trump appeared to concede that he would stick with the deal, but he said he would tell the American people that “I hate it.” Abdul Aziz Adam, a 24-year-old Sudanese refugee on Manus Island, told CNN that the 25 men selected for resettlement were from several countries, including  Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. They were told they’d be leaving on Monday, Adam said. “Today we can see people smiling, something that has never happened in the last four years,” he told CNN over the phone. “A bunch of people were laughing and hugging each other … we never expected this kind of news.” Adam said though news had brought much-needed hope to the island, there were still hundreds who feared what the future could hold. “At this stage right now, we only have 25 out of 800 men that are going to have their freedom,” he said.”The rest are going to be locked up on this island, and it is very stressful. “We want to ask the authorities if they could at least delay the time of closing the center until everyone’s future is determined.” The center is due to close by the end of October, after it was ruled unconstitutional by Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court last year. Adam told CNN he’s worried that those still on the island may be forgotten. As of July, 791 men were detained on Manus island, according to the Australian government. CNN has reached out to US Citizenship and Immigration Services for comment. Australia has a very strict immigration policy for asylum seekers who try to reach the country by boat. They’re told they will never be able to settle on Australian soil and are sent to island camps for processing. Amnesty International has likened the camps to an “open-air prison,” a characterization that the Australian government denies. Last year, a UN report found multiple cases of “attempted suicide, self-immolation, acts of self-harm and depression” among children who had lived in prolonged “detention-like conditions” on Nauru. The government has emphasized the US refugee swap is a one-off deal that would not be repeated. “My message to people thinking about coming to Australia illegally by boat is that this is a one-off arrangement that will not be available to any future illegal maritime arrival,” said Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. People now caught smuggling boats that attempt to reach Australia will be “intercepted and sent back,” he said. CNN’s Ben Westcott, Elise Labott, Sol Han and Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report.

US refugee resettlement deal with Australia


Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM’s weekly program “The Dean Obeidallah Show,” a columnist for The Daily Beast and editor of the politics blog The Dean’s Report. Follow him on Twitter: @TheDeansreport. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Dean Obeidallah: Trump, as media manipulator, draws outrage, buzz over Muslim remarks Who's scarier? His followers, Obeidallah says He says polls show Trump supporters are far to right of the GOP and offer dark view of America Donald Trump, as we all know, is a master media manipulator. He knows how to get headlines better than any modern-day presidential candidate. (Or for that matter better than almost anyone not named Kardashian.) The latest? He called Monday for all Muslims to be blocked from entering the United States.  (How will Trump determine if a person is a Muslim? Will he make everyone trying to get into the United States eat a bacon cheeseburger?) Some have speculated that Trump’s extreme rhetoric during this campaign may just be simply to get headlines. That may or may not be true. But I’ll tell you one group that doesn’t care either way. This group clings ferociously to Trump’s most extreme positions, and its member are far to the right of the rest of the Republican Party. The group: Trump’s supporters and they are scarier than he is. One recent clue? After Trump’s speech Monday night detailing his plan for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” his supporters gave him a standing ovation. Trump’s GOP rivals have publicly criticized the proposal, by contrast. Even Dick Cheney, yes Cheney, said the proposal “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.” But there’s so much more. A recent poll found that three quarters of Trump’s supporters are in favor of deporting all of the 11 million-plus undocumented immigrants and banning any Syrian refugees from seeking shelter in America. In contrast, Marco Rubio only has 5% and Jeb Bush 6% of those far-right voters. And a recent Iowa poll found that 73% of Trump supporters in that state favor his idea to create a “deportation force” and deport all undocumented immigrants in our country. In comparison, only 40% of Republicans supporting any of the other GOP presidential candidates agree. Trump also polls well among people who are apprehensive about Muslims. Republican voters who believe that Muslims support ISIS are 35% more likely to support Trump than those Republicans who think “very few” Muslims support that the terrorist group, a survey found. Worse, Republicans who think Muslims in general (which would include American Muslims) are “an immediate threat to the United States” support the Donald by more than 30 percentage points. Speaking of Muslims, while 43% of Republicans in a September poll believe Obama is a Muslim, that number goes up to 54% among Trump supporters. OK, I’m pretty sure you get it: Trump’s supporters are really right wing, even when compared with other Republicans. In fact, a poll released this week finds that 68% of Trump supporters would vote for him if he leaves the GOP and runs as an independent candidate. But what’s more alarming is some of the hateful rhetoric I have witnessed firsthand by some Trump supporters on Twitter. It’s been a parade of hateful comments about Latinos, Muslims and Black Lives Matter. Trump has even received the support of white supremacists for his endorsement of President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback” plan to deport undocumented immigrants in the ’50s. Trump has become one-stop shopping for the far-right. He may lose this election, but he has shown the country something important about itself: that the greatest threat to America, as we know it, may not be foreign threats but un-American ideologies right here at home. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.Read CNNOpinion’s new Flipboard magazine.


Mahad Mohammed Karatey was killed along with 52 others, the Kenyan military says An Al-Shabaab spokesman denied that an airstrike happened; a Somali government official said Karatey may still be alive Karatey is known as the head of the Amniyat, Al-Shabaab's intelligence wing A Kenyan airstrike in Somalia has killed at least 52 militants from the Islamist terror organization Al-Shabaab, including its intelligence chief, the Kenyan military said. But Al-Shabaab denied that there was any strike, and a Somali government official cast doubt on the intelligence chief’s death. The strike earlier this month targeted a camp where the Kenya Defence Forces said the Amniyat, Al-Shabaab’s intelligence wing, was training around 80 recruits. Mahad Mohammed Karatey, also known as Mahat Karatey, was killed along with 10 mid level Al-Shabaab commanders and 42 recruits, said the KDF, which is part of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. He was attending a graduation ceremony for the recruits, the KDF said. The U.S. Department of State has designated Karatey as a terrorist and is offering up to $5 million for information locating him. Related video Who are Africa's most dangerous terror groups? But Al-Shabaab contradicted the KDF on a radio station sympathetic to their cause – Radio Andulus – saying “Al-Shabaab denies that any airstrike targeting Al-Shabaab has taken place. The intention of Kenya is to divert attention from El Adde, [Somali,] where hundreds of Kenyan troops died.” A suicide bombing attack struck an African Union base there in January. Al-Shabaab hits African Union base in Somalia In addition, a Somali intelligence source told CNN that officials do not believe that Karatey is dead. They also believe an Amniyat training program would never involve so many people. Karatey is known as a high-level Al-Shabaab commander of the Amniyat. Kenyan and U.S. authorities believe Karatey was directly involved in the attack on Garissa University in Kenya last year, which killed 148 people. Most of them were students. Authorities also believe Karatey had a hand in the El Adde attack. Related video Village holds funeral for Kenya massacre victim Kenya attack victims: Vigil mourns 147 slain by terrorists in Garissa Al-Shabaab most recently claimed responsibility for the failed bombing of a Daallo Airlines flight departing Mogadishu in early February. The explosion killed only the bomber and injured two others. But the bomb, said to be sophisticated, was believed to be hidden in a laptop. Al-Shabaab is fighting a guerrilla war in Somalia with the intention of imposing Sharia law. It has also regularly carried out attacks with multiple casualties in Kenya and has sworn revenge for that country’s military participation against the terrorists in Somalia. The terror group is officially affiliated with al Qaeda, although last year a fraction pledged allegiance to ISIS. What is Al-Shabaab and what does it want? Journalist Omar Nor in Mogadishu contributed to this report


President Donald Trump has wasted no time getting down to business as US commander in chief, but few countries in the world will be watching his moves as closely as China. Since his election in November, President Trump has challenged Beijing over its military build-up in the South China Sea, slammed its currency and trade policies and, perhaps most controversially, upended decades of diplomatic protocol by questioning a longstanding US policy towards Taiwan. He’s also handed key jobs to people with controversial views on China, not least his choice for Secretary of State  Rex Tillerson, who has suggested that Beijing be blocked from accessing its artificial islands. The leaders in Zhongnanhai, the gated compound that is China’s equivalent to the White House, want to know how seriously they should take such statements. Will they translate into policy?  And within Trump’s inner circle, whose voice will prevail? “They (China’s leaders) might be willing to give up something but if Trump asks too much, China is willing to fight,” says Zhang Baohui, a professor of political science at Lingnan University, Here’s four ways China could try to handle the Oval Office’s unpredictable new occupant. Trump’s bluster could be just that. There’s a long history of US presidents taking a tough stance on China only to moderate it once in office. President George W. Bush came to power vowing to treat China as a “strategic competitor” only to default to engagement. President Ronald Reagan said he would cut off diplomatic links with Beijing. Two years after he was elected, he visited China. Jon Huntsman Jr., a former US ambassador to Beijing, says Trump’s fiery talk on China fits that pattern. “This is kind of a replay of what we’ve seen before. Trump at some point is going to have to say ‘I’ve gotta sit down and do business with the Chinese,” he told CNN. Trump has already moderated one of his key stances on China. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he walked back on an earlier pledge to name China a currency manipulator on day one of his administration. However, analysts say this strategy is risky for China. If President Xi Jinping stays too quiet in the face of Trump’s provocations, it makes Xi, who has built his credibility on being a strong leader, look weak. This could trigger protests — something Xi is unlikely to want in a year that will also see some leadership changes in Beijing when the Chinese Communist Party holds its once-every-five-years congress. “Xi definitely doesn’t want relations with the US to stir up trouble. He’s anxious not to allow nationalistic young men and women to demonstrate against the US,” says Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Centre for Chinese Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Xi Jinping: The power and fragility of China’s leader Many Chinese observers stress Trump’s background as a business man and believe his posturing over Taiwan and the South China Sea is simply an opening gambit in advance of real business negotiations. “I don’t think Trump and his team will carry out the bulk of their threats,” says Lam. “We need to remember that Trump is a shrewd businessman. He’s raising an extreme position from which he might do a bit of climbing down if the Chinese were amenable to making other compromises.” China has been busy behind the scenes reaching out to people close to Trump, says Zhang Baohui, a professor of political science at Lingnan University, Many saw the meeting between Trump and Jack Ma, Alibaba founder and Asia’s richest man, as an example of this outreach. “They will first try and shape his China policy by trying to work with him,” says Zhang. “They’ve floated the idea of trying to invest in US infrastructure. The Chinese fundamentally think he is a businessman who wants to create jobs – even if he’s willing to play dirty tricks over things like Taiwan.” It’s a strategy that’s worked well elsewhere for Beijing, with China building and forging infrastructure deals in Africa, Eastern Europe and southeast Asia. Why 2017 is impossible to predict Personalities count, especially in China where connections or guanxi are viewed as key to getting anything done. Zhang says that many in China want a meeting between Trump and Xi as soon as possible, with some suggestion that Trump could be invited to a multilateral meeting on China’s “one belt, one road” initiative in May. Another opportunity would come in July when the G20 meeting is held in Germany or November when Vietnam hosts APEC –  the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. “When they meet directly and have glass of Maotai together over dinner, Xi could disarm Trump. He’s a good diplomat,” says Zhang, referring to a popular Chinese liquor. China may also use Trump’s pick for US ambassador to Beijing, Iowa governor Terry Branstad, to cement ties between Xi and Trump. Branstad and Xi have known each other since 1985, when Xi visited Iowa as a provincial official on a state exchange program during Branstad’s first term as governor, and have maintained a friendship of sorts. Donald Trump rooster statue takes China by storm Of course, China could make life difficult for Trump if it wants to. Lam at the Chinese University of Hong Kong says China is already quietly preparing for a trade war. “The Chinese commerce department has drawn up a meticulous list of possible retaliatory measures – which US companies would be hit with what kind of tariffs should the US (fire) a salvo in a trade war,” he says. It’s not something to take lightly, especially for a US president who’s staked his legitimacy on delivering jobs and an economic revival, says Jing Ulrich, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific, JPMorgan Chase. “Remember Boeing has projected selling in the next 20 years $1 trillion worth of aircraft into China. If tariffs were put on that would be very damning to an iconic US company. And that’s just one example,” she says. China could hit back in other ways.  It could choose to squeeze Taiwan economically, become more aggressive in the South China Sea or shore up its ties with North Korea. Can Taiwan trust Trump? Shen Dingli, a professor of International Relations at Fudan University in Shanghai, says he believes that China is willing to negotiate with the US and the two should be able to resolve their differences on trade  – but Taiwan is a red line for China’s leaders. “We cannot do Taiwan as a bargaining chip,” he says. “If Trump still plays the Taiwan card then China and the US would have a very serious confrontation. This is hopefully not what Trump wants to have.” CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout contributed to this report