Daniela Vargas, 22, arrested in Mississippi after speaking out against ICE raids Agency denies its immigration enforcement operations "target aliens indiscriminately" Attorneys for a 22-year-old DREAMer detained after she publicly criticized immigration raids have filed a petition in federal court asking for her immediate release. But Daniela Vargas’ fate is up in the air. She could get released, or she could be deported. “Technically they can deport her at any moment,” said Nathan Elmore, one of her attorneys. Vargas was arrested last week, shortly after sharing her family’s story during a news conference in Jackson, Mississippi. She told the story of her father and brother, who were recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Related video Panelist: Trump immigration action will be mass deportation Vargas also advocated for young people such as herself who were brought to the United States illegally as children, then qualified for a temporary reprieve from deportation under DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA participants are often called DREAMers, a reference to the DREAM Act – which, if approved by Congress, would give them permanent legal status. “Immediately following the press conference, ICE agents arrested and detained Ms. Vargas in retaliation for the exercise of her First Amendment rights,” states the habeas petition, which was filed Monday in US District Court in Alexandria, Louisiana. “Ms. Vargas’ continued detention and inability to contest her detention and removal violate her Fifth and First Amendment rights.” ICE released a statement last week saying Vargas was arrested during one of its “targeted enforcement” operations. “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took Daniela Vargas, 22, an unlawfully present Argentinian citizen, into custody March 1, during a targeted immigration enforcement action in Jackson, Mississippi,” the statement said. “Every day, as part of routine targeted enforcement operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations teams arrest criminal aliens and other individuals who are in violation of our nation’s immigration laws. ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in compliance with federal law and agency policy. ICE does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately.” Vargas said she came to the United States with her family at age 7 as an undocumented immigrant and later was granted DACA status. One of her attorneys, Abby Peterson, said Vargas’ DACA status expired in November. She could not immediately afford the minimum $495 renewal application fee, Peterson said, and put off the process until last month. The government recommends DACA recipients apply for a renewal between 120 and 150 days before their status expires. Related video Pro-Trump town supports undocumented resident Days after Vargas reapplied, her father and brother were taken into ICE custody at their home, on February 15. Goico De La Cruz, a Methodist pastor and friend of the family, told CNN on Friday that Vargas’ father had agreed to be deported to Argentina while her brother preferred to go to Mexico, the native country of his wife, who’s also undocumented. And even though Vargas’ DACA status has expired, she shouldn’t be a high-priority target for deportation, her attorneys said. “Dany, an aspiring math teacher and active community member, is not a threat to her community,” her attorneys said in a statement. “Her detention only serves to chill free speech and stoke fear throughout immigrant communities.” Vargas spoke to her attorneys from an ICE detention center in Jena, Louisiana. She shared with them her fears. “I’m doing the best I can. I strongly feel that I belong here, and I strongly feel that I should be given a chance to be here and do something good and work in this economy,” she said. Peterson said her client – like many immigrants – “doesn’t take this country for granted.” “She has pursued an education, she works hard, she pays her taxes,” Peterson said. “She is a very deserving individual.” CNN’s Gustavo Valdes, Holly Yan and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.


President Donald Trump, in a characteristically free-wheeling speech Saturday night, called out several Democrats by name as well as former FBI Director James Comey. “They’ve got to be voted out of office,” Trump said of Democrats as he blamed the party for a range of issues. Trump leveled his anger at Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi of California, and Chuck Schumer of New York as well as Michigan voters for sending Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow to Washington “You people just keep putting her back again, and again, and again,” Trump said. “It’s your fault.” Trump also tossed out an unspecified allegation about Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, whom Trump blamed for the recent sinking of his nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Related article Donald Trump calls for Jon Tester to resign over Jackson opposition “I know things about Tester that I could say, too,” Trump said. “And if I said them, he’d never be elected again.” Trump called for Tester to resign  earlier Saturday after the Montana Democrat came forward with a slew of allegations and concerns about Ronny Jackson, the White House physician who withdrew from consideration for the top VA post on Thursday. Trump also turned to Comey, the man he fired as FBI director last year who has since written a book and launched into public criticism of Trump’s leadership and morals, as well as the investigation into potential coordination between his associates and Russia. “Watch the way he lies,” Trump said, adding shortly after, “I did you a great favor when I fired this guy.”


The mother of Benghazi victim Sean Smith called for Hillary Clinton to be 'in stripes' Her speech came on the opening night of the Republican National Convention The mother of a victim of the Benghazi attack told Republicans gathered in Cleveland on Monday that Hillary Clinton “should be in stripes.” “This entire campaign comes down to a single question: If Hillary Clinton can’t give us the truth, why should we give her the presidency?” Patricia Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, said to cheers on the opening night of the Republican National Convention. “That’s right,” she said. “Hillary for prison. She deserves to be in stripes.” Her remarks come on a night focused largely on the Benghazi attack – which took place during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state – and immigration. At the same time Smith spoke, Donald Trump was being interviewed on Fox News by Bill O’Reilly. “I blame Hillary Clinton,” she said. “I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son – personally.” Clinton was investigated by a special House committee and testified before the committee for 11 hours about the Benghazi attack. The committee’s final report, released last month, faulted the Obama administration for security lapses that led to the deaths of four Americans, but contained no revelations likely to further damage Clinton. Sean Smith, a foreign service information management officer, was killed along with U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and two CIA contractors in the 2012 attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi. “Hillary Clinton is a woman, a mother, and a grandmother of two,” Smith said. “I am a woman, a mother, and a grandmother of two. How could she do this to me?” An audience member yelled, of Clinton: “She’s a liar!” “She sure is,” Smith responded. “Donald Trump is everything Hillary Clinton is not. He is blunt, direct and strong,” Smith said. “He speaks his mind and his heart. And when it comes to the threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism, he will not hesitate to kill the terrorists who threaten American lives. He will make American stronger, not weaker.”


Editor’s Note: Matthew Moran is deputy director, and Christopher Hobbs is co-director of the the Centre for Science and Security Studies at King’s College London, specializing on issues related to nuclear proliferation and security. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers. Radioactive sources acquired by ISIS cannot be used to create a nuclear bomb The real threat from dirty bombs lies in their psychological and economic effects Economic costs associated with a dirty bomb would be considerable Last week, the news emerged that ISIS terrorists have reportedly obtained radioactive materials from hospitals and research facilities captured in Iraq with a view to developing a radioactive “dirty bomb.” Unsurprisingly, the prospect of ISIS dabbling with unconventional weapons has been greeted with considerable concern. The Iraqi government has appealed to the United Nations for international help to “stave off the threat” in this regard and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop recently acknowledged that NATO countries are deeply concerned by the situation. But what can ISIS actually do with these newly acquired radioactive materials? What is the nature of the threat? First off, it is important to emphasize that radioactive sources of the type acquired by ISIS cannot be used to create a nuclear bomb. These sources are mostly used for medical research and treatments such as radiotherapy, and are completely unsuited to the development of nuclear weapons. This said, the harmful effects of these sources, stemming from their chemical toxicity and radioactive properties, can be exploited in other ways. If inhaled or ingested, for example, these materials can be lethal. This was evidenced by the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, when just a fraction of a gram of radioactive polonium proved enough to kill the former KGB officer. Fortunately, achieving this type of internal exposure on a large scale would prove enormously challenging for a terrorist group. Consequently, attention has focused on the use of these materials by ISIS in a dirty bomb. Combining radioactive materials with conventional explosives, this is a bomb with an edge. A dirty bomb would spread radioactive materials, contaminating the local area and any individuals in the nearby vicinity. Crucially, however, this contamination would be mostly external in nature and, if the attack was promptly identified as being radioactive, decontamination of individuals would be a relatively straightforward process. The exposure time of anyone affected would be limited and the negative health effects mitigated. Indeed, with a dirty bomb, members of the public are more likely to be harmed by the impact of the conventional explosives than that of the radioactive materials. This point was borne out by a series of tests conducted over a four-year period by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in the Negev Desert. As part of this project - details of which were recently published by Haaretz – some 20 devices laced with radioactive materials were detonated and their effects observed. The IDF concluded that a dirty bomb attack poses little physical danger beyond the conventional blast. Related gallery The ISIS terror threat The real threat from dirty bombs lies in their psychological and economic effects – a fact that often sees these devices described as weapons of mass disruption rather than weapons of mass destruction. From a psychological perspective, for example, nuclear weapons are associated with death and destruction on an enormous scale, and dirty bombs benefit from association with these more sophisticated weapons simply because they incorporate radioactive materials. There is an important distinction to be made between nuclear and radiological materials but this is often lost in media reports and commentary on these issues. In any case, a dirty bomb detonated in a major urban center would be sure to cause widespread fear and panic. The economic costs associated with a dirty bomb would also be considerable. A 2011 Congressional Research Service report, for example, suggested that the clean-up after such an attack could figure in the billions of dollars, if detonated in a high-value area such as city center or port. Little wonder, then, that the security of radiological sources has emerged as a politically salient issue in recent years. Ultimately, while the thought of ISIS using dirty bombs to further its terrorist agenda is unsettling, the threat should not be exaggerated, particularly when it comes to its impact on public health. These are not the nuclear weapons that ISIS supposedly desires, and will do nothing to further the group’s ambitions in this regard.


Editor’s Note: Traders highlights the business of global trading by showcasing extraordinary individuals worldwide who are trading goods and services across borders. Relaxed restrictions have opened the door to American vacationers Airbnb set to open 1,000 homes for rent Thanks to loosening restrictions on travel from the United States to Cuba, it’s now easier than it has been in 50 years for Americans to hop on a plane and head to Havana. When they get there, now they can stay in an Airbnb. The lodging rental startup announced in a blog post in February that it’s expanding to Cuba, offering travelers 1,000 homes to choose from. The move makes Airbnb one of the first tech companies to capitalize on the improving diplomatic relations between the neighboring countries, but it won’t be the last, as American businesses across the country eye Cuba as a potential source of growth. Read: Why people care more about pets than other humans Companies like Airbnb will be case studies in how challenging that is to pull off. For starters, the Internet is a rarity in Cuba, with just about a quarter of Cubans currently connected, according to a 2012 report. Then there’s the fact that Americans still can’t use their credit cards in Cuba, making it impossible for Airbnb and other companies to accept online payments. According to Bloomberg, in order to make its Cuba expansion possible, Airbnb is working with a money remitter in Florida that makes payments to hosts on Airbnb’s behalf. Read: The quiet revolution turning roadsides into nature reserves But for Airbnb’s leadership team, these workarounds are well worth it. According to a press release about the expansion, after President Obama announced in December that the United States would be changing its policies regarding Cuba, the site saw a 70% spike in searches for Cuban listings. And this year, Cuba is one of the most frequently searched destinations in Latin America. In some ways, Airbnb is a perfect fit for Cuba, which already has a rich history of “casas particulares,” or private homestays that help encourage tourism in Cuba. “When we founded Airbnb in 2008, our dream was to help create a world where you could belong anywhere, and that vision has taken root in almost every country in the world,” Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said in a statement. “For over 50 years, Cuba has been out of reach for most Americans. We couldn’t be more excited that, starting today, licensed U.S. travelers will now be able to experience the unique culture and warm hospitality that makes the island so special through our new Cuban community.” Read: The Deadly Global War for Sand The key word there is “licensed.” Though it’s getting easier to travel to Cuba, it’s still far from a free for all. Today, straight-up tourism is still off limits, but travelers can get to Cuba if they can prove they’re going for one of the 12 reasons approved by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. And in order to book a room on Airbnb, travelers will have to confirm that their travel reason falls under the general license for accepted entry into Cuba. Members of Congress are now working to lift those remaining restrictions on travel. In the meantime, though, if you’ve got a good reason to travel to Cuba, now might be a good time to use it. You can currently snag this beautiful villa for $38 a night. Read more from WIRED: The burn of wasabi may lead to new pain meds What cities would look like if lit only by the stars The ruins of the USSR’s secret nuclear cities


House Speaker John Boehner said the debate over a new war resolution was stalled in Congress and it would be “virtually impossible” to pass the authorization President Barack Obama sent in February to fight the terror group ISIS. “Until the President gets serious about fighting the fight, until he has a strategy that makes sense, there’s no reason for us to give him less authority than what he has today. Which is what he’s asking for,” Boehner told a small group of reporters on Tuesday, according to reports by The Washington Post and Associated Press. READ: White House willing to sign compromise Iran bill The President sent a proposal in February to Congress that limited the President’s authority to wage a military campaign against ISIS to three years. The text of the resolution explicitly did not authorize “enduring offensive ground combat operations.” But that line led to a debate that prevented much progress on the issue. Many Republicans thought the proposal limited the President’s actions, and war weary Democrats believed it could open the door to U.S. combat troops on the ground. Boehner’s remarks come a day after the No. 2 House Republican leader, Rep Kevin McCarthy of California, told reporters there were not enough votes in the House to pass Obama’s proposal. But McCarthy did suggest that committees were still debating the issue and there would be a vote at some point on a so-called “authorization for use of military force” or “AUMF”, saying “I think it’s important that Congress weighs in.” In the months after the Obama administration approved airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, Boehner repeatedly argued Congress needed to formally approve the military mission, but he insisted it was up to the White House draft the language. House and Senate committees held hearings on the administration’s proposed resolution. But despite their criticisms on the language developed by the administration, GOP lawmakers have not offered any alternative language, and instead continue to say Obama needed to get more involved. The White House has maintained that it did not need a new war resolution to launch airstrikes against ISIS that began roughly eight months ago, saying a 2001 war authority Congress approved to fight al Qaeda covered this latest military operation. But Obama said in his State of the Union address earlier this year it was important for Congress to formally pass a new war resolution to demonstrate to allies around the world the country was united on the effort to defeat ISIS. The speaker, who just returned from a trip to several countries in the Mideast, including Iraq and Israel, also said that U.S. troops fighting in the region now should allowed to engage more directly in the fight. Boehner criticized the Obama administration for putting “”artificial constraints” on military leaders overseeing the 4,500 U.S. forces in the region, according to The New York Times. These troops are tasked with “training and equipping” allies who can directly fight ISIS forces. The speaker didn’t appear to urge the President to send additional  U.S. combat forces, but he has previously said at some point American troops may be needed inside Syria to beat back ISIS advances.


Israeli Prime Minister brings right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party into coalition government Ultranationalist Avigdor Liberman joins government as defense minister Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shifted his government even further to the right with the addition of the right-wing nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party. The move expands Netanyahu’s narrow 61-seat coalition to 66 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and it brings Avigdor Liberman, one of the country’s most controversial politicians and Netanyahu’s biggest critics, into the government. “Since the government was established a year ago, I sought time after time to widen the government,” Netanyahu said Wednesday at the signing of the coalition agreement. “Israel needs a stable government in order to deal with the challenges before us, and to take advantage of the opportunities in front of us.” Netanyahu’s coalition now includes all of the right-wing parties and excludes the left-wing parties. Liberman will join the government as defense minister, replacing Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, who resigned in protest at the appointment. Critics have pointed at Liberman’s scant military experience. Knesset member Benny Begin, son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, called it “delusional” and said it showed “a lack of responsibility toward the defense establishment and all the citizens of Israel.” Liberman is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who lives in a West Bank settlement that many in the international community consider to be illegal, and he has a history of making controversial statements. In March 2015, Liberman said that Arab-Israelis who are not loyal to Israel should be beheaded. “We need to pick up an ax and cut off his head,” he said, speaking before the most recent elections. In 2001, he said he would bomb Egypt’s Aswan Dam in the event of a war between Israel and Egypt. Lately, Liberman has been especially vocal in criticizing Netanyahu, calling for the Israeli leader to resign as recently as two weeks ago. In mid-April, he blasted Netanyahu’s handling of security following months of violence in Israel and the West Bank. “This government does not know how to decide and is afraid to fight against terror,” Liberman said. At a party meeting in June, he ridiculed the Prime Minister, saying, “Netanyahu doesn’t belong, not to the right and not to the left. He has no ideology. He is Mr. Zigzag. He may be the world champion of zigzagging. But he definitely does not belong to the nationalist camp.” Liberman’s relationship with Netanyahu goes back more than 20 years. Following Netanyahu’s election as Likud party leader in 1993, he made Liberman the director-general of the party. When Netanyahu was first elected Prime Minister in 1996, Liberman became director-general of the Prime Minister’s office. He split with Netanyahu a year later, starting the Yisrael Beiteinu party in 1999. Among other roles, Liberman has also been deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs from 2009 to 2015 before moving to the opposition. Liberman supports a hard line in negotiations with Palestinians for a two-state solution, insisting that any final status agreement be part of a broader deal that includes normalized relations with Arab states. He also supports populated territory swaps, exchanging Jewish settlements in the West Bank for Arab-Israeli towns within Israel. Hanan Ashrawi, a PLO Executive Committee member, has criticized the addition of Liberman to the government. “Such a decision is extremely dangerous – Lieberman, who has called for the beheading of Palestinians and for their transfer outside the state of Israel, is a serious threat to peace and stability, and his appointment will generate a culture of lawlessness, extremism, violence and hate in Israel.” Related video Joe Biden expresses 'frustration' with Israel Even with this shift further to the right, Netanyahu insists his support for a two-state solution has not waned. “My government remains committed to pursuing peace with the Palestinians, pursing peace with all our neighbors. My policy has not changed,” he said. “We’ll continue to pursue every avenue for peace, while ensuring the safety and security of our citizens. “I believe the developments in our region have created new challenges for us all, but I also believe they have created new opportunities for peace. I intend to seize those opportunities. A broader government – a more stable government will make it easier to do so.” Netanyahu once more called on the head of the opposition, Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog, to join the coalition in a unity government. Herzog has refused so far.


Judicial Watch released new Clinton emails Tuesday They raised questions about the State Dept. and the Clinton Foundation Newly released emails from Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state raise questions about the nature of the department’s relationship with the Clinton Foundation. Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, released 296 pages of emails from the Democratic presidential nominee, including 44 that Judicial Watch says were not previously handed over to the State Department by Clinton. The emails, many of which are heavily redacted, raise questions about the Clinton Foundation’s influence on the State Department and its relations during her tenure. In one instance, top Clinton Foundation official Doug Band lobbied Clinton aides for a job for someone else in the State Department. In the email, Band tells Hillary Clinton’s former aides at the department – Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin – that it is “important to take care of (redacted).” Band is reassured by Abedin that “Personnel has been sending him options.” The emails were obtained by the group through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch against the State Department in 2015. The group did not respond to a CNN request for comment. The Trump campaign seized at the new batch of emails, citing them as evidence of Clinton being corrupt. The prolonged investigations into her use of a private email server while at the State Department has fueled public distrust of her and plagued her presidential bid. But the Justice Department declined to press charges against Clinton for her handling of classified information related to the server earlier this year, with FBI Director James Comey saying while she was “extremely careless,” it was his judgment that “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.” In a 2009 email, Band directs Abedin and Mills to put Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor, in contact with the State Department’s “substance person” on Lebanon. “We need Gilbert Chagoury to speak to the substance person re Lebanon,” Band wrote. “As you know, he’s a key guy there and to us and is loved in Lebanon. Very imp.” “It’s jeff feltman,” Abedin responded, referring to Jeffrey Feltman, who was the US ambassador to Lebanon at the time. “I’m sure he knows him. I’ll talk to jeff.” Feltman told CNN Wednesday that he never met with Chagoury. “I have never met nor spoken with Mr Chagoury. I was not aware of the proposal that he speak to me until this email exchange was released, but in any case we never spoke,” he said. Judicial Watch President Tom Filton said in a press release that Clinton “hid” the 44 emails on purpose. “No wonder Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin hid emails from the American people, the courts and Congress,” he said in a press release. “They show the Clinton Foundation, Clinton donors, and operatives worked with Hillary Clinton in potential violation of the law.” Clinton’s campaign said the emails didn’t relate to her work at the Clinton Foundation. Nightcap: The latest news and political buzz from CNN Politics | Sign up “Neither of these emails involve the secretary or relate to the Foundation’s work,” said an emailed statement from Clinton campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin. “They are communications between her aides and the President’s personal aide, and indeed the recommendation was for one of the Secretary’s former staffers who was not employed by the Foundation.” The Clinton campaign said Wednesday that Chagoury only wanted to offer insights on the then-upcoming Lebanese election and was not looking for any specific action from the State Department. “The right-wing organization behind this lawsuit has been attacking the Clintons since the 1990s and no matter how this group tries to mischaracterize these documents, the fact remains that Hillary Clinton never took action as secretary of state because of donations to the Clinton Foundation,” Schwerin said in a statement. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump sought to use the emails to paint Clinton as corrupt. “This is yet more evidence that Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment, character, stability and temperament to be within 1,000 miles of public power,” said Stephen Miller, Trump’s national policy director. “She views public office as nothing more than a means to personal enrichment – and every dollar she takes comes at the expense of the public welfare. This latest finding is an unseemly, disturbing window into a corrupt office, and yet more evidence that Hillary Clinton has been lying from the beginning – and by any reasonable definition attempted to obstruct the investigation of the FBI.” Trump also tweeted: “When is the media going to talk about Hillary’s policies that have gotten people killed, like Libya, open borders, and maybe her emails?” When is the media going to talk about Hillary's policies that have gotten people killed, like Libya, open borders, and maybe her emails? Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Wednesday that if the State Department doesn’t release all of the remaining Clinton emails by November it will prove the system is “rigged” – a line Trump has used recently. “Anything less than a full release of these public records before voting begins will only further prove that we have a rigged system that has one set of rules political elites and another for everyone else,” Priebus said in a statement. On Wednesday, Judicial Watch released written testimony from Mills, in which she provides further detail on how Clinton’s private email server was set up to address potentially security concerns. Mills told the attorneys she spoke with a Clinton IT staffer in 2013, after learning the email account of a close Clinton confidante, Sidney Blumenthal, had been compromised by a hacker. “As I recall, these discussions involved whether this event might affect Secretary Clinton’s email,” Mills said in follow-up answers to an earlier deposition given to Judicial Watch. Mills also said she recalls speaking to the same staffer – Bryan Pagliano – about the company overseeing the server set up. “As I recall, these discussions involved whether Platte River Networks would have the technical capacity and be the appropriate source from which to gather Secretary Clinton’s email from the clintonemail.com system,” Mills said. Early this year as the investigation into Clinton’s private email server was in full swing, several FBI field offices approached the Justice Department asking to open a case regarding the relationship between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation, according to a law enforcement official.  At the time, DOJ declined because it had looked into allegations surrounding the Clinton Foundation around a year earlier and found there wasn’t sufficient evidence to open a case. In a hearing last month on Capitol Hill, FBI Director James Comey declined to say whether the Clinton Foundation was under investigation, saying: “I’m not going to comment on the existence or non-existence of any investigation.” For there to be criminal conflict of interest there would have to be evidence showing a government employee received something of value in exchange, such as a job post-employment or money. There doesn’t appear to be anything so far suggesting that in the newly released, heavily redacted emails from Judicial Watch. But those emails do raise questions about whether the relationship between the State Department and Clinton Foundation was too cozy, particularly after Clinton pledged she would not be involved with the foundation when she became secretary of state, in an effort to prevent an inappropriate relationship. In a case where there’s a possible conflict of interest that’s not necessarily criminal, the inspector general can look into it and take an administrative remedy if necessary. The State Department OIG has been looking into connections between the State Department and Clinton during her term as secretary of state since earlier this year, but has not said anything about the matter. The Clinton Foundation has repeatedly said it is not being investigated. On Tuesday, the Clinton campaign said there is nothing to suggest foul play, and Clinton had nothing to do with the newly released emails. The campaign has said in the past the Clintons don’t take a salary from the foundation and all their income is disclosed. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment. CNN’s  Laura Koran, Tom LoBianco and Joe Johns contributed to this report.


As deputy attorney general, Comey had a late-night standoff in his boss John Ashcroft's hospital room with Bush officials Comey said the FBI would not recommend prosecuting Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information About a week before the election, he notified Congress that the FBI was again looking at Clinton's emails Comey confirmed Monday that during the election the FBI began investigating possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign The first time that James Comey ever delivered bombshell testimony on Capitol Hill, it was about how he stood up to the White House, refusing to let it carry on with warrantless wiretapping through the National Security Agency. Ten years later, he was at the center of attention again, sitting alongside the NSA, refuting the suggestion that a president could ever unilaterally wiretap without a warrant. Those two bombshells, which are totally unrelated but share some weird parallels and the common thread of warrantless wiretapping, bookend two other ones about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Whether it involves sitting presidents, top White House aides, or a former secretary of state, Comey does not appear to discriminate along party lines or anything else. Comey’s first piece of incredible testimony was the yarn about a late-night standoff during his time as deputy attorney general in his boss John Ashcroft’s hospital room. Comey had it out with officials from the Bush White House about the NSA’s use of warrantless wiretapping, threatening to quit his job if the administration went against him and authorized the program by getting an incapacitated Aschroft, who had just had gall bladder surgery, to sign off. The 2004 affair ultimately helped lead to changes both in the way the NSA conducted its business and an update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. President Barack Obama picked Comey to be FBI director in 2013 in part on the merit of that first bombshell, which Comey recounted to a rapt audience of senators in 2007. Read CNN’s 2007 report about bombshell No. 1 “He’s that rarity in Washington sometimes,” Obama said when nominating Comey to lead the FBI in 2013. “He doesn’t care about politics, he only cares about getting the job done. At key moments, when it’s mattered most … he was prepared to give up a job he loved rather than be part of something he felt was fundamentally wrong.” Comey proved himself not to care about politics when he dropped his second bombshell, announcing that the FBI would not recommend prosecution for Hillary Clinton nor members of her staff for mishandling classified information. Comey was nonetheless piercing in his criticism of how Clinton’s server was handled. Democrats pointed to the lack of charges. Republicans pointed to the carelessness. Read CNN’s July 2016 report about bombshell No. 2 Comey’s 7 most damning lines about Hillary Clinton Democrats went from relatively satisfied to absolutely livid at Comey over his third bombshell. About a week before the presidential election, he notified Congress in writing that the FBI was again looking at issues related to Clinton’s emails. He didn’t say it publicly, but it became clear the emails in question were found on a machine shared by top Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her estranged husband, former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner. The FBI notified Congress two days before the election that, after further review, they still wouldn’t be recommending charges. Then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said the FBI’s actions cost Democrats the election. That’s debatable, but the late drama certainly didn’t help. Read CNN’s November 2016 report about bombshell No. 3 Clinton was barely mentioned by Democrats or Republicans at the House Intelligence hearing Monday on the issue of Russian meddling in the election, during which Comey confirmed what has long been reported in the press: that throughout the heat of the general election, the FBI was also investigating possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey said that investigation began in late July, although he did not go into detail. That’s bombshell No. 4, which is actually more of a twofer. Comey also refuted President Donald Trump’s assertion on Twitter that Obama had ordered wiretaps of his phones at Trump Tower. Comey said there was no evidence to support those tweets. Read CNN’s March 2017 report about bombshell #4 Trump did not respond directly to Comey on the wiretapping issue, but he did tease the idea that maybe either Comey or Obama had leaked information about the investigation to the press. And he also tweeted “The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process.” When a congressman read the @POTUS tweet to the FBI director, he was able to dismiss it almost in real time. “It was not our intention to say that today,” Comey said, creating the strange effect of the FBI director and the President communicating publicly through social media and congressional testimony. But for Comey, there was nothing strange about being at the center of attention – while dividing opinion among some of the most powerful people on Earth.


Norwegians have more reason than ever to celebrate the International Day of Happiness. After ranking fourth for the last two years, Norway jumped three spots and displaced three-time winner Denmark to take the title of “world’s happiest country” for the first time. Denmark dropped to second place this year, followed by Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and Sweden (which tied for ninth place), according to the latest World Happiness Report, released in March 2017 by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations. Denmark won the title three of the four times the report has been issued, losing to Switzerland only once. The United States came in 14th place, dropping one place from last year. Other superpowers didn’t fare better than Northern Europe either. The secret to Iceland's happiness? It's in the water Germany came in 16th place for the second year, while the United Kingdom moved up four spots to 19th place and Russia moved up seven spots to 49th place. Japan moved up two spots to 51st place, while China moved up four spots to 79th place. People in Burundi are the least satisfied with their lives, according to the survey of 156 countries, but residents of Benin (153rd place), Afghanistan (154), Togo (155) and Syria (156) aren’t doing much better. 31 must-see places around the world that will take your breath away Happiness is a better measure of human welfare than measuring education, health, poverty, income and good government separately, the report’s editors argue. Real gross domestic product per capita is one of the key measurements, said the report. Others include generosity, a healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices and freedom from corruption, the report’s authors argued. They said it’s a better measure of human welfare than analyzing education, good government, health, income and poverty separately. “The World Happiness Report continues to draw global attention around the need to create sound policy for what matters most to people – their well-being,”  said Jeffrey Sachs, the report’s co-editor and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, in a statement. “As demonstrated by many countries, this report gives evidence that happiness is a result of creating strong social foundations. It’s time to build social trust and healthy lives, not guns or walls. Let’s hold our leaders to this fact.” “Indeed the goals themselves embody the very idea that human well-being should be nurtured through a holistic approach that combines economic, social and environmental objectives,” Sachs said. “Rather than taking a narrow approach focused solely on economic growth,we should promote societies that are prosperous, just, and environmentally sustainable.” Iceland and Ireland both suffered through banking crises that dramatically affected their economies but didn’t greatly affect their happiness, according to the report. What both countries have is a high degree of social support, enough to put Iceland in third place and Ireland in 19th place this year, according to the report. “It’s a remarkable case in point,” said report co-editor John Helliwell of the University of British Columbia. “By choosing to produce oil deliberately and investing the proceeds for the benefit of future generations, Norway has protected itself from the volatile ups and downs of many other oil-rich economies.” “This emphasis on the future over the present is made easier by high levels of mutual trust, shared purpose, generosity and good governance,” added Helliwell, who is also co-director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. “All of these are found in Norway, as well as in the other top countries.” 17 trips that can change your life A country may have really rich and really poor people, and the poor people don’t have enough money to construct a good life for themselves, he said. Or people may have money but have no social support or friends, or live in an area where there’s government corruption or lack of freedom to make their own life choices. “People tend to spend the majority of their lives working, so it is important to understand the role that employment and unemployment play in shaping happiness,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a professor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. “The research reveals that happiness differs considerably across employment status, job type and industry sectors.” De Neve, who co-authored the report’s chapter on happiness at work, added that people in well-paid roles are happier, but money is only one predictive measure of happiness. “Work-life balance, job variety and the level of autonomy are other significant drivers,” said De Neve. “There is a clear distinction in happiness between white and blue collar jobs with managers or professionals evaluating the quality of their lives at a much higher level than those in manual labor jobs even controlling for any possible confounding factors.” The report focused on other factors affecting happiness. “In rich countries the biggest single cause of misery is mental illness,” said Professor Richard Layard, director of the Wellbeing Programme at the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance. It’s no surprise that Bhutan would come out on top, despite not being a world economic power: Its Prime Minister proposed a World Happiness Day to the United Nations in 2011 and launched this international focus on happiness. Following in Bhutan’s footsteps, the U.N. General Assembly declared March 20 as World Happiness Day in 2012, recognizing “happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world.” The first of five World Happiness Reports was first published in April 2012 in conjunction with the U.N. High Level Meeting on happiness and well-being. Since 2012, many governments and governmental organizations have made well-being or happiness a priority. In February, the United Arab Emirates held a full-day World Happiness meeting. There was World Happiness Summit in Miami on March 17-19, while Erasmus University in Rotterdam is hosting three-day meeting on happiness research and policy starting Monday.


Editor’s Note: Freida Pinto is a girls’ education ambassador, producer and actor. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. Watch CNN Films’ “We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World” on CNNgo. Actress Freida Pinto is an ambassador for girls' education She traveled with first lady Michelle Obama to Morocco and Liberia While there, they met with girls overcoming extreme challenges Many of us are aware that millions of girls around the world are denied access to education. Yet we rarely get to hear from girls themselves about what it’s like to confront the obstacles that keep more than 62 million girls out of school. A year ago, I had the honor of speaking about this with first lady Michelle Obama. As an ambassador for the girls’ education campaign Girl Rising, and a producer of the film of the same name, I met with Obama to congratulate her on Let Girls Learn, an initiative she and President Obama launched to help break down the barriers girls face. Michelle Obama: For girls, a heartbreaking loss – and an opportunity In that meeting, she suggested we take a trip to meet girls who’ve carved a new path forward – girls who are the first in their communities to become educated – so that we could better understand how change takes hold, and to share their stories with the world. That trip has been captured in the film “We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World.” The film, premiering on CNN this week, chronicles our journey with fellow activists Meryl Streep and CNN’s Isha Sesay to Morocco and Liberia. I’ve spent years advocating for girls, in my home country of India and then worldwide with Girl Rising and Plan International. But as I set out on this mission, I stopped to consider the daily reality for girls living in the countries we were going to visit. I had to imagine life where one-quarter of teen girls and young women cannot read or write, as is the case in Morocco. Or what it’s like to live where half of women have been affected by female genital mutilation, and where one in 24 women die during pregnancy or childbirth, as in Liberia. Related video How girls around the world are educated How could a young teen possibly navigate a world such as this, one predisposed to treating her as a second-class citizen? That was on my mind as the first lady’s plane touched down in Liberia’s capital of Monrovia amid dancers, drummers and a good amount of chaos. I stood next to Isha and peppered her with questions about the girls she’d met during earlier home visits, who would later join us for a roundtable with Obama. The statistics were gnawing a hole in my psyche, but Isha reassured me. “Just wait,” she said. “These girls are amazing.  We’re about to see real progress.” The girls of GLOW – that’s Girls Leading Our World, a leadership camp sponsored by the Peace Corps – did, in fact, embody the change this world so badly needs. Obama, Isha and I toured GLOW and got to know the girls. Programs such as this one, as well as those we learned about in Morocco, build girls’ self-esteem and provide practical solutions to the everyday problems they face. We met with young women who had stared down death and despair in towns that lacked basic health care – as was the case for so many young caretakers during the Ebola crisis – and were now proudly showing off their public health expertise. What came later in the trip will stay with me forever. In Morocco, the first lady, Meryl, Isha and I prepared for a more formal discussion with 24 extraordinary girls. With a bank of press standing as witness (they were asked to leave to provide more privacy halfway through), young women, one by one, gave their testimonies to Obama. Humble yet assured, with backs straight and chins up, they shared how they persevered in the face of extreme adversity. One girl endured long and dangerous walks to school only to be raped.  Another had gone on a hunger strike when her parents told her she could no longer attend classes. Related video Why young girls in Morocco are missing school But where there was sorrow, there was triumph. One Muslim teen studying car mechanics plans to open the first female-owned auto shop. Another is the first girl in her community to study “between the wires” (computer engineering).  And for the girl who had gone on a hunger strike, she became the first girl in her village to graduate secondary school and is now attending college, studying linguistics. This is revolutionary change. It’s also a very real shift in how countries, in this case Morocco together with the United States, are prioritizing precious resources for girls’ education. I’m tempted to share more but I would rather the world tune in to meet these girls. I hope you will watch this documentary with your family and friends.  You might, as I did on this trip, reflect on your own education, and consider how you can get more deeply involved in the global movement for equality. Freida Pinto is a girls’ education ambassador, producer, and actor. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. “We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World” is a CNN Films production produced by the same team behind the feature documentary “Girl Rising.”


Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page said Tuesday that he believes the US government did more to interfere with the 2016 election than Russia, adding that he wants all the applications that approved government surveillance on him to be publicly released. “The more information comes out, the better. It’s excellent, the fact that there’s a lot of pressure now to release the whole (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) application – and all four of them. It’s just so ridiculous. The more information we’re getting the worse it seems,” Page told CNN’s “New Day.” The FISA applications are highly classified, which prevents their public release. Page met with some Russian officials during a conference in July 2016 at Moscow’s New Economic School, he has said, describing it as more of a “hello” in passing than a formal meeting. On “New Day” Tuesday, Page said he tried to keep a low profile on the trip, adding that “it seemed like there might be some possibility that someone would try to pin something on me.” Related article Trump calls Schiff a 'bad guy,' Democratic memo 'a nothing' The former Trump campaign adviser also told CNN’s Chris Cuomo he believed the US government did more to interfere with the 2016 election than the Russian government. “All the evidence I’ve seen so far, Chris, indicates that there was much more interference by the US government compared to the Russian government,” Page told “New Day,” adding that the January 2017 US intelligence community report explaining Russia’s election interference didn’t amount to much. “Again, let’s look at evidence we actually have. No one examined the (Democratic National Committee’s hacked) server. That was done – outsourced to some law firm-hired consultant to look at it, instead of allowing the FBI to have a look. Now we understand why, I think,” Page said. In 2013, the FBI interviewed Page about his ties to Russia, warning him that Russian intelligence services tried to recruit him as an agent. Page admits talking to an undercover Russian spy but said he did not realize that the man was an intelligence agent at the time and that he did not share anything sensitive. Page has said that he’s never spoken to President Donald Trump despite his status as a foreign policy adviser on the campaign. During the presidential transition, Trump’s team distanced itself from him and denied any collusion between the campaign and Russia. CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Sophie Tatum and Jim Sciutto contributed to this report.


Mike Pompeo’s supporters describe a brilliant man, widely read on international affairs who has the ear and confidence of President Donald Trump. Critics say the CIA Director, the President’s nominee replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, has questionable views on torture, a record of prejudice against Muslims and other marginalized groups, and little true experience that qualifies him for the job. Ordinarily, the transition from one high-level position to another would be a largely rubber-stamp affair, but with Washington riven by political hostility and serious foreign policy challenges nearing a boil, Pompeo’s Thursday nomination hearing is set to be as much a debate over his fitness for the job as it is over the Trump administration’s handling of looming international tests. In the next month, the US and its closest European allies face a May 12 deadline Trump has set to either change or pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. The President has also agreed to an unprecedented summit with North Korea’s unpredictable leader in an attempt to defuse a potential nuclear standoff. And most urgently, Trump’s threats to strike Syria mean Washington could be drawn closer to a clash with Russia or Iran, the powers backing Bashar al-Assad on the ground. Related article Facing Trump: Syria. North Korea. Japan. France. Germany. All this is happening as the administration’s national security team is in disarray. A new National Security Adviser, John Bolton, has just arrived prompting a large staff turnover. Gina Haspel, Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, faces her own difficult nomination hearing, while Pompeo would take the helm at a depleted and understaffed State Department after Tillerson’s ouster. The challenges are all the more reason to move quickly on Pompeo’s nomination, said Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican close to the 54-year-old Pompeo. “He is a trusted adviser to the President, which should be a big morale boost at the State Department,” Cotton told CNN. “The President will be more confident in the department because he will have more confidence in the Secretary of State and Mike’s leadership,”  Cotton said. “I don’t think it serves anyone’s interest or the national interest not to have a Secretary of State.” In excerpts of Pompeo’s prepared opening remarks released Wednesday night ahead of his hearing, Pompeo said the Trump administration considers Russia a “danger to our country” and that years of a “soft policy” toward Russian aggression are “now over.” In the remarks, Pompeo also said he was determined to help Trump avoid mistakes of past negotiations with North Korea in his upcoming summit with Kim Jong Un – and pledged to work with US partners to fix the Iran nuclear deal, while combating Iran’s aggressive behavior in the region. If confirmed, Pompeo will have risen from backbench House lawmaker to fourth in line for the presidency in less than 18 months. A senior State Department official, who describes Pompeo as “accomplished” and “smart,” says the agency is “hungry and ready to engage” and that “we want him to be successful.” The question for Pompeo’s critics is whether he’s the right person for the job. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, met Tuesday with the former House lawmaker from Kansas. Cardin ended the 45-minute meeting with concerns about Pompeo’s outlook on the Iran deal, climate change and the importance of promoting diplomacy along with the US values of democracy, human rights and good governance. “I still have concerns, I’ll make it clear. I did not get a total comfort level there,” said Cardin, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will vote on Pompeo’s nomination. Cardin added he “wasn’t pleased” with Pompeo’s positions on torture or personal privacy, saying that Pompeo “has a record in the House that causes us some concerns.” Many Democrats have raised Pompeo’s willingness to bomb Iran, even as negotiations on the nuclear deal were ongoing. At least one Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, has said he won’t support Pompeo’s nomination in part because of his support for the Iraq War. Paul’s doubts, along with those of skeptical Democrats, mean Pompeo’s nomination might not get committee approval, forcing Republican leaders to take special measures to move his nomination to the Senate floor. Related video Paul: I'll do everything to block Trump picks Even there, Pompeo faces potential trouble, as lawmakers who backed his nomination to lead the CIA have grown alienated. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii was one of 14 Democrats who voted for Pompeo to lead the intelligence agency last year. On Wednesday, Schatz said he couldn’t back Pompeo again. “I voted YES on Pompeo for CIA on the theory that he would be the “adult in the room.” I was wrong. I am voting NO on Pompeo for Secretary of State because our top diplomat should believe in diplomacy, He has an alarming tendency towards military provocation and brinkmanship,” Schatz tweeted Wednesday. To reassure senators in advance of his confirmation hearing Thursday, one of the excerpts of Pompeo’s prepared remarks disputed the notion that he is a “hawk. “I know firsthand the painful sacrifices of our men and women in uniform,” the remarks said. “War is always the last resort. I would prefer achieving the President’s foreign policy goals with unrelenting diplomacy rather than by sending young men and women to war. ” Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 edge in the Senate, meaning Democratic support will likely be crucial to getting Pompeo approved. That the success of his nomination is even in question is an embarrassing prospect for the former three-term lawmaker, who has a stellar resume. California born and bred, Pompeo graduated first in his class at West Point military academy before going on to Harvard Law School, entering business with financial backing from Koch Industries, and running for the House. A source close to Pompeo said that the time he’s spent with dignitaries while heading the CIA has prepared him well for the diplomatic job. George Beebe, a former senior CIA official who now directs the Intelligence Program at the Center for a New National Interest, adds that Pompeo also has the benefit of political experience and some time running a large bureaucracy. “Like a good politician, he can really turn on the charm with an audience,” Beebe said. “He obviously knows the issues very deeply, he knows Capitol Hill, that will also help him in this job, but the biggest asset he’s got is his relationship with the President.” Pompeo has worked closely with Trump, often delivering the Presidential Daily Briefing and staying afterward to discuss issues with the president, White House officials say. But some Democrats, Cardin included, say that the CIA is an entirely different kind of agency and that Pompeo wasn’t there long enough for him to gain the deep experience needed to run the large bureaucracy of State with its multiple missions. “He doesn’t have the track record that would give us a lot of information as to how he handles that circumstance,” Cardin said. Related article Pompeo reaches out to Hillary Clinton to prepare for secretary of state role Aware of the opposition he’s facing, Pompeo has been spending time at the State Department preparing for his confirmation hearing, getting briefed on issues and sitting through mock hearings known as murder boards, according to a source close to Pompeo. The senior State Department official said that Pompeo’s meetings with employees have been very positive and left career staff feeling optimistic. Pompeo has also reached out to Democrats on and off the Foreign Relations Committee and spoken with all the living former Secretaries of State in order to prepare. In his prepared remarks, Pompeo promised to create a culture at the State Department “that finds its swagger once again.” In his meetings at State, department staff “expressed a hope to be empowered in their roles, and to have a clear understanding of the President’s mission,” according to the excerpts. “They also shared how demoralizing it is to have so many vacancies and, frankly, not to feel relevant. I’ll do my part to end the vacancies,” Pompeo is expected to say, adding that he will need lawmakers’ help. “And I will work every day to provide dedicated leadership and convey my faith in their work – just as I have done with my workforce at the CIA.” He has, in his favor, “a relatively easy act to follow,” said Beebe, referring to former Secretary Tillerson, who was widely seen as having weakened the Department and being politically tone deaf. Pompeo is “not going to do to the Rex Tillerson thing and surround himself with just a few aides and wall himself off on the 7th floor” of the State Department, Beebe said. “He’ll look good in comparison.” Mike Morell, a former deputy director of the CIA, said that Pompeo will likely fight for the State Department to get more resources, after a year in which the administration aimed to cut agency staff by about 30%. Pompeo “did an exceptional job as the Director of the CIA. He focused both operations and analysis on the needs of the President, he set the bar high for his officers, and he gave them the running room and the support to get the job done,” Morell told CNN. “He took advantage of the knowledge and experience of the career professionals at CIA, and he successfully argued for additional resources for the Agency.  I fully expect that he will be a similarly effective leader as our nation’s Secretary of State.” But within the CIA workforce, Pompeo got mixed reviews from staff, whose biggest takeaway from his tenure was that he wasn’t around the agency enough to leave a specific impression. Multiple sources told CNN that Pompeo spent most of his time away from Langley, visiting the White House and outside advisers he trusts. Some agency personnel appreciated the hands-off approach and felt empowered to make more active decisions, while others would have preferred a more present leader, especially as the President publicly railed against career intelligence officials. On social issues, many were frustrated and felt he did not have the same commitment to diversity that previous directors did, an issue stressed by former director John Brennan. “I can think of no organization that can make a better business case for diversity and inclusion than the CIA. We have the responsibility of covering the globe, understanding all societies, cultures, and backgrounds,” he told Foreign Policy Magazine in September, 2017. An agency spokesperson told Foreign Policy that Pompeo and senior leaders expressed their commitment to hiring a diverse workforce “by living the creed of crushing our adversaries by hiring and training the best spies the world will ever know.” In his prepared remarks, Pompeo pledged to increase diversity at the State Department “in terms of race, religion, background and more.” Pompeo’s association with the group Act for America has also raised concerns about his outlook on diversity and minority groups. The Anti-Defamation League says the group “peddles anti-Muslim conspiracy theories” and that Pompeo has a history of stridently anti-Muslim statements. “Mr. Pompeo’s long, documented record of anti-Muslim prejudice threatens to undermine the essential work our secretary of state does in representing American interests and values abroad,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. Related article Pompeo moves to court moderate Dems ahead of tough vote in committee “This is a major area of concern,” said Cardin, who said the subject would come up in the nomination hearing. Cardin said that in his meeting with Pompeo, he had stressed the importance of independence from the Oval Office. “His reputation is not that strong in standing up to the President,” Cardin said. “It’s important to me that the next Secretary of State will stand up for what he believes in.” The source close to Pompeo said that won’t be a problem. “Mike is far from a ‘yes man,’” the source said. “He is gained the trust of the President by being the opposite of a yes man. He is someone who presents intelligence in a way the President can understand and process and by giving his opinion even when President disagrees. He can be honest with the President.” CNN’s Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.


Militant Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi pleaded guilty to war crimes last month For first time, International Criminal Court tried cultural destruction as a war crime The International Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced Islamic militant Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi to nine years of imprisonment for destroying ancient shrines in Mali. Mahdi, believed to be a member of al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Dine in Mali, pleaded guilty to war crimes for destroying religious and historic monuments in the ancient city of Timbuktu. The trial was a landmark one at The Hague, marking the first time the International Criminal Court tried cultural destruction as a war crime. The court found Mahdi supervised the destruction of 10 of the most important historical sites at the UNESCO World Heritage site and participated in attacks on at least five. The court said the sites were dedicated to religious and historical monuments and were not military objectives. “(They) were an integral part of the religious life of its inhabitants and constitute a common heritage for the community,” it said. “Their destruction does not only affect the direct victims of the crimes but also people through Mali and the international community.” When pleading guilty last month, Mahdi said he wanted to spend his years in prison purging the “evil spirit” that took him. “This verdict is a clear recognition that attacks on religious and historical monuments can destroy the culture and identity of a population and constitute crimes under international law,” said Erica Bussey, Amnesty International’s senior legal adviser. Bussey said that the International Criminal Court should continue to investigate crimes committed during the 2012 conflict in Mali. The time Mahdi has spent in detention since his September 2015 arrest will be deducted from his sentence. The maximum sentence that Mahdi could have faced was 30 years. Like ISIS in the Middle East, Ansar Dine in northern Mali declared it would establish an Islamist state and enforce strict Sharia law with little room for cultural or religious tolerance, including historic monuments and religious shrines. The group turned some of these treasures into rubble, including the tombs of historic religious figures. It also went after institutions housing documents from the Middle Ages in Timbuktu, which was founded in the fifth century. CNN’s Milena Veselinovic contributed to this report.


Food & Wine magazine picks a crop of promising chefs annually This year's chefs include specialists in tapas, Mexican food and rustic Italian fare Food & Wine magazine has released its annual list of the best new chefs across America. Making the cut in 2015 are a chef with a doctorate in neuroscience, a one-time “Top Chef” contestant and a culinary artist who plays blues guitar in his free time. The 11 chefs and their restaurants, which will be profiled in the July issue of Food & Wine, span the country as well as the culinary spectrum, specializing in Spanish tapas, rustic Italian, modern American, farm-to-table and even the breakfast and lunch rush. What they all have in common is a willingness to take risks while satisfying the palates of many, says Food & Wine Editor in Chief Dana Cowin. “I was surprised, and delighted, by how personal these restaurants are,” said Cowin. “The chefs seem to be cooking to please themselves, and in the process have dazzled diners.” Cowin noted a trend: The chefs are nodding toward the past while innovating. “Chefs are also looking to their families as touchstones,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of paeans to grandmothers. In fact, Olamaie is named for one of the two chefs’ grandmothers. Tim Maslow of Ribelle took over his father’s restaurant, Strip T’s, and reinvented the food, while leaving the décor the same. Carlos Salgado of Taco Maria was born into a family that had a Mexican-American restaurant and now he’s elevated that traditional cooking.” Though many of the chefs are looking to a simpler time in their lives for inspiration, picking the top cooks in the country is no simple task. First, Food & Wine editors reach out to a “trusted group of nominators” around the country, which includes writers for the magazine, past honorees and industry insiders, for their picks. They’re looking for chefs who have been creating dishes and running a professional kitchen for five years or less. Editors also comb local magazines and newspapers to find out who is generating buzz regionally. Once the group of candidates is whittled down, Food & Wine visits the restaurants to taste the local fare anonymously. This year’s selections include a former scientist, chef Katie Button of Curate in Asheville, North Carolina; “Top Chef” season 4 contestant Zoi Antonitsas of Westward in Seattle; and blues-lover Bryce Shuman of Betony in New York City. “Top Chef” host Tom Colicchio, famed restaurateur Thomas Keller and international megachefs Daniel Boulud and Nobu Matsuhisa are past honorees. The July issue of Food & Wine hits newsstands in mid-June, and the honored chefs will be in attendance at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, that month. A complete list of this year’s Food & Wine top chefs is below. See the gallery above for more on the chefs and their cuisine. Bryce Shuman; Betony; New York City Michael Fojtasek and Grae Nonas; Olamaie; Austin, Texas Zoi Antonitsas; Westward; Seattle Jake Bickelhaupt; 42 Grams; Chicago Jonathan Brooks; Milktooth; Indianapolis Katie Button; Curate; Asheville, North Carolina Jim Christiansen; Heyday; Minneapolis Tim Maslow; Strip T’s and Ribelle; Boston Ori Menashe; Bestia; Los Angeles Carlos Salgado; Taco María; Costa Mesa, California


World leaders gather at the U.N. NASA makes a big announcement. And the Pope returns home. It’s Monday, and here are five things to know for your new day. Pow wow: President Obama will mix speeches with meetings today, as he gives his annual address at the U.N. General Assembly and meets with world leaders, most notably Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yesterday Obama promised today’s address would have a more blunt tone – “Along with the grey hair, I’m becoming more likely to speak my mind” – but it remains to be seen if that bluntness will extend to his meeting with Putin. Other world leaders – Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Cuban leader Raul Castro – will also address the U.N. Big reveal: So what’s the big announcement that NASA will make today about Mars? Evidence of aliens? Too obvious. Or maybe they’ve found Mark Watney, Matt Damon’s fictional astronaut from “The Martian” movie? No, that’s too promotional. The best bet? CNN’s Michael Pearson says it could be a confirmation of water flowing periodically on the Red Planet’s surface. Not as sexy as aliens, but still pretty important (if it happens). Homeward bound: The White House. Madison Square Garden. Independence Hall. It was quite the itinerary for Pope Francis during his first trip to the United States. He’s returned home to Rome, just hours after celebrating Mass in Philadelphia, where he praised America’s tradition of religious freedom and immigration, but warned that injustice can tear a society down. Francis said he left the U.S. with “a heart full of gratitude and hope.” Strange bedfellows: Has Iraq made a deal with the devil (or devils)? Over the weekend Iraq said it’s struck an agreement with Russia, Iran and Syria to share intelligence in the fight against ISIS. This follows recent news that Russia is building up its military presence in Syria. And add to this the fact that the U.S.-led coalition’s bombing campaign hasn’t exactly yielded fruit, it’s further evidence the fight against ISIS isn’t going so well. Set: 7 p.m. Tuesday. That’s when Kelly Gissendaner is scheduled to die. Unless a hearing this morning in Atlanta stops it, she’ll be the first woman executed in Georgia in 70 years. Gissendaner was convicted of arranging the 1997 murder of her husband. Her execution has been postponed twice this year: once for a winter storm and a second time because of controversy over the types of drugs Georgia uses in executions. Her children and others want Gissendaner’s death sentence commuted, saying that she’s a changed person and has been rehabilitated.


There's bipartisan frustration with the State Department's lack of communication with Congress Unfilled staff positions may be a factor, lawmakers say As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson briefed House and Senate lawmakers about new limits on refugee admissions, the Trump administration publicly announced the news. “This is upside down,” a visibly exasperated Sen. Dick Durbin told CNN as he left the last-minute briefing for each chamber’s judiciary committee. The Illinois Democrat was referring to a federal law that requires the administration to confer with Congress at least two weeks before that kind of announcement. “We were supposed to be consulted,” he said. Lawmakers in both parties are frustrated with Tillerson’s State Department, charging that it isn’t consulting them as it’s required to do or responding to requests for information that allow Congress to exercise oversight of the administrative branch. They complain about the difficulty they have getting answers to queries, about the lack of briefings and the dearth of substantive information on issues that range from policy changes, such as the refugee announcement, to the use of US weapons overseas, to the department’s expenditures of taxpayer dollars. Related article State Department orders nonessential diplomats and families out of Cuba following mysterious attacks “Even in the majority side, we’re beginning to have a couple of issues where we’re just not getting a response,” said Sen. Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “We even are probably going to have to start applying kinds of pressures that we don’t typically like to apply.” A State Department spokesman said the agency “values congressional oversight and takes seriously its obligation to brief Congress on its programs and initiatives. We welcome Congressional inquiries into our operations and diligently endeavor to respond to questions and formal correspondence in a timely manner.” Some lawmakers, looking for reasons to explain the dynamic, concede that the Trump administration is relatively new. Others say response times might be affected because the State Department is understaffed and undergoing a reconstruction. And they allow that at a time of intensified international crises, including North Korea’s nuclear testing, the agency might be getting even more congressional requests than usual. Senators and representatives on Congress’ foreign affairs committees are familiar with the frustration, but it was new to members of the House and Senate judiciary committees, who met Wednesday with Tillerson in a room off the Capitol Building’s sumptuous, statuary lined Hall of Columns. Related video Trump's latest travel ban Federal law requires the administration to undertake “appropriate consultation” with Congress when setting refugee admissions quotas, and to do it before the end of the fiscal year. Moreover, the law stipulates that, “to the extent possible,” that process should occur “at least two weeks in advance of discussions in person by designated representatives of the President with such members.” Tillerson’s briefing occurred just three days before the end of the fiscal year. Not only that, news reports about the decision to cap admissions at 45,000 were surfacing before the secretary’s meeting with the lawmakers was even on the calendar. “We are incredibly frustrated,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said in a joint statement. “It is simply unacceptable to read in the press that the administration had reached its decision on the refugee cap before the mandated meeting with Congress had even been scheduled,” they said. “Since August, our offices have made bipartisan requests to the State Department on this meeting,” they said. “Congress and the law require real engagement on this important subject. An eleventh-hour meeting to check a legal box is not sufficient.” Related article From dotard to Goliath, world reacts to Trump In a call with reporters Wednesday, a senior administration official acknowledged the discrepancy, but noted “we have done this in less than two weeks in the past.” Durbin, Corker and other lawmakers allow that upheaval at State may be affecting performance. The Trump administration is calling for the agency’s budget to be cut by as much as a third, and Tillerson is restructuring. Dozens of senior positions remain unfilled and Tillerson, only seven months into the job, has no prior government experience. “I’m going to give a little bit of flexibility to them – it’s a new administration,” Durbin said. “But this is not the way it’s supposed to work.” Sen. James Risch, an Idaho Republican who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, pointed to the natural tensions within the American system. “The second branch of government isn’t very tolerant of the first branch of government, and they don’t like us nosing around in their business, even though it’s our constitutional duty for oversight,” he told CNN. Related video Graham: Trump budget 'destroying soft power' Corker agrees. “Let me say this, when [President Barack] Obama was in charge, the Democrats who were in the majority had the same issues,” he said. As committee chairman, he also sees some slow-walking going on. State has “been really good, but some of the response times are beginning to slow,” Corker said. “Especially on things we really want done, that they really don’t want done.”  He wouldn’t offer details. But he also points to the lack of manpower, with so many senior positions unfilled. “They’re so understaffed,” he said. “It’s a huge factor. So many things have to actually get to Tillerson for a decision to be made that could have been made two levels down.” Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, echoed that observation during a recent committee hearing: “As ranking member, I have had to exercise my authority to call the secretary of state to get some of this information when I should be getting it from the people who are directly involved in making these policies,” he said. Addressing a State Department official, Cardin added, “you need to do a much more effective job in communications.” After listening to that official talk about the department’s commitment to answering lawmakers’ questions, Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, offered his two cents, describing a briefing about projects in the West Bank so devoid of information that it was, he said, “a fiasco.” “I’ll just say, my experience has been extremely frustrating with the Department of State,” he said. “And when you say they are committed, those are, at this point, empty words.” Related article Tillerson meets Iran's Zarif, no shoes thrown Risch suggested that some of these complaints might amount to Democrat sour grapes. “I can tell you, when you’re in the minority, your letters go to the bottom of the pile as opposed to the top of the pile,” he said. “Those of us on the majority side now had the same difficulty when the other side had the State Department.” Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, pushed back, telling CNN that “a lot of these requests have been bipartisan, and some of our classified hearings, you’ve had senators on both sides of the aisle expressing frustration.” Booker and Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, have written to Tillerson to ask about the sale of attack aircraft to Nigeria’s military. The two men, junior members on the Foreign Relations Committee, have raised concerns that Nigeria’s air force and the country’s security forces stand accused, in separate incidents, of killing hundreds of refugees and mostly unarmed detainees, including children. They’ve also flagged allegations of corruption, abuse and misconduct throughout the Nigerian military. “I can’t even get a briefing on this issue,” Booker said during a recent committee hearing about foreign military assistance. “I’m just looking for someone to give me actual information. Because according to the Constitution, the administration can’t continue to engage in these kind of activities without our authorization.” One concern is that Washington can be seen as complicit if foreign governments use US-made weaponry to repress or kill their people. Booker worried aloud about the possible US connections to violence in Sudan, Yemen, and Nigeria, and the difficulty in getting answers from State. Related article Confused by Trump, North Korea contacts ex-US officials “This is absolutely unacceptable to me that we allow representative after representative to come before this committee and make promises that we’re going to get information, or we’re going to have hearings, and we get nothing in return,” Booker thundered. Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican on the committee, used the same hearing to ask a State Department official why it took almost three months for the agency to tell him it couldn’t answer a question about whether Saudi Arabia, which is conducting a war in Yemen, is violating international laws about denying lifesaving food and medicine. The official wasn’t able to provide an answer.


Cruz has backed quintupling the number of visas in the H-1B visa program He now says he doesn't back expanding the program until reforms are implemented Ted Cruz is facing criticism on the right over a surprising issue: immigration. The senator from Texas and Republican presidential candidate, who rose to national prominence because of his hard-line stands on everything from Obamacare to immigration, is under fire for his past support of the controversial H-1B visa program. Cruz has backed quintupling the number of visas in the program, which encourages legal immigration for highly skilled foreign workers. But it’s a position that’s causing headaches for him as the campaign develops. “You’ve got Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and even Ted Cruz, to my disappointment, who want to do everything from double to triple to quintuple – in Ted Cruz’s case – the number of H-1B visas that are available to these largely offshore outsourcing companies from India,” influential conservative pundit Michelle Malkin said in a video on her Facebook page last week. “That is nuts.” Related gallery Memorable quotes from the fourth Republican debate For Cruz, support for H-1B visas has been a way to insulate himself not just from a hot red base quick to label any moderation as amnesty, but also from his unwillingness to say what he would do with the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Sharing his father’s dramatic flight from Cuba, Cruz tells reporters or town hall questioners that he “celebrates legal immigration” and that he would like to “streamline” the process – even as he cracks down on illegal border crossings. But Cruz appears to be changing his tune. During Tuesday night’s Fox Business debate in Milwaukee, he framed illegal immigration as an economic threat, choosing the rhetoric used by conservative talk radio hosts who have raked Cruz over the coals, rather than his tried-and-true stump speech about preserving rule of law. And Cruz now no longer supports an increase in the number of visas until the program is reformed, spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said Wednesday. Ted Cruz draws immigration contrast with Marco Rubio The U.S. currently allows only 65,000 workers who specialize in science or technology to immigrate legally each year. (An additional 20,000 are allowed under an exemption for those holding advanced degrees earned in the United States.) But the program has come under increasing criticism from protectionists and American industries that say the country is “outsourcing” labor and charge there is widespread abuse of the visa system. Cruz has of late been more loudly voicing objections to the visa process, telling a New Hampshire voter in a town hall on Wednesday evening that the emerging reports are “horrifying,” a shift he signaled in an interview with radio host Vince Coakley last week. “I have been very, very concerned at the growing abuse of the program,” Cruz said. “That’s not what the H-1B program was designed to do.” That interview made its way to Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, perhaps the GOP’s leading anti-immigration voice. Sessions said he is talking with Cruz about his current position and even hinted that Cruz could flip his position, sounding skeptical that the senator from Texas would still want to quintuple the number of legal immigrants in the future. “I think a lot of our members will come out that way in the end,” Sessions told CNN. Cruz is hardly the only GOP candidate who backs the program on some level. Republicans from Bush to Ben Carson have voiced some support for H-1B visas, and Rubio’s push for a more ambitious, Microsoft-backed bill has drawn the ire of Sessions, who said Rubio’s legislation would “quash the dreams of more talented Americans.” Rubio, speaking in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Thursday, noted Cruz’s support for H-1B visas as the two senators spar over broader immigration policy. “Ted is a supporter of legalizing people that are in this country illegally,” Rubio said. “In fact, when the Senate bill was proposed he proposed legalizing people that were here illegally – he proposed giving them work permits. He’s also supported a massive expansion of the green cards. He’s supported a massive expansion of the H-1B program - a 500% increase.” He added: “If you look at it, I don’t think our positions are dramatically different.” Jeb Bush, who has taken a more moderate line on immigration reform, said Thursday that the program should be “market-driven.” “If there are shortages that make it harder for investment to take place in our country, then it should be expanded. If there’s not a shortage, then it shouldn’t be,” Bush said after a town hall meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “And it should be analyzed based on economic need for our country and it should be – the laws of H-1B visas – should be enforced so that you’re not, you know, outsourcing jobs to … people and then bringing in people from the outside so folks lose their jobs and then you’re hiring foreign workers.” Donald Trump has already shown a willingness to mock Rubio for his aggressive support for the Silicon Valley-backed policy. Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the campaign is not planning to hit Cruz on the explosive issue, but Trump’s hard line on immigration has helped shift the debate to the right on the campaign trail. Takeaways from the Republican debate But given Cruz’s ideological purity – highlighted by a report on Monday from Heritage Action, a political group tied to the influential Heritage Foundation – his support for H-1Bs may be the most attractive liability to attack. Republican talkers have been Cruz’s biggest gadflies. Cruz enjoys an unusually chummy relationship with conservative talk radio hosts – joking before Tuesday night’s debate that a leading trio in the industry should moderate future forums – but some have turned on him. The New Hampshire voter told Cruz that her brother in the tech industry might not vote for him because of his position – which the brother learned about from talk radio. “The rhetoric and the policy do not match,” Rick Santorum told CNN on Wednesday, saying Cruz’s motivation for increased legal immigration was “purely political” and an attempt to win over business-friendly donors. “This is a way of having a foot in both camps – to sound very tough on illegal immigration, but to say, ‘I’m going to take care of you by bringing in a whole bunch of people legally.’” The unease with Cruz dates back to the 2013 Senate fight over immigration, when Rubio and Democratic leaders led an ill-fated push for comprehensive reform legislation that included a path to citizenship for the undocumented. Cruz fought the bill, but also argued for an amendment to increase in the cap on visas to 325,000, a position he has repeated during the 2016 race. But after the 2013 bill died and the dust settled, Cruz continued to be excoriated by some of the movement’s leading talkers for his stance. “I don’t care how many times Ted Cruz is held up by the tea party. Ted Cruz is identical to Marco Rubio,” radio host Michael Savage told his listeners in January 2014. “Ted Cruz is not to be trusted. I told you he’s a snake.” Cruz’s critics on the issue see room for hope: Cruz does not bring up the specific fivefold increase as often as he once did, opting for vaguer rhetoric. He chided donors and reporters in Tuesday night’s debate for not seeing immigration as a pocketbook issue as opposed to a cultural one. And his radio interview last week could foreshadow the package of reforms that Sessions said Cruz is likely to introduce in the Senate over the coming months. Roy Beck, who leads NumbersUSA, a group supporting a reduction in immigration numbers, predicted that while Cruz is “polishing some of the edges” with his new language, his support for expanded H-1Bs would be used a political wedge to expose “his real vulnerable spot.” Unless, of course, Cruz changes his position. “I just see him month by month and shifting,” Beck said. “As time goes on, you could end up being in a really different place than nine months ago.” This story has been updated to note the master’s degree exemption available for H-1B applicants. CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty and Ashley Killough contributed to this report


France will enact legislation in 2018 to combat the spread of “fake news,” President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday. During an annual message to the media, Macron said the legislation would be used especially during election periods and would largely target social media platforms, saying that if people wanted “to protect liberal democracies, we must have strong legislation.” Further details of the legislation would follow, the President said, but his message was clear – that democracy was under threat and that it needed urgent protection. “You will never hear me speaking ill of the press,” Macron said. Macron and his campaign accused Russia and its state-owned media of interfering in the French presidential election in 2017.


Drinking in Shanghai is fun. But attempting to find the secret entrances to these bars – shielded by everything from a vintage vending machine to an eerie frosted mirror – is a very large part of the excitement. Mainland China’s most international city is fast regaining the reputation it held in the 1920s and ’30s as being home to some of the world’s most sophisticated nightlife. No drinking establishment will transport you back to the sorely missed golden era better than these speakeasy-style hidden bars. Speak Low is the brainchild of Shingo Gokan, the man who sparked a Japanese-style cocktail bar craze in New York with his famous bar Angel’s Share, also a speakeasy. Finding the main entrance – behind a bookcase in a shop specializing in bartending equipment – is only the beginning of the adventure. Upping the ante, Speak Low has a second hidden bar, concealed behind a wooden panel on the staircase. The secret button is on an antique map. Once pressed, the entrance slides open to reveal an intimate bar helmed by Gokan protege Atsushi Suzuki, whose Spirited Away cocktail (CNY 120, $20) is served with a spoonful of grated wasabi. And wait for it, there is a third hidden bar that is a members-only area. Tell us how it is if you’re lucky enough to get access. Signature cocktail: Speak Low – a blend of green macha tea, Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 8 rums and Pedro Ximenez sherry – first won Gokan the 2012 Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition over at  Angel’s Share in the Big Apple. Inspired by Japanese tea ceremonies, the drink is paired with two pieces of dark chocolate to match its bitter but intricate flavors. Don’t be fooled by the diner-style beer and burger joint that looks out onto South Shaanxi Road. It’s a decoy. The vintage Coca-Cola vending machine in the corner is the doorway to a classy bar that boasts over 100 bourbon and rye whiskeys, most of which you won’t find anywhere else in Shanghai. Cocktails, however, are the focus, expertly mixed by Taiwanese bartender Allan Hsu. Signature cocktail: Taiwanese Plum Soup (CNY 90, $15) is a sweet but complex number that plays on the flavors of Formosa. It features Zacapa rum, Prucia plum liqueur, sweet osmanthus wine, longan juice infused with sherry and creme de cassis, dried chrysanthemum flowers and a dusting of salty plum sugar on the rim of an earthenware cup. Flask, 432 Shaanxi Nan Road, near Yongjia Road, Xuhui district, Shanghai, China; +86 21 3368 6108 To reach El Ocho, punters have to walk through a flower shop and up three flights of stairs. The venue, with long curved wooden bar and high triangular ceiling, boasts an extensive cocktail list, a good selection of single malt whiskeys and around 50 house-infused liquors including a Mezcal replica of smoke-infused tequila. Tokyo ex-pat Kaoru “TK” Takii heads the five-bartender team. Signature cocktail: Corpse of Old Tom (CNY 98 or $16 for one, CNY 686 or $111 for eight servings). This variation on a Corpse Reviver contains Ransom Old Tom gin, fresh lime, dry curacao, absinthe and fresh orange zest. It is both bitter and botanical with a kick like a mule. Thought you saw a fleeting shadow on a large frosted mirror but it wasn’t your reflection? Relax if you’re at Light and Salt – chances are it’s the sliding door to a 1920s-style speakeasy inside the fine dining establishment. The Library Distillery’s speakeasy decor extends to the mock roulette wheel in front of the bar. The cocktail menu is a solid bet for classic drinks with a local twist prepared by head bartender Andrew An. Related article 40 great dishes you can get in Shanghai The Library Distillery’s snacks are no ordinary bar foods – delicacies include house marinated olives (CNY 48, $8) and duck liver and pistachio pate with sourdough bread (CNY 88, $14). A password is needed to enter the bar – call a day ahead for the entry code. Signature cocktail: The sweet and spicy Sichuan Sling (CNY 88, $14) mixes Cachaca, grapefruit juice, Grand Marnier, tonic water and honey infused with Sichuan chili. It comes served in a tiki mug with a garnish of dangerously hot chilies. The street-level entrance to The Tailor Bar is a nondescript elevator next to a Chinese medicine store. Those who make it to the fourth floor are greeted by a wall adorned with fixed gear bicycles and a cozy bar overlooking Jing’an Temple. There is no cocktail menu. All drinks are “tailored” to the customers’ tastes by denim-aproned Shanghai local David Hong, who trained at the Ritz-Carlton hotel bar in Berlin. Signature cocktail: While there is no such thing at The Tailor Bar, when asked for a cocktail based on Japanese whisky, Hong produced a Bamboo/Rob Roy hybrid which combined Yamazaki and Hakushu single malt whiskeys with Spanish sherry and Italian vermouth for CNY 130 ($21). It is both dry and tart and complements the vanilla, spice and smoke flavors of the whiskeys. The Tailor Bar, next to a Chinese medicine shop, 4F, 2 Huashan Road, near Yuyuan Road, Jing’an district, Shanghai, China; +86 183 0197 7360 Dave Tacon is a Walkley Award-winning photographer and writer based in Shanghai.