Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for the Miami Herald and World Politics Review and a former CNN producer and correspondent. Follow her @FridaGhitis. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. President Barack Obama credited Russia with helping bring about Iran nuclear deal Frida Ghitis: Is Obama comfortable with letting Russia and Iran dominate their spheres of influence? One of the more intriguing comments we heard in the aftermath of the deal with Iran came when President Barack Obama offered praise and recognition for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the man who leads a country described only a few days ago by the next U.S. military chief as the “greatest global threat” to the United States. In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Obama said, “Russia was a help with this. I’ll be honest with you.” He added a surprisingly optimistic comment, saying he was “encouraged” when Putin called him a few weeks ago to discuss the crisis in Syria, noting that the current situation with the Syrian regime experiencing losses “offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them,” in Obama’s judgment. What should we make of this sudden glimmer of optimism about Russia and Syria? It’s no coincidence that the statement comes in the wake of the Iran deal. It is another sign that the administration views the agreement with Tehran as much more than a nuclear deal, but the touchstone for a major geopolitical transformation. In his news conference on Wednesday Obama reaffirmed that this deal does not turn Iran into a friend of America, highlighting Iran’s continuing support for terrorism and other behaviors as a source of concern. Even so,  it is quite clear this deal will change the world, no doubt about that. The question is how. Putin and Russia, like all the other players, made decisions based on their own interests. Russia wants to regain the lucrative arms contracts jeopardized by international sanctions and wants to redevelop diplomatic, economic and strategic ties with Iran. It’s worth noting that Iran and Russia support Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who, with good reason, rejoiced at the news of the deal. He called it a “great victory” – and it will fill the coffers of his main benefactor, the Iranian regime. Beyond that, Putin may be expecting to see a new international order, hoping that Obama will agree to a throwback to the days of “spheres of influence,” in which the United States gives latitude so certain countries can exercise influence in certain regions. Under that geopolitical structure, Russia would be tacitly allowed by the United States to be the dominant power in its neighborhood including, say, Ukraine, and other former Soviet Republic states, while Iran would call the shots in its part of the world, much as it tries to do with some success now in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. Obama has rejected suggestions that he has such a plan in mind. And I doubt that it is the cynical objective behind the nuclear deal. But the ultimate effect could take us some steps in that direction. Incidentally, the Iran deal gives new influence to Russia in enforcing the nuclear agreement. One of the most flawed sections allows for as much for 24 days of meetings and discussions if U.N. inspectors want to examine a facility and Iran refuses. After a complicated set of procedures, the decision on how to move forward is made by the majority vote of an 8-member commission that includes Russia, Iran, the U.S, and the other countries that negotiated the agreement. If 5 members agree, presumably Iran could be forced to allow inspections. In his Wednesday news conference, Obama responded to that criticism, saying major facilities will be subjected to 24/7 monitoring, referring presumably to electronic monitoring. Obama has repeatedly said the agreement is strictly about Iran’s nuclear program. He has denied claims that he seeks a realignment in which the United States would drift away from its traditional partners and either move closer to Iran or at least allow for a more balanced relationship, a prospect that is of profound concern for America’s Arab allies. The president vehemently denies this, vowing to stand with U.S. allies if they are threatened by Iran. But there is little doubt that in negotiating the Iran deal, the President was looking at a much wider angle than just Iran’s nuclear program. Obama was looking at the entire chess board; not just nuclear weapons, not just Iran, but the Middle East and beyond. Clearly, he is hoping for the impact of the deal to go much further. In an interview with NPR in December, he talked about Iran’s opportunity to rejoin the community of nations and become a responsible player. “Because if they do,” he said, “there’s incredible talent and resources and sophistication inside of Iran, and it would be a very successful regional power.” The notion of Iran becoming a “very successful regional power” is precisely what keeps many of Iran’s neighbors awake at night. In this new and improved world envisioned by Obama, Iran, of course, would move away from its current role as the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism and become a promoter of stability, a force for good in the Middle East. That would theoretically happen because the deal strengthens Iranian moderates, either softening the current regime’s positions or bringing an altogether different government. Obama perhaps believes the deal could create a new, more peaceful and stable balance and turn Iran into a constructive member of the community of nations; a community that – let’s be really optimistic while we’re at this – could include a cooperative and peace-minded Russia, also committed to playing by the rules and lowering tensions everywhere. No one can say with certainty that Iran will not moderate, but it seems highly unlikely. The regime will become stronger, not weaker, something that will serve to stoke sectarian tensions, already overflowing with catastrophic results across the Middle East. We have seen what Tehran wrought even while constrained by international sanctions.  Last month’s State Department report on terrorism names Iran more than 70 times, supporting hundreds – yes, hundreds – of terrorist organizations and carrying out violent terrorist operations across the globe. Iran helped arm and manage al-Assad’s war machine in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands, and Iranian operatives were caught in terrorist plots in dozens of countries, in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe in recent years, with support for terrorist groups continuing through 2014. Iran remains under the absolutely unbroken control of an ideologically driven revolutionary regime whose goal and fervent commitment is to spread Iran’s brand of Islamic revolution. That regime is now stronger, not weaker. Perhaps Putin thinks the time has now come to discuss a sphere of influence. Perhaps he thinks this is a good time to negotiate a deal on Syria, now that the Iran deal gives a new lifeline to al-Assad. Or, perhaps, the success of diplomacy has opened a new chapter of global harmony and cooperation. After all, Obama is the man who brought us “the audacity of hope.” We’re in for interesting times ahead. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion. Read CNNOpinion’s new Flipboard magazine.


President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, a (very) lengthy speech in which he largely revisited his accomplishments over his first year in office and offered a handful of proposals he’d like to see considered in the coming year. While it’s important not to over-analyze what the speech means for Trump’s presidency – his first year in office suggests what he says one day means very little for what he will do the next – I did jot down a few takeaways from the address.  They’re below. Trump ran – and won – on the idea that he would always put our country first. And boy did he make good on that promise in his State of the Union address. For the first hour of the speech, Trump talked about nothing but domestic policy. Tax cuts. The economy. Trade. Regulatory reform. Immigration. Nary a mention of America’s place in the world until after 10 pm on the east coast. The signal was clear: Trump is not just using “America First” as a piece of rhetoric; he’s heavily focused on making it a policy reality as well. In the early moments of Trump’s speech, he made several calls for the country and the Congress to come together. “Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve,” Trump said at one point. “If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve anything,” he said at another. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s reaction to Trump’s mention of the need to come together for the good of the American people tells you everything you need to know about the chances of that actually happening. Most state of the union addresses are roughly evenly split between a touting of past accomplishments and the laying out of a vision for future governance. Trump’s speech was 80% celebration of what he has done and 20% talking about what he would like to do. (In truth, the percentage might have tilted even more in the direction of Trump’s recitation of his greatest hits.) It was almost an hour into his remarks that Trump first mentioned a proposal – a massive infrastructure bill – that he wanted Congress to take up. Trump did pick up some steam on the proposal front – pushing Congress to take up his immigration compromise, for one. But, proposals and wish lists weren’t top-of-mind for Trump in this speech. Making sure he mentioned all of the things he believes he has succeeded in (and the media has overlooked) was. Much of Trump’s pitch as a candidate was as the anti-Barack Obama. And, Republicans – who, in Obama, saw everything they disliked about big government liberals – ate it up. Trump pledges to ‘make America great again for all Americans’CNN’s Reality Check Team vets Trump’s claimsRep. Joe Kennedy delivers Democratic responseMelania Trump arrived separately from the President Trump pledges to ‘make America great again for all Americans’CNN’s Reality Check Team vets Trump’s claimsRep. Joe Kennedy delivers Democratic responseMelania Trump arrived separately from the President Trump has spent his first year governing as the anti-Obama as well. Or, more accurately, the Obama eraser. He jettisoned DACA. He pushed for the repeal of the individual mandate. He has stripped out regulation after regulation put into place by Obama. And on Tuesday night, Trump announced his plans to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba open – a direct rebuttal to Obama’s long-made and long-failed pledge to close the prison. Remember that prior to running for president and even during his bid, Trump lacked any clearly thought-out set of policy prescriptions. In lieu of that, he reacted – or, in Trump’s lingo – counter-punched against what Obama had done as president. He just kept doing it on Tuesday night. Nowhere in Trump’s speech did he address – even obliquely – the special counsel investigation into Russia’s attempted meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with members of his campaign. In fact Trump uttered the word “Russia” only once.  “Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values,” he said. It’s not terribly surprising that Trump – in a speech ostensibly about unity and bipartisanship – wouldn’t mention an investigation that is tearing at the heart and soul of political Washington. Still, it was an absence worth noting – particularly given that Trump spoke for 80 minutes and tackled virtually every other subject under the sun. Perhaps not surprising for someone who has lived his life in the spotlight and who built a life on image and brand, the stagecraft of Trump’s first State of the Union was outstanding. From the families who lost loved ones to the MS-13 gang to Otto Warmbier’s parents to the North Korean defector and his crutches, the visuals – and the stories they told – were haunting and memorable.


Christie defended Trump's firing of Comey Christie denied speculation that he may be vying for the now-open FBI director role New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fiercely defended on Wednesday President Donald Trump’s right to fire FBI Director James Comey and argued that reports of a bombshell Comey memo on Trump were “speculation.” Christie, a longtime Trump ally, was speaking the day after reports broke that Trump had asked Comey to drop an FBI investigation looking into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s ties to Russia. The controversy has raised questions about whether Trump obstructed justice. Speaking at a NJ Transit facility, Christie at first told reporters he would not comment on events in Washington that he’s “not involved in.” Following some prodding, however, Christie defended Trump’s actions to fire Comey. Related video Trump and Comey's ups and downs “I think the President has been underserved by his staff. I think I’ve said that two or three times, but the fact is that what I do know as someone who has run two pretty large operations is that those decisions need to be made by the executive,” Christie said. “Only the person who is being served day-to-day knows for sure how well they are served and knows any perception of success or lack of success.” Christie, a former federal prosecutor, denied speculation that he may be vying for the now-open FBI director role with an emphatic “no,” adding that he’ll be finishing out his term, which ends next January. He seemed to offer some veiled advice to the administration in an apparent reference to the deluge of leaks plaguing the White House. “For most of the time, there are very, very few leaks out of this (Christie’s) administration. I think the reason for that is that we are all rowing in the same direction, and people know that we support each other,” Christie said. “When you have a system where people are supporting each other and people are working well with each other, you don’t have the need to put forward a specific agenda.” Related article The people Trump could pick to replace Comey Speaking specifically about the White House, Christie added, “Rather than worry about how to plug leaks, it’s about how to stop them from the beginning – setting a certain spirit.” The New Jersey governor also had some words for members of Congress who plan to bring impeachment charges against the President in the wake of the Comey memo revelation. “I’m the only person in this room who has prosecuted obstruction of justice cases and won. They are very difficult to prove,” Christie said. CNN’s Shachar Peled contributed to this report.


To understand Thursday's attack, one must understand that Kenya and Al-Shabaab are at war Al Qaeda's 1998 attack on the U.S. Embassy is the single largest, but Al-Shabaab have killed many more Kenyans When Al-Shabaab gunmen slaughtered 147 people at a college campus in Garissa, Kenya, on Thursday, it was the bloodiest blow Islamist extremists have dealt to the country since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. But it was also yet another pave stone in the long path of violence between Kenya and the Somali militants. Related gallery Attack at Kenyan university To understand Thursday’s attack, one must understand this: Kenya and Al-Shabaab are at war. Although al Qaeda was behind the 1998 attack that killed more than 200 people, Al-Shabaab has killed many more Kenyans and is by far the country’s most persistent tormenter, according to a University of Maryland study. Their attacks have notched up since 2008. And in October 2011, Kenya Defense Forces invaded Somalia, where Al-Shabaab is based, with the crushing Operation Linda Nchi, Swahili for “Protect the Country.” Thus began a bloody vicious cycle, with Al-Shabaab retaliating on Kenyan soil with ever more spectacular mass killings. Here are some of the most heinous attacks on Kenya by the Somali terrorist group. Early Thursday, while many students still slept, at least four gunman burst into a Christian prayer service at Garissa University College, leading into Easter Weekend. They shot students and took hostages, whom they herded across campus. As they encountered students, they separated them into Muslims and Christians. They spared the former, eyewitness Joel Ayora said. They killed the latter. Kenyan special forces moved in at the campus located about 90 miles from Somalia’s southern border. They killed four gunman, but not before 147 victims were shot dead. In December, Al-Shabaab militants carried out the same macabre division of captives by religion at a rock quarry not far from the Somali border. They shot Christian workers dead, and spared their Muslim colleagues. Red Cross Workers counted at least 36 bodies dumped into the quarry. It was eye-for-an-eye retaliation, the militants said, for raids Kenyan security forces carried out on mosques intended to weed out extremists. Parallel to Operation Linda Nchi, Kenya has gone after ethnic Somalis within their own borders triggering protest by Human Rights Watch, which has accused the government of ethnic profiling and mistreatment. In a 2011 case, Kenyan authorities reportedly rounded up ethnic Somalis in Garissa and let them sit in the mud, while beating some of them, HRW alleged. Passengers on a bus in Kenya’s north were told to recite from the Quran or die in November 2014. Shortly after the bus carrying some 60 people departed Mandera, near Somalia’s border, Al-Shabaab gunmen stopped it in a hilly area and barged in. Those who failed to recite verses were gunned down, leaving 28 dead. In its claim of responsibility, Al-Shabaab said the dead were Christians, and their killing was retaliation mosque raids by Kenyans. A day after the attack, Kenyan security forces retaliated with an offensive across the border into Somalia. They claimed to kill 100 Al-Shabaab militants. In July, Al-Shabaab gunmen opened fire on the Lamu coast, a popular tourist region, and at a police station in a neighboring county.  They killed 22 people. Last May, tour companies evacuated vacationers from Kenya after the UK and United States issued alerts that there was a high threat of attacks. Before the Garissa massacre, the Westgate Mall attack was the deepest wound Al-Shabaab had inflicted on Kenya. For four days, four attackers turned the luxury shopping mall in the capital Nairobi into a cauldron of blood, smoke and rubble. Part of the mall collapsed as Kenyan security forces fought for control. At least 61 civilians were killed, as well as a handful of security officers. Al-Shabaab said the attack was retaliation for Kenya participation in Africa Union military operations in Somalia. Even with Al-Shabaab’s shooting in Garissa, al Qaeda’s bombing of the U.S. Embassy in 1998 remains the single bloodiest Islamist terror attack on Kenyan soil. In short succession, bombs detonated at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back then. The Nairobi bombing was much deadlier that the explosion at Dar es Salaam. Al Qaeda founding member Mamdouh Mahmud Salim was arrested and accused in the bombing and is being held in a New York jail, where he still awaits trial. He is serving a 32 year sentence after being convicted of stabbing a prison guard there in the eye.


Editor’s Note: Ford Vox is a physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine and a journalist. He is a medical analyst for National Public Radio station WABE-FM 90.1 in Atlanta. He writes frequently for CNN Opinion. Follow him on Twitter @FordVox. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. Vengeance is not a public health policy. But it’s implicit in a policy measure coming out of the White House, which would attempt to solve the opioid crisis with a plan that includes sentencing some high-intensity traffickers to death. It may feel good, and for some segment of the population, vengeance may even look good. The death of those deemed to be problematic is how some strongmen leaders that President Donald Trump has embraced keep their hold on power – such as Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte, who is following through on his pledge to kill every drug dealer he can find. But adding to the number of lives lost at the hands of the opioid crisis is not what the United States needs. The 1980s made Trump. During that era’s crack and cocaine epidemic, first lady Nancy Reagan led the “Just Say No” campaign in an effort to curb drug use. But that effort didn’t address the underlying economic, social and educational causes of the drug problem in communities, nor did it equip adolescents with skills to overcome the barriers they faced. Opioids may present a new problem, but our President is looking back to his ’80s heyday for an old solution. “Miami Vice,” meet the “Heroin Triangle.” First lady Melania Trump started off the presentation at Manchester Community College, telling the audience about her observations of the opioid crisis. She spoke about her time spent with doctors in Cincinnati learning about the growing scourge of newborn infants experiencing opioid withdrawal and the heartbreak she witnessed in a mother who had lost a child to an overdose. Related article Trump pushes death penalty for some drug dealers Like the nation saw in the ’80s, the new efforts will include an expensive ad campaign. Some ads, according to the President, will scare kids away “from ending up like the people in the commercials and we will make them very, very bad commercials.” Plenty of research suggests abstinence messaging such as “Just Say No,” along with the scare tactics of the police-led DARE campaign, have not amounted to much in the past. But maybe Trump’s commercials will be better. Hey, with psychographic Facebook marketing, anything’s possible (even Trump’s presidency). But it is the idea of a new drug war that occupied most of the President’s mind space in New Hampshire. A drug war is good business for some people: the military-industrial complex, the commercial prison industry, gun manufacturers and dealers. “If we don’t get tough on the drug dealers, we’re wasting our time,” the President said. “And that toughness includes the death penalty.” Related article A huge step backward on opioids I’ve treated numerous people who’ve overdosed and suffered grievous injury as a result. I’d like to see the traffickers and dealers who supplied them severely punished. So would their families. But injecting the death penalty into this problem is a level of pointless distraction we don’t need. I remain astonished how anti-government conservatives reserve such reverence for one particular government function: the ability to find perfect justice and seal the matter forever via execution. We entrust our government to convene an ideally representative sample of clear-eyed citizens who will make errorless assessments of guilt, on the basis of government-gathered evidence, in a process overseen by a government-employed judge. But what about anything else we may need government to do, along the lines of improving life for the living, rather than exacting revenge? Suddenly the government is inept, we are told. Related article Trump's opioid plan to take three-pronged approach, including death penalty for high-volume traffickers Not everything the President has proposed deserves disdain, however. Drug makers do deserve scrutiny (and sometimes state and federal lawsuits) over reckless marketing tactics. And, as Trump rightly pointed out, overprescribing is a factor worthy of more attention. The White House is even tackling the root causes of exorbitant drug prices so more people can actually access the few opioid alternatives that exist. But far more needs to be done if we want to make a dent in the troubling statistics of opioid abuse. Research on nonaddictive painkillers deserves far more federal funding and should be the centerpiece of any effort to end this problem for good. Instead, the President gave this critical scientific endeavor a mere footnote. The limited array of non-opioid painkillers that medical providers can prescribe help far too few people. It’s wonderful when we find a non-opioid drug to be the perfect solution for a patient. But that’s far too rare an occurrence. Policies that tinker with our health care system itself are all about the details. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated,” Trump famously remarked last year. Even the deceptively simple matter of clamping down on opioid prescriptions has potentially deadly downstream harms, including people being driven to suicide after having their maintenance medications cut dramatically. Related article We should have made the opioid crisis OUR problem from the start The President is telling us he’s deadly serious on opioids. Meanwhile, he has only recently named a second candidate to replace the Drug Enforcement Administration director who left his administration reportedly because he didn’t think the President had enough respect for the law. Tom Marino, the man he first wanted for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, had to drop out after a “60 Minutes” and Washington Post expose showed him kowtowing to opioid industry interests in his prior job as a congressman. In his place, Trump appointed Jim Carroll, who was Washington counsel for Ford Motor Co. and has held other federal government posts. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook It’s true – one way to keep people off illicit drugs is making the nation as drug-free as possible. Let’s filter out the drugs at our borders, and track down and close down the domestic producers and dealers. It’s not just drug dealers who kill people; drugs kill people. (It’s curious that the Trump administration doesn’t use the same logic when it comes to America’s gun epidemic.) Still, a drug war is serious business – even if it comes on the order of an unserious president.


President Donald Trump welcomed the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to the White House on Monday nearly 15 months into his term. The discussions with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari centered around security challenges, including the nearly decade-long insurgency by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria’s northeast. But the meeting’s tricky subtext was Trump’s broader view of Africa, including his description of some African nations as “shithole countries” during a private meeting earlier this year. At the time, Trump denied making the comment and insisted to reporters afterward that he wasn’t a racist. During a news conference on Monday, Trump made no such denial. “You do have some countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in,” he said in the Rose Garden. “We didn’t discuss it, because the President knows me, and he knows where I’m coming from and I appreciate that.” For his part, Buhari insisted he didn’t know whether to believe press reports about Trump’s language. “The best thing for me is to keep quiet,” he said. The crude remark, along with another reported conversation in which Trump mused Nigerians wouldn’t want to return to their “huts” if they came to the US, remain the President’s most well-known views of Africa, a place he talks about rarely and hasn’t visited. The White House had hoped Monday’s meeting would help shift those perceptions, at least slightly. The two leaders held talks in the Oval Office before moving to a working lunch and the joint news conference. “We have many things that we do together, as you know, especially on terrorism, terrorism-related,” Trump said in the Oval Office before the meeting began. “It’s a hotbed, and we’re going to be stopping that.” Related article US warns of growing African terror threat Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and a leading crude oil exporter, so economic matters were on the agenda, particularly as China makes major investments across Africa. Trump said trade barriers must come down since the US sends substantial foreign aid to Nigeria. “We think that we are owed that,” Trump said. But it’s the fragile security situation and ongoing fight against the Boko Haram jihadists that dominated talks. The violent insurgency has killed thousands and group abductions of schoolgirls have caused international outrage. Neighboring countries have been drawn into the terror group’s attempt to carve out an Islamic state, including Niger, where four American servicemen were killed last year. Trump touted the recent sale of military aircraft to Nigeria meant to aid its bid to counter extremists, a move previous administrations refused citing human rights concerns. Buhari, who faces re-election next year, is planning to ask for additional assistance during the talks. “Part of the problem is you weren’t allowed to buy helicopters in our country and now you are. I worked that out,” Trump said. “They weren’t allowed to buy the helicopters in our country for various reasons. They weren’t good reasons. We make the best military equipment in the world. And our friends can now buy that equipment.”


'Covfefe' is a word that took on its own life after Trump tweeted it shortly after midnight on Tuesday Earlier, Hillary Clinton joked at a conference that covfefe is "a hidden message to the Russians" Sen. Ben Sasse had a little fun with his Twitter followers on Wednesday by using the buzzword of the day – “covfefe” – while live-tweeting his daughter’s piano recital. “It’s #PianoRecital night. Livetweeting likely, despite the constant negative press covfefe,” the Nebraska Republican and frequent critic of President Donald Trump tweeted, poking fun at the President’s now-deleted tweet that caused a stir Wednesday after it was posted. It's #PianoRecital night.Livetweeting likely, despite the constant negative press covfefe The lawmaker is just the latest to joke about the word, which went viral after many speculated about its meaning. At the time he deleted the first tweet, Trump tweeted: “Who can figure out the true meaning of “covfefe” ??? Enjoy!” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that only Trump and a small number of people knew the meaning of the word. And former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton joked at a conference Wednesday: “I thought it was a hidden message to the Russians.” Related article 'Covfefe' tells you all you need to know about Donald Trump Sasse spent the rest of the recital responding to his followers on social media and providing live updates, incorporating “covfefe” in most of his subsequent tweets. “Rare performance of Covfefe’s Etude in D major tonight,” he wrote. “So beautiful. Only I and small group of ppl know exactly what I mean. #PianoRecital.” Rare performance of Covfefe's Etude in D major tonight. So beautiful. Only I and small group of ppl know exactly what I mean.#PianoRecital He even joked about other performers at the recital. “Kid at #PianoRecital refuses to bow after his piece, yelling: “Covfefe me ousside, howbow dah!”,” he tweeted. “His parents covering their faces with shame.” Kid at #PianoRecital refuses to bow after his piece, yelling: "Covfefe me ousside, howbow dah!"His parents covering their faces with shame


Khan's family moved to America 36 years ago He was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after his death Humayun Khan knew he was walking toward danger. He must have known. The 27-year-old Army captain had ordered those around him to take cover as soon as he saw a taxi barrel through the gates of his base in Baquba, Iraq. He took 10 steps toward it before it exploded. Khan isn’t the only Muslim-American to give his life in the service of his country. But in this rancorous political climate, where Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is calling for a ban on Muslims, his story has taken on a different sort of significance. Khizr Khan calls on GOP to stop TrumpFather’s full interview with CNNTrump’s uneasy 36 hours Could Khan cost Trump the election?Veterans outraged, demand apologyWho was fallen Army captain? Trump: “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices”Silent wife comment creates uproarDid Trump go too far? Top aide leaves GOP Khizr Khan calls on GOP to stop TrumpFather’s full interview with CNNTrump’s uneasy 36 hours Could Khan cost Trump the election?Veterans outraged, demand apologyWho was fallen Army captain? Trump: “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices”Silent wife comment creates uproarDid Trump go too far? Top aide leaves GOP And when Khan’s parents strode on to the stage at the Democratic National Convention, their grief still writ large on their faces 12 years later, it was a meeting of identities as potent as the symbol on the Army captain’s military grave. It signaled that patriotism and Islam are not mutually exclusive, that sacrifice and grief have no religion, and that the similarities the Khans share with so many American families are far more meaningful than their differences. Humayun Khan was born in the United Arab Emirates to Pakistani parents. His family moved to America 36 years ago. “Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed. We believed in American democracy; that with hard work and goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute to its blessings,” the father, Khizr Khan, said during his speech Thursday night at the Democratic convention. “We are blessed to raise our three sons in a nation where they were free to be themselves and follow their dreams.” The family settled in Maryland, where the boys seemed to have a knack for academics. Khan enrolled in the ROTC program at the University of Virginia after completing high school. He graduated with a degree in psychology. He aspired to be a military lawyer, and wanted a career advocating for veterans. He decided to join the Army first to pay for law school. Khizr Khan, and the moment American Muslims have been waiting for On the day he died, Khan was overseeing soldiers as they conducted routine vehicle inspections. It was June 8, 2004 – the height of the insurgency when attacks on American forces were constant. He’d last talked to his mother a month earlier, on Mother’s Day. “Whenever I talked to him, I started to cry,” his mother, Ghazala, told The Washington Post at the time. “He always said to me, ‘Don’t worry. I’m safe.’ “ Laci Walker, who was a sergeant under Khan, described him as a first-rate and admirable leader, and the man she most respected other than her father and husband. The country should honor Khan for character, not his ethnicity, she said. “He didn’t wear his heritage on his shoulder; he wore the American flag like we all did,” she said. “He was definitely the best leader, and I was devastated by his loss, and I have a tattoo in his honor. Khan was an ordnance officer with the 201st Forward Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Division. His unit made sure the camp stayed secure and things ran smoothly. While serving, he also participated in a U.S. Army program that helped Iraqi citizens earn money to support themselves. “He was always a peacemaker,” his father told the Post. “[He was] always seeing an opportunity to give. He was always to the Iraqis, ‘We’re here not to hurt you but to help you.’” When the taxi drove through the gates, Khan told the soldiers to take cover. He walked toward it, signaling for it to stop. The car, with 200 pounds of explosives, blew up, killing him. Khan’s actions saved the lives of several others. For that, he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. “He died selflessly and courageously, tackling the enemy head on,” his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Dan Mitchell, wrote in a letter read at his funeral. “We will not forget him and the noble ideas he stood for.” He was given full military honors and buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where the marble headstone bears the star and crescent of his faith He was 27. Cards and  flowers have been laid on Khan’s grave in section 60 of the cemetery by visitors paying their respects. Quiet, steady stream of visitors at @ArlingtonCem today to honor #HumayunKhan. Took my turn, with other families. pic.twitter.com/hMBuZ4eQeg Brian Butler came by on Sunday, according to CNN Affiliate WJLA. “They had so many people come up and see his grave, different races, it was just a stream of people,” Butler said. “Just feeling for his parents and feeling a loss, no matter what party you’re affiliated with.” At least 6,024 Muslims have served in the U.S. armed forces since the September 11 terror attacks, and at least 14 have died. Those figures are from a Committee on Homeland Security report issued in 2011. But those numbers are only for service members who self-identified as Muslims. The Pentagon does not track recruits by faith. They only ask service members to declare their faith on their records so that in case of death, the department can provide the correct religious chaplain. The truth about Muslims in America The convention stage was an unexpected destination for Khan’s parents, one they could not have foreseen. Khizr Khan spoke briefly of his son, but focused most of his words on what it meant to be an American Muslim and the discontent he felt with Donald Trump’s plans for people like him. At one point, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small copy of the U.S. Constitution. A Muslim immigrant, holding aloft one of the country’s most important documents and urging his fellow citizens, and his leaders, to consider its words. “In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law,’” he said. Specifically addressing Trump, he asked, “Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America.” “You have sacrificed nothing and no one.” Instagram post not found. Post has been removed or is no longer public. His gesture set off a seismic reaction. Supporters typed out Khan’s words and superimposed them over images of him holding up that little blue book. Some shared pictures of their own copies of the Constitution. The elder Khan is a Harvard-educated lawyer who now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and works as a legal consultant. Journalist Wajat Ali reported the worn Constitution that Khizr Khan produced, a totem of true American-ness, was far from a prop. He’s carried it with him for years. CNN’s Susanna Capelouto and Steve Visser contributed to this story


One day after Tropical Cyclone Roanu lashed the coast of Bangladesh with heavy winds and rain, killing at least 21 people and displacing half a million residents, some evacuees are cautiously returning home from shelters. Many areas remain inundated after 55 mph winds and downpours of more than a foot in some areas Saturday. The cyclone hit the south and southeast regions of Barisal and Chittagong especially hard – damaging hundreds of houses and causing landslides, according to disaster officials. Roanu made landfall Saturday and began to weaken as it roared over Bangladesh, according to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. In the days before it touched down, the cyclone dumped 9 to 13 inches of rain in parts of Bangladesh and more than 18 inches in Kakinada, India, more than 800 miles away. Related video Tropical Cylone Roanu Update Related video Tropical cyclone slams India, Bangladesh Parts of Bangladesh could see additional accumulations ranging from 2 to 6 inches, according to Chinchar. “We’ve confirmed 21 deaths in six districts so far,” Dalil Uddin of the disaster management ministry told CNN. Uddin said many fatalities involved people who were buried under uprooted trees, damaged houses and landslides. The death toll was expected to rise. Vast swaths of land in coastal cities were inundated and some 500,000 people were evacuated to shelters, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, minister of disaster management and relief, told reporters. The storm disrupted power and road communications in many parts of the country, officials said. Dramatic shots from #Bangladesh RedCrescent as #Cycloneroanu slams into Chittagong. See more https://t.co/YZoUksSSCt pic.twitter.com/K7NC1fIbyQ Its sea level geography and location have conspired to make Bangladesh vulnerable to cyclones. In 1991, a cyclone killed at least 140,000 people, according to the United Nations. In 1970, Cyclone Bhola struck Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, killing 500,000 people. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called the storm the 20th century’s “greatest tropical system disaster.” Since then, improved warning systems and shelters have helped reduce the number of deaths during more recent storms. Journalist Farid Ahmed in Bangladesh contributed to this report.


The 17-year-old who allegedly shot and killed 10 people and wounded 13 others at a Texas high school used his father’s legally owned shotgun and revolver during the rampage. The Santa Fe school shooting Friday has prompted a lot of debate among state politicians about the causes of the violence, which they attribute to everything from violent video games to the many ways people can get in and out of schools. “Be sure that your kids and grandkids or anyone who might have access to your home cannot get your guns,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told CNN, citing yet another reason for the bloodshed. Texas already is one of 27 states – along with the District of Columbia – with child access prevention laws on the books. There are no such laws at the federal level. The age in which the laws apply varies from state to state, ranging from children under 14 to those under 18. Related article Santa Fe High School had armed cops and active shooter drills. Yet 10 people died. Under Texas law, prosecutors can file a misdemeanor charge against a gun owner who failed to secure a weapon and a child under 17 gains access to a “readily dischargeable” firearm from that person’s property. That law, however, may not apply in the case of the alleged Sante Fe shooter, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who is 17. In addition, 11 states have laws mandating firearm locking devices – with Massachusetts the only one requiring that all firearms be stored with a lock in place. During the interview with The Wall Street Journal, the suspect’s father, Antonios Pagourtzis, wouldn’t discuss how his son came to acquire the weapons used in Friday’s attack, the paper reported. Gov. Greg Abbott has told reporters the alleged shooter used his father’s legally owned shotgun and revolver. A law enforcement official told CNN that authorities are still trying to determine whether that’s the case. In a Saturday interview with Greece’s Antenna TV, Pagourtzis said he owned the guns used in the attack and Dimitrios took them from his closet. “I’m just saying that every parent out there needs to understand, every gun owner, if you are not a parent, you need to understand … you must control your guns at home and be sure they are locked up and kept away from others getting your guns,” Patrick told CNN on Sunday. Adam Winkler, a professor at UCLA School of Law, said the country’s child access prevention laws are minimal, and only 11 states require that some firearms be stored securely. “Safe storage laws can, and do, make a difference,” said Winkler. “Studies show that requiring guns to be stored safely reduces suicide and accidental shootings. Nearly 15% of American children live in homes with unsecured firearms, but only a handful of states require guns to be locked up at home.” Related article 6 GOP talking points that show why the gun control debate isn't changing anytime soon Massachusetts has the strictest safe-storage laws in the country, according to experts. The state requires all firearms be stored with locking devices. “Gun owners have a responsibility to store their guns safely,” Winkler said. “Texas’s laws, which impose liability after a shooting, are not as effective as laws requiring guns to be stored safely in the first place.” More than half of gun owners do not safely store their firearms, according to a survey by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The survey of 1,444 US gun owners, published in February, found that 54% of gun owners reported not storing all their guns safely. A new systematic review of US gun policy found “credible evidence” that child-access prevention laws reduce unintended firearm injuries to children. The laws requiring guns to be stored safely also reduce self-injuries and suicides, according to researchers at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. Access prevention laws reduce unintended firearm injuries to children and also reduce self-injuries and suicides, the researchers at Rand found. “A lot of data shows that the vast majority of school shooters and others … gain access to their weapons either at their parent’s homes or that of another relative,” said Ari Freilich, staff attorney with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “There are a lot of important policy solutions that work together and try to make mass shootings less frequent and less lethal. And one key component of that is ensuring that parents … store guns responsibly.”


When outsiders think of rural Texas, their thoughts tend to run toward cactus, tumbleweeds, oil derricks, coyotes and armadillos, cowboys and pickup trucks. Say “rural Texas” to an old-school Houstonian, and you get a different picture. Often as not, their minds will run to the Brenham area about 75 miles northwest of downtown Houston. It’s a nostalgic vision that Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries imprinted on the minds of Texans for decades through its beloved commercials, which featured the Texas version of the American dream. In the Blue Bell ice cream ads, longhorn steers graze in the shade of the abundant pecan trees that stud Brenham’s low hills, awash in the early spring with oceans of bluebonnets best viewed along 80 miles of Washington County back roads. It’s the Texas of quaint country stores and rope swings and swimming holes, where mama calls the kids home through the screen door of a tin-roofed country house to a rustic kitchen table, where bowls of Blue Bell and cool glasses of fresh-squeezed lemonade await. But there’s more to the Brenham area than a face-first dive into ice cream and nostalgia. Yes, within a half-hour drive of the Washington County seat you will find the antiquing capital of Texas in Round Top. But you’ll also find culture ranging from longneck-friendly, boot-scootin’ country to fine wine, art galleries, Shakespeare and Beethoven. You’ll find burgers, barbecue and the state’s only Forbes five-star restaurant and accommodations ranging from camping to the super-deluxe. It’s easy to see why some have called Washington and neighboring Austin and Fayette counties Texas’ largest, lowest-density big city. First, a little area history: As home to many of the “Old 300” (the first families of Anglo Texas), and the seat of revolt against Santa Anna’s Mexican government, these Brazos bottom cotton fields were the “birthplace of Texas.” While lacking the oomph and human tragedy of the Alamo, Goliad or San Jacinto, hallowed grounds such as San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site and Independence Hall in Washington on the Brazos are indisputably the locales where the events by which Texas became Texas were set into motion. With a population of about 20,000, Brenham should be the hub of any expedition into the area. Its revitalized, Frank Capra-esque downtown is a jewel box of small-town defiance against the trend toward Walmart-based, chain-dominated edge cities. It has boutique hotels, such as the ornate, antique B&B Ant Street Inn, with its fountained courtyard and Old South-themed rooms; Back Lot and other art galleries and professional plays at the Unity Theatre; and occasional concerts and vintage film screenings at The Barnhill Center, an arts complex that includes the town’s old one-screen Simon Theatre. Brenham punches well beyond its weight class in the dining department: 96 West offers Texas-style tapas (lamb tostadas, Texas beef sliders and bacon-wrapped quail, to name three), craft beer and one of the best wine lists between Houston and Austin, and chef Silvio DiGennaro offers sophisticated Southern Italian fare at Volare. Got kids with you? If they’re of a Harry Potter bent, Newman’s Castle, one of Texas’ most eccentric attractions, awaits in nearby Bellville. Working by hand, the town baker has recreated a fairy tale stronghold, complete with moat, dungeon, high crenellated towers and working drawbridge, as his personal residence. Tours are available with advance reservations. The legacy of German and Czech immigrant farmers who flocked to the Brenham area starting in the mid-19th century lives on. Their influence can be found at the Home Sweet Farm market and adjacent biergarten and in the kolaches and klobasniky (Czech-derived fruit- or cheese-filled and/or savory pastries, respectively) at Park Street Bakery. Seekers of Texas-style barbecue have two options in Brenham: the venerable and down-home Nathan’s and Truth BBQ, run by young disciples of Austin pitmasters Aaron Franklin and John Lewis. Truth has quickly become a destination for the Lone Star State’s army of fanatical smoked meat aficionados. (It’s open only for lunch from Thursday to Sunday, and they tend to sell out.) A one-stop shop of local fare, the Chappell Hill Bakery & Deli, less than 15 minutes from Brenham in neighboring Chapell Hill, offers barbecue, kolaches, breakfast tacos and Blue Bell ice cream. If the city lights of Brenham are a little too bright, the Inn at Dos Brisas is an unforgettable luxury ranch/resort experience on 300 acres 11 miles northeast of Brenham. Dos Brisas offers guests their choice of a tranquil escape from the chaos of city life or a challenge-packed, dude ranch-style horseback adventure. Either way, a stay in one of the nine private Spanish-style casitas and mini-haciendas at Dos Brisas involves pampering with made-to-order gourmet breakfasts. Executive chef Matt Padilla heads up the state’s only Forbes five-star kitchen, organic and farm-to-fork, accompanied by wine from the resort’s 7,000-bottle cellar. (Bed and breakfast packages start at $442 for casitas and $751 for haciendas). The back roads around Brenham abound in finds like few others in Texas. Southwest of Brenham, the tiny hamlet of Round Top (population: 90) in neighboring Fayette County is home to one of Texas’ largest and oldest antique fairs, dozens of quaint bed and breakfasts (and dozens more in neighboring towns), and classical music concerts at Festival Hill, a multibuilding complex of historic structures, many of them salvaged from the wrecking ball in nearby towns. Festival Hill hosts more than 50 events a year, ranging from poetry readings to classical guitar concerts to herbal forums. The All-American fare at Royers Round Top Cafe enjoys statewide renown, especially the scratch-baked pies. Four miles east of Round Top, the unincorporated village of Winedale is home to both a 225-acre historic park of centuries-old Texas folk art and homesteads and the University of Texas’ Shakespeare program, where drama students live and recreate the Bard’s works in a 19th-century barn. If twangy music be the food of thy love, you can hear it play on and on at the Kenney Store, a revamped country store 10 miles south of Brenham in northern Austin County, known far and wide for its tunes, its burgers and some of the coldest beer in Texas. To the east of Brenham, Chappell Hill holds its annual Bluebonnet Festival in April and a Scarecrow Festival in October. Brenham is worth a stop even for explorers heading out to see the dramatic scenery at Big Bend National Park or the Texas Hill Country. But for a deep-dive into the charms of old-town Texas with a cultural bent, Brenham and its surroundings offer a combo of honky-tonk and Beethoven, beef brisket for lunch and pan-roasted wild turbot for dinner, the Bard in a barn and random castles in the country. You’ll find it nowhere else but in and around Brenham, where every square inch of bluebonnet-graced earth exudes the essence of the modern Lone Star State. A rare fourth-generation Houstonian, John Nova Lomax is a senior editor with Texas Monthly magazine.

Brenham and its surrounding area in Texas


The act would require the White House to submit a report detailing why it was seeking to lift sanctions The moves underscore concern over Trump's openness to Vladimir Putin A growing number of senators from both parties plan to ratchet up their push to stiffen sanctions on Russia and demand Congress have the final say if President Donald Trump decides to weaken penalties on the country unilaterally. The move by six senators is the latest warning from Capitol Hill to the new administration over US-Russian relations. On Wednesday, a group led by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, plan to introduce legislation that would impose strict new congressional oversight and veto power over the Trump administration if it decided to lift sanctions on Russia. The Russia Review Act would require the White House to submit a report detailing why it was seeking to lift sanctions, setting into motion a 120-day review period where Congress could vote to disapprove of easing the penalties on the country, according to a summary of the measure provided to CNN. Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is cosponsoring the Graham-Cardin measure, along with Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Republican John McCain of Arizona. Rubio said support is broad within the Senate to push back against the White House if it eased sanctions before Russia pulls out of Ukraine, potentially enough to overcome any Trump veto. “I think if there was a real threat of lifting sanctions minus the respect for Ukrainian sovereignty and meeting those conditions, my sense is that we would have the votes to pass that in the Senate and we would be able to pass it with a veto-proof majority,” Rubio told CNN. The new measure comes as roughly a dozen senators from both parties are quietly lobbying their colleagues to endorse a separate bill that would impose a comprehensive set of sanctions against Russia, picking up new support for their effort, including a member of the GOP leadership team, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado. The under-the-radar moves underscore the growing concern on the Hill that Trump’s openness to Vladimir Putin could prompt the United States to rebuild diplomatic ties with Russia, despite Washington’s furious opposition to a host of Russian actions, including its annexation of Crimea and alleged cyberattacks during the U.S. election. And it comes as lawmakers in both parties have pushed back at Trump’s comments over the weekend, when he seemed to equate US military actions with violence spawned by Putin’s government. It is uncertain when votes over the bills could take place and if Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker will schedule a vote in his committee. But the Tennessee Republican has been a sharp Putin critic and has urged the White House to keep the existing sanctions in place. “Sen. Corker strongly supports keeping sanctions in place against Russia for its continued destabilizing behavior in Ukraine,” said Corker spokeswoman Micah Johnson. Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN he has had conversations with GOP leaders who “are very concerned about our relationship” with Russia. Asked if either the sanctions bill or the new review act would get a veto-proof majority of 67 senators, Cardin said: “I think if this matter comes up for a vote, it would be pretty close to those numbers.” This story has been updated.

Trump administration's policy on Russia sanctions


6,400 employees at a Chinese company were sent to France for a company paid trip The staff also broke a Guinness World Record for building the largest human sentence in Nice More than 6,000 employees of Tiens Group – a Chinese conglomerate – were given the VIP treatment on an all expenses paid trip to France to celebrate the company’s 20th birthday. The tour group – the largest to visit the country – was given a private tour of the Louvre museum and a private shopping session  at luxury department store Galeries Lafayette during their four-day trip, reported French news agency Agence France-Presse. After two days in Paris, the group headed down to the southern resort town of Nice on Friday, where they also broke a Guinness World Record for forming the largest human sentence. All staff members lined up on the waterfront, Promenade des Anglais, to spell out the phrase “Tiens’ dream is nice in the Côte d’Azur” that was visible from above. According to local media, the company booked 4,760 rooms in 79 hotels between Cannes and Monaco, and 146 tour buses. “We have mobilized public services as well as tourism professionals, hotels, restaurants, shops and designer brands,” Christian Mantel, head of the French tourism development agency told AFP. It’s estimated that the group will spend $15 million during their visit added Mantel, and France is seen to reap up to $20 million in total economic benefits. Chinese tourists, who are known to be the world’s biggest holiday spenders, are said to spend an average of $7,200 when they go overseas. It’s not the first time a Chinese company has arranged for massive tours overseas. Last year, a group of 7,000 made a trip to the U.S. to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Sino-U.S. diplomatic ties. Tiens Group operates in a diverse range of business interests, including biotechnology, tourism and trade. CNN’s Jethro Mullen, Pamela Boykoff and Shen Lu contributed to this report.


Paul Manafort’s attorneys appear to have mistakenly made public some of their notes about a strategy they may use to attack Robert Mueller’s special counsel office. The one page of bullet points and sentence fragments, titled “DOJ, OSC AND THE PRESS” sketches a connection between information obtained by both Mueller’s office and the Associated Press, alleging an exchange of information. The rogue note was attached to an apparently unrelated court filing Wednesday afternoon that asks the judge overseeing Manafort’s criminal case to consider a change to proposed deadlines. Related article Mueller set to question Bannon on Flynn and Comey Manafort is also suing Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the Justice Department for overreach in their investigation into possible Russian collusion related to the Trump campaign. Included in the defense attorneys’ formal motion was a third page, of notes – descriptions of a subpoena and seizure warrant, Associated Press stories about Manafort, his company and his work related to Ukraine, and a reporter’s contact with a Manafort spokesman, Jason Maloni. One part of the note describes how Maloni turned over two memos from Paul Manafort to the Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov as part of a subpoena. The note then says, “memos received by Maloni from the AP,” suggesting that documents obtained by the special counsel’s office ended up in the Associates Press’ hands. Related article Manafort, Gates trial could come days before midterm election Further down, the note describes how the Associated Press reporter saw electronic files from Manafort’s company on a hard drive. An employee of Manafort’s company allowed the reporter to see a copy of the hard drive, the note said. The government then seized that hard drive, the note said. The exchange of information, according to the note, culminated with an Associated Press story in April 2017 that asserted Manafort received two “off-the-books” payments from a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine for which he consulted. His nine criminal charges, to which he’s pleaded not guilty, relate to some of the work and payments Manafort received from the Ukrainians. The ledger described here led to Manafort’s departure from the Trump campaign in 2016. Maloni and Kevin Downing, Manafort’s lead attorney, declined to comment Wednesday. The lead reporter on the April Associated Press story, Jack Gillum, who now works for The Washington Post, declined to comment. An attorney for Akhmetov didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Lauren Easton, a spokesperson for the Associated Press, said Thursday, “The suggestion that AP would voluntarily serve as the source of information for a government agency is categorically untrue.”


In a single day Londoner Jacqui Kenny continent-hops from Sun City, Arizona to Naryn, Kyrgyzstan – and back again. Kenny’s travel itinerary is unconstrained by the usual limits of money, transportation or logistics. That’s because she travels the world without leaving her house – via Google Street View. Kenny suffers from agoraphobia – an anxiety condition that makes real world traveling very difficult. But Kenny’s virtual travels have become a lifeline – and she captures snapshots of sights she sees on her way. Her keen creative eye has allowed her to curate a gallery of images on her Instagram @streetview.portraits – under the pseudonym “Agoraphobic Traveller.” The project came about by accident – but she now has over 35,200 followers. “I thought it was a little bit magic, Google Street View, it feels like a parallel universe, frozen in time,” Kenny tells CNN Travel. “There’s all these billions of images that are yet to be explored.” The project began early 2016. Kenny was in the process of closing down a company she had co-founded a decade previously. It was a difficult time and her explorations via Street View were comforting – and provided an outlet for her creativity. “I wasn’t really ready to go back into the world,” she recalls. “So I thought, I needed a creative project, so that I can still be doing something creative and keeping myself focused.” Initially the New Zealand native was exploring blindly – unsure what aesthetic she would be drawn to, but it didn’t take her long to realize she had a knack for spotting striking settings. Her images depict arid, desert landscapes. Sporadic pops of color bringing the photos to life. “I realized pretty quickly that I really liked those kind of extreme environments,” she says. “That might be connected to the fact that due to my agoraphobia, these are places that I would never go to in real life.” MORE: Man travels 12,000 km to capture beautiful Thailand scenes for Google Kenny’s Instagram feed is a visual smorgasbord of scenes from across the world – all presented in Kenny’s carefully framed aesthetic. Buildings are low-roofed, often half the image is taken up with blue sky. Colors burst through the otherwise minimalist scene. Only occasionally do people appear in her images. When they do, their blurred faces add to the photos’ otherworldly appeal. The overall look is more akin to a scene from a Wes Anderson movie than real life. But the images aren’t carefully directed scenes – but real life moments recorded by Google and captured by Kenny. Kenny makes no effort to hide the reality of her images. She embraces the Google Street View car’s intrusion into the scene. Her penchant for desert scenes is in part because of the effect the car has on the dust. “I love the dust,” she says, “Because the Google car kicks up the dust it adds another layer – something that feels a little bit surreal.” She avoids the oddities that can be spotted on the digital platform. “I try to be as respectful as I possibly can, I always think about that,” she says. MORE: See India through the eyes and lenses of Instagram As Kenny embraces her project’s unconventional digital roots, she’s also learning to embrace her agoraphobia. “I’ve always wanted to do something about mental health. But I was never sure what to do,” she says. “I’d never really told anybody about my agoraphobia, I mean I’ve had it for many, many years and the only people I’d ever told were my family and my close friends.” Kenny initially worried about telling her followers, but soon realized her fears were unfounded. “When I put it up on Instagram, it was amazing,” she says, “Obviously there’s still so much stigma attached and I thought people were going to judge me, but I’ve had nothing but support.” Kenny is constantly getting messages from other agoraphobics – and people who suffer from other mental health conditions, thanking her for getting the word out. “I get people contacting me pretty much every day, especially over the past six months, and I’ve built this really amazing community,” she says. “But it’s not just a community of people who are going through similar struggles, it’s also a creative community too.” MORE: Photos of Europe taken in same spots 30 years later Kenny’s work has even attracted the attention of Google. She says she’s been chatting to the company about upcoming projects. With all the buzz, she has even been considering tackling her issues head on and visiting some of her favorite locales in real life. “I feel quite a connection now to some of these places that I immerse myself in. When I get a town I really, really love, I’ll spend quite a lot of time there,” Kenny adds. There has been talk of exhibitions and events in some of these spots. “I think I would go to these places if there was a reason to go to them,” she says. “I would love to have an exhibition in the places that I travel to the most. And that would give me enough reason to go.” The photographer acknowledges it would be incredibly difficult – but rewarding: “It would be very, very hard for me, to do it […] but for something like, I would.” In the meantime Kenny is excited to see where the project goes – she is considering branching out into virtual reality and other new technologies. “It’s kind of amazing how spending a lot of time at home on this project has actually really opened my world,” she says.


Francis Lorenzo accused of facilitating bribes to ex-U.N. general assembly chief Lorenzo pleads guilty to bribery, money laundering, other charges Former General Assembly President John Ashe has pleaded not guilty in case With one word, the life of the former deputy U.N. ambassador from the Dominican Republic, Francis Lorenzo, changed forever Wednesday. He replied in a measured voice – “guilty” – when asked by a federal court judge in Manhattan how he wanted to plead to six criminal counts. Lorenzo was arrested in early October, linked to a bribery scandal that also snared former General Assembly President John Ashe and rocked the United Nations. He faces a maximum of 63 years in prison though his sentence will likely not be that long. Lorenzo,a major name in U.N. political and social circles, pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, money laundering, tax fraud and illegal bank accounts. His attorney, Brian Bieber, said his client “has chosen to plead guilty and accept responsibility for his criminal conduct.” Bieber added that Lorenzo is “very remorseful for his conduct.” In court, Lorenzo agreed with government charges that he had helped channel bribes from Chinese businessmen to Ashe, who would then allegedly seek to use his offices to help set up a conference center in Macau. Ashe and Chinese businessman Ng Lap Seng, a Macau business developer, have pleaded not guilty. Three of the other original defendants have now changed their pleas to guilty. After Wednesday’s court session, attorneys for Ng said Lorenzo’s guilty plea in no way affects their clients case. Ng strongly maintains his innocence, according to his attorneys, Benjamin Brafman and Hugh Mo. Asked how Lorenzo’s guilty plea would affect the other defendants, Bieber said, “You heard in open court that Mr. Lorenzo has accepted full responsibility for his individual conduct as well as his conduct committed in agreement with his co-defendants.” Lorenzo declined to comment as he was pursued through the downtown streets by news cameras. In court, the government indicated Lorenzo also participated in assisting unnamed foreign officials. When Ashe was arrested, he was accused of using bribe money in Antigua with senior Antiguan government officials, including the country’s former prime minister. The United Nations is conducting its own audit after the high-profile arrests.


NEW: The Doctors Without Borders chief says Obama apologized, but it's not enough The charity group calls the bombing a war crime, wants an international investigation The airstrike killed 12 medical staff members and at least 10 patients President Barack Obama has personally apologized. But he didn’t go far enough, according to Doctors Without Borders, the aid group whose hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz was hit by a deadly U.S. airstrike. The charity group – which is also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF, and provides medical care in some of the world’s most dangerous places – is calling the strike an “attack on the Geneva Conventions” and urging an independent investigation by a never-before-used international commission. The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission has been in existence since 1991. It requires a request by one of the 76 nations that have signed on to it for it to begin its work. Its job is to investigate whether international humanitarian law has been violated. “Governments up to now have been too polite or afraid to set a precedent,” Dr. Joanne Liu, president of Doctors Without Borders, said Wednesday. “The tool exists, and it is time it is activated.” On Wednesday morning, Obama called and apologized directly to Liu. In a White House statement on that conversation, he highlighted a U.S. military investigation into the strike and pledged full support to a joint NATO and Afghan government probe. But there was no mention of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission. “President Obama expressed regret over the tragic incident and offered his thoughts and prayers on behalf of the American people to the victims, their families, and loved ones,” the White House statement said. “Acknowledging the great respect he has for the important and lifesaving work that MSF does for vulnerable communities in Afghanistan and around the world, the President assured  Liu of his expectation that the Department of Defense investigation currently underway would provide a transparent, thorough and objective accounting of the facts and circumstances of the incident.” The Doctors Without Borders chief acknowledged Obama’s apology, but doesn’t want him to stop there. She pushed for the United States to allow an international investigation. “We reiterate our (request) that the U.S. government consent to an independent investigation led by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission to establish what happened in Kunduz, how it happened, and why it happened,” Liu said. The attack in the embattled city Saturday killed 12 medical staff members and at least 10 patients, three of them children. It was “the biggest loss of life for our organization in an airstrike,” Liu said. 'If we let this go, we are basically giving blank check to any countries at war' says #MSF Int'l Prez @JoanneLiu_MSF pic.twitter.com/p3YDpUepbq Another 37 people were wounded, according to the global charity group, which works in conflict zones to help victims of war and other tragedies. Gen. John Campbell, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has said the hospital was hit accidentally during an American airstrike. The Pentagon is carrying out an investigation, as are NATO and Afghanistan. “If errors were committed, we will acknowledge them,” Campbell said. “We will hold those responsible accountable, and we will take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated.” Doctors Without Borders said it wants a full and transparent investigation by an independent agency. “Their description of the attack keeps changing – from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government,” the group said. Saturday, 3 October – Col. Brian Tribus, spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan“U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Kunduz city at 2:15am (local), Oct 3, against individuals threatening the force. The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility. This incident is under investigation.”Sunday, 4 October – Gen. John Campbell, U.S. military chief in Afghanistan“U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Kunduz city at 2:15am (local), Oct 3, against insurgents who were directly firing upon U.S. service members advising and assisting Afghan Security Forces in the city of Kunduz. The strike was conducted in the vicinity of a Doctors Without Borders medical facility.”Monday, 5 October – Gen. John Campbell, U.S. military chief in Afghanistan“We have now learned that on October 3, Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from U.S. forces. An airstrike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck. This is different from the initial reports, which indicated that U.S. forces were threatened and that the airstrike was called on their behalf.”Tuesday, 6 October – Gen. John Campbell to the Senate committee“On Saturday morning our forces provided close air support to Afghan forces at their request. To be clear the decision to provide aerial fires was a U.S. decision, made within the U.S. chain of command. A hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility … I assure you that the investigation will be thorough, objective and transparent.” U.S. general.: We need new Afghanistan plan The United States has changed its account of what brought on the airstrike. First, U.S. officials said that initial reports indicated the airstrike was called to protect U.S. forces. Then it said Afghan forces called for the air support because the Afghans were taking fire. “Today, we say, ‘Enough,’ ” Liu said. “Today we are fighting back for the respect of the Geneva Conventions. As doctors, we are fighting back for the sake of our patients.” It’s an open question as to whether the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission could initiate an inquiry. The panel’s website says it requires the consent of the parties involved, and neither the United States nor Afghanistan recognizes the commission. Jason Cone, the U.S. executive director for Doctors Without Borders, called on one of the 76 nations that recognize the panel to press the issue on the charity’s behalf, though none of the 76 had stepped forward as of midday Wednesday. He said the changing U.S. accounts of the strikes underscore the need for an independent inquiry. Cone paid tribute to the doctors who he said carried on treating the wounded while watching their colleagues die and while the hospital burned. “In Kunduz, our patients burned in their beds, our doctors’ nurses and other staff were killed as they worked, our colleagues had to operate on each other. One of our doctors died on an improvised operating table, an office desk, while his colleagues tried to save his life,” Cone said. Is U.S. bombing of Afghan hospital a war crime? Related gallery Doctors Without Borders hospital attacked in Afghanistan In general terms, a war crime may be committed when there is an attack on a civilian population during an armed conflict, said Steven Kay, a lawyer who defended Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta against charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, There is an extensive body of law that regulates military action during conflict. The aim, said Anthony Dworkin, a human rights expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, is to draw a balance between what armed forces are justified to do out of military necessity – which includes causing collateral damage to civilians – and the principles of humanity. “Hospitals enjoy a special protected status under international humanitarian law. So, to attack a hospital or medical facility, whether it is a civilian or military installation, is a crime,” Kay said. Saturday wasn’t the first time Doctors Without Borders has complained about military action on the Kunduz hospital. In July, the aid group condemned what it called a “violent incursion by armed members of Afghan Special Forces.” The troops allegedly entered the hospital – which, according to MSF, “has a strict no weapons policy” like its other facilities – and “physically assaulted three MSF staff members (and arrested) three patients.” Those patients were released after an hour. “Since it opened in 2011, Kunduz Trauma Center has been a place where all patients can receive free medical and surgical care safely,” MSF’s Director of Operations Dr. Bart Janssens said at the time. “This serious event puts at risk the lives of thousands of people who rely on the center for urgent care.” Collateral damage: A brief history of U.S. mistakes at war CNN’s Mairi Mackay, Don Melvin, Kristina Sgueglia and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.


The Food and Drug Administration is considering new rules for stem cell clinics Doctors and patients weigh in on what such regulation should look like Stem cells have the potential to divide and develop into many different cell types in the body. They are so enchanting and so promising – they may help paralyzed patients regain use of their limbs or help the nearly blind to see – that they have Food and Drug Administration officials scratching their heads. Officials are mulling regulations to address how stem cells are used in various medical and cosmetic procedures, to avoid any exploitation of and harm to patients, and they have asked for input from the public. Related article Stem Cells Fast Facts The FDA hosted a public hearing at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland, last week to discuss draft documents relating to the regulation of human cells (PDF). Doctors, business owners, academics and patients spoke at the two-day event and weighed in on what they think needs to change. The public can submit comments to the FDA online or in the mail by September 27. Some are pleading for the FDA to establish merciful regulation so that sick patients can have better access to regenerative medicine. They believe stem cell therapies can help. Others are calling for the FDA to crack down on clinics, especially those that are marketing unproven stem cell treatments. They believe some stem cell therapies can harm. How are stem cell therapies currently regulated? The FDA has approved only one stem cell therapy product: a therapy called Hemacord that can restore low blood counts in patients with certain blood disorders. “Stem cells, like other medical products that are intended to treat, cure or prevent disease, generally require FDA approval before they can be marketed. FDA has not approved any stem cell-based products for use, other than cord blood-derived hematopoietic progenitor cells (blood forming stem cells) for certain indications,” according to the administration’s website. Related article Analysis finds hundreds of U.S. clinics selling unapproved stem cell treatments Nonetheless, 570 stem cell clinics have emerged across the country, offering stem cell interventions that are not approved in the United States or don’t fit within the FDA’s regulations, according to a paper published in the journal Cell Stem Cell in June. The researchers manually conducted an Internet search and analysis to count the number of American-based clinics. “I was surprised by the huge scope of this industry. I would have predicted half or fewer the number of clinics we found. I was also struck by the coast-to-coast extent of this industry,” said Paul Knoepfler, professor of cell biology and human anatomy at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and a co-author of the paper. “To date, regulators such as the FDA have not taken significant action on stem cell clinics in the United States, and it is not clear why. As a result, the clinics and those considering opening new clinics view the lack of action as a green light for them to proceed,” he said. Though the researchers discovered hundreds of clinics, Knoepfler said that the FDA seems to have issued only one warning letter to a clinic in recent years. That letter was sent to the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center in December. “Which seems wildly out of proportion with the scope of the stem cell clinic industry,” he said. “At the state level, we haven’t seen state medical boards take actions as well, which also contributes to the problem.” Related video Reversing heart failure with stem cells However, a wave of new studies in recent years has revealed the enticing potential of stem cell therapies, prompting some doctors and patients alike to cross their fingers that the FDA institutes more lenient and less sweeping rules. “There are a lot of people interested in using stem cells to try to repair orthopedic problems, shooting them in the joints in the knees to try and regrow bone and cartilage. That’s been around for a while. There are lots of folks trying to use stem cells in more research settings to regrow spinal cord; there are clinical trials going on of that,” said Dr. Arthur Caplan, a professor and founding head of the division of bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center, who wasn’t involved in the FDA hearing. “Stem cells have been used to regrow gums in dentistry. Stem cells are used in cosmetic surgery. People use them to grow fat tissue when they’re trying to reconstruct, usually for breast augmentation,” he added. “You’ll see stem cell advertisements all around.” What really turns heads, however, is how some stem cell therapies have shown promise in repairing the damage caused by various diseases, such as eye diseases that cause blindness, neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and immune-mediated diseases such as multiple sclerosis. As such therapies are not available in the United States, some patients have accessed them elsewhere. It was an overseas experimental stem cell therapy that gave Sara Hughes, 24, new hope for her future – and the future of the nearly 300,000 other patients who have been diagnosed with the same rare type of juvenile arthritis as she. Last week, Hughes spoke at the FDA’s hearing along with her mother, Fiona Cunningham. The last time they were at the National Institutes of Health campus, a few years ago, Hughes’ body was an 83-pound skeletal frame crippled by constant pain. Related gallery Learning to live at 24 She was diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis at 11 months old and became so sick in her adolescence that she was evaluated, treated and studied at the NIH in collaboration with her doctors from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Hughes could barely walk, was bed-bound and in agony, and spent most of her life hospitalized. She thought fleetingly about the future because she didn’t think she had one. “If not for the help of high-dose autologous mesenchymal stem cell therapy, I would not be here today,” Hughes said in her speech at the hearing, adding that she is now “in fairly good health” to share her testimony. In 2014, Hughes had her own healthy stem cells cultured at Celltex Therapeutics, a FDA-regulated biotechnology company in Houston. Once infused back into her, such cells could help strengthen her body and normalize her immune system, which was overactive due to her autoimmune disease. However, to have the healthy cells introduced back into her body to treat her arthritis symptoms, Hughes had to travel to Mexico. The procedure was not approved in the United States, where her “own stem cells are considered to be a drug,” she said. Related article After experimental treatment, 24-year-old is learning how to live Each of her infusions had approximately 200 million stem cells in them – and Hughes has received about 22 infusions over almost two years, said her mother. “I was running out of time, but I was willing to put my life at risk to get on an airplane. My quality of life had become so dismal, even one small improvement from my own stem cells would have been enough for me,” Hughes said in her speech. “What happened in the days, weeks and years following my first infusion has changed my outlook. It’s hard to believe, in my sick body, I had a wealth of healthy adult stem cells with the ability to so significantly improve my quality of life,” she said. “It’s sad knowing the people who could benefit most from adult stem cell therapy are probably too sick to get on an airplane. … We can do better than this.” As some people are hoping for tolerant regulation, others are calling for the FDA to take a stricter approach to stem cell therapies. The FDA is seeking comment from all of them before official rules are established. Related video Indian clinic's stem cell therapy real? “To be clear, what the hearing is about is feedback on guidelines that are being proposed by the FDA, and these are not binding regulations; they are just points to consider,” said Dr. Insoo Hyun, associate professor of bioethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, who did not attend the hearing. “Officially, what the regulations say is that any time a doctor puts a patient’s own stem cells back into that patient for therapy, it has to essentially be a medical bedside service. It can’t be the transfer of a product that needs FDA regulation,” he said. “The cells must be put back into the patient’s body, where they will perform the same basic functions as before.” A stem cell transplant can pose many – and potentially fatal – risks of complication, from infections to organ damage. A patient who underwent a stem cell therapy in Florida several years ago died during the procedure, according to state authorities. Knoepfler said he hopes that the FDA will quickly move forward to “more appropriately” regulate the stem cell industry. “There are a number of relevant regulations that apply to stem cells. When stem cell products are significantly changed or used in a manner not consistent with their tissue of origin, the stem cells are defined as drugs and need to be approved by the FDA before they are put into patients, who are often paying tens of thousands of dollars a pop for these unproven offerings,” he said. At the hearing, there was community-wide frustration in the air from both sides, said Rosario Isasi, research assistant professor in the University of Miami School of Medicine’s department of human genetics, who attended the hearing and other FDA meetings this week. Most experts agree that the current regulatory system needs to change, but opinions on what that change should been polarizing, Isasi said of the hearing. “I think this polarization of views and interests is eroding the spirit of cooperation that has largely united the regenerative medicine community during the past two decades. This erosion of the community is an issue often missing in the debate.” Related video The kindness of strangers: Stem cell donor saves life The frustration was in response to three key issues, she said: the slowness of the FDA to translate how clinical therapies and regenerative medicine products may be regulated, the absence of clarity on how certain products and therapies are defined in such regulation, and the time and expense to obtain regulatory approval. Obtaining FDA approval is a long process, said Hyun, the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor who did not participate in the hearing. “FDA approval comes after a series of clinical trials. So in the first phase, you want to look for safety, and then in the second phase, with a larger number of patients, you look for efficacy and whether the therapy works compared to other options, and in the third phase, it’s on a grander scale with more patients,” he said. “After phase three, if the data prove it’s safe and efficacious, the FDA approves it to enter the marketplace.” While it’s important for the FDA to focus on “rogue clinics” that are promoting unproven stem cell interventions, Isasi said, doing so shouldn’t overshadow the current FDA-approved stem cell clinical trials that are underway. Her colleague Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Health System, who attended the FDA hearing, agrees. Related article Stem cell study for ALS patients shows promise, yet causes pain “Many doctors are trying to pursue the rigorous pathway and conduct the serious clinical trials with actual stem cells ‘to move this field forward,’ ” Hare said. “This, however, is very expensive and takes a very long time. This is why Congress is looking at ways to accelerate this. We favor a quicker pathway. We do not support cutting any corners that would compromise safety. We think there is a reasonable middle ground.” The discussions the FDA and scientific community are having about stem cell therapies are somewhat similar to the discussions that have been had about the supplement industry, said Caplan, the stem cell expert at New York University Langone Medical Center. “You might say, in a weird way, all of the supplement industry is like this. That is to say, the FDA didn’t regulate it. It grew into a gigantic industry of tens of billions of dollars. No one’s really sure what the hell works. Nobody knows what’s actually in most of the products, but people take them and use them and have all sorts of testimonials that they’ll fix everything,” he said. “So we’ve seen a dangerous explosion in that area. I’d say that’s somewhat like stem cells now.” See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. Now that the issues surrounding stem cell clinics are being discussed, Hyun said hopes that doctors and patients alike – on both sides of issues – can better understand each other. “I hope what emerges out of these discussions is much greater clarity about what the concerns are on either side and a more realistic view about where the state of stem cell research is,” Hyun said. “One thing that many people have also realized is that the idea of stem cell therapy is very exciting to many people, and it gives many people hope, but it also provides the opportunity to exploit patients.” Isasi said it’s crucial to recognize that reasonable differences of opinion exist in order to move forward with establishing new regulation, which is the FDA’s end goal. “I think that common goal remains: promoting medical innovation to serve the needs of patients and the public’s health in an ethically responsible manner,” she said.


Editor’s Note: Peniel Joseph is the Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a professor of history. He is the author of several books, most recently “Stokely: A Life.” The views expressed here are his. Fifty years ago, on the last day of March, President Lyndon Johnson stunned the nation with a surprise announcement that concluded a nationally televised speech on Vietnam. “I will not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party as your President,” Johnson intoned in his signature southern drawl. Johnson’s decision shocked Americans, ratcheted up political division within the Democratic Party and across partisan lines, and fundamentally altered America’s political landscapes in ways the nation could have scarcely imagined that Sunday evening. LBJ had become President after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and was elected to a full term the following year. His March 1968 announcement that he was not seeking re-election opened the field for rivals like Sen. Eugene McCarthy, who had come close to defeating LBJ in the New Hampshire primary, and JFK’s brother, Robert Kennedy. Related article One of today's 'wokest' moments happened in 1968 Johnson couched his decision as a bid for unity, claiming that his single-minded pursuit of peace in Vietnam led him to put aside the personal political self-interest required in seeking another presidential term. At a time when demonstrators camped outside the White House protesting the escalating carnage in Vietnam and proliferating racial unrest at home, Johnson presented himself as a statesman eager to stand above the raucous din of political division. Johnson’s refusal to run for a second term weakened his ability to negotiate a peaceful settlement in Vietnam, one that would not occur for almost five years, with the final American soldier leaving in 1975 with the fall of Saigon. The “accidental President” who gained the office after an assassination, Lyndon Johnson altered the trajectory of postwar American history by advocating for a “Great Society” modeled after his political hero Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal.” Related article When the President stopped the presses A Southern Democrat who became Senate majority leader at the high tide of racial segregation, Johnson envisioned the ebb of American racial apartheid before many of his colleagues and close political friends. In the White House, Johnson became the nation’s greatest presidential champion of racial justice since Abraham Lincoln. He forged a close working relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and gave two indelible speeches on racial equality on March 15 and June 4, 1965 that stand out as towering rhetorical achievements on behalf of interracial democracy in American history. Johnson’s finest political moments came with his back against the wall. His March 15 address to the nation eight days after “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama showcased the brutality of Jim Crow for all the world to see. Johnson, inspired by King’s political example at the March On Washington and rhetorical elegance in the “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” embraced racial justice as a core principal of American democracy during a nationally televised joint congressional session that moved civil rights leaders, including King, to tears. He went further during a Howard University commencement speech less than three months later, when he defined racial justice as equality of outcomes and not merely equal opportunities. Related article Vietnam POW: This is the right way to honor veterans Vietnam crippled the scope, ambition, and effectiveness of the Great Society, a slate of programs now recognized as encompassing civil rights, voting, immigration, health care, education, environmental and criminal justice reform, to name a few. Almost two years and three weeks from the day he cried watching LBJ’s voting rights speech, King assailed the Vietnam War, ending his personal and political rapprochement with the President. More apostates soon followed, including Minnesota Senator McCarthy, whose peace campaign attracted youthful long-haired hippies who promised to “Get Clean for Gene” and oust Johnson as a liberal pretender more committed to waging war in Southeast Asia than bolstering peace around the world. Johnson privately railed against political betrayals from civil rights leaders, especially King, chafed at the release of the Kerner Commission report on civil disorders that seemed to ignore the herculean legislative achievements of the Great Society in favor of fantastical requests for billions of dollars in aid no Congress would ever approve. President Johnson’s retreat from political office robbed the nation of perhaps the one man who might have been able to stem the decline of full-throated liberalism exemplified by the New Deal and extended through the Great Society. But Johnson remained intractable on Vietnam, a hawk who retained his faith in the necessity of the war even in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary. And, of course, it’s not certain that Johnson would have defeated the Republican candidate in 1968, who turned out to be Richard Nixon, even if the President had gotten his own party’s nomination. The roots of the contemporary public skepticism over the integrity of elected leaders and political institutions can be traced back to the “credibility gap” between the White House’s optimistic narration of the Vietnam War and the unvarnished truths being uncovered and disseminated back home by returning soldiers, reporters, and other officials. Richard Nixon’s campaign and subsequent election opened a Pandora’s Box of racially motivated resentment against economic justice, civil rights, and deep democracy that still reverberates to this day. Johnson did not produce the Watergate scandal, but his exit from the national stage helped unearth political forces that the nation has yet to recover from. A second full LBJ administration might have been able to negotiate a withdrawal from war while simultaneously pivoting back to the domestic programs that remain Johnson’s enduring legacy. In resoundingly large ways that remain too often unappreciated, Johnson’s decision not to run set the stage for a half century of debate, division, and discussion of the role of government in our constitutional democracy. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook Where Johnson’s domestic vision played out in bold strokes, subsequent Presidents (with perhaps Obamacare representing a distinguished caveat) hemmed and hawed over the role of the state as a transformative tool for good. To his lasting credit, Johnson endorsed a robust vision of American liberalism in service of social justice. He cared about racial justice, poverty, clean water, good schools, safe schools, and the health of children and the elderly. To our nation’s lasting regret, Johnson’s stubborn support of war hastened the decline of a potentially Great Society that we are still trying to create a half a century later. An earlier version incorrectly listed the state for Sen. Eugene McCarthy. He represented Minnesota.