The homeland security secretary is addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee She's facing questions about remarks the President made regarding immigration Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told senators Tuesday she “did not hear” President Donald Trump say the specific word “shithole” during a meeting with lawmakers last week that she attended. “I did not hear that word used, no sir,” Nielsen testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, when asked if Trump used that word or similar language to disparage African countries in the meeting with Trump and lawmakers on immigration policy. “The conversation was very impassioned, I don’t dispute that the President was using tough language, others in the room were also using tough language,” Nielsen said. “I was struck more by the fact that the conversation – although passionate and appropriately so – had gotten to a place where many people in the room were using inappropriate language in the oval office in front of the President. That’s what struck me,” she added later. Upon repeated questioning about the specific wording from Democrats, Nielsen grew frustrated when Sen. Richard Blumenthal tried again. “I have been very patient with this line of questioning,” she said, saying she was testifying to discuss threats to the homeland. “I have nothing further to say about a meeting that happened over a week ago. I’d like to move forward.” Sens. Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham, a Democrat and Republican respectively who were in the meeting, have confirmed to the press the reports that Trump said the words “shithole countries” to describe individuals from African nations and had disparaging remarks toward Haitians being part of an immigration deal – all as part of a conversation about how the US accepts immigrants. Other lawmakers in the room, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue, have said they don’t recall hearing that word used. Trump has denied using the word, though he has said the conversation was tough and has spoken privately with friends about the remark playing well with his base. Asked whether it was possible Trump used the term even though she didn’t hear it, Nielsen said: “Anything is possible.” During his portion of questioning at Tuesday’s hearing, Graham said in reference to the immigration fight, “This has turned into an s-show and we need to get back to being a great country.” Graham also said, in words directed to Trump, “close this deal.” One of the newest members of the Judiciary Committee, New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker, used his full time for questioning to talk about the consequences of the President’s words, clearly getting emotional at times. He took Nielsen to task, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. on the ills of bystanders remaining silent. “This is very personal to me,” said Booker, who is black. “I sit here right now because when good white people in this country heard bigotry or hatred, they stood up.” “Why am I frankly seething with anger? We have this incredible nation where we are taught it doesn’t matter where you are from, your race, your color, your religion, it is about the content of your character,” he said. “The commander in chief in an Oval Office meeting referring to people from African nations and Haitians with them most vulgar language … that language festers.” “Your silence and your amnesia is complicit,” he added. He noted that a recent Government Accountability Office report found that 73% of violent incidents since September 11, 2001, were the result of white supremacy and right-wing violent extremists. “The fact pattern is clear of the threat in this country,” Booker said. “I hurt. When Dick Durbin called me, I had tears of rage in my eyes … and for you not to feel that hurt and that pain, and to dismiss some of the questions from my colleagues … that’s unacceptable to me.” “Madame Secretary, I hope you remember me,” Durbin said at the start of his questioning, a reference to her lack of recollection of the vulgar language, before asking her repeatedly about the meeting they shared. He asked Nielsen if she recalled the President saying during the White House meeting that he wanted $20 billion in funding and he would have the border wall built in a year. “I do remember him saying that he was concerned that given the appropriations cycle that any deal that we made now would be limited to this year’s appropriation. I remember him asking to is there a way to authorize the full down payment of the wall such that we can have assurances that we could in fact build it,” Nielsen said. The Department of Homeland Security recently told Congress that it would take $18 billion over 10 years to build the 700 miles of wall desired. The pair went back and forth about the meeting, with Durbin asking Nielsen how she remembered each interaction going. When asked whether she recalled the President saying he wanted more immigrants from Europe and specifically Norway, Nielsen said he Trump admired they were hard working, had low crime and that he had just met with the prime minister. Nielsen also noted at one point that Graham used strong language – prompting Durbin to speak on his behalf. Graham had not yet arrived at the hearing. “I will just say for the record, Senator Graham spoke up in a way that I respect very much, countering what the President had said about countries in Africa,” Durbin said. “Reminding the president that his family did not come to America with great skills or wealth, but they came here as most families do. Looking for a chance to prove themselves and make this a better nation. And in a defense of Senator Graham, his strong words repeated exactly the words used by the President, which you cannot remember.” Durbin also asked if Nielsen supports a path to citizenship for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump ended last year but gave members of Congress until March to implement an alternative or a fix. “I think we have to find a permanent solution,” Nielsen answered. Durbin, unsatisfied with Nielsen’s answer, asked her the same question again. “I believe that is part of the discussion and to make sure that we don’t continue temporary populations that continue to exist we should talk about that,” Nielsen said. “I’m not here to get in front of the President or any final decisions on that particular issue, but, yes, I’m happy to discuss it.” The homeland security secretary is facing a grilling from senators in the wake of the President’s remarks. The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, warned Nielsen that she was not happy with what she was hearing out of her department thus far. Feinstein referenced recent reports that Nielsen’s department was continuing to consider a practice of separating children from parents when apprehended at the border – a policy first suggested last year by then-Secretary John Kelly. “Candidly, woman to woman, I can’t believe that, and I hope you will clarify,” Feinstein said. “Not only would such a systemic policy infringe on the constitutional rights of parents. It is also callous and stunningly un-American.” Feinstein added that a that pediatric group have said such a policy would have a negative impact on children. “The America I know does not rip small children from their parents, and I can’t imagine the fear that a small child would feel if this would happen,” Feinstein said. “And for what? Because the child had no part in this.” Nielsen, in her answers, said the department has “not made any policy decisions” on the topic, though she noted there are reasons at times to separate children from who they arrive in the US with, especially if there is a suspicion they are being trafficked. CNN’s David Shortell contributed to this report.


Kurdish Peshmerga forces are within five miles (eight kilometers) of Mosul, commanders said Sunday, after days of fighting and sweeping territorial gains in the operation to free the key Iraqi city from ISIS control. A coalition of 100,000 troops have been closing in on Mosul since Monday, liberating surrounding communities village by village and making quicker-than-expected gains. The coalition vastly outnumbers its opponent. No more than 5,000 ISIS fighters are in Mosul, a US military official said, although the terror group’s supporters put the number at 7,000. Officials and analysts say that entering Mosul is likely to kick off intense street fighting as coalition forces try to retake what has become the cultural capital of ISIS’ envisaged caliphate, or Islamic state. MOSUL: Your Google search questions answered Two Peshmerga factions linked up after surrounding the empty town of Bashiqa, about eight miles east of Mosul, with the support of coalition air power, the Peshmerga’s general command said in a statement Sunday. They were able to cordon off eight villages in an area measuring approximately 38 square miles (100 square kilometers) and secure a significant stretch of the Bashiqa-Mosul highway to limit ISIS’ freedom of movement, commanders said. Hourslong clashes left dozens of ISIS militants dead, they said. Turkish troops supported the Peshmerga in the battle, and Turkey has provided them with artillery, tanks and Firtina howitzer vehicles, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, according to state-run news agency Anadolu. With this weekend’s gains have come pockets of horrific losses. ISIS executed about 40 people who were celebrating the apparent liberation of their villages by Iraqi forces, a Mosul City Council official said Sunday, citing local sources. The official said that although Iraqi troops passed through the village where the executions took place – near Nimrud, south of Mosul – they did not leave units behind to ensure that ISIS militants stayed out. These follow executions on Thursday and Friday, when ISIS militants rounded up and shot dead 284 men and boys, an Iraqi intelligence source told CNN. The reported massacres were a savage show of force as the coalition tightened its noose around Mosul. Lt. Gen. Riyad Jalal, commander of the Iraqi ground forces, told state-run al-Iraqiya TV Sunday that the town of Hamdaniya, also known as Qaraqosh, had been freed and that authorities were now in the process of bringing back local officials to reopen main public buildings and plan the repair of infrastructure. Since Mosul’s capture by ISIS fighters in June 2014, Mosul has been a vital stronghold for ISIS.The largest city under ISIS control in Iraq and Syria, it was the city from which the group first declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate. Since then, ISIS has gradually lost its other Iraqi cities – Ramadi, Tikrit and Falluja – to government forces. About 1 million people are estimated to remain in Mosul, once a cosmopolitan trade hub of 2 million residents. Iraqi forces and a Christian paramilitary group entered the town earlier in the week and faced fierce resistance from ISIS fighters for several days. Forces on Thursday had pushed the militants into the town center, where they were pounded by coalition air strikes supporting the assault. Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Maliki, commander of the Iraqi 9th armored division, said at least 50 ISIS militants were killed and much of their equipment destroyed in the assault. His forces now are cleansing the city from IEDs and sweeping buildings in case any ISIS militants might be hiding, he said. How the ‘Kurdish question’ complicates the anti-ISIS alliance A few kilometers to the south, church bells rang out in town Saturday for the first time since ISIS seized it more than two years ago, local networks reported. Iraq officials claimed that some 200 ISIS fighters were killed in the assault. #Iraq-i counter-Terrorism Sargent fires and SPG9 rocket targeting #ISIS militants in #Bartella town east of #Mosul. pic.twitter.com/XcsJ8d0sYf The coalition pushing through Nineveh Province marks an extraordinary union of factions that have long stood on opposing sides in Iraq’s history, with Kurdish forces, Christians and Shia Muslims fighting alongside the majority Sunni Arabs. Nineveh itself is the center of Iraq’s diversity and is home to Christians, Kurds, Yazidis, Turkmen, Sunnis and Shias alike. US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Irbil on Sunday to meet with Kurdistan Regional Government’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. #SecDef Carter meets with KRG President @masoud_barzani to discuss current #Mosul operations and next steps in counter #ISIL campaign pic.twitter.com/1Ol190fWxt “I’m here to commend you and your forces. I’m encouraged by what I see,” he said. A unit of what appeared to be US special forces advisers entered ISIS territory with the very first armored convoy of Peshmerga last Monday, a CNN team observed, placing American forces at the front of the fight to retake Mosul.


The Commerce Department informed lawmakers on Friday of the outlines of a tentative deal that could save sanctioned telecommunications company ZTE, a key priority for Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to two people familiar with the matter. A completed deal is considered a key piece of the ongoing trade negotiations with China. However, news of the deal was met with public backlash from members of both parties on Friday. The people cautioned that the potential deal was presented as not final – meaning things could change, particularly as bipartisan congressional blowback intensifies. But it would include a significant fine, north of $1 billion, and require the company, which is barred from buying US products due to sanctions violations, to install a new compliance regime and make management changes. If those changes are made, the Commerce Department’s “denial order,” which led the company to say it had halted “major operating activities,” would be lifted, the people said. President Donald Trump, in a tweet criticizing former President Barack Obama and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday evening, wrote of the deal, “I closed (ZTE) down then let it reopen with high level security guarantees, change of management and board, must purchase U.S. parts and pay a $1.3 Billion fine.” The outlines were among the options presented to skeptical Republican senators during a closed-door briefing led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday, another source said. Related article Trump tempers expectations for possible US-China trade deal The administration’s push to reach an agreement on ZTE has been a major piece of its trade negotiations with China, which are expected to pick up in earnest when Ross heads to China June 2 through June 4. Xi, the Chinese leader, has personally brought the company up to President Trump multiple times, Trump has told reporters over the past week. Trump, noting the company buys parts for its products from the U.S., has been willing to consider relief as part of those broader trade talks. But Republicans and Democrats have voiced increasingly sharp concern over including the company, which lawmakers say presents a national security risk, in trade negotiations and have already started to move on action to tie the hands of the Trump administration. “It is a great deal… for #ZTE & China,” Sen. Marco Rubio posted on Twitter Friday. “#China crushes U.S. companies with no mercy & they use these telecomm companies to spy & steal from us. Many hoped this time would be different. Now congress will need to act.” Schumer said the proposed deal “would be helping make China great again” and called on lawmakers to do something to “stop this deal in its tracks.” The House on Thursday passed a defense measure that would bar government agencies from using ZTE technology and ban the Pentagon from working with any contractors that work with the company. The Senate version of the defense measure, the annual defense policy bill, was approved in committee on Thursday and includes a different ZTE-related amendment that restricts the ability of the Trump administration to lift the penalties on ZTE without Congressional notification and tacit approval. The Senate will bring that bill to the floor after the Memorial Day recess. “ZTE presents a national security threat to the United States — and nothing in this reported deal addresses that fundamental fact,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who authored the amendment on ZTE, said in a statement. “If President Trump won’t put our security before Chinese jobs, Congress will act on a bipartisan basis to stop him.” The House and Senate have also started to move separate measures that would overhaul the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that include similar curbs on lifting penalties on ZTE.


Disturbing video clips shared on social media by their desperate families have revealed the ordeal of Sudanese migrants kidnapped and tortured for ransom in Libya. As one clip plays, viewers can hear the slap of the whip, the whimpering as each man is forced to turn his head to the camera and beg his family to send money. The men’s relatives say they disseminated these videos on social media in a bid to raise awareness – and within a matter of days Libyan special forces had traced where the men were held, according to Libya’s UN-backed unity government. On Wednesday, they raided a location in the city of Sirte, where they arrested four men and freed eight Sudanese abductees, according to a statement from Libya’s Special Deterrence Forces, which operate under Libya’s Ministry of Interior. The Special Deterrence Forces statement refers to videos circulating on social media of the torture. It describes “the horrific images committed by some criminals deprived of humanity in torturing laborers and burning them with fire, videotaping them to send it to their families in an attempt to pressure and blackmail them with ransom in return for their freedoms.” The latest images of abuse come after a CNN investigation late last year revealed that migrants were being sold off at slave auctions in Libya, prompting a formal investigation by Libyan authorities and outrage in Europe and Africa. One of the video clips shows at least five Sudanese men lying on the ground. They are asked by two men, off camera, to show their faces and can be heard calling on family members by name and begging them to transfer the money so they can be released. Related video Sudanese migrants tortured in Libya for ransom In a second clip filmed at the same time and location, the five Sudanese men are lying on their front as they are being beaten. Their backs are covered in scars, possibly fresh flesh wounds. The camera and the beatings move from one man to the next as they are forced to address their families or whomever the video will be sent to. As they squirm in pain, the first man says “transfer the money,” the second says “sell the house,” the third “tell them to sell the house,” and the fifth says “send the money.” A third video shows another Sudanese man, who writhes naked on the ground as a man off camera tortures him by dripping hot oil and fire on his back. Another man, who’s masked, is seen pointing a gun at the victim. Family members of those depicted in the videos confirmed to CNN that they had been sent the videos in an attempt to extort ransom. They asked not to be identified due to ongoing fears for both their own safety and for the safety of those depicted in the video. “The release of the videos on social media was part of a concerted attempt to help raise funds to pay the ransom,” they said. Related video Migrants being sold as slaves In a statement sent to CNN on Thursday, the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “renews its condemnation and in the strongest terms of this criminal act and stresses the continued efforts of the Government of National Reconciliation to achieve security and stability for its citizens and foreign residents on Libyan territory of various nationalities.” Sudan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Libya’s charge d’affaires in Khartoum, Ali Muftah al-Mahrouq, on Tuesday to “express the ministry’s rejection to the inhumane and immoral treatment of the Sudanese citizens,” the official Sudanese news agency SUNA reported. Al-Mahrouq expressed “his sorrow and apologized,” saying criminal gangs operating in areas out of the government’s control were responsible for this “shameful act,” according to SUNA. On Monday, African Union Commissioner of Social Affairs Amira Al-Fadil said that videos of Sudanese men being tortured in Libya “are recent and an investigation has been opened,” SUNA reported. CNN cannot determine when the videos were filmed. Related article 'Where is the world?': Libya responds to outrage over slave auctions CNN was tagged by family members of the victims in the original social media dissemination of the videos in a bid to raise the profile of the torture inflicted on these victims. An ongoing CNN investigation into the money trails linking the criminal gangs in Libya and the families of their victims has unearthed evidence of a global network. In Sudan, several families of former victims told CNN as much as $4,500 per hostage had been demanded of them, payable to agents of the gangs and even directly into bank accounts in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. CNN was shown Western Union money transfer receipts with confirmation that the money had been received in a number of countries including Bangladesh and Niger. An agent of the trafficking gangs is able to pick up the money at the location and transfer it again and again to disguise its origins. The money is then physically carried into Libya, circumventing the sanctions placed on the country. Western Union told CNN it took extensive steps to monitor and prevent potentially illegal activity. “Western Union vigorously condemns all illegal activities facilitating the financing of crime, and we assign a priority to initiatives to detect and deter the misuse of our services,” it said. “Criminals threaten the individuals, families and businesses we serve and the foundation of our business.” Libya has long struggled to cope with an influx of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom hope to transit in Libya before traveling to Europe with the help of smugglers. For years, migrants crossing the Mediterranean have brought with them stories of beatings, kidnapping and enslavement. Rights group Amnesty International last month accused European governments of being complicit in the torture and abuse of migrants and refugees in Libya by supporting efforts by the Libyan coastguard to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean and return them to camps in Libya. Amnesty called on the EU to end what it called a “policy of containment” and instead establish “pathways” to bring the migrants and refugees to Europe safely. Opinion: Abuse of migrants in Libya is a blot on world’s conscience A European Commission spokesman told CNN that the EU institutions were “working to save lives, pure and simple.” The EU has funded the International Organization for Migration to help 15,000 people stuck in Libya return home and plans to repatriate 15,000 more. It has also settled 40,000 refugees who have crossed into Europe from Libya and plans to take 50,000 more in 2019, the commission said. CNN’s Milena Veselinovic and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

Libyan criminal gangs involved in migrant torture and ransom


As Blanca Morales walks the hallowed halls of Harvard Medical School, she ponders her humble roots and how she might be forced to choose between her parents and her dream of becoming a doctor. It’s a dream that started as a girl in her parents’ tiny studio apartment in Santa Ana, California, while she did her homework at the kitchen table. She remembers her mom coming home, covered in mud from picking strawberries, screaming at her siblings to keep it down – so little Blanca could study. Today, her dream is within reach, but it could mean the ultimate betrayal: She gets to stay in the United States legally and practice medicine, while her parents get deported to Mexico. “It would be difficult to go on,” Morales says as she breaks down in tears. 33 years oldBrought to the US from Mexico when she was 5Now a second year medical student at HarvardWants to be primary care physician 33 years oldBrought to the US from Mexico when she was 5Now a second year medical student at HarvardWants to be primary care physician Morales and three fellow Harvard Medical School peers – Dalia Larios, Alma Oñate and Anthony Tucker-Bartley – have become the poster children for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program as the immigration debate grips legislators in Washington. While there seems to be some consensus that DACA recipients should be allowed to stay and perhaps given a path to citizenship as suggested by President Donald Trump, the students worry what might be taken away from – or worse what might happen to – other undocumented immigrants, including their own families. They fear that immigration horse-trading could see their future in the United States exchanged for a border wall or more stringent deportation policy for others. The survival of DACA – and their dreams – could put a target on the backs of their loved ones. Before President Barack Obama created the DACA protection, Morales remembers the motto of immigration activism was “undocumented and afraid.” Undocumented immigrants attended rallies but didn’t tell their individual stories for fear of deportation. 28 years oldBrought to the US from Mexico when she was 10Now a fourth year medical student at HarvardWants to be cardiothoracic surgeon and find a cure for lung cancer 28 years oldBrought to the US from Mexico when she was 10Now a fourth year medical student at HarvardWants to be cardiothoracic surgeon and find a cure for lung cancer Larios remembers how her family and others shared tips about which streets law enforcement was on to avoid being detained. Oñate remembers being 8 years old and hiding in the bathroom with her sister if she thought the police were coming. All four students say they found safety between the pages of books, while their parents worked two or three jobs as landscapers, appliance technicians or caregivers. “My parents would say, ‘Despite what is going on around you, the thing that you can control is your education,’ ” Tucker-Bartley remembers. “It will determine your future.” When DACA was announced in 2012, each of the four was hesitant to register their personal details with a government that could deport them. But, like 800,000 other people brought into the United States by their parents, they did sign up. The program gave them permission to get drivers’ licenses, enroll in college or take jobs legally.  And, says Morales, a new motto of immigration activism was born: “undocumented and unafraid.” For Morales, DACA gave her the courage to chase her dream and win a place at the nation’s top medical school, as ranked by US News & World Report. She’d graduated college seven years earlier and done a variety of jobs, including as a Mary Kay beauty consultant to make ends meet. Throughout it all, she says, she had the unwavering support and encouragement of her mother, who developed a respiratory illness that Morales feels is linked to her work in the fields, and her father, who once sacrificed a week’s worth of groceries to buy her a calculator for calculus class. 23 years oldBrought to the US from Mexico when she was 8Now a second year medical student at HarvardWants to be primary care physician 23 years oldBrought to the US from Mexico when she was 8Now a second year medical student at HarvardWants to be primary care physician Life got a little easier under DACA and then again at Harvard Medical School, where university President Drew Faust publicly opposed Trump’s decision last year to end DACA and Harvard Law School scholars offered to help undocumented students. Morales and her fellow medical students found themselves in white coats that doubled as suits of armor, and with a megaphone to boot. “That’s why I think it’s important for us, having this privilege of the white coat and the Ivy League schooling behind us, to talk about these issues,” said Oñate, who crossed the border with her family in a desperate attempt to find a doctor who could save her sister’s eyesight. The four wrote an open letter published by Boston public radio station WBUR asking to be valued as humans, for the good they have done and will do. But they fear that their successes and potential could become a bargaining chip, that anything that is given to them could be taken away from others as the immigration debate plays out. 23 years oldBrought to the US from Jamaica when he was 7Now a first year medical student at HarvardWants to work in cardiology or cardiothoracic surgery 23 years oldBrought to the US from Jamaica when he was 7Now a first year medical student at HarvardWants to work in cardiology or cardiothoracic surgery And that could directly affect their families, including Oñate’s older sister who did not qualify for DACA, and her parents, no matter what positive impact they are having. “It puts me against my parents,” Oñate says. And that seems especially cruel – for each of the four says that without the work ethic and passion instilled in them by their parents, they would never have made it to Harvard or accomplish their dreams of helping others. Each says he or she would rather not accept a path to US citizenship if the same option was denied their parents. Morales, who says she still carries the calculator her father bought her in high school, can barely fathom politicians deciding that she could stay, but her parents must go. “They haven’t met my parents,” Morales says between deep sobs and pauses. “They haven’t seen all the work that they have put in, every sacrifice they’ve made.” So she hopes that any immigration changes that come to her benefit will not be to the detriment of others. For while she is resolute that she would go back to the Mexico she left as a young girl with her parents, she thinks a different path would be encouraged by those same people whose lifetime of sacrifice and selflessness, she says, guided her out of the shadows and into the ivory tower of Harvard. “We are old, just take it” is what Morales thinks her parents would say. “Follow your dream.”

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program


Russian cyberhacking activity has continued largely unabated since the election Trump and his team have largely dismissed the intelligence assessment A top Republican National Committee spokesman refused Saturday to say whether President-elect Donald Trump will take action against Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential election. “I think to presume that he’s going to do anything at this point would be premature. He is not president yet. President Obama has every right to carry out the duties that he sees fit based on the information he has through the rest of his term,” Sean Spicer, who is the leading contender to be Trump’s press secretary, told CNN’s Michael Smerconish. Spicer was speaking one day after President Barack Obama all but named Russian President Vladimir Putin as behind the cyberintrusion, telling reporters he told him to “cut it out” and vowed retaliation for the moves. The Obama administration first publicly announced in October that it was “confident” Russia orchestrated the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations of the Democratic Party. Earlier this month, the CIA announced to a group of top US senators that Russia’s hacks were aimed at helping Trump. Russian cyberhacking activity has continued largely unabated since the election, including against US political organizations, US officials briefed on the investigation have told CNN. RELATED: Russian hacking and the 2016 election: What you need to know The President-elect and his team have largely dismissed the intelligence assessment, with Trump’s transition team, citing the fact that much of the information is coming out after the election, saying the leaks are intended to delegitimize his victory. “It’s interesting how prior to the election when everybody thought Hillary Clinton was clearly going to be the winner they wanted everybody to sit and sign Kumbaya about the integrity of the voting systems. Now that Donald Trump has shown he has won resoundingly, it’s interesting how that tune has changed,” Spicer told Smerconish. Obama has not revealed what actions he plans to take against Russia and has acknowledged that Trump may reverse any punishment once he takes office. Spicer said he agreed with Obama’s decision to not disclose how the US will respond to Russia. “I think I would agree with President Obama on that,” Spicer said. “It would be very, very inappropriate for President-elect Trump to discuss that at this point as well.”


At first glance, a gathering of global elites focused on the world community – in Switzerland, no less! – would not seem like the sort of crowd with which Donald Trump would like to fraternize. After all, Trump spent the entirety of the 2016 campaign promising to put “America First” and “Make America Great Again.” He’s pursued a similar agenda in the White House, insisting international trade deals involving the United States need to be re-examined and pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accords. And yet, Trump – and a number of his senior aides – is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a visit that will culminate Friday morning (8 a.m. Eastern Time) when Trump addresses the WEF delegates. Why? Simple – and psychological. Remember that Trump’s frame on the world, the lens through which he sees everything, is that of him on the outside looking in. His father was a major developer in Queens, not Manhattan. When Trump himself brought the business to Manhattan, the old money elites in the city never accepted this brash youngster. When Trump came to Washington in 2011 thinking about running for president, the political world laughed – literally – at him. For Trump, then, Davos is another club that never wanted him, but now can’t refuse him. It’s a chance to rub the noses of the global elite in the fact that he won (even though they all thought he was a joke) and that his “America First” message is working – as evidenced by the surging stock market and companies moving jobs back to the United States. (Chances of an Electoral College mention in Trump’s speech? 50-50.) Trump, probably, won’t do any major rubbing it in during his speech. Previews of the address focus on the fact that “America First” doesn’t mean “America only.” This is Trump, of course, so a bit of off-prompter freelancing is always a possibility – particularly when he knows he has the eyes of the world on him. The Point: There’s nothing Trump loves better than proving his “haters and losers” wrong. And there are few places in the world where more Trump doubters will ever be gathered than in Davos on Friday. In other words: look out! Read Thursday’s full edition of The Point.


Tillerson questioned Trump's intelligence to other top officials The episode prompted deep frustration from the President Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the stone-faced former oil executive Donald Trump tapped to serve as his global envoy, is increasingly seen by administration officials and diplomats as on his way out – just as flash-points from Iran to North Korea flare. The impression that Tillerson’s days as Trump’s top diplomat are numbered was fueled this week by new reports of acrimony between the two men – principally, that Tillerson had questioned Trump’s intelligence to other top officials. The episode prompted deep frustration from the President, who fumed that a supposed underling was insulting him to his cohorts. And it only seemed to cement his impression of Tillerson as a reluctant participant in Trump’s foreign policy agenda, areas of which the two men have had public disagreements about. Related article Tensions escalate after Tillerson calls Trump 'moron' More than a dozen sources inside the administration and in diplomatic circles describe the relationship between Tillerson and Trump as reaching a new low. The two men have failed to develop the type of close relationship that Trump enjoys with other members of his Cabinet. Radically different in personality, Tillerson and Trump have chafed at each other’s perceived slights. Tillerson has told friends he intends to remain in his post for at least a year, a psychological deadline that would allow him – in his own mind – to depart with dignity. But irritation with his boss, paired with frustration at the entrenched ways of Washington, have led him to waver at times. There were indications this week that Tillerson would remain in his job for now, including public displays of support from Trump. A source familiar with the turmoil surrounding Tillerson says there is “no indication” the secretary’s job is in jeopardy, at least not immediately. This source said Tillerson remains focused on his job. “That’s where his head is,” the source said. At the White House Friday, Trump’s press secretary said the President retained confidence in Tillerson, despite the growing sense in Washington that his days are numbered. “Nothing has changed despite what you may read in the media or watch on TV,” she said. But few believe Tillerson will remain at the State Department for long. This week, Tillerson insisted in public that he’s never considered leaving the administration, and vowed to remain in his post “for as long as the President feels I can be useful to achieving his objectives.” Trump, however, has expressed frustration that Tillerson is stymieing aspects of his agenda. Trump grew furious on Wednesday when early morning news reports emerged that Tillerson had called him a “moron” during a meeting about Afghanistan over the summer. The public airing of the insult deeply angered the President, who vented on Twitter that the story amounted to “fake news.” Multiple sources told CNN that Trump was aware that Tillerson had used the word to describe him before the public report emerged, though it wasn’t clear when he first learned of it. Having the information leaked, however, enraged him. Early Wednesday, Tillerson spoke with Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly by phone as the story aired on morning television. Both agreed that Tillerson should deliver a statement refuting aspects of the report, which also said he had considered resigning from his post. Tillerson delivered a set of remarks that adamantly denied he’d ever considered leaving the administration, and offered effusive praise for Trump’s foreign policy objectives. “There’s never been a consideration in my mind to leave,” Tillerson said from the State Department Treaty Room. But he did not deny calling Trump a “moron” when asked directly. Later, the State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tillerson told her he’d never used that language to describe the President. After delivering his mid-morning statement, the secretary of state met at the White House with Kelly, who had remained behind in Washington as Trump flew cross-country to console survivors of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. The President viewed the statement from Air Force One and later, inside a hospital trauma center, insisted he remained confident in his top diplomat. “Total confidence in Rex. I have total confidence,” he said. He called the reports about Tillerson’s “moron” comment “totally phony.” Speaking on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee identified Tillerson and Kelly – along with Defense Secretary James Mattis – as critical members of the administration preventing the country from falling into disarray. “I think Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis and chief of staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos, and I support them very much,” Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, said, adding Tillerson doesn’t appear to have the full support of the President. “I deal with people throughout the administration and (Tillerson), from my perspective, is in an incredibly frustrating place,” Corker said. Kelly and Tillerson have enjoyed a close relationship since the former Marine general took his post as chief of staff over the summer. Tillerson, who has long felt unsure in his role within the administration, gained a new sense of security with Kelly inside the White House, according to a person familiar with his thinking. ...Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done! But he has continued to bristle amid differences with the White House. Last week, Trump undercut his position on talks with North Korea after Tillerson said in Beijing that the US has direct channels of communication with Pyongyang. Trump said on Twitter that Tillerson was “wasting him time.” Differences also persist between the two men on the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump vowed to scrap as a candidate. Trump, according to people familiar with the dynamic, has grown resentful of Tillerson’s differing stances on those policy issues, believing his secretary of state to be overly dismissive at times. At the same time, Trump’s inner-circle, led by Kelly, has discouraged any further staff shakeups after a tumultuous eight months in office. Trump is said to be cognizant that his administration and inner West Wing operation are shedding staff at an alarming clip. Trump has either dismissed or seen quit a chief of staff, national security adviser, press secretary, two communications directors, chief strategist, acting attorney general, FBI director and a Health and Human Services Secretary. Trump, above all, wants to project a sense of competence and believes the rapid turnover of staff helps fuel the notion his administration is in chaos, according to a person familiar with his thinking. CNN’s Jim Acosta contributed to this report. This story has been updated.


Branstad will appear with Trump at a rally in Des Moines on Thursday The governor is an 'old friend' of Chinese President Xi Jinping, with a relationship dating back to 1985 Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has been picked for the post of US ambassador to China by President-elected Donald Trump. Trump spokesperson Jason Miller confirmed that Branstad had accepted the offer on the transition’s daily call with reporters. Miller also said that Branstad will join Trump at his Des Moines rally Thursday, one of the stops on Trump’s “thank you” tour of rallies in swing states. Miller cited Branstad’s experience in public policy, trade, and agriculture as attributes that led to his selection as Trump’s envoy in Beijing. Branstad, Miller said, “has a tremendous understanding of China and the Chinese people, and is someone who very much impressed the President-elect, not just during their meetings on the campaign trail but also in their meetings after the election.” “It’s very clear that Gov. Branstad is someone who will represent our country well on the world stage, and we couldn’t be prouder of this selection,” Miller said. Branstad’s ties with China go way back The Trump campaign formally announced the decision in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Governor Branstad’s decades of experience in public service and long-time relationship with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders make him the ideal choice to serve as America’s Ambassador to China,” Trump said in a statement. Branstad is uniquely well-suited to the job, having a close, decades-long relationship with Xi. The two have known each other since 1985, when Xi visited Iowa as a provincial official on a state exchange program during Branstad’s first term as governor, and have maintained a friendship of sorts – Xi met with Branstad during a visit to the US in 2012 as a vice-president on the verge of taking power in China. At a press conference Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Branstad “is an old friend of the Chinese people, and we welcome his greater contribution to the development of China-US relations.” But their warm personal relationship may be soon put to the test. The next ambassador to China will confront a number of high-stakes diplomatic challenges in the U.S.-China relationship, including growing tensions over the disputed South China Sea, the implementation of the Paris climate change agreement, and the two countries’ economic and trade relationship. Trump has already signaled an aggressive posture toward China, bucking decades of US foreign policy by taking a congratulatory call from the president of Taiwan, and sending a series of bellicose tweets about currency devaluation and tariffs. “Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the U.S. doesn’t tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea?  I don’t think so!” Trump wrote in a series of tweets on Sunday after China expressed umbrage at his call with the president of Taiwan. And Branstad has differences of his own with Trump. He was a supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal – a major factor in U.S. foreign policy in Asia, and a deal that Trump stridently opposed during his campaign. Branstad has argued that the deal would help workers and farmers in Iowa. The Iowa governor is also a GOP kingmaker as the highest-elected Republican in the crucial first primary state, but he didn’t endorse Trump until May, after the GOP field had cleared. And though he never rescinded his endorsement, Branstad freely criticized Trump during some of his most controversial episodes, such as when he mocked Sen. John McCain for being a prisoner of war, and when the “Access Hollywood” leaked. CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a robust defense Tuesday of a dramatic presentation in which he accused Iran of “brazenly lying” over its nuclear ambitions, after claims that he had revealed nothing new. Netanyahu told CNN’s “New Day” that  a trove of documents, which he revealed in a TV address on Monday night, showed Iran had no intention of sticking to its commitments in the 2015 deal brokered with the international community. “They don’t want the world to know what I showed the world yesterday,” Netanyahu said. In his interview, Netanyahu repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether Israel had its own nuclear weapons capability, and insisted that he did not seek a military confrontation with Iran. “Nobody is seeking that kind of development,” he said. Since his prime-time presentation on Monday night, delivered in English, Netanyahu has faced accusations that it revealed little that was not already known by the international community. Asked on “New Day” if any of the information presented by Netanyahu was new, former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden said: “No, it’s not.” “To the best of my knowledge, not getting the briefings out of the government, I believe this is fundamentally old news,” he added. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, judged in 2015 that there was no evidence that Iran carried out any activity related to the development of nuclear weapons after 2009. Key documents pertaining to Iran’s nuclear development program, cited by  Netanyahu on Monday, were acquired by the IAEA as early as 2005. A number of documents highlighted by the Israeli Prime Minister were made public in a 2011 report. The IAEA reiterated its position on Iran’s nuclear program on Tuesday. Spokesman Fredrik Dahl told CNN that there were “no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009.” Asked about the IAEA’s conclusion on CNN’s “New Day,” Netanyahu replied: “No one had better intelligence on Iran than Israel.” Netanyahu insisted the documents, obtained by Israeli intelligence, provided a wealth of new information. “When we got this trove of 100,000 documents, we learned so many things we didn’t know. We’re still learning them,” he said. “We learned an enormous amount about Iran’s secret nuclear program. Now, the deal that everybody is talking about was premised on the fact that Iran had no such material. But Iran bothered, took enormous pains after the nuclear deal and before but especially after to hide this information. It’s like an arsenal of knowledge.” Related article Iran and Israel draw closer to war than ever Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami described Netanyahu’s Monday presentation as a “propaganda show” and said the allegations it contained were “baseless and unfounded.” Netanyahu’s presentation came ahead of a May 12 deadline by which US President Donald Trump must decide whether to continue waiving sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump welcomed Netanyahu’s presentation Monday, claiming it showed that he was “100% right” in criticizing the 2015 pact. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he believed the documents were authentic and said they contained new information that was being analyzed. When asked about whether pulling out of the Iran agreement would damage US relations with Europe, Pompeo said the United States was “working diligently to fix this thing” with its European allies. In his CNN interview Tuesday, Netanyahu refused to discuss Israel’s own nuclear capabilities, despite being pressed repeatedly by interviewer Chris Cuomo. “One thing is clear, Israel is not threatening the annihilation of any country,” Netanyahu said. Instead, he insisted the Iran deal had prompted other countries to seek nuclear weapons. Related article Trump's high-stakes nuclear poker tactics on full display “It’s interesting that the nuclear arms race that I predicted would unfold once this deal was signed because everybody knew that they were just kicking the can forward for a few years and as time passes Iran will get a nuclear arsenal,” he added. “Now you hear other countries in the region saying we want nuclear weapons, too.” CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.


This page includes the show Transcript Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary At the bottom of the page, comment for a chance to be mentioned on CNN Student News.  You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call. The Weekly Newsquiz tests students' knowledge of events in the news January 22, 2016 What are residents most concerned about following a water crisis in the city of Flint, Michigan? What elements have to be in place before meteorologists officially call a storm a “blizzard”? How might the findings of some Caltech researchers change the geography of our solar system? And what’s unique about the national animal of Scotland? We’ll answer all of these questions this Friday! On this page you will find today’s show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT Click here to access the transcript of today’s CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. WEEKLY NEWSQUIZ Click for a printable version of the Weekly Newsquiz (PDF). 1. The U.S. recently exchanged seven of its prisoners for four Americans who were being held by what country? 2. An estimated 900 streets in the U.S. and Puerto Rico are named after what prominent American, whose holiday falls on the third Monday in January? 3. Name the dinosaur that scientists believe was the biggest animal ever to have walked the earth. 4. During what year did President Obama announce executive actions on immigration, which were challenged in lower courts and were just taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court? 5. Recent elections put a female president and opposition party in power for the first time in the history of what Asian island? 6. Following a report from NASA that 2015 was the warmest year on record, scientists placed most of the blame on what phenomenon? 7. How many planets have been identified and photographed in our solar system? 8. A water crisis in the city of Flint, Michigan has raised concerns that some residents might have been irreversibly poisoned by what element? 9. Blizzards are characterized by heavy snow, winds of at least 35 miles per hour, and reduced visibility for what length of time? 10. What is the national animal of Scotland? CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. ROLL CALL For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call! Thank you for using CNN Student News!


A "men's rights activist" blog is calling for a boycott of "Mad Max: Fury Road" Blogger has not seen the film; calls it "feminist piece of propaganda posing as a guy flick" A well-known “men’s rights activist” blog is calling for a boycott of the postapocalyptic film “Mad Max: Fury Road” for being a “feminist piece of propaganda posing as a guy flick.” Author Aaron Clarey admits he has not seen the film yet, but his self-proclaimed “spidey sense” noticed that Charlize Theron “talked a lot during the trailers” for the film, and he said Tom Hardy only seemed to have cameo appearances. “Charlize Theron’s character barked orders to Mad Max,” writes Clarey on Return of Kings. “Nobody barks orders to Mad Max.” Clarey did not like reading reviews commending Theron for many of her action scenes, nor did he appreciate the news that the movie’s director, George Miller, asked “Vagina Monologues” author Eve Ensler to consult with the five actresses who play sex slaves in the film. (Theron’s character plays a road warrior fighting to lead the child-bearing women to safety.) Clarey writes that he is concerned “men in America and around the world are going to be duped by explosions, fire tornadoes, and desert raiders into seeing what is guaranteed to be nothing more than feminist propaganda, while at the same time being insulted AND tricked into viewing a piece of American culture ruined and rewritten right in front of their very eyes.” Cannes: Is ‘Mad Max’ Oscar-worthy? The movie – like the original “Mad Max” trilogy – was filmed in Australia and is directed and co-written by Miller, who is Australian. (“Fury Road” was also filmed in Namibia and South Africa.) Clarey feels Hollywood and Miller tricked him by making a movie that “visually looks amazing.” “Let us be clear. This is the vehicle by which they are guaranteed to force a lecture on feminism down your throat,” writes Clarey. “This is the Trojan Horse feminists and Hollywood leftists will use to (vainly) insist on the trope women are equal to men in all things, including physique, strength, and logic.” He calls for a boycott: “So do yourself and all men across the world a favor. Not only REFUSE to see the movie, but spread the word to as many men as possible. Not all of them have the keen eye we do here at (Return of Kings.) And most will be taken in by fire tornadoes and explosions. Because if they sheepishly attend and Fury Road is a blockbuster, then you, me, and all the other men (and real women) in the world will never be able to see a real action movie ever again that doesn’t contain some damn political lecture or moray about feminism, SJW-ing, and socialism.” The blog the post is published on is known for trolling feminists. Its “about” page, for example, says, “Women and homosexuals are prohibited from commenting here. They will be immediately banned.” The article has received more than 2,000 comments. One commenter wrote, “Women and feminists in general have without a doubt, proven that they are dysfunctional by nature and cannot be trusted with anything. And this movie helps to prove it.” Cannes: ‘Mad Max’s’ Tom Hardy says he owes director George Miller an apology “Initially, there wasn’t a feminist agenda,” Miller said while promoting the movie at Cannes. “I needed a warrior. But it couldn’t be a man taking five wives from another man. That’s an entirely different story. So everything grew out of that.” Theron said she was happy to take on the role of Imperator Furiosa “to celebrate everything there is about being a woman, and not trying to put women on a pedestal, but being surrounded by other women in a story that was just real.”


Editor’s Note: Anand Menon is director of UK in a Changing Europe, a think tank providing independent research on Brexit. The opinions in this article belong to the author. “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” My mum said that to me a lot as I was growing up. But she never completed the saying: “unless you are negotiating Brexit.” The progress report on the Brexit talks agreed upon Friday by the UK and the European Commission is a masterpiece of procrastination. It’s worth emphasizing what we saw in Brussels on Friday morning was little more than a progress report. This is not a deal – and for at least two reasons. First, and excuse the pedantry, but the European Council has to accept it (though it doubtless will). Second, the one thing on which the European Commission and Conservative Brexiters agree absolutely is that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” Which means a deal can’t happen until next autumn. Related article Brexit breakthrough in Brussels comes after week of drama This is not to say nothing has been achieved. On two of the key sticking points the deadlock has been broken. On citizens’ rights, Prime Minister Theresa May has managed to shift the European Union away from its earlier intransigence, particularly when it comes to a continuing role for the European Court of Justice. And on the “Brexit bill,” a clever compromise means that the EU gets largely what it wants, but the UK avoids handing over a large check now. Yet on Ireland, this has been a textbook example of kicking the can down the road. Related video Economist: Brexit fair deal is an illusion We are no nearer to knowing which party to the Irish discussions will end up feeling betrayed: the Republic of Ireland, by the imposition of a hard border between it and Northern Ireland? The Democratic Unionist Party, by the placing of that border in the Irish Sea, cutting it off from the rest of the UK? Or Conservative Brexiters, via a decision to keep the whole of the UK in the EU’s single market and customs union, which they would see as remaining in the EU in all but name. There is no fourth option. The notion that “full alignment” with internal market and customs union rules in the event of no agreement on Ireland will survive first contact with either the European Court of Justice or a hardline Brexiteer such as Jacob Rees-Mogg strikes me as fanciful. So there is a lot still to be done. Yet this step-by-step approach makes sense. First, because the government in the UK is capable only of small steps. Political instability at home means long- or even medium-term thinking is impossible. Related article Theresa May is scrambling to secure the bad Brexit deal she didn't want Second, because, given this instability, we have no idea what the political landscape will look like in a year’s time. It is only a year from now that an actual deal needs to be struck. And things will be much tougher at that point. By then, we will have had talks on transition that make it clear the UK will still be bound by EU rules even once it has ceased to be a member state. By then it will be obvious that the Brexit bill cannot be used to secure favorable terms on a trade deal. We will hardly have started talking about that deal when agreement on the bill is being signed. And so while everyone should welcome the progress made, no one should mistake it for a deal. That is yet to be done. And so, as with so much to do with Brexit, the saga will roll on. …


Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister told CNN on Wednesday that his country stands ready to build nuclear weapons if Iran restarts its atomic weapons program. Asked what his country will do if Iran restarts its nuclear program, Adel Al-Jubeir told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “we will do whatever it takes to protect our people. We have made it very clear that if Iran acquires a nuclear capability we will do everything we can to do the same.” Asked to clarify whether that means the kingdom will work to acquire its own nuclear capability, al-Jubeir said, “That’s what we mean.” He also praised President Donald Trump’s announcement Tuesday that the US was quitting the Iran nuclear deal. “We believe the nuclear deal was flawed,” al-Jubeir said, criticizing portions of the agreement that expire and the fact that its scope is limited to nuclear issues. “We believe the deal does not deal with Iran’s ballistic missile program nor does it deal with Iran’s support for terrorism.” While Trump’s decision has pleased allies in Israel and Persian Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, it pits the US against its closest European allies, leaves the future of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in question and raises the prospects of a regional arms race. “As long as Iran was constrained and closely inspected, the Saudis could afford to put off their nuclear ambitions,” Mark Fitzpatrick, executive director of the American branch of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said on Tuesday. “Now their calculations change. … Trump’s rejection of the diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis undermines multilateral diplomacy and the very underpinnings of the nuclear order. It gives a new writ to nuclear lawlessness, since Iran’s having abided by the agreed rules will be proven to have been in vain.” Energy-rich Saudi Arabia, a fierce regional foe of Iran’s, is already seeking US help in starting a nuclear program of its own, giving rise to concerns that it might be trying to compete with Iran’s nuclear program and create its own nuclear weapons program. The White House has been pursuing a deal to sell nuclear reactors to Riyadh despite the kingdom’s reluctance to accept stringent restrictions against nuclear proliferation, including uranium enrichment. Under its new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has begun pursuing a markedly more aggressive foreign policy designed in large part to counter Tehran, and has quietly aligned itself more closely with Israel. Bin Salman has developed close relations with the Trump White House, courting the President’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, in particular. During a visit to Washington, bin Salman told CBS that it wanted the program for peaceful purposes, despite its reluctance to accept constraints on uranium enrichment, a step in the production of nuclear weapons. “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” bin Salman said.


This page includes the show Transcript Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary August 17, 2016 Today, we’re explaining the significance and the controversy surrounding the recent transfer of 15 prisoners from the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Afterward, we take a medical perspective on how an athlete’s brain responds to extreme competition. And we define the NPS and the FCC in reports on U.S. National Parks and potential rule changes concerning TV set-top boxes. On this page you will find today’s show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT Click here to access the transcript of today’s CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. Thank you for using CNN Student News!


As a presidential contender, Donald Trump has been sharply critical of rival Jeb Bush. But during Bush’s two successful campaigns for the Florida governorship, The Donald was all in for Jeb. In December 1997, Trump co-hosted with Steve Forbes an exclusive $500-a-head fundraiser for Bush’s election campaign at Trump Tower in Manhattan, according to news coverage at the time. Trump’s fundraiser was part of a larger donor effort that “helped Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeb Bush blow past his Democratic rivals,” the Sun-Sentinel reported in January 1998, swelling Bush’s campaign cash to $3.3 million. Bush himself attended the fundraiser. Related video Jeb Bush: Trump does not represent Republican Party “Within a week of the event the campaign deposited more than $223,000 in contributions,” the Sun-Sentinel went on to write. “About $100,000 of that came from contributors who listed addresses outside Florida.” Trump, who had business interests in Florida, also donated $50,000 in 1998 to the state’s Republican Party, which was aiding Bush’s election. Trump and Bush’s campaigns did not respond to a request for comment on this story. Trump’s support for Bush’s Florida campaign continued into the 2000s. Trump, who has a long record of political donations to both parties – including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton – gave $500 to Bush’s 2002 reelection campaign, and he praised the governor in his book “The America We Deserve.” “Jeb Bush is a good man,” Trump wrote in the book, which was unearthed by BuzzFeed. “He’s exactly the kind of political leader this country needs now and will very much need in the future…. He’s bright, tough, and principled. I like the Bush family very much. I believe we could get another president from the Bushes. He may be the one.” Trump’s tune on Bush sounds very different now, however. READ: Trump gains on Bush in New Hampshire among Republicans, poll finds On the campaign trail in recent weeks, Trump has called Bush’s support for education reform “pathetic” and called him “weak” on immigration. This week, Trump retweeted – but then deleted – a supporter’s tweet about the Mexican heritage of Bush’s wife, Columba. “I don’t regret it,” Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview Wednesday. “If my wife were from Mexico, I think I would have a soft spot for people from Mexico.” Bush has been reluctant to discuss Trump’s criticism, telling Fox News in an interview Wednesday that he did not want to be drawn into a “food fight.” But Bush did respond to Trump’s jab at his wife while speaking to supporters in New Hampshire, calling it “bizarre.” “You can love your Mexican-American wife and also believe that we need to control the border,” Bush said. “This is a bizarre kind of idea that somehow you can have an affection for people in a different country and not think the rule of law should apply. This is ludicrous.”


The OSCE is typically associated with monitoring elections in countries with fragile democracies The organization cited changes in voter registration and identification laws for the greater number of observers Amid claims by both campaigns of election tampering, foreign observers are fanning out to polling locations across the country to scrutinize the US election system. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is typically associated with monitoring elections in countries with fragile democracies, such as Ukraine. But on Tuesday, more than 400 observers sent by OSCE member nations will be deployed in 33 states. The number is 10 times larger than the group sent in 2012, with the organization citing changes in voter registration and identification laws. The US is a member of the OSCE and accepting election observers is a requirement of the body. The State Department welcomed the presence of election monitors, as it traditionally has, saying it helps to promote the importance of free and fair elections. “The fact that the US invites us indicates they want us to know what they are doing,” said Dame Audrey Glover of Great Britain, who heads the OSCE mission in the US with the rank of ambassador. “It’s a confidence-building measure for the US and for the rest of the world. At the OSCE, all of the members share our election practices with each other.” For the first time, the Organization of American States has also sent a team of 41 observers from 18 different countries to monitor the presidential vote. The delegation is headed by former Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla. Chinchilla said her team, who had been observing early voting, is comprised of experts on electoral organization and technology, campaign financing, political participation in the process and the role of the media, with the goal of sharing best practices with other OAS members, as well as “providing recommendations to the host country on areas of potential improvement.” The observers have no legal authority under international law and are merely in the US to watch final weeks of the campaign through Election Day. Glover said her team will publish a post-election report and make suggestions to improve any flaws they see in US election practices. RELATED: US elections: Russian request to monitor vote gets a ‘nyet’ “We are not police,” Glover said. “We are observers, but we don’t intervene in any way. In addition to the more than 300 short-term observers, the OSCE mission has a team of statisticians, election experts, political and legal analysts and media professionals to watch every aspect of the election process, from the campaigning to the counting of ballots. “We view an election from the point of view of the voter,” Glover said. “What we want to make sure is that the voter has a chance to be able to vote, that his registration has been properly done, that he can vote in secret and be sure that his vote will be counted.” Equally important, Glover said, is that voters have the voters have the opportunity to make an “informed choice” by being educated about the candidates’ platform in the media and during debates, as well as that voters are not intimidated when they do make their choice. Voters rights groups have asked for additional poll watchers. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights asked the OSCE to send more election observers than planned, citing a decision by the Supreme Court striking down parts of the 1965 Voters Rights Act that has led to less Justice Department oversight. Glover said the OSCE made the decision to deploy additional short-term observers independent of charges by Donald Trump that the election is “rigged” and allegations by the Clinton campaign and Obama administration officials that the Russian government is attempting to influence the US election. “When you make an announcement something is rigged or is hacked, you can make the statement but you need proof.” Glover said. “This is something we are watching because that is serious and important that systems not be hacked.” Related video I'll only accept election results 'if I win' An OSCE needs assessment this spring asked for 500 observers in total, citing concerns with several aspects of the election process – including campaign financing, new voting technology and voter registration and identification laws passed by states, restrictions on felons voting and the lack of voting representation in Congress for Washington residents. Those concerns were reaffirmed the groups interim report issued last month. The OSCE did scale back a plan to deploy 100 long-term observers for the election season down to 26, in large part because some states don’t allow foreign observers at the polls. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a dozen states prohibit international observers. Among them are Iowa and Texas, where state officials in 2012 threatened to arrest OSCE observers if they entered polling stations. Seven states and the District of Colombia allow foreign poll watchers. Most other states leave the decisions up to individual counties. Three states – Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana – turned down a Russian request to send its own observers. The State Department called the Russian request form the consulate in Houston a “stunt” given that Moscow declined an invitation to monitor the American election as part of the OSCE mission, of which it is a member. US officials in September took part in an OSCE observation mission of the Russian parliamentary elections, one of many occasions on which the US has monitored elections abroad. The Russian Embassy issued a statement saying Russia had sought permission from US local officials to become “acquainted” with election procedures but had been turned down. Two Russian staff members of the OSCE will take part in the observer mission as part of their regular duties. Glover acknowledged the 2016 election is “different,” but said that it would be unfair to voters to characterize the election process until the ballots are counted. She said despite the heightened domestic and international interest in this year’s vote, the US election is “the same as any other” in terms of importance of the observers’ mission. “We don’t rank elections,” she said. “We don’t rank countries. That’s not our job.”

OSCE election observation mission in the US


The dramatic cuts would include a 37%, or $20 billion, slash in funding The White House also wants to reduce US dues to other international organizations The White House has instructed the State Department and the US mission to the United Nations to cut their budgets for UN programs nearly in half, including US peacekeeping and development assistance, two senior US officials told CNN on Monday. The dramatic cuts, which include a 37%, or $20 billion, slash in funding for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, reflect a desire by the Trump administration to reduce US commitments to international organizations. Foreign Policy first reported the details of the White House’s proposal to dramatically reduce spending on foreign aid. Related article Washington prepares for budget cuts, culture changes US diplomats in New York had warned their UN counterparts about the likely “steep” cuts to US funding for the UN, one Western diplomat said, but not provided any details. The White House wants to cut the programs funded out of the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs by half, the US officials said. While the cuts would impact UN programs the most, the White House also wants to reduce US dues to other international organizations and ask other member states to pick up the slack. For example, the US pays 21% of the operating budget of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which promotes democracy and good governance, particularly in Europe. Japan pays the second-highest dues at about 12%. The White House wants to drop US dues to Japan’s level. “Everyone else is going to have to step up,” one senior official said. The White House also wants to reduce funding for voluntary assessments and programs for all international organizations. The United States funds certain programs or positions in organizations such as the UN, the Organization of American States and other international bodies beyond its regular dues as a member state. Officials said such expenditures would end under the new plan. It is unclear what the exact timeline is for the cuts, officials said. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has proposed making the reductions over three years, arguing that he needs more than one budget cycle. After “several tough exchanges” with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, one official said Tillerson has been granted some flexibility as to where the State Department budget cuts are directed. “He said, ‘You give me a number and I will make the cuts,’ ” one senior administration official said. “He doesn’t want to be told what to cut.” Trump and Mulvaney warned that deep cuts were coming to foreign aid programs last month while previewing the administration’s first budget proposal at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “The President said we’re going to spend less money overseas and spend more of it here,” Mulvaney noted while referencing the proposal last month. “That’s going to be reflected with the number we send to the State Department.” Related article Trump budget plan shows how he would reshape nation But Trump could face a fight when it comes to trimming the wings of state – possibly from within his own administration. Defense Secretary James Mattis, for instance, warned against cutting diplomatic resources during congressional testimony in 2013. And last month, several prominent generals like David Petraeus and admirals like James Stavridis, the former supreme commander of NATO, wasted little time in mobilizing to challenge his proposals. They joined a list of 121 military figures who warned that State Department diplomacy, aid and programs were vital to preventing conflict overseas and could mitigate the need for costly and bloody military deployments.

The White House budget cuts to international organizations and foreign aid


Aleppo residents will be allowed to leave on Thursday under a new ceasefire agreement reached overnight, a rebel group said. According to Ahmad Qurah Ali, spokesman for the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group, the deal was reached late Wednesday and will permit injured people to be evacuated beginning in the morning. The original ceasefire brokered Tuesday collapsed less than a day after it began. Deaths were reported on both sides Wednesday, while some 50,000 civilians are thought to remain inside the small pocket of eastern Aleppo still under rebel control. The brief ceasefire, which Turkey and Russia helped broker, aimed to begin evacuating rebels and civilians from the city Wednesday morning, but that didn’t happen. Turkey and activists on the ground accused the Syrian regime and other forces of heavy shelling and bombardment as world leaders demanded a new ceasefire deal. Ceasfire broken as evacuations delayedSyrians post goodbye messages on TwitterChildren who put Aleppo’s suffering on the map‘Assad will reign over a wasteland’Photos: The Battle for Aleppo‘Aleppo is being destroyed by world’s silence”Why Aleppo is so importantWhat you need to know about Aleppo Ceasfire broken as evacuations delayedSyrians post goodbye messages on TwitterChildren who put Aleppo’s suffering on the map‘Assad will reign over a wasteland’Photos: The Battle for Aleppo‘Aleppo is being destroyed by world’s silence”Why Aleppo is so importantWhat you need to know about Aleppo UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said he was appalled by the ceasefire agreement’s swift collapse. “While the reasons for the breakdown in the ceasefire are disputed, the resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the Syrian government forces and their allies on an area packed with civilians is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes,” he said in a statement Wednesday. Speaking to CNN from Aleppo Wednesday night, ITV correspondent Dan Rivers described what he said was a “constant percussion of artillery tank-fire.” “We’ve seen rockets streaking behind us,” he said. Aref Al-Aref, a medic inside the zone, spoke to CNN over the phone Wednesday as the sounds of two explosions rang in the background. “People were hopeful that they were leaving this hell. But it was a false hope,” he said. “We are now worried about leaving the house. If the regime decides to launch an air raid, a massacre will take place right away. The area we are left in is too small.” An Aleppo resident who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity gave a harrowing account of the scene at a hospital in a rebel-controlled part of eastern Aleppo. “I thought I walked into a slaughterhouse. There were dead bodies everywhere,” the resident said. “There were many, many, wounded people. The doctors are not able to cope with the load anymore. They ran out of plasma and other medical supplies.” In rebel-held areas, food and supplies are running out, the resident said. “People are living on the very last remaining sacks of baking flour they have. They are using wood from furniture they take from the house to use for cooking. There is no more cooking gas.” Aleppo: Five years to ruins The Syrian regime is on the brink of taking the whole city of Aleppo, having made sweeping gains in just over two weeks since its forces, backed by airstrikes, entered the enclave by ground. Rebel groups held eastern Aleppo for more than four years after the Arab Spring uprising, and a regime siege on the area had essentially cut it off from the outside world, sparking a humanitarian crisis there. If the regime does take control of the key city, it would mark a turning point in the brutal five-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused the regime of breaking the truce. “Turkey will not leave the people of Aleppo alone,” he said, according to state-run news agency Anadolu. “I call all parties and international society to respect the ceasefire, to support it. A humanitarian corridor should be open and innocent people should be able to leave with no obstacle and sabotage. People of Eastern Aleppo should leave safe and sound.” Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday, underscoring that it should be applied, violations should be avoided and the promised evacuations should occur, Turkey’s official Anadolou news agency reported. The top diplomats of Turkey, Russia and Iran are set to meet on December 27 in Moscow to discuss the situation in Aleppo, Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu reported Wednesday, citing Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. No further details were reported regarding the meeting or the agenda. But diplomatic efforts so far have seemed to have little impact on the streets of Aleppo, where the situation Wednesday appeared increasingly grim. A missile just fell on the roof of my buildingNow the people who were waiting the buses have to run back for their lives again find shelter pic.twitter.com/WGGfc1BEdX Aleppo Media Center activist Salah Ashkar told CNN earlier that shelling was ongoing in his neighborhood, and posted a video to Twitter showing walls in his building damaged and rubble all over the rooftop. “A missile just fell on the roof of my building,” he said in the video. “Now the people who were waiting (for) the buses have to run back for their lives again (to) find shelter.” Fatemah Alabed, the mother of a 7-year-old girl whose tweets from Aleppo have captured the world’s attention, said intense bombing was taking place, asking: “Why are you silent? Why?” Dear world, there's intense bombing right now. Why are you silent? Why? Why? Why? Fear is killing me & my kids. - Fatemah #Aleppo Alabed also tweeted directly to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, saying they had hope Tuesday, “but what’s happening now? Please help us now. No more time left.” Cavusoglu responded, saying “Keep your hope my sister. Turkey hears your call.” Keep your hope my sister. Turkey hears your call. We work hard to end the nightmare you and many children in Syria are going through. https://t.co/MMwe0QPteP In Paris, the Eiffel Tower went dark Wednesday night as a gesture of solidarity with the people of Aleppo. As government forces were on the brink of taking all of Aleppo, a ceasefire originally was announced late Tuesday that was to see government troops, regime-aligned militia and rebel forces stand down on Wednesday. The first group of evacuees scheduled to leave was supposed to consist of 70 injured people and family members – a total of 150 people. Buses waited to carry them out, but the ceasefire crumbled. Aleppo: We are witnessing the cost of looking away Syria: The children who put Aleppo’s suffering on the map An International Committee of the Red Cross official in Aleppo told CNN the organization “is ready to help the parties to this agreement in overseeing the evacuation of civilians.” He added that they are “on standby” in case a request is made to support in an evacuation. World Vision has said it is ready in Syria and can help as many as 100,000 displaced people. CNN’s Impact Your World team has ways viewers/readers can help Syrians. Please visit CNN.com/impact CNN’s Euan McKirdy, Sonia Moghe, Waffa Munayyer, Richard Roth, Merieme Arif, Joel Williams, Fred Pleitgen, Alexander Felton, Kareem Khadder, Jomana Karadsheh, Eyad Kourdi, Basma Atassi, Hilary Clarke, Kara Fox, Eliza Mackintosh, Ghazi Balkiz and James Masters contributed to this report.


Pope Francis set up the commission in 2014 to combat sex abuse within the church Collins was the only active member of the commission who was a victim of abuse A prominent member of a commission set up by Pope Francis to combat sex abuse resigned Wednesday, accusing some Vatican offices of refusing to cooperate with the Pope and his commission. Ireland’s Marie Collins explained the reasons for her resignation in a statement published by the National Catholic Reporter. Collins was the only currently active member of the commission who also was a victim of abuse. In February 2016, Peter Saunders – the other member of the commission to have been sexually abused by a priest – was suspended after publicly criticizing Vatican cardinals and bishops for blocking progress on transparency in clerical sex abuse. “It is a reflection of how this whole abuse crisis in the church has been handled: with fine words in public and contrary actions behind closed doors,” she said in her statement. Collins said that one Vatican office had even refused a papal directive to respond individually to all correspondence from victims and survivors. Collins said that guidelines for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from abuse, developed by the commission, were never disseminated by Vatican offices to bishops around the world. The Vatican had no comment Wednesday. Referring to recent accusations that Pope Francis may be too lenient in punishing priests guilty of sexual abuse, Collins said in the statement that the Pope “does not appreciate how his actions of clemency undermine everything else he does in this area including supporting the work of the commission.” But she said she believes that “at heart” Pope Francis understands “the horror of abuse and the need for those who would hurt minors to be stopped.” Collins’ statement also cited a lack of resources, inadequate staff and cultural resistance as stumbling blocks to the commission’s work. “However, despite the Holy Father approving all the recommendations made to him by the Commission, there have been constant setbacks,” the statement said. “While I hope the Commission will succeed in overcoming this resistance, for me it is the last straw.” The Commission for the Protection of Minors – headed by Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley – was established in 2014 to advise Francis on best practices in protecting minors and vulnerable adults. Victims of clergy sexual abuse reacted to Collins’ resignation with dismay. “The fact that she has quit has exposed the depths of the problem,” said Barbara Dorris, outreach director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “The most frightening part is there’s no real effort to protect the children,” she said. “The Vatican says, ‘we’ll create a tribunal, a commission’, but there are no real actions that go with that. “The predators are with the kids,” Dorris said. “Pope Francis should respond by firing all the Curia department staff who refuse to implement or delay programs that protect children,” Donna B. Doucette, executive director of Voice of the Faithful, said in a statement. “The Church cannot ignore modern-day prophets like Marie and still claim to care about removing clerical sex abusers,” Doucette said. CNN’s Pete Burn contributed to this report.


Editor’s Note: Laura Bernardini is director of coverage in CNN’s Washington Bureau. The views expressed in this column belong to Bernardini. This is week 12 of an ongoing series: A Catholic Reads the Bible. Read Week One, Week Two and Week Three. To this day, I still have those college-related anxiety dreams. You know the ones: You didn’t study for a big exam or skipped classes all semester and didn’t realize there was a big project due. I graduated from the University of Vermont 20 years ago, you would think that these would have subsided by now. But reading through the Book of Joshua this week, those dreams came rushing back. I read through the whole book and couldn’t figure out why I should care about how the Promised Land was divided among the tribes. Why do I care who gets what between the tribes of Judah and Reuben? Simeon? Joseph? Caleb? As the lists of the cities in Israel ticked by page after page, why was this level of detail being revealed to me? With writer’s block and panic welling up inside of me, I grabbed a lifeline: a biblical geography scholar. Enter Joel Baden, a professor of the Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School. As Baden explained, the answer to my question about the tribes and the land was right in front of my face, in the very text that mystified me. And it’s time to confess: After our conversation, I officially felt like an idiot. In the Book of Joshua, Baden epxlained, God is fulfilling the promise he made in Genesis. God told the Hebrew slaves in Egypt that they be freed and find their Promised Land. The Book of Joshua recounts how God held up his end of the deal. As we talked, Baden told me more about the significance of God’s promises. I was reminded (again) not to view this holy and ancient covenant through a modern lens. The Israelites spent years wandering the desert. Many likely lost hope. But God works on God’s time, and eventually, God came through, leading his people across the desert and into the Promised Land. I didn’t learn any of this during my 12 years of Catholic school. Now it feels like a whole level of understanding is being revealed. But that’s what this column is all about, right? A lifelong Catholic approaching the Good Book, not in sermon snippets or Sunday school lessons, but the whole thing – warts and rules and boring passages and all. It feels, in many ways, like the journey of a lifetime. On a sadder note, every time I picked up the Bible this week, I couldn’t keep my mind off the horrific killing of nine Christians at a Bible study group in Charleston, South Carolina. It was a community like those I wrote about last week: one that tries to understand God’s word together. As spiritual leaders told me last week, a community is the best way to try to comprehend life’s beautiful and bitter mysteries. The fact that they had welcomed a stranger into their circle, and he had senselessly slaughtered them, grieves me deeply. I will think of them often as a continue this journey through the Bible.

Bible study groups in Charleston, South Carolina


Milk costs $300 per liter, flour $120 for a kilogram Red Cross also hopes to bring aid to Foah and Kefraya, towns loyal to the government Madaya, a rebel-held town of 40,000 northwest of Damascus, has been under siege since July The Red Cross says it hopes to deliver aid soon to the famine-hit Syrian city of Madaya. A spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross told CNN Friday that the organization hoped to bring aid to the rebel-held town “in the coming days.” Madaya is reported to be on the brink of starvation, with skeletal people drinking soup made from leaves and grass. “The convoy is still in preparation,” said spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr. She said the Red Cross hoped also to deliver aid to the northern towns of Foah and Kefraya, which, unlike Madaya, are loyal to the Assad regime “One short delivery will not be the solution,” Fakhr said. “What is needed is regular access.” The situation in Madaya is said to be dire. Even when food is available, the prices are prohibitive. In the Syrian capital of Damascus, for example, flour costs 79 cents a kilo. In Madaya, it costs $120. And in Damascus, milk costs $1.06 a liter. But in Madaya, the price is $300. So those in desperate need can only look at food they cannot afford. The graphic images of death and starvation coming out of Madaya have not been independently confirmed by aid groups or CNN. However, the United Nations said Thursday it had received “credible reports” of people dying of starvation and said that the Syrian government had agreed to allow aid convoys into Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Related gallery Madaya: Syria allows aid into besieged city There are conflicting reports of how many people have died. The aid group Médecins Sans Frontières puts the number at 23 since December 1. One activist says it could be as high as 41. The U.N. statement Thursday provided only one confirmed death, that of a 53-year-old man on Tuesday whose “family of five continues to suffer from severe malnutrition.” Opinion: The starving of Syria The U.N. World Food Programme, or WFP, was preparing to deliver humanitarian aid in the coming days. The convoy – a partnership between the WFP, the International Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent – would have enough aid to sustain 40,000 people for a month, according to spokeswoman Abeer Etefa. Madaya, a town of 40,000 people northwest of Damascus, has been under siege since July, cut off by forces of both the Syrian government and Hezbollah, its Lebanese ally. Madaya is also peppered with landmines, thwarting aid efforts. “People are living off nothing,” Etefa told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. “This is an area that’s completely besieged and surrounded by mountains covered in snow, so the little food that gets in is through tunnels and is extremely expensive.” Related video UN: We hope to enter Madaya 'in the next 48 hours' Posts on Twitter and Facebook from people who say they live in the town beg the world for help, saying they have no access to food, water or electricity for days at a time. In one, a man speaks to the camera and breaks down. “What did we do? What did we do?” he cries. “My children, they’re dying. Bring guns, bring angels, but God, help us,” he wails. This video, which CNN cannot independently verify, is one of dozens posted online by activists and residents in Madaya. All say they are being starved to death. In another video, a child says he hasn’t eaten for seven days and wants to eat meat. In another, a mother says her daughter has not had milk for a month. Again, neither video can be independently verified. Children eat soup made from leaves and water, one activist, Sham Abdullah, told CNN. He said 41 people had died so far from starvation; other activists and residents have posted images of bodies on Twitter. One video shows an old woman stirring a pot of green boiling water. The man filming her asks in Arabic: “Hajji, what are you cooking?” “Grass for the old man,” she replies. Food is available, resident Amjad Almaleh told CNN, but few can afford it. “Who has that money to feed their families?” Almaleh asked. Just as others have claimed, he says parents feed stray cats and dogs to their children to keep them alive. When they can’t find animals, salt and water must suffice. CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reported from Beirut, Lebanon, with Don Melvin reporting and writing from London and Khushbu Shah in Atlanta.