Zika is infecting much of world, with the exception of its birthplace, Africa South and Central America and the Caribbean are hardest-hit Treatments and a vaccine are still on the horizon Zika continues its march around the world. Moving from Africa to French Polynesia to Central and South America, the disease is now active in the United States and Asia, and is likely to continue to spread. Singapore Zika cases increase Zika arrives in a country via the bloodstreams of globe-trotting vacationers and businesspeople, all returning home from areas where Zika is actively circulating. It’s not like you can stop it: Four out of five people with Zika have no symptoms, so most of those passengers are unaware they carry the virus in their blood. No country is immune from a potential outbreak, as long as the mosquitoes capable of spreading the virus –  Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – live there. To make matters worse, Zika can also be transmitted by blood transfusions and through sexual contact, particularly oral, anal and vaginal sex, and even by secretions left on sex toys. Some have called Zika the world’s newest STD. Related article Uganda's Zika Forest, birthplace of the Zika virus Scientists have learned a lot about Zika in the past year. For one, the virus appears to have mutated as it has spread around the world. When it first emerged, inconspicuously, from Uganda’s Zika forest in 1947, the effects of infection were mild, nothing worse than a mild cold or flu. Though that’s still true for many today, for others, the consequences of Zika are devastating. Babies are being born with life-altering brain damage to women infected with Zika during their pregnancies, immune-compromised adults are dying of complications, and a Zika-triggered auto-immune disorder called Guillain-Barré attacks the nervous system, causing temporary paralysis and even death. Several countries in Central and South America are asking female residents to delay pregnancy if they can, and the Centers for Disease Control in the United States has told American women to stay away from areas where Zika is active. CDC sexual guidance is strict as well: no intercourse during the entire pregnancy unless the couple can carefully and correctly practice safe sex. Similar recommendations apply to couples who are trying to conceive. Related article What couples need to know about Zika “If you’re pregnant, you’re in a very delicate situation,” said medical epidemiologist Dr. John Brooks, a senior medical adviser at the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS and STD Prevention. “You want to do everything you can to protect that baby. So our recommendation is to defer unprotected sexual contact for the entire pregnancy to protect against an outcome that could last a lifetime.” No vaccine currently exists. Even though several private and governmental agencies have versions in the works, the likelihood of having a vaccine ready for public consumption is a year or two away – possibly even more. “How soon, you know, depends on a couple of factors,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a briefing about his organization’s current vaccine, now starting phase one trials. “How effective is it? If it’s a home run, we’ll know pretty quickly. For longer-term issues, such as subtle safety issues that are really rare, we will need a larger trial.” Related video Everything you need to know about Zika How long those trials may take, says Fauci, is determined by the number of Zika infections in a community when the vaccine is ready. “If it’s explosive in an area, then you can get an answer within 1½ years,” Fauci adds, “but if the cases slow down, it might take us additional three to four years to determine if it works.” With a vaccine only a promise on the horizon, researchers are also looking at ways to treat the virus while it’s circulating in the blood. A number of groups are screening thousands of drugs that were already approved for human use by the Food and Drug Administration to see whether any might be effective against the Zika virus. Related article Human trials begin for Zika vaccines Researchers at Florida State University, for example, just announced that a drug approved to treat tapeworms also appears to block the Zika virus from replicating in Petri dishes in the lab. It’s especially exciting, says study author Hengli Tang, because the drug is FDA-approved as a pregnancy category B drug, which means animal reproduction studies have yet to find a risk to a developing fetus. “Because [it] is blocking the multiplication of the viral genetic material, the compound is equally effective even when added several hours after the cells are exposed to the virus,” Tang added. Related article Stopping Zika: Here come the mutant mosquitoes! While scientists scramble to vaccinate and treat, mosquito control officials are doing their utmost to tackle the virus at its source: the mosquitoes themselves. Traditional control techniques emphasize removing standing water, spraying pesticides and larvicides, and encouraging homeowners to keep screens on their doors and windows. That, along with the widespread use of air-conditioning, makes it much easier for developed countries like the United States to keep outbreaks contained. It’s much harder in more economically disadvantaged countries. Another factor straining traditional control efforts is the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is primarily responsible for this global spread. A crafty creature, she is an aggressive daytime biter who prefers to live close to her favorite blood meal, humans. Over the centuries, she has adapted to urban environments, preferring stagnant water and small containers such as plastic cups, potted plants and discarded tires to lay her eggs. Related article First known case of female-to-male Zika transmission announced A “sip feeder,” this bloodsucker likes to bite multiple people, taking just a sip of blood each time, increasing the number of people she can infect in just one feeding. The tiny creature’s bite is almost painless. Once you add that to her tendency to sneak up on victims, often biting on ankles and the back of elbows, you can see how easy it might be for her to feed without a life-threatening slap. The Zika-infected female can lay an average of 150 eggs at once, scattering them among several sites to improve survival. If dry, the eggs can survive up to a year, says the World Health Organization, but once the wet season arrives, they immediately hatch. Studies show that some of those emerging babies carry the Zika virus, passed on from their mother, making them an immediate threat to any humans in their vicinity. That’s the worry for Brazil and other South and Central American countries, currently experiencing a drop in Zika cases during the drier winter months. When the rains begin again this fall, those eggs will hatch, and cases could begin to rise, along with the associated risk to pregnant women and their undeveloped fetuses. In the meantime, Zika continues its travels, hitch hiking in travelers’ blood and via the occasional mosquito hidden in an industrial shipment of goods. Whether the virus will take hold in a country depends on the local environment and a country’s ability to combat the threat. United States and Caribbean The first case of locally transmitted Zika in the US was a surprise. Instead of occurring from a mosquito bite, the virus was sexually transmitted by a man recently returned from a country with an active outbreak. Related article What are mosquito-control workers spraying in Miami? Lots of travel-related cases followed; in fact, nearly every state in the union has reported a case of travel-associated Zika in their backyard. That has resulted in a total of 21 cases of microcephaly in the United States, a devastating birth defect in which a baby is born with a small head and brain, often leading to life-long neurological issues, even death. In mid-July, a Miami mosquito bit a returning traveler, processed the virus and began spreading it in Wynwood, a 1-square-mile Miami neighborhood. Despite massive control efforts, one or two cases also popped up in Miami Beach and in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. To date, there are 43 cases of locally transmitted Zika in Florida. Related article Zika in Puerto Rico now a public health emergency That number pales in comparison with hard-hit Puerto Rico, which has over 13,000 cases of the virus, with more than a thousand of those pregnant women. An economic downturn, a failing health care system and inadequate financial support from the mainland makes it difficult for Puerto Rico to fight its epidemic. Other Caribbean countries also continue to battle Zika as their outbreaks continue. The World Health Organization says Martinique has 10 cases of microcephaly, while just this week, the first babies with microcephaly were reported in Haiti, which has one, and the Dominican Republic with three cases. Central and South America Brazil continues to be the country hardest-hit by Zika, with thousands infected and over 1,800 babies diagnosed with microcephaly. That number doesn’t count the babies with normal-size heads but who might develop vision, hearing and developmental issues from their Zika exposure. Related article Fighting Zika's microcephaly in Brazil, one brain at a time Other Central and South American countries are also struggling with the fallout from the virus. Columbia reports 29 cases of microcephaly in newborns, Panama has five cases, El Salvador four, French Guiana three and Paraguay two, while Honduras and Costa Rica report one case each. The good news for South America is that colder winter weather and dry skies have reduced the number of new Zika cases. In fact, the WHO announced no laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika related to the Olympics, which ended August 21 in Brazil, and Chile hasn’t reported a new case of Zika this year. Europe Europe has been spared much of Zika’s devastation. Despite a number of imported cases from returning travelers, only Slovenia and Spain report cases of microcephaly – one each – the WHO says. Asia Southeast Asia has been hard-hit by Zika, and officials worry that numbers are vastly under-reported. Singapore just announced 82 cases of locally acquired Zika infection, with the number rising, but the WHO also lists Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam as “countries with possible endemic transmission or evidence of local mosquito-borne Zika infections in 2016.” See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. Cambodia has reported cases in the past, but the WHO has it on a list of countries where the outbreak has either been “terminated” or is “without documentation” in 2016. Other countries that fit that positive category include French Polynesia, the site of a large outbreak in 2013; Laos; Malaysia; the Cook Islands; the Maldives; New Caledonia; Papua New Guinea; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Africa Cape Verde, a small island 350 miles off the western coast of Africa, is reporting nine cases of microcephaly. Other than that, Africa, the birthplace of Zika, is not reporting any outbreaks at this time. Worldwide CNN has compiled the full list of countries and territories with current outbreaks of Zika, according to the CDC and the WHO. Those affected are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kosrae (an Island of the Federated States of Micronesia), the Maldives, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mexico, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, United States of America*, the US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Vietnam, American Samoa, Samoa, Tonga and Cape Verde.


Trump is set to make the announcement Wednesday It will likely cause political upheaval in the Middle East President Donald Trump’s fragile political standing among American voters may be about to cause dangerous reverberations in the Middle East, even provoking the Pope to express concern. His announcement Wednesday that he will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin to relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv is sparking debate over what the President personally, and the United States, will gain given that the decision marks a sharp foreign policy turn and comes with such high risks. Critics doubt that the President is acting on the basis of long-held principles or a coherent national security strategy and charge he is instead determined to further personal goals at a time when he needs to show his political base that he is rapidly ticking off his campaign promises. Related article White House: Jerusalem embassy move a 'recognition of reality' The question is especially acute because there are so many potential downsides. There are fears Trump’s action will trigger violence against Americans and US interests and a wider Middle East conflagration, especially in countries where leaders support the US government. The US Consulate in Jerusalem warned Americans to be wary of demonstrations after Palestinian factions called for “three days of rage” across the West Bank. Pope Francis voiced “profound concern” over the move, making a “heartfelt appeal to make everyone’s commitment to respect the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.” Trump’s decision also will defy explicit appeals from allied leaders in the Middle East and Europe and could therefore damage American foreign policy goals and relationships. The move is likely to squander any remaining idea that the United States can be an honest broker in the stalled final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians. It is also likely to squelch son-in-law Jared Kushner’s attempt to revive the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Given unequivocal criticism by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, it could also slow another Kushner project – rapidly warming US ties with the kingdom – and make it harder for the Saudis to line up publicly alongside Israel in the nascent US policy effort to form a new anti-Iran coalition. As Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator for Republican and Democratic presidents, warned on CNN: “Jerusalem is a tinderbox, waiting for a match.” So why would Trump risk providing that spark with a move that seems to come with such potentially unpredictable and dire consequences, especially as he will be blamed if he sends Middle Eastern tensions soaring? Given Trump’s approval rating – which a poll put at 35% on Tuesday – and intense focus on honoring campaign promises during a fraught year, many observers sense a political motivation. CNN’s Kevin Liptak reported on Tuesday that the President was concerned about losing his base and has taken steps to galvanize conservative support – for instance, in his endorsement of Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama, who has been accused of initiating sexual contact with a 14-year-old, sexually assaulting a 16-year-old and pursuing relationships with teenage girls while he was in his 30s. He has denied those claims. The Jerusalem decision also comes with Trump under heavy political pressure as the Russia probe reaches directly into his inner circle. Related article Why declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is so controversial The vow to move the US embassy to Jerusalem was a staple of Trump’s campaign speeches, and it appealed to evangelical voters, rich Republican donors and GOP foreign policy hawks. “When I become President, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end, on Day 1,” Trump told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference last year. “We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.” While the risk of moving the embassy appalls his critics, it would not be out of character if the sense of uncertainty appeals to Trump. The President’s self image and his appeal to many supporters rests on the idea that he has the courage to take steps other Presidents wouldn’t and that he will be unpredictable, disdain political correctness and shatter taboos that defied his predecessors. “The President has delivered on another major campaign promise,” Norm Coleman, the national chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said in a statement on Tuesday. “President Trump is doing what he does so well: recognizing the reality on the ground. No more false news – Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.” Siding with one of his closest friends among foreign leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who backed him in the US election, may also appeal to Trump. His decision will also allow him to defy establishment foreign policy figures and project a tough guy image in the Middle East, one of the world’s roughest regions. Of course, Trump might simply believe that he is doing the right thing. After all, US law recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital already and there is bipartisan support for the embassy move – though mostly as part of a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, not as a unilateral act. Senior administration officials said Tuesday that the President was simply making a “recognition of reality” with his action on Wednesday and rejected the idea that he was putting peace moves at risk. “It seems clear now that the physical location of the American embassy is not material to a peace deal. It’s not an impediment to peace and it’s not a facilitator to peace,” one senior administration official said. American presidents have for more than two decades used a waiver every six months to forestall the embassy move, partly out of fears that it could set off widespread violence and instability throughout the region. Trump will also sign a waiver on Wednesday – but on the rationale that it will take years to build and appoint a new US embassy. Related article Jordan's King joins criticism over Trump's Jerusalem decision Arguments that Trump’s move does not have a political dimension, however, are undercut by the evidence of his personality and record so far in office. Trump has rushed to implement campaign pledges – for instance, with his Muslim travel ban and his moves against undocumented migrants, which electrified his base and powered his populist campaign crusade in 2016 – often without much concern for the human consequences for those involved. And several crucial foreign policy decisions seem as much motivated by personal animosity or preference as detailed foreign policy arguments. For instance, his refusal to certify the Iran nuclear deal this year flew in the face of facts that said Tehran was complying, but followed multiple reports detailing his personal antipathy to the agreement. Trump also defied a storm of appeals from foreign leaders not to isolate the United States from the Paris climate accord – he did so anyway, after frequently blasting global warming as a hoax on the campaign trail. “As in the case of the Iran nuclear agreement, ideology and political concerns are triumphing over the commonsense recommendations of US and Israeli security experts and the opinion of the majority of Jewish Americans,” the liberal, pro-Israel advocacy group J Street said in a statement Tuesday. CNN’s Nicole Gaouette and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this story


NEW:  Official: 2 detained in Brussels, authorities trying to determine if one is Salah Abdeslam Terrorist who helped direct Paris attacks dead, prosecutor's office say [Breaking news update at 12:59 p.m. ET] Paris terror attack suspect Salah Abdeslam was captured alive Friday, a Belgian counter-terrorism source said. Belgium’s state broadcaster reported that the 26-year-old Abdeslam was injured in a shootout that ended with his capture. GO HERE NOW FOR LATEST ON THIS STORY [Original story published at 12:46 p.m. ET] Belgian police conducted a raid Friday in Brussels that ended with two suspects in custody – one of whom may be wanted Paris terror attack suspect Salah Abdeslam, a senior counter-terrorism official said. Earlier in the day, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office revealed the 26-year-old’s fingerprints and DNA were found in a Brussels apartment raided two days earlier. One person was killed and two people escaped that operation, according to authorities. The man killed by a special forces sniper was Mohamed Belkaid, an Algerian who used the name Samir Bouzid, is believed to have directed the November 13 Paris attackers via calls from Belgium, according to the prosecutor’s office. Belkaid is believed to have helped Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam travel prior to the attacks and transferred money to a female cousin of Paris ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud following the attack, the Belgian senior counter-terrorism official told CNN in January. Authorities believe the 26-year-old Abdeslam was using the apartment as a hideout following the November 13 Paris attacks that left at least 130 people dead, according to the Belgian counter-terrorism official. Up until Friday evening, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office has only said that “the investigation continues day and night. “It is currently not possible to give any additional information to avoid causing any damage to the investigation,” the agency said. Belgian authorities are “not happy” that French media leaked evidence showing Abdeslam was in the Brussels apartment raided this week, Belgium Federal Prosecutor Eric Van Der Sijpt said Friday. Investigators think Abdeslam may have been the driver of a black Renault Clio that dropped off three suicide bombers near the Stade de France, one of the attack sites. They also believe he had worn a suicide belt found on a Paris street after the attacks. He is believed to have called friends to take him to Belgium after the attacks. They passed through police checkpoints, but Abdeslam had not yet been identified as a suspect and they were allowed to continue on their way. Surveillance video emerged of him and another man at a gas station near the Belgian border the day after the attacks. He has eluded authorities ever since. In January, authorities found traces of explosives and Abdeslam’s fingerprints in another Brussels apartment. Some theories have suggested he had returned to Syria following the attacks. Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French citizen, is the brother of another attacker, Ibrahim Abdeslam. He was a French citizen believed to have been the suicide bomber who detonated explosives outside a cafe on Boulevard Voltaire.


Editor’s Note: Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a frequent contributor to CNN Opinion, and professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. Follow her on Twitter @ruthbenghiat. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Ruth Ben-Ghiat: For decades, the GOP wrapped itself in the mantle of patriotism Democrats are experiencing a surge of patriotism, which could revive the party We will remember 2017 as the year patriotism started to acquire a new vitality and force among Democrats – and the year that the GOP lost control of its narrative. We have President Donald Trump to thank for both of these things. Over the past decade, patriotism has been out of vogue among many liberals. Rituals like saluting the flag were largely left to those serving our country at home and abroad through military or government service. Meanwhile, pledges of allegiance conjured memories of school assemblies. Republicans, in contrast, wrapped themselves in the mantle of patriotism. Open love of country justified the party’s claim to moral authority and united its members. Drive through America and you know when you’ve entered Republican strongholds by the number of flags displayed. Despite its embrace of anti-big government ideologies, the GOP managed to preserve its reputation in the eyes of its base as the party of national fidelity. Trump stands to change all that. Our 45th President has spoken and acted in ways that for millions test the basic definition of what it means to be a patriot: someone who loves one’s country and acts with its best interests in mind. Like the many authoritarian rulers he so admires, Trump seems intent on making public office serve his personal desires and goals. He has done very little to resolve the conflicts of interest with his business concerns, leaving the impression that private profit comes first and national well-being second. It’s typical of this spirit that the holiday Trump invented to “strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country” (the “National Day of Patriotic Devotion”) coincides with his own inauguration. Related article The secret to Democrats winning again The ongoing Trump campaign-Russia investigation, which has placed his stewardship of the nation under a cloud of suspicion, is merely the most obvious sign of his dereliction of patriotic duty. He’s cultivated a fawning relationship with a man who openly aims to unseat our country from global leadership – Russian President Vladimir Putin – even leaking intelligence about terrorist operations to senior Russian officials while granting Putin’s request to receive them in our most holy civic temple. When it became known that he had excluded our national press corps from the Oval Office meeting while allowing a Russian photographer access, it seemed to many Americans another sign of loyalties that did not seemingly lie with the country he took an oath to serve – and certainly a gamble with our national security and intelligence allies. The GOP’s partnering with and pandering to Trump in these circumstances will likely cost it patriotic credibility. Republican leaders have given the President carte blanche to attack the democratic institutions that have long defined the country. We’re the land of the free, but they stay silent as Trump maligns the judiciary, national security and intelligence communities, and the press. We’re the home of the brave, but they stay loyal as Trump calls one of our top leaders – John McCain, a former POW, a loser. Related video Fareed: Democrats must bridge cultural gulf Millions of Americans who feel the void in political leadership are looking for patriots to admire and emulate. Fearing that their civil liberties and rights are threatened, they are scanning the horizon for individuals who have stood out and stood up to power, putting the national interest before their own careers. Sally Yates has been anointed and, for many, James Comey too. Others will likely emerge before we are through with Trump. Trump’s presidency has already caused some Americans to discover the full depth of their own patriotic feelings. Yaël Eisenstat, a former CIA analyst and national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, has seen a “patriotic fervor” rising among Americans, who have realized how much they have to lose under Trump. Such sentiments have led many to engage for the first time in familiar forms of political action such as turning out for protests, calling elected officials or signing petitions. Yet patriotic reactions of a less traditional or more intimate sort, while not yet tracked by polling, also deserve our attention. Some individuals are deciding not to pursue professional opportunities abroad to be here in our country’s time of need; others burst into tears when they hear a street musician play the Star Spangled Banner, or simply upon hearing a pilot announce “welcome to the United States of America” when returning from abroad. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook This quiet building of patriotic sentiment presents an opportunity for the Democrats, who have been struggling to craft an identity in the wake of the lost presidential election. The use of powerful patriotic rhetoric and symbols can underpin the party’s assertive positioning of itself as the guardian of American freedoms and values now imperiled by Trump and his GOP allies. The GOP squandered patriotism’s precious currency by backing Trump. Their loss can be the Democrats’ gain in 2018 and 2020.


At least three congressional panels are investigating Russian interference into last year's election The White House and Justice Department have missed committee deadlines for documents Tension is rising between congressional investigators probing Russia meddling and the Trump administration, as the White House and Justice Department withhold a number of records sought by Capitol Hill at a critical time in the investigations. Operating on parallel tracks from special counsel Robert Mueller, the three congressional committees probing Russia’s election meddling have asked for scores of documents related to everything from Jared Kushner’s security clearance to records surrounding President Donald Trump’s discussions with James Comey before he was fired as FBI director. At the same time, the GOP leader of the House intelligence committee is threatening to hold a public hearing this week over documents the Justice Department has so far failed to turn over to Capitol Hill regarding the FBI’s ties to a British operative who compiled a dossier of allegations on Trump’s connections with Russia. And the GOP-led Senate judiciary committee is in a growing standoff with the Justice Department’s deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, over several issues, including the department’s decision to prevent two senior FBI officials from sitting down for transcribed interviews on Capitol Hill to provide eyewitness accounts of the Comey firing. While the Trump campaign has provided lawmakers with thousands of pages of documents thus far, there are numerous requests where the White House, FBI and Justice Department have missed the committees’ deadlines, prompting some committee members to threaten to issue subpoenas to the West Wing and Justice Department. Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, told CNN on Saturday that the White House has “refused” since June to comply with the panel’s bipartisan request for documents over Trump’s conversations with Comey – “despite repeated attempts” to obtain the information. “The White House’s refusal to answer Congress in full and truthfully raises serious questions about the White House’s intent, including the potential that it is misleading Congress,” Schiff said in an email. “The White House must fully comply immediately; if it does not, the Committee should, on a bipartisan basis, subpoena the records.” A spokeswoman for Republican Rep. Mike Conaway, who is leading the House intelligence committee Russia investigation, did not respond to a request for comment. The White House did not comment when asked about its standoff with Congress over the Russia documents. Trump and White House officials have denied there was any collusion with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign, with the President calling the inquiries a “witch hunt.” It’s not unusual for the executive branch to ignore requests from Capitol Hill over records requests – something that far predates the Trump administration. But the resistance now to providing key documents could limit the key congressional committees’ abilities to learn the extent of contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign – as well as whether Trump acted improperly by seeking to fire Comey to quash an FBI probe into Russian election meddling. Complicating matters further is Mueller’s probe, which has ramped up in aggressiveness and has broadened to examine Trump’s White House. Mueller has asked for an array of documents from the White House, including documents and emails relating to the dismissals of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Comey, as well as Trump’s Oval Office meeting with senior Russian officials in which he said Comey’s firing eased pressure on the White House, sources have told CNN. Of particular concern to Capitol Hill are comments made by White House special counsel Ty Cobb, who was overheard in a lunch conversation by a New York Times reporter suggesting he wouldn’t cooperate with Capitol Hill. “If we give it to Mueller, there is no reason for it to ever get to the Hill,” Cobb was reported as saying. A White House official said Cobb has no involvement with congressional inquiries, and that the decision on whether to comply with Hill requests is one left to the White House counsel’s office, run by Don McGahn. Earlier this year, well before Mueller was tapped as special counsel, White House lawyers instructed aides to preserve documents and other materials that could be related to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. There are several unfilled requests for documents from the White House already, and the list is likely to grow as the congressional probes heat up this fall. The House intelligence committee request stems from Trump’s suggestion earlier this year there were tapes of his conversations with Comey. The panel asked McGahn for any “recordings or memoranda” related to their conversations, and the White House did respond with a letter stating there were no tapes that existed, citing a Trump tweet. But that didn’t satisfy the House Russia investigators. Conaway and Schiff issued a June 29 statement that their initial request had only been partially met, and they asked again for the White House “to appropriately and fully comply” with the request, which is still outstanding. Rep. Devin Nunes, who stepped aside from leading the committee’s Russia probe over concerns about his own handling of classified information, is running a parallel investigation into alleged “unmasking” of Trump officials by the Obama administration. Earlier this month, Nunes pushed back a deadline for the FBI and Justice Department to produce documents about the FBI’s relationship with the former British agent Christopher Steele, who produced a dossier of allegations – some details of which have been substantiated, but others have not – about Trump ties to Russia. He warned he would haul Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray before the committee if his requests were not met. But the second deadline set for this past Friday came and went. The panel has now scheduled a Thursday hearing for “document production” related to the subpoena, which could lead to a public showdown between the California Republican and the DOJ and FBI. A Nunes spokesman declined to comment. A Justice Department spokesperson said: “Discussions with the committee are ongoing, and we have asked that the subpoenas that had compliance dates for (Friday) continue to be on hold during that process.” The scrutiny on the Justice Department also extends to the Senate side. The Justice Department has not responded to some key requests from the Senate Judiciary Committee, including a June request by Sens. Chuck Grassley, the committee chairman, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, to detail whether the US government sought to spy on any Trump associates during the last election season. In particular, what has irked Grassley and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is the Justice Department’s decision not to allow two senior FBI officials, James Rybicki and Carl Ghattas, to interview with the panel about the Comey firing. The department has said it’s up to Mueller’s team to decide whether to allow them to come forward, something it has not done so far. Discussions with Rosenstein are supposed to continue this week, sources said. “We’ve got subpoenas at the Senate counsel office,” Grassley told CNN last week, referring to the Senate office that would draft the subpoenas. “When we get done there, I’m gonna have to consult with Sen. Feinstein.” Moreover, the White House has ignored a July deadline to respond to a series of questions related to Kushner, the President’s son-in-law, about his application forms to get his security clearance – something that had to be repeatedly amended because of his failure to list meetings with foreign officials, including Russians. Among the questions the judiciary committee leaders have asked: Whether any White House official intervened during the background check process on Kushner’s behalf and whether he has any “continuing contact” with a foreign national. Kushner’s attorneys have responded to the committee, citing in large measure his public statement insisting his mistakes were innocent and his meetings with Russians were innocuous. But the White House has not answered the questions raised by GOP and Democratic leaders of the committee, according to committee officials. The Kushner security clearance form also has come under sharp scrutiny from Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee. Along with the other Democrats on the panel, Cummings requested a response by July 5 about omissions on Kushner’s security clearance and whether he should continue to access classified information. They have yet to receive a response, according to Cummings’ office. Cummings has pushed for a range of documents, including on Flynn and Comey, but has not received responses from the White House on those matters either. Lacking support from the GOP chairman of the committee, Trey Gowdy, who wants to pursue the issues through the House intelligence committee, Cummings is unable to issue subpoenas for such records. Yet the previous chairman of the House Oversight committee, then Rep. Jason Chaffetz, did sign onto a March request asking for documents related to the Flynn vetting process. But the White House sent an April letter suggesting that such information would not be forthcoming, and Republicans on the panel did not pursue the matter after that. Senate Intelligence committee officials refused to say if they’ve made any requests for documents from the White House that are still outstanding. But committee Chairman Richard Burr and ranking Democrat Mark Warner said in May they would request a briefing from the White House on what was said in the meeting that month between Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak Warner also told CNN in July that the committee had requested more records from Kushner, as well as Donald Trump Jr., following the revelation of their June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer. A spokeswoman for Burr did not respond to a request for comment, and a Warner spokeswoman declined to comment. CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.


The reductions are just the latest step in the rapidly unraveling US-Cuban relations There was no immediate response from the Cuban government The US on Tuesday expelled 15 Cuban diplomats to match staff reductions at the US Embassy in Havana after the US ordered home non-essential diplomats and families following mysterious attacks on personnel there, two US officials told CNN. The 15 Cuban diplomats selected by the US will have a week to leave, a State Department official said. The move drew an angry rebuke from Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla. “Cuba has never perpetrated, nor will it ever perpetrate attacks of any sort against diplomatic officials or their relatives,” Rodríguez Parrilla said at a news conference in Havana. The reductions are just the latest step in the rapidly unraveling US-Cuban relations that were restored in 2015 by former President Barack Obama. McClatchy first reported the decision. There was no immediate response from the Cuban government, which has denied any role in the incidents that have sickened at least 22 US diplomats and family members stationed in Cuba. On Tuesday, a State Department official said they had confirmed an additional American diplomat was affected by an attack back in January but had only been re-examined recently. For months, starting late last year, US diplomats in Havana complained of incidents, often late at night in their homes or hotel rooms, that left them feeling ill. Related article State Department orders nonessential diplomats and families out of Cuba following mysterious attacks Often the sudden wave of nausea, dizziness and headaches were accompanied by strange sounds the diplomats compared to loud insects or metal dragging across the floor. US officials said they are convinced someone has been targeting the diplomats and they are investigating whether some type of sonic weapon could have been used in the attacks. As many as 50 attacks are believed to have been carried out against the diplomats, a senior US official has told CNN. Diplomats have been treated for ear complaints, hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance problems, visual complaints, headaches, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping, a senior US official said. Canada is also looking into whether their officials were targeted after some of their diplomats and families in Havana experienced similar health problems. Top Cuban officials, including Cuban President Raul Castro, have denied any Cuban involvement in the incidents and allowed the FBI to travel to the island earlier in the summer to investigate. Cuban officials said US investigators had visited the island on three separate occasions. The FBI did not find any devices in the diplomats’ homes or hotels where they were staying and are still investigating who was behind the attacks and the type of weapon that was used, two senior US officials have said. At the news conference Tuesday, Rodríguez Parilla said Cuban investigators had no evidence that any attacks had taken place and that the US needed to allow the Cubans access to affected diplomats and the doctors in the US that have treated them. He also said Cuban investigators have not been allowed by the US to examine the residences in Havana where the American diplomats reported the alleged attacks. In March, the US asked two Cuban diplomats to leave the US as a reciprocal measure after two US diplomats injured in the attacks were unable to return to their posting. Last week, State Department officials said Cuba had failed to keep US diplomats safe and the US would reduce the embassy staff by 60%, suspending consular services for tens of thousands of Cubans seeking visas to visit or move to the US. While the US did not directly blame Cuba for the attacks, a State Department official said Cuban officials needed to provide greater assurances that diplomats will no longer be attacked before both countries could resume regular diplomatic operations. Diplomats in Havana that handle American citizen services, analyze Cuba’s political system and handle outreach to the island’s dissident community were also leaving. The US as well issued a travel warning for Americans thinking of visiting the communist-run island. The expected staff reductions at the Cuban embassy in Washington would also likely impact the thousands of Cubans in the US applying for Cuban passports to return to the island to visit family there. Only one Cuban diplomat would be left to handle consular affairs in Washington, Rodríguez Parilla said. The US diplomats leaving the island spent the weekend holding garage sales where they sold everything from American craft beer to plastic Christmas trees. Several complained that their families, who had evacuated ahead of Hurricane Irma, were not allowed by the State Department to return to the island to help them pack up. Most of the departing diplomats would leave Cuba by the end of the week, a US official said. CNN’s Michelle Kosinski contributed to this report.


Editor’s Note: Fareed Zakaria is host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” This article is adapted from his Take on Sunday’s show. The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author. In April 2017, President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria for its use of chemical weapons. I supported the action then because I thought it was worth punishing a regime for using these dreadful weapons. I was heartened to see that President Trump, who had campaigned on the narrowest possible conception of America’s interests in the world, was acknowledging some broader global values. And finally, I was reassured that Trump was willing to act forcefully against Vladimir Putin, with whom he had until then conducted a strange and starstruck flirtation. For all these reasons, I support President Trump’s use of American military power this week, especially since this time it was done in collaboration with Britain and France. We are living at a time when many global institutions and values that were built up over decades are eroding or under threat. To have some action taken to even symbolically enforce the norm against using chemical weapons is worthwhile. But this does not change the reality, about which I spoke at the time, that the administration still does not have a Syria strategy. In fact, you can see the incoherence in its approach by the fact that days before deciding on a military intervention, Trump had announced that American troops were soon going to withdraw from Syria altogether. Trump’s vacillation is simply a heightened version of the dilemma that the United States has faced from the start of the Syrian civil war. It has wanted to cheer on the forces of democracy. It has been dismayed by Assad’s brutality. It has recognized the dangers of lawless areas in which Islamist radicals like ISIS can emerge. But it has never found a viable, moderate partner on the ground in Syria that was large or effective enough to have even a chance of becoming dominant militarily and politically. So, under President Obama, the policy became a wish more than a strategy. Announce that Assad must leave but refrain from trying to actually make that happen, with the massive and prolonged American commitments it would entail. Fight ISIS, but limit American involvement to that specific goal. And take actions to deter the use of chemical weapons. In Obama’s case, this involved working with the Russians to confiscate Assad’s stockpiles. In Trump’s case it has been two limited strikes. But the overall approach is remarkably similar. President Trump, like Obama, is wary of American involvement and yet can’t completely stay away, so he has come up with a few discrete ways to use American power without actually getting much involved in the Syrian conflict. It is a sign perhaps of America’s few options that on Syria, despite his protestations and his constant digs at his predecessor, Donald Trump has morphed into Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump's Syria military intervention


More than 20 children were among the dead in an attack on a school compound The US and France said either the Syrian regime or its Russian backers carried it out The US and Russia are exchanging ever harsher rhetorical barbs amid growing charges of war crimes in Syria following a brutal attack on a Syrian school. More than 20 children were among the dead in the attack on the school compound in the rebel-held village of Hass in Idlib province Wednesday. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “appalled” at repeated bombings of the school compound. “If deliberate, this attack may amount to a war crime,” he said in a statement. Idlib, a main opposition stronghold is regularly hit by both Syrian and Russian airstrikes, as well as the US-led collation hitting ISIS targets. The US, France and international monitors have said either the Syrian regime or its Russian backers carried out Wednesday’s attacks, but Moscow has denied flying in the area. RELATED: Defense Secretary: Forces ready in ‘weeks’ for battle to retake ISIS capital Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed President Barack Obama Thursday for failing to reach an agreement to end the bloodshed, saying the Americans are “shooting themselves in the foot.” “Our personal agreements with the US president have not worked,” Putin said, referring to aborted efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in Syria, which would have included some humanitarian relief. “There were forces in Washington that did everything possible to fail to implement these agreements,” Putin continued. “This shows an inexplicable – I would say an irrational – desire of Western countries to repeat their mistakes over and over again.” Russia and Syria claim to have implemented a “humanitarian pause” in rebel-held areas in Eastern Syria, including Aleppo, where UN officials are trying to evacuate hundreds of wounded and attempt to deliver medical and food aid into besieged areas. “What Russia really wants from the UN is credit,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Wednesday in a blistering attack on Russia before the UN Security Council. But she told them, “You don’t get congratulations and get credit for not committing war crimes for a day, or a week.” UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake said Wednesday’s attack “may be the deadliest attack on a school since the war began more than five years ago.” Related video Bombs fall on Aleppo as ceasefire ends The Obama administration has not made a formal determination that any war crimes have been committed in Syria. But earlier this month Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia and the regime’s targeting of civilians and medical facilities “beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.” He did not say what type of investigation he wanted to see or who would lead it. “He recognizes that ‘war crimes’ has a very legalistic definition, and that, and that’s why he wants it to be investigated,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. “He wants it to be looked at, he wants there to be a determination by the international community one way or another.” Kirby added that discussions are taking place among the international community about “next steps.” Last month, Ban called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, which many countries have endorsed. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have also said Russian and Syrian actions may constitute war crimes. International rights groups and others have documented Russian and Syrian crimes, including alleged attacks on civilians and medical facilities, starvation as a tool of war, torture and use of chemical weapons on the battlefield. But neither Syria nor Russia has ratified the ICC’s founding Rome Statue, limiting the court’s power without Security Council action. Russia would undoubtedly veto any action by that body. CNN’s Richard Roth contributed to this report.


Former ISIS sex slave Nadia Murad seeks an investigation into the terror group's crimes Murad was enslaved when ISIS fighters took over her village in Kurdistan in 2014 A Yazidi woman who was kidnapped and taken as a sex slave by ISIS told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that the Iraqi government and the UN should establish an investigation in order to bring members of the brutal regime to justice. Nadia Murad, along with her counsel, international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, described her ordeal to Zakaria. It began in 2014 after ISIS militants arrived at her village in Sinjar, Kurdistan, she said. “Early morning on August 3, 2014, they attacked us,” she recalled. “Nearly 6,500 women and children from the Yazidi were abducted and about 5,000 people from the community were killed during that day. For eight months, they separated us from our mothers and our sisters and our brothers, and some of them were killed and others disappeared.” Related article 'Hundreds' of Yazidi women killing themselves in ISIS captivity Murad’s mother and six of her brothers and stepbrothers were executed. Murad, along with other unmarried women, was taken as a sex slave and passed around various ISIS militants. At one point, she told the UN Security Council in 2015, as punishment for a failed escape attempt, she was gang raped until she passed out. All of this, she said, was considered legal under ISIS rule – which dictates that Yazidis, because they do not practice Islam, can be taken as slaves on religious grounds. “They sold girls, girls that were underage, because ISIS considered that permissible under Islamic law,” Murad said. “They came not just to attack certain people, but they came for all Yazidis.” The violence against the Yazidi community continues to this day, said Clooney, who represents Murad. Around 3,000 Yazidis are believed to remain in captivity, some of them from Murad’s own family. It’s time, Clooney said, to bring ISIS to justice for committing some of “the worst crimes of our generation.” “We know that there’s a military campaign going on where ISIS is being taken on on the battlefield. What we want is to see ISIS members also in a courtroom,” Clooney said. There hasn’t been a “single prosecution against ISIS in a court anywhere in the world for the crimes committed against the Yazidis … for any international crimes,” she added. Related article Genocide Fast Facts Last week, Clooney addressed the UN in a bid to convince the Security Council to set up an investigation in Iraq to start collecting evidence. “ISIS is not a local threat, it’s a global threat,” Clooney said. “So, my message to the UN was, this is a global threat. It needs a global response. And part of that response must be a judicial one. It cannot be only on the battlefield. You can’t defeat ISIS on the battlefield alone, because you have to also deal with future recruiting. And I think trials and exposing the brutality of ISIS and trying to make a dent in some of their shiny propaganda by showing that it’s not a holy war and showing what they’re really doing to children, to women, is one way to help that,” she said. Clooney believes an investigation also is crucial to ensure that evidence is properly collected. “ISIS has set up a whole bureaucracy involving the slave trade where they’ve set up committees, they’ve set up courts, so there are documents, there’s DNA, there are mass graves, and nobody is actually collecting this evidence. And if it gets lost, it means we can never have trials and we can never have justice,” she said. Clooney said she is asking the Iraqi government and the UN to step in and set up  a thorough investigation. In order to make that happen, she said, Iraq needed only to send a letter to the Security Council saying, “Please establish an investigation.” “There’s already a resolution drafted and ready,” she said, “And if Iraq just sends the letter, then there will be a vote. And from all of my conversations, including with the Russian ambassador and the United States ambassador and others, it seems that there’s actually broad support in the Council. “So, this actually should move forward. It’s in line with the Iraqi government’s interests, because they’re going after ISIS.” Murad, who now lives in Germany, said she hoped ISIS would finally be brought to justice. Then, she said, switching from her native language to a halting English, she “wondered,” that “maybe if I can speak English, maybe the UN, they can understand … what we want. But I can’t.” “We can hear you no matter what language you speak,”  said Zakaria.


Takei's family was placed on a registry of Japanese-Americans and sent to a prison camp in 1942 Takei: "It is an echo of what we heard from World War II coming from Trump himself" “Star Trek” actor George Takei blasted Donald Trump Thursday, calling him “uninformed” and warning against the President-elect’s campaign promises to build a database of Muslims in America. Takei referenced his own family’s experience of being placed on a registry, and later held for four years in a Japanese prison camp during  World War II. Takei told CNN’s Carol Costello that he struggled after the election results. “For a good number of days, I could not see things with an even balance” he said. “And then it’s getting to be even more worrisome. The kind of people he’s appointing to major Cabinet positions, Jeff Sessions, to head the Department of Justice, when he has a history of racism and he was denied a judgeship because of that history?” he added. Takei said he was particularly disturbed by Trump’s campaign promise to build a database of Muslims living in the United States. He’s concerned it could lead to the same thing that happened to his family after they were placed on a registry of Japanese Americans and forced to live in a prison camp. “My mother was born in Sacramento. My father was from San Francisco. They met and married in Los Angeles. We were born there. Yes, my grandparents came from Japan but they were hard working immigrants who wanted to be American citizens” he explained. Yet, in 1942, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Takei and his family were sent to Rohwer prison camp in Arkansas. “We were characterized as the enemy simply because we happened to look like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor,” an emotional Takei said. “We are three generations here in this country, yet overnight, we became the enemy,” he added. Though Takei was only a small child when his family was placed on the registry, his recollection of what happened next is crystal clear. “After that registry, they came down with the curfew. We were confined to our homes from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the morning, imprisoned in our homes at night. Then they froze our bank accounts. We were economically paralyzed. Then the soldiers came,” he told Costello “I remember that morning,” said Takei, who was just 5-years-old at the time. “I remember the two soldiers walking up our driveway, marching up our driveway, shiny bayonets on the rifle, stopping at the front porch and with their fists started banging on the front door and that sound resonated throughout the house.” Now, 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Takei said the man who will become America’s 45th president should learn from the past. “It is an echo of what we heard from World War II coming from Trump himself. That sweeping statement characterizing all Muslims. There are more than a billion Muslims in this world. To infer they are all terrorists with that kind of sweeping statement is outrageous, in the same way that they characterized all Japanese Americans as enemy aliens,” he said.


Editor’s Note: Alan Johnson is the editor of Fathom and senior research fellow at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM). The opinions in this article are those of the author. Johnson: A pattern is being established: Netanyahu looks like a man who can be dragged against his better judgment Netanyahu is risking looking reactive: a PM being led rather than leading Israel is at a crossroads: two states or not two states. Of course, the world does not expect a deal to be made tomorrow – or even soon. These days, no one is that naive. But it does want to hear from Israel that there has been no paradigm shift, no retreat to the old dream of a Greater Israel by annexation, and no abandonment  – once recognition, security guarantees and the formal end-of-claims by the Palestinians have been secured – of the commitment to Palestinian statehood. Because this significant shift is what is at stake, it really matters that Israel’s Naftali Bennett has been making threats again. Related article Netanyahu, Trump rekindle US-Israel bond as Mideast tensions loom The fiery 44-year-old chairman of the pro-settler, hard-right, religious-Zionist party Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home), and the governing coalition’s controversial minister of education, thundered this warning in advance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington: “If [US President Donald] Trump and Netanyahu even mention a Palestinian state, the earth will shake.” Israelis have taken to wondering aloud if Bennett, with his eight seats in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, is the real prime minister and Netanyahu, with his 30 seats, is his ambassador to Washington. On issue after issue, Bennett is perceived to have dragged Netanyahu and Israel to the wilder shores of the right and away from the two-state paradigm. For example, when IDF soldier Sgt. Elor Azaria shot dead an already wounded Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron, Netanyahu initially sided with the stance taken by then-Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and the IDF commanders, saying: “What happened in Hebron does not represent the values of the Israel Defense Forces.” After pressure from Bennett and the hard-right, who whipped up a public campaign in defense of Azaria, Netanyahu backtracked, making a personal phone call to Azaria’s parents and saying, “We back our soldiers.” Yaalon was soon after removed as defense minister and replaced by Avigdor Lieberman, who had joined street demonstrations in support of Azaria. Yaalon has since complained bitterly that “the Prime Minister unfortunately switched sides, and decided to embrace the soldier’s family. That’s his business, not mine. I decided to support the commanders and I was left alone in that war.” The most significant example of the Bennett effect was the recent passage, to the world’s horror, of the Regulation Law, retrospectively legalizing Jewish settlements built on private Palestinian land. Initially Netanyahu opposed it. “Netanyahu warns ministers: Regulation Bill could bring us to the ICC,” ran the headlines. And then he voted for it. A pattern is being established. Bennett appears principled, while Netanyahu appears pliable, a man with a wafer-thin Knesset majority who can be dragged against his better judgment and his own long-held policy positions into Bennett-land. Related article What you need to know about the Israeli settlements Bennett appears pro-active. “My strategic objective is to get Netanyahu to backtrack on the Bar-Ilan speech” in which he committed himself and Israel to the two-state solution, Ynet reported Bennett as saying in private conversations. Netanyahu risks looking reactive: he appears to be for the two-state solution, against it, or unsure, depending on the audience and the short-term political need. Here are eight reasons why Netanyahu should now say that enough is enough: Bennettism (support for more and more settlements, dreams of annexation, opposition to a Palestinian state in any circumstances) is doing serious damage to Israel’s place in the family of nations. Germany – one of Israel’s closest allies – let it be known last week that it had been “profoundly shaken” by the passage of the Regulation Law. Bennett is undermining the possibility of a regional peace effort between Israel and the “Sunni pragmatic” states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, who understand Netanyahu’s caution perfectly well. None of these nations believe a final status deal and a two-state solution with the Palestinians is possible tomorrow, but they will never agree to live with Bennett’s plan to annex most of the West Bank to Israel. Bennett is eroding Israel’s place in global public opinion. In desperation, even Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, has warned in recent days that the Regulation Law “will make us look like an Apartheid state” because the government “cannot” apply Israeli law “to territories not under its sovereignty.” If Bennett manages to make the two-state solution impossible then a bi-national reality – one state between the river and the sea for two peoples – will be created, and in time that will result in Israel having to choose between being Jewish or democratic. On that, former US Secretary of State John Kerry was dead right. The “Boycott Israel!” crowd are licking their lips. Giving way to Bennett has only emboldened him, and he now thinks he can dictate the terms of the relationship between an Israeli prime minister and the new US president. For this, the word chutzpah was invented. While he hardly campaigned in poetry, it’s all prose now, when it comes to Israel. As campaign trail talk of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv – a longstanding Israeli dream and Palestinian nightmare – trails off into mumbling as the possible consequences become clear, Trump’s belief that he can make “the impossible deal” is being aired more confidently. There is simply no common ground between Bennett’s proposal that Israel annex Area C of the West Bank (which is 60% of the entire territory) and Trump’s statement that “they (settlements) don’t help the process. There is (only) so much land left. And every time you take land for settlements, there is less land left … I am not somebody that believes that going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace.” Neither Trump nor regional actors respect weakness, and right now Bennett is making Netanyahu look weak: a man being led, not a leading prime minister, looking for shelter from the rain made by Bennett. Netanyahu has the opportunity to make the weather with Trump and those regional actors who seek new relations with Israel in the face of the shared threat from Iran and jihadists. Both men have hinted – I think wisely – that creating a new regional paradigm for Middle East peace is the way forward. They know that the “get in a room and sort it out in ten months” paradigm has been tested to destruction. It has failed four times in the last 20 years: Camp David in 2000, Taba in 2001, Annapolis in 2007-08, and the Kerry talks in 2014. To create that new regional approach to the two-state solution, and to secure the future of the Zionist dream of a Jewish and democratic state, Netanyahu must first decide to call Bennett’s bluff.


Owner of ferry is now in police custody 59 people were killed when ferry capsized The owner of a passenger ferry that capsized in the Philippines, killing 59 people, is in police custody and has been charged with multiple counts of homicide, according to national police inspector Mark Nalda. Further details were not immediately available Sunday. About 140 people survived Thursday’s incident, according to the country’s coast guard. The MB Nirvana tipped over roughly 200 meters (220 yards) from shore. The accident occurred just minutes after the ferry left Ormoc City, in Leyte province. It was bound for the town of Pilar on Camotes Island, in Cebu province. Three Americans were among the survivors. They are Rhome and Chip Nuttall, and Larry Drake, according to Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon. Rhome Nuttall, who helps run a medical mission in the Philippines, told CNN that the boat was “very crowded.” “There was a little wave, which is normal, but yesterday that caused the boat to flip to the right,” she said Friday. “I ran to the left hoping we could help to balance the boat. When we flipped, I said: ‘OK, this is it. OK, this is it.’” Nuttall she heard a loud noise just before the vessel capsized. “I think it was that big thud. I think that was cargo that shifted and that caused the boat to flip,” Nuttall said. Nuttal said water washed her out of the boat. Everyone around her was panicking.  She said it took about five minutes to find her husband. Gwendolyn Pang, secretary-general of the Philippine Red Cross, described the vessel as a commercial “pump boat” or banka, which is essentially a canoe-style craft with outriggers powered by a small engine. They’re widely used across the Philippines for transporting people and goods as well as for fishing. Gordon said the boat operates three times a day on the route from Ormoc to Camotes Island. “The passengers would have been farmers or fishermen, or ordinary businessmen – common folks,” he said. Rhome Nuttall told CNN that one of the other boats that work the route was broken Thursday, so the MB Nirvana was extra crowded. “They are not very well off, otherwise they would be on better vessels or take the plane,” Gordon said. “But obviously, these are poor folks, simple folks who are trying to eke out an existence.” This style of outrigger boat has no cabins, he said, which should make it easier for divers to find anyone trapped under the canopy or keel of the vessel. CNN’s Dakota Flournoy contributed to this report.


One man from India was killed, another was wounded in February shooting Adam Purinton also faces state murder, attempted murder charges A man who earlier this year allegedly shot three people at a Kansas bar – killing a man from India – was indicted Friday on federal hate crime and other charges. Authorities allege Adam W. Purinton, 52, of Olathe, shot Srinivas Kuchibhotla and two other men on February 22. The hate crime charges were filed in connection with the shootings of Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, who survived. Purinton is also accused of shooting Ian Grillot, who tried to stop the suspect. He was also charged with killing Kuchibhotla “through the use of a firearm in such a manner as to constitute murder,” according to the indictment. If convicted of that federal offense, Purinton could be sentenced to life in prison or death. Related video Shooting survivor: Man came back with gun Purinton already faces first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in state court. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 18. Purinton was arrested hours after the shooting while he was at an Applebee’s restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, about 70 miles away from Olathe. Purinton reportedly told a bartender who made a 911 call that he had shot two Iranians. Kuchibhotla and Madasani, each 32, both worked at Garmin, a tech company that makes GPS devices. The incident raised worries among Indians and other communities about possible violence against foreign workers in the United States. CNN’s Tony Marco contributed to this report.


NEW: One of two pilots is killed; also killed is a Russian marine during a rescue operation, Russian news agency says Russian plane was warned numerous times, Turkey's President says ISIS isn't present on border area, but "our brothers and sisters -- Turkmen" were there, he adds One of the world’s most volatile regions was roiled further Tuesday when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey said it hit the plane after it violated Turkey’s airspace and ignored 10 warnings. One of the two pilots was killed in the air by fire from the ground, according to Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti. The fate of the second pilot wasn’t disclosed. Meanwhile, a Russian marine was killed on Tuesday during an operation to rescue the two pilots, who were flying an Su-24 warplane in a combat sortie, according to RIA Novosti. Turkey and Russia exchanged bellicose language after the downing of the plane, raising fears in the international community that the Syrian conflict could spiral into something wider. The Russian plane was dealt with because it “did not answer our warning,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday. ISIS isn’t present at that border area, but Turkmen were there, Erdogan said. Anyone who bombs that area attacks “our brothers and sisters – Turkmen,” Erdogan said in Ankara. Turkmen are a Turkic-speaking, traditionally nomadic people who live primarily in Central Asia, but a small minority of them can be found in the Middle East, primarily in northern Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Erdogan said the plane incident was not something Turkey wanted to see happen, and “this does not indicate any animosity” toward any country. He added the downed jet was “one of two” planes but didn’t elaborate beyond that. It’s been Turkey’s cool approach that has prevented similar incidents up to now, he added. Turkey’s ambassador to the United States, Serdar Kilic, tweeted: “Understand this: Turkey is a country whose warnings should be taken seriously and listened to. Don’t test Turkey’s patience. Try to win its friendship.” A U.S. official told CNN that a calculation shows the Russian jet was in Turkish airspace for 30 seconds or less. The Turkish government has said that it issued 10 warnings over five minutes but did not say all of those warnings occurred while the jet was in their airspace. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the downing of the plane would have “serious consequences for Russia’s relationship with Turkey.” Related video Russia: Pilot dead, marine killed in rescue attempt The shooting of the plane, Putin said, “represents a stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices. I can’t describe what has happened today in any other way. Our plane was downed over Syrian territory by an air-to-air missile from a Turkish F-16 jet. “The plane fell on Syrian territory 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the Turkish border. It was flying 1 kilometer away from the Turkish border when it was attacked. In any case, neither our pilots nor our jet posed any threat to Turkey. That is obvious. They were carrying out an operation fighting against ISIL in Northern Latakia.” (ISIL is another acronym for ISIS.) The two Russian pilots managed to eject their Su-24 plane, the Russian military said. Two Russian Mi-8 helicopters performed a search-and-rescue operation, but one of them was damaged by small arms fire and made an emergency landing, Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said. One Russian marine was killed. “The helicopter was destroyed by mortar fire conducted from the territory controlled by illegal, armed groups,” Rudskoy said. Future Russia airstrikes “will be carried out only under cover of fighter aircraft,” Rudskoy said. Also, the Russian cruiser Moskva will go to the shore zone of Syrian port of Latakia, and the military “warns that all the potentially dangerous targets will be destroyed,” Rudskoy said. New video published on social media by a Syrian rebel group allegedly shows Turkmen rebels shooting at the two ejected pilots landing on the border between Turkey and Syria. CNN couldn’t immediately confirm the video’s claim. Speaking in Turkish language, a man shouts off-camera, “don’t shoot at them” and “capture them alive,” referring to the two Russian pilots. Heavy gunfire can be heard on the video. The rebels also shout, “God is great!” Erdogan on Tuesday pointed how Turkey has been hosting 2 million Syrian refugees while European countries have panicked over smaller numbers seeking refuge there. It’s not possible to resolve terrorism or refugee problems without finding a sustainable solution to Syria, but the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and countries that support it have started a new assault that does not fit with finding a resolution for the area, Erdogan said. Turkey vehemently opposes the Assad regime. Russia is backing it. After holding an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, NATO’s governing body, the North Atlantic Council, said Turkey informed the body about the plane’s downing. Turkey is a member of NATO, which considers an attack on one of its members to be an attack on them all. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged “calm and de-escalation” to resolve the Turkey-Russia situation, but he noted how Russian forces approach allies’ borders. “I have previously expressed my concern about the implications of the military actions of the Russian Federation close to NATO’s borders,” the Stoltenberg said. “This highlights the importance of having and respecting arrangements to avoid such incidents in the future. “As we have repeatedly made clear, we stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally, Turkey,” he added. NATO continues to follow the matter, Stoltenberg said. A NATO official told CNN that “when Russian jets violated Turkish airspace a few weeks ago, the Council did meet in an extraordinary session, which resulted in a condemnation of the incursion.” Not long after the plane was shot down Tuesday morning, spitting fire and diving nose-first toward the ground, Turkey took responsibility. Turkey’s semiofficial outlet, the Anadolu Agency, quoted Turkish presidential sources as saying the Russian Su-24 was “hit within the framework of engagement rules” in Syria’s Bayirbucak area, near the border with Turkey. Russian officials denied the plane had violated Turkish airspace. While ISIS does not operate in the area where the plane went down, other rebel groups do, including al Nusra Front – al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria – along with more moderate U.S.-backed groups. Abu Ibrahim al-Sheghri, the military leader in the 10th coastal brigade and part of the Turkmen Mountain Military Operation Room, told CNN that the body of one of the pilots had been found in the Nibh Almur area of Syria. The brigade is searching for the other pilot in the same area, he said. Early this year, Moath al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot whose plane crashed in Syria the previous December, was burned alive by ISIS while he was trapped in a cage. U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that “Turkey has the right to defend its country and its airspace,” but he acknowledged that U.S. officials “don’t have all the information yet.” Obama said it was important that Russia and Turkey are in contact with one another to “take measures to discourage any kind of escalation.” He said the plane incident “points to an ongoing problem with the Russian operations” in Syria, which are taking place very close to the Turkish border. Russia has been going after “moderate opposition” that has the support of Turkey, Obama said. If Russia instead focused on fighting only ISIS, “some of those conflicts or potential for escalation are less likely to occur,” Obama said. He said the encounter also “underscores the importance of our moving the political track along as quickly as possible” when it comes to resolving the Syrian civil war. Obama made his remarks at a news conference with French President Francois Hollande at the White House, held to discuss the recent terror attacks on Paris. Hollande called the plane incident “a serious one” and said Turkey is providing information to NATO “so that we can find what really happened.” “We must prevent any escalation,” Hollande said. Hollande will be traveling to Russia this week to meet with Putin and discuss taking action against ISIS. “We must find a solution to the Syrian crisis,” Hollande said. Turkey released a purported image of the flight path of the plane showing it had violated Turkish airspace. Two Turkish F-16s responded “within engagement rules,” the country’s officials said. But the Russian Defense Ministry said “objective monitoring confirmed” the plane was not in Turkish airspace. “The Su-24 bomber jet was in Syrian airspace at the altitude 6,000 meters, the Russian Defense Ministry said,” according to Sputnik. “The pilots were reportedly able to parachute out of the jet before it crashed.” Syria has been embroiled for more than four years in a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, sent millions of families fleeing and laid waste to cities. Skirmishes between Turks and Syrians have taken place in the past, with Turkish officials accusing Syrian planes of violating Turkish air space. Sajjan Gohel, international security director for the Asia-Pacific Foundation, a think tank, described the downing of the plane as “a very significant escalation.” “It’s very much the last thing that’s needed right now, especially in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, when there was hope that Russia could form an alliance with France and with the United States against ISIS,” Gohel said. “This is going to complicate things. This is going to add unnecessary tensions that really weren’t required at this critical juncture.” 5 things to know about the downing of the Russian jet He said the downing of the Russian plane would hamper efforts to form a united front against ISIS. “This is a situation that unfortunately was almost inevitable at some point, because Turkey has long been accusing Russia of interfering in their airspace,” Gohel said. “They’ve threatened them in the past. And even though economic relations between the two countries are strong – politically, there have been tensions recently.” Opinion: The hardest questions about fighting ISIS Syria’s internal conflict has become a massive proxy war for numerous international powers, both in the region and outside it – a situation that has added to the perception that incidents such as Tuesday’s plane downing were inevitable. Currently, the United States, Russia, France, Australia, the Gulf states, Turkey,  Israel, Iran, Jordan and Hezbollah are involved, one way or another, in military activity in Syria. War on ISIS: Who’s doing what? In March 2014, Turkey shot down a Syrian fighter jet after the warplane strayed into its airspace, according to Erdogan, the current president, who was prime minister at the time. “Our F-16s went up in the air and shot that plane down. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, then from now on, our slap will be hard,” Erdogan told supporters at a campaign rally in 2014. But state-run media in Syria called it an act of “blatant aggression” and said the downed plane was over northern Syria at the time. Zeynep Bilginsoy reported from Istanbul with CNN’s Don Melvin writing and reporting from London; Michael Martinez from Los Angeles. CNN’s Barbara Starr, Ben Wedeman, Jim Sciutto, Lucy Pawle, Nick Paton Walsh and Jethro Mullen also contributed to this report.


Human rights activist Berta Cáceres was killed for fighting for the rights of others Cáceres' legacy won't be forgotten, say family, as supporters continue to press government for investigation Honduras is the world's most deadly place to be an activist, report says In one of the most dangerous countries in the world, one woman paid the ultimate price for her cause. One day before her 45th birthday on March 3, 2016, Berta Cáceres was shot dead in her home after years of threats to her life for her work as a fearless human rights activist. The mother of four, herself a member of the indigenous Lenca group, was a hero to rural indigenous populations in Honduras, who have been under constant threat in recent years from groups wanting to build mega-projects such dams and mines and carry out logging on their land. She was tireless in their defense. Awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015, Cáceres was regarded as one of the world’s leading grassroots environmental activists. On the one-year anniversary of her death, we speak to her nephew and one of her close friends about her lifetime protecting human rights – and their fight for justice – in one of the world’s most corrupt nations, as ranked by Transparency International. Growing up in the 1980s, Cáceres was no stranger to the violence of Central America and civil wars in Honduras and neighboring El Salvador. Her mother, Austra Bertha Flores López, was throughout her life a midwife, two-term mayor of their hometown of La Esperanza, a congresswoman and a governor. She also helped many El Salvadoran refugees fleeing a bloody civil war which started in 1980. “She was raised by a powerful woman,” Karen Spring tells CNN. Spring befriended Cáceres in 2009 while working as the coordinator for the Honduras Solidarity Network, a Canadian-U.S. group which supports social causes in the country. “She (Cáceres’ mother) taught her about indigenous communities, the difficulties of indigenous women, and the racism they lived with. Berta was raised in that environment,” explains Spring. Before this time, there was generally little tension with the Lencas because their lands had not been targeted for development projects, explains Caceres’ nephew Silvio Carrillo. Carrillo says Cáceres’ mother (his grandmother), looked out for the underprivileged Lencas of the region, who often lacked access to education, and were subject to what he calls “pervasive racism.” This had a huge influence on Cáceres’ views. “Every day my grandmother tended to tens of dozens of indigenous people that would come down from the mountain to get healthcare,” says Carrillo, a California-based journalist who is working to forward the investigation into his aunt’s murder. “She helped give birth to over 5,000 children. Berta saw this every day of her life. “Imagine what that did to her?” To truly understand Cáceres, one must examine Honduras’ recent history, struggles and its increasingly dangerous atmosphere. In 1993, Cáceres co-founded the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) with her ex-husband Salvador Zúniga, who she met in her teens. She was superwoman. In a place that doesn’t have heroes, she’s a true hero to so many. Silvio Carrillo, nephew of Berta Caceres The organization helped fight for the Lenca people’s rights as they witnessed the destruction of their homeland and rivers. Because of her upbringing, Cáceres had realized that despite indigenous rights being recognized by law, many indigenous groups lacked clear titles to their land and suffered land grabs by powerful business interests, said Carrillo. This conflict over land is the main driver of violence against Honduran activists, says watchdog Global Witness. COPINH grew to defend about 240 Lenca communities, who live in western Honduras and El Salvador, and campaigned against the privatization of their land, says Spring. As the organization grew, so did Cáceres’ profile in Honduras. “(Cáceres) had such an amazing political clarity and understanding of global issues,” recalls Spring. She was invited all over the world to speak because of her ability to “connect the local to the global.” Cáceres spoke in Europe, Asia, Latin American and at the United Nations about her work and the plight of indigenous groups everywhere. Charisma, according to Spring, was her biggest weapon. “She had the ability to go and talk to poor families, but could also walk into the Honduran Congress and relate to them, and talk on their level. She was a force to be reckoned with,” says Spring. “It was really hard for any corporation to push forward any project without having to deal with her.” Carrillo agrees. “She was a threat. They (those in power) had a problem on their hands. She was clearly on the right side of the people and the law and there’s no impunity in Honduras,” he says.”There was no other way to stop her … she was an obvious problem.” In 2009, a coup by the Honduran military removed President José Manuel Zelaya from office. Since then Honduras has sunk to new levels of corruption and danger say both Carrillo and Spring, and reports from human rights groups support their claims. In its 2016 annual report, Amnesty International describes “a general climate of violence that has forced thousands of Hondurans to flee the country. Women, migrants, internally displaced people, human rights defenders – especially… environmental and land activists – (are being) targeted with violence.” It also asserts that “a weak criminal justice system (has) contributed to a climate of impunity.” Graphic created by Sofia Ordonez It’s in this environment that more than 120 environmental activists have been killed in Honduras since 2010, making it the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists, according to Global Witness. The Honduras Secretary for Human Rights declined to reply to the accusations in Amnesty International’s report, when approached by CNN. Amnesty International says Honduras has to protect human rights activists. “Honduras has turned into a ‘no-go zone’ for anyone daring to campaign for the protection of the environment. How many more activists have to be brutally murdered before the authorities take effective action to protect them, or even be willing to talk about this crisis?” says Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International. The Honduran government has repeatedly said it works hard so those responsible for the crimes are brought to justice, and to ensure that the most vulnerable groups are not bothered or attacked. When CNN reached out to the Honduran government it provided a press release urging the Prosecutor’s Office to continue its investigation into Cáceres’ case, and expressing their satisfaction with the course of the investigation so far. As Honduras was spiraling into poverty, Cáceres’ fame grew – at a time when she became increasingly critical of the government in an increasingly dangerous environment. In 2010, she began working on what was to become her best-known – and most dangerous – project. The Agua Zarca dam was to be built on the Gualcarque River, the spiritual home of many Lenca and a vital source of water and food to the communities that live on its banks. Over a period of five years, Cáceres was instrumental in a campaign that eventually stopped the dam from being built. But regular threats, which began in 2013, started to grow. “She had at least 30 threats to her life via text, voicemail or in person,” said Carrillo. Three years later came that fateful shot in the night. “Berta’s assassination wasn’t about one project, it was a calculated assassination of a woman that had gained so much prominence, reputation and power, not through money or academic credentials, but of her lifelong work to defend human rights in the region,” says Spring. “After the coup, she led the social movement to stop and denounce it. Because of this, she lost her life. She was killed.” Today, COPINH continues the fight against similar projects. And Spring points out that when she visits the Lenca communities there is still a lot of hope and happiness. “Berta said, ‘Well, we always have happiness to help us keep moving forward. They can’t take that away’. That became her slogan,” says Spring. Cáceres’ nephew continues fighting to keep her case on the government’s radar, and he says that although they have made arrests linked to her death, they must do more to bring justice for her and her family. This week, the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, said that the executive power is available to provide support to the prosecutor’s office and added that the government of Honduras will do everything they can to get justice. To date, eight people have been detained by the authorities in connection to Cáceres’ death, including the man who managed the Agua Zarca dam project for Desarrollos Energeticos. The authorities, however, have said they are yet to capture the “intellectual authors” of this murder. But the family says that is not enough. “We have to denounce who designed the crime, who planned it, who paid for it, and also the people inside the company who promoted the harassment, prosecution, criminalization that lead to her being murdered,” Cáceres’ daughter, Berta Zuniga Cáceres, told CNN en Español. The company denies involvement in the killing or any wrongdoing. “The family has been asking for an international independent investigation to find the masterminds because there is little confidence in a place as corrupt as Honduras that they will be found and tried,” says Carillo. In a statement to mark the anniversary of Cáceres’ killing, Susan Gelman, president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, described her death as an immeasurable loss to “grassroots activists around the world who stand at the frontlines of climate change and destructive development projects.” She added: “We carry on with heavy hearts, filled not with sadness but with determination and what Berta called the best form of resistance: joy.” Carrillo notes that there is a Honduran saying that Cáceres’ family and friends keep repeating: “Berta no murió, se multiplico.” In English the meaning is just as poignant. “Berta didn’t die, she multiplied.”


There weren't widespread protest marches after Justine Ruszczyk's death No statements of support from pro-police groups for Officer Mohamed Noor There’s a predictable pattern to the aftermath of too many deadly police shootings: Neighbors and anti-police brutality groups take to the streets. Groups supporting the officers stand up for them. Social media lights up over whether the victim “did something” to provoke the officer. But none of that holds true in the case of Justine Ruszczyk, a white Australian bride-to-be who was killed by Mohamed Noor, a Somali-American black police officer in Minneapolis. And that, say experts, speaks volumes about the state of America today. Ruszczyk was shot to death on Saturday after she called 911 to report a possible sex assault in an alley near her home. A vigil was held for Ruszczyk, but there weren’t widespread protest marches, like the ones Black Lives Matter held last year after Philando Castile’s shooting death at the hands of an officer in nearby Falcon Heights. When one pro-police Blue Lives Matter website had a story about the shooting, it only offered a theory on why the officers’ body cams were off. David Love, a Philadelphia journalist who’s written about race issues for CNN and others, has a theory why. Because the race and nationality of the victim and police officer aren’t what has typically garnered headlines, people who normally speak up aren’t saying much. We haven’t reckoned with our history, so it shouldn’t surprise us to see a different reaction. Phillip Atiba Goff There is no centralized structure for the Black Lives Matter movement, which results in non-uniform response. New York Daily News writer Shaun King wrote a column in which he said “Police brutality jumped a racial fence.” Otherwise, Love says he hasn’t seen too many people from the movement express any anger or outrage about the shooting. That’s surprising, because in some past cases, Black Lives Matter has spoken up when the victim was white. As for those who “back the blue,” Love says he hasn’t seen a lot of pro-police groups rally to Noor’s side, either. “It seems very often that their response is in the lens of ‘black vs. blue,’ which is unfortunate because life is a little more complicated than that,” he told CNN. Love theorizes a different group of people may take the lead in rallying for the victim in this case: “people who may not have emphathized with the victims (in police shootings in the past) because the victims have been mostly black.” Love compares it to media coverage of murders during the civil rights era. Killings of black people in the South during that period often received scant national attention. But if the violence took the life of a white person –  such as the “Mississippi Burning” case – more people across America paid attention. Pro-police groups are often quick to speak out when an officer is accused in a fatal shooting. But Noor isn’t white and that has made a difference, says Marcia Chatelain, a fellow at the New America Foundation and co-host of a podcast on the death of Freddie Gray. Mayor: I wish officer would speakWho is police officer who fired shot?Australian PM demands answersWhat we know and don’t know Woman killed was to marry next month Mayor: I wish officer would speakWho is police officer who fired shot?Australian PM demands answersWhat we know and don’t know Woman killed was to marry next month “Because it’s an officer of color who, so far, is the only one accused of something here, it has shaped the response from pro-police groups like Blue Lives Matter, which usually has a very defensive response to officer-involved shootings,” she told CNN. Chatelain feels the media response has been different, too. “I’m pretty sure reporters haven’t been digging into (Ruszczyk’s) background, trying to find narratives to justify the shooting,” she said. Too often in cases involving unarmed black men, Chatelain says, information on the victim’s criminal history or prior arrests makes its way into stories – even when they are irrelevant to the case. So what does this say about America in 2017, where the race, gender or national identity of a victim or police officer can affect the public’s reaction to a shooting? “It says despite the rhetoric about the US being a melting pot or whatever, people have different experiences based on their racial background,” Love said. “Those experiences give us, sometimes, a different set of lenses and a different view of reality. And we have to find some way of bridging that divide … to help people understand the experiences of other people.” The different reaction to the shooting also proves that America is still learning how to deal with its tortured racial past, said Phillip Atiba Goff, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and president of the Center for Policing Equity. “We haven’t reckoned with our history,” Goff told CNN, “so it shouldn’t surprise us to see a different reaction.”