Suspect Kim Ki-jung was captured after U.S. ambassador was slashed in Seoul Kim had history of anti-U.S. sentiment and sympathies for North Korea The suspect behind the knife attack on the American ambassador to South Korea had a long, troubled history and often blamed the U.S. for tensions in the Korean Peninsula. Kim Ki-Jong, 55, was quickly overpowered and taken into custody after he attacked U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert with a fruit knife Thursday morning. Police say Kim’s motive for the attack was to improve North-South Korean relations and to stop the annual military exercises held jointly by the U.S. and South Korea. Related video U.S. ambassador to South Korea attacked It wasn’t the first time Kim has taken drastic steps to make his point. – In 2010, Kim was given a suspended jail sentence for hurling a concrete block at a Japanese envoy to South Korea, according to the Yonhap news agency. That incident is believed to be the first attack on a foreign ambassador in South Korea. – Kim allegedly harbored sympathies for North Korea, according to Korean media reports. Yonhap reported that Kim had visited North Korea six times between 2006 and 2007, had attempted to erect a memorial for former North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il in Seoul, and once set himself on fire in front of the presidential office. – He was frequently seen at protests, wearing a beret and blaming U.S. policies for straining relations between North and South Korea. Kim was a member of the Korea Council For Reconciliation and Cooperation, which hosted Lippert at the Thursday event where the attack occurred. The group advocates reunification of the Koreas as well as humanitarian aid to North Korea. Kim was one of its 181 members, but wasn’t on the list of those invited for the event, according to police. But he was allowed in because an event staff recognized him from the organization. A witness who was sitting next to Lippert during the attack said Kim was known for having “unpredictable behavior” in the organization. Even though he appeared somewhat disheveled Thursday morning, he was able to enter the event because the staff was familiar with Kim, police said. Immediately after he allegedly slashed the ambassador in the face and arm, Kim was tackled to the floor. As he was transferred to a hospital Kim shouted, “The South Korea-U.S. military drills must stop.” Every year, the United States and South Korea hold joint military drills, which both countries say are defensive and non-provocative in nature. But the exercises also draw criticism from the North Korean regime, which characterize the drills as rehearsals for an attack on the regime. Kim also told South Korean reporters that he had planned the attack for 10 days, and claimed responsibility for burning a U.S. flag at the embassy in the 1980s. A website associated with Kim, displayed a photo of him with protesters holding a sign that read: “Stop war exercises that block North-South Korean dialogue.” The picture was taken at February 24, in front of the U.S. embassy, according to his website. It also contains a picture of an American soldier inside a red crossed-out circle. On Thursday, Kim shouted at reporters, saying that the U.S. was to blame for blocking family reunions of North and South Koreans who have been separated since the Korean War. On the website, he lamented that “the whole atmosphere of the Korean peninsula is freezing up like a frozen soil.” CNN’s KJ Kwon and Paula Hancocks in Seoul contributed to this report, as did CNN’s Judy Kwon and Sol Han from Hong Kong.


US President Donald Trump’s affinity for authoritarian leaders across the globe has been one of the few constants during his chaotic first few months in office. From Russian President Vladimir Putin to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Trump has gone out of his way to lavish praise on some of the world’s most notorious strongmen. On Tuesday, Trump welcomed one of them – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – to the White House. The Turkish leader lands in Washington one month after winning a divisive referendum that critics say will grant Erdogan dictatorial powers back at home. But Trump isn’t shy about cozying up to controversial figures. Earlier this month, he said he’d be “honored” to meet North Korean despot Kim Jong Un “under the right circumstances.” That came just weeks after Trump said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was doing a “fantastic job” during an Oval Office meeting. It’s not new for the US to turn a blind eye to totalitarian regimes in the name of political stability. But Trump’s regard for leaders that many consider bad actors goes beyond that. Even before he congratulated Erdogan on the referendum win that will hand him sweeping new powers, Trump’s position on Turkey raised eyebrows. As a candidate, Trump praised Erdogan for his handling of a failed coup attempt despite a major crackdown on perceived opposition figures – including journalists, educators, judges, and members of parliament. During the campaign, Trump also admitted that his family’s business interests in Turkey posed a conflict. And that was before revelations that his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had been lobbying for the country. While some analysts say that Trump’s comments are a worrying endorsement of authoritarianism, others suggest it’s more reflective of his focus on fighting terror. “You could see it as a strategy of saying, ‘We’re going to turn a blind eye to the state of your domestic politics, authoritarianism, human-rights abuses, in order to gain more cooperation on areas that matter to America’ – like security issues,” Blaise Misztal, Director of National Security at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told CNN. While Trump may be courting Erdogan as a vital ally in the fight against ISIS, it’s not clear what that will look like in practice – especially when it comes to the US’s most effective proxy force – the Kurds, seen by Turkey as the enemy. Trump recently announced that Washington would provide arms to Syrian Kurds as part of the fight against ISIS, angering Turkey. “In the last 100 days we’ve seen Trump’s frustrations with governing in a democratic system, in trying to get things done,” Misztal says. “If you’re an autocrat, and you hold all the power, you can be much more efficient and effective. That’s the sort of demonstration of power that Trump seems to appreciate.” Over the course of his campaign, Trump broke with long-standing US policy in his repeated praise of Putin. But the US leader has been on record complimenting his Russian counterpart since 2013, when Trump’s Miss Universe pageant was held in Moscow. Since then, Trump has talked about Putin more than 80 times, according to a CNN KFile investigation. “The extent to which he went out of his way to defend Vladimir Putin was astonishing, worrying and unprecedented,” James Nixey, head of the Russia and Eurasia program at UK-based Chatham House, told CNN. Trump’s statements stoked suspicion over his campaign’s possible connection to Russian interference in the election. As such comments began to attract more scrutiny, Trump dialed back his language. And in January, he said he believed Russia was responsible for the hacking of the Democratic National committee. But Trump argued that a good relationship would be beneficial to the US. “If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability, because we have a horrible relationship with Russia,” Trump said in a press conference on January 11. “You can admire Trump’s sentiment, but the devil is in the detail,” Nixey said. “Getting on with the Kremlin and Putin is fine in theory, but difficult in practice. And it requires giving in to what Russia wants, a freer hand in Ukraine and the Middle East, for example.” Trump will meet with Putin for the first time since he took office as part of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, according to Russian state media. As a candidate, Trump did not hesitate to bash China. Trump accused Beijing of manipulating its currency and effectively stealing manufacturing jobs. He even charged that China had “raped” the US economy. But when China’s President Xi Jinping visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April, the two leaders appeared to forge a “very good relationship.” According to Trump, their planned 15-minute meeting stretched for hours. The pair have a surprising amount in common, said Michel Hockx, Director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Just as Trump campaigned on “making America great again,” Xi’s mission is the great revival of the Chinese nation. “On a personal level they seem to get along very well, the question is what are the policy repercussions going to be,” Hockx told CNN. For now, Trump seems to have decided to play down those other issues to focus on North Korea. “Now he seems to be convinced that by placing other issues to the side and focusing solely on what China and Xi Jinping can do for the US on the North Korean issue, he can succeed in getting what he wants,” Adam Cathcart, a North Korea expert at Leeds University in the UK, told CNN in an email. Trump reiterated this change of tack during a “Fox and Friends” interview: “What, am I going to start a trade war with China in the middle of him working on a bigger problem with North Korea?” Trump recently broke with long-held tradition by suggesting he would sit down with the North Korean leader. “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump told Bloomberg News. It was a marked departure from the hardline stance that previous US administrations have adopted with Pyongyang as the regime has sought to advance its nuclear ambitions. But Trump has also refused to rule out a military solution to the standoff. The US recently directed a naval strike group to the region and deployed a new anti-ballistic missile system to South Korea. “It seems to indicate that he’s either freestyling, or that his administration thinks that Kim Jong Un would actually be interested in meeting as a kind of carrot for negotiating,” Cathcart told CNN. “But there is an obvious dissonance with [Secretary of State Rex] Tillerson’s categorical statements that the US will not ‘negotiate its way back to the negotiating table.’” Trump had previously praised Kim to CBS as a “pretty smart cookie.” Just a day before, speaking with Reuters, Trump expressed admiration for how Kim had handled ascension to power at such a young age. But talks between the President and Kim seem unlikely after yet another ballistic missile was launched by North Korea over the weekend. North Korea said Monday the launch is proof they have a rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and that they have the United States in “sighting range for strike.” Cathcart told CNN that any potential negotiations with the young leader could prove to be a minefield for Trump, opening the door for North Korea to demand recognition as a legitimate nuclear weapons state. “There are dangers involved in getting what everyone thinks they want – a grand US-North Korean bargain,” Cathcart wrote. Trump hosted Sisi at the White House in April, marking the first visit by an Egyptian leader since 2009. The US President heaped praise on Sisi, signaling a significant shift from cooled US-Egypt relations under the Obama administration. It was not the first time he had spoken highly of the Egyptian leader. In 2016, Trump hailed Sisi’s counterterrorism policy in an interview with Fox Business. He called the Egyptian leader a “fantastic guy,” adding that his “tough approach” had “gotten terrorists out (of Egypt).” “Trump wants to be able to do whatever he likes. When he sees people abroad who have that power, he seems to be envious of that,” Timothy E. Kaldas, an analyst at the Washington-based think tank the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told CNN. “His fascination with Sisi has to do with his crushing Islamist groups,” Kaldas said. “Trump wants to believe that these strong-arm tactics are the most effective, that the liberal call for restraint and respect for human rights are just getting in the way of the fight against terrorism.” But Misztal argued that human rights could come up behind closed doors. “During Sisi’s visit last month, while there was a lot of concern that there was no public mention of his human-rights record, Trump had secured the release of an American being held in an Egyptian prison,” Misztal said. “Just because Trump hasn’t said these things publicly, doesn’t mean they’re not being said in the background.” Trump recently extended a White House invitation to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a “very friendly conversation,” triggering an avalanche of criticism from human rights groups. Since taking office last year, Duterte has waged a bloody war on drugs that has left thousands dead and that human-rights groups say is a campaign of extrajudicial killings. The White House said the call was part of an effort to rein in North Korea and stay engaged with US allies. The President “is interested in human-rights issues, but he’s not going to allow that interest and concern to keep him from defending the national-security interests of the United States,” a senior administration official told CNN. The phone call is a departure from Duterte’s relationship with Trump’s predecessor, whom Duterte once called a “son of a bitch.” Joshua Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asia fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that while the call might be troubling considering Duterte’s record on human rights, it’s not surprising that Trump would speak with the leader of a treaty ally. Kurlantzick said Duterte would probably accept the President’s invitation to the White House eventually, but may not want to appear as though he is embracing the US, given how much he has courted China. “Duterte has a very long, complex history of anti-Americanism, so just because Trump likes Duterte and his authoritarianism, it doesn’t mean they’re going to get along well,” Kurlantzick added. Graphics by CNN’s Henrik Pettersson.


After Hillary Clinton refused to privately testify about her email use before the congressional committee investigating the attacks in Benghazi, her campaign issued a blistering statement blaming Republicans for playing politics. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta called a news report that the Benghazi committee’s work would likely not be finished until next year “the most telling evidence yet that their investigation is solely about playing politics in the 2016 presidential campaign.” “Sadly, Republicans are determined to continue to exploit this tragedy in an effort to try and hurt her campaign,” Podesta said in a statement. READ: Hillary Clinton deleted all email from personal server But Benghazi Select Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, maintains that he wants the committee to finish its work by year’s end. “Secretary Clinton’s decision to seek the presidency of the United States does not and will not impact the work of the committee. We have said all along we need to ensure we have her complete record,” Gowdy said in a statement. Gowdy and other Republicans are quick to point out that the committee’s time table is largely dependent on how long it takes to gather documents and testimony from Clinton and the Obama administration, factors outside of their control. “They could clean this up a whole lot quicker if the administration and former Secretary Clinton were in a position to actually cooperate with the committee and turn over the kind of information we were seeking for some time,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday. “But the administration has made it virtually impossible to get to the facts surrounding Benghazi. And so when we have the facts, we’ll have a report.” Clinton is under fire for conducing official government business on a personal email server. In a letter to Gowdy, Clinton’s lawyer wrote that the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate is still willing to testify – publicly. “There is no reason to delay her appearance or to have her testify in a private interview,” David Kendall wrote, adding that questions about Clinton’s email use “have already been publicly answered by Secretary Clinton.” Gowdy disagreed, arguing that Clinton has not “answered all questions surrounding the unusual email arrangement she had with herself.” “The committee has Mr. Kendall’s letter under advisement and will issue a response tomorrow setting out a reasonable path forward with respect to Secretary Clinton’s appearances to discuss both Benghazi as well as congressional efforts to ensure the public record is complete with respect to her tenure as Secretary of State,” Gowdy said in a statement. Democrats are pushing for a public hearing. They argue that parts of the private, transcribed interview Gowdy requested could be selectively leaked without context and Clinton would not have a copy of the interview to rebut those claims. “Secretary Clinton agreed to testify months ago – in public and under oath – so the Select Committee’s claim that it has no choice but to subject her to a private staff interview is inaccurate,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, the commitee’s top-ranking Democrat. “The committee should schedule the public hearing, make her records public, and re-focus its efforts on the attacks in Benghazi.” Gowdy has argued that he wants to collect all the relevant documents before bringing Clinton before his committee. “If the committee had called former Secretary Clinton when Democrats and her attorney first encouraged us to, the committee would not have had possession of the 300 emails we now have or known about her exclusive use of a personal server and email account to conduct official business,” he said. Republicans asked Clinton to turn over the email server to the State Department inspector general for an independent review. Clinton refused, noting the server’s email was deleted. In December, Clinton turned over roughly 30,000 emails to the State Department and asked that they be released to the public. State Department officials have said they will release them after they have been reviewed. The State Department has already given Gowdy’s committee 300 Benghazi-related emails. But Republicans still want independent verification that Clinton has, in fact, turned over all her official emails. CNN’s Deirde Walsh and Dan Merica contributed to this report.


A bipartisan group of senators wants the State Department to reconsider military aid to Bahrain following a crackdown on political opposition and a deterioration of human rights. In a letter addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry, the senators request that the State Department rethink arms sales to the key Gulf ally if Bahrain’s leadership cannot protect the rights freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN. The letter, from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy, Ron Wyden and Tim Kaine, follows a June 21 State Department report to Congress critical of Bahrain. The “lack of due process and the criminalization of the exercise of free expression continue to undermine the progress Bahrain has made since 2011,” according to State Department spokesman John Kirby. The State Department has not responded to specific questions on the issue of military aid to Bahrain following the report’s publication, but Kirby said after the report came out that,  “You don’t have to look much farther back in history to see that we aren’t afraid to make decisions in respect to, in this last case, with foreign military sales, when and if we feel it is responsible to do that.” Earlier this month, a Bahrain court suspended the main Shiite opposition party, al-Wefaq, and froze its assets after more than doubling the sentencing of the party’s secretary general, Ali Salman, to nine years in prison for “promoting forceful change of the political regime,” among other charges. Kirby urged the Bahraini officials “to reconsider” the suspension of al-Wefaq and said Washington was “deeply troubled.” The day before Bahrain’s Justice Ministry suspended al-Wefaq, whom the government accused of working “to create a new generation that carries a spirit of hatred,” the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported, prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was arrested in a raid on his home. Rajab, the founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, had been jailed in 2012 for participating in public rallies and released two years later. Additionally, the Sunni-led monarchy has recently revoked the citizenship of the country’s most prominent Shiite religious leader, Sheikh Isa Qassim, leaving him vulnerable to deportation. The State Department condemned “withdrawing the nationality of its citizens arbitrarily” and warned the case of Qassim “will further divert Bahrainis from the path of reform and reconciliation,” according to a statement.


Attack was in Musa Qala district of Helmand province, a government spokesman says Authorities are investigating, including trying to find out how many militants died in the attack A group of armed insurgents attacked a police post in southern Afghanistan, killing 17 officers and wounding two others, an official said Saturday. The attack happened around 11 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET) Friday in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, according to Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Zwak said investigators have been dispatched to the area to find out more about the incident, including how many insurgents, if any, died in the gunfight. Such violence, unfortunately, has plagued Afghanistan for years. Much of it has been spearheaded by the Taliban, the Islamist militant group forced out of power by the U.S.-led invasion following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks but still very much a disruptive force in the Asian nation. Many of the Taliban’s targets have been police, troops and government workers. Still, it’s not the only militant group to make claims: ISIS said it was behind the deaths of at least 33 people in Jalalabad, where a man on a motorbike blew himself up in front of a Kabul Bank branch. Still, while the latest attack in Helmand aligns with that history, it was not immediately clear who was behind it. This bloodshed has affected many parts of Afghanistan. Earlier this month, militants killed nine aid workers in an attack on a house in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province, according to Abdul Razaq Qaderi, chief of that province’s criminal department. And in late May, four Taliban fighters were killed after launching an hours-long gun and grenade attack in an upscale district of central Kabul. No civilians or security forces died in that incident, Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi told CNN. In Helmand province, a car bomb targeting the governor’s compound killed at least seven people and wounded 46 in March, then-Deputy Governor Jan Rasoolyar said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said his group was responsible for that attack.


Editor’s Note: CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem is the author of the best-selling “Security Mom: An Unclassified Guide to Protecting Our Homeland and Your Home.” She is a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School, a former assistant secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration, host of the national security podcast The SCIF and founder of Kayyem Solutions, a security consulting firm. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. Juliette Kayyem: Just "doing something" isn't enough; if there were a specific and credible threat about terrorists' capacity to bring down an airliner with laptops, then it seems unimaginable that we wouldn't have a global laptop ban Just because the intelligence is there doesn't mean that the response was coherent, or justified. The laptop ban should still be revised or aborted., she writes There’s something simultaneously familiar and disturbing about CNN’s exclusive reporting that terrorist organizations are trying to plant explosives in computers and other electronic devices for potential detonation on airplanes.  As also reported by CNN, US counterterrorism agencies believe that terrorist groups have gotten hold of security equipment to test these new concealed explosives. This intelligence is allegedly what led to the Trump administration’s recent “laptop ban,” which required passengers from designated airports traveling to the United States to check their laptops and other large electronic advices. But just because the intelligence is there doesn’t mean that the response was coherent, or justified. The laptop ban should still be revised or aborted. Related article First on CNN: New terrorist laptop bombs may evade airport security, intel sources say To state it more bluntly: Why would the US’s focus only be on international flights from certain countries to the United States? Presumably, our interest is making airline travel safe for Americans everywhere around the world. The fact that the United Kingdom has its own laptop ban, with different designated airports, adds additional confusion to a measure that is impacting majority-Muslim countries, many of them already suspicious of the Trump administration. This is not to say, in the face of new intelligence, that our security apparatus should do nothing. But just “doing something” isn’t enough. If there were a specific and credible threat about terrorists’ capacity to bring down an airliner with laptops, then it seems unimaginable that we wouldn’t have a global laptop ban. Simply put: new intelligence often requires a response, but not every response is equally appropriate. Even assuming that this new laptop threat is real, terrorist organizations would still have to complete a number of steps to bring down a jetliner. Without detection, a bomb maker would have to acquire the technology and equipment to make the bomb; find someone who can make it onto a major flight through an airport where his name, data and other identification would be evaluated; ensure that person can detonate in a suicide attack; and guarantee the bomb works. It isn’t impossible – a version of this scenario occurred on a flight from Mogadishu in 2016 – but those terrorists had assistance from airport workers who passed the laptop bomb through an X-ray machine. The tendency to view any security effort – such as the laptop ban – as essential when a new threat arises is understandable, but every security measure must be weighed against three criteria: does it minimize risks; does it maximize defenses; and – as importantly – do the consequences of the security measure so alter the nature of how we live and move that it isn’t worth the investment. It is true that the interconnected nature of our world makes terror threats more mobile and terrorists able to strike harm far from where they train.  It also means that even a minor terror attack can achieve global notoriety. But these dangers of mobility are matched by its benefits. Our world is more accessible to more people, which in turn enhances our global economy. Put another way, we can make air travel safer, but we will never make it (or any major transportation system) completely safe. The goal – whether it be with planes, cargo or mass transit – it to minimize the risk as much as is practical. The numbers speak for themselves. Over 2 million people fly a day domestically; there are over 100,000 flights globally every 24 hours.  Each security measure has to be weighed against the potential disruption to that system. Related article One person's electronics ban is that same person's needed respite This is where the laptop ban seems a draconian response to a credible, but not specific, threat. That terrorists want to evade our security systems is not a surprise; we always should assume they are trying to get one step ahead of us. But if a laptop has the capacity to be used, undetected, as an explosive, then why target specific airports and focus on carry-on luggage? The US government has not made any effort to explain whether the laptop can or cannot be detonated even if it is stored in cargo.  And if these airports, many of them quite modern, do not have satisfactory detection capability, surely many more airports fall into that camp. What does the current measure include to address that problem? We know terrorists come from all over the world, including from our own Western allies. So absent further information about how these specific US and UK measures will actually keep us safer, we need more refined and specific alternatives. Some of these involve specifically targeting bomb makers and military efforts where they could reside.  They also include the immediate updating of airport technology, instituting longer and more thorough “laptop” checks at specific airports, and public education campaigns to educate airline passengers about potential risks. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook It is the nature of our day and age, unfortunately, that terrorists will seek to identify and exploit new vulnerabilities.  But our responses must be tailored to the specific, potential harm and we must be cognizant of their impact on our global networks. The laptop ban, as presently implemented, still does not satisfy those standards.


First known case of female-to-male transmission of Zika announced CDC urges female partners of pregnant women to use barrier methods during sex In another startling Zika development, the first case of female-to-male sexual transmission of the Zika virus has occurred in New York, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday. Up until now, it was thought that the only likely route of sexual transmission was male-to-female or male-to-male. The surprising development prompted the CDC to immediately change its guidance for pregnant women in relation to the virus. Even though no cases of woman-to-woman Zika transmission have been reported, the CDC now urges female sexual partners of pregnant women to use barrier methods every time they have sex if they live in or have recently returned from an area with active Zika transmission. Related article Can you get Zika from kissing? The CDC updated its guidance for all sexually active individuals to use condoms or abstain from sex with a partner who has lived in or traveled to a Zika-affected area. “Sex includes vaginal, anal and oral sex, and may also include the sharing of sex toys,” according to the CDC. The agency also advises health care providers to screen any patient who has been with a sexual partner exposed to the virus and has symptoms. The CDC report reads like a detective novel. A non-pregnant woman in her 20s had unprotected vaginal sex with a male partner on the day she returned from travel to a country where Zika is circulating. The next day, she came down with Zika-like symptoms, including fever, rash, fatigue and muscle pain, along with numbness and tingling in her fingers and toes. On day three, she visited her primary care doctor, who took blood and urine samples, and sent them off to the NYC health department. Both tested positive for the virus. On day seven after intercourse, her male partner, also in his 20s, began to show the same typical signs of Zika, such as fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes, despite the fact that he had not traveled outside the United States for more than a year. Related article The CDC wants your semen (if you've had Zika) Two days later, he visited the same doctor, who became suspicious of the possibility of sexual transmission and sent the man to the New York City health department to run tests. The urine test was positive for Zika; the blood serum was not. In subsequent interviews with the health department, the man reported that he had only the one sexual encounter with his partner during that time period, no other recent sexual partners and no mosquito bites during the week preceding his symptoms. The conclusion: “The timing and sequence of events support female-to-male Zika virus transmission through condomless vaginal intercourse,” the CDC said. While this is the first documented case of female to male sexual transmission, it’s not the first clue that the Zika virus might be hiding in the female genital tract. A case report published this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal tells the story of a 27-year old Guadeloupean woman who came down with Zika in May.  Even though Zika was absent from her blood and urine 11 days after she fell ill, her cervical mucus still tested positive for the virus.  And recently, a study on rhesus monkeys showed that the virus remained in the vaginal fluid of three non-pregnant females. Related article Can you get Zika twice? Or are you immune? Studies have shown that Zika remains in both urine and saliva long after it resolves in the blood, even though the likelihood of transmission via that route is considered extremely low. According to the latest CDC statistics, there are only 15 known cases of sexually transmitted Zika in the United States. To put that into comparison, there have been 1,305 travel-related cases of Zika in the mainland United States and no known cases where Zika has been transmitted via a mosquito bite. But it’s also true that four out of five people who come down with Zika have no symptoms, so experts admit that the numbers could be much higher. See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. And in Puerto Rico, where Zika is spreading rapidly, officials can’t monitor sexual transmission because “it is not possible to determine whether infection occurred due to mosquito-borne or sexual transmission,” the CDC said. CNN’s Debra Goldschmidt contributed to this report.


Innovative interactive theater performance "Sleep No More" is coming to China The experience is designed to transport visitors into 1930s Shanghai From hypermodern, twisted skyscrapers and levitating trains to frenetic street-life, a visit to Shanghai can result in sensory overload. So where better for an Asian premier of “experiential theater” from Punchdrunk – a group that has been exploding traditional notions of performance for over 15 years and strives to leave audiences feeling exactly like their name after a performance? Since December, visitors to the fictitious McKinnon Hotel in the city’s Jing’an district have been transported into the 1930s to experience “Sleep No More,” an unconventional, cinematic live production based on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The members of the audience are hotel “guests” who become part of the atmospheric production once they enter the hotel and don a mask. They can then explore around 90 rooms spread across six floors, and even wander through a bustling street market complete with dimly lit alleyways. The building itself took more than a year to transform from the shell of a building –  originally intended to be an actual hotel – into Punchdrunk’s stylized time capsule, where all traces of the outside world are shut out. “It’s the biggest build we’ve ever undertaken with specificity from the ground up,” says Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk’s artistic director. “It’s one of things we’ve dreamt about.” The cast is made up of a mix of international and Chinese performers, and every detail of the evocative era’s opulence and austerity has been meticulously created. Each room in the “hotel” has something new to discover, as each prop was selected to be in keeping with the era and atmosphere. The result is a trove of carefully realized oriental and occidental design, from Lady Macbeth’s black silk evening gown to tincture bottles filled with traditional Chinese medicines and the fizzing neon signs of the market. To Barrett, it’s “a crescendo of design,” the opposite of “look, but don’t touch.” The audience can peep behind faded gold gilt picture frames and discover secret messages, while other clues to the unfolding narrative could lie inside a cast member’s breast pocket or silk clutch purse – all of them adding to the performance as it unfolds throughout the building. Barrett first brought his version of immersive theatre to the UK in 2000, pitching up in all sorts of unlikely spaces – disused factories and decommissioned nuclear bunkers among them – with adaptations of classical literature and plays, from Chekhov and Edgar Allan Poe to Shakespeare. It spread abroad in 2011 with “Sleep No More at The McKittrick Hotel,” which is still running in New York. This creation in Shanghai, however, is the ultimate for Barrett. His trips to Asia over the years, China particularly, inspired so much of what Punchdrunk is about. “Maybe because the nature of compact cities is they have a more exploratory and adventurous side in their fabric;  they often are built upwards so it’s all layered on top of each other,” he says. “McKinnon is literally built for this town.” A brief history of art and eroticism The production is a partnership with major Chinese media company SMG. It eased the path to finding the location and securing permits to perform in a previously disused building. With “locked room” adventures now fairly familiar to young Chinese urbanites, and having been thrilled by “The McKittrick Hotel” in New York, Luke Ma of SMG had no fears that Shanghai would be ready for a Punchdrunk production. “People here are always looking to experience the new,” he says. As the show is now sold out, with new performances to be added, it seems he has been proven right.


Trump's statements that U.S. should kill families of terrorists and torture are un-American, says Gayle Lemmon This is a country of laws that represent a basic set of values, says Lemmon Betraying our values does not strengthen us, it diminishes us and mocks the Founding Fathers Terrorists struck Europe Tuesday and claimed the lives of at least 30 people in two separate attacks in Brussels.  And in the United States the leading Republican presidential candidate turned to torture as part of the response. “Waterboarding would be fine,” Donald Trump told NBC. “If they can expand the laws, I would do a lot more than waterboarding.” Said Trump, “We can’t be soft and weak. You have to get the information and you have to get it rapidly.” The statement was hardly new. Late last year Trump raised the idea of killing the families of those caught plotting against the United States.  “When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.” And in November he told a crowd: “Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would — in a heartbeat. … And I would approve more than that. Don’t kid yourself, folks. It works, OK? It works. Only a stupid person would say it doesn’t work.” “And you know what? If it doesn’t work, they deserve it anyway, for what they’re doing.” But in the words of Clint Eastwood in “The Unforgiven”: “Deserve has got nothing to do with it.” When it comes to torture, it is not about them, it is about us. Related video Donald Trump: Torture works Torture is simply un-American. Recently I met Syrians who had lived under ISIS. Living in poverty and trying to reassemble their lives in southern Turkey, they understood intimately the horrors they had just experienced under a regime composed of sadistic criminals who tortured, maimed and killed without hesitation. One young woman, now working as a translator, told me of her 60-something-year-old neighbor executed in the street outside his home by an ISIS soldier for failing to follow one of ISIS’ rules. She described a madhouse in which children watch public executions. Related video Trump defends torture, but does it work? Life for women under ISIS was especially brutal, she said. Many were forced from their jobs because of their gender, and girls were barred from getting anything but the most basic education.  Women and girls were shoved indoors and forced to more fully cover themselves in public, though few felt safe out of doors Another woman I spoke with fled for her life from ISIS to safety in Turkey. Now an activist running a women’s center in Turkey, she described a regime that threatened to kill – and often followed through – anyone who dared to speak out against it, including citizen journalists like herself. Related video Head of ISIS chemical weapons program interrogated This week one Yazidi teen who escaped slavery at the hands of ISIS after being captured by the group at age 15 told of the hell they inflicted: “The worst thing was the torture in Mosul. We were beaten and raped continuously for two weeks,” said Nihad Barakat Shamo Alawsi. “Girls were taken from their families and raped constantly and then they were handed out to ‘emirs.’ “ Against this foe that tortures, enslaves, assassinates, drowns and bombs its enemy, Trump believes we need to do more and to be tougher.  I agree.  But the answer is not to become more like them. “It’s very hard to be successful in beating someone when your rules are very soft and their rules are unlimited. They have unlimited: They can do whatever they want to do,” Trump told reporters at a Florida press conference last weekend. Related video U.S. strikes ISIS chemical weapons program “It’s ridiculous that we have laws and ISIS doesn’t,” he said in Orlando. But it is not ridiculous. It is American. Because America stands out from other nations because of its adherence to a rule of law. Because it is a nation of liberty, freedom and justice for all. Because its founders believed that it would be governed by laws, not by the whims of any one ruler. I have covered American wars and written at length about the service, the sacrifice and the valor of its soldiers. And seen the torture and degradation inflicted by America’s enemies. What makes America different is its values. In the words of one of its Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson: “Trusted with the destinies of this solitary republic of the world, the only monument of human rights, and the sole depository of the sacred fire of freedom and self-government, from hence it is to be lighted up in other regions of the Earth, if other regions of the Earth shall ever become susceptible of its benign influence.” And in the words of distinguished veteran and survivor of torture Sen. John McCain on the floor of the Senate just last month:  “When we fight to defend our security, we fight also for an idea that all men are endowed by their creator with inalienable rights – that’s all men and women. How much safer the world would be if all nations believed the same. How much more dangerous it can become when we forget it ourselves, even momentarily.” “Our enemies act without conscience. We must not.” I could not have said it any better. Betraying our values does not strengthen us, it diminishes us. And it makes a mockery of the monument of which Jefferson spoke. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.Read CNNOpinion’s Flipboard magazine.


Russia has labeled allegations that former US national security adviser Michael Flynn attempted to persuade then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak to ask Moscow to not retaliate to US sanctions in December 2016 as “completely absurd.” Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about conversations with Kislyak and disclosed that he is cooperating with the special counsel’s office. Related video Trump compares Flynn to Hillary Clinton On Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters he felt “very badly” for Flynn. Flynn and Kislyak had phone conversations on December 29, 2016, the day that former President Barack Obama announced the new sanctions and also expelled 35 Russian diplomats. But speaking to CNN on a conference call Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told a conference call that it was Putin’s decision not to respond to sanctions and it had nothing to do with Flynn. “It was his (Putin’s) decision and it couldn’t be taken because of any requests or recommendations,” Peskov said after he was pressed by CNN. Pressed on whether Kislyak acted upon pressure from Flynn, Peskov added: “The information which Putin gets from ambassadors is nobody’s business. “The President takes decisions absolutely independently and, as he has said more than once, exclusively guided by Russia’s national interests.” “Flynn could never ask Sergey Kislyak for anything, and furthermore these requests could never be passed on to the President of Russia, this is completely absurd.” Read: Russia investigation zeroes in on Trump inner circle Court documents unsealed on Friday reveal that Flynn’s guilty plea stems from a handful of false statements he made to FBI investigators when he was interviewed in late January 2017. Related video Trump's lawyer says he wrote Flynn tweet The lies were about a series of calls Flynn had with Kislyak. The calls were about two distinct events: a controversial vote at the United Nations and President Barack Obama’s decision to punish Russia for meddling in the 2016 US election. The Obama administration announced new sanctions against Russia as punishment for the Kremlin’s campaign to interfere in the 2016 election. The sanctions targeted Russia’s intelligence services and Russian agencies that were involved in cyberactivities. Flynn and Kislyak had phone conversations on December 29, 2016, the day that Obama announced the new sanctions and expelled 35 Russian diplomats. The charging document unsealed on Friday states that Flynn made a false statement to the FBI when he said that in December 2016 he did not ask Kislyak “to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day; and Flynn did not recall the Russian ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request.” One day after these phone calls, Putin said he wouldn’t retaliate against the United States and wouldn’t impose new tit-for-tat sanctions – puzzling officials in Washington. Later that day, Trump praised this announcement on Twitter, throwing a compliment to the Russian leader: “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!” Read: Flynn guilty plea raises questions for Trump and Kushner When Flynn’s calls were first revealed in press reports earlier this year, White House officials insisted the conversations did not include sanctions — including denials that Vice President-elect Mike Pence and incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus later repeated on national television. Flynn resigned on February 13 after reports that he and Kislyak had spoken about sanctions and the Justice Department had warned the White House that Flynn was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians. CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her election rival Martin Schulz of “bowing down to populism and prejudice” after both candidates called for an end to Ankara’s European Union membership talks in a live TV election debate Sunday night. In a series of tweets posted Monday morning, presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said that the two candidates chose to attack Turkey and Erdogan “while ignoring Germany and Europe’s fundamental and critical issues” and accused Germany of embracing the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that the Turkish government has branded a terrorist organization. Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister, Mehmet Sismek, also reacted on Twitter. “EU never had a credible commitment to let Turkey in,” he wrote Monday. “Merkel isn’t only shooting herself in the foot but also jeopardising the future of Europe.” EU never had a credible commitment to let Turkey in. Merkel isn't only shooting herself in the foot but also jeopardising future of Europe! https://t.co/nHRHmyWjEc In the debate Sunday night – three weeks before Germany’s federal election – Merkel called for accession negotiations to be stopped in an apparent change of stance on Turkey’s bid to join the EU. “Turkey should not be a member of the EU,” Merkel said. “I will discuss with colleagues again to see if we can come to a joint position and end these accession negotiations.” But she insisted that it was important for the two countries to keep talking, especially in light of the Germans currently being held as political prisoners in Turkey. “I have no intention of ending diplomatic relations with Turkey,” Merkel said. More than 10 Germans are being held. Two were arrested Friday, according to German authorities, but one has since been released, according to CNN affiliate N-TV. Her Social Democratic rival also said he would seek to end membership talks. “We would be accepting someone who is now visibly calling into question all of the basic values of European cooperation,” Schulz said. Turkey has “overstepped all red lines.” The exchange of blows marks a further escalation in tensions between the two countries. Related article Germany accuses Turkey of arresting 2 more Germans for 'political reasons' Relations between Berlin and Ankara have been in a downward spiral since last summer, when a failed coup against Erdogan sparked a crackdown on civil liberties and mass arrests of the political opposition, activists and journalists, including German citizens. Speaking at her annual summer news conference last week, Merkel said Turkey’s jailing of Germans was further damaging already fraught ties between the two countries, saying their imprisonment was “unjustified.” Among the prisoners is German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, who was arrested in Turkey in February on charges of terror propaganda, and human-rights activist Peter Steudtner, held since July with nine others and charged with “committing crimes in the name of a terrorist organization without being a member.” Germany has changed its tactics over Turkey in recent months, threatening to impose travel and trade restrictions if journalist Yucel and activist Steudtner aren’t released from prison. In July, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned Germans against traveling to Turkey and suggested that the German government would review corporate investments in Turkey. “Someone who detains law-abiding visitors to their country on the basis of outlandish, indeed absurd, accusations and throws them into prison has left European values behind,” Gabriel said, calling for Steudtner’s release. “We cannot continue as before.” A few weeks earlier, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry criticized an art installation in Berlin depicting Erdogan as a dictator that coincided with the G20 summit in Hamburg, calling it “a new example of rising racism and xenophobia in the country.” Soon after, the Turkish government blocked German lawmakers from visiting German troops stationed in Turkey participating in NATO operations in Syria. Earlier this year, German officials prevented top politicians, including Erdogan, from addressing Turkish rallies in Germany in the lead-up to an April referendum that handed Erdogan sweeping new powers. In response, Erdogan likened the German government to that of Adolf Hitler. “I thought that Nazism was over in Germany, but it turns out that it is still going on,” he said. “It is still going on, it is clear.” Related video Germany heads to the polls in September Relations with Turkey are a key issue in the days leading to federal elections in Germany, where there are some 3 million people with Turkish roots. Earlier this month, Erdogan called on voters of Turkish origin to boycott the two biggest parties – Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats – along with the Green Party in the election, describing them as “enemies of Turkey,” according to CNN affiliate NTV. The call drew a fierce rebuke at the time from Merkel, who warned Erdogan against interfering in the election. Germans go the polls September 24, with Merkel widely expected to secure a fourth term. CNN’s Gul Tuysuz and Merieme Arif contributed to this article


NEW: Elton Simpson's ex-attorney recalls him as "kind-hearted" and a very devout Muslim Authorities say roommates Simpson and Nadir Soofi opened fire outside an event in Texas The event showcased drawings of the Prophet Mohammed, which many deem offensive Whatever spurred Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi to drive across two states to shoot up a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest is lost on their families, their neighbors and the place they had worshipped. One was a described as “gentle person,” albeit one who had been convicted of a terror-related charge and supported an ISIS propagandist. The other was a father who had “put his son above everything” – until the day he and his roommate opened fire at the event in Garland, Texas, wounding a security guard before police shot and killed the gunmen. Here’s what we know about the attackers: He may have been an ISIS supporter While U.S. authorities investigate whether Sunday’s shooting has any link to international terrorism, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. In a radio broadcast, ISIS referred to Simpson and Soofi as two of its “soldiers” and and threatened more attacks. But it’s unclear whether the terror group in Iraq and Syria actually had contact with Simpson or Soofi, who both lived in Phoenix. Related video Gunmen opened fire at Mohammed cartoon event Moments before the shootout, Simpson posted an ominous tweet with the hashtag #texasattack: “May Allah accept us as mujahideen.” The tweet also said Simpson and his fellow attacker had pledged allegiance to “Amirul Mu’mineen,” which means “the leader of the faithful.” CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said that probably refers to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Earlier, Simpson had asked his readers on Twitter to follow an ISIS propagandist. After the shooting, the same propagandist tweeted: “Allahu Akbar!!!! 2 of our brothers just opened fire.” Both Twitter accounts have been deactivated. ISIS threatens attacks against the U.S. He has a rap sheet In 2011, Simpson was convicted of making a false statement involving international and domestic terrorism. Prosecutors said he told FBI agents that he had not discussed traveling to Somalia to engage in “violent jihad” – when, in fact, he had, according to an indictment. Simpson was sentenced to three years of probation, court records show. His former lawyer, Kristina Sitton, told CNN that Simpson ended up on the federal no-fly list. In fact, he contacted her once after trying to get on a plane at a Phoenix airport, only to be turned away. He was a ‘very devout Muslim’ That’s according to Sitton, who spent many hours over about two years in her office with Simpson while representing him in the Somalia case. When the meetings ran long, the attorney recalled Simpson asking to leave to pray somewhere quiet. “He was a very devout Muslim,” said Sitton, who sensed Simpson was trying to convert her and her staffers but never saw him as a threat. “… I can tell you with absolute certainty that I didn’t observe anything that had anything to do with radicalization.” In fact, Sitton said, “there were no signs” that Simpson would pull off an attack like the one in Garland. “He was a very kind-hearted, respectful young man,” the lawyer added. “He always treated me with respect.” He had ‘a good demeanor’ That view was seconded by the president of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, where both Simpson and Soofi worshiped. Usama Shami said Simpson came regularly until around 2010 or 2011, about the time the FBI arrested him on the false statement charges. Soofi came less frequently. Simpson “was a gentle person,” Shami said. “He always had a good attitude, a good demeanor.” Like others at the mosque, Shami said he was stunned to hear about the attack Sunday night. “They didn’t show any signs of radicalization or any signs of even thinking about those things in that manner,” he said. “So when that happens, it just shocks you. ‘How good did you know these people?’ That’s the question that people ask themselves.” His family is stunned, too On top of their grief, Simpson’s relatives are struggling to come to terms with his involvement in the attack. “We send our prayers to everyone affected by this act of senseless violence, especially the security guard who was injured in the line of duty,” Simpson’s family said in a statement. “We are sure many people in this country are curious to know if we had any idea of Elton’s plans. To that we say, without question, we did not. Just like everyone in our beautiful country, we are struggling to understand how this could happen. … We are heartbroken and in a state of deep shock as we grieve.” He and Soofi were roommates Their neighbors in Phoenix said they had no clue about what Simpson and Soofi were plotting to do. Ariel Whitlock was actually about to buy a car from Simpson. She was horrified to see the same black Chevrolet Cobalt, damaged from the attack, on the news. Related video Were Texas shooters self-radicalized? “I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it right now just because I wanted to buy that car,” she told CNN’s Kyung Lah. “On the news, I see it, it’s just blown up. I’m like, ‘I was going to purchase that car.’ ” Whitlock said she’s sickened by the possibility that, had she bought the car, the money could have gone to fund an attack. “Maybe he’s just gonna go plot something and you’re giving the money to help him go plot something,” she said. “It’s just crazy.” He died near where he was born Soofi was born in Garland and spent the first three years of his life there, his mother said, according to The Dallas Morning News. Related video Traffic officer praised for thwarting Texas attack “He was raised in a normal American fashion,” Sharon Soofi said. “Yes, he was very politically involved with the Middle East. Just aware of what’s going on. I don’t know if something snapped or if Elton Simpson was just working on him.” He left behind an 8-year-old son Sharon Soofi also said her son had an 8-year-old boy whom he adored. “He put his son above everything,” she said. “The hard thing to comprehend is why he would do this and leave an 8-year-old son behind.” He went to a prestigious private school Soofi’s father is Pakistani, and his mother is American, a source with knowledge of the family told CNN. After his parents divorced, Soofi and his brother moved to the United States in 1998 to live with their mother and gradually lost touch with many of their friends in Pakistan, the source said. In the 1990s, Soofi attended a prestigious private school in Islamabad. He wasn’t on the FBI’s radar Unlike Simpson, who had been convicted of a terror-related charge, Soofi was relatively unknown to federal investigators, a law enforcement official told CNN. Authorities knew of no indication the two planned to launch Sunday’s attack, another law enforcement official said. He had asked for forgiveness Soofi’s Facebook page reveals strong opinions, but no call to violence. But a note from four years ago shows he asked Allah for forgiveness for every sin – both intentional and unintentional. He was a helpful neighbor Tim Rains remembers Soofi helping him when he had a heart condition about a year ago. Related video Cartoon contest organizer defends decision to hold event As Rains was coming home, he collapsed on a stairwell. Soofi noticed. “He seen all that, and he came over and offered me help,” Rains said. So how does he reconcile the notion that his neighbor also tried to shoot people in Texas? “Oh, it’s easy, everybody has a good side to them,” Rains said. “If you see somebody hurting like that, you’re going to help them. I think he went to Texas to shoot people for a reason.” CNN’s Kyung Lah in Phoenix and Sophia Saifi in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report, as did CNN’s Greg Botelho, Catherine E. Shoichet, AnneClaire Stapleton, Salim Essaid, Merieme Arif and Sam Stringer in Atlanta.


Dario Zanetti squints into his black plastic pan, tilting it into the sun. There are three tiny yellow specks, and a slightly larger one, the size of a small bread crumb. “It’s a lovely piece,” he says with smile. This English teacher is ankle deep in Italy’s Elvo River, just south of the Alps, panning for gold. “I’m relatively new at this, a freshman,” he laughs. Dario is also studying for his PhD in archaeology, specializing in kitchens in medieval castles. He isn’t doing this for the money, though he readily admits he has caught gold fever. Two years ago, as a Christmas present, his mother paid for him to attend a gold-panning course in Germany. “It’s also about the adventure,” he tells me. “It’s like, you know, being in America in the gold rush period.” Dario is just one of a growing number of people who have joined the Association of Gold Seekers of Biella, this province in northern Italy. The gold here has washed down from the melting glaciers of the Alps, deposited in the sand along the banks of the Elvo. 33 of the most beautiful places in Italy This area was once part of a vast Roman gold-mining operation dating back to the second century BC, says Arturo Ramella, who is also the president of the World Goldpanning Association. The hills just above the Elvo are all man-made, composed of millions of tons of rocks and stones that thousands of local inhabitants separated from the gold-bearing sand. The mine was active, says Ramella, for around two hundred years, and the gold found here helped finance the Roman Republic’s conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Long gone, however, are the days of forced labor. The atmosphere on this bend of the river is light-hearted, almost picnic-like. The sun is shining, it’s warm but not hot and the eight or nine people here to pan for gold spend half their time chatting. Eight-year-old Giacomo came with his grandmother. He helped her carry the pans full of sand to the river, did some panning himself, and showed me two flakes he had managed to separate from the dark sand. “It’s fun!” he exclaimed with a toothy smile. His concentration waned as the morning wore on. “Look at all of those!” he said, pointing to the finger-long sand-colored fish darting between the stones in the shallow water. “I want to catch some and cook them for lunch!” Clearly Giacomo no longer had images of gold nuggets dancing in his head. Bruno Martini helps run the association in Biella, and he taught me the basics of panning. First you have to figure out where gold is most likely to be found, which is where the river widens out and the heavier gold flakes are deposited in the darker, iron-rich sand. Then you fill your pan with that sand, removing the larger rocks, and take the pan to the river to slowly rotate the pan, letting the lighter particles wash away. Eventually, if you’re lucky, you’ll have three or four tiny specks of gold. The province limits daily takings to five grams, or 0.176 of an ounce, but the gold panners say the chances of finding that much gold even after a full day are slim at best. By my calculations I may have managed to get about $4 of gold. Giancarlo Rolando, a 65-year-old pensioner in a straw hat and sleeveless T-shirt, is the group’s veteran gold seeker. He’s been panning since the 1980s, and recalls that back in the day, he managed to find enough gold to pay for a six-month vacation to the British Virgin Islands. Since then, however, his earnings have helped pay for occasional car repairs and the odd dinner with a girlfriend. “It makes a difference because my pension is a bit low,” says Giancarlo. He comes here once or twice a week, and is proud of the tan all that time in the sun has left him. “My friends think I got this at the beach,” he quips. As he sits on the riverbank panning away, he explains the attraction. “Yes, it can be tiring carrying around buckets of sand, but you hear the sound of the water, there is the sun, the wind, tranquility. If you’re tired, you take a nap under a tree. When you’re hungry, you eat, and when you’re done, you go home. It’s not like a job where you’re subject to a schedule. You do what you like. You’re free.” Gold or no gold, there’s no rush here.


Witnesses describe a coordinated attack Two people have been arrested Police say the situation is under control Six people are dead after a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, according to Quebec Provincial Police. Eight people were injured. The attack, which took place at the city’s Quebec Islamic Cultural Center, is being investigated as an act of terrorism by police. In what was described as a coordinated attack, witnesses say at least two gunmen wearing black fired indiscriminately into the dozens of worshipers – including families – in the mosque. Thirty-nine people who were at the mosque during shooting were unharmed, Christine Coulombe, spokeswoman of National Police of Quebec, said. Of the eight injured, six are described as being in critical condition. Two people have been arrested, a police said at a news conference. One was captured near the mosque and the other was apprehended on a highway nearby. The Canadian province’s premier, Philippe Couillard, called the shooting a terrorist act on Twitter. À la suite de cet acte terroriste, j'ai demandé à l'#assnat de mettre en berne notre drapeau du #Québec.  #tousunis He added that he would ask the National Assembly to fly the Quebec flag at half-staff. Police said in a later tweet that the situation was under control. “The site is secure and the occupants (of the mosque) were evacuated. The investigation continues.” Police are not ruling out the existence of accomplices. La situation est sous contrôle, les lieux sont sécurisés et les occupants ont été évacués. L'enquête se poursuit. A statement on the mosque’s Facebook page urged caution. “Please wait for preliminary results (of the investigation) before circulating rumors,” it says. “The situation is very critical. May Allah give us endurance.” S'il vous plait attendez le résultat préliminaire avant de faire circuler des rumeurs. La situation est très critique, que Allah nous prête endurance. Another post showed the center’s gratitude for the “hundreds of messages of compassion coming from all over.” At least two vigils, in Quebec City and in Montreal, are planned for Monday. At least five of those injured in the incident were receiving treatment at the University Hospital of Quebec. Other victims are in hospitals throughout the city, hospital spokesman Richard Fournier tells CNN. Canada has taken in tens of thousands of refugees, especially from Syria, in the last few months. Last year, the cultural center received a wrapped pig head and a magazine with a pig on its cover, saying “Bonne Appetit,” according to a post on its Facebook page. The post reads: “We just learned that a gesture of hate towards our Great Mosque took place Sunday morning (14 Ramadan) around Salat Al-Fajr! Police was made aware and opened an investigation! We will keep you updated as soon as we have news…” Under the Quran, pork is prohibited and pigs considered unclean. Canada’s leaders condemned the attack on social media. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his condolences in both French and English. “Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families.” Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families. Later, in a statement on his official site, Trudeau wrote: “It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear. “Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.” Premier Couillard said Quebec would support Muslims. Unissons-nous contre la violence. Solidarité avec les Québécois de confession musulmane. “Let’s unite against violence,” the post reads. “We stand in solidarity with the Muslim people of Quebec.” South of the Canadian border, the New York Police Department said that it was monitoring the situation in Quebec and has directed that “special attention” would be given to all New York City mosques and other houses of worship, according to a statement. “Critical Response Command (CRC) personnel have been assigned to extended tour coverage at certain mosque locations,” the statement reads. The city is one of the focal points of protests against President Trump’s travel ban, which seeks to exclude any travel from a number of Muslim-majority countries. The city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, sent out a series of tweets related to the Quebec City attack. “Our prayers tonight are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque,” he wrote in one. “We must stand together.” In another he reiterated that his police department would be providing additional protection for New York’s mosques, and in a third attempted to reassure the city’s Muslim residents. “To my fellow New Yorkers who are Muslim: New York City will protect you. The NYPD will protect you. We will fight all hatred and bias.” He also referenced a fire at a mosque in Victoria, Texas, over the weekend, drawing connections between the two incidents – even though police and fire officials have not said there is a connection. “The awful attack in Quebec is not an outlier,” he said. “Today, a mosque in Texas was burned to the ground. We must stop those who seek to divide us.” The Victoria police have yet to reach any conclusions as to the cause of the fire which they are investigating. CNN’s Paula Newton reported from Quebec City. Tony Marco, Julia Jones and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.


Trump: "Absolutely I would be committed to Article 5" He went on to reiterate his call for NATO members to spend more on defense President Donald Trump said on Friday what he would not at NATO headquarters last month: He is committed to NATO’s principle of common defense. “I am committing the United States to Article 5,” Trump said at Friday’s press conference, referring to the alliance’s principle that an attack on one NATO nation is an attack on them all. “And certainly we are there to protect,” Trump added, saying this is why the US is “paying the kind of money necessary to have that force.” “Yes, absolutely I would be committed to Article 5,” he concluded. Related article Trump scolds NATO allies over defense spending But Trump declined to make the same statement during his speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels last month, when he scolded NATO leaders for failing to meet the alliance’s defense spending guideline of 2% of GDP. Appearing with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday, Trump also reiterated his call for NATO members to meet the guideline — along with his claim that NATO members should repay what he regards as underpayments from previous years. That didn’t seem to bother Iohannis, who noted that Romania was the first country under Trump’s administration to “step up to 2 percent of GDP for defense spending.” “I’m very glad that due to your strong leadership NATO decided to go against terrorism,” the Romanian president said. “Your involvement made so many nations conscious of the fact that we have to share the burden inside NATO.” Ahead of Trump’s comments Friday, Democrats had slammed the President for failing to commit to Article 5 while at NATO, as well as his comments during the campaign that the alliance was “obsolete.” “While it is important that senior officials such as the vice president, secretary of state and secretary of defense reiterate that commitment, explicit endorsement – and the absence of an endorsement – has meaning,” seven House Armed Services Democrats, including ranking member Adam Smith of Washington, wrote in a letter Friday. But Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican and ally of Trump in the Senate, argued Trump was just misunderstood. “It’s a good thing that President Trump made explicit what he plainly meant in Brussels last month: the United States stands by the collective security guarantee of NATO Article 5,” Cotton said in a statement. “But make no mistake: uttering magic words does not deter aggressors like Vladimir Putin. Only the credible threat of military force does. And until Democrats and our European allies get serious about funding our common defense, deterrence in Europe will remain dangerously weak.” CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report.


State media: Fourteen Iranians are still receiving treatment in Saudi hospitals Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a war of words over the deadly stampede The Iranian death toll in the recent stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has jumped above 450, state media reported. The rise in the number of confirmed Iranian victims could prompt further outbursts from the Iranian government against Saudi Arabia, its bitter regional rival. Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization said Thursday that the number of Iranian pilgrims killed now stands at 464, according to official broadcaster PressTV. Fourteen others are still receiving treatment in Saudi hospitals, it said. Previous updates from the organization had put the number of dead Iranian pilgrims at 239, with 241 others unaccounted for. Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency SPA has reported that at least 769 people were killed in the stampede with 900 others injured. Iran has claimed the overall toll is higher. Iran’s Supreme Leader on Wednesday kept up the verbal broadsides against Saudi Arabia, threatening it with “tough and harsh” retaliation because Iranian stampede victims weren’t being repatriated swiftly enough. Related gallery Managing the crowds at the Hajj “Saudi Arabia failed to fulfill its duties concerning the desperate wounded (pilgrims),” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to PressTV. Iran’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that Khamenei had urged the formation of a fact-finding committee of Muslim nations, including Iran, to investigate the disaster.The ministry also summoned the Saudi charge d’affaires Wednesday, warning against any delay in identifying and repatriating missing and dead Iranian pilgrims, Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency reported. Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a war of words over last week’s stampede, with Riyadh accusing Tehran of politicizing the tragedy and Tehran demanding an apology from Saudi Arabia, which it says mismanaged the Hajj. The crush took place September 24 at Mina, a neighborhood about 2 miles from the Mecca holy site. CNN’s Larry Register and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.


Men in combat fatigues posed for pictures on the border between Syria and Iraq, as they waved national and paramilitary flags. To them, this was not just another meeting, but a hard-fought triumph. Years of fighting had allowed Iran’s partners and proxies to finally link up from various parts of the war-torn Levant. To Iran’s enemies, the meeting marked the culmination of their worst nightmares. It was a moment marking Iran’s victory in ensuring its friends and allies now control a swath of territory spanning the northern edge of the Arab world, from the borders of Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. In many ways, that meeting on the border, posted online by the media unit of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah in November, was the defining moment of 2017. It marked Iran’s resurgence, and, in turn, the failure of American foreign policy. For a US President who vowed to take on Iran and undo his predecessor’s steps towards a rapprochement, Donald Trump has unintentionally enabled the Islamic Republic’s rise. Trump promised that defeating ISIS would be his top priority in the region, and US forces have been critical in achieving that goal. But beyond that one priority, US policy in the region is a dog’s breakfast of confusion and contradiction that has surprised and alienated US allies and played into the hands of Washington’s foes. The most recent example came in December when Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel against the publicly stated advice of Washington’s closest Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Street protests against Trump’s announcement may be fizzling out, but much broader moves are afoot by opponents quick to capitalize on the negative fallout. A week after the announcement, an emergency meeting in Istanbul of Muslim leaders declared that Trump’s “null and void” decision marked America’s disqualification as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said “the US has chosen to relinquish its competence as mediator, and to disqualify itself from playing a role in the peace process. We shall not accept any role for the United States in the peace process. They’ve proven their full bias in favor of Israel.” This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who, standing next to President Trump last May in the White House, told him “with you we have hope.” Presiding over this public rejection of the US role in Israeli-Palestinian talks was a formidable group of regional players, including Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Qatar’s Emir Tamim Al Thani. Related: How each country voted at the UN on Jerusalem status resolution Against this backdrop, the job of crafting and implementing US Middle East policy is the responsibility of Trump’s 36-year-old son-in-law, Jared Kushner. A neophyte by any measure, but not a neutral observer, Kushner served as co-director of a foundation funding Israeli settlements – illegal under international law – in the West Bank. All the while, key US diplomatic posts in the region remain vacant. Eight US embassies in the Middle East, including in Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, are without ambassadors, this at a time when the US State Department, under the unsteady leadership of Rex Tillerson, is hemorrhaging talent. The Trump administration is ignoring the advice of the experienced, knowledgeable diplomats and it shows, on the question of Jerusalem and the broader Middle East. The beginners are in the driver’s seat, in Washington, and elsewhere. Buckle up. President Trump’s closest Arab ally at this tumultuous time is 32-year old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who has embarked upon an erratic course of dramatic liberalization at home – such as finally allowing women to drive and permitting the opening of movie theaters – and massive miscalculations abroad. The Crown Prince is believed to be the main proponent of the disastrous war in Yemen, the ineffectual embargo of Qatar (which has driven the gas and oil-rich emirate closer to Iran), the bizarre resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri (who subsequently withdrew his resignation) and most recently the brief detention of powerful Jordanian-Palestinian billionaire banker Sabih Al-Masri (who runs the Arab Bank, which is a main financial backer of the Jordanian government, and who is a major investor in the Palestinian territories). It all amounts to a ham-handed effort to try to force a variety of key players in the Arab world to toe the Saudi line, and so far, all it has yielded is a wave of anti-Saudi sentiment across the region. Opinion: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is making a lot of enemies All the while the US, with urging from Saudi Arabia and Israel, is trying to cobble together an alliance to counter Iran’s growing power. Decades of sanctions and diplomatic isolation haven’t neutralized Iran’s growing influence, and a collection of countries consumed by bickering and led by a superpower distracted by its own disorder isn’t likely to achieve it either. That, plus the prospect of even trying to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians – never an easy task in the best of times – will become mission impossible under current conditions. Iran’s increasing strength and influence coincides with an ever-more assertive Russian presence in the region. In September 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin came to the rescue of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, providing air and ground forces that helped, along with troops from Iran, Hezbollah and Iraq, to turn the tide in the country’s civil war. By December of this year, Putin was able to savor a “mission accomplished” moment during an unannounced visit to the Hmeimim air base in Syria, and declare that Russian forces would begin to partially withdraw. Meanwhile, Russia has continued to improve ties with Turkey, a NATO member state. Moscow and Ankara have been the main sponsors of the Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, where the US has been, at best, a passive observer. In a first, the two countries signed a deal for Turkey to purchase a S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Analysis: This one photo tells you all you need to know about Syria Here also, Russian assertiveness came with weakening US diplomatic muscle. US support for Kurdish-led forces fighting ISIS in northern Syria has dealt US-Turkish relations a significant blow. Turkey claims that the main Kurdish faction in the country is the Syrian branch of the PKK, which has waged a separatist war against the Turkish state since 1984. In all fairness, confusion is not new to US policy in the Middle East. President Barack Obama drew a red line over the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons against its opponents, but when in August 2013, Syria did just that, the red line disappeared and the US failed to act. The Obama administration dithered over whether or not to support the armed Syrian opposition, eventually giving it just enough weapons to fight Bashar al-Assad’s regime but not enough to defeat it. Divided and radicalized, the Syrian opposition is now on the brink of defeat. Syria’s history of carnage and civil war The Trump administration inherited those failures, and has hastily built upon them, threatening to repudiate international agreements such as the Iran nuclear deal, and breaking from long-held positions, such as the status of Jerusalem. It is now signaling a readiness to take a more aggressive position on Iran. Just last week, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley put on a show-and-tell with what she claimed were the remains of an Iranian-supplied ballistic missile fired at Saudi Arabia from Yemen. It smacked of former US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s 2003 UN address in which he claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Haley seemed to be laying the ground for the case for another US-led “coalition of the willing,” this time against Iran. The last coalition didn’t work out so well. Traditional Europeans allies are breaking ranks with Washington, stepping back as the United States and Saudi Arabia careen from one self-created crisis to another in the Middle East. As the Western alliance splinters, Russia methodically pursues closer ties with an ever more empowered Iran and Turkey. Washington, consumed and distracted by its own toxic domestic politics, is rushing head-long into, at best, irrelevance, at worst, catastrophe, in the Middle East. If you thought 2017 was a rocky ride in the Middle East, brace yourself for 2018.


Signs of Sunday's slaughter remain at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center A lone gunman killed six people after Sunday prayers at the mosque Streaks of dried blood crisscrossed the bullet holes on one wall. Gray and white robes hung from a coat stand near a raised shelf holding leather-bound copies of the Quran. Below, parts of the beige and green carpet also were encrusted with blood. The Quebec Islamic Cultural Center was open on Wednesday, three days after a gunman killed six people who were among a crowd of men, women and children just finishing prayers. The shooting started outside the small Quebec City mosque and continued inside, according to Rachid Aouame, a mosque leader and board member who witnessed the carnage. “As we usually did after prayers, we chatted with friends,” Aouame told CNN Wednesday, speaking in French. As witnesses have sometimes said after other mass shootings, Aouame said he first thought fireworks were being set off outside. Then the bursts could be heard inside. “There was panic,” he said. “People tried to run away or hide.” Aouame said he turned around and saw the shooter, who gunned down Aouame’s friend who always stood at the same spot in the mosque. His brother-in-law, Azzeddine Soufiane, 57, a butcher and father of three, moved quickly in what appeared to be an attempt to disarm the lone gunman, Aouame recalled. A longtime Quebec City resident of Moroccan descent, Soufiane briefly chased the gunman before being shot twice – the second, fatal round coming after he already was down, according to Aouame. “He was wonderful,” Aouame said of Soufiane, his voice breaking. “He was a generous person, always smiling, always smiling.” The gunman did not utter a word during the shooting, Aouame said. “He didn’t say anything,” he said. “I saw his face. This was a person who was calm. That’s what I saw.” Authorities have identified a suspect they are holding as Alexandre Bissonnette. Bissonnette was known to local activists for his far-right views, according to news reports. A Facebook group dedicated to welcoming refugees in Quebec City said Bissonnette was known online for making statements inspired by extreme right-wing French nationalists. He followed several profiles that espoused right-wing ideologies on his Facebook page, including that of Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of France’s National Front, according to CNN’s Canadian partner network CBC. Another mosque Leader, Mohamed Labidi, said he believed Bissonnette was the same man who approached him and asked him for money recently. He said he did not give the man money because he suspected the man was a drug user. Labidi said the gunman reloaded multiple times. Aouame said the mosque will continue to serve the community. “This is our mosque,” he said. “We will return here to pray. Today, we came to see the damage, to begin the repairs, and to tell the community, their second home will reopen.” Authorities identified the other slain victims as Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; Aboubaker Thabti, 44; and Ibrahima Barry, 39.  Five people were wounded. The National Police of Quebec said 39 others inside the mosque were not hurt. Bissonnette, who authorities have described as a lone wolf, faces six counts of first-degree murder and five attempted murder charges, according to the verified Twitter account of the Quebec Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was a student at Laval University in Quebec City, according to the school. Authorities have not made any public comments about a possible motive, but police say they are investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. On Monday night, a procession of candle-holding marchers moved quietly through the snow-packed streets during a vigil and a gathering at the mosque. The mosque was also targeted in 2016, when a wrapped pig’s head and a magazine with a pig on its cover, saying “Bonne Appetit” were delivered there, according to a post on its Facebook page. The post read: “We just learned that a gesture of hate towards our Great Mosque took place Sunday morning (14 Ramadan) around Salat Al-Fajr! Police was made aware and opened an investigation!” Under the Quran, pork is prohibited and pigs are considered unclean. This story was reported by CNN”s Ann Roche, Deborah Feyerick and Julia Jones in Quebec City and written by Ray Sanchez in New York. Alanne Orjoux handled translations in Atlanta.


Congress faces deadlines on government spending, debt ceiling Harassment allegations emerged before and over recess A number of key hearings will take place this week As Congress returns from Thanksgiving break, lawmakers face a busy week with an expected Senate vote on tax legislation, a visit from President Donald Trump and continued headlines over allegations of sexual assault. Trump will make the short trip on Tuesday to Capitol Hill to address Senate Republicans at their weekly policy lunch, where he’ll address the tax bill and other items on the fall legislative agenda. This will mark his third appearance before Republicans at the Capitol in a little over a month. Trump will meet later Tuesday with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders at the White House, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican; House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat; and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat. The meeting comes as lawmakers face fast-approaching deadlines to pass an omnibus spending bill to keep the government open and, separately, to raise the debt ceiling. Congress was set to address both fiscal issues with long-term deals in September, but Trump bucked his own party and sided with Democratic leaders to extend the deadlines just until the end of this year. Just hours before lawmakers left town for the Thanksgiving recess, a woman went public November 16 alleging she had been sexually harassed by Sen. Al Franken in 2006, before he was elected to office. Later, another woman accused the Minnesota Democrat of inappropriately touching her in 2010, when he was in his first term. Franken, who has since issued multiple apologies through his office, has yet to go before reporters, although he is expected to speak to the media on Sunday, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Reports later emerged of another lawmaker, Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, facing allegations of sexual harassment. The House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday that it would launch an investigation, and Conyers’ lawyers say he will address all the allegations at some point this week. A third lawmaker, Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, is in the headlines as a potential victim of “revenge porn” after a sexually explicit photo of him was posted on social media. The congressman apologized last week for not using “better judgment” while separated from his wife and in consensual relationships with women. It’s unclear who posted the photo, but an unnamed woman told The Washington Post that Barton had sent her lewd photos, videos and messages when they had two sexual encounters over the course of five years. Separately, a number of key hearings are taking place this week. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday morning on the nomination of Jerome Powell to be chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Health Committee will meet Wednesday on the nomination of Alex Azar to be secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, after Tom Price stepped down earlier this year amid a controversy over using private planes for official travel. The House Intelligence Committee will hear from former Blackwater chief Erik Prince on Thursday as the committee continues its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Prince’s interview, as posted by the committee, is described as “open in a closed space” – meaning that his testimony will be taken privately but a transcript of the proceedings will be released later, as the committee did with former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page. The Joint Economic Committee will hear from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday about the US economic outlook. CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.


In June, President Trump announced he would be rolling back some of the changes made by President Obama "We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said The US government announced additional sanctions and travel restrictions on Cuba Wednesday, following up on an announcement by President Donald Trump earlier this year. Among the specific changes outlined by the Treasury Department are restrictions on travel to Cuba for educational or cultural exchange groups, which will now be permitted only for sponsored groups in the United States, and with the participation of representatives from those groups. Individuals traveling for so called “people-to-people” outreach will no longer be able to visit the country, except where travel arrangements have already been made, or in cases where these individuals are accompanied by permitted, US-based sponsors, a senior administration official explained to reporters on a conference call. “We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military and to encourage the government to move toward greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Related article Cuban Minister rejects US sonic attack claims The State Department has also published a list of 180 entities including hotels, stores, rum makers, marinas and a economic development zone at the Port of Mariel, which are believed to financially benefit the Cuban military, intelligence and security services and which US citizens will no longer be permitted to frequent. “Channeling economic activity away from entities controlled by the Cuban military will encourage the government to move towards greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people,” another senior administration official on the call asserted. At a news conference Wednesday night, Cuban officials blasted the new regulations and said the measures would not succeed in pressuring the island’s government to make concessions sought by the US. “Let’s sanction Cuba, let’s impose new measures on Cuba to provoke changes in Cuba. Has it happened in the past? Never ever,” said the Cuban foreign ministry’s director general for US affairs Josefina Vidal. “It hasn’t worked, it doesn’t work, it won’t work.” The US officials did not go into detail about how the list was compiled. The Four Points by Sheraton Havana, owned by the US company Starwood, is notably absent from the list, even while the Cuban holding company operating the hotel is on the list. Asked why the hotel was left off, the first official said, simply, “we assess how listing hotels would affect the Cuban people and whether doing so advances the interests of the United States. In coordination with (the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control), we determined it wouldn’t fall into it.” Related article New audio adds to mystery of attacks on US diplomats A fact sheet released by the Treasury Department noted that, “Renting a room in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) are examples of authorized activities.” “However,” it went on to say, “in order to meet the requirement of a full-time schedule, a traveler must engage in additional authorized support for the Cuban people activities.” In a statement, the group Engage Cuba – which advocates for an end to the US embargo on Cuba – said the regulations “create a more convoluted, confusing and counterproductive approach to Cuba policy.” In June, Trump announced he would be rolling back some of the changes made by his predecessor, Barack Obama, who sought in his second term to restore diplomatic relations with the island nation. The changes take effect Thursday. CNN’s Maegan Vazquez contributed reporting