Jun 12, 2017

Dennis Rodman is heading back to North Korea

Dave Lawler, author of World

Kim Kwang Hyon / AP

Former basketball star Dennis Rodman is heading back to North Korea, CNN reports, citing North Korean officials.

CNN spotted Rodman at Beijing Airport. He has visited North Korea at least four times. He is one of few Americans to have close contact with Kim Jong-un.

The Trump connection: Rodman was once a contestant on The Apprentice (Trump fired him over a project in which Melania Trump's name was spelled wrong) and endorsed Trump's presidential run.

The context: North Korea has held repeated missile tests since Trump took office, Pyongyang and Washington have exchanged threats, with Trump vowing to "deal with" North Korea if necessary.

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Maria Arias
18 mins ago - World

"I stood up for that": Pope Francis voices support for same-sex civil unions

Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Photo: Vatican Pool - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Pope Francis voiced his support for same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival, per the Catholic News Agency.

Why it matters: The pope’s remarks represent a break from the position of the Roman Catholic Church, which has long taught that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered" and contrary to natural law.

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Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
1 hour ago - World

Countries waiting to see if Trump wins before moving on Israel normalization

The delegation lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty

The White House is attempting to leverage momentum from Israel's normalization deals with Bahrain and the UAE to get more Arab countries on board before the U.S. election.

Driving the news: President Trump wants Sudan's removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list to be accompanied by a pre-election announcement on Israel.

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Orion Rummler
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Poll: 92% of battleground state voters are "extremely motivated to vote"

Voters stand in line at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 13. Photo: Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Images

91% of likely voters nationally say they are "extremely motivated to vote," including 92% in battleground states Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a Change Research/CNBC Poll.

Why it matters: The 2020 election could see record-breaking levels of voter turnout. Voters last week cast ballots at nearly five times the rate they did at this point in the 2016 election, per the U.S. Elections Project. Over 39 million ballots have been cast in early voting states as of Wednesday.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow