Jun 1, 2017

"Patriotic" hackers could have targeted U.S., says Putin

Pavel Golovkin / AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that "patriotic" Russians may have hacked the U.S., but claimed the Russian government "never" engages in such activity.

"If they feel patriotic, they may try to contribute to the fight against those who speak badly about Russia," he said, per the AP. Putin added that he could "imagine" that hackers could forge data to make it look like Russia was the origin of an attack.

Other highlights from Putin's conversation:

  • He refused to give advice to Trump: A "person like President Trump doesn't need any advice, especially if it comes to political issues."
  • On how current sanctions have impacted Russia: They've had "zero effect." He predicted the sanctions would soon ease.
  • On hacking the upcoming German elections: "We never engaged in that on a state level, and have no intention of doing so."

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

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

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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.

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