Feb 13, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Sanders calls former Clinton adviser James Carville a "political hack"

2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on in Des Moines on Jan. 14. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders responded on CNN Wednesday after a former Wall Street chief claimed he'd "ruin the economy" if elected president and a veteran Democratic strategist said it'd be the "end of days" if he were the party's nominee.

Details: On "Anderson Cooper 360°," Sanders dismissed James Carville, a former adviser to ex-President Clinton, as a "political hack who said very terrible things ... against Barack Obama." Noting former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein had "attacked" him, Sanders said: "We are taking on the establishment ... [But] the grassroots movement that we are putting together of young people, of working people, of people of color, want real change."

Go deeper:

Go deeper

Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute, author of Codebook
2 mins ago - Politics & Policy

The hazy line between politics and influence campaigns

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The recent firestorm over the New York Post’s publication of stories relying on data from a hard drive allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden shows the increasingly hazy line between domestic political “dirty tricks” and a foreign-sponsored disinformation operation.

Why it matters: This haziness could give determined actors cover to conduct influence operations aimed at undermining U.S. democracy through channels that just look like old-fashioned hard-nosed politics.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Maria Arias
52 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.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
2 hours 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.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow