10 things you need to know today: April 8, 2016

Pope Francis releases new document on family life

(Image credit: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. White House defends Clinton's qualifications as Sanders walks back criticism
2. Pope Francis calls for support, not judgment, for divorced and remarried Catholics
3. Trump reorganizes campaign after tough two weeks
4. U.K.'s David Cameron admits profiting from trust included in Panama Papers
5. ISIS captures hundreds of Syrian cement workers
6. Bill Clinton confronts protesters critical of Hillary over remarks on crime bill
7. Greece resumes migrant deportations despite protests
8. Warriors win 70th game of season, close in on Bulls' all-time record
9. American Idol signs off after 15 years
10. N.W.A. among groups being inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

published 8 April 2016

1. White House defends Clinton's qualifications as Sanders walks back criticism

The White House on Thursday came to Hillary Clinton's defense, rebutting Bernie Sanders' claim that the Democratic frontrunner is not qualified to be president. "The president has said that Secretary Clinton comes into this race with more experience than any other non-vice president in recent campaign history," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. Sanders walked back his criticism on Thursday, saying Clinton has "years of experience" and that his criticism was only a response to her questioning of his own readiness to be commander in chief.

Pope Francis called for opening the Catholic church to more active participation by divorced and remarried Catholics in a long-awaited 256-page document on family life — Amoris Laetitia, or "The Joy of Love" — released Friday. The reformist pope said that family life is not always "perfect," and that the church should be a source of support, not judgment. Pope Francis also said gays and lesbians should be protected from "unjust discrimination." He still kept the door closed to gay marriage, although he acknowledged that unions not recognized by the church do form and have their "constructive elements."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump announced that he was reorganizing his campaign on Thursday. Among the changes are a bigger role for his convention manager, Paul Manafort, a veteran of floor fights. The moves came after the worst two weeks of the campaign for Trump, whose loss in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas increased the likelihood that Trump will not amass enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot and avoid a battle on the floor of the party's convention this summer.

British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted Thursday that he held a stake in his late father's Panamanian trust, Blairmore Holdings, but sold it in January 2010, before he became prime minister. Cameron said his shares had a value of around 30,000 British pounds, or about $42,000 at the current exchange rate. Cameron said he had nothing to hide and paid all appropriate taxes. His late father, Ian, was among tens of thousands of people named in the leaked Panama Papers from law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Islamic State militants abducted more than 300 workers and contractors at a Syrian cement factory on Thursday. The factory is near Damascus, the center of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's power. Witnesses said they saw some of the workers being forced onto buses that then headed for areas more firmly under ISIS control. The company, Al-Badiyeh Cement Co., said it had no word from the kidnapped workers as of late Thursday. The abductions came as fighting raged ahead of a new round of peace talks.

Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday got into a confrontation with protesters at a campaign rally for his wife, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, over his 1994 crime reform bill. Black Lives Matter protesters say the reforms put more black people in prison, and criticized Hillary Clinton over 1994 video footage in which she defends the reforms, calling some gang members "super-predators." Bill Clinton, heckled by protesters, said: "You are defending the people who kill the lives you say matter."

Greece resumed deportations of refugees and migrants to Turkey on Friday after a four-day pause, as 45 Pakistani migrants were sent to Turkey by ferry from the Greek island of Lesbos. The move came despite continuing protests at overcrowded detention centers on Greek islands, where some 4,000 people are being prepared for the trip under a European Union relocation deal. The program has faced delays as officials process asylum claims by approximately 50,000 migrants and refugees.

The Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 112-101 on Thursday night, improving their league-best record to 70-9, and closing in on the all-time record of 72-10, set by Michael Jordan's 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. If the Warriors win their final three games — two against the injury-hobbled Memphis Grizzlies, and one more in San Antonio, where the Spurs are 39-0 at home this year — they'll break the Bulls' record. "Two teams in the history of this game have reached where we are right now," said Warriors star Stephen Curry, a lock to win his second straight MVP award. "It's a proud moment and something that should be recognized."

American Idol ended its 15-year run on Thursday night, crowning its last winner in a show featuring performances from famous alumni, including Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Kimberley Locke, and Taylor Hicks. First winner Kelly Clarkson appeared in a pre-taped segment, as did President Obama. Host Ryan Seacrest wrapped it up by crowning Trent Harmon as the show's final winner, over fellow Mississippi native La'Porsha Renae.

The rap group N.W.A. is due to become the fifth hip hop group ever honored at the 31st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday night. The honor for the group, whose core members included Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, M.C. Ren, and D.J. Yella, comes after the release of the biopic Straight Outta Compton, which chronicles N.W.A.'s rise to fame. The film has grossed more than $160 million since its release last year. The other inductees include Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Chicago, and Steve Miller.

Explore More

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.