‘We are at the beginning of a new era’
| 'We are at the beginning of a new era'  Paris may be a gastronome's paradise, but there's only so much humble pie a superpower will eat.
Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Paris and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron are the culmination of a weeks-long show of contrition by the US for the worst Franco-American diplomatic contretemps in years. France erupted in September and even recalled an ambassador after finding out that the US and Britain struck a deal behind its back to build nuclear-powered submarines for Australia -- which was already contracted to buy conventional French subs.
Paris insists its tantrum was not about money -- though the loss of the subs deal dealt a blow to French shipbuilding. Instead the Elysee said it felt betrayed by its oldest ally (though made clear it didn't expect much better from the Brits with whom post-Brexit relations are plumbing disastrous lows). The spat dented the Biden administration's self-awarded reputation for foreign policy expertise, already battered by its chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal. The affair also exposed political maladroitness from the White House since it deeply embarrassed Macron, who is running for reelection.
The US has tried to make amends. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken endured a prime time telling-off on French TV, when news anchor Anne-Sophie Lapix told him, "We expected better … and especially with you." President Joe Biden delivered a mea culpa to Macron, saying the US had been "clumsy" and lacked "a lot of grace." The two Presidents met not on neutral ground, but in the French embassy to the Vatican. Then Biden sent Harris to Paris.
According to the White House, Harris' invitation predated the row. Still, the symbolism is clear (and the trip gives the VP and possible future presidential candidate a chance to polish her rather thin foreign policy credentials). "We do share the view that we are at the beginning of a new era," Macron said as they met.
Ending the furor does benefit the US -- with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's exit, Macron becomes the key European leader. Watch the US-France relationship going forward, since Paris regards itself as a bona-fide Pacific power but does not share the US' hard line on China.  Harris and Macron in Paris on Wednesday. The world and America China and the US released a joint pledge to cooperate on climate.
And a holy river in India is covered in toxic foam.
 Covid-19 is resurging in Europe. While the continent's current wave has not resulted in as high a death rate as the US' summer spike, it serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of the pandemic. 'Plaintiff is not President' Presidents are not monarchs. And ex-Presidents are even less regal.
A federal judge in Washington has brutally dismantled former President Donald Trump's attempt to thwart an investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Trump aimed to prevent the National Archives handing over a trove of documents from his administration, arguing that the material was protected by executive privilege — a concept that allows presidents to receive private advice from officials away from prying ears. But it's the sitting President who gets the final say on assertions of executive privilege -- not former leaders -- and Biden has declined to support Trump's claim.
That's how the controversy ended up in litigation, and how Trump -- whose claims that the election was stolen have all been laughed out of court -- got yet another dressing down from a federal judge. "Presidents are not kings," Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote, adding: "And Plaintiff is not President," as she threw out Trump's case.
Trump, who made a career out of frivolous law suits, is already appealing the judgment. But the entire legal gambit is a transparent bid to run out the clock on the investigating committee, since Republicans are hotly tipped to win back the House in midterm elections next year. In another delaying tactic, several former Trump officials and outside advisors are ignoring the committee's subpoenas.
The documents showdown is likely, eventually, to end up in the Supreme Court. There, the conservative majority that Trump built will decide the extent of confidentiality that an ex-president can expect. Their decision will shape the capacity of future Congresses to carry out their constitutional role.  'In the 21st century, there are children and women and pregnant women in the middle of the forest in Western civilization' As Poland and Belarus face off over the growing numbers of migrants trapped between their borders, rights groups accuse Polish authorities of inhumane treatment and illegal pushbacks -- a claim officials reject. Border Aid, a volunteer group of Polish medical workers, has not been allowed to treat migrants in the exclusion zone established by Poland's state of emergency, medic Kaja Filaczynska told CNN.
"We get calls from people in the zone and we can't answer them," Filaczynska said. Just a few weeks ago, she added, it would have been "unthinkable for me as a medical professional that in the 21st century there are children and women and pregnant women in the middle of the forest in Western civilization and that they are suffering -- not because of the severe disease they have, but because of the cold, because they don't have drinking water, and they don't have food." Thanks for reading. Thursday is Veterans Day in the US. An EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on trade takes place in Brussels. And world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern and South Korean President Moon Jae-in speak at the APEC CEO Summit in New Zealand. View in browser | All CNN Newsletters
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