• President Donald Trump praised Kanye West on Thursday for having "good taste" for supporting the president. Trump said in an interview with Fox & Friends that he knew the rapper "a little bit" and always got along with him, and said that West has noticed the low unemployment rate for black Americans. "He sees that stuff and he's smart and he says, 'you know what, Trump is doing a much better job than the Democrats did,'" the president said. West recently offered his support for Trump in a series of tweets, saying they both share "dragon energy." That caused a backlash among other public figures who oppose the president. In a tweet on Thursday, West wrote that while hate is a similar emotion to love, "hate is not the answer." He also tweeted a link to a TMZ.com story about himself with a headline that described West as "the opposite of erratic." West has toyed with running for president himself and on Wednesday tweeted a poster of his face emblazoned with the slogan "Keep America Great" and "#Kanye2024." He has recorded several best-selling albums and produced a popular fashion line and has shown a talent for attracting attention. He's also been linked to several previous presidents, including when Barack Obama called him "a jackass" in 2009 for storming the stage at an MTV awards show to interrupt Taylor Swift. And in 2005, during a telethon to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, West criticized the White House's response to the storm by famously charging that "George W. Bush doesn't care about black people."
• CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has taken the unusual step of publicly urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reconsider his opposition to medical marijuana, particularly as a way to fight the opioid epidemic. In a public letter to Sessions, Gupta wrote that he had changed his mind on the use of medical marijuana, "and I am certain you can, as well." Gupta said he made his plea after Sessions declined to be interviewed for his special on the topic, which will air Sunday on CNN. A spokesman for Sessions declined comment on Thursday. The CNN special follows football player Mike James and others who say that medical marijuana has both eased the pain of injuries and weaned them from addiction to opioids. Medical marijuana is currently legal in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Gupta began researching the issue a few years ago, saying he viewed medical marijuana as a gateway to recreational use. But he said he became convinced that research on the issue was intentionally skewed negative. "The idea that it could work for people, and sometimes is the only thing than can work for people, should give it the respect that it deserves," he said in an interview.
A Section on 04/27/2018