Newsletter Archive

VIDEO: Someone is always watching you in Singapore. The tiny nation’s pervasive  surveillance system — there are cameras everywhere — is one factor that makes Singapore what some would say is an ideal place to host the US-North Korea summit. The tightly controlled city-state has one of the world’s lowest crime rates. The government has the power to monitor phone calls, email and other private discussions without a court order. Singapore can also guarantee there will be no protests against either President Trump or North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

‘No flimsy agreements’ will be made is what American officials are maintaining as the first encounter between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader moves forward in Singapore.
~ South Koreans are watching from the sidelines with high hopes, while some observers see China as the invisible third party in the room.
~ Ahead of the meeting with President Trump, a seemingly relaxed and confident Kim Jong Un enjoyed a night on the town in Singapore, taking selfies while being greeted by cheers.
~ The White House says Mr. Trump will hold a one-on-one meeting with Kim Tuesday morning, and that any resulting pact must lead to an end of the North Korean nuclear threat.

While the French and Canadians reacted fiercely to last week’s acrimonious G-7 meeting over trade tariffs, one summiteer was especially eager to keep a low profile. Britain’s Theresa May recorded her disappointment but avoided leveling personal criticism at President Trump. She’s looking to pull off an advantageous trade deal with Washington once the UK leaves the European Union. But a looming transatlantic trade war puts Britain in a tight spot.

More people are committing suicide than ever before, the US Centers for Disease Control reports, an alarming statistic highlighted by the high-profile suicides of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and designer Kate Spade in the same week. However, suicide isn’t a uniquely American issue.

‘We’re into the home stretch,’ says Muslim convert Jeremy Randall of his first Ramadan as he counts down the last days of a month of fasting, reflection and prayer. Randall is following the Islamic pillar of refraining from food and water during the daylight hours — a period that stretches almost 16 hours in the lengthening spring days of metropolitan Washington, D.C., where Randall lives with his new wife, a Muslim who asked him to embrace her religion.