US president Donald Trump wrote in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that a scheduled summit between the two parties “will not take place,” and then said that the planned date for that summit “hasn’t changed.”[1][2][3] Kim said he’d consider dismantling his country’s nuclear arsenal at a meeting with South Korean president Moon Jae-in that was held at a “truce village” located in the demilitarized zone between the two countries.[4] Ireland repealed a constitutional amendment that banned abortion, and in Scotland, it was announced that an employment tribunal hearing would be held for a woman who was gagged and taped to a chair for speaking up about bullying and harassment at her job eight years ago.[5][6] Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused by over 80 people of sexual harassment, assault, or rape, was arrested in New York and released on $1 million bail with an electronic ankle monitor; and eight women accused the actor Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior and harassment.[7][8][9] Emails were released showing that Environmental Protection Agency officials coordinated with a group that denies climate change, and it was reported that the Rio Grande is drying up.[10][11]
Two men entered Bombay Bhel restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, and set off a homemade bomb, injuring 15 people.[12] The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation went into effect, setting legal restrictions on how companies can gather data; an Amazon Echo device mistakenly recorded one couple’s private conversation and sent it to one of the husband’s employees; and it was reported that Amazon sold police departments facial recognition technology called Rekognition.[13][14][15] A study found that black defendants receive longer sentences from Republican-appointed judges than from judges chosen by Democrats, Milwaukee police released a video in which NBA player Sterling Brown was arrested and tased by officers over a parking violation, NFL owners approved a policy stating that players can be fined for kneeling during the national anthem, and it was reported that US representative Tom Garrett used his aides as personal servants, ordering them to pick up groceries and the poop of his dog, Sophie. “Jefferson did bad things, but he had good ideas,” said Garrett, referring to the country’s third president, who was a slaveholder.[16][17][18][19][20]
In Italy, the populist prime minister–designate was given a mandate to form a government, and then failed to do so.[21] Wyoming approved the first grizzly bear hunt in 44 years, and in Bloomfield, Connecticut, a town council member ordered a $49 Heart Attack Burger during budget talks.[22][23] A report from the Federal Reserve showed that 29 percent of Americans would be unable to cover an unexpected $400 bill.[24] Egypt’s high court banned YouTube for a month, and in China a social networking app that claimed to help users “find the ultimate generous Sugar Daddy” was removed from the platform WeChat.[25][26] The fourth man to walk on the moon died, a study found that climate change will make rice less nutritious, and Hormel recalled 228,614 pounds of Spam and Luncheon Loaf after consumers bit into metal objects.[27][28][29]
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