Thursday Morning Scoop: North Korean Summit on the Menu

Welcome to the Morning Scoop for May 31, 2018. Some strides toward having a North Korea summit have been made, which makes us wonder why President Trump even issued the cancellation in the first place. Follow this link to get the Morning Scoop in your inbox or send it to a friend, which would make us happy. It’s National Smile Day so help us out!

Secretary Pompeo Meets With North Korean Aide

An official photo from the meeting. Seems like they are enjoying each other. (Image: Department of State, Twitter)

Last night, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with top North Korean aide to discuss a possibility of salvaging the North Korea summit, which was set to take place in June. According to Yahoo News, the two enjoyed dinner in a Manhattan apartment which lasted an hour and a half. This is the third meeting between the two officials in planning the summit

The North Korean aide, Kim Yong Chol, is considered to be Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man. He is a 4-star general with the official title “Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea’s Worker’s Party.” He is the highest ranking North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years.

Secretary Pompeo tweeted of the dinner, “Great working dinner with Kom Yong Chol tonight. Steak, corn, and cheese on the menu.” He also shared several pictures of the meeting.

Vice Chairman Chol is set to meet with Secretary Pompeo again sometime today.

Kim Kardashian Meets with Trump in Washington, D.C. to Discuss Prison Reform

Kim Kardashian met with President Trump, Jared Kushner, and other White House officials on Wednesday to discuss prison reform in the wake of her own recent personal advocacy for the official release of a non-violent drug offender who has been imprisoned for more than 21 years.

Besides discussing national prison and sentencing reforms, Kardashian’s visit to Washington, D.C. and eventual photo up with the president, had hoped to urge Trump to legally grant clemency for Alice Marie Johnson. Johnson, a 62-year-old African American woman from Alabama, was sentenced to life in a federal court without parole or early release for a first-time non-violent drug offense and being involved in a multi-million dollar cocaine trade ring between 1991 and 1994. When Johnson’s story was profiled and published on social media by the online news media company, Mic, Kardashian took notice of the story and urged for Johnson’s release on websites such as her own Twitter page.

For the full picture, read Duane Murphy’s report here.

US to Limit Visas For Chinese Tech Students

The Trump Administration announced plans on Tuesday to shorten some visas issued to Chinese citizens, while President Donald Trump works to counter alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property by Beijing. This growing debacle between Trump’s administration and China is seriously going to impact on Chinese students traveling abroad for their studies.

The AP reported, that officials would limit visas to one year for any student studying in tech-related fields like aviation, high-tech manufacturing, and robotics. The changes are set to begin June 11.

Erin Whitten shares details in her report here. 

Today in a Tweet: Happy Birthday, Walt Whitman!

Great American author Walt Whitman was born on this day in 1819, and Twitter is celebrating.

Last But Not Least: Dead Journalist Turns Up Alive

A Russian journalist known for being critical of the Kremlin was reported to have been shot dead in Ukraine, but shocked everyone when he showed up alive at a news conference on Wednesday.

CNN reports, “In a stunning development, Arkady Babchenko, 41, walked into a room of journalists in Kiev who had been expecting to get an update on his slaying.”

Babchenko apologized to his wife and explained that his “murder” was faked by Ukrainian secretive services to foil an assassination attempt against him by Russian government agencies. Two suspects—the assassin and the person who ordered the hit—are in custody.

This pre-Friday Morning Scoop was compiled by Natalia Kolenko, Duane Murphy, Erin Whitten and the CMN Staff. We cannot believe that school is over. It’s giving us the best reason to smile on today’s glorious holiday, National Smile Day.