National

Longtime confidant of President Trump and wealthy real estate investor Tom Barrack was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, according to the Associated Press citing three people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: Barrack "has rare access and insight into Trump going back decades," per the AP. The questions Mueller's team had for him were unclear, although the AP adds that people familiar said they focused primarily on Rick Gates and Paul Manafort, as well as "financial matters about the campaign, the transition and Trump's inauguration."

Trump confidant Tom Barrack questioned by Mueller's team

Campaign finance was reportedly a focus of the questions.

Politics

Mueller investigation

Hawaii sees 'active volcanic fountaining' as magma shifts

A man watches as lava is seen coming from a fissure

A man watches as lava is seen coming from a fissure in Hawaii. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. News

Hawaii

On Saturday, ahead of the company's annual meeting in Omaha, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reported a $1.14 billion net loss in the first quarter — a rare hit for the conglomerate. 

The details: Per the Wall Street Journal, Buffett warned in his annual letter in February that "earnings would appear more volatile" because of a new accounting rule. Berkshire saw revenue loss because of "a drop in insurance premiums earned," the WSJ adds, falling from $64.37 billion to $58.47 billion. 

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sees $1.14 billion net loss in Q1

Revenue fell from $64.37 billion to $58.47 billion.

Warren Buffett. Photo: J. Countess/Getty Images

Business

Warren Buffett

Iowa now has the strictest abortion law in the country, after Governor Kim Reynolds banned abortions "at around six weeks of pregnancy," or when a heartbeat can be detected, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: This sets Reynolds up for a legal battle with organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, who said they would sue upon her signing the bill, per the AP. Critics say the bill bans the procedure before women may even know they're pregnant, but supporters hope it will challenge the landmark abortion case, Roe vs. Wade. It did not receive any Democratic support, according to the AP, and has exemptions for rape and incest. It is set to go into effect on July 1st. 

Iowa governor approves strictest abortion law in U.S.

She banned abortions around the 6-week mark

Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2015. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Anti-abortion movement

Anti-Kremlin protestors, along with opposition leader Alexei Navalny, were detained by police on Saturday after taking to the streets before President Vladimir Putin's inauguration on Monday, Reuters reports.

The big picture: Putin has been in office since 2000, and received around 77% of the vote in the recent election, per Reuters. Navalny had called for protestors to come out against Putin in more than 90 cities in Russia. Reuters adds that over 1,000 people were detained, citing human rights organization OVD Info. A police spokesman told Reuters that 1,500 people were protesting in Moscow.

Over a thousand detained by Russian police in Putin protests

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Photo: Celestino Arce/NurPhoto via Getty Images

World

Russia

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

President Trump knew about Michael Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels "several months before he denied any knowledge of it to reporters aboard Air Force One in April," the NYTimes reports, citing two sources "familiar with the arrangement."

Why it matters: "Giuliani told The Times on Friday that the issue was 'primarily' about keeping Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, from being embarrassed by the claim, which Mr. Trump has maintained was false."

The intrigue: "[T]hree people close to the matter said that Mr. Trump knew that Mr. Cohen had succeeded in keeping the allegations from becoming public at the time the president denied it."

"But if investigators determine that the hush payment was in effect a campaign expenditure, then how the funds were distributed could take on added legal significance."

NYT: Trump knew about the Stormy payment

He has previously said he didn't know anything about it.

Photo: Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images

Inside the White House

Former Secretary of State John Kerry has been on a low-profile campaign to hold together the Iran nuclear deal that was signed under his watch, meeting with leaders from Iran, France, Germany and the E.U. in recent weeks, the Boston Globe's Matt Viser reports.

Why it matters: "The rare moves by a former secretary of state highlight the stakes for Kerry personally, as well as for other Obama-era diplomats who are dismayed by what they see as Trump’s disruptive approach to diplomacy, and who view the Iran nuclear deal as a factor for stability in the Middle East and for global nuclear nonproliferation."

How it's playing on Drudge: "KERRY SHADOW DIPLOMACY EXPOSED... SECRET HUDDLES WITH IRAN"

European Union official Federica Mogherini

Why you're just hearing about this now: "[H]e and his allies believe a high-profile defense of the deal by prominent Democrats would only backfire and provoke Trump, making it more likely the president would pull the United States out of the deal."

"Kerry supporters see in this campaign some of his trademark traits, especially his unflagging energy even in the face of potential failure."

"Critics see something else, a former office holder working with foreign officials to potentially undermine the policy aims of a current administration."

John Kerry's freelancing to save the Iran deal

He's met with leaders from Iran, France, Germany and the E.U.

Iran deal

Iran

It's not just Washington that's burning in a seemingly perpetual cauldron of outrage. Global executives are still obsessing about how to get ahead of the next viral crisis, with mixed success. 

Why it matters: Some incidents, such as the furor after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks earlier this year, can force positive brand and societal change. Others are the corporate equivalent of WHCD hot takes: moments that would (and arguably should) have passed largely without comment are now occupying ever larger chunks of senior management's time. 

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted was forced to distance himself from bizarre comments about slavery by brand collaborator Kanye West.

UK supermarket giant Sainsbury's boss was caught singing"We're in the Money" ahead of a planned mega-merger that could cost thousands of jobs.

Elon Musk wiped $2B off Tesla's market capitalization after cutting off analysts for the temerity of asking "boring, bonehead questions" such as how much cash the company is burning. (A lot)

Trump's early, scattershot twitter rants about specific industries and companies forced many to draft a better response plan in the event of a surprise presidential broadside. But many are proving much less adept at reining in public outrage — justified or not — once a crisis spirals.  

The big picture: Long-term corporate brand damage is still largely the result of deception (Volkswagen), greed (Facebook), incompetence (TSB) or bad product decisions (Snap).

Be smart: The strongest CEOs make sure a crisis doesn't define them, and remain ruthlessly focused on the basics. The weakest — and the most ill-advised — are still checking their Twitter feed on the way out the door. 

Outrage overload hits big business

Many CEOs were on their toes in the event that Trump went after them.

Brands

Elon Musk

Bank of America and Citigroup are facing blowback from Republican politicians after using their financial influence to support gun restrictions and discourage the spread of assault weapons. 

Why it matters: The backlash shows how private-sector gun control measures can put the companies under just as much pressure as politicians who try to restrict guns through new laws.

The details: Citigroup imposed new gun control policies on its clients, like age restrictions and background checks, while Bank of America said it would stop lending money to clients who manufacture military-style assault weapons.

They joined a list of companies that adopted pro-gun control policies after the Parkland shooting. 

Sen. Ted Cruz harshly criticized the banks on Friday, saying Texas citizens "appear to have a stronger commitment to protecting our constitutional liberties than do your boardrooms," the Dallas Morning News reported. 

Michael Piwowar, a Republican appointee to the Securities and Exchange Commission, lambasted Citigroup executives in a meeting. Bloomberg reports Piwowar insinuated the bank would "have trouble finding the votes" at the SEC to "ease regulations on derivatives and proprietary trading." 

Sen. John Kennedy said in April, per Bloomberg, that he "planned to file a complain...against the two banks for their 'offensive' conduct.'" 

Texas Reps. Lamar Smith and Louie Gohmert called for the cancellation of a $700 billion contract last month between Citigroup and the General Services Administration, the Dallas Morning News reports. "We don't have to reward companies with our business that are trying to take away Second Amendment Rights," Gohmert said. 

Banks face GOP blowback over anti-gun policies

Their pro-gun control moves enraged conservatives.

Sen. Ted Cruz. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Gun control

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Hawaii's Big Island on Friday after a separate 5.4-magnitude earthquake rattled the same island earlier in the day, the Associated Press reports adding that an "eruption began Thursday and continued Friday, with lava spurting from three volcanic vents," forcing evacuations across the area. 

The backdrop: Hawaii News Now adds the latest quake is the fifth eruption "from two fissures in Leilani Estates." The first earthquake on Friday occurred near a volcanic eruption which has forced residents to evacuate, the AP reports. The National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Watch Center reported no tsunami threat from the latest earthquake.

Second earthquake rocks Hawaii

Ash sprews from the Puu Oo crater on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on May 3

Ash sprews from the Puu Oo crater on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on May 3. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey via Getty Images

Axios

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