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National

President Trump thanked North Korea on Saturday for closing a nuclear test site in the northeastern part of the country calling the decision "a very smart and gracious gesture" in a tweet. 

The background: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised in April, following a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, that he would halt nuclear testing and close a major testing site by May. The North announced earlier today they will hold a ceremony marking the dismantling of the country's northeastern nuclear testing site, that will involve destroying parts of the grounds and removing observation and research facilities ahead of the June 12th summit with President Trump in Singapore. 

Trump thanks North Korea for dismantling nuclear test site

He called the decision "a very smart and gracious gesture" in a tweet.

People watch a television showing pictures of President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un. Photo: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

World

North Korea

Politics

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

Two of the world's leading eyeglass companies are about to merge, creating the closest thing to a monopoly the industry has ever seen, reports the Guardian.

Why it matters: "Around 1.4 billion of us rely on their products ... Last year, the two companies had a combined customer base that is somewhere between Apple’s and Facebook's," writes the Guardian's Sam Knight.

Italy's Luxottica, the world's largest maker of spectacles, and France's Essilor, the biggest lens maker, are merging to form spectacles behemoth EssilorLuxottica.

EU and U.S. regulators approved the move on March 1.

Their merger will form a $55 billion company, per Reuters, that employs more than 140,000 people and sells nearly a billion pairs of glasses and frames each year.

The scale of their businesses: Luxottica has 9,000 retail stories and makes glasses for Ray-Ban, Vogue, Prada, Oliver Peoples, Lenscrafter, Sunglass Hut, and it also runs John Lewis Opticians in the U.K.

Yes, but: "The new firm will not technically be a monopoly: Essilor currently has around 45% of the prescription lenses market, and Luxottica 25% of the frames."

About 70% of adults in developed countries use glasses to see better, and the market for glasses is $100 billion per year.

"In 2018, an estimated 2.5 billion people, mostly in India, Africa and China, are thought to need spectacles, but have no means to have their eyes tested or to buy them."

"The history of eyewear tells us that people do not, as a rule, start wearing glasses because they notice everything has gone a little out of focus. It is in order to take part in new forms of entertainment and labour."

"The mass market in spectacles did not emerge when they were invented, in 13th-century Italy, but 200 years later, alongside the printed word in Germany, because people wanted to read."

"For a long time, scientists thought [myopia, or shortsightedness] was primarily determined by our genes. 

"But about 10 years ago, it became clear that the way children were growing up was harming their eyesight, too."

"In the 1950s, between 10% and 20% of Chinese people were shortsighted. Now, among teenagers and young adults, the proportion is more like 90%. In Seoul, 95% of 19-year-old men are myopic, many of them severely, and at risk of blindness later in life."

How we’re reading: The new eyeglass giant

The market for eyeglasses is $100 billion per year.

At the launch of Vogue Eyewear. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Business

Monopolies

Oprah Winfrey delivered the commencement address at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Friday, calling on graduates to fight the "hysteria" driving American politics.

“This moment in time, this is your time to rise. Even though you can’t go anywhere — you can’t stand in line at Starbucks, you can’t go to a party, you can’t go anywhere without everyone talking about how bad things are, how terrible it is ... And this is what I know: The problem is everybody is meeting hysteria with more hysteria, and then we just are all becoming hysterical, and it’s getting worse ... If they go low — thank you, Michelle Obama — we go to the polls."

Oprah's call to action for college graduates

Oprah delivers the commencement address. Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey

Finish Line

Axios Finish Line

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, is embarking on a tour of Europe, China and Russia in an effort to save the Iran nuclear deal, Reuters reports.

The bottom line: After the U.S. withdrew from the deal and announced forthcoming sanctions against companies and countries that do business with Iran, the Middle Eastern country must try to safeguard its trade relationships for the sake of its economy.

Yes, but: While China and Russia are well-positioned to evade U.S. sanctions, the European Union is not. If forced to choose between the $400 billion per year Iranian market and the $18 trillion per year U.S. market, Europe will pick the U.S.

Zarif's stops: He heads to Beijing today, then Russia, then Brussels to meet his counterparts from France, the U.K. and Germany.

Go deeper: The companies hit hardest by sanctions on Iran

Iran's world tour to save the nuclear deal

Iran must try to safeguard its trade relationships with China, Russia and Europe.

Zarif. Photo: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

Iran

Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly has announced support for Gina Haspel, Trump's nominee to lead the CIA, in a statement saying he believes Haspel “has learned from the past, and that the CIA under her leadership can help our country confront serious international threats and challenges,” reports the Washington Post.  

Why it matters, per the Post: "Donnelly’s support helps boost her chances of confirmation later this month. Haspel has faced opposition over her role in the CIA’s enhanced interrogation practices." Earlier this week, Sen. John McCain announced he does not support Haspel's nomination citing "her role in overseeing the use of torture."

Sen. Donnelly announces support for CIA nominee Gina Haspel

Boosting her chances of confirmation later this month.

Gina Haspel, nominee for Director of CIA, is sworn in to testify. Photo: Xinhua/Ting Shen via Getty Images

Gina Haspel

North Korea's foreign ministry announced Saturday that the country will hold a "ceremony" May 23-25 marking the dismantling of the country's northeastern nuclear testing site, that will involve destroying all of the tunnels on the grounds and removing observation and research facilities, reports the AP.

Why it matters: The event will happen less than three weeks before President Trump's June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Last month, during a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Kim promised to stop nuclear missile testing and close a test site. Per the AP, the North added that it will invite journalists from the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Britain to inspect the process. 

North Korea announces plans for dismantling of nuclear test site

It will happen less than three weeks before a U.S.-NK meeting in Singapore.

A man watches a television news broadcast showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Photo: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

Corporate America collided with Washington this week, leaving several clear winners and losers.

Drug industry relieved by Trump price proposal: "[T]he announcement ... represented a shift and arguably a reversal for Mr. Trump, who ... said he would embrace more far-reaching ideas." (Wall Street Journal)

AT&T’s top Washington official out over hiring of Trump’s lawyer: "Robert Quinn, a veteran lobbyist and attorney who’d led the office, was forced out and AT&T’s Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson ... called the hiring of [Michael] Cohen a 'big mistake.'" (Bloomberg)

"Michael Cohen ... made an overture to provide consulting services to Ford ... in January 2017 but was quickly rebuffed ... Mueller’s team has ... requested information about the outreach, including emails and records." (WSJ)

Open Skies: "The United States and United Arab Emirates signed a deal ... to resolve U.S. claims that Gulf carriers have received unfair government subsidies. ... UAE said it agreed to ensure financial transparency." (Reuters)

This week’s top collisions between D.C. and Big Business

Trump meets with automakers at the White House. Photo: Alex Edelman/Pool/Getty Images

Lobbying

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Axios AM

One thing is true of all major political scandals: What we know in the moment is but a tiny, obscured, partial view of the full story later revealed by investigators.

Why it matters: That’s what makes the Trump-Russia drama all the more remarkable. Forget all we don’t know. The known facts that even Trump’s closest friends don’t deny tell a damning tale that would sink most leaders. 

Here's a guide that Jim VandeHei and I put together to the known knowns of Russia:

We know Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chair, has been indicted on 32 counts, including conspiracy and money laundering. We know he made millions off shady Russians and changed the Republican platform to the benefit of Russia. 

We know that the U.S. intelligence community concluded, in a report released in January 2017, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election,” to “denigrate” Hillary Clinton and with “a clear preference for ... Trump.”

We know that in May 2016, Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat Russia had political dirt on Hillary. "About three weeks earlier," according to the N.Y. Times, "Papadopoulos had been told that Moscow had thousands of emails that would embarrass Mrs. Clinton."

We know that in June 2016, Trump’s closest aides and family members met at Trump Tower with a shady group of Russians who claimed to have dirt on Hillary. The meeting was billed as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

We know the Russian lawyer who helped set it up concealed her close ties to Putin government.

We know that in July 2016, Trump said: "“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 [Hillary] emails that are missing,” and urged their publication.

We know that on Air Force One a year later, Trump helped his son, Don Jr., prepare a misleading statement about the meeting. We know top aides freaked out about this. 

We know Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting.

We know Michael Flynn, former national security adviser and close campaign aide, lied to Vice President Pence and FBI about his Russia-related chats. We know he’s now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller. We know Trump initially tried to protect Flynn with loyalty and fervency rarely shown by Trump to others. 

We know that during the transition, Jared Kushner spoke with the Russian ambassador "about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow." We know Kushner omitted previous contacts with Russians on his disclosure forms. 

We know Trump initially lied about why he fired James Comey, later admitting he was canned because of the “Russia thing.” 

We know Michael Cohen was a close adviser and lawyer, the fixer and secret-keeper. We know Trump seethed when the FBI raided Cohen's office.

We know that in January 2016, just before Republicans began voting, Michael Cohen tried to restart a Trump Tower project in Moscow.

We know Mueller questioned a Russian oligarch tied to a firm that made payments to Cohen, who paid off a porn star who allegedly had an affair with Trump. [Updated]

We know that oligarch was a bad enough dude that the Trump administration sanctioned him.

Be smart: The undisputed known knowns about Trump, Russia and his associates are damning and possibly actionable. But the known unknowns of how much more Robert Mueller knows that is publicly unknown is what spooks Trump allies most. 

Remember: No one in the media saw Mueller’s indictments of Russian oligarchs coming until the second they were announced, and no one knew until this week that Mueller’s team questioned AT&T five months ago about its payments to Cohen.

Mueller has every incentive to keep the public and Trump himself in suspense. 

The public case against Trump

What we know now is but a tiny, obscured, partial view of the full story.

The tip of a Kremlin palace is visible, but the rest is underwater

Mueller investigation

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

"We read every one of the 3,517 Facebook ads bought by Russians. Their dominant strategy: Sowing racial discord," report USA Today's Nick Penzenstadler, Brad Heath and Jessica Guynn.

The big picture: "Of the roughly 3,500 ads published this week [by the House Intelligence Committee], more than half — about 1,950 — made express references to race. Those accounted for 25 million ad impressions — a measure of how many times the spot was pulled from a server for transmission to a device."

"At least 25% of the ads centered on issues involving crime and policing, often with a racial connotation. Separate ads, launched simultaneously, would stoke suspicion about how police treat black people in one ad, while another encouraged support for pro-police groups."

"Divisive racial ad buys averaged about 44 per month from 2015 through the summer of 2016 before seeing a significant increase in the run-up to Election Day. "

This is interesting: "An additional 900 [race-related spots] were posted after the November election through May 2017."

"Only about 100 of the ads overtly mentioned support for Donald Trump or opposition to Hillary Clinton."

Go deeper: See the Russia-linked Facebook ads

Russian ads focused overwhelmingly on race

At least 25% of the ads focused on crime and policing.

Facebook

Big Tech

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Michael Cohen can't get out of the spotlight. After scrutiny of how he handled the Stormy Daniels payment, he's back in the news for payments he received from companies to advise on the Trump administration policies.

Why it matters: The man who once served as President Trump's ultimate fixer is creating a long list of problems.

Worth noting: The companies that paid Cohen say he didn't provide the insight they paid for. Axios' Dan Primack notes, "The main thing the companies bought themselves was a major P.R. headache, with nothing to show for it."

Axios

Saturday's top stories