Israeli officials are actively lobbying the Trump administration to formally recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, according to reports from. Since Israel captured the Golan Heights plateau from Syria in the 1967 War, every subsequent attempt to negotiate peace between the two countries has revolved around the land's return.
Why it matters: While it is virtually unimaginable that Israel would withdraw from the Golan Heights, formal U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty would cement that reality, slaying another sacred cow of Middle East diplomacy while changing little on the ground. It would also be another political win for Prime Minister Netanyahu, already celebrating President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and the U.S. embassy's move to Jerusalem.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, one of the few westerners to have met face-to-face with Kim Jong-un, plans to be in Singapore when the North Korean president meets with President Trump on June 12, the New York Post reports.
Between the lines: As a two-time Celebrity Apprentice contestant, Rodman has a relationship with both leaders. Still, the U.S. delegation is unlikely to want a controversial ex-basketball player having a high-profile diplomatic role. Rodman's rep told the Post his plans haven't been finalized, and "he’s just happy it’s happening. He’s just hoping for a great historic outcome."
Former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Ron Rockwell Hansen has been charged with attempted espionage and for acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, according to the Justice Department.
Why it matters: China has become a global force in espionage, and this is the second case in recent months that a former U.S. official has been charged with espionage for China.
The State Department established a Health Incidents Response Task Force last month to look into "unexplained health incidents" affecting Americans in Cuba and China, according to a statement from Secretary Mike Pompeo.
The big picture: The task force found that 24 government officials and family members in Cuba showed symptoms "similar to those noted following concussion or minor traumatic brain injury." One person in China was found to have similar symptoms. Per Pompeo's statement, the "nature of the injuries suffered by the affected personnel, and whether a common cause exists for all cases, has not yet been established."
Vice President Mike Pence is hosting former Republican Sen. Richard Lugar and former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn in his West Wing office at 4:30pm this afternoon, where the three will discuss potential models for removing nuclear material and equipment from North Korea, two sources familiar with the meeting told Axios.
Why it matters: As part of their preparation for the Trump-Kim June 12th summit in Singapore, senior administration officials are studying potential next steps if the two strike a deal to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Pence, who represented Trump at the Winter Olympics in South Korea last year, has been meeting with experts on the subject for months, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. He's interested in what Nunn and Lugar have to say because they helped reduce the nuclear threat during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Iran says it's taking steps to increase its capacity to enrich uranium within the parameters of the 2015 nuclear deal, reports the BBC. An official says Iran will be notifying the U.N. of its plans, and will assemble a "new generation of centrifuges" if the deal collapses.
Why it matters, from Axios' Dave Lawler: Iran is still negotiating with Germany, France and the U.K. to save the nuclear deal, but the sanctions enforcement plan laid out by the Trump administration would make it almost impossible to guarantee Iran the economic benefits it was promised. That leaves the Europeans and more moderate Iranian leaders essentially buying time. Meanwhile, Iran is warning that if the deal falls apart it will step up enrichment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin tells Austrian TV that he and President Trump have a close working relationship, although it's complicated by U.S. politics.
"You should ask our colleagues in the United States. In my opinion, this is the result of the ongoing acute political struggle in the United States. Indeed, Donald Trump and I have, firstly, met more than once at various international venues and secondly, we regularly talk over the phone."
Malaysia made headlines, and raised eyebrows, last week by announcing it would use crowd-funding to help pay down the crippling national debt. But another move could have much bigger implications — renegotiating big infrastructure contracts with China.
The bigger picture:China's debt-trap diplomacy is spreading across Asia and Africa. Beijing offers attractive, expensive projects to countries that need infrastructure, then leverages debt for influence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel that he would meet with U.S. ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell at Berlin's airport today — at Grenell's request.
The backdrop: Grenell has been an unusually high-profile and controversial ambassador during his first month on the job. In a Breitbart interview published yesterday, Grenell raised eyebrows by saying he hoped to "empower other conservatives throughout Europe," with Germany now seeking clarification about his comments.
Update: Netanyahu met Grenell at the airport but because of his tight schedule the meeting was very short. Netanyahu said Grenell is a big supporter of Israel and the meeting was requested long before the latest controversy. "It was basically a courtesy call," he said.
The recent $380 million of federal funding to replace paperless voting machinery and improve cybersecurity is desperately needed, but it is unlikely to ensure the long-term cybersecurity of U.S. election technology.
The big picture: At best, the one-time spending will provide a catalyst for election organizations to gain basic cybersecurity competence. At worst, though, the money will be spent on discretionary purchases (e.g., digital pollbooks or new PC hardware) that only appear helpful and that, without proper security-centric integration, may increase the systems’ exposure to attacks.
The Chinese government has launched an investigation into U.S. and South Korean memory-chip makers Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The big picture: It's not yet clear why China is probing the foreign companies, but the move comes as China looks to strengthen domestic tech and curb reliance on the West.
"[N]ot enough nuclear experts may exist to visit the hundreds of buildings, track down the voluminous records and conduct the comprehensive inspections required to verify compliance" with a North Korean denuclearization deal, the L.A. Times' David Cloud reports.
The issue: "U.S. intelligence agencies believe Pyongyang has assembled as many as 60 nuclear weapons and built a widely dispersed network of secret development and production facilities, some deep underground in the country’s rugged northern mountains."
