On Monday, President Trump opened his first-ever remarks as president to the United Nations General Assembly with a shout out to one of his luxury properties. "I actually saw great potential right across the street, to be honest with you, and it was only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful project," Trump said about Trump World Tower, immediately after thanking the world leaders and diplomats gathered for the annual week-long summit in New York City.

USA Today noted that Saudi Arabia bought the Tower's 45th floor, and "turned those into part of the Saudi Mission to the United Nations."

After that, Trump turned to talking about the reforms he believes are needed at the organization he once criticized as a "club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time." "[I]n recent years, the United Nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement," Trump said, warning that he's "not seeing results in line with this investment" made by America. He proceeded to outline plans for reform, including "clearly defined goals and metrics" for "every peacekeeping mission" and a bigger focus on "results rather than on process."

As he'd walked in Monday morning, he'd proclaimed that "this will be a great week." Trump is slated to give a speech Tuesday, and later in the week he will meet with other world leaders. Becca Stanek

Dan Rather, the formidable former anchor of CBS Evening News and current host of The News with Dan Rather on The Young Turks Network, has become a frequent target of far-right media in recent years. Breitbart has mocked Rather's "great sadness" about the future with President Trump, and The Western Journal dismissed his declaration that the president is "mean as a wolverine" (their argument: "Not only is 'Wolverine' one of the coolest superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe, the animal itself is best known as being absolutely fearless and ferocious if the need arises"). The 86-year-old news veteran certainly has not been shy in calling the state of America bleak, but as he told Columbia Journalism Review in an interview published Monday, "I'm an optimist by nature and by experience, and I do think we'll get through it."

Rather goes on to explain why he thinks the future could be bright yet:

We need to stop, think, work, particularly those of us in journalism. You used the word "bleak." I think, seen from one perspective, that at least in the short- to medium-term, it could get pretty bleak.

Right now, there's very little check on Trump. The modern presidency has tremendous power, if whoever leads it chooses to use that power, to discredit and cripple the press. Trump is demonstrating right now that he has no inhibitions about using the full power of the presidency for his own partisan political advantage. So short- to medium-term, yeah, I think it could get pretty bleak. […] I do think we'll get through it and come out the other end. Maybe with a better and stronger understanding of and commitment to what the value of quality journalism can be in a society such as ours. [Columbia Journalism Review]

Read the full interview, and why Rather believes Trump's hatred of the media is distinctly different than former President Richard Nixon's, at CJR. Jeva Lange

IHOb has flip-flopped back to flapjacks faster than you can read this sentence.

Just 28 days after revealing its overhyped name change, IHOP has swapped burgers for pancakes once again — and admitted the whole thing was just a marketing scheme.

Perhaps the International House of Indecision realized giving up its one special thing to compete with literally dozens of burger chains wasn't a good idea. Perhaps all the Twitter hate from brands with much better social media strategies took its toll. Or, perhaps more likely, an attempt at cutesy humor couldn't overcome this multimillion-dollar chain's corporate leanings.

Luckily, IHOP realizes it can only right this wrong with what it does best. And that, fellow breakfast fiends, is cheap pancakes. Kathryn Krawczyk

A federal judge on Monday granted the Trump administration more time to reunite migrant families who have been separated at the border, NBC News reports.

The administration was instructed to reunite 102 children under 5 with their parents by Tuesday, but advocacy groups estimated that "less than half" of those cases would meet the deadline. The Justice Department's initial request for an extension was denied, but U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw will now allow officials to propose a revised timeline for cases that will need more time.

Sabraw acknowledged that some cases "will necessitate additional time," reports NBC News, but did not mandate a new deadline. A DOJ attorney said that 54 of the children will be reunited with their families tomorrow, but explained that some parents had been deported and others had been released, making the process more difficult. Officials are also identifying and vetting migrants, and the DOJ lawyer said that some migrant parents have criminal records that will keep them from being reunited with their children.

Children older than 5 will still be held to the July 26 deadline for reunification. Read more at NBC News. Summer Meza

President Trump's personal driver of 25 years is suing Trump for failing to pay him overtime, Bloomberg reports. Driver Noel Cintron says he was skimped some 3,300 hours of overtime pay in the past six years — the maximum he can sue for because of the statute of limitations.

It is hardly the first time Trump has been accused of failing to pay his employees what they are owed. In 2016, Trump faced at least 60 lawsuits from people accusing him of "failing to pay them for their work," USA Today found, as well as more than 200 mechanics liens filed by contractors and employees alleging Trump owed them money. At the time, his companies also faced 24 citations since 2005 for violating the Fair Labor Standards act by "failing to pay overtime or minimum wage."

Trump's driver was expected to start work at 7 a.m. and end whenever the Trump family or their business associates no longer needed him, resulting in the occasional 55-hour work week. Cintron was paid a fixed salary of $75,000 starting in 2010, although that raise from $68,000 came with his health insurance being axed. He is seeking some $200,000 in damages.

Cintron, 59, is a registered Republican who has worked for the Trump Organization in total for over 30 years. He stopped working as Trump's driver when Trump became president and the Secret Service took over. Jeva Lange

A Mar-a-Lago membership includes a slew of exciting amenities: croquet lawns, pool access, and, reportedly, tours of Air Force One.

Some members of Mar-a-Lago and the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, were apparently invited to check out the presidential plane, per an invitation obtained by BuzzFeed News. Two one-hour tours were scheduled for Feb. 18, 2017, just hours before President Trump's first 2020 campaign rally in Orlando.

BuzzFeed News received the invitation last year, but couldn't confirm if any club members actually went. It has since checked the invitation against federal records of Air Force One tours. Times on the invitation match two documented tours which, unlike typical records, didn't list who would be in charge of the visit.

At least 14 people were listed to tour the plane, though their names were redacted, per BuzzFeed News. But listed email addresses connect the potential visitors with a West Palm Beach auto dealer who's been a Trump golf club member since 1999. The dealer declined to comment.

Past presidents have shown family, friends, and donors around Air Force One, BuzzFeed News notes. A White House spokeswoman justified the apparent tours by saying Mar-a-Lago members would've been Trump's friends — though she didn't confirm or deny if the tours happened.

Regardless of Air Force One landings, Mar-a-Lago members can still count on visits from world leaders and the Wedding Crasher in Chief himself. Kathryn Krawczyk

The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defended Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Monday, claiming Jordan is "under attack" because he "threatens the elite." Jordan has come under criticism over his repeated denials of knowing anything about allegations of rampant sexual abuse by Ohio State University's team doctor when Jordan was serving as an assistant wrestling coach at the school.

President Trump has told reporters that he doesn't believe the wrestlers, who say they told Jordan about the abuse and that it was an open secret at the school. In a legal filing, one wrester claims the doctor sexually assaulted or raped "a minimum of 1,500/2,000 athletes at OSU from 1978 through 1998."

While many have observed that the wife of a Supreme Court justice is perhaps not the best positioned individual to be bashing "the elite," her husband also notably faced a sexual harassment scandal of his own during his confirmation hearings in 1991. Jeva Lange

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) knows that the popular vote doesn't count for much.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published late Sunday, Pelosi explained why she doesn't mind if her ratings are way down and she's attacked from every side. The literal 16,000 attack ads that demonize the top House Democrat don't matter much when you've got a House to win back, she said.

Pelosi says that President Trump is "terrible," but that she wants voters to focus on his awful policies, not his bombastic personality. She believes that Democrats have the right message and values, even though "people say, 'Well, it doesn't inspire me.'" In response to people who criticize her for weighing in on primaries, Pelosi just shrugs. She isn't eager to back ultra-liberal and progressive candidates, even if they win primaries, because she thinks they don't have "the faintest chance of winning the general election" in moderate districts, something she's focused on in order to flip 23 House seats this fall.

The minority leader says critics "come after me because I'm effective," and says she's "proud" to stand by values that are alternately called too liberal and too conservative. Rather than focus on bringing her own poll numbers up, she told Rolling Stone, she'd rather focus entirely on winning midterm elections. Joking that Trump helped recruit new Democratic candidates, Pelosi said she'd "rather spend the money on the candidates who win rather than getting into a tickle contest with a skunk over some of this stuff."

Pelosi pointed out that at least her numbers are higher than "whatshisname," aka Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Besides, no matter what people say, concludes Pelosi, "I just want to win the election." Read more at Rolling Stone. Summer Meza