10 things you need to know today: June 17, 2018

South Korean Marines take position on a beach as amphibious assault vehicles fire smoke shells during a joint landing operation by US and South Korean Marines

(Image credit: Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images)

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1. U.S. and South Korea to suspend 'large-scale' military drills
2. Afghan Taliban ceasefire marred by ISIS bombing
3. Trump to talk immigration Tuesday
4. Giuliani says Trump won't pardon anyone in the Russia investigation — yet
5. Religious leaders slam migrant family separations
6. Rescue ship rejected by Italy, Malta docks in Spain
7. Consumer watchdog nominee stirs controversy
8. New Jersey arts festival shooting leaves 20 wounded, 1 suspect dead
9. Video captures Border Patrol in apparent hit-and-run
10. Beyoncé and Jay Z drop surprise album

last updated 17 June 2018

1. U.S. and South Korea to suspend 'large-scale' military drills

The U.S. and South Korea will formally announce the suspension of "large-scale" military exercises this coming week, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Sunday. While routine training is expected to continue, this will put an end to the "provocative, inappropriate, and expensive" war games President Trump promised to stop during his recent negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The suspension will likely specify conditions under which the exercises would resume if Kim fails to meet his obligations in the denuclearization process. Trump confirmed the pending announcement on Twitter Sunday.

The government of Afghanistan has extended its historic ceasefire with the Taliban past the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, with which it was timed to coincide. Unlike the original deal, the extension is unilateral, though the government has urged the Taliban to reciprocate and begin peace talks. However, this progress was marred Saturday evening by a suicide attack by the Islamic State in Nangarhar. The bomber targeted a gathering of civilians, Afghan forces, and Taliban fighters. At least two dozen people were killed and another 54 wounded.

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President Trump will meet with House Republicans Tuesday evening to discuss a compromise immigration bill that would fund his border wall, impose new limits on immigration, formalize protections for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and end the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant families at the border. This is the more moderate of the two bills proposed by the House GOP. Trump signaled Friday morning he would not support the plan, but the White House later said that was a misunderstanding.

President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, went on CNN to address his Friday suggestion that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort may get a presidential pardon when the Russia investigation is complete. Giuliani maintained his personal advice to Trump is "no pardons" and said he was merely reflecting on the historical record. "Let me make it clear right now," Giuiani said, "[Trump] is not going to pardon anybody in this investigation, but he is not obviously going to give up his right to pardon if a miscarriage of justice is presented to him after the investigation."

Religious leaders over the weekend continued to critique the Trump administration's widely condemned policy of separating migrant children from their families at the border. In a Friday statement, the United Methodist Church, of which Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a member, called the separations "a shocking violation of the spirit of the Gospel," and said the Bible should never be used to defend them. Catholic Archbishop of Miami Thomas Wenski said Saturday the policy "weaponizes" children in an indefensible way.

A rescue boat carrying hundreds of migrants, most of them Sub-Saharan Africans, docked in Spain Sunday after being denied permission to dock in Italy or Malta. Managed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and another aid group called SOS Mediterranee Sea, the ship initially headed to Italy after rescuing migrants off the coast of Libya. The journey from its intended docking point to Spain took a week, and several other ships, including an Italian coast guard boat, took on some of the 629 migrants to make the trip safer.

President Trump will nominate Kathy Kraninger, an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the White House announced Saturday. Kraninger would take over for the consumer watchdog's interim head, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, and is expected to continue his policies. The selection has stirred controversy, with critics from left and right alike complaining that Kraninger has "no relevant experience" for the role. The selection will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

A shooting early Sunday at an all-night art festival in Trenton, New Jersey, left 20 people injured and one of the two shooting suspects dead. The other suspect has been taken into custody. Among the wounded, four are in critical condition, one of them a 13-year-old boy. The suspects have not been identified. "All shootings, whether larger or small, are a crisis," said Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson. "This isn't just a random act of violence. This is a public health issue."

A Native American man named Paulo Remes shared a video that went viral over the weekend in which he is apparently the victim of a hit-and-run by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in an SUV. Remes was on a portion of the Tohono O’odham reservation that spans the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona Thursday night when he says the agent accelerated, struck him, and drove off. The incident is now under investigation. In 2003, a Border Patrol agent fatally struck a Tohono O’odham teenager with a vehicle and was cleared of all wrongdoing.

Beyoncé and Jay Z released an unannounced joint album, Everything Is Love, on Saturday. The surprise release was announced at the end of a London show for their On the Run Tour II. Everything Is Love comes as a follow-up to Beyoncé's Lemonade, released in 2016, and Jay Z's 2017 4:44. In addition to the album, which is presently available on Tidal, the music streaming site Jay Z co-owns, the Carters released a music video for one song, titled "Apeshit," which was filmed in the Louvre.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.