10 things you need to know today: July 1, 2019

(Image credit: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

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1. North Korea praises Trump visit but U.S. reactions mixed
2. Pride parades grow on 50th anniversary of Stonewall uprising
3. Report: Sarah Huckabee Sanders to write book, hit the speaking circuit
4. Stock futures rise after Trump, Xi agree to hold off on more tariffs
5. At least 7 dead as protesters return to the streets in Sudan
6. Bodies of drowned migrant father, daughter returned to El Salvador for burial
7. Durant, Irving, Jordan to join Brooklyn Nets
8. Protesters return to streets on anniversary of Hong Kong handover
9. Small plane crashes in Texas, killing 10
10. Toy Story 4 leads box office for 2nd week

published 1 July 2019

1. North Korea praises Trump visit but U.S. reactions mixed

North Korea's state-run media declared President Trump's "historic" visit Sunday to the northern side of the DMZ an "amazing event" made possible by a "bold, brave decision" by Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Trump's brief visit, the first by a sitting U.S. president to North Korea, received extensive TV coverage, prompting critics to make references to Trump's reality TV days. Democratic presidential candidates said Trump was further legitimizing an oppressive nuclear rogue state that continues to test ballistic missiles. Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign accused Trump of "coddling" dictators. After their 50-minute meeting, Trump and Kim said they were restarting stalled denuclearization talks. Trump's last-minute mini-summit capped a trip to Japan and South Korea, during which a high-profile presence of daughter Ivanka Trump raised questions.

More than 2,000 people gathered outside New York City's historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of a police raid of the Manhattan gay bar that sparked the modern gay rights movement. On Fifth Avenue, an estimated 150,000 people marched in one of New York's largest pride parades ever. "Fifty years ago was when we decided enough is enough," said Tiffany Fantasia, a drag queen from Miami. Similar events were held in other cities to mark progress in the fight for gay rights, and to protest the Trump administration's rollback of transgender rights. Chicago's first openly gay mayor, Lori Lightfoot, helped lead that city's march, and San Francisco's pride parade temporarily descended into chaos as marchers protested the large police presence along the parade route.

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Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, whose last day on the job was Friday, plans to write a book about her work for the Trump administration, and hit the speaking circuit, Axios reported Sunday. First, she plans to return to her native Arkansas and rest for a month. Axios also said that Huckabee is considering running for governor of her home state in 2022, something President Trump encouraged her to do as he was announcing her departure last month. She also reportedly plans to help Trump with his re-election campaign. Sanders tweeted Friday that working in Trump's administration was "the honor and privilege of a lifetime."

U.S. stock futures made strong gains early Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to refrain from imposing any new tariffs on each other's products as they try to jumpstart talks on ending their trade war. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both up by about 1 percent, while those of the Nasdaq rose by 1.7 percent. The pledges came at a meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday. Trump said the two countries "are right back on track," adding that the U.S. would ease restrictions on U.S. firms selling products to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, on Sunday to call for civilian rule while marching toward the homes of those killed since the nation's uprising began. At least seven people were killed and nearly 200 injured during Sunday's protests, including 27 who suffered bullet wounds, the government said. Sudan is in a weeks-long standoff between the ruling military council and protest leaders over how the country should transition to democracy after the military ousted longtime president Omar al-Bashir. Talks between the two sides collapsed earlier in June when security forces violently stormed a protest camp, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties. The military council said Friday it was open to resuming negotiations.

The bodies of migrant Oscar Alberto Martínez and his daughter, Valeria, were returned to El Salvador on Sunday, days after they drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande to get into the U.S. They are expected to be buried Monday. The two were swept away by a swift current after they tried to seek asylum but found a border crossing closed. Martinez's wife, Tania Vanessa Avalos, 21, watched helplessly from the Mexican side of the river. A photo of their bodies published in a Mexican newspaper stoked fresh criticism of the Trump administration's crackdown on Central American migrants trying to reach the U.S., which has resulted in overcrowding in holding centers.

Free-agent All-NBA star Kevin Durant confirmed Sunday that he would sign a four-year, $164 million contract to join the Brooklyn Nets. Durant will play in a dream lineup that will include fellow free agents Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, ESPN reported as the basketball league's free agency kicked off, citing league sources. Irving is expected to sign for four years also, making $141 million. Durant and Irving reportedly agreed to take up to $5 million less than the maximum annually to give the team room to pay Jordan $10 million a year over his four-year deal. After ESPN reported the deals, oddsmakers at Caesars Sportsbook upped Brooklyn's chances of winning the 2019-2020 NBA title from 25-1 to 18-1.

Tens of thousands of protesters blocked Hong Kong streets on Monday in what appeared to be an attempt to disrupt a ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of the return of the former British colony to China's control. A small group broke a window at the legislature building. Police in riot gear confronted the protesters, who marched Monday for the third time in three weeks. The annual protest march is expected to overshadow previous ones, thanks to a recent surge of demonstrations against the government's proposal to let criminal suspects be extradited to mainland China for trial. The protesters have demanded that the city's leader, Carrie Lam, resign over the proposed legislation. Counterprotesters also showed up, chanting "thank you" to police officers.

A small airplane crashed into a hangar at a Texas airport north of Dallas while it was trying to take off on Sunday, killing all 10 people on board. The twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air had just lifted off when it veered left, dropped its left wing, and slammed into the hangar, Addison fire spokesman Edward Martelle said. The hangar at Addison Municipal Airport was left charred, but there was nobody inside at the time of the crash. Federal Aviation Administration investigators arrived at the crash site Sunday. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation team also was dispatched to the scene.

Toy Story 4 continued to lead the domestic box office for the second week, adding $57.9 million to bring its global total to $496.5 million. The horror sequel Annabelle Comes Home came in second with $20.4 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $31.5 million over its first five days. Yesterday, a Danny Boyle-directed musical romantic comedy, came in third with $17 million, far exceeding expectations. Spider-Man: Far From Home scored the second-biggest Hollywood debut of the year in China, making $98 million there a week ahead of its North America opening. It was also the fourth best China debut for a superhero movie, behind Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Venom (2018).

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.