Trump’s climate decision

CLIMATE: According to some reports, President Donald Trump has decided to pull the United States from the 2015 Paris global climate accord it agreed to, with heavy support from former President Barack Obama. Trump was scheduled to meet today with Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, who favors the withdrawal, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has argued for sticking with the accord. Two backgrounders:

PHILIPPINES: Christians continue to be targets in Marawi, where ISIS-linked fighters are proving hard to dislodge. Militants have killed about 100 civilians and are holding 200 hostages since they entered the city on May 23.

AFGHANISTAN: The bomb blast in the heart of the diplomatic section of Kabul demonstrates the ability of terrorists to penetrate high-security zones, as Islamic militants operating in conjunction with the Taliban and ISIS increase their control nationwide.

ISIS: Two bombings in Baghdad—including one at an ice cream shop in the heart of a district that includes many churches—have killed more than 30 people and injured dozens. In Syria, however, President Bashar al-Assad’s army has repelled a major attack by ISIS on Deir Ezzor, a city encircled by the militants for months.

CHINA: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was blunt and testy in a speech in Australia on China and Trump’s foreign policy.

EUROPE: The Trump administration continues to be cagey about a proposed ban on laptops carried in the cabins of transatlantic flights from Europe, saying such a rule “remains on the table,” while European officials say it’s been tabled for now. On my flight from Amsterdam earlier this week, I got to keep my laptop but a new level of security had been added, requiring U.S.-bound passengers to be interviewed before proceeding to their gates. Ebba Blitz, CEO of Alertsec, summarized the serious challenge of a ban:

“Requiring laptops to be transported in the cargo hold is an act of desperation. Allowing people to keep their laptops on their person will protect millions of people against a more everyday crime—that of data theft from a stolen or unattended laptop.”

TWITTERVERSE: The whole world is abuzz after President Trump accidently invented a word last night. Even Merriam-Webster weighed in.

AUSTRIA: A Belgian who has taken up a post at one of Europe’s last hermitages breaks his seclusion by having Schnapps and cake ready for any visitors who stop by.

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