The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Singapore Fling

-Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey)

Today in 5 Lines

• Shortly after greeting three American prisoners just released from North Korea, President Trump announced that he will meet with Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore. The summit will be the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader.

• In an interview with NBC News, Vice President Mike Pence said he wants Special Counsel Robert Mueller to end his investigation: “In the interests of the country, I think it’s time to wrap it up,” he said.

• The Pentagon said that an investigation into the deaths of four American soldiers in Niger last year found a series of problems, but no sole reason for the ambush.

• After Iran fired an estimated 20 rockets at the Golan Heights, Israeli warplanes struck dozens of Iranian military targets in Syria.

• Trump and Pence will hold a rally in Elkhart, Indiana, Thursday evening to tout the recent tax cuts and encourage voters to support GOP Senate candidate Mike Braun.

Today on The Atlantic

• A Muslim Among Israeli Settlers: Writer Wajahat Ali traveled to the West Bank to better understand the perspectives of Israeli Jews living in occupied territory.

• What Has Gotten Michael Cohen in So Much Trouble?: He tried—and failed—to emulate Donald Trump. (David A. Graham)

• ‘We Were Afraid’: Marchers who attacked a black counter-protester during the white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville last August say they acted in self-defense. The claim has often worked for police officers, but this time, it failed. (Adam Serwer)

• Mnuchin’s Master Plan: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seems to have developed an economic formula that will appeal to Trump’s populist supporters. (Reihan Salam)

Snapshot

What We’re Reading

Sorry, Chuck: While Democrats have high hopes of flipping seats in the House come November, their chances in the Senate are getting more and more bleak. (Charlie Mahtesian, Politico)

Gatekeeper Mike: President Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, was denied a job at the White House. Here’s how he turned exile into a money-making opportunity. (The New York Times)

Get Over It: President Trump wasn’t serious when he suggested taking away press credentials, writes Matthew Walther. The press needs to learn how to take a joke—and how to take themselves less seriously. (The Week)

Who Is Paying Michael Avenatti?: Stormy Daniels’s lawyer has a lot to say. But where, exactly, is he getting his information—and who is financing his operation? (Mark Penn, The Hill)

Visualized

How Segregated Is Your City?: America is more diverse than ever before, but data show our neighbors are still the same race. (Aaron Williams and Armand Emamdjomeh, The Washington Post)