Monday, June 11:

President Trump reached a deal with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un that was long on photo ops and good feeling, but short on substance and details. The statement did not include next steps, a timetable or a reference to “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization,” which had previously been a nonnegotiable U.S. demand. Trump also handed Kim a major concession, cancelling long-standing U.S.-South Korean military exercises, calling them “very provocative,” and a waste of money, without consulting the U.S. or South Korean militaries.

Tuesday, June 12:

Judge Richard J. Leon of the United States District Court in Washington, D.C. approved a megamerger of AT&T and Time Warner, setting aside the government’s effort to stop the $85.4 billion deal. AT&T will now be able to enter the media business with control over popular stations like CNN, HBO, TNT and TBS. It is expected the approval will set in motion a series of mega-corporate takeovers. The merger created a combined media and telecommunications giant that opponents fear would decrease choices for consumers.

In a closely watched congressional race in South Carolina, State Rep. Katie Arrington defeated incumbent Marc Sanford—a tenacious critic of President Trump—50.6 to 46. 5 percent. The contest was interpreted by some as bellwether race in which an incumbent who criticized President Trump was defeated. But South Carolina politicians had a different view: Sanford, they said, ran a lackluster campaign and did not begin airing TV ads until it was too late.

Republican senators made it clear that they want to have a say in any deal that President Trump strikes with North Korea. "If the president reaches a significant agreement with North Korea, I hope it takes the form of a treaty…" said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, “I do believe it will need to come to Congress in some form.” Majority Whip John Cornyn and Republican senators Ron Johnson and Jerry Moran joined McConnell in the call for Congressional review.

Wednesday, June 13:

On his return to Washington from the Singapore summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, President Trump appeared to take a victory lap. He tweeted, in part, “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience.” And a few minutes later, he continued, “President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer - sleep well tonight!”

Nonproliferation experts took a different view. They said the statement signed by the two leaders was short, vague, and did not include details of denuclearization. It was, instead, composed of recycled diplomatic language that has appeared in other previous statements over the past two decades.

Thursday, June 14:

The Justice Department’s Inspector General released a 500-page report deeply critical of the way the FBI handled the investigation of then Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton. The report faulted former FBI director James Comey, calling him “insubordinate,” for his decision to announce that the investigation of Clinton’s emails had been reopened and then closed again in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. The report also faults FBI investigators for exchanging text messages which appeared to be critical of President Trump.

The New York attorney general filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s charitable foundation, accusing the Trump family and the foundation of extensive violations of campaign finance laws as well as illegal coordination with the 2016 presidential campaign. Not one to take criticism or lawsuits lying down, Trump branded the civil suit as an effort by the “sleazy New York Democrats” to harm him.

Friday, June 15:

The Trump administration edged closer to a full-blown trade war with China, imposing a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of Chinese imports to the United States. China looks set to respond in kind, leveling a tit for tat $50 billion tariff on U.S. goods imported to China. The Trump administration has signaled that it will answer any Chinese tariffs with a further escalation.

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager was sent to jail by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, revoking his $10 million bail. Manafort will face new felony charges for witness tampering. “This is not middle school,” the judge said during a 90-minute hearing, “I can’t take away his cellphone.”

Saturday, June 16:

President Trump again falsely blamed Democrats for his own policy of separating children and parents in migrant families at the southern border who are now in U.S. custody. The president claimed, “Democrats can fix their forced family breakup at the Border by working with Republicans on new legislation, for a change!” Trump could stop the practice of separating children with a single phone call but appears to be trying to use it for political advantage. The Trump administration has separated nearly 2,000 children from their families in the past six weeks and is holding them in mass detention facilities.

Sunday, June 17:

Republicans have joined the chorus of voices calling for President Trump to end his policy of separating children from their parents at the border. Former first lady Laura Bush said, “[T]his zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart… Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of El Paso.”