Your Weekend Briefing

Earth Day, North Korea, Michael Cohen | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Sunday, April 22, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Weekend Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND LANCE BOOTH Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. Tom Brenner/The New York Times 1. On April 22, 1970, millions of people throughout the country demonstrated on the inaugural Earth Day, calling for clean air, water and land. They were spurred by severe [pollution and]( disasters](. And that year, in a bipartisan effort, the Environmental Protection Agency was created. But now environmental rules are under threat as the Trump administration looks to roll back federal regulations. And the [head of the E.P.A., Scott Pruitt, above, is under scrutiny for allegations]( of unchecked spending and ethics lapses, including his interactions with lobbyists. Our investigative reporters found that many of the pitfalls he has encountered in Washington have echoes in his past. Did you keep up with the headlines this week? Test your knowledge with [our news quiz](. Here’s the [front page of our Sunday paper]( and our [crossword puzzles](. _____ Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times 2. We visited the newest front line in America’s global shadow war: a [half-finished drone base in a barren stretch of Niger](. When it’s completed in the coming months, it will be used to monitor or strike extremists in West and North Africa, regions where most Americans have no idea the country is fighting. The mission in Niger is expected to come under scrutiny in a long-awaited Defense Department investigation into the deadly Oct. 4 ambush that killed four American soldiers. ____ Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA, via Shutterstock 3. As Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, above right, prepares for a landmark meeting with President Trump, he has seized the diplomatic high ground. He’s made conciliatory gestures on nuclear testing and American troops that have buoyed hopes in South Korea and won praise from Mr. Trump. But Mr. Kim’s moves are also [unsettling officials in the U.S., Japan and China](. Some suspect he is merely posturing in advance of the meeting, as well as before a separate one with South Korea’s president. Others worry that his gestures could put Mr. Trump on the defensive in the grinding negotiations over the future of North Korea’s nuclear weapons. ____ Pool photo by David J. Phillip 4. Four of the five living former American presidents gathered at a Houston church on Saturday [to remember Barbara Bush]( the former first lady, who died on Tuesday at the age of 92. ([Read our obituary here.]( The current first lady, Melania Trump, went on behalf of the White House. Her predecessors Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and of course Laura Bush also attended. On Friday, thousands of mourners paid tribute at a public viewing. “She’s kind of America’s grandma,” said Houston’s police chief, Art Acevedo. “Barbara Bush is about as close to Texas royalty as you can come.” ____ Jeenah Moon for The New York Times 5. We reported that there’s a strong possibility [that President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, above left, could end up cooperating]( with federal officials who are investigating him for activity that could relate to work he did for Mr. Trump. And James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, [talked to Michael Barbaro, host of our podcast “The Daily,”]( about the [memos he kept]( on his interactions with Mr. Trump, and his new book, “A Higher Loyalty.” For more on another head-spinning week in Washington, check out our roundup of [the biggest stories in American politics](. ____ Keith Holloway/National Transportation Safety Board, via Getty Images 6. Tens of thousands of feet above the earth, the passengers clasped hands with strangers, prayed together and got ready to die. That was the scene [aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1380]( from New York to Dallas on Tuesday after an engine exploded in midair. Shrapnel blew out a window, sucking Jennifer Riordan, a Wells Fargo executive from Albuquerque, partly out of the plane. She died from her injuries. But the pilot, [Tammie Jo Shults]( a veteran Navy pilot, was able to pull off a smooth emergency landing, displaying what one passenger would later call “nerves of steel.” Above, investigators inspected the plane. On Friday, the [maker of the engine that failed on the Southwest flight issued]( new guidelines that call for more frequent and thorough inspections of its engine fan blades. ____ Loren Elliott/Reuters 7. For months, members of Congress have been demanding answers about how many immigrant families are being [split up when they arrive at the southwest border](. Above, an apprehension near McAllen, Tex. Now we know: More than 700 children have been taken from adults claiming to be their parents since October, including more than 100 children under the age of 4, according to federal data obtained by The Times. Lawmakers were asking, in part, because the Trump administration has said it was considering taking children from their parents as a way to deter migrants from coming to the U.S. Homeland Security officials say no such policy is currently in effect. We also reported that some immigrants with old deportation orders are being [arrested when they show up for green card interviews]( about their marriages to American citizens. ____ Adam Dean for The New York Times 8. Our Interpreter columnists [went to Sri Lanka to investigate the role of Facebook content in mob attacks]( against the minority Muslim population there earlier this year, which led the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency. A mob stormed the house above, setting a fire and killing a man inside. Many users spread misinformation and hate speech on the site, and even used it to plan attacks. But Facebook ignored repeated warnings of the potential for violence, even from the government. It’s a pattern that’s been repeated in other developing countries around the world, with deadly outcomes. “There needs to be some kind of engagement with countries like Sri Lanka by big companies who look at us only as markets,” one Sri Lankan official said. “We’re a society, we’re not just a market.” ____ Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press 9. For the first time in decades, Cubans have a president whose last name is not Castro. Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, above left, a longtime Communist Party stalwart, took the reins from Raúl Castro in a modest ceremony in the National Assembly. Here’s [what we know about Mr. Díaz-Canel.]( Our correspondent in Havana saw little fanfare to mark the transition. [The Cubans he spoke to were doubtful]( that a new leader would change much, and a sense of apathy pervaded the capital. ____ Caitlin O'Hara for The New York Times 10. Arizona educators [voted in favor of a statewide walkout]( as teacher protests over low pay and school budget cuts continue to sweep across the country. Above, a rally in Phoenix earlier this month. We got [thousands of responses to our callout]( asking teachers to describe those cuts. Educators sent us photos of decrepit classrooms and 25-year-old textbooks. And lots of other readers wrote in asking how they can help. There’s plenty you can do, even if you have only a few dollars to spare. [Here are some ideas.]( ____ Charlie Gates for The New York Times 11. Finally, a deep dive into corruption in South Africa, the actor Antonio Banderas, above, as Picasso and San Francisco’s big seismic gamble. We have those stories and more of our signature journalism in this collection of [11 of our best weekend reads](. For more suggestions on what to watch and read, may we suggest our list of [eight Netflix originals worth your time]( our music critics’ [latest playlist]( (don’t miss Prince’s rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U”) or a glance at [The New York Times Best Sellers](. Have a great week. ____ Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. You can [sign up here]( to get our Morning Briefings by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning, or to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Weekend%20Briefing%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. Sponsor a Subscription Inspire a future generation of readers by contributing to The New York Times [sponsor-a-subscription program](. 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