Monday Briefing | February 18
Stories to Follow
President Trump plans to sign the new spending bill and declare a national emergency: President Trump plans to sign the $333 billion package of seven spending bills and declare national emergency after the spending bill receives an approval from both chambers of Congress. President Trump seeks for more border-wall funding through his declaration of national emergency. Democrats, in response, said the party would make every effort to allocate money around without congressional approval, and the American Civil Liberties Union and the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen have filed lawsuits. With Trump administration’s stronger border control, the thousands of caravansseeking for asylum in the United States have given up.
Amazon cancels its plan to build second headquarter in New York City: Amazon announced it would cancel its plan to build second headquarter in New York City. The company stated the opposition of the local politiciansto the 3 billions of dollars in tax incentives influenced the company to make this decision. Amazon further stated the company no longer plans to search for new headquarters. However, the company said it would continue to create more jobs at other headquarters, such as in Northern Virginia, as well as offices in Nashville and other centers around the United States. Amazon’s original plan was to open the second headquarters in Queens and Virginia.
Venue decided for President Trump and Kim Jong Un’s Second Summit: President Trump and Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, will have their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27thand 28th. The second summit was announced during President Trump’s State of the Union address last week, however, the meeting venue was not confirmed. The United States primarily considered Danang as the summit venue, however, Hanoi was decided for the venue as the North Koreans favored Hanoi. Many experts have shown their interests in the second summit as they have asked if there would be any concrete agreement made between the United States and North Korea about the denuclearization or peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
Happening This Week
Jewelry: The Body Transformed at The Met Fifth Avenue (Nov 12, 2018 – Feb 24, 2019)
This Sunday is the last chance to visit this exhibition at the Met. The exhibition features “some 230 objects drawn exclusively from The Met Collection.” These objects include “a dazzling array of headdresses and ear ornaments, brooches and belts, necklaces, and rings are shown along with sculptures, paintings, prints, and photographs.” For more information, please click the poster below:
In Your Free Time
Introducing a Japanese cuisine, Ogura Toast (小倉トースト)
Have you tried the Ogura Toast (小倉トースト)? It is one of the trending recipes in East Asia. The toast is made of red bean paste, butter, and fresh whipped cream and is originally a Nagoya food often enjoyed for breakfast. As a JPI member based in Seoul, I have seen this toast not only made of toast bread but also of baguette, croissant and even cake sheets! It’s easy to make and is tasty. All you need is bread, red bean (anko) and butter! For recipe, please click the photo below:
This week’s Monday Briefing was brought to you by Mina Kwon.
