May 9, 2018

North Korea Releases Three Detained Americans

President Trump announced the news on Twitter in prelude to a planned nuclear summit.

Al Drago/ZUMA

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The three Americans detained in North Korea have been released and are making their way back to the US with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Wednesday morning. The move comes as Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un finalize plans to meet to discuss terms to officially ending the Korean war and denuclearize North Korea. 

The president said that the three men appeared to be in “good health” and that he looked forward to meeting them.

Trump’s tweets repeated the administration’s claim that a date and time for the summit have been set, although he again did not provide any additional details.

Last week, Trump falsely asserted that the Obama administration had failed to secure the release of the three men, when only one of men, Kim Dong-Chul, had even been imprisoned during Obama’s presidency. Two of the men, Kim Hak-Song and Tony Kim, were detained after Trump’s inauguration in January 2017. 

Trump’s announcement comes one day after Trump officially withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, a decision his predecessor condemned as “so misguided.” Obama argued that Trump’s Iran decision “risks losing a deal that accomplishes” what the US is aiming to do with North Korea.

This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available. 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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