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You’re going on break soon—but the news isn’t. Keep your eye on these important stories this summer.

North Korea: Ready to Talk?

STR/AFP/Getty Images

North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Un (fourth from left), has defied the world by developing nuclear weapons.

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

The regime of young dictator Kim Jong Un is well known for its aggressive posture toward North Korea’s neighbors and the United States. Kim has threatened them with his arsenal of nuclear weapons, and has tested intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the U.S.

But this year, Kim has surprised nearly everyone. First, he allowed North Korean athletes to play on a unified Korean team at the Winter Olympic Games hosted by South Korea, the North’s bitter enemy. He also began talks to improve relations with the South, which have been strained since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953).

The biggest surprise came in March, when Kim offered to sit down with the U.S. to talk about “denuclearizing” the Korean Peninsula. President Donald Trump has agreed to meet.

U.S. officials are acting with cautious optimism. They don’t know if Kim will actually agree to get rid of his nukes. Several times in the past, North Korea has said it would give up its weapons, only to back out of every deal.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Student activism to combat gun violence is gaining momentum. In this March protest, activists left 7,000 pairs of shoes in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to symbolize the number of children killed by guns in the U.S. since December 2012.

Mexico Pushes Back

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Trump inspected prototypes for a border wall in April.

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Relations with Mexico have been a source of frustration for President Trump. Mexico’s government has refused to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, despite his insistence. Last month, citing the danger of unchecked illegal immigration, the president called for thousands of National Guard troops to patrol the border. Trump may face even more resistance from Mexico after that country’s July 1 presidential election. The expected winner, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has referred to the U.S. as a bully. “Mexico and its people will not be the piñata of any foreign government,” he said.

Facebook Under Fire

Signe Wilkinson/Washington Post Writers Group/Cartoonist Group

Facebook had assured its users that their private data is safe, but recent events have shown this isn’t true.

America’s social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter, are facing growing criticism for not stopping the spread of disinformation by Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential campaign. Facebook has also been under fire since March, when news reports revealed that a private company had acquired access to the data of 87 million Facebook users. State and federal officials have launched investigations into whether Facebook failed to protect its users’ privacy. Facebook has promised to block search tools that allow third-party access to its users’ information.

An Isolated Russia

Ivan Sekretarev/AFP/Getty Images

President Vladimir Putin at a gathering of Russian bikers

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Hostile actions by the government of President Vladimir Putin continue to isolate Russia from the rest of the world. Putin has been blamed for widespread interference in elections in the U.S. and Europe. And this spring, Russia was accused of poisoning a former Russian spy living in the United Kingdom (U.K.). More than 20 countries, including the U.S., supported the U.K. by expelling some 150 Russian diplomats. In response, Putin kicked out foreign diplomats, further raising tensions with the West.

Yet President Trump has held out hope of improved relations with Putin, and has even proposed inviting him to the White House.

DACA in Trouble

Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Young immigrants march in support of DACA.

In March, President Trump declared Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to be dead. The program temporarily protects some 690,000 young “Dreamers”—immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as minors—from deportation. Last fall, Trump said he would end DACA unless Congress passed a bill to save it. But efforts at a bipartisan agreement to keep DACA in effect have failed to win his approval—leaving the program’s future uncertain.

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