Meet and Greet: In a stunning and diplomatically risky decision, President Trump has accepted an invitation from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to meet and talk directly about the North’s nuclear weapons.

It’s a big turnaround for two leaders who have promised mutual annihilation and Trump risks getting played by Kim.

The overture from Kim was announced to reporters outside the White House by Chung Eui-yong, the South Korean national security adviser, who said Kim “expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible.” The meeting would take place in about two months, he said.

Trump, who was not present for Chung’s announcement, would be the first sitting American president to meet with a leader from North Korea. Previous administrations have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Kim regime.

Trump later tweeted, “Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!”

Trade War: President Trump signed off on a potential trade war yesterday, ordering a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. He exempted Canada and Mexico for the time being.

Surrounded by metal industry workers carrying hard hats, Trump said he’s imposing the tariffs to address “a growing crisis in our steel and aluminum production that threatens the security of our nation and also is bad for us economically and with jobs.” He said, “We’ve been treated so badly over the years by other countries.”

Trump signed his order despite serious opposition by his own economic advisers and at least 100 Republican members of Congress. The President said he will also impose the tariffs on Canada and Mexico “if we don’t make the deal on Nafta and if we terminate Nafta because they are unable to make a deal that’s fair.”

Also on the trade front, eleven countries yesterday signed the Trans pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement originally hatched by the US to defend against China’s aggressive trade policies. President Trump withdrew from the deal as he goes his own way with trade protectionism.

The Russia Thing: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty to his second indictment in federal court in Virginia yesterday. Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates, who faced similar tax and financial charges to those against Manafort, has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI in exchange for his cooperation.

Manafort is playing an interesting game. The Special Counsel almost certainly has a solid case against him. His only way out would appear to be pleading guilty to lesser charges and cooperating, unless he has some secret alternate path to freedom.

Fake is Faster: Lies spread on the internet faster than truth, according to a study published in Science magazine. The study’s abstract says, “We found that false news was more novel than true news, which suggests that people were more likely to share novel information. Whereas false stories inspired fear, disgust, and surprise in replies, true stories inspired anticipation, sadness, joy, and trust. Contrary to conventional wisdom, robots accelerated the spread of true and false news at the same rate, implying that false news spreads more than the truth because humans, not robots, are more likely to spread it.”

The Obit Page: Trevor Baylis, the British inventor who created the windup radio bringing news and information to remote parts of the world, has died at age 80. Baylis invented the radio in response to the AIDS crisis in Africa because people in areas without electricity were not getting reliable information.

Adults in the Room: In the discussions leading to passing a bill, Florida State Rep. Elizabeth Porter spoke scornfully on the floor about the students of Stoneman Douglas high school campaigning to change gun laws.

“We’ve been told that we need to listen to the children,” Porter said, looking around at her colleagues. “Are there any children on this floor? Are there any children making laws? Do we allow the children to tell us that we should pass a law that says no homework? Or you finish high school at the age of 12, just because they want it so?”

She finished with, “The adults make the law because we have the age, we have the wisdom, and we have the experience.”

The adults then went on to pass a bill that does nothing to control assault rifles in Florida.

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