The Group of Seven world leaders, or rather Six excluding Trump, tried to tame the US president... and failed. Which means on Saturday the group will sign off on a significantly "pared-down" statement at the close of their meeting in Sicily - an indication of deep divisions on climate change, trade and various other issues between Trump and the rest of the developed world.
S&P futures were fractionally lower from yesterday's record high as European stocks declined and Asian stocks were mixed, pressured by yesterday's 5% plunge in crude after OPEC unexpectedly "failed to surprise" markets, and announced the bare minimum supply cut extension that was expected by oil traders, who in turn puked long positions.
The University of Illinois has capitulated to faculty complaints and rescinded a speaking invitation to Nobel Laureate James Watson, who has ruffled feathers with past comments about race.
Watson is famous for co-discovering the double-helix structure of DNA, but even a preemptive email stating that he would be giving a "narrowly focused scientific talk" failed to assuage faculty concerns.
The Military Pumps Out Staggering Quantities of Toxic Waste, Water and Air Pollution and Radiation
Environmentalists are ignoring the elephant in the room … the world’s largest polluter.
Newsweek reported in 2014:
Some analyst, such as Beacon Advsiros, expected a diplomatic scandal as a worst case scenario outcome from Trump's keynote speech at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Saudi Arabia. That did not happen, and instead Trump delivered a speech that many pundits on both sides of the aisle said was better than expected, even if in a very strict sense.
Clocking in at just over 3,400 words, here is a full transcript of what Trump told Saudi Arabia and the world on Sunday afternoon.