What to Know
- North Korea canceled a high-level meeting with the South and threatened to scrap a historic summit next month between Trump and Kim Jong Un
- A California judge threw out a 2016 state law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, ruling it was unconstitutionally approved
- Tom Wolfe who turned to his satiric wit to such novels as 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' and 'A Man in Full,' has died
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North Korea Threatens to Cancel US Summit Over Military Drills
North Korea canceled a high-level meeting with South Korea and threatened to scrap a historic summit next month between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over military exercises between Seoul and Washington that Pyongyang has long claimed are invasion rehearsals. A senior North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang will refuse to be pressured into one-sidedly abandoning its nukes. The surprise declaration, which came in a pre-dawn dispatch in North Korea's state media, appears to cool what had been an unusual flurry of outreach from a country that last year conducted a provocative series of weapons tests that had many fearing the region was on the edge of war. It's still unclear, however, whether the North intends to scuttle all diplomacy or merely wants to gain leverage ahead of the planned June 12 talks between Kim and Trump. North Korea's first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Gwan, said Pyongyang has no interest in a summit with Washington if it's going to be a "one-sided" affair where it's pressured to give up its nukes.
Ash Cloud Over Hawaii Volcano Prompts Code-Red Warning
The Hawaiian volcano that forced evacuations by spewing lava and noxious fumes into communities prompted a red alert, as the U.S. Geological Survey noted an ash cloud rising more than two miles into the sky. The U.S. Geological Survey upgraded the aviation warning for Kilauea from orange to red, saying ash from the Halemaumau crater had been rising nearly continuously and in increased intensity. The ash cloud was observed as high as 12,000 feet above sea level and ashfall reported as far as 18 miles away. The USGS aviation code red designation means "major volcanic eruption is imminent, underway, or suspected with hazardous activity both on the ground and in the air." The upgraded warning comes a week after the molten lava destroyed at least 26 homes in the Leilani Estates area on the Big Island. Thousands are still under evacuation orders as volcanic activity continues. Shocking images of lava spilling onto roads and 20 fissures expanding in the earth emerged as reports of toxic gas forced residents from their homes.
Judge Tosses California Law Allowing Life-Ending Drugs
Local
A California judge threw out a 2016 state law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, ruling it was unconstitutionally approved by the Legislature. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia said lawmakers acted illegally in passing the law during a special session devoted to other topics, said lawyers for supporters and opponents. He did not address the legal issue of whether it was proper to allow people to take their own lives, and gave the state attorney general five days to appeal. Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment. The Life Legal Defense Foundation, American Academy of Medical Ethics and several physicians challenged the law, which allows adults to obtain a prescription for life-ending drugs if a doctor has determined they have six months or less to live. The plaintiffs say the law lacks safeguards to protect against abuse.
“Bonfire of the Vanities” Author Tom Wolfe Dies
Tom Wolfe, the white-suited wizard of "New Journalism" who exuberantly chronicled American culture from the Merry Pranksters through the space race before turning his satiric wit to such novels as "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "A Man in Full," has died. He was 88. Wolfe's literary agent, Lynn Nesbit, told The Associated Press that he died of an infection in a New York City hospital. Further details were not immediately available. An acolyte of French novelist Emile Zola and other authors of "realistic" fiction, the stylishly-attired Wolfe was an American maverick who insisted that the only way to tell a great story was to go out and report it. Along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote and Nora Ephron, he helped demonstrate that journalism could offer the kinds of literary pleasure found in books. His hyperbolic, stylized writing work was a gleeful fusillade of exclamation points, italics and improbable words. An ingenious phrase maker, he helped brand such expressions as "radical chic" for rich liberals' fascination with revolutionaries; and the "Me" generation, defining the self-absorbed baby boomers of the 1970s.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte Confirmed in Royal Wedding Party
Britain's Prince George and Princess Charlotte are officially taking part in their uncle's wedding on Saturday. Kensington Palace announced they will be in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding party as a page boy and a bridesmaid. George, 4, and Charlotte, 3, the first two children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge William and Kate, had the same roles at their aunt Pippa Middleton's wedding last year. They welcomed a little brother, Prince Louis, last month. The list of bridesmaids and page boys announced Wednesday also includes several godchildren of Harry and Markle. The 10 children are as young as 2 and as old as 7. Kensington Palace didn't reveal what the wedding party would be wearing on Saturday.
