Trump Lowers Flag for McCain | US, Mexico Strike Trade Deal

After two days of criticism for failing to honor deceased Sen. John McCain, President Donald Trump ordered the White House flag lowered to half-staff Monday afternoon. “Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country,” the president said in a brief statement. The reversal came after Trump reportedly refused requests from Vice President Mike Pence and chief of staff John Kelly to honor McCain. Veterans’ groups had also lobbied Trump — who relies on their political support — to properly honor the six-term senator.

With Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on speakerphone, President Trump announced yesterday that negotiators had reached an agreement that would significantly alter the North American Free Trade Agreement. The new 16-year deal focuses largely on automobile manufacturing, seeking to stem the import of cheap Chinese goods through Mexico. But its long-term future depends on whether Canada signs onto the three-nation pact. If that proves difficult, Trump suggested the U.S. could block Canadian imports instead of negotiating a new deal — proposing NAFTA be renamed “the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement.”

The two people killed in Sunday’s shooting at a “Madden NFL 19” tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, were identified as professional gamers Taylor Robertson, 27, and Eli Clayton, 22. Robertson, a married father of one from West Virginia, had recently joined the esports team DotCityGaming and won the “Madden NFL 17” Classic last year. Clayton was a former high school football player from California who’d won more than $50,000 gaming. Meanwhile, court records revealed the gunman, 24-year-old David Katz, had been hospitalized twice for mental illness.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the outbreak of violence in the eastern city of Chemnitz that left several injured after two days of clashes between far-right protesters and counter-demonstrators. The showdown erupted after the arrests of a Syrian and an Iraqi on suspicion of stabbing a German man to death Sunday. Local reports described street battles featuring flying projectiles and anti-immigrant street mobs hunting foreigners. Police are investigating reports that a Syrian, an Afghan and a Bulgarian were attacked. Merkel’s spokesman said, “This has no place in our cities.”

Know This: A federal court has ruled that congressional districts in North Carolina were unconstitutionally altered to favor Republicans. Toyota has announced it’ll invest $500 million in Uber to work toward autonomous ride-sharing. The Australian government is under fire after a new report revealed 147 indigenous people have died in custody during the last decade. And today OZY’s Around the World campaign takes you to Portugal: Meet the country’s answer to Banksy.

Read This: The Chinese government appears poised to end its controversial Two-Child Policy — but it’s unclear whether abolishing the restriction will boost birth rates enough to reverse the country’s demographic crisis.

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They need some space. Ahead of November’s midterms — and a wave of eager Democrats eyeing 50 Republican-held House seats — GOP incumbents are finding ways to differentiate themselves from the polarizing president. From nuanced positions on gun control and climate change to supporting gay rights and opposing President Trump’s travel ban, these contenders are courting fence-sitters to preserve their party’s majority. Even some Trump loyalists who have generally toed the line are finding themselves increasingly catering toward their shifting constituencies and a local-first strategy.

Citing high rents and diminishing communities, the City of Lights will use steep fines to hold the company accountable for unregistered listings. Authorities in Paris, which is reportedly Airbnb’s largest city market, require locals to register each rental property — a requirement 80 percent of users have failed to fulfill. While that’s resulted in some $1.5 million in fines this year against landlords, peer-to-peer rentals like Airbnb have escaped similar punishment. Now, French lawmakers are considering a federal law to levy more fines against such platforms for failing to remove unregistered listings.

What are we thinking? An international team of researchers attempting to identify every type of cell found in the brains of mice, monkeys and humans has isolated a previously unknown type of neuron that is so far unique to humans. The discovery of the “rose hip neuron” could explain why some experimental treatments for brain disorders fail to help humans despite being successful on mice. The cells appear to assist in regulating the flow of information to the brain, sparking researchers to further examine their role in neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia.

The disgraced comic staged his first public performance since admitting to sexual misconduct in November. After five women accused him of performing unwanted sexual acts in their presence, HBO, Netflix and other media companies severed ties. But during an unannounced 15-minute set Sunday night at the Comedy Cellar in New York City, C.K. avoided the scandal in favor of topics such as racism and tipping. “It was very ordinary for him,” said club owner Noam Dworman, who added that C.K. got a “good reception” from the audience.

She’s back. Returning for the first time since 2016, yesterday the 36-year-old bested Poland’s Magda Linette 6-4, 6-0. Williams, who is tied with Chris Evert for the most U.S. Open wins in the modern era, is eyeing her seventh trophy this year. That feat may have been made easier by Kaia Kanepi’s defeat of Simona Halep, who became the tournament’s first top-seeded woman to post a first-round loss. Williams is on course to face off against her older sister, Venus, in the third round.