1. “Bill Gates' newest mission: Curing Alzheimer's”

2. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said Monday he’s giving $100 million to fight Alzheimer’s disease — $50 million out of his own pocket now, and $50 million later for start-up efforts. Gates said he has a family history of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. But mostly, it's because decades of research and billions of dollars of work have failed to produce a cure for the disease, or even to answer basic questions about how and why it develops in the first place. “This is something I know a lot about, because men in my family have suffered from Alzheimer’s,” Gates wrote in his blog. “I know how awful it is to watch people you love struggle as the disease robs them of their mental capacity, and there is nothing you can do about it.” More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and this number is expected to grow as the population ages. There’s no cure, and treatments do not work well. Drug after drug has failed when tested in patients. Commercial drug companies have invested billions more. So what can Gates bring to the table with $100 million? Star power. “The announcement that Bill Gates is joining this fight has the potential to significantly change that paradigm.”

3. In Other News
Iran says it has ended the search for survivors from a strong earthquake that struck near its border with Iraq over the weekend, killing more than 430 people across the region and injured 7,000. NPR's Jane Arraf, reporting from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, says the Red Crescent there is trying to ensure that those who lost their homes in the temblor won't freeze to death from lack of shelter. She says Turkey, despite its troubled relations with Kurds, has sent blankets to the region.
President Trump said goodbye to Asia Tuesday, after visiting five countries, attending three international summits and meeting with more than half-a-dozen foreign leaders. "It's been a great 12 days," the president said, capping off the longest overseas trip by a U.S. leader in 25 years. Trump insisted it was a fruitful journey. Asian leaders staged increasingly elaborate welcome ceremonies, competing to win favor from the U.S. president. "It was red carpet like nobody, I think, has probably every received," Trump said. "And that really is a sign of respect, perhaps for me a little bit, but really for our country."