Permawar: The ground war against the Islamic State in Iraq is gathering momentum. Iraqi forces are pressing to take back the city of Fallujah, which has been held by the Islamic State for the past two years. Several militias have been clearing villages outside the city and have begun a drive toward the center of the city held by about 2,000 ISIS fighters.

ISIS has fought back with suicide car bombs and snipers infiltrated through tunnels. Fallujah has been fought over for more than 10 years. In 2004 the city was nearly leveled when it was taken by US Marines.

In Northern Iraq, the target is Mosul where the Kurdish Peshmerga under international air support are on a drive to push ISIS out of the city.

Fizzle: South Korea reports that the North has failed once again to launch a ballistic missile that flies straight. North Korea has had a string of failed launches in their quest to make a nuclear-armed missile that can reach the United States. Don’t write them off: they keep trying.

Take a Breath: The NY Times’ Paul Krugman writes with some perspective that the coming contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is not so close as some analysts would have you think. Krugman says to pay more attention to the average of polls rather than individual polls. Although, the average has Clinton leading Trump by only one point if the election was held right now.

Still, Krugman writes, “Every one of the presidential elections I’ve covered at The Times felt at some point like a nail-biter. But the current state of the race should not be a source of dispute or confusion. Barring the equivalent of a meteor strike, Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee; despite the reluctance of Sanders supporters to concede that reality, she’s currently ahead of Donald Trump. That’s what the math says, and anyone who says it doesn’t is misleading you.”

The Businessman: Trump is not entirely focused on his campaign. He’s gone to verbal war with the judge overseeing the fraud lawsuit against the defunct Trump University. Professor Trump tweeted, “I should have easily won the Trump University case on summary judgement (sic) but have a judge, Gonzalo Curiel, who is totally biased against me.”

Last week Judge Curiel ordered the unsealing of records in the case revealing the inside workings of Trump’s real estate school.

Hoop Dreams: The NBA’s Golden State Warriors pulled off a miracle last night, returning from a 3-1 deficit in the series to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88. Stephen Curry scored 36 points and Klay Thompson 21, including six three pointers.

Socialist Security: German authorities believe that members of the 1970s left wing Baader-Meinhof gang have come out of retirement, robbing banks to finance their life on the lam. The police are on the hunt for Ernst-Volker Staub, 61; Burkhard Garweg, 47; and Daniela Klette, 57.

The long-dormant group, which had more than one generation of members, was held responsible for 34 deaths in terrorist attacks. The gang’s founders Ulrike Meinhof and Andreas Baader died in prison in 1976 in what is believed to have been a suicide pact among several members. Evidently they left the organization with an underfunded pension plan.

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