Kimchi Krisis: North Korea yesterday featured several new ballistic missiles in a massive military parade celebrating the 105^th anniversary of the birth of the country’s totalitarian founder, Kim Il-sung.

The North Koreans showed off tube-launched missiles that are hard to develop and perfect. It couldn’t be determined whether the launchers in the parade actually had anything in them.

Then, this morning, they launched a test missile that blew up shortly after takeoff.

The North’s celebration passed without what the West had feared would be the underground test of a nuclear weapon, which would have ratcheted up tensions and maybe even provoked a US strike.

NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes in his blog that talk in Washington of a pre-emptive strike against North Korea’s nuclear weapon facilities is potentially disastrous, triggering a war that could kill a million people. Kristof says, “Actually, my suggestion is for President Trump to invite Kim Jong-un to Washington for a summit — and then make sure he flies United Airlines.”

Stay of Execution: A federal judge has joined an Arkansas state judge in blocking the state’s planned execution of seven inmates over 11 days. The state was originally going to execute eight men in pairs, but one of them won a stay on his own.

Lawyers for the condemned men had argued that use of the sedative midazolam

as one of the execution drugs could fail, leaving the condemned man to die in agony.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement, “I understand how difficult this is on the victims’ families, and my heart goes out to them as they once again deal with the continued court review.” He said, “However, the last minute court reviews are all part of the difficult process of death penalty cases.”

Permawar: A massive car bomb yesterday killed at least 100 pro-regime Syrian refugees who were leaving their town that was under siege by rebel forces. Children and non-combatants of all ages were reported killed. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The government and rebels have been conducting a population swap between contested areas, mostly reflecting the tribal and sectarian divide of the country’s civil war.

An estimated 2.3 million Syrians live in areas of combat between rebels and government forces.

Fair and Balanced: As Fox News host Bill O’Reilly continues on what may be a permanent vacation, The NY Times reports that it was O’Reilly’s words and actions that influenced the network’s star Megyn Kelly to leave for NBC News.

When Kelly published a book describing being sexually harassed by former boss Roger Ailes, O’Reilly said in an interview, “Look, it’s open season. Let’s whack the Fox News Channel. I’ve had enough of it. It’s a good place to work. All right?”

He said later on the air, “If you don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave.”

Kelly left.

Eggs: An Italian woman who was believed to be the world’s oldest living person, and the last born in the 1800s, has died at the age of 117. Emma Morana was reported to have died sitting in her rocking chair in the northern  town of Verbania.

Morana credited her longevity to plenty of sleep and a careful diet, which she once described to an Italian newspaper. “For breakfast I eat biscuits with milk or water,” she said. “Then during the day I eat two eggs — one raw and one cooked — just like the doctor recommended when I was 20 years old. For lunch I’ll eat pasta and minced meat then for dinner, I’ll have just a glass of milk.”

Legs: For several months, April the Giraffe, which lives at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville in New York’s Southern Tier, has been the object of internet fascination as millions of people have watched a live stream, waiting for April to give birth. Finally, yesterday, two hoofs appeared beneath April and within a few hours she had completed the birth of a male, which took just one hour to get steady on his feet. Mother and baby are reported to be doing just fine.

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