The Kimchi Kompact: In a goodwill gesture in advance of planned talks with President Trump, North Korea released three American prisoners of Korean descent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

President Trump was so thrilled he went to Joint Base Andrews in the middle of the night to greet the men on their arrival. Trump has been saying he should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts with North Korea. “Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it,” the President said yesterday.

Who’s “everyone?”

The three released prisoners are Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, all of whom were accused of either espionage or “hostile acts” against North Korea. Two of them were taken prisoner while Trump was in office.

The matter of American prisoners in North Korea has been a sore subject since student Otto Warmbier was returned to the US in a vegetative state just days before he died.

Boing, Boeing, Gone: Critics of President Trump’s decision to leave the Iran nuclear agreement say it brings the world close to nuclear war, but a bomb has already dropped on the Boeing aircraft company, which has a $20 billion contract to sell passenger jets to Iran. Because Trump is reinstating economic sanctions, Boeing will have to pull out of the deal. So will its competitor, the Eurpoean Airbus, because Trump won’t allow other countries to do business with Iran.

Unclassified Material: Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain called on the Senate to reject Gina Haspel’s nomination to be the director of the CIA because she refused to say whether torture is immoral.

“Ms. Haspel’s role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture’s immorality is disqualifying,” McCain said

McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, where he was tortured.

Haspel is a lifer at the CIA, most recently its deputy director. She drafted the order allowing the torture of al Qaeda suspects during the George W. Bush administration at the direction of the CIA director at the time.

Shoot the Messenger: President Trump complained yesterday about overwhelmingly negative coverage from some news outlets and suggested that maybe they should have their credentials yanked.

“The Fake News is working overtime,’ he wrote on Twitter. “Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?”

Trump gets plenty of critical coverage and calls it “Fake News. He has yet to give an example or offer proof of a news story that was faked, yet he attacks one of the most valued institutions in a democracy, the free press.

Permawar: Israeli fighter jets pummeled Iranian targets in Syria overnight, in retaliation for an Iranian rocket attack on Israeli in the Golan Heights. The Israeli’ claim they did severe damage to Iran’s military capacity in the area. Tensions are rising in the Middle East following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

The Peacock Report: An internal investigation at NBC news says that none of the higher-ups at the network were ever told about the sexual shenanigans of the deposed Today Show anchor Matt Lauer.

The report says that the women who eventually came forward, leading to Lauer’s firing, “confirmed that they did not tell their direct manager or anyone else in a position of authority about their sexual encounters with Lauer. Current and former members of NBC News and Today show leadership, as well as News HR, stated that they had never received a complaint about inappropriate workplace behavior by Lauer, and the investigation did not find any contrary evidence.”

NBC did not use an outside team to interview 70 current and former NBC News employees, including bosses. The investigators did not interview former anchor Ann Curry, who once told the NY Post that “I told management they had a problem (with Lauer) and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women. “Washington Post blogger Eric Wemple writes, “The report surely reads like a whitewash.”

Sunshine: California yesterday became the first state to require all new homes to include solar energy. The regulation takes effect in 2020. The five-member California Energy Commission voted unanimously with little debate before a standing-room crowd. The new rule is expected to add $8,000 to $12,000 to the cost of a new house.

California law requires at least half the state’s electricity to come from noncarbon sources by 2030.

Notable Quotable: Conservative columnist George Will wrote a piece eviscerating Vice President Mike Pence “for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness.”

Will describes Pence, who has repeatedly said he is “humbled” and “honored” to serve President Trump, as “oozing unctuousness from every pore.” Pence has made it his role to kneel at the altar of Trump. Will says, “His is the authentic voice of today’s lickspittle Republican Party, he clarifies this year’s elections: Vote Republican to ratify groveling as governing.”

“Lickspittle.” We’re envious.

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