Hermit Kingdom: The White House has called for strong international sanctions after North Korea launched a test missile, the first since South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in has taken office. The missile flew about 430 miles into the sea between South Korea and Japan.

Japanese analysts described it as an intermediate-range missile that could be used to attack US military bases in the Pacific.

President Moon ran for office expressing a preference for talking to North Korea rather than confronting it. “We keep our door open for dialogue with North Korea, but we must act decisively against North Korean provocations so that it will not miscalculate,” Moon said, according to a statement.

Ransomware: The hackers responsible for a worldwide ransomware attack were able to borrow their weaponized programming from the National Security Agency, according to computer experts. Europol says the WannaCry virus hit 200,000 victims in 150 countries.

The program took advantage of a security hole in Microsoft Windows that many computer systems failed to plug in time with an update. Once the program was inside a few systems, particularly universities, it spread quickly.

The White House Mess: A parade of candidates entered the White House yesterday to be considered for Director of the FBI even as the fallout continues over the firing of James Comey. President Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “These are outstanding people that are very well known – highest level.”  Top, top people.

The president was returning from delivering the commencement address at the Christian Liberty University in Virginia, where he talked about God and himself. “The fact is no one has ever achieved anything significant without a chorus of critics standing on the sidelines explaining why it can’t be done. Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic, because they’re people that can’t get the job done.”

Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman write in the NY Times that Trump remains frustrated that he doesn’t receive universal adulation for winning the election. “At the root of Mr. Trump’s unpredictable presidency, according to people close to him, is a deep frustration about attacks on his legitimacy, and a worry that Washington does not see him as he sees himself.”

In an essay in The Atlantic, James Fallows writes that the current political crisis in Washington is worse than Watergate. “Worse for and about the president. Worse for the overall national interest. Worse in what it suggests about the American democratic system’s ability to defend itself.”

Fallows points out that with the balance of power in the Senate at 52–48 in favor of the Republicans, “Thus a total of three Republican senators have it within their power to change history, by insisting on an honest, independent investigation of what the Russians have been up do and how the mechanics of American democracy can best defend themselves.”

Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg writes in the National Review that, “In the best possible light, all the insanity from the president of the United States is St. Elmo’s Fire, a lightshow to entertain us. It’s a Mexican soap opera without the redeeming sex and cleavage. It’s a reality-TV show without the cat fights, stiletto heels, and thrown glasses of wine. Ask anybody — off the record, of course — on Capitol Hill about whether all this drama helps them get bills passed or judges confirmed. They will laugh at the question.”

Word Crimes: With the FBI and congressional committees investigating his campaign and Russian election meddling, a loose talk of impeachment, President Trump is also under scrutiny by the word police at the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

In a recent interview with The Economist, the president claims to have coined the term “priming the pump” in reference to government stimulation of the economy. He told his interviewer, “Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven’t heard it. I mean, I just…I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good.”

This suggests that Trump not only doesn’t read, he may never have read anything in his life.  Merriam-Webster pointed out on its twitter feed that, “The phrase ‘priming the pump’ dates to the early 19th century.”

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