To the Moon, Alice: The private company SpaceX early this morning launched the first American spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts since the retirement of the space shuttle. Success could put Americans back in space in their own vehicles.

  The launch of the craft called the Crew Dragon was done in cooperation with NASA at the Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida. It is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning with the International Space Station.

  So far, SpaceX has sent to space only satellites, cargo, and a Tesla sports car to satisfy the humor of company founder Elon Musk. He said he hopes to launch actual people later this year. “So that would definitely be a culmination of a long dream for a lot of people, me and a lot of people at SpaceX,” he said.

The Cover Story:President Trump has been spending time on Twitter covering for his recent embarrassments and blunders, in particular the failed talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

  Trump tweeted, “We had very substantive negotiations with Kim Jong Un – we know what they want and they know what we must have. Relationship very good, let’s see what happens!” He wrote that about a summit that he walked away from.

  Maybe we’ll see what happens, but what did happen was that Trump allowed himself to go face to face with Kim only to be sandbagged by demands the US would never meet. A true world leader … and certainly a master negotiator as Trump claims to be … would never allow that to happen. You don’t go into meetings at the level of head of state not knowing what’s coming. 

  Trump is also trying to dodge his credulous statement that he believes Kim knew nothing about North Korea’s fatal mistreatment of American college student Otto Warmbier until it was too late. “I take him at his word,” Trump told reporters. Facing outrage over that, Trump tried to clarify with a tweet that said, “Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto’s mistreatment and death.” 

  What he doesn’t say is that he holds North Korea’s absolute dictator responsible. Trump has referred to Kim as “my friend” and “a real leader .”

  Otto Warmbier’s parents issued a statement saying what the President won’t, “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto.” They said, “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuse or lavish praise can change that.”

Book Party:Indicted Republican political operative Roger Stone has a book coming out and the federal judge on his case wants to know why she wasn’t told about it. The book is titled “The Myth of Russian Collusion: The Inside Story of How Trump Really Won.” 

  The book could violate the gag order Judge Amy Berman Jackson put on Stone against criticizing the court or the Russia investigation. She’s ordered Stone’s lawyers to provide her with a written explanation.  

The Gathering Crowd:Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington State, announced that he is running for president in 2020. He said in a video announcement, “I’m Jay Inslee and I’m running for president because I am the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation’s number one priority.”

 Inslee may not be the least known Democratic candidate, but he’s close. Still waiting in the wings are Texas golden boy Beto O’Rourke and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Mushing on Mush:The annual Iditarod 1,000-mile dogsled race starts today amid growing concern about how many years are left before there isn’t a continuous trail of snow and ice to run the race.

  As the world climate warms and Alaska’s winter becomes less wintery, frozen rivers and creeks once used as highways for the dog sleds are no longer dependably frozen. 

  The NY Times reports that, “At its current rate, Alaska’s average temperature in 2050 will be 6.1 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it was in 1950,” according to atmospheric studies.

   The paper says, “Among NOAA’s 13 designated climate divisions in Alaska, the state’s Central Interior and West Coast, the regions where most of the Iditarod takes place, are experiencing the second- and third-fastest temperature rises. Only the North Slope is warming faster.”

  It’s getting so warm up there even Sam McGee wouldn’t freeze anymore. 

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