Storm Clouds: China warned yesterday that tensions over North Korea’s military posturing could spin out of control.

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said in Beijing, “The United States and South Korea and North Korea are engaging in tit for tat, with swords drawn and bows bent, and there have been storm clouds gathering,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The North is believed to be close to testing a nuclear bomb. Denouncing what it called the Trump administration’s “maniacal military provocations,” North Korea issued a statement threatening that it could wipe out US military bases in the South “within minutes.”  President Trump has threatened to “take care” of the North Korea problem.

After meeting with the French foreign minister, China’s Wang said,  “We urge all sides to no longer engage in mutual provocation and threats.” Xinhua quotes Wang saying, “No matter who it is, if they let war break out on the peninsula, they must shoulder that historical culpability and pay the corresponding price for this.”

Black Book: The White House announced that it will continue to keep its visitor logs a secret, preventing reporters and the public from knowing who’s coming and going.  The Obama administration left most of the records open, but fought to keep some of them closed. The Trump White House says they are keeping the visitor logs closed as a matter of national security, like when the Boise Kiwanis Club comes to visit.

Live from Death Row: An Arkansas judge yesterday blocked the scheduled execution of seven inmates after  one of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical companies argued that the state bought one of its drugs under false pretenses. The McKesson Corporation said Arkansas bought 10 boxes of vecuronium bromide, which can be used to stop an inmate’s breathing, through the account of a doctor, making the purchase look like it was for medical purposes. It is generally used as an anesthetic for surgery.

P$rmawar: The official Islamic State body count after the US dropped its biggest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan is now 94. The 21,000 bomb costs $16 million, which puts the cost per dead militant at $170,212, not including shipping and handling.

Lower Ed: The Albuquerque Public Schools, which is one of the largest school districts in the country, has decided to eliminate middle school sports to save money, in the midst of a financial crisis for New Mexico.

Basketball, volleyball, and track teams in the district’s 28 middle schools are set to be disbanded next school year. Kids in grades 6 through 8 who wants sports will have to join private leagues.

New Mexico has lost $26 million in income, largely because of lower gasoline prices. The middle school sports cuts saves only $580,000.

 Friendly Skies: United Airlines has issued a policy that no passenger can be bumped from a plane after boarding. If flight crews need seats, they must book at least one hour in advance so passengers can be given the bad news in the terminal. A spokesperson said, “This is one of our initial steps in a review of our policies in order to deliver the best customer experience.”

Fast and Future Furious: The eighth  of the “Fast and Furious” action movies opened in theaters yesterday. Interestingly, as auto companies push to perfect driverless cars, the movie contains a scene in which hackers take control of a thousand cars within a two-mile radius and basically play Demolition Derby with them.

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