Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials

President Trump’s Twitter rants are rather like magical pixie dust – they obscure real controversies, like possible links between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government, and change the conversation. President Trump’s Twitter rants are rather like magical pixie dust – they obscure real controversies, like possible links between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government, and change the conversation.

Japan, US conduct navy drill in East China Sea as – warning’ to North Korea

The Japanese and US navies are conducting joint exercises in the East China Sea as tension intensifies in the region following North Korea’s missile tests , local media reported on Friday. The two sides launched the drill earlier this week, involving Japanese destroyers and a US Navy carrier strike group, the Sankei Shimbun daily and Kyodo News said, quoting unnamed Japanese and US government sources.

Sean Spicer, barred from Air Force One, avoids the cameras

He is the US president’s most prominent political spokesman but his high profile didn’t protect Sean Spicer from being temporarily banished from Air Force One. Spicer was among a group of Donald Trump’s senior aides who were banned from the presidential aircraft a week ago after Trump erupted in frustration at his staff during an Oval Office meeting.

Fidel Castro? or Conrad Birdie? (How American “Feminists” …

Fidel Castro? or Conrad Birdie? over the jailer and torturer of the longest-suffering women political prisoners in modern history!-“We love you Fidel-oh YES we DO!” I’m guessing Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer and Andrea Mitchell all bill themselves as top-flight feminists. Well, please behold their reaction to the jailer and torturer of the most and longest-suffering women political prisoners in modern history .

Facing test of resolve, Trump pushes ahead with North Korea review

Faced with a growing test of resolve for a new U.S. president who vowed while campaigning to get tough on North Korea, Donald Trump’s aides are pressing to complete a strategy review on how to counter Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threats. Pyongyang’s latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother have added urgency, driving home the need for Washington to confront the security challenge.

School election update

U.S. officials said work is underway to make the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system operational as quickly as possible. The Defense Department stressed that the THAAD system is aimed solely at defending South Korea against North Korean missiles.

America First’ will be good for Americans

Today, threats seemingly abound, from China’s rise to Russia’s return; from the growing number of bumptious regional powers, such as Iran and North Korea; and from a range of insurgent and terrorist networks. How will the Pole Star of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, “America First,” fare? Will such a policy court disaster as did its isolationist predecessor 80 years ago in the run-up to World War II? Consider first military intervention.

10 Things to Know for Thursday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today, March 2. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had two conversations with the ambassador to the U.S. during the presidential campaign. The revelation fuels calls for him to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the election.

Eurasia Integration: A Three-Speed Affair

Europe, relatively integrated, lives today in a de facto two-speed reality. Eurasia integration, a work in progress and with vastly more reach, is for the moment a three-speed process, as seen through the positioning of three Central Asian “stans.”

‘Madman Theory’ of foreign policy working – so far

A man watches a TV news program showing a file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with letters reading: “The North fired a missile” at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. At the heart of Donald Trump’s foreign policy team lies a glaring contradiction.

Trump vowed to isolate family businesses, but they have seeped into White House

President Trump stands with his wife first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, inside of the inaugural parade reviewing stand in front of the White House on January 20, 2017. President Trump stands with his wife first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, inside of the inaugural parade reviewing stand in front of the White House on January 20, 2017.

5 things for Wednesday, February 15, 2017: Trump and Russia, Kim Jong Un, Netanyahu

High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN. President-elect Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business, according to US officials familiar with the matter.

Trump handling of security information at Mar-a-Lago queried by House panel

President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S. security information at his Florida resort came under congressional scrutiny on Tuesday as a watchdog panel asked the White House to explain reports that Trump dealt with a sensitive foreign policy issue in view of club guests. Representative Jason Chaffetz, head of the House of Representatives oversight committee, sent a letter asking the White House for details on how Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to a North Korean ballistic missile test while visiting the Mar-a-Lago golf resort over the weekend.

The Canadians leave town, just before a tornado of turmoil hits Washington

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has assured his U.S. counterpart over the phone that there might be 10,000 problems that land on his White House desk – and Canada won’t be among them. Trudeau had barely left Washington and the cheer of a drama-free day was swiftly overshadowed by an incoming storm of palace intrigue, back-stabbing, leaks, international incidents and a spying scandal that rocked Donald Trump’s White House.

Seattle judge says Trump’s Muslim ban WILL go ahead

Michael Flynn RESIGNS as National Security Advisor after it’s revealed the Justice Department warned Trump weeks ago that he was vulnerable to blackmail over his ties with Russia Villages of the Dam: Homes and businesses beneath California’s Oroville Dam lie abandoned underwater – as it’s revealed officials were first warned about the crumbling structure TWELVE YEARS ago Knicks owner James Dolan backs down from his ban on Charles Oakley returning to MSG – after Micheal Jordan plays mediator to resolve the fallout from the veteran’s violent courtside outburst Retail workers reveal the secret perks they have the power to give customers – but ONLY if you’re nice to them Yes, you can really get fit in just minutes: We reveal how to boost your daily activity level using high intensity interval training Vietnam war hero Lt.

AP Sources: Justice warned White House about Flynn contacts

Joseph Dunford, left, and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn as he arrives via Air Force One at MacDill Air Forc… . Kellyanne Conway, left, and Stephen Miller, both senior advisers to President Donald Trump, walk to a news conference with President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Feb. 10, 2017, at the White House in Washin… .

Flynn apologizes to Pence over Russia controversy

Joseph Dunford, left, and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn as he arrives via Air Force One at MacDill Air Forc… . Kellyanne Conway, left, and Stephen Miller, both senior advisers to President Donald Trump, walk to a news conference with President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Feb. 10, 2017, at the White House in Washin… .

White House defends travel ban as provocations mount

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press PALM BEACH, Fla. – A top White House aide renewed support for President Donald Trump’s embattled immigration order and praised a surge in deportations Sunday, as the new president faces a new provocation in the form of an apparent missile test by North Korea.

Trump: US Stands With Japan Against North Korean Aggression

In a joint statement in Palm Beach, Florida, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test “absolutely intolerable,” adding that Pyongyang must “fully comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.” Trump said that the “United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, one hundred percent.”

Mattis warns NKorea against any attack on US or its allies

In an explicit warning to North Korea, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday said any use of nuclear weapons by the North on the United States or its allies would be met with what he called an “effective and overwhelming” response. U.S. defense secretaries have long offered assurances to South Korea and Japan that its nuclear “umbrella” will protect them, but Mattis’s statement was perhaps more pointed than most.

Little is known on status of US student held in North Korea

There’s been little public word about what has happened to an American college student detained in North Korea, as a new administration takes over one year later amid deep U.S. concerns about the hostile country’s nuclear and missile development. North Korea announced last Jan. 22 it had detained Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old University of Virginia student from suburban Cincinnati, earlier that month for alleged anti-state crime.

McCain slams China for ‘bullying’ Korea over THAAD

US Senator John McCain slammed China on Thursday for “bullying” South Korea for its decision to host the US THAAD missile defense system aimed at defending against North Korea, urging Beijing to use its “considerable influence” to rein in Pyongyang. McCain, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said that Chinese bullying of the Asian ally is “unacceptable” and said he hopes the incoming administration of Donald Trump ensures US security commitments.

Trump’s choice for top US diplomat talks tough on China

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,, right, pats Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson , left, on the shoulder after his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, less Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,, right, pats Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson , left, on the shoulder after his testimony before the Senate Foreign … more Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. questions Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson during the committee’s confirmation hearing Tillerson, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

US, North Korea trade warnings over potential ICBM test

With Donald Trump getting ready to take office as president, North Korea is talking about launching a newly perfected intercontinental ballistic missile. Officials in Washington are saying that if Pyongyang launches anything that threatens the territory of the U.S. or its allies, it will be shot down.

[Chicago Tribune] Trump’s North Korea conundrum

“We may have to go on an arduous march, a time when we will again have to eat the roots of grass,” said a March 2016 editorial in the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, preparing North Koreans for worsening conditions after tougher sanctions were imposed. Last year around this time, North Korea tapped the world on the shoulder with an underground nuclear test that drew the usual international diplomatic tut-tutting.

[Kent Harrington ] Donald Trump’s North Korean family values

With every new US president arriving in Washington come a handful of counselors and aides whose personal ties, built over years and forged in election campaigns, give them pride of place in the administration. From the “Irish Brotherhood” that brought John F. Kennedy to office to the “Berlin Wall” that guarded Richard Nixon’s door, close friends and confidantes have often outdone the administration’s biggest names.

COMMENTARY: Hypocrisy behind Julian Assange’s hero turn

Donald Trump’s, Sarah Palin’s and Sean Hannity’s embrace of Julian Assange – who has made a career of illegally obtaining and releasing documents damaging to American interests – is not just a puzzling policy shift. It is the triumph of ideology over, well, every other principle or commitment.