Why it matters: The Trump administration had urged South Korea not to take this step, which could hamper communication over the threat from North Korea. It came after Japan elected to slow exports of sensitive materials to South Korea on national security grounds, a move that provoked outrage and boycotts in South Korea. The bitter feud is linked to colonial-era abuses by Japan and looks unlikely to be resolved soon.
Americans are at each other's throats. Politically, socially and culturally, we suspect each other's motives and plain sanity. So certain are we of the other's intent to do the nation harm, some of us have joined political gangs and assaulted one another, resulting in at least 1 death.
Which is to say: Americanshave played into Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands — again. It is assumed he can attack next year's elections if he so chooses, but since no outsider knows exactly how, what comes next is one of the great underlying mystery-dramas of the 2020 election campaign.
North Korea on Thursday called the recent U.S. cruise missile test and military plans including the deployment of F-35 jets around the Korean peninsula "dangerous," warning the action "would trigger a new cold war."
Why it matters: Denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have continued to stall, despite President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreeing at a June 30 meeting to restart the negotiations. The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains tense. North Korea has conducted 6 weapons tests since June 25.
President Trump doubled down on comments he made yesterday regarding Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats, saying Wednesday, "You’re being disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel."
The big picture: The “dual loyalty” charge has historically been used to allege "that Jews should be suspected of being disloyal neighbors or citizens because their true allegiance is to their coreligionists around the world or to a secret and immoral Jewish agenda," according to the Anti-Defamation League.
