1 North Korea Details Missile Test
There’s a little more information on the North Korean missile test we first told you about yesterday. The Hermit Kingdom is revealing what kind of weapon it fired. According to North Korea's state-run media, the projectiles came a "super-large multiple rocket launcher," which it said had already been tested once before. Diminutive dictator Kim Jong Un reportedly oversaw the test and confirmed aspects of the launcher's combat operation. As we told you before, the two missiles fired Tuesday morning traveled about 200 miles – it was the North’s tenth missile test this year. How this squares with Kim’s willingness to resume nuclear talks with the United States remains up in the air, but what won’t be? That the North is likely to celebrate the departure of Ambassador John Bolton. Among other things, Bolton was very motivated to depose Kim by military force.
2 Bolton Is Out As National Security Adviser
What we know for sure? Ambassador John Bolton will no longer walk the halls of the White House. What’s up for debate? If he walked…or was pushed out the door – and it all played out on social media yesterday. TV screens, too. First, President Trump announced the ouster in a tweet, saying he informed Bolton the night before that his "services are no longer needed." Then, Bolton tweeted that he "offered to resign last night and President Trump said, 'Let's talk about it tomorrow.'" He repeated his version in a text message sent to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade – while he was on the air. The President says he’ll name a new national security adviser next week. Either way, Bolton was Trump's third national security adviser in less than three years. Trump later noted that he "disagreed strongly" with many of Bolton's suggestions, "as did others" in the administration. And when questioned by reporters about the exit, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered no surprises. “I’ll leave that to the president to talk about the reasons he made the decision, but I would say this,” Pompeo offered. “The president is entitled to the staff that he wants at any moment.”
3 Trump Signs Exec Order On Counterterrorism
A new order from President Trump aims to modernize and expand U.S. sanctions to counter terrorism. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told a White House briefing that the sanctions will give the U.S. new tools in the fight against terrorism around the world He was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said the order gives "further muscle to U.S. counterterroism efforts." He noted that it "significantly expands authorities to target terrorists and those who finance their activities." What does that mean exactly? That the U.S. can now target terrorist leaders without having to tie them to specific acts…and as part of that, the Treasury Department issued sanctions against more than a dozen leaders, individuals and entities affiliated with designated terror groups, including those affiliated with ISIS and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods Force