The Times reported this week that the U.S. military was quietly preparing for the possibility of war with Pyongyang. Joel S. Wit, Senior Fellow at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins and author of "Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis" joins The Hive to discuss what Americans need to worry about...and what they don't.
Wit says there is a chance of going to war with North Korea, but no one should think it will happen tomorrow. The reports of U.S. military exercises are very serious though, and people should take note. On the other hand, Wit says President Trump's tweets have made it seem like the situation is a lot more dire than it really is.
Plus, Wit adds that North Korea and South Korea banning together for the Winter Olympics is the first piece of positive news we've had in a long time from that region. However, he wonders what will happen after the Olympics. Will tensions continue to ease? Or will things go back to normal?
Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip are scrambling to find safety, as Israeli strikes demolish entire neighborhoods, hospitals run low on supplies and a power blackout is expected within hours.
The U.S. has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and military equipment to Israel, and the State Department now says that at least 11 American citizens have been killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a bill on Sunday that would have made free condoms available to all public high school students, arguing it was too expensive for a state with a budget deficit of more than $30 billion.