INTERVIEW – CAL THOMAS – Syndicated Columnist

Topics – North Korea/ Tax bill and concerns about the deficit

• Trump confronts perilous North Korean test (CNN) North Korea pushed President Donald Trumpcloser to a set of excruciating choices with its most potent missile test yet, which shattered a two-month calm in Northeast Asia and set nerves in Washington back on edge. Trump, who earlier this year warned he would rain “fire and fury” on the isolated state if it continued to threaten the US or its allies, was relatively muted in responding to Kim Jong Un’s latest provocation. “I will only tell you that we will take care of it. … It is a situation that we will handle,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
• Republicans Clear Major Hurdle as Tax Bill Advances (New York Times) Senate Republicans took a significant step toward passing a sweeping tax overhaul on Tuesday, with a key panel giving its approvaland several wavering senators indicating they would support the tax package, helping clear the way for full Senate consideration later this week.Passage of the tax overhaul, which seemed uncertain on Monday, strengthened considerably on Tuesday after the Senate Budget Committee voted along party lines to advance the plan. A flurry of last-minute deal making helped garner the support of a few Republican lawmakers who had expressed concerns about the $1.5 trillion package, including its treatment of small businesses and its effect on the deficit.