Can a White House in chaos handle the North Korean crisis?

Coming up on today’s show: 

• The Trump Administration continues to ramp up its rhetoric on North Korea. Is military action against North Korea wise? Is it even possible? Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011, explains what military action against North Korea would entail. 

• Since 9/11, the U.S. has prosecuted 807 people under international terrorism charges. A new analysis from The Intercept reveals that the majority of those cases were not close to committing an act of violence. Trevor Aaronson, the creator of the project and a contributing writer at The Intercept, discusses what the numbers reveal about America’s counterterrorism efforts. 

• This week, Los Angeles reached a deal to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti says the games will give the city a new Olympic legacy, but some Angelenos are protesting, arguing that the city has too many other problems for it to play host. Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation and host of the Edge of Sports Podcast, weighs in.

• Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that local governments will lose federal grant money if they don’t comply with certain federal demands when it comes to law enforcement. It’s the first time that the Justice Department has produced specific rules to crackdown on sanctuary cities. Joe Tanfani, who covers the Justice Department and homeland security for The Los Angeles Times, has the details.

• Fearing the outcome and lacking legal representation, Central American asylum-seekers aren’t showing up to court, and are being deported in absentia. Julia Preston, a contributing writer for The Marshall Project, reflects on this trend, and this “crisis of representation.”

• An Associated Press investigation across all 50 states has found that the Supreme Court’s ban on mandatory life without parole for juvenile homicide offenders has resulted in an uneven patchwork of responses as officials wrestle with complicated cases. Adam Geller, national writer for The Associated Press, discusses the changing norms around juvenile offenders who have been sentenced to life without parole.

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.