AND IN THE REAL WORLD – AT 1:58 P.M. ET:  Alaska is being urged to prepare for a nuclear attack.  From London's Mirror:   

Alaska is being urged to prepare for a North Korean nuclear attack - amid fears that a warhead 'could reach residents in 20 minutes'.

The country will NOT attempt evacuations if North Korea fires a nuclear missile, emergency planners have warned.

Jeremy Zidek, from the state’s disaster planning team, urged locals to shelter in place should an attack happen - rather than risk being caught in the open for the blast.

He also urged families to have an emergency stash of food and water, flashlights and radios - as well as medical supplies including the anti-radiation pill Prussian Blue.

And while he insisted that Alaska was an unlikely target for a nuclear strike, Mr Zidek admitted that the state’s defensive facilities could be picked for attack.

Alaska is home to Fort Greely, where the US has interceptor rockets designed to destroy incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

The state also has missile defences at the Pacific Spaceport Complex as well as radar warning systems at Clear Air Force Station.

“We have the missile defence system here,” Mr Zidek said. “We have missiles and radars in a number of different locations.”

“Perhaps there would be some type of attack on those military facilities to try to hinder our ability to react to any missile launches.”

Mr Zidek also warned that Alaska no longer retains bomb shelters and that there would be no new measures to deal specifically with the nuclear threat.

He said: “There could be evacuation notices put in place but are we going to be able to get that amount of lead time to instruct people to actually evacuate an area?"

COMMENT:  Just a friendly reminder that the world extends beyond CNN's editorials and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."   Our readers know that, of course, but many people giving us the news have forgotten.

November 15, 2017