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• It is not a pretty sight, and many analysts believe Pyongyang's eagerness to pillory Jang Song Thaek not only destroys the image of unity projected by state-run media but also acknowledges dissension and a dangerous instability. That's an alarming prospect as Kim Jong Un tries to revive a moribund economy even as he pushes development of nuclear-armed missiles.
• The subtext to the over-the-top demonizing of Jang -- he was accused of drug use, gambling, a planned military coup and massive corruption -- was a shocking admission: the Kim family wasn't in total control. Contradicting past assertions of unity and strength, North Korea has acknowledged that the leadership had indeed been roiled because of the challenge by Kim's mentor and uncle after the 2011 death of Kim's father, the late dictator Kim Jong Il.
• As nervous officials and apparatchiks gather Tuesday in Pyongyang for the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il, the as-yet unanswerable question now is, what comes next?
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Appeal for tornado-proof rooms in Oklahoma schools runs afoul of planned tax cut
• OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- After a huge tornado ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs this spring and demolished two elementary schools, killing seven children, a longtime legislator thought the time was ripe for the state to act on a well-known problem.
• Although Oklahoma averages more than 50 tornadoes a year, and sometimes gets more than 100, about 60 percent of public schools have no shelters. Cash-strapped districts can't afford to build them.
• Rep. Joe Dorman, who represents the small farming town of Rush Springs, proposed a bond issue, taking advantage of the state's rebounding economy and revenue from a business tax that was already on the books.
• But the response to his proposal has made clear that there's something more ominous than tornadoes these days in one of the nation's most conservative states: taxes and borrowing.
• The idea has been snubbed by Oklahoma's political leadership, including Gov. Mary Fallin, triggering a debate over the current push by some GOP-controlled states to cut taxes to improve their business climate instead of using available revenue for longstanding problems.
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