WORLDWIDE THREATS: Lost in the flurry of coverage of the aftermath of the James Comey firing and the testimony of his acting successor Andrew McCabe before the Senate Intelligence Committee was the sobering assessment of the nation’s top intelligence official that trends are heading in the wrong direction in many of the world’s hotspots. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats ran down a list concerns, including North Korea’s intransigence, Syria’s unabated war on its own people, Turkey’s move to authoritarianism, and Afghanistan’s deteriorating security situation.

Here’s a capsule summary of Coats’ biggest worries: