Trump's rise baffles genius

LONDON

- Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking may have a good grasp of the workings of the universe, but he says he can't understand Donald Trump's popularity.

Hawking tells ITV's "Good Morning Britain" show Tuesday that he has no explanation for the success of the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee.

"He is a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator," Hawking says in prerecorded comments to be broadcast when the show airs at 6 a.m. London time on Tuesday.

Hawking, who speaks through a computer system operated with his cheek, also made a plea for British voters to choose to remain in the European Union in the June 23 referendum.

He said it is important not only for economic and security research but also to further scientific research.

ARLINGTON, Va.

-President Obama challenged Americans on Memorial Day to fill the silence from those who died serving their country with love and support for families of the fallen, "not just with words but with our actions."

Obama laid a wreath Monday at the Tomb of the Unknowns to honor the nation's war dead. Under mostly sunny skies at Arlington National Cemetery, he bowed his head for a moment, then placed his right hand over his heart as taps was played. Obama in his address commemorated the more than 1 million people in U.S. history who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Obama said the markers at Arlington belong mostly to young Americans, those who never lived to be honored as veterans for their service.

The Americans who rest here, and their families - the best of us, those from whom we asked everything - ask of us today only one thing in return: that we remember them," Obama said.

In his remarks, Obama called for Americans to honor the families who lost loved ones and the battle buddies left behind. He said it's important to ensure veterans get access to good health care and jobs. "We have to do better," he said. "We have to be there not only when we need them, but when they need us."

WASHINGTON

- Republicans and Democrats feel a massive disconnect with their political parties and helpless about the presidential election.

That's according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which helps explain the rise of outsider candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders and suggests challenges ahead for fractured parties that must come together to win this fall.

The divisive primary season has fueled an overall sense of pessimism about the political process that underscores a widening chasm between political parties and the voters they claim to represent. Just 12 percent of Republicans think the GOP is very responsive to ordinary voters, while 25 percent of Democrats say the same of their party.

Among all Americans, the AP-NORC poll found that just 8 percent consider the Republican Party to be very or extremely responsive to what ordinary voters think. An additional 29 percent consider the GOP moderately responsive and 62 percent say it's only slightly or not at all responsive.

SEOUL, South Korea

- A North Korean missile launch likely failed on Tuesday, according to South Korea's military, the latest in a string of high-profile failures that tempers somewhat recent worries that Pyongyang was pushing quickly toward its goal of a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach America's mainland.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said in an unsourced report that the missile was a powerful mid-range Musudan, which, if true, would make it the fourth failure by the North to conduct a successful test launch of the new missile, which could potentially reach far-away U.S. military bases in Asia and the Pacific. Seoul defense officials could not immediately confirm the report.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in statement that the North attempted to launch an unidentified missile early in the morning from the Wonsan area, but likely failed. The military is analyzing what happened and had no other details.

Despite recent failures, there has been growing outside worry over North Korea's nuclear and missile activity this year, which includes a nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket test in February that outsiders see as a test of banned long-range missile technology.

The most recent launch follows Seoul's rejection of recent Pyongyang overtures to talk, part of what some analysts see as an attempt by the North to start a dialogue meant to win the impoverished country aid.

- Associated Press