Donald Trump plays down North Korean missile tests - and appreciates Kim Jong-un's attack on Joe Biden

In an apparent contradiction of his national security adviser, Donald Trump on Sunday downplayed recent North Korean missile tests, tweeting from Tokyo that they're not a concern for him - even though they are for Japan. The US president also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's attacks on one of his Democratic rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden, had made him smile. The remarks were the latest example of Mr Trump's willingness to publicly undermine senior advisers, flout Democratic norms and side with totalitarian leaders, even on the world stage.

• 
  Trump agrees with North Korean leader Kim on Biden -White House

  Reuters
• 
  King Of Irony Donald Trump Tweets About 'Low IQ' Joe 'Bidan,' Twitter Wits Can't Even

  HuffPost

Amanda Eller, Missing Maui Yoga Instructor, Ate Berries and Drank From Waterfalls to Survive

Amanda Eller, the 35-year-old yoga instructor and physical therapist who went missing on a hike in a Maui forest on May 8, ate plants and berries and drank from the base of waterfalls to survive, her rescuers say. Hours after rescuers in a helicopter plucked Eller from a ravine, she said that she had to make the choice to stay alive while lost for 16 days in the forest. “There were times of total fear and loss and wanting to give up, and it did come down to life and death, and I had to choose,” Eller said from her hospital bed on Saturday.

• 
  Yoga Teacher 'Chose Life' Despite 'Wanting to Give Up' After Disappearing in Forest for 17 Days

  People
• 
  Missing yoga teacher found alive two weeks after disappearing in Hawaii forest

  The Independent

Police hunt suspect after explosion in French city of Lyon

French police on Saturday hunted a suspect believed to have deposited a paper bag containing a device that exploded Friday, wounding 13 people on a busy pedestrian street in the city of Lyon. French President Emmanuel Macron called the explosion an "attack" during a live interview Friday about the European Parliament elections that run through Sunday. The man was seen arriving on foot, pushing his bike along the pedestrian-only Victor Hugo street, then leaving paper bag on a concrete block in the middle of the street near a bakery.

51 attorneys general call on Betsy DeVos to cancel up to 42,000 disabled veterans' student debts

In April last year, DeVos announced a new partnership between the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs that would match borrowers in the Department of Education's records system with disabled veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs records system. People deemed eligible for loan discharges would be mailed a letter including an application for "totally and permanently disabled" (TPD) status. Under the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, if student borrowers die or become permanently disabled, they are eligible to have their loans forgiven, so a successful granting of TPD status would allow for the complete discharge of student loans.

Violence and disruption against abortion clinics at highest rates since 1999

Violence and disruption against abortion clinics in the US increased to its highest levels since the 1990s last year, a report by the National Abortion Federation has found. The increase in violence was attributed, at least in part, to president Donald Trump and his administration's rhetoric. “Anti-choice individuals and groups have been emboldened by the rhetoric of president Trump, vice president Pence, and other elected officials and we are seeing this play out in more instances of activities meant to intimidate abortion providers and disrupt patient services,” said Dr Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, who serves as interim president and CEO of NAF.

• 
  Rape survivors in the US already not able to access abortions, campaigners warn

  The Independent
• 
  Abortion Clinics Reported A Surge In Trespassing, Vandalism & A Historic High Of Picketing

  Refinery29

AD PRO's 20 Favorite Furnishings from ICFF

Miss New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair? Senior style and market editor Benjamin Reynaert shares his favorite new products that launched at the fair Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Eating Way Too Much Rice Almost Doomed Japan's Imperial Navy

After the war, the Emergency Beriberi Investigative Committee investigated the disease's devastation of Japanese ranks. In August 1882 in Incheon Bay near Seoul, four Japanese warships were locked in a tense stand-off with two Chinese warships that had brought troops to quell a revolt on the Korean peninsula. On paper, the Japanese flotilla outnumbered the Chinese, but the hulls of the Japanese ships hid a deadly secret.

Two journalists released in Libya: TV channel

Two Libyan journalists held by an armed group for more than three weeks have been released, the television channel they work for said Saturday. "We congratulate the press world for the release of our two colleagues, Mohamad al-Gurj and Mohamad al-Chibani, who were kidnapped by Haftar's forces on May 2 while they were covering the assault on Tripoli," said the private channel Libya al-Ahrar, which is based in Turkey. The capital's southern suburbs have been the target of an offensive launched April 4 by Khalifa Haftar, military strongman of an eastern administration aimed at seizing Tripoli from an internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

• 
  Libya's Haftar rules out Tripoli ceasefire, dismisses U.N.-led talks: newspaper

  Reuters
• 
  2 Libyan reporters taken by commander Hifter's forces freed

  Associated Press

US sanctions on Iran felt in Iraqi Shiite tourist districts

For years, Karar Hussein has sold sweets in his shop near the entrance to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, accepting whatever currency was offered to him by his clients, many of them religious tourists from neighboring Iran. Hussein and many other shop owners in Baghdad's northern Shiite holy neighborhood of Kadhimiya have seen sales drop sharply over the past year since President Donald Trump began re-imposing sanctions on Iran, home to the largest number of Shiite Muslims around the world. The value of Iran's currency, the rial, has decreased almost fourfold, pushing the price of nearly everything beyond the reach of ordinary Iranian consumers in Iran and abroad.

Macron Chastened as French Voters Hand Narrow Victory to Le Pen

Macron's Republic on The Move had 21.9% of the vote compared with 24.1% for the anti-European National Rally with 90% of ballots counted . In the last EU vote in 2014 Le Pen beat the conservatives by 4 percentage points with Macron's Socialist predecessor Francois Hollande trailing in third. The result is a setback for 41-year-old Macron in his battle for legitimacy as he tries to persuade the rest of the European Union to pursue tighter integration.

• 
  European elections 2019: Centre vote splinters right and left across the continent

  Evening Standard
• 
  European elections: French far-right National Rally beats Emmanuel Macron's centrists

  The Independent

Germany in push to resurrect Afghan talks with Taliban

Germany, a leading donor and member of the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, has been talking with the Taliban and the Afghan government in an effort to restart peace talks to end 18 years of conflict, officials said. While the Taliban have been talking with U.S. officials since October about a withdrawal of international troops, they have so far refused formal talks with the Western-backed government, which they dismiss as a "puppet" regime. Berlin's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Markus Potzel, has visited Kabul for talks with the Afghan government and met Taliban officials in Doha at least twice this month.

Pope Francis likens abortion in any scenario to ‘hiring a hitman’

Pope Francis has compared having an abortion to hiring a hitman and said the procedure can never be condoned, even when the foetus is gravely sick. Speaking at a Vatican-sponsored anti-abortion conference, he urged doctors and priests to support families to carry all pregnancies to full term. The pontiff said that the matter was not a religious issue but a human one.

Rep. Riggleman says criticism of Barr handling classified Russia documents is 'ridiculous'

Rep. Denver Riggleman gives his take on President Trump giving the attorney general authority over the investigation documents.

• 
  The Week in Washington: First Amendment Threats and Grotesque Taunts

  Vogue
• 
  Barr Will Get to Bottom of FBI, DOJ ‘Corruption,’ Sanders Says

  Bloomberg

Right-wing figures warn of looming 'civil war' over abortion laws

As the abortion rights debate continues, some prominent right-wing American Christians have shared an ominous warning: that conflict over abortion access may lead to a new civil war. With restrictive abortion bills passing around the US - like the Alabama abortion ban and foetal heartbeat bills, which restrict elective abortion at the about six weeks into pregnancy - America seems divided on a woman's right to choose. These articles include a profile of pastor and author Michael L Brown, who blames what he describes as a “coming civil war” on “militant abortionists”.

• 
  How the Alabama abortion law is roiling Democratic and Republican politics

  USA TODAY
• 
  Mississippi's Restrictive Abortion Ban Blocked By Federal Judge

  Refinery 29 UK

Iran state TV fires managers over 'insult' to Sunnis

Iranian state TV has fired two channel managers over a live programme deemed insulting to Sunni Muslims, it said in a statement Sunday. The sackings at Channel 5 came after a broadcast on May 20 celebrating the birthday of the second imam in Shiite Islam, Hassan ibn Ali. During the programme, religious chanter and story-teller Ahmad Qadami recited a eulogy that "insulted the sanctities of Sunni Muslims", according to official news agency IRNA.

AP Explains: What lies ahead for UK after May's resignation

British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she will step down as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7, starting a process that will lead to a Conservative Party leadership contest and a new British prime minister who will lead the government during the Brexit process. HOW CAN THERE BE A NEW PRIME MINISTER WITHOUT A NEW ELECTION? Under Britain's parliamentary system, a party in power can change its leader in a variety of ways, and can choose its new leader by following its own party rules.

• 
  Pound Off High as Brexit Party Tops Early U.K. EU Vote Results

  Bloomberg
• 
  Farage's Brexit Party in the lead in EU election, first partial results showed

  Reuters

Rescuers search for survivors after Oklahoma tornado kills at least two

The tornado that hit El Reno on Saturday night was the latest in a barrage of violent weather that is expected to continue after pounding the Central Plains states last week with deadly tornadoes, high winds, drenching thunderstorms and widespread flooding. In addition to the two fatalities, 29 people suffered minor to critical injuries in the El Reno twister and hundreds more were displaced, the city's mayor said. People have absolutely lost everything." Rescue workers searched the debris field that had been a mobile home park and an Americas Best Value Inn motor lodge where the tornado did its worst damage in the community about 25 miles (40 km) west of Oklahoma City.

• 
  Pennsylvania has already seen yearly average of tornadoes

  WPVI – Philadelphia
• 
  Likely Tornado Kills At Least 2, Demolishes Motel In Oklahoma City Area

  HuffPost

Scouted: These Portable Bluetooth Speakers Have a 4.9-Star Average Rating — and Are On Sale Right Now

The folks at one of Scouted readers' favorite electronics brands Anker has repackaged their extremely highly rated Bluetooth speakers into a perfect Father's Day gift — and marked down the price by 23%. The Soundcore Flare portable speakers, which play multi-directional sound and sync to each other for custom style surround sound, are $50 right now (that's the lowest price they've ever been) and come with a limited edition travel case. The enhanced bass, all-around 360-degree sound, and LEDs that phase, pulse, and shine in sync with your music, got reviewers to rate the Flares 4.9 stars, on average — a rare occurrence to be that well-liked.

Best Exterior Paints From Consumer Reports' Tests

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Exterior paints have improved significantly in recent years.

Immaculate 1992 Land Rover Discovery 200tdi Will Cost You $17k

Buying a first-generation Land Rover Discovery used to be cheap. The Land Rover Discovery has endured hard times in the used car marketplace. As the Range Rover Classic has quickly become one of the most desirable, sought after and expensive collector cars on the planet, those of more rational or 'peasant status' have turned to the humbled Discovery in search of everyday practicality with up-coming collector car status.