Middle East attack jolts oil-import dependent Asia

The blasts detonated far from the bustling megacities of Asia, but the attack this week on two tankers in the strategic Strait of Hormuz hits at the heart of the region's oil import-dependent economies. While the violence only directly jolted two countries in the region — one of the targeted ships was operated by a Tokyo-based company, a nearby South Korean-operated vessel helped rescue sailors — it will unnerve major economies throughout Asia. Officials, analysts and media commentators on Friday hammered home the importance of the Strait of Hormuz for Asia, calling it a crucial lifeline, and there was deep interest in more details about the still-sketchy attack and what the United States and Iran would do in the aftermath.

Israel PM's wife Sara Netanyahu convicted of misusing public funds

An Israeli court Sunday convicted the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fraudulently using state funds for meals, under a plea bargain which saw her admit to lesser charges. Sara Netanyahu was found guilty of exploiting the mistake of another person and ordered to pay a fine and compensation, in a deal approved by Jerusalem magistrates' court justice Avital Chen. Netanyahu was also fined 10,000 shekels ($2,800) and ordered to reimburse the state a further 45,000 shekels, the latter of which she will pay in nine installments, at her request.

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  Sara Netanyahu: Israeli premier's scandal-plagued wife

  AFP
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  Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara admits to misuse of public funds

  The Independent

Huckabee: Rushing into military action with Iran would be a huge mistake

U.S. blames Iran for oil tanker attacks; reaction from Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee.

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  US military claims Iran tried to 'shoot down drone' that was observing attacks on oil tankers

  Yahoo News UK
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  Crew members of targeted Norwegian-owned tanker now in Dubai

  Associated Press

Crew Members of Attacked Norwegian-Owned Tanker Now in Dubai

Crew members of the Norwegian-owned oil tanker that was attacked in the Gulf of Oman landed Saturday in Dubai after two days in Iran. Associated Press journalists saw the crew members of the MT Front Altair after their Iran Air flight from Bandar Abbas, Iran, landed in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The Front Altair caught fire after the attack Thursday, sending a thick cloud of black smoke visible even by satellite from space.

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  'We don't take it lightly': What we know about oil tanker blasts and Donald Trump's escalating rhetoric on Iran

  USA TODAY
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  British envoy denies Iran summons over tanker attacks claim

  AFP

2020 Vision: The Democratic debate stage is set — both of them

Reminder: There are 234 days until the Iowa caucuses and 507 days until the 2020 presidential election. On Thursday, the Democratic National Committee named the 20 participants for the first debates of the 2020 primary, set to occur in Miami the nights of June 26 and 27. The DNC had laid out criteria in January for qualifying: At least 1 percent in three approved polls (either national or of early states) and/or 65,000 donors, with candidates who hit both marks securing a spot.

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  DNC unveils matchup of candidates for first primary debate

  CBS News Videos
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  Democrats set Miami as location for first DNC primary debate

  ABC News Videos

United Airlines plane skids off runway after tyres burst on landing at New York airport

A United Airlines plane skidded off the runway after its tyres burst as it landed at an airport near New York. Some passengers suffered minor injuries when Flight 627 slid off the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Boeing 757-200's left main landing gear was “stuck in a grassy area” following the incident at 1pm.

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  New York-area airport briefly closed after plane lands on flat tires

  AFP
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  Flights resume at Newark Airport after United flight skids off runway

  ABC News

The Hyundai Sonata's Complete History Visualized, from 1986 to Today

See the Sonata's progression from backwater budget play to the most stylish, advanced mid-size sedan out there. From Car and Driver

The Latest: Mexico migrant agency chief presents resignation

The latest on Mexico's actions to stem the flow of migrants across its territory (all times local): 2:05 p.m. Mexico's National Migration Institute says its top official has presented his resignation to the president. The institute said Friday in a brief statement that Tonatiuh Guillén thanked President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the opportunity to serve the country.

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  Mexico publishes Trump's 'secret deal' on migration

  AFP
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  Mexico to urge G20 to pay attention to Central America migrant crisis

  Reuters

Memphis Man Killed in Police Shooting That Sparked Violent Protests Was Wanted for Assault, Robbery, Authorities Say

A Memphis man who was killed by a U.S. marshals task force, sparking violent protests in his neighborhood, was wanted for shooting a man multiple times and stealing his car after posing as an interested buyer, authorities in Mississippi said. Authorities had previously not said why police has been trying to arrest 20-year-old Brandon Webber. Thirty six police officers were hurt in protests Wednesday night in north Memphis after police shot and killed Webber as they tried to arrest him.

Field fires in Syria's Hasakeh kill 10: monitor

Fires engulfing vital wheat fields across Syria's northeast have killed at least 10 people, a war monitor said Sunday, as Kurdish authorities claim the blazes were set deliberately. Kurdish authorities and the Damascus regime are competing to buy up this year's harvest as fires -- some claimed by the Islamic State group -- continue to scorch crops in the country's breadbasket. The victims included civilians and members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who died while trying to extinguish the blazes since Saturday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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  Syria violence kills dozens of troops and civilians in north

  Associated Press
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  Syria flare-up kills 35 fighters, 10 civillians: monitor

  AFP

Report: Marine and Navy F-35 Pilots Need to Ration Afterburners at High Altitudes

Sebastien Roblin Security, Americas Another problem for this very expensive stealth fighter. After eighteen years of troubled and controversial development, the Lockheed F-35 Lightning stealth fighter may soon enter mass production, many of its bugs having been expensively squashed after delivery of an initial four-hundred “low-rate-of-initial-production” aircraft. However, a June 2019 scoop by Defense News journalists Valerie Insinna, David Larter and Aaron Mehta has revealed thirteen serious Category-1 flaws remain.

Grilling-themed Father's Day cards are at steak: Some folks are done with dad stereotypes

Often, Father's Day cards tend to depict dads doing stereotypical "dad" things: grilling, fishing, using tools, or drinking beers. Chanel Parker, a CVS store clerk, noted this while scanning the various cards at CVS. Greeting card companies have taken note. And they're trying to make cards that encapsulate a wide variety of fathers.

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  Best whiskies to buy dad

  FOX News Videos
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  I’m Afraid of Becoming My Father | Dude Turned Dad, Season 2, Ep 2

  Fatherly

As US-Iran tensions increase, Tulsi Gabbard calls her 2020 candidacy a ‘threat to the foreign policy lies sold to the American people’

This past week, two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman were crippled with explosions that have set the region on edge and sparked concerns that the United States and Iran could soon engage in a bloody war with massive international ramifications. With little information made public, the Trump administration has begun making the case for a potential conflict, blaming Iran and pointing to a grainy video as proof of its culpability. In response, Iran has pushed back, saying the American accusation that it is involved in the gulf incidents is “not only not funny ... but alarming and worrisome”.

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  Iran 'almost certainly' behind Gulf of Oman tanker attacks, says UK government

  The Independent
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  UN chief pushes for probe of Gulf tanker attacks

  AFP

Father's Day 2019: Paganism, roses and how the campaign to celebrate dads was won

Father's Day, the official calendar date to honour our wonderful dads and celebrate fatherhood, is just around the corner. Recognised each June, the day sees children around the world present their dads with cards and gifts as a thank you for all they do. But when did the first observance of Father's Day take place and who helped establish the annual celebration of paternal figures?

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  Help! My Family Doesn’t Celebrate Me on Father’s Day

  Fatherly
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  Celebrating dad

  CBS News Videos

China probes FedEx after Huawei parcels misrouted

China on Friday launched an investigation into FedEx for "failing to deliver express packages" to the correct addresses in the country, state media said, after the US delivery service misrouted some Huawei parcels. FedEx apologised earlier this month for the delivery mishap after Chinese telecoms giant Huawei said it was reviewing its ties with the package service over the incident. The US delivery firm said at the time that "no external parties requested that FedEx transfer these packages".

Pope Francis’ Arch Nemesis Comes Out of Hiding to Slam Him on Predator Priests

ROME—There are few scandals in the sordid history of the American Catholic church more painful than the saga of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a high-ranking prince of the church who fell from grace amid a slew of lies and cover-ups. McCarrick was forced to resign and later defrocked after credible allegations that he sexually abused a boy from the age of 11 until the young man was 29, starting long before the Boston Spotlight probe and Pennsylvania Grand Jury report came to define priests behaving badly. Unlike in Boston and Pennsylvania, where the local dioceses were easy to blame for bad management, McCarrick was a man of the popes, which makes him an easy target for those who oppose the direction of the church.

New Toyota Cars Will Automatically Go into Park and Shut the Engine Off

Many Toyota models will get two new safety features starting with the 2020 model year. Starting with the 2020 model year, Toyota is adding two new safety technologies to many of its models, calling the move part of the brand's "relentless commitment to continuous improvement." The new features are focused on the safety of parked-or almost parked-vehicles. The first of the two systems is called Automatic Park, which is pretty self-explanatory.

How the AH-64 Apache Became the Ultimate Attack Helicopter

At 2:30 a.m., the choppers fanned out and set to work in teams of two. Rocket motors flashed as Hellfire missiles streaked towards two Iraqi radars powerful enough to potentially pick up the faint signature of a stealth plane. Nearly three decades later, the Apache's status as the world's premier attack helicopter remains largely unchallenged, and the type continues to see extensive action in the Middle East and in demand in countries as diverse as the UK, Egypt, India and Taiwan.

Stocks post small losses; investors look ahead to Fed

Stocks rose Monday but then seesawed as investors saw signs that the U.S. and China won't settle their differences on trade anytime soon. There is concern that a protracted dispute could further hurt global economic growth and corporate profits. A suspected attack on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz added more uncertainty.

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  Broadcom Sell-Off Casts Pall On Nasdaq Today; Home Depot Leads Dow Jones

  Investor's Business Daily
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  Broadcom's dim outlook drags down chipmakers

  Yahoo Finance Video

Sarah Sanders's 5 biggest whoppers

March 5, 2017: Sanders appeared on ABC's “This Week,” where she was asked about Trump's claim that former President Barack Obama had ordered then-candidate Trump's phones to be wiretapped. Everybody acts like President Trump is the one that came up with this idea,” Sanders said, adding that “there are multiple news outlets” that reported the claim. While Sanders and her defenders can point to articles in right-wing media outlets to justify the claim that Trump wasn't the only person to believe this conspiracy theory, multiple fact checks of the underlying allegation about Obama ordering that Trump's phones be wiretapped have shown it to be false.

Anita Hill: I still hold Biden accountable but would consider voting for him

Anita Hill has said she could see herself voting for Joe Biden, despite his past treatment of her, saying she considers him “perfectly capable of running for president”. Before announcing his presidential bid in April, Biden contacted Hill to express his “regret for what she endured” while testifying against US supreme court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991, a hearing over which the former vice-president presided and where Hill was given little support as she alleged persistent sexual harassment from Thomas when they worked together. In an interview broadcast on Thursday evening, Hill, now a law professor, said she still holds Biden accountable, but has not ruled out voting for him if he were to become the Democratic nominee in next year's presidential election.