Iran's parliament speaker hinted Sunday that Washington could be behind the "suspicious" tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman to pile pressure on Tehran, official news agency IRNA reported. "The suspicious actions against the tankers... seem to complement the economic sanctions against Iran considering that (the US) has not achieved any results from them," Ali Larijani told MPs.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:52:11 -0400

A young black bear was shot and killed by Oregon officials after becoming so habituated to humansthat people reportedly took selfies with it.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 17:13:55 -0400

We dont want to be here, Jon Stewart told the handful of lawmakers who showed up to watch him plea for an extension of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund last week. The former host of The Daily Show likely didnt want to be on Fox News Sunday this Fathers Day either, but there he was making his case to Chris Wallace.Given the subject matter, it was an understandably serious interview. However, there was one fleeting moment of levity when Wallace noted that even if the Democratic-led House passes the full bill extending health care funding through the lives of the 9/11 first responders, then it will have to go to the Senate. Making a fearful expression, Stewart exclaimed, The Senate! Samantha Bee Reveals She Was Never in Contention to Replace Jon Stewart on The Daily Show: It Was AwfulThe comedian smiled as Wallace deduced that the certain someone Stewart criticized in his congressional testimony was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Have you had problems with Senator McConnell? the Fox host asked. Yes, Stewart replied. I mean, not me personally, but in terms of getting the 9/11 bills passed, Mitch McConnell has been the white whale of this since 2010. He said its the cynicism displayed by Washington that causes him to get so emotional about this particular issue. They asked Mitch McConnell about the testimony after it was done, Stewart continued, and he said, GoshI think he used the word goshGosh, we havent looked at that in a while but we will look at it and Im sure well deal with it as compassionately as we have in the past. But I want to make it clear that this has never been dealt with compassionately by Senator McConnell, he said. He has always held out until the very last minute and only then, under intense lobbying and public shaming has he even deigned to move on it. Noting that the 9/11 first responder funding is not a Republican-Democrat issue, Stewart added later, Not all Republicans oppose this, but everyone who has opposed it is a Republican. And its unacceptable. He ultimately resisted the urge to do his impression of McConnell as a turtle. Jon Stewart Rips Congress During House Hearing on 9/11 Victims Fund, Gets Standing OvationRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 13:50:34 -0400

Now it is the namesake of a tiny Israeli settlement in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet convened in this hamlet Sunday to inaugurate a new settlement named after President Donald Trump in a gesture of appreciation for the U.S. leader's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 16:43:33 -0400

Saudi Arabia remains committed to selling shares in national oil conglomerate Aramco through an initial public offering but only at the right time, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said. "We are committed to the IPO of Saudi Aramco based on appropriate conditions and at the right time," Prince Mohammed told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in an interview published on Sunday. Saudi Arabia plans to sell up to five percent of the world's largest energy firm and hopes to raise up to $100 billion.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 03:53:20 -0400

China's investigation into FedEx Corp over misdirected mail should not be regarded as retaliation against the U.S. company, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday, amid worsening relations between China and the United States. The inquiry was aimed at sending a message that any economic entity in China should abide by the country's laws and regulations, it said in a commentary. "China is willing to share the opportunities in its courier market with foreign investors.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:58:29 -0400

Early in the morning of January 17, 1991, eight sleek helicopters bristling with missiles swooped low over the sands of the An Nafud desert in as they soared towards the border separating Saudi Arabia from Iraq.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.Minutes after the radars had been reduced to rubble, Nighthawk stealth jets soared through the twenty-mile-wide radar gap, headed for Baghdad. But the Armys Apache attack helicopter aviators they had struck first to kick down the door for the Nighthawks.Nearly three decades later, the Apaches status as the worlds 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. Undeniably, the threats faced by the $35 million armored attack helicopter, which can pack as many as sixteen tank-busting missiles under its stub wings.
Sat, 15 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0400

Father's Day, the official calendar date to honour our wonderful dads and celebrate fatherhood, is just around the corner. Recognised eachJune, the daysees 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 ofFather's Day take placeand who helped establish the annual celebration of paternal figures? From the history behind the celebration, to the more recent commercialisation, here is everything you need to know about Father's Day. When is Father's Day 2019? Fathers Day is held every year on the third Sunday of June; this yearFathers Day fallson Sunday, June 16in the UK. Typically, fathers are showered with cards and presents on Fathers Day, with some families celebratingtogether by going on days out. Younger children also tend to make handmade gifts for their fathers at school and extracurricular clubs, includingdrawings, paintings or cards. As society and family structures have changed, some people now celebrate their stepfathers on Fathers Day. In recent yearsthere have been calls for a Stepfather's Day, however no such day has been officially discussed or introduced. Father's Day falls on June 16 this year Credit: E+ The history of Father's Day The first events in recognition of fatherhoodtook place in the US and followed Anna Jarvis' first celebration ofMother's Day in 1908, as well as theearlier observations of Mothering Sunday in the UK. Grace Golden Clayton, from Fairmont, West Virginia, was the woman behind the first event to celebrate fathers in 1908. Just over a year prior to this event, the Monongah Mining Disaster took place in December 1907, with the explosion killing 361 men. Of these fatalities, 250 were fathers. In honour of the one thousand children who lost their fathers, Clayton encouraged her pastor, Rev. Robert Thomas Webb, to hold a service at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South. Clayton missed her own father terribly, after he passed away in 1896, so she chose to honour the lives loston July 5, 1908, the closest date to his birthday. While Clayton was responsible for the first recognition of fatherhood and the paternal bond, her work didn't directly encourage the creation of Father's Day. The memorial service was never promoted outside the town of Fairmont and the service was overshadowed by the significant Independence Day celebrations held a day beforehand. Yet the idea was also picked up on in the following year, whenSonora Smart Dodd started her quest to honour fathers in the same way as mothers. Dodd, born in Arkansas in 1882, was one of six children and at the age of seven, she moved toWashington with her family. When she was 16 years old, her mother, Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart, died after givingbirth to her sixth child, leaving her father, William Jackson Smart, a farmer and Civil War veteran, as a single parent. After listening to a Mother's Day sermon at theCentral Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909, Dodd felt thatfathers deserved equal recognition.With the local YMCA and the Ministerial Association of Spokane,Dodd began a campaign to have the day officially recognised. The first such 'Fathers Day'was held at the YMCA in Spokane on June 19, 1910, with a number of towns and cities across America later following suit. Support for Fathers Day quickly increased throughout the US and in1924President Calvin Coolidge pressured state governments to mark the celebration. President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honouring fathers in 1966, making the third Sunday in June Fathers Day. Six years laterPresident Richard Nixon signed it into law, establishing the day as a national holiday though in the UK it does not enjoy this status. The move came after a campaign by a number of public figures, includingSenator Margaret Chase Smith, who in 1957 wrote to Congress: Either we honour both our parents, mother and father, or let us desist from honouring either one. But to single out just one of our two parents and omit the other is the most grievous insult imaginable. Dodd's message later spread to other countries across the globe and it is thought that Britain began celebrating Father's Day after World War II. Today, the celebration of fathers has become an important commercial event for high street shops and online retailers, with promotions for the best gifts and cards appearing in the build up to the day each year. Fathers Day around the world While in the UK fathers can expect, at best,breakfast in bed andhandmade card and, at worst, the day to be completely ignored, elsewhere the festival is done a little differently. In Germany, Fathers Day is called Vatertag with it also being referred to as Mnnertag, which means mens day. The celebration falls on the Thursday 40 days after Easter. In certain regions it is traditional for groups of men to go into the woods with a wagon of beer, wines and meats. Heavy drinking is common and, according to official statistics, traffic-related accidents spike on this day. In Australia, Fathers Day falls on the first Sunday of September, which is their first Sunday of Spring, while in Croatia, they observe Roman Catholic tradition and celebrate fathers on March 19, Saint Josephs Day. In China, Fathers Day used to be celebrated onAugust 8 as the Chinese for eight is ba, while a colloquial word for father is ba-ba so the eighth day of the eighth month sounds similar to daddy. The day has since been moved to the third Sunday of June, in line with the UK and US. In France, the day was introduced in 1949 for commercial reasonsby lighter manufacturerFlaminaire. Inspired by the US' day of celebration,they created a new advert with the slogan 'Nos papas nous l'ont dit, pour la fte des pres, ils dsirent tous un Flaminaire'('Our fathers told us, for father's day, they all want a Flaminaire').Three years later an official decree was made to recognise the day. Most countries celebrate Fathers Day on the third Sunday in June including the UK, USA, Mexico, Ireland, France, Greece, China and Japan. Howevernot all countries celebrate it then. In Brazil, Fathers Day falls on the second Sunday of August and this day was chosen in honour of Saint Joachim, the patron saint of fathers.According to Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox traditions, Joachim was the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The ultimate films on fatherhood Father's Day tales and traditions Some paganssuggest that Father's Day is closely linked to the Pagan Sun worship, because the sun is thought to be the father of the universe and the celebration of dads falls closely to the summer solstice. Roses are the official flower of Father's Day, with people previously wearing themto church on this date. While this tradition is rarely seen today, sons and daughters used to wear either a red rosein admiration ofa living fatheror a white rosein memory of a deceased father. Sonora Smart Dodd, the founder of Father's Day, selected this flower and it is said that during the early celebrations, shehanded out roses to home-bound fathers, whileon a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city. Father's Day gifts and presents From cutesy cards, socks andtiesto luxurious watches andfantasticcar experiences, Britons present their paternal figures with an array of unique gifts on Father's Day. But,demand for the perfect Father's Day present has led to the increasing commercialisation of the day, withretailers competingto offer the best gifts andconsumers heading to their high street shops and online retailers. According to MuchNeeded, Father's Day is a popular shopping day in both the UK and US, with 75 per cent of men expected to celebrate the occasion this year. While Britons and Americans spend a significant amount on Father's Day each year, on average it only accounts forhalf the spending around Mother's Day. Is it Father's Day, Fathers' Day or Fathers Day? Ah, the age old question. The answer? Many say Father's Day is the correct version. Mother's Day (which has the apostrophe before the 's') set the precedent while Father's Day was still gaining popularity.Anna Jarvis trademarked the term 'Mother's Day' with the apostrophe before the 's' in 1912, saying the word should 'be a singular possessive, for each family to honour its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world'. President Woodrow Wilson used this spelling when he formalised Mother'sDay in 1914; this means the correct version of the word is spelled with the apostrophe before the 's'. Father's Day has followed suit, with cards on both sides of the pond including the apostrophe in the same place.
Sat, 15 Jun 2019 02:29:25 -0400

An off-duty police officer opened fire inside a Costco Wholesale warehouse store, killing a man who had attacked him and wounding two others, the Corona Police Department said.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 11:40:48 -0400

Crew members from a Norwegian-owned oil tanker apparently attacked in the Gulf of Oman landed Saturday in Dubai after two days in Iran as the other tanker targeted in the assault limped into anchorage off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates. Both the mariners' recollection and the physical evidence remaining on the MT Front Altair and the Kokuka Courageous, now off the coast of Fujairah, will play an important role in determining who the international community blames for Thursday's explosions on board the oil tankers. Already, the U.S. has blamed Iran for what it described as an attack with limpet mines on the two tankers, pointing to black-and-white footage it captured that American officials describe as Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops removing an unexploded mine from the Kokuka Courageous.
Sat, 15 Jun 2019 23:23:38 -0400

A federal complaint says a man struck a flight attendant in the throat during a flight from Indianapolis International Airport to Paris.
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:33:44 -0400

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 18:01:00 -0400

A flurry of opinion polls on Sunday also showed that a majority of voters think the Trump administration has gone too far on its immigration enforcement efforts, and that economic optimism has slipped from the high levels seen shortly before Trumps inauguration in 2017. In an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll, some 52% reported being very uncomfortable about Trump and an additional 10% had some reservations. The negative response about Trump was up 3 percentage points from a poll conducted in late April and early May.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 13:09:54 -0400

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.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 07:57:23 -0400

The U.S. Navy expects additional U.S. and international orders for the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in coming months, which should extend production by two years to late 2025, a senior U.S. Navy official told Reuters. The P-8, based on Boeing's 737-800 airframe, conducts anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and shipping interdiction, and also carries electronic support measures, torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons. It is already operated by the U.S. Navy, Australia and India, and has been ordered by Britain, Norway, New Zealand and South Korea.
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:56:52 -0400