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President Donald Trump's comments come amid concerns attack on oil tankers could further escalate ongoing tensions between Iran and the U.S.

POSTED JUNE 16, 2019 8:39 PM

Buttigieg, a Democratic presidential candidate, was responding to a black business owner who asked about the denial of capital to African Americans during the Black Economic Alliance Forum held jointly with Black Entertainment Television in Charleston, South Carolina. The event, held Saturday, will be broadcast Sunday on BET.

POSTED JUNE 15, 2019 6:18 PM

Japan has protested what is says was an unauthorized Chinese maritime survey within its economic waters near disputed East China Sea islands, officials said Monday. Japan's Foreign Ministry said it lodged a protest with Beijing after a Chinese maritime research ship was seen dropping a wire-like object into the water off the northwestern coast of Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands on Sunday. China also claims the islands, which it calls Diaoyu.

POSTED JUNE 17, 2019 7:54 AM

The busy Newark airport serving the New York area was briefly closed Saturday after a United Airlines flight experienced multiple flat tires upon landing and skidded partly off the runway, the airline and Federal Aviation Administration said. No major injuries were reported in the incident at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York. The FAA said United Airlines flight 627, arriving from Denver, landed at 1 pm (1700 GMT) before skidding off the left side of a runway, with its main landing gear getting stuck in a grassy area.

POSTED JUNE 15, 2019 3:55 PM

The FBI has been called in to help investigate the deaths of eight American tourists in the Dominican Republic.One possible line of inquiry reportedly being looked into is whether bootleg alcohol is to blame for the spate of deaths and illnesses in resorts at the popular Caribbean holiday destination.Some of those who died are reported to have consumed alcohol from the minibar in their hotel room before their deaths – however it is not known whether there is any connection at this stage.Officials in the Dominican Republic have said the deaths over the last year are isolated incidents and that the country is still a safe destination.Leyla Cox, 53, became the eighth American to die on the island after she was found dead in her hotel room at Excellence Resort in Punta Cana on 10 June, just a day after her birthday, her family said.The MRI technician’s son Will Cox said his family did not know the cause of his mother’s death and that her body had not yet been returned to her home in Staten Island, New York.Bride-to-be Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Pennsylvania, was the first tourist to die after drinking from a minibar at Bahia Principe hotel in Punta Cana in June 2018.A month later, David Harrison, 45, of Maryland, died from an apparent heart attack at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana.In April this year, Robert Bell Wallace, 67, from California, reportedly fell ill and died four days later after drinking a whisky at the same Hard Rock Hotel. That same month, John Corcoran, the 60-year-old brother of TV star Barbara Corcoran, who appears on America’s version of Dragons’ Den, died from an apparent heart attack while holidaying on the island.In May, Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, from Pennsylvania, checked into the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville with her husband.She is said to have fallen ill after having a drink from the minibar in their room and died a short while later.Five days later, Edward Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Day, 49, were found dead in their room in neighbouring Grand Bahia Principe resort.Excess fluid in the lungs was listed among the causes of their deaths in preliminary reports, according to NBC news.The US embassy in the Dominican Republic said the FBI had been called in to carry out toxicology reports, but that the results could take up to 30 days.It said in a statement last week: “These incidents are tragic and we offer our deepest condolences to those personally impacted.“Dominican authorities have asked for FBI assistance for further toxicology analysis on the recent Bahia Principe, La Romana, cases and our FBI colleagues tell us that those results may take up to 30 days. “We ask everyone to be patient while these investigations run their course.”Francisco Garcia, the country’s tourism minister, called the deaths “isolated incidents” earlier this month and said that the Dominican Republic was a “safe destination”.

POSTED JUNE 17, 2019 11:13 AM

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case involving an Oregon bakery that refused to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding, sending the dispute back to a state court and forgoing an opportunity to clarify its position on the matter after ruling narrowly in favor of a Colorado baker in a similar case last year.Melissa and Aaron Klein, who together own Sweetcakes by Melissa, were fined $135,000 after a lesbian couple filed a complaint with Oregon's Board of Labor and Industries in response to the Kleins' refusal to bake a cake for their wedding. The Supreme Court's Monday decision represents a partial victory for the Kleins as it wipes out a lower court's previous ruling against them and temporarily spares them from paying the fine, the threat of which forced them to close their bakery.The case represented an opportunity for the Court's conservative majority to expand upon the ruling they handed down last year in the case of Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker who was fined after refusing to bake a custom wedding cake for a gay couple. The court ruled narrowly in Phillips's favor after finding that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission displayed “anti-religious hostility” in applying the state's anti-discrimination laws to him.The Kleins have employed the same defense as Phillips in their fight against state regulators: Custom wedding cakes, they argue, constitute works of art and, as such, should be protected under the First Amendment.An Oregon court of appeals had previously dismissed that argument, on the grounds that “even when custom-designed for a ceremonial occasion, [wedding cakes] are still cakes made to be eaten.” The court's logic was echoed by the state in its filings urging SCOTUS not to hear the Kleins' appeal.“Baking is conduct, not speech,” the state wrote in those filings. “A bakery open to the public has no right to discriminate against customers on the basis of their sexual orientation.”

POSTED JUNE 17, 2019 11:04 AM

POSTED JUNE 17, 2019 1:05 PM

Several hopefuls vying to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May turned their fire on favorite Boris Johnson on Sunday, questioning his pledge to leave the European Union by the end of October no matter what. With former London mayor and foreign minister Johnson keeping a low profile, the other candidates have targeted the air waves to present their cases to lead the governing Conservative Party.

POSTED JUNE 16, 2019 7:48 AM

A young black bear was shot and killed by Oregon officials after becoming so habituated to humans that people reportedly took selfies with it.

POSTED JUNE 16, 2019 5:13 PM

One of the defining features of Donald Trump’s presidency has been his administration’s use of national-security tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The controversial tariffs have plenty of detractors, both domestic and international, while supporters justify their legitimacy and effectiveness. However, specifically regarding the 25 percent tariff on steel imports, the tool has caused a great deal of collateral damage. A clear example of this is the country of Georgia, a close security ally of the United States and a drop in the bucket in terms of relative steel exports to the United States. The Trump administration would be wise to grant Georgia a country exemption, or alternatively, replace the tariff with a quota. This would be greatly beneficial to Georgia—a strategic ally of the United States into which Washington has invested considerable time and money—while not threatening U.S. jobs or domestic steel production.

POSTED JUNE 16, 2019 4:34 PM