Summer begins: Tropical Storm Alberto makes landfall in South Texas, killing three people; The storm's force is expected to cause major flooding in Corpus Christi today; Extreme heat will continue across the Midwest and Northeast today as summer officially begins; Wildfires in New Mexico have destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings so far, forced thousands to evacuate, and at least two deaths are reported.
Hezbollah Threat: Hezbollah leader Nathan Nasrallah has threatened that Hezbollah would attack Cyprus if Israel declares war on it. Cyprus is in the Mediterranean Sea, about 125 miles from Lebanon, where Hezbollah is headquartered. Cypriot and Israeli militaries have conducted joint exercises in the past. The Cypriot government denies any involvement in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.
Putin visits Vietnam: Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Vietnam after a two-day visit to North Korea. He is scheduled to stay there for two days. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said no country should host Putin and give him a platform to justify his acts of aggression and human rights violations. Putin said Russia's priority is to strengthen ties with Vietnam's Communist government.
South Korea's reaction: South Korea said today that it would consider supplying military equipment to help Ukraine fight Russian aggression, in line with the mutual defense agreement signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. South Korea said the Russia-North Korea agreement violates UN Security Council resolutions and poses a threat to South Korea.
Ten Commandments: Louisiana's Republican governor, Jeff Landry, signed a bill passed by the Republican-majority state legislature requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom in every public school in the state. The law also requires them to be displayed at state universities. The law states that the Ten Commandments must be poster-sized, at least 11 x 14 inches, and printed in a large, easy-to-read font. The American Civil Liberties Union plans to sue the Louisiana government, arguing that the law is unconstitutional because it is forcing religion on the state's citizens.
Jobless Claims: Initial unemployment claims for the week ending June 15 fell by 5,000 from the previous week to 238,000, according to figures released this morning by the Department of Labor. The four-week moving average of jobless claims was 243,000. The insured unemployment rate for the week ending June 8 was 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week. The unemployment rate a year ago was 1.1%. The unemployment rate is different from the rate of people applying for unemployment benefits, which was 4% in May.
