| By Derek Caney (@stax920)
Authorities seem to be coalescing around the theory that the man who gunned down 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando was radicalized by a variety of Islamist extremists. But no one's found any direct links between the killer and Islamic State. Quote of the day: "So far, we see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States and we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network. We're highly confident this killer was radicalized at least in some part through the internet." – James Comey, FBI director Reuters has full coverage of the shooting:
Australia is reviewing the visa of a British Islamic scholar who toured Orlando this year and had preached in 2013 that "death is the sentence" for homosexual acts. Farrokh Sekaleshfar, a senior Shi'ite Muslim scholar, said in a lecture in 2013 that in an Islamic society, the death penalty should be carried out for homosexuals who engaged in sodomy. There is no evidence of any link between his comments and the Orlando shooter. Sekaleshfar condemned the Orlando shooting as a "barbaric act of terror that was in no way justified."
And in France, a suspected Islamist attacker knifed a police commander to death outside his home in an attack claimed by Islamic State. The attacker repeatedly stabbed the policeman in the stomach, then barricaded himself in the officer's house. He then killed the officer's partner, but left their 3-year-old son alive. Authorities have not released the names of the officer and his partner. Members of an elite police unit killed the attacker, Larossi Abballa, after negotiations failed. He had gone to jail in 2013 for helping Islamist militants go to Pakistan and had been monitored by security services. 
Mourners grieve at a vigil for the victims of the shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 13, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young
Around the country - Donald Trump placed responsibility for the mass shooting in Florida squarely at the feet of radical Muslims, who he said were entering the country amidst a flood of refugees and "trying to take over our children." The Republican establishment would prefer he take a different foreign policy tack.
- Mashrou' Leila, a Lebanese rock band, has broken ground in the Arab world with an openly gay lead singer and stances espousing gender equality and sexual freedom. But in the middle of a two-week U.S. tour, a Muslim man murdered 49 people in a gay nightclub, and the band found itself at the crossroads of tensions between the gay and Muslim communities.
- When Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for a moment of silence in memory of the Orlando victims, House Democrats erupted with shouts calling for gun control legislation.
Around the world - Refugee children making the journey to Europe to escape war and poverty face possible beatings, rape and forced labor, to say nothing of actual drowning in the Mediterranean, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said. Of the roughly 206,200 people who arrived in Europe by sea this year to June 4, one in three was a child.
- China warned the United States to stick by its promises not to support any separatist activities, ahead of a visit by Taiwan's new president and a possible meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Barack Obama.
- When Louise Pascale, an American music teacher, pulled a three-decade-old tattered Afghan children's songbook from her bookcase, she realized she was likely holding a treasure lost to Afghan children following a music ban imposed by the Taliban. With the help of an Afghan musician, she updated the book. Since then 50,000 copies have been distributed throughout Afghanistan.
Around Wall Street - Europe's benchmark government bond, the 10-year German bund, fell below zero for the first time as worries about a potential British exit from the European Union sent investors rushing for safe-haven assets. A negative interest rate effectively means that investors are paying to lend money to the German government for a full decade.
Digit of the day: 7 Brexit supporters have a 7-point lead in the latest opinion poll over those who wish Britain to remain in the EU. There's a 61 percent chance that Britain will vote to remain in the EU, according to betting markets. That's down from a high of 81 percent about three weeks ago. So Siri, what do you think of Alexa?
"We're talking about you, not me."
What about Google Assistant?
"It's your opinion that counts, Derek."* Well, Derek doesn't have an opinion, but Apple sure does. It's making a series of improvements to Siri. Unfortunately for Apple, it still trails Google and Amazon in artificial intelligence, experts say. *Your Siri responses may vary.
Today's reason to live: Dusty Springfield – No Easy Way Down |
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