The Iran Quandary:The Trump administration put Iran on notice that the US will not tolerate the attacks on oil tankers blamed on Iran but so far hasn’t decided what to do in response.

  The Iranians say they had no involvement with the attacks on the two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, but President Trump says he’s willing to engage with them whenever they are ready. He said he’s in no rush to go to war. The military choices are to provide escorts for oil tankers passing through the Straits of Hormuz or to seriously bulk up military presence in the area.

    Peter Baker writes for the The NY Times that, “For any president, accusing another country of an act of war presents an enormous challenge to overcome skepticism at home and abroad. But for a president known for falsehoods and crisis-churning bombast, the test of credibility appears far more daunting.”

  It’s a tense situation. TheTimesreports that Iran fired a surface to air missile at a US drone monitoring the area the morning of the attacks. 

  One of the tankers has been towed to port for investigation of how it was attacked. Iranian gunboats have chased tugboats away from the other ship.

Walking Back:After howls of outrage across the country, President Trump made a mid-air correction yesterday and said that of course he would report it to the FBI if a foreign government came to him with damaging information about a political opponent.

 Speaking over the phone to “Fox & Friends,” Trump said, “Of course, you give it to the FBI or report it to the attorney general or somebody like that.”

  That’s not what he told ABC’sGeorge Stephanopoulos earlier in the week. Trump said, “Oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”

  In another clip of the interview released by ABC, Stephanopoulos pressed the president about not personally answering questions from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

  “Wait a minute. I did answer questions. I answered them in writing,” Trump said.

   “Not on obstruction,” Stephanopoulos replied.

   The President said, “George, you’re being a little wise guy, OK, which is, you know, typical for you.”

Trade War:A group of more than 600 companies and trade associations signed a letter to President Trump asking him to end his trade war with China and to drop tariffs. Walmart, Target, Macy’s, and Gap wrote that they are worried the tariffs will cause job  losses, cost customers money, and hurt the economy. The letter says, “An escalated trade war is not in the country’s best interest, and both sides will lose.”

The News Roundup:A 67-year-old marathon swimmer went missing yesterday in the Hudson River near the George Washington Bridge during a 120-mile race. The search was called off in the evening. — After days of protests, Hong Kong’s leadership says it will suspend but not withdraw a bill that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial. Protest leaders say that’s not enough and they’re going to keep marching. — The Justice Department yesterday issued a 33-page memo backing the IRS’s refusal to hand over President Trump’s tax returns to House Democrats. The memo says the House demand has no “legitimate legislative purpose.”

My Fellow Graduates:In the midst of graduation season the valedictorian at California’s San Ysidro High School threw the book at the school’s administration on the way out the door. She hit her counselor, office staff, and a drunk teacher.

Shocking her fellow graduates and parents, Nataly Buhr said, “To my counselor, thanks for teaching me to fend for myself. You were always unavailable to my parents and I, despite appointments.” She went on, “Might I note, you expressed to me your joy in knowing that one of your students was valedictorian when you had absolutely no role in my achievements.”

  That wasn’t all. For her finale Buhr said, “To the teacher who was regularly intoxicated during class this year, thank you for using yourself as an example to teach students about the dangers of alcoholism. Being escorted by police out of school left a lasting impression.”

  Okay, then. Time for some photographs.

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