—From Staatsburg, NY.

Death on the River: Most of the 458 passengers on board a cruise ship on the Yangtze River in China are missing after the boat capsized. The Oriental Star turned over in high winds and rain. Xinhua, the state-run news agency, says only 15 people were pulled from the water alive. Rescuers have cut into the ship’s hull in an effort to rescue passengers who may be trapped alive inside.

The ship’s captain and chief engineer, who both survived, told investigators the ship was capsized by a tornado.

The Supremes: The court ruled 8-1 yesterday in favor of a young woman who sued Abercrombie & Fitch for discrimination, claiming they refused to hire her because she wore a Muslim headscarf.

The court ruled that Abercrombie, which prefers to employ preppy-looking collegiates, had reason to believe that Samantha Elauf wore the head covering for religious purposes. The Supreme Court decision reverses an appeals court ruling to throw the case out. The ruling does not hand Elauf a clear victory. She’ll have to pursue her case in a lower level of federal court.

The Gathering Crowd: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has joined the gaggle of Republicans who want to be president. He’s number 19.

“I want to be president to protect our nation that we all love so much from all threats foreign and domestic,” he told about 1,200 supporters in his hometown. “So get ready. I know I’m ready.”

Cover Girl: The former Bruce Jenner, now going as “Caitlyn,” graces the cover of the new Vanity Fair magazine shot by photographer to the stars Annie Liebovitz. Jenner came out as transgender in April. She appears in an off white garment that looks like a 40s swimsuit and she seems to have developed breasts. Obviously there’s makeup, lighting, Photoshop, and maybe even a little surgery involved, but Jenner as a woman looks fantastic.

Shoes Off: The acting director of the Transportation Security Administration has been “reassigned” … you can read that as “fired” … after his agency failed a security test. ABC News reports that undercover agents were able to smuggle mock explosives or weapons through TSA checkpoints in 67 out of 70 attempts.

FIFA, The Movie: The vanity film paid for by the international football federation FIFA is set for release this Friday. “United Passions” is about the men in suits who made FIFA into a multi-billion juggernaut. The love interest is a soccer ball. Tim Roth, a legitimate actor, plays FIFA President Sepp Blatter, whose real-life legitimacy is being tested. Investigators have traced $10 million in questionable bank transactions to Blatter’s top lieutenant, placing the corruption scandal right in his outer office.

Foreign To Us: Our correspondent in Beirut, Ray Homer, writes to us the following:

“I can’t figure out if time passes quickly or slowly in Beirut. Some days it seems I have been here forever, some days only yesterday.

It is a terrible place to do business. As one local journo said ‘Lebanon makes it hard to do everything’.

Bad infrastructure, with no effort to improve things because lots of money is being made from keeping it this way. Corruption. Divided government.

The country has two armies. The Leb army which answers to the government. And the Hezbollah army which does not, and is better trained and equipped. And the Hez party is part of the government.

Surrounded by conflict of one sort or another. A million or more refugees. It is quiet but could tip over any time.”

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