Your WBFJ Family Station Forecast: Mostly sunny…High 92
Summer officially begins today
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT HAS A COURT APPEARANCE BEFORE A JUDGE IN PERU TODAY. Van der Sloot is charged with homicide in the murder of Stephany Flores on May 30th. He has also been a prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway in Aruba in 2005.
A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN YESTERDAY IN MONTANA, DAMAGING SEVERAL BUSINESSES. The twister ripped the roof off of a sports arena near Billings, Montana and the storm severely damaged the interior.
AN ARIZONA WILD FIRE BURNING NEAR SCHULTZ PASS HAS CONSUMED MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND ACRES IN LESS THAN 24 hours. More than three hundred firefighters have responded.
ISRAEL HAS FORMALLY ANNOUNCED AN EASED BLOCKADE OF GAZA. The decision comes three weeks after a deadly Israeli naval commando raid that stopped pro-Palestinian aid activists from breaching the blockade.
As oil continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, a federal judge will hear arguments today from companies seeking to end a six-month ban on deepwater drilling. The six-month ban, instituted by the government last month, halts all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevents new permits from being issued.
BP will try to clean up its image. An American has been chosen to head its clean up effort. Bob Dudley, a 20 year veteran with Amoco, will take over as the ‘point man’ on the spill response . Dudley will report to battered CEO Tony Hayward. FYI: Oil giant BP has now spent $2 billion dollars responding to the massive oil spill in the Gulf. (CNN)
North Carolina primary election run-offs on Tuesday. Turn out is expected to be low.
"Toy Story 3" #1 at the Box office over the weekend, grossing an estimated $109 million. That's the highest grossing opening weekend ever for Pixar. Check out the review from Focus on the Family’s Plugged In. http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/toystory3.aspx
Communities along the Gulf Coast, already struggling to keep summer tourists, face a new ‘problem’…whether to go ahead with plans to go ahead with fireworks over the oily waters over the Fourth of July weekend. At least a half-dozen communities, from New Orleans to Gulf Shores, Alabama, annually stage over-the-water fireworks displays on Independence Day. But as oil continues to gush from the BP well, one community — Grand Isle, La. — already has canceled its fireworks. The reason: fears that sparks could ignite the oil. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-16-fireworks_N.htm
SPORTS
Jimmie Johnson getting his first road course win yesterday at Sonoma. Leader Marcos Ambrose stalling out with 6 laps to go. (AP)
PGA: US Open (Pebble Beach) Graeme McDowell, a 30-year-old from Northern Ireland, winning the US Open pro golf tournament on Sunday…topping out big names including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. McDowell is the first European to win the US Open in 40 years. (CNN)
